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"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Ps 139:14

Sunday, April 27, 2008

CRAZY CRITTERS

Living in the Blue Mountains, we are surrounded by a myriad of weird and wonderful creatures.  It is quite common to have a huntsmen come and stay a few nights at our place (he often can stay longer so long as I don't tell Dave of its presence!), not to mention walking outside to fight the battle of the spider web, flailing your arms about to reach the car in tact, unharmed.  Just the other day, I was in the laundry doing some washing.  I felt something drop onto my foot (I wasn't wearing any shoes).  I thought I must have dropped a sock, so I lifted my foot up in front of me to try and flick the sock back into the laundry basket.  As i was in the process of flicking the sock, I looked down to discover that there was, indeed, a black snake on my foot!!!  Typically, I let out an almighty scream, flicked the snake across the laundry and I did a bit run-jump out of the laundry.  

My brother, Chris, was around at the time, so he sauntered over to check out what was happening.  Chris came into the laundry just as the snake was sliding under the washing machine (quite sluggishly, I might add).  I was standing in a t-shirt and undies at the time (previously, I dropped a 3L bottle of milk out of the fridge and it split all over the kitchen floor and my pants, hence why I was doing some washing), so I can't imagine what Chris must have been thinking.   

So, it makes life very exciting having all these visitors.  Here's a few photos of some of the crazy critters we get around here.

I don't know this insect is (above)



This was one of my most exciting finds.  This was happening just outside the front door; it was fascinating to watch.


Saying Goodbye

It was announced this morning in Church that our minister, Craig Schaefer, will be leaving us to become the rector at Pennant Hills Anglican Church.  For us, this is very sad news.  Although Craig has only been with us for a few years, he founded our church in Valley Heights, which has been running for a year now.  He has been integral to our Church's growth and development.  He has been a man with a vision, and the ability to put his ideas into action.  He is a very driven man, driven by God's word and driven to reach out to the community.  It has through through his passion and commitment, that he has been able to encourage us to be visionaries as well.  

Craig will be leaving our Church at the end of June.  The parish will start looking for his replacement now and, in the mean time, we will have another minister from our parish, Neil Attwood, look after our church.  It's crucial that our church does not lose its momentum, but I know that Craig would not be leaving if he thinks our Church would fall apart. 

We are excited for Craig as he begins another adventure in his ministry, but we are also very sad to see him go.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Dave Goes to Perth






Here are some photos of Dave's trip to Perth.