Preparations

August was a bit of a whirlwind of activities getting ready for my 6 weeks adventure away.  There were loose ends to tidy up and things to put into place to help me not worry about things at home during this time.  One job I really wanted to get done was to fix Mum’s old cane chairs which she had since Christmas Island in the early fifties.  The cane binding in some places had come loose or was totally gone.  A guy came around for a look and gave me a quote.  I only wanted the obvious done and a bit of a clean. It was quite expensive but worth it for Mum’s memory.  He said he had to buy a rattan basket to take the webbing for the chairs.  The day after he returned them I noticed some of the rattan had become loose, the guy had to return to glue them back on.  I’ll know for next time it’s just a bit of a glue job.  The next job would be new cushions and covers but that would have to wait, even so I went to an upholstery place to look at fabric. Wow what a wonderful collection of fabrics, textures and colours!

While I was out that day I bought a car cover.  I asked a friend at church if he could do a bit of a patch up on the paint work to help prevent rusting and remove some of the minor dents, the cover would then help preserve it against the hot salty south westerlies during the hot summer months.

My friend, Karen had mentioned she would like to walk through John Forest National Park to see the wild flowers, so one Saturday early August we took some snacks and Karen’s paint gear and headed for the bush.  It was a beautiful walk along a narrow bush path. We had gone early which meant not too many others; that is till later in the day.  By that time we were on our return journey.  The bush was in the early stage of spring colour and beautiful.  The weather was prefect too.  We walked to a little waterfall where Karen stopped to sketch and I to clamber over the rocks.  It was a lovely day.

The following day was the 60^th birthday for a friend whom our family knew since Christmas Island.  Christmas Island friends are like family as we had no other family there so banded together to support one another just like in a small country town, even after moving to Australia many of us have kept in touch.  I now have quite a few Christmas Island family friends scattered around Australia.

A dear neighbour of mine had in May borrowed a special black belt of mine and had forgotten to give it back even though I had reminded her several times.  I wanted to wear it on several occasions and was getting very frustrated with her delay.  I finally gave her a week’s notice before hoping to wear it to the party Saturday but when Friday came around and still no reply to the SMS, I sent her another message to ask where it might be so I could look for it myself.  Her unit had been flooded so much of her belongings were under tarps in the carport (which was another point of contention with the unit manager and owners). Still no reply so as the sun was getting low and soon I wouldn’t have enough light to look, I took it into my own hands to search for it. I felt terrible going through her things but this had gone on for over three months and I was now furious!  My friend finally replied on Sunday!  She, understandably, was furious I went through her things!  We had been great friends, even praying together and I hated the thought of a rift between us over a borrowed belt.

Then on Monday I saw a woman taking photos of her carport mess and went to inquire who she was.  She said she was the real estate agent.  I knew what that meant.  I quickly messaged my friend and received an immediate reply of thanks.  I had offered to help her clean things up previously and gave the same offer now but she said she had a friend coming over to help.  It didn’t take them long to have the carport cleared, except for a large table which was to be sold, but still no sign on the belt not even before I left.  I’m still not happy about it as it was a belt that has sentimental attachment and would be impossible to replace, but at least we were still friends.

Another Saturday in August I attended a workshop on fruit fly and other garden pests.  It was very informative and reminded me I must set things up to prevent leaf miner before I left.  My citrus trees were looking beautiful after the pruning.  For the first time the navel orange and mandarin were blossoming, the lime was covered in ripe fruit and covered with new growth and blossoms too.  I picked off most of the orange and mandarin flowers as it is recommended for the first year, so that the roots could get established.

I also planted some of my plants and re-potted others to where I wanted them in a shady spot under the New Zealand Christmas tree.  I used Mum’s old hoses and set the area up for reticulation, making it easier to water if needed while I’m away. Some saplings and potted plants were put straight into the ground, God willing this will help them survive.  I thought going on holiday at this time of the year was the best time as there is usually enough rain to keep things watered naturally.  Karen promised she would keep an eye on things, which was a huge relief.  Glenda, a gardening friend from church took my indoor pots for safe keeping too and Jan said she would come around and pull out the weeds in the pots. Between them all I’m sure my plants will get much better care than if I’d been home!

The lilac rose, which I had been checking and praying over ever since I transplanted it from Mum’s garden in April, finally after waiting in trepid anticipation sent forth its first new growth.  Praise the Lord only one of the 5 roses transplanted died.  I’m so blessed to have all Mum’s beautiful roses now in my garden.  It is unfortunate that the one that died was one of my favourites, a dark red rose with a strong scent.  I had planted the lilac rose at the same time, so thought it might go the same way but some stems remained green which had given me hope.

Since moving Mum’s roses to my garden, a cracked Dragon pot of hers has fallen apart.  I’ve been hoping to glue it together but first need to move the rose from it to where the red one died.  In the meantime, I’ve been looking for another Dragon pot both on line and in garden shops.  None to be found!  Then when ordering something on Ebay an advertisement for dragon pots came up for gumtree.  Now I must admit I don’t like the way the internet remembers your search history and gives you unsolicited information, but in this case I was very grateful. I scored myself a replacement Dragon Pot to match the other two along my entrance pathway.  Praise the Lord another prayer answered.

About a week before leaving I still had problems with my voice and a rattly chest making it difficult to breath at times. I was concerned that the puffer I was taking was prolonging or even causing the hoarseness as I just couldn’t shake it.  During a chat with my dear friend Vi-Lay in Sydney she prayed for my healing.  The following day I felt greatly improved and ceased taking the inhaler. Praise the Lord I haven’t felt heavy chested since.

The weekend before I left I was running around like a hairy goat trying to do everything on my list done before leaving!  First the Dragon pot, which was south of Fremantle, about 45 mins drive from home, then Saturday house and garden things, including a South Sudan beef and vegetable dish for our fundraising evening, pick up the bread at 5pm, then dash off to church by 5:45pm to organise the kitchen for our Social action group international dinner evening.

It was a great night, raising over $700 for work in South Sudan through the TEAR fund.  Towards the end we thought we were going to run out of food, so I prayed for the Lord to supply as He did with the loaves and fishes, we actually ended up with surplus food which we took to our Social Action lunch meeting on Sunday.  I must admit during the dinner while the guests were helping themselves to our buffet style banquet I commented to a lady about the amount she had on her plate.  It was so piled up it looked like food was going to fall off and she was still piling stuff on!  She said she wanted to try everything.  I bit my tongue but would have loved to have told her that was not an excuse for gluttony and not considering others who were still waiting in the queue.

Sunday after our meeting I rushed off to Regis residential to join Patrick with our Gospel songs.  It was a lovely time with 10 residents and three family guests joining us.  Patrick is going to hold the fort while I’m away.

Monday was garden, retic and house cleaning.  I usually try to straighten up the house before I going away so that I return to a clean tidy home.  Unfortunately this time I had to empty both the kitchen and bathroom under-sink cupboards so that the plumber (who is doing all the units) can attach a stop-valve to help prevent the burst flexi-hose that caused so much damage in two of the units.

Tuesday, another day of running around.  Firstly to drop my indoor pots off with Glenda, who was gardening at church as she does every Tuesday.  Then a $10 Hair cut in preparation for the tropics, off to the bank for some extra cash for the trip, hand the house keys and my phone over to Kath my neighbour so she can let the plumber in and relay any calls I receive for me to respond via email.

Then my final dental visit. Two weeks before leaving I had the stiches removed from my gums, so today the membrane was removed.  Days after the operation I had thought there was a bit of redness and swelling so had gone back and was told all was well, I had taken the antibiotics which would ward off any infection.  Praise the Lord, I now had the all clear for my travels.

Wednesday 28^th August ‘D day’ (departure day).  I was still flat out doing the last minute house clean up: turn off the unused power plugs, pack my bag for the last time – 15 kg that’s good, check my hand luggage, lock the house and load my bags into Bob car then off to the airport.

I was of course early, which gave me time to check in my luggage and wait at the departure lounge.  I decided while I still had plenty of data on my plan, I might as well use it up by downloading the Window tablet updates.  During my running around I had bought a 64GB micro memory card and removed all my photos from my tablet to make room for updates.  I’d been unable to do the updates due to low memory.  While waiting for my flight I had time, or so I thought till I started to download it!  I couldn’t believe how long it was taking.  Fifteen minutes and I’d only just downloaded 10%!  I prayed for a miracle as I knew I didn’t have much time, neither did I have much battery life and these days it is not permitted to carry any electrical cords in hand luggage!   What’s more, I needed to go to the toilet!  I needed a miracle.  I hung on as long as I could, then asked the lady sitting near me if she would watch my computer as I dashed off to use the loo.  Before coming through customs, I had sculled my 500mls of rainwater and lime which I brought with me so now my bladder was full!  I rushed in and out and only 1% had ticked over!  Help Lord! Help was on its way as the flight boarded 35mins late which gave me plenty of time to finish the download and go to the loo again before boarding.   Thank you Jesus!  I had kept reassuring myself that the Lord would step in and rescue me, I didn’t need to panic, just stay calm and enjoy the journey.

The rest of the trip to Singapore was uneventful, except for the last two hours on the flight when the toddler in front of me didn’t stop crying.  My friend Jenny was there to meet me when I arrived and together we took public transport back to her place, stopping to grab some fruit and yogurt at her local shops as we walked through to her flat on the 13^th floor of one of Singapore’s high rise building blocks.  My new adventure had begun!

My first challenge is that one of the wheels on my travel bag is skew whiff.  I think the axle bar has broken on one side so it’s difficult to pull.  The second challenge has been writing this blog. My keyboard ‘v’ is sticking so I’ve have to keep checking it’s gone in! Very frustrating.  Maybe I should look for words without the ‘v’ in it!

Photos: 1. John Forest National Park     3. 60^th birthday party    2, 4, 5. Native flowers in John Forest National Park     6. Donkey Orchard      7. Karen at the waterfall sketching      8. Waterfall       9. Stream      10.

Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for helping me complete all bar one thing on my list of things needing to be done before I left (I forgot to clean the toilet before rushing out the door).

Praise the Lord for healing my lungs and my jaw which has had no infection.

Please pray He will continue to watch over me on my travels, keep me safe from harm and disease and open the doors for accommodation and ministry in Phuket and Malaysia.  What a comfort and reassurance knowing He is with me as I face the future and the adventures that lie ahead.

Please pray for Patrick that he will have a few more helpers to carry on the Gospel songs at Regis between 2-3 pm on Sunday 22 September.

Please continue to pray for the salvation of my three sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat and especially for reconciliation and forgiveness between Tricia and the rest of us.

Thank you for your prayers for the business, Senior’s Benefits and Rewards.  It continues to proceed, although there have been a few hiccups.  The trademark application was rejected due to one thing or another, so Grace has asked a lawyer to have a look at it and reapply for us.  He wanted to talk to me but Grace said I was overseas seeking where the Lord might open a door for ministry.  He was so impressed he has given us 50% off his costs as he is also a Christian.  Praise you Jesus!  Grace has also said she will start the trial with seniors and coffee shops she knows in Sydney.  Please continue to pray for the success of our venture.

Thank you to all my supportive friends and prayer partners; it’s such an encouragement to know you are all standing with me.