Sydney – Part 2

I had been in Sydney for a week and been flat out most days.  On Wednesday, I paused and spent time at the house, but by Thursday I was back into it, making the most of my last week in Sydney.  I had slept fairly well waking at 6am for a quiet time while Vi-Lay readied herself for work.  Then up for a lazy breakfast finishing off the second half of The Blacklist series I had started the night before.  I left the house by 9:30am borrowing Vi-Lay’s car to drive to Moorebank, Piccolo Me, not the easiest place to meet for coffee.  Thank God for GPS.  I rendezvoused with Bev, who I’d worked with at Karitane Mothercraft home, it seemed oh so many years ago in 1996. Some years later she had contacted me, when I was running my own business, to help her daughter, Wendy, who needed some professional advice for her very unsettled baby boy, now 13 years old!    Wendy had then introduced me to the church in Kogarah which I attended until I left Sydney in 2014.  You can imagine how much Bev and I had to catch up on.

I was back at the house just before midday needing to charge my battery as the USB plug in the car wasn’t charging and my battery charger was flat!  This meant I was rushing to the train (in the scorching heat 39.6⁰ and humidity) just missing it and needing to wait 15 minutes for the next one!  While waiting, I called Banksia Bakery where they made my favourite Lebanese wrap. I changed train and waited another 19 mins for a train to Banksia.  Unfortunately when I picked up my wrap, I had been misunderstood as a pizza was waiting for me.  Never mind, I ordered a wrap and took both. The pizza I could reheat and have another day.

While enjoying my wrap and waiting 15 mins for my next train to Rockdale, I saw Steven, the train guard on the platform across the traces.  Spotting me he looked very surprised and gave me a wave.  If I hadn’t needed to be at my second physio appointment, I would have taken some time to say hello.  In the past I often saw him when taking trains from Banksia and had struck up a friendship. He knew so many of the computers always offering assistance where needed.

My physio did a great job as usual before I trained it all the way back to Padstow changing again at Wooli Creek where I had another wait in the heat!  Although the trains were very cool I was so relieved to get back and turn on the air conditioning to cool the house and me down. It remained hot without a cool breeze till I woke at 10:30pm when I opened up the windows and doors.

On Friday Vi-Lay had gone before I woke. I’d been awake at 3am for a while, thinking of what I should do during my last days in Sydney.  There wasn’t really anything other than another physio appointment in my diary.  As I committed it to the Lord, I knew He had something in mind, why else was I here for two weeks? Checking my emails I clicked onto the link I had sent myself for Ellel Ministries here in Sydney. It sounded interesting so I wanted to find out more. I landed on their events diary and saw they had a day of introduction to their ministry on 2^nd March.  That was, tomorrow, this Saturday.  Vi-Lay had previously told me she was busy all day Saturday and Bev had invited me to stay at her place if I ever wanted to attend one of the Ellel’s ministries.  I don’t think she was thinking it would be so soon.  I applied for a spot to participate, contacted Bev who welcomed me for an overnight stay, I also let Vi-Lay know I’d be away Friday night and back Saturday evening. With Saturday organised, I then received a message from Sofia asking if I’d like to meet up for lunch on Tuesday.  Praise you Jesus. We had been hoping to catch up while I was here, another day filled.

Saturday morning at the station I was a little confused on how to get to Campbelltown and missed the first train, the second zoomed by without stopping.  I then realised I needed to take the train to the next stop, Revesby, where I could then take the express train which stopped at Revesby but not at Padstow. Praise the Lord I had plenty of time. In fact I arrived in Campbelltown earlier than planned.  Bev picked me up from the station then took back to her place where she showed me around her garden. She too is a garden enthusiast. I was envious of her ability to grow vegies.  She had thrown a packet of expired cabbage seeds in and it seemed every single seed had come up!   We spent the rest of the evening chatting before I turned in at 8:30pm and crashed out. Unfortunately I woke at midnight and couldn’t sleep again till 4am!  It had nothing to do with the bed or surroundings, it was just me! I was up before Bev and Ken, had my breakfast and packed ready for the day. Bev dropped me at Ellel where I was shown around before beginning our Free Taster Day.  It was very interesting, broken up into four sessions with morning and afternoon tea and a long lunch break giving me time to go for a bush walk around their regenerated bushland, and of course I spotted some plants that had been overlooked and mentioned it to them. Ellel ministry centres on the restoration work of Christ, which prepares us for ministry and discipleship, an area that is often overlooked by the church. It was an interesting day where we were able to partner up with a prayer partner with whom I prayed with.  Before the end of the day I found someone heading north who was willing to take me back to Vi-Lay’s.  I was going to take the train but now had company right to the door, arriving back just after 6pm.

That night I slept very well waking at 5:30am and should have gone jogging because it was also a lovely cool morning.  But didn’t. It was a very special Sunday. My dear friend Toyin had invited me to see her two boys being baptised.  I’ve known them since they arrived in Australia from Nigeria in 2011 they are now 17 and 19 years old. What a blessing to be here on this very special day.  Unfortunately Vi-Lay who also knew them was unable to come due to commitments at her church. David and Sonali were going to pick me up as they too were invited but unfortunately David wasn’t feeling well.  This threw me into a bit of a spin as I thought I had plenty of time before my pick up time.  Instead I contacted Toyin to let her know we were going back to the original plan of them picking me up from Holsworthy Station at 9am. I was now in a bit of a rush as I still needed to have breakfast and get dressed.  I shouldn’t have panicked as I was off out the door and at the train station with plenty of time to spare.  In fact this time I hadn’t even time to sit at the station when a train came taking me down by 8:30am!  With time to wait I wandered around then waited where I thought was obvious, at the roundabout at the entrance of the parking area.  Toyin’s husband FT drove straight passed me then called me when he couldn’t find me.  The church was a bit of a distance from their place but it was a lovely morning. I couldn’t believe how tall Dara had grown. He and Mayowa his older brother were just as I had remembered them. It was a lovely service then back to their home for a delicious Nigerian lunch and a long chat till it was time to go.  Warm goodbyes’ all round, with Toyin walking me to the station. A short wait and another change of trains at Revesby before arriving at Padstow.

The following day, Monday, I didn’t need to rush as I only had a physio appointment in the afternoon. I even took needle to thread and fixed the holes in my black cardigan.  I topped up my Opal travel card as it seemed to be playing up again sending me an automatically generated email to say the automatic top up had failed as it was rejected by my payment provider. I generally had a relaxed morning, including a chat to Jen who’s in Ocean Grove, Victoria. I caught the early train to Rockdale and wandered around the shops filling in time before my 2:30pm appointment. I must admit my neck, shoulders and back feel a lot more supple after three sessions.  I haven’t been able to find someone so good in Perth.  I trained it back to Padstow for another quiet evening.

Tuesday I was catching up with my old neighbours Sofia and Alex.  I had wanted to have another lunch at Thaintown so arranged to meet there at 12pm.  This gave me time to get to Sweet Monster to buy some desserts including durian with sticky rice.  I arrived in plenty of time to be told the desserts didn’t arrive till closer to midday. I sat for a while then thought I might try to find somewhere here in China Town which sold the Japanese Mochi. It seemed there was one close by so went to explore. Unfortunately they were the prepacked ones which aren’t the same.  On my return to the dessert stall I was pleased to see the goods had just arrived.  After my purchase, I walked through World Square to Goulbourn St to our lunch rendezvous taking a table for four. It was another long wait and I was feeling a bit guilty for hogging the table during a very busy lunch period.  I ordered some entrees and waited a bit longer.  Sofia and Alex eventually arrived with hugs and warm greetings all round.  It was great to see them and get the latest news.  They had had a shocking time with their accommodation which they had paid for in advance. I was shown photos of the cockroaches, water sagging cupboards, peeling paint and what looked like mould along the skirting boards as well as fungus growing out of a drain.  They were told to sign an agreement to get only part of their money back, which they were not willing to do.  They told the agent they would take their complaint to Consumer Affairs.  It took another week before they could find alternative rental accommodation.  In the mean time they needed to stay in a hotel.  There were also having problems with the business they were going to take over in Rosebay.  The owner had decided to stay on till after Easter as he had already started making the Easter eggs and special pastries.  Sofia wasn’t at all happy with this change of plan as they wanted to get started immediately!  They were taking the complaint to their lawyers that week.

After our delicious lunch and desserts we took the train to Bondi Junction where the car was parked, then on to their new flat which overlooked the Pacific Ocean, in Vaucluse.  Here we went for a 3km walk (wearing me out at 3pm) partly along the cliff top then along the roads to a coffee shop before we all headed our separate ways.  I caught a bus back to Bondi Junction the long way around the coast and through Bondi Beach. Then the train back to Padstow.

Vi-Lay and I had planned to go to Bunnings while I was here so I could help her with a few gardening questions.  This was just the time to do it.  Unfortunately there was no one to help us till we were just about to leave and even then they weren’t much help as what we had come to find wasn’t available.

My last full day in Sydney, I planned to catch up with my old neighbour Linnan who had only just moved in before I left Arncliffe, she has been there 10 years now. But first I needed to buy a new power cord for my phone as the one I’d brought with me wasn’t working.  The main reason for bringing one with me was to charge my phone during my long flight if I wanted to watch an inflight movie. I found one at the Padstow newsagents near the station and tested it, making sure it worked.  Praise the Lord it did.  When I was on the flight home, my battery did run low.  I had forgotten I needed the port on the phone for my earphones (so as not to disturb those next to me). I don’t have Bluetooth earbuds either so I just had to run down the battery and charge it once the movie finished.  Something to remember on my next trip.

Heading out the door for my rendezvous with Linnan, I left early (as usual) heading to Wooli Creek by train. I was about to exit the station at Wooli Creek when I heard someone trying to gain my attention.  It was Stephen, the station guard from Banksia Station. We had a long chat between him helping out other passengers and collecting rubbish dropped. The Lord is so gracious to bring this opportunity. Linnan and I had a great catch up over a bowl of Pho then a wander around to check out all the Asian shops in Wooli Creek before I headed back for another lazy evening.  I was going to stay up and watch a movie with Vi-Lay but then decided against it as I wanted to get up early to finish packing.  I only had hand luggage and needed my bigger backpack to be 7kg.

The next morning with bags packed and weighed and with warm goodbyes, Vi-Lay drove me to the train station.  So much easier than dragging and carrying my bags even though it’s less than 10 minutes up the road.  I had miss read the train timetable thinking that the 9:05am train was an express from Padstow.  The one that arrived wasn’t an express, so I sat and watched it pull in and then leave without me.  I actually felt a bit of a warning and should have heeded the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  I checked the information, oops!  There were no express from Padstow.  I find these timetables confusing!  Just then the express from Revesby zoomed by. Double oops!  Not to worry I was (of course) early and the next train was in 15mins.  I still had plenty of time.  The Lord is teaching me to be more relaxed with traveling and always leaving plenty of time for adjustments.  At the airport I printed out my boarding pass and headed to the departure gate where I bought a coffee and settled down for the wait.  Yes, I was very early.

Needing to go to the ladies after drinking my coffee, I left my belongings with a lady sitting next to me.  In fact I did this on three occasions due to the amount of water I drank before the flight. On one occasion when I came out I just missed the announcement and saw people starting to board a flight from my gate.  I grabbed my bags and jumped on the end of the queue to be told it wasn’t my flight.  Oops!  I should have check the notice board. Our turn eventually came and we too were boarding.

It wasn’t all together an uneventful flight as I got the feeling the woman beside me wasn’t very happy.  I did try not to disturb her as much as possible and whenever she went to the toilet I followed so as not to climb over her as I was in the centre seat.  Maybe she didn’t like the lunch I’d brought with me. My leftover Banksia pizza! Whatever it was when we were about to disembark she grabbed her bag from the overhead locker and then barred me from getting mine.  I excused myself and retrieved it anyway which prompted her to be rude.  I smiled and said I was just doing what she had done and commenced transferring things from my smaller backpack into the larger one.

I messaged Jess, who had offered to pick me up to say we had landed.  She was waiting for me at T2 I told her I was at T1.  Unfortunately she had meant T1 but when I came out the doors I didn’t see her and walked over to T2 to find her.  During this time her phone battery had gone flat and I couldn’t contact her.  At the time I had walked into the arrival area she had put her head down to plug her phone in to a socket she had found where she was seated.  This must have been the time I passed her.  Praise the Lord we eventually found each other and headed to my place, stopping to pick up some shopping supplies on the way.  Jess stayed for the company awhile while I unpacked the groceries and my luggage. I needed someone to keep me awake as I wanted to stay up to help my body clock adjust back to Perth time. It was lovely as before she left we also had a time of prayer.

By 7pm my throat was feeling raw.  I wasn’t that concerned as Vi-Lay had a sore throat for a few days with no other symptoms. Still I dosed myself up with Olive leaf extract, vitamin C and Bromelain which my GP had said was great for fighting Covid. I was pretty sure it wasn’t covid as I had no other symptoms.  The next day I was eager to start my jogging. I’d woken at 3:45am, waited for enough light and headed out by 5:30am.  The bush is lovely in the early hours of the morning, as is the beach where I had a quick dip.  I was feeling ok although still had a sore throat and was a little fatigued but I put that down to getting up early and my body adjusting to a change in time zone.  I had some old Covid test kits but the three I tried were all dried up.  I contacted my neighbour Kath who brought one over. It wasn’t till after 5pm that I remembered to use it and was quite surprised to see the two pink lines indicating I had a positive result!  Praise God I had some antivirals to take!  That night I really did feel crook, waking after 10pm to take something for the headache which was similar to the time I had malaria, at the nape of my neck. What a welcome home!  Still I do praise the Lord I didn’t contract it while in Sydney or just before I flew.  What a gracious God we have.  Well now I can say I’ve had my first bout of Covid. Not bad being free from it for four years.

Photo:  1.Fairy lily or Zephyranthes candida    2. Banksia Special Zata 3. Bush Chapel 4. Baptismal day    5. Thaintown    6. Vaucluse    7. Lilly Pilly    8. Coffee at airport

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all that I have accomplished while in Sydney and those I was able to catch up with.

Please pray my recovery is a quick one and that anyone I have been in contact with will not contract Covid.

Continue to bring Ross Winchester before the Lord believing with me for his total healing.

Continue to pray world peace both in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia.  Pray for the hostages and refugees who are caught up in the suffering that both these wars have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live in despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.