South Coast part 1

Thursday 1st April - Sunday 11th April

Thursday: Today we left Lakes Entrance to go to Merimbula. Sarah is especially excited because we are going to be staying with her best friend back from when she lived in Cooma. It is going to be difficult to leave behind the family we have stayed with here in Lakes Entrance, we have really come to love and appreciate them. We headed off around lunchtime and the trip took a few hours. When we got there we came only to discover that they lived on a massive and steep hill. The poor car had its work cut out for it carting the camper up the hill. We got there in the end and have set up the camper in the driveway. Unfortunately it’s on a bit of an incline but fortunately we are allowed to sleep inside for a few days whilst some of the people that live in the house are away. This means that we can just deal with the problem later. There is enough reception here for Sarah to do her work. We are both looking forward to the weekend where we will get a chance to relax and catch up with some old friends.

Sunday: This morning we went to the church in Bega, the Bega Valley AOG. The reason we are going to the church in Bega is because there isn’t a morning service in Merimbula yet. There are plans to remedy this however it is going to take time. Both Sarah and I really enjoyed the service. We also really enjoyed being given Easter eggs at the door as it was Easter Sunday. We embraced the true meaning of Easter, the giving and receiving of chocolate. Afterwards we met the pastor of the church and explained who we were and what we are doing. In order to further discuss how we might be able help the church we arranged to meet for a coffee on the next day. I made sure to give him one of the albums.

Monday: Today I had lunch with the pastor of the Bega church. We had a lengthy discussion about a variety of things. He explained that he appreciated me giving him the CD as it demonstrated that not only we were serious about what we were doing but that I was presenting myself as a professional musician and that the quality of the CD confirmed that. At first I wasn’t sure if he was going to ask for our help in any way then all of a sudden the conversation went in that direction and it turned out there was a variety of way he was willing to receive our ministry. The first was to join in with the worship team on the Sunday, the second was to come in assess and fix the sound system and the third was that he would be willing to let me put on a concert at the church as an outreach event. I was really excited at the prospect of what we would be able to do. We proceeded to talk for a while about all different things and finished the meeting by attempting to arrange some times and dates. It is amazing how God works; you sit there and wonder if things are going to work out when all of a sudden he surprises you demonstrating that He has once again gone before you preparing the way. All we need to do is step out and be willing to do whatever we are given to do.

Wednesday: I decided to head in to Bega today to see if there was anything else we might be able to do. One of the main things I wanted to see was whether or not I might be able to get some work at the music shop or even help them out in some way. I had spoken to the owner of the music shop a couple weeks prior and he had explained that they were really struggling with business. I went in and met the owner. He was really nice but explained that he already had a guitar tech and that he didn’t really think there was anything else I could do. I think he was hoping that I might buy something however I didn’t have the money or need to do so, which is a shame because I really would have liked to help him out. I showed him the guitar that I made and he was really impressed with it. We chatted for a while and then I left.

That night Sarah and I went and had dinner with the pastor and his wife. They were both really nice and we talked about all different things. It was great getting to know them better, where they had come from and what they had done before they got to Bega. It never ceases to amaze me all of the history contained within a person’s story. These two were no exception. After dinner and conversation the pastor took us around to meet the church’s worship leader. The worship leader and her husband were also really nice. Between them they were the worship leader and tech director, unfortunately both of them felt significantly under-experienced for the roles they had acquired. This is a reality for many small churches, that people will step into roles they don’t feel experienced or gifted for. However sometimes God works best in these situations, “His strength is made known in our weaknesses”. All things considered I think they were doing a great job. Naturally we offered to help out in any way we could.

Thursday: The people whose room we had commandeered got back today which was fine it simply means that we have to sleep out in the camper which means dealing with the sloping issue. We lifted the lower end of the camper using a car jack and propped it up with the supports and some pieces of wood. All seemed well until we realised that you couldn’t open the door and Sarah was trapped inside. You see the thing about our camper is that it sags over the middle axel. Lifting up the one end had bent it back into shape meaning that we couldn’t open the door and a couple of cupboards. We got around the problem in the end, Sarah escaped through the side zip next to the bed and with a great deal of effort we pried the door open. All was well, we couldn’t close our door again but nevermind you just needed to pretend it was shut and that was good enough. Oh how I love our home on the road, our plucky little camper oozing with character and falling apart at the seams. I joke but in all seriousness I am grateful everyday for our camper and what it allows us to do.

Friday: By this stage I had attempted to make contact with the local Eden radio station. For those who aren’t aware Eden is a small town south of Merimbula, as the name implies it is a beautiful place. I had once been on the radio station two years ago and at the time I was told that if ever in town again that I should come and visit them. Due to the failed attempts to contact them I decided that the best way to get in touch would be to go to the station itself. Sometimes persistence pays off, I went in and just happened to meet the guy who does the Christian radio program. We had a coffee and chatted as he did another program. We would talk during the songs whilst he was doing a million other things. It kinda felt like that scene from Wayne’s World 2 for all those who know what I’m talking about. We organized a time for me to come in and do an interview. The Sunday morning show is pre-recorded so that its presenter can still go to church in the morning.

Saturday: Our Sabbath day. Today was really relaxing. We went to the beach for a while and played in the waves. Sarah and I decided to walk. It was about a 5-6km walk which was fine getting there but a challenge coming back after swimming in the ocean and accumulating sand everywhere. Either way we had a really nice time, the beach was beautiful and the waves were big. After we swam me and the one of the guys we were staying with made sand castles. I should probably mention that he is a builder therefore his sandcastle was considerably more impressive, never mind the fact that mine started out as a big hole.

One of the big issues I have been wrestling with is the difference between want and need. In order to address this issue I had decided that I would not buy anything new for 40 days unless I felt like I genuinely needed it. Even then I would commit it to prayer and see if it seemed that God agreed that I needed it. Every time I felt myself wanting something I would choose to thank God for something that I had instead. For all that time I began to realize how much I really can live without and how much I don’t actually need. However one thing came up and I was seriously wrestling with whether or not I needed it, a laptop. In Lakes Entrance there had been a computer I could use for all of my admin stuff, here there was not. We did have Sarah’s computer but obviously she uses it during the day for her work, this meant that the only time I would be able to use it was at night and I had a lot of work to do (e.g. this blog). If I was to use the laptop at night it would affect the time that Sarah and I get to spent together. It was a big struggle but I didn’t want to get a laptop unless God approved. Therefore I committed it to Him in prayer and said “if You want me to get this then please provide the resources as a sign”, we didn’t have the money to buy one at the time. Two days after praying this prayer, which was today, we got a phone call from Sarah’s mum informing us that she had sold Sarah’s car for $2000. We believe this is an answer to prayer and confirmation from God that it’s OK for us to get the laptop. We have decided to get a new laptop for Sarah for her work and I will get her old one.

Sunday: We went to church and I played with the worship team, this I was expecting, what I wasn’t expecting was to be asked to at the last minute to lead the service. It was quite a surprise but I didn’t mind. I actually really enjoyed leading the service as it has been a while since I have had the chance to lead one. On this same morning Sarah had offered to do the sound. The sound man hadn’t had a week off in quite some time so we thought it would be nice for him to get the week off. What should probably be explained at this point is that Sarah has never done sound before, she learnt it on the morning. Sarah did a great job, she was so willing to listen and learn, by the end of the service she was able to do it all, she even knows what an auxiliary channel is. All in all the service was quite an experience for both of us, however for Sarah she has learnt a new skill that will probably be invaluable at other churches we visit.

After the service we went down to the skate park with the friends we are staying with. It was a lot of fun and both Sarah and I learnt how to skate. We are a long way off being pro’s however we can get the board to move in one direction without falling off of it. I can even push myself along. For anyone who knows me you know that that’s a big deal.