Thursday, April 2
I woke up this morning with an earache... it hurts to bite down. :(
Anyways, I went to Inlge Farm this morning where there was a guest speaker about health services for the Afghani women. The speaker was much shorter than we intended, but it was a nice opportunity for the women to socialize and talk about different things Ingle Farm might be able to provide for them next term.
I was supposed to have a house visit in the afternoon, but the family called up an cancelled- that tends to happen. Instead I just hung around the office and caught up on a few things for the remainder of the day.
I can't remember what I ended up doing at night... it was too long ago.
Friday, April 3
Today was a little crazy... I woke up with a terrible headache and started my day with 4 pain killers. I caught a ride with Helen to the office, but we needed to pick someone else up, and traffic was terrible. I texted Karen and let her know I was running late and would take a bus from the office.
I arrived at Ingle Farm at 9:47 an left at 9:50 for my first visit. My head still hurt really bad, but I tried not to show it. After my first visit we came back to Ingle Farm, I ate my breakfast then immediately went to my second visit. Again, I tried not to show that I was in pain, but I'm pretty sure it was obvious.
When I got back to the Magill office I was pretty much unable to do anything. My headache and ear hurt terribly. When we got back to where we're staying I took 4 more painkillers and eventually my head started feeling better. My headache never left, but I could now focus on things and was able to have conversations without being distracted.
Hil, El, and I met up with Jeremy in the city around 6:30 and caught a bus to a footy game. Footy is like American Football, but very different. In footy you can only run 15 meters before bouncing the ball (similar to a rugby ball) or passing it off. You can kick it or punk it like an underhand volleyball serve. The goal post consists of four tall poles out of the ground, the two in the middle are the tallest and if you get it through those goals you get 6 points (I think) and the two shorter/outer poles are only worth 1 point. We saw a crows game (Adelaide's team) and unfortunately they did not win.
After the game we went to the Crows shed which is basically a large warehouse where there is live music, concessions, and of course, a bar. After a while some of the players come out and socialized for a while. The four of us met up with some other people who go to Glynde church. It was a fun night.
Saturday, April 4
I woke up this morning with my headache still gnawing away. I took some more pain killers (my best friend these days) then Hil, El, and I decided to go into the city for the Adelaide 7s. The Adelaide 7s is a large Rugby tournament of 16 countries. We saw some really good game, however, the US was there and lost miserably. It was a lot of fun, but I decided to leave early and go to Paradise Church for an event that was advertised as a Hillsong member preforming.
I found my way there and it wasn't anything I was expecting. I arrived and there were hundreds of high school age students, and a lot of parents (young and old)... it was an event called Youth Alive. There was a really rocking band and a guest speaker from the US. I can't remember his name right now, and the link to the Youth Alive website it broken right now, so I can't look it up. Anyways, the speaker is from Texas, but just moved outside Colorado springs. He was in the Vietnam war and had a grenade explode in his hand right next to his head.
The man described that when the grenade blew up it was as hot as half of the sun's temperature... and that it wouldn't stop burning. He jumped into a pool of water and got out and was still on fire. The paramedics put him on a cot an the cot caught on fire so they wrapped him in a lot of wet blankets and put him on another cot before air lifting him. He talked about how when he was on the helicopter they started writing down his time of death and whatnot, then he told them he was still alive, and they were in shock. He is missing a few fingers and a ear, and half of his face and neck are deformed by the burn. When he was in the hospital healing up he would go around and visit other burn victims. There was one case where a man pretty much gave up on living and the nurses and doctors didn't know what to do, his heart rate was dropping because he gave up on life. The doctors asked the the speaker go in and just chat with the man and after a few minutes his heart rate started to increase and he is still living today. The speaker now goes around and tells his story and how God has worked through him, he was just recently in Iraq talking with troops there. After getting better he went back to Vietnam and decided to start up a program to clothe children there. When he was there he met with a few people in political power including someone from Japan. This was right after some major earthquakes in Japan where they mass produced 10,000 pairs a jeans but because countries like the USA donated heaps of clothes there they just put all the jeans in a warehouse. The man from Japan offered to ship all the jeans to Vietnam to help clothe these children. So, within a week over 10,000 children in Vietnam were clothed. The man still has a program running down there. There were lots of other details that were amazing, but it is too much to type and the moment. The purpose of his speech was how important it is to not hold grudges or harden your heart to others because of the work that can be done through you if you don't have a hardened heart. He can't imagine how differently his life (and thousands of others) would be if he would have hardened his heart towards the people of Vietnam after the war. I think he may have been one of the best speakers I have ever been to, it was really good.
After the event I tried to catch a bus, but the public transport system is terrible. So I walked to Paradise Interchange to catch an OBahn into the city (I think there are only two like it in the world). I then walked home from the city because I would have had to wait 40 minutes for the next bus out to where we're staying.
Sunday, April 5
This morning I woke up early and was planning on taking a bus to Glynde church. Let's just say that it was a good thing that I got there early because the buses don't start to run until 9:15 so instead I walked into the city and caught a bus to Glynde church. I arrived just before the service.
After church I decided to walk to my favorite fruit n veg shop that is near the Magill office, but unfortunately it was closed! Most others are open, but they don't taste as fresh and aren't as cheap. So, I wasted about an hour of walking and waiting for the bus.
When I got home I hung out until around 6:30 when Hil, El and I decided to try out an evening church service at Malvern Uniting Church (an mix of Methodist and Presbyterian- those two denominations do not exist independently in Australia). The service was really, really good. I wish we would have discovered it sooner. After the service there is free coffee in the fellowship hall next door, we met some other people about our age. It was really nice!
Monday, April 6
My head and ear hurt pretty bad this morning, but I decided to go to Ingle Farm anyways. When I got to the office I was doing some computer work and trying to get things organized, but was really not feeling well. Kathlene from the office (she is in charge of home visits) strongly suggested that I go see a doctor. After a bit of resistance I finally gave in because I wanted to be better before I had to fly home.
It turns out I had an inner/middle (don't remember which one he said) ear infection and a virus. After my appointment I headed home and arrived at about 4:00 pm. I was basically useless for the remainder of the day.
Tuesday, April 7
Originally I was going to go to the Magill office today to answer phones and be extra hands around the office because Helen and Helene were out of the office, but I really wasn't feeling the best and didn't want to get anyone else infected. I basically slept and rested up for most of the day. I can't really remember what I did today, it must have been fairly decent. haha.
Wednesday, April 8
I felt much better today and decided to go to play group because I was no longer contagious and they were throwing a bit of a going away party for me. It was very nice! Everyone brought goodies from home, I tried the famous fairy break. Fairy bread is at most kids birthday parties... it consists of white bread, butter, and hundreds and thousands (small colorful sprinkles). They told me it was healthy because it was made with "grainy" bread. haha.
After the play group Lorinda had me over for lunch (I was locked out of the Magill office until 1:30ish. It was very nice to chat with her and play with her darling children!
Lorinda dropped me off at the office and I waited around until Di got there to unlock the door. I spent the afternoon starting this blog, catching up on emails (I haven't been able to check my email in a few days) and researched my trip to Kangaroo Island. Di told me of the places I needed to visit. After work Di was nice enough to drop me by the place I'm staying.
After I bit I caught a bus to the Klemzig interchange where John from Glynde church picked me up and took me to his place where Him and his wife served me tea. After tea we went to Liz's house for the small group and then they dropped me by my place. I appreciate their hospitality greatly.
Thursday, April 9
I was going to go into work, but on Monday people at Ingle Farm told me to take Thursday off so I slept in... sort of. I can't remember everything I did today... I went to the public library to check my mail then went to the grocery store before walking home. Today I have felt more congested than normal, but other than being exhausted I'm feeling much better. I can't remember what else I did today...
Friday, April 10
Today is Good Friday, it is a public holiday, even though Australian's will tell you that their religion is sport. Ellie and I planned to go to a service in Morfit Vale (sp?) where she is interning. We met up with Jared (from LCC) and his wife Crystal, and 15 mo daughter Madison. They took us to their Salvos church (Salvation Army). I've never been to a Salvation Army church, and found out that it was a religion last year in my American Denominations class where I did a project on this denomination of Christianity.
After the service we caught a train back into the city and I Hilary and cleaned like mad women. I showered then started dinner because Gabby and Tariana were coming over for tea and to stay the night. Gabby and Tariana are the daughters of Julie who works part time at the Centre For Learning, we also went to Renmark to help Julie out with a parenting course. Anyways, we had tea, watched Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood), then Gabby and I were up until 2am chatting. I have really enjoyed chatting with her and getting to know her better.
Saturday, April 11
Gabby and Tariana left after breakfast and the El, Hil and I got ready to go to the Barossa with Helen and Peter. The Barossa is a part of Adelaide that is known for the wine it produces. We tasted wine at Jacob's Creek (Sold in the US) and another winery, but I don't remember the name of it. We then went to see where Helen grew up, the church her father preached at, the cemetery where the people who started the Lutheran Church in Australia were buried, and then went to a lookout point for the sunset where you could see all across the valley. After that we went to a restaurant for tea that is connected to a hotel where the rooms are in an old train.
Sunday, April 12
Ellie and I caught a ride with Helen to their church in the morning because it is on the way to the train station, and the buses don't run until 9:15 on public holidays. We left her service early and walked to the train station where we took another train the the Salvo Church. After the service we celebrated Easter with Jared, Crystal, and their family. I really enjoyed getting to know them better, we even got to participate in an adult Easter egg hunt! :)
Jared and his Friend Adam drove Ellie and I back into the city, then Hil, El, and I went to the Malvern Uniting Church for their evening service. Again, it was wonderful and we had coffee and pancakes. (Fat Tuesday in the US is called Shrove Tuesday here and it is tradition to eat Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, then not again until Easter... I don't know the meaning behind this tradition).
After our time at Malvern Church the three of us walked to Helen's where she had tea ready, then we watched a bit of a movie with them. I can't get over how hospitable they are! :)
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I will talk about my visit to Kangaroo Island in my next post...
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