Merry (Almost) Christmas!

Our time in Australia has been great so far. We've enjoyed catching up with old friends, as well as making new ones. We still can't believe that Christmas is upon us (it's Christmas Eve right now here), as the soaring temperatures contradict all we associate with this holiday. It has been good in many ways though to be removed and experiencing something totally new, as it reminds us that it isn't supposed to be about the beautiful decorations and the abudance of food we enjoy, but that Christ came to earth as a child, destined to become our Saviour. No matter where we are in the world, we can rest in that truth and the hope it brings.

Here's a few highlights of our time here so far, to catch you up!

Blue Mountains - Last weekend we left the city to visit Amy, an Australian friend of mine that I met at Mini-Yo-We four summers ago. It was great to escape the highrises and traffic of Sydney, and experience some of God'screation. Amy was a terrific hostess, showing us not only the best view points, but great fish and chips and Indian food, as well as how to eat a Tim Tam Slam. We plan to bring some of the famous cookies back to Canada, and pass on the tradition of using them as a straw to drink up hot chocolate, and them stuffing them in your mouth and letting them melt! Delicious!! We also hiked down the Great Staircase (over 900 stairs), travelled on the steepest train in the world, abseiled and shared an Aussie meal with her fun family.

Hillsong Christmas Spectacular - On the Sunday night, we headed back to the city to catch a church service at Hillsong Church. Some of you may have heard of them - some of their music, including the song "Shout to the Lord", is pretty standard in some circles. Anways, its a pretty massive church, but we had no idea what we were in for! I will just tell you it was a Christmas Concert on a new level, including: live animals (2 camels, 3 goats, a sheep and a donkey), a man juggling knives, a 3-story built Christmas tree with a choir inside it, a BBQ prize giveaway . . . and the list goes on. I've seen some big churches in Texas, but this was unbelievable. We all left shaking our heads, trying to wrap our minds around the experience.

Sydney Opera House - After admiring the outside of the building every time we went downtown, we decided we needed to get inside! A tour was almost as expensive as going to a performance, so we headed off to Christmas concert #2! While they weren't any live animals at this production, the experience of being inside, mixed with the amazing talent and the terrific acoustics (supposedly some of the best in the world) was awe-inspiring. We left again shaking our heads, but for slightly different reasons this time.

We arrived in Melbourne yesterday, surviving the 10 hour drive. Some of the sights along the way were spectacular, definitely worth the drive. We will be here to celebrate Christmas Day in true Aussie fashion - at the beach. Yesterday, it was 35 degrees, so we won't have to worry about catching a chill. We will go to church in the morning, with Matt, one of Amy's Australian friends, and then head to St. Kilda's beach for a BBQ! Then at night, we will be off to Matt's parents' place, as they invited us for Christmas dinner.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas, celebrated with loved ones. It is difficult to be away from our families at this time of year, but we continue to feel blessed by this experience. God continues to show himself to us in our daily lives, and we trust that you will seek and find Him in yours.