We made it!

We made it!

We finally arrived early this morning. As we made our way through the immigration lines towards baggage claim, it was nice to see a couple of friendly faces waiting for us on the other side -- Paige and her mom, Val! They came to Australia a week ahead of the group so they could see more of the country. In addition, we met up with Phil Barfoot and his son, Aaron, and Margie Mathison (our tour coordinator extraordinaire!).

So . . . after a LONG time on a plane where some slept more than others . . . what do you do? You get on a bus and go . . . sight seeing! There really is method in the madness. We had to stay up all day so we would be able to get the day/night sort of straight AND we couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00 p.m. Our bus driver this week is Mario (as in "Super Mario," of course!). He's a delight, even if they do drive on the wrong side of the road here!

It was a beautiful day and, if this is winter, everyone would be willing to stay! Mario did tell us that it was an exceptionally nice day . . . I guess the Aussie weatherman knew we were coming! First stop was Bondi Beach and the Pacific Ocean! Many of the group walked out and waded in the ocean even though we weren't exactly dressed for the beach. We also had time for a second breakfast/snack and/or caffeine since we were now about 3-4 hours from the breakfast served on the plane! Then, it was back on the bus for more sight seeing and our next stop which provided a beautiful view of the Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House where we finally managed to get a group picture! This was also the location of Mrs. Maguire's (pronounced mack-gorey's) Chair. This is a stepped off seating area carved out of the stone where the governor's wife used to come and sit. The steps are definitely "carved" (there's nothing level involved), but it was amazing to see and provides a nice view. I can imagine sitting there and just gazing out into the harbor . . . Oops, no time for naps, because we're off on the bus again! This time Mario drops us off by the Sydney Opera House. You could see groups climbing the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House is incredible to view. The funniest moment was the promo photo of . . . John Stam? His twin brother? It made a natural photo op (check out our Facebook page). Then, it's back on the bus and we head to a food court area downtown for lunch. Best part of this bus trip? Our wonderful Margie has talked to the hotel and we can check in at 2:00 instead of 3:00 . . . can you hear that shower calling? The food court was fascinating. There was Thai food and all kinds of different options including MacDonalds and KFC!

When we arrived at the hotel (Meriton World Towers) . . . we had fun riding the elevator. We missed the instruction about the little black fob with your key and the elevator won't accept the number you put in until you scan it! We road almost to the top and back down and several floors in between before we finally got to the RIGHT floor! The apartments are great -- two bedrooms, two baths with lots of amenities, but what you really look at is the view . . . except, of course, when you're headed to the showers!

We had one last item of business and that was the "Welcome Dinner." This was catered at the Salvation Army Congress Hall where we will be Sunday afternoon. We had a wonderful meal and met Ash Sellers who has helped with coordinating our Sunday event and manages the building (including our catered meal).

Finally, the bed called . . . LOUDLY! We have an early start on Sunday (6:30 for breakfast) and won't be back to the hotel until after dinner in the evening. It will be a long day packed with ministry as we lead worship at West Ryde Baptist Church and then lead the 4:00 p.m. worship at the Salvation Army Congress Hall and combine with some local choir members for the final song. Please pray for us . . . pray for our stamina so that our fatigue will not dampen the depth of our spirits in communicating the glorious message of God's grace and pray for the hearts of the people of Australia that they will be ministered to by our presence.