Lakes Entrance part 3

Monday 22nd March - Sunday 28th March

Monday: We made the long drive from Ballarat to Lakes Entrance today... well almost. We had driven about 4-5 hours with a couple of brief stops. We stopped near Blackburn at a Maccas. We didn't actually eat there we just took advantage of the toilet and parking facilities. We sat and ate rolls in our car, much cheaper and more nutritious. Don't worry we weren't rude enough to actually eat our rolls in the McDonalds. Aside from that we stopped in Sale. About 30km away from Bairnsdale we noticed a smell like maple syrup coming from the car. Not long after that we were broken down on the side of the road, again. The RACV came out and had a look at the car. The RACV man said we had no water which didn't make sense because the car had water when we left. As he began to fill it with water the real problem arose and he informed us that we had split a hose and would have to be towed to Bairnsdale. As we sat in the car waiting to be picked up by the tow truck I began stressing about how we would afford to get the car fixed. I was swiftly reminded that God is in control and that He provides. We had two friends call completely out of the blue and ask for our bank details so that they could put some money in our account from time to time. I felt very humbled. The RACV very graciously put us up for the night in a really nice motel in Bairnsdale. So Sarah and I enjoyed the motel treatment, jumping up and down on the bed wearing the shower cap saying "What can I do in here?!" (This is just a joke and if you don't get it you need to see some Dylan Moran)

Tuesday: I love complimentary tea and coffee. We got up had breakfast and were actually ready to leave by the checkout time. We walked over to the mechanics carrying a few bags, a guitar and a laptop. The mechanics were still working on the car so Sarah and I sat out on the lounge and started our own work. That's the beauty of what we do, all we need is phone reception and we are set. Sarah did her transcribing and I did planning. It was nice to know we weren't wasting time. By about lunch the car was finished and we completed the rest of the journey back to Lakes Entrance. It was really nice to be back.

Wednesday: We worked throughout the day. That night we went to the bible study. It was good, very similar to the previous week but it was clear that the issues being discussed were very relevant to the people of that church. We will have times were what a church is wrestling with is not what we are wrestling with and we might not get much out of the teaching but what is always valuable is fellowship. We enjoyed good fellowship at the bible study, they are a very caring and friendly church. We stayed quite late and once everyone had left I shared a number of my songs with the people that actually lived in the house. It was quite nice and intimate and we got to know them better as they got to know us.

Thursday: We had promised the kids in the house that we were staying with that we would ride to school with them. This morning we made good on that promise. It was a lot of fun, these kids are really great. They stopped and started all the time, for a variety of different reasons, in particular halfway up hills. However Sarah and I were the ones on mountain bikes whereas the kids were on BMX bikes so I think they were making it hardest on themselves.

That night we went to the Easter workshop and helped out again. Sarah took photos until the camera battery died and I helped the kids make crosses out of horseshoe nails and a pop-up card. It was a lot of fun and again we were really impressed with the event itself.

Friday: I started writing a new song today. It is bluesy and rocking, probably one of the liveliest songs I have ever written. It is still very much in its infancy but we'll see what tomorrow brings writing wise. Sarah had a really hard client today, unfortunately it is the nature of her work, one day might be easy, the next hard. She had to come out to the camper to work when the kids got home from school. She is working really hard and I am so proud of her.

We went to youth that night. It was the breakup for the holidays. It was very relaxed and we spent most of the time chatting to people. Then the rip-sticks came out. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a go. I have a bit of history with these things. I gave up on board like things from a young age after I stood on a skateboard and fell over. Last year at the age of 22 at a church camp I decided to take the plunge and have another go. Some of the young adults at the camp had rip-sticks and I was determined. After falling flat on my butt twice and several hours of effort I actually managed to ride around on the rip-stick. It was a momentous occasion for me. So back to the present, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to have a go on the rip stick and see if I could still ride on it. The verdict: Oh yeah I still got it baby, that's right. Sarah had a go and did really well to. It was a good night.

Saturday: It had been a big week so we took our Sabbath and spent this day doing pretty much nothing. It's good to relax, very important actually as it gives you the energy to take on another week.

Sunday: We went to church his morning. I had been invited to come up and play a song. Before church I was feeling really emotional, not in a bad way just everything felt really intense. It happens to me sometimes, maybe it's because I’m a musician, or maybe it's because I’m crazy or maybe even crazier I’m normal. Either way spent I started praying about what I was supposed to play that morning. I had already planned it out of course but as per so often, God had other plans. I really felt like I was supposed to play Love Enough instead of Victory Song so this is what I did. The song was really well received. I had forgotten to bring my box of CD's so I only had about 3 copies on me in my guitar case. People were really enthusiastic about the music and actually bought CD's saying that they would pay for them anyway and were happy for me to get them to them sometime during the week. I was very encouraged by the reception and generosity of the church.