From China, With Love

So loyal followers and supporters!!!!

The time has finally come when I (Ben) will attempt over the course of the next few weeks to catch you up on a lot of my news. I honestly value your love, prayers, and financial support more than you know but that is only because I don't blog often enough to tell you!! Haha but seriously I really do.

I really miss Australia and all of you friends and family deeply, but at the same time have never felt more alive, happy and content with being over here in the States but would love to make more of an effort to keep you updated with my life.

I was so thrilled to be given the opportunity to go on a Mission's trip to China as part of my schooling this year. The school splits up and travels all over the world on Mission's trips. I think the entire school went to over 45 nations on missions trips during that 2-3 week period. Pretty incredible! And a massive logistical operation for the school.

I am really not able to be able to share with you over this medium all of the things I did or who I spoke too or where I went due to the delicate nature of the situation over there, and wanting to protect those that we were lucky enough to minister too and with. And so it makes it hard to share with you the  awesome testimonies from our time there. But needless to say it was a very impactful trip, travelling to three different locations across China and meeting with key leaders and being fortunate enough to minister to them and encourage, prophesy and pray for them. It truly was a remarkable honour to minister to these giants of the faith that have gone through so much, and are bearing such INCREDIBLE fruit. God is alive and well in China, and the Gospel is spreading literally out of control, and it won't be stopped by any man or any system.

We encouraged those where persecution was an everyday occurence, and fruit was more sparce or harder to measure. We went to one of the most beautiful areas surely on the entire planet, we did most of the tourist things, like the temple's, the forbidden city, even bike riding and rock climbing.
We stayed at heights equalling Mt Everest base camp, and climbed even higher in a bus to where just bending over trying to tie up your laces left you gasping for breath because you weren't getting enough air into your lungs. We had 5 of the team rotating on 3 Oxygen tanks as we landed at around 14,000 feet with absolutely no time to adjust. Girls where fainting and spewing up, it was pretty full on. It took a couple of days of almost complete rest for everyone to start to feel semi-normal again. I was mostly okay I had a bad headache, but when the first girl fainted I started to run to get the oxygen tank and realized very quickly that walking quickly was going to be the best that I could do without passing out myself. It truly was a bizzarre experience and something that unless you have experienced it you would never think would affect you. Who would have thought that oxygen was so important.

We travelled for over 60 hours on the trip, with many different airports and airplanes. The culture changed more and more the further inland we went. One cultural adjustment that was particularly difficult was the squatting toilet. All for one time I managed to avoid the squatting toilet and quite often most places would have an option for both. And man they love to smoke in China, it's not banned anywhere every room pretty much will have someone smoking in it. AAARRRGGHHH!!! So I am at the airport looking to start my long journey home. Not really being that excited about going to the toilet at 30,000 ft I decide it's best to go while still on the ground. So inside the toilet/restroom they would have mostly squat toilets and often one sit down toilet right at the end. So I get to the end stall and the door is wide open so I glance in hoping to find that elusive "normal" toilet but instead find a man squatting down doing his business, smoking a cigarette, holding his phone infront of his face and texting all at the same time. And I am shocked, slightly disturbed and full of admiration of such a feat all at the same time. I thought that was a fitting way to begin my way home from China, as many things there had looked very different than what I was expecting to see. But unlike that experience in the toilet stall where I had been disturbed with what I had seen, all though I was disturbed at the hopelessness of those stuck in religious Bhuddism, and the attempts to control by those in authority it was nothing compared to what I had expected it to be coming in. Mostly I walked away with a whole new first hand experience of the hope and the level of momentum that Jesus Christ and His bride is having in the great nation of China.

So I just want to say a massive thank you to all of those that contributed in any way to my trip to China, either financially or prayerfully I so appreciate it, and returned back from that trip a different person. I came back with a different perspective on what is possible in God, and how impossible it is for His purposes to be stopped no matter how strong, intentional and powerful the opposition.

He really is winning, and in His grace He uses us to outwork that victory.

Getting real about Spica living.

Life with a kid in a spica cast is tricky.

No, scratch that, its damn hard.

Praise God, Hannah had hers taken off a couple weeks ago.  I am definitely not sorry to see the back of that thing.  Granted, it did do its job and hold Hannah's leg in place so it could heal, so for that I am thankful.  Her leg is healed enough to have it taken off and she is under strict instructions not to run or jump or wrestle with her brothers for the next 5 weeks until it is meant to be fully healed and ready to be put through its paces.

The 7 weeks Hannah was in her cast were some of the most intense days I have ever lived.  She was so very frustrated, which came out in many many tantrums.  She would scream for me and me only, which would frustrate Ben who just wanted to help Hannah and ease the strain on me.  Our marriage experienced pressure like never before.  It was quite eye opening and I quickly had a new found awe and respect for parents with physically disabled kids.

Most nights I was exhausted physically from lifting Hannah around and emotionally from dealing with screaming tantrums.  Admittedly, sometimes they were mine.  Thankfully, Hannah slept peacefully every night, bar a couple,  so I could at least get a good night's sleep.  That in itself is a miracle.  I read all sorts of horrid tales of kids in spica's being up all night feeling itchy and uncomfortable.  It was just one of many ways the Lord took great care of us during that time.

Over the course of the cast, Hannah decided it was time to be toilet trained.  Of course I couldn't refuse but man it was tough lifting her to the loo everytime she thought there was a wee coming.  Which was a lot.  Like 15+ times a day.  Most being false alarms.  At any rate, my physique benefitted and now I have the shoulders and biceps of a football player.

Towards the end of the casting period, I started to not enjoy taking her out in public.  I began to get sick of the looks and the sympathy.  That sounds horrible doesn't it.  I know people were being genuinely nice but if I heard one more 'awwwwwwwww' I was going to scream. Or cry.  Probably both.  One guy we came across in Target gave me no cause for concern as he informed me 'she should be more careful next time.'  Thanks mate.  How about I punch you in the face?  I guess I was just longing for her to be normal again, to not give people a reason to look at us weird.  That being said, Hannah seems to attract people where ever she goes, so I guess I just have to get used to it.

Finally the time came for her cast to be removed.  The sawing off part went surprisingly well, Hannah was intrigued watching the saw cut down the sides and the loud noise didn't really bother her at all.  The problem came when the guy actually removed the cast.  Suddenly her legs were free.  They flailed all over the place as she had little control over her muscles and her joints were so stiff from being held in one place for so long that she was in a lot of pain.  Hannah began to cry and cry.  She shook and wailed and it took about 20mins to calm her down.  I think she was pretty confused about why it felt so horrible to have the cast off.  Her legs were all scaly and skinny and pasty.  They looked pretty gross.  I had to pick her up to take her to have a xray and she was as light as a feather.  Even carrying her made her cry and her legs continued to have a mind of their own, each wobbling about of its accord.

Sawing the cast off

Legs free and flopping about

Ready for the hot tub

Once Hannah settled down, she realised that she was free.  She started to smile, laugh and wriggle her toes.  On the way home in the car she kept saying, 'look at my legs, Mum!'  She was the happiest I had seen her in almost 8 weeks.  She couldn't stand, walk or even move her legs yet but they were free and she was excited!  When we put her to bed that night, she moved her legs around and around under the covers, enjoying the feel of the sheets against her skin.  She rolled over and exclaimed 'look at me! I am on my tummy!'  It was so lovely to see her enjoying her new found limbs.

It took a couple weeks before she could walk by herself.  Even now she is not exactly nimble.  More robotic.  I took her to a friends hot tub a few times just to get her knees and ankles to loosen up.  It really helped but it hurt her to put her joints through a full range of motion.  Mornings are still a little hard for her as she wakes up a bit stiff and sore.  She prefers to crawl out of bed and it takes about an hour before she is ready to take her first steps for the day.  She is still quite unsteady on her feet and falls over quite a bit but she is so stubborn and determined that she WILL walk where ever she can.  We have been so impressed with her fortitude through out this whole time.  She is a remarkable girl with a will of steel and such a powerful spirit.  She has been more than a handful but I wouldn't change her.  I'm so very proud of her, she'll do great things in her life.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout these last few months.  We have so appreciated your love and prayers and practical help.  Our community here in Redding has blessed us so deeply.   Please keep Hannah in your prayers as she still needs full restoration of her legs so she can run and dance and be the girl she was created to be.  A bringer of freedom, a worshipper of her Lord and carrier of hope.

Birthdays and broken bones....

January 31st was Lachie's 5th birthday.

It was a very exciting day because don't you know? Life begins at 5.  Well that's what Lachie thought anyway!  In Australia, he would have started school last week.  In America, he has to wait until September.  He is pretty bummed about that, he cant wait to start.  That being said, he can already read Sam's 1st grade readers with confidence and expression, count to 100 and write his alphabet.  Can someone say 'genius'?  He gets that from me.  

Anyway, back to his birthday.  Before he asked for anything in the way of presents for his birthday, he asked for lasagne and chocolate pudding to be his birthday dinner.  He loves his tucker.  Our wonderful friends the Millikan's threw him an impromptu birthday party after school on his birthday.  It was lovely and Lachie felt very special to have friends around him to celebrate.  Mummy felt very special to have a friend like Ali who is organised and generous, to throw her son a party.  Note to self; get your act together next year.

We had our wonderful Aussie friends, Tony and Karna here for the week so they got to join us for our delicious birthday feast that night.  They gave Lachie the game 'Uno Attack' which has been in play constantly since coming out of the box.  Teaching the boys to follow the rules and be gracious winners/losers has been interesting but they are getting the hang of it.  Being a good sport is very important to an Aussie.  And its very important in life.  Proverbs 29:23 says 'A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour'.

So the 'birthday' part of this post title is covered.  Now onto the part you are really wondering about.  Broken bones.

Last Saturday, at 3:30pm, Hannah broke her left femur.

We were just about to leave to go home from the park when Hannah fell in the bark chips and began to scream.  All you parents out there would know the cry that only comes out of your child's mouth when something is seriously hurting.  She lay on her back, looking very shocked and not breathing right.  We thought that perhaps she had just been winded so we picked her up which brought more screams.  She was inconsolable.  We tried to figure out where she was hurt as there were no scratches, bleeding or bruising.  We asked Sam if anyone had bumped into her or if she had fallen off of the play equipment.  He said he was sure neither happened and told us that she had simply fallen over.

With Hannah still screaming we made it back to the car and had concluded that something was wrong with her left leg.  We were with some friends who gathered around her and prayed.  Not that she let anyone come within arms reach of her leg!  She was not a happy girl.

Hannah cried all the way home and I knew something was seriously wrong.  She is a super tough kid and usually the hurting cry only lasts a few minutes. This was on another level we'd never experienced before.  We got her inside, gave her some ibuprofen and laid her flat on her back on the couch with her legs on a pillow.  She eventually calmed down but would not let anyone touch her leg.  She was still very shaky and in pain.  It was so sad to see her like that.


After some discussion with a doctor friend, we decided to take her into get checked out in the ER.  We left the boys in the care of Karna and Tony and took Hannah to Shasta Regional Hospital.  We had been advised that their waiting time was less than the other hospital in town, Mercy.  We were seen quite quickly and in a few hours, Hannah had been X-rayed and the diagnosis of a broken femur had been given.  Hannah did so well.  She was up way past her bedtime, licking lollipops and playing with a balloon.  She was pretty happy except when anyone wanted to move her.

The doctor informed us that Hannah would possibly need surgery and that she was going to contact the orthopedic surgeon at Mercy.  After a while the doctor returned to tell us that Hannah would be taken in an ambulance across town to Mercy Hospital for further treatment.  More waiting.  Two very kind paramedics came and managed to get Hannah into the ambulance with minimal fuss.  God bless ambulance officers.  I was able to ride with Hannah and to be honest, I was a little bit excited to be having a trip in an ambulance.  A first for me and I wasn't even ill, bonus!  Ben followed in our car and met us there.

We were put in another small, white room and Hannah was assessed and I told what felt like 10 people her details.  Stumbling every time with saying her birthday because it was 11:30pm and Americans say the month first, then the day, then the year but Aussies say the day, month then year (makes sense, don't you think?).  Anyway, Hannah had an IV put in her hand which was not a pleasant experience for anyone and eventually everyone left, the light was turned off and Hannah was able to go to sleep for a little while.

Around 1am, we made it up to the pediatric ward and Hannah was weighed and given her first pain meds.  Finally.  We got her settled as best we could and she fell asleep quite quickly.  I spent the night next to her on a fold out bed.  I was so tired it felt amazing.  Ben went home to sleep and be with the boys. At 7:30am we were collected for surgery. Hannah and I were taken down to the operating room and I met the surgeon. A no-nonsense guy who gave me the run down on what they planned to do with Hannah's leg.  I felt at peace and was sure that he was going to do the best for my precious girl.  I said goodbye to Hannah and I could still hear her screaming for me as I walked down the corridor.  I waited in the lounge and cried.

After about an hour, the surgeon came and told me that Hannah had been put into a 'spica cast' and he was hopeful that the bone would heal just fine.  As he described the cast to me, my heart dropped.  It was awful.  I was soon taken into recovery and reunited with a very groggy, cranky, thirsty Hannah.  She was desperate for a drink of water but ice chips were the best I could offer.  She was not impressed.  Eventually we were taken back to the ward where Hannah projectile vomited.  So much for  keeping the cast clean and dry.

She was miserable.  It was not a fun day.  We were able to take her home later that evening.  She was still very sore and not happy with being moved at all.  Getting her into the car was tricky and Ben ended up holding her on his lap as she did not want to let him go.  We got home and tried to make her as comfortable as possible on the couch.  It was late and we were all very tired.  Thankfully, Hannah slept all night through without waking.  Such a miracle.  She did wake in a lot of pain though in the morning and had to be bribed to take her pain meds.

Since then Hannah's pain has dropped every day.  She has slept soundly every night and woken relatively happy in the morning.  She is more able to be moved as her pain lessens which means she can sit up in the pram and even in her carseat.  She is quite frustrated by her cast and had been throwing some rather intense tantrums but I can't guarantee I wouldn't do the same in her position.

 

During this whole ordeal we have felt loved, supported and covered.  It is a wonderful and special thing to be on the receiving end of the concentrated care of the body of Christ.  We felt the peace of God over our home and His grace for us to do what needed to be done.   We rest in His goodness and are continually praying and declaring healing over Hannah.  We are believing for a miracle.  We know that God is Healer.

Thankyou to everyone that has prayed, sent messages, provided meals, visited and loved on us.  We appreciate it all and are so blessed to have each of you in our lives.  Hannah is doing so well, thankyou for loving her and us.

Time Flies!

Well well.  If it isn't a blog entry.

It's been a while coming, I know.  Things here are rather busy to say the least.  And now so much time has passed between posts, I feel a little swamped by the prospect of attempting to cover it all in one go. The natural consequence for procrastination I guess.

So, here's what's happened in the last few months.

• Thanksgiving:  This year we were invited to spend Thanksgiving with our wonderful friends the Millikan Family.  They are a family of 6 from Seattle, whom we got to know when their son (also named Sam) was in our son Sam's class last year.  When the 'new' Sam arrived, our Sam was a little put out. Who was this boy with the same name? What did he think he was playing at, trying to steal his thunder?  It was a new phenomenon for our Sam but it didn't take long before the threat of usurpation became a novelty and the boys became firm friends.  As the boys grew closer, our families also got to know each other.  We had a wonderful meal with them late afternoon on Thanksgiving, too late to be called lunch and too early to be dinner.  Apparently that's tradition.  It was loud, slightly chaotic and rambunctious but it was also fun, happy and relaxed.  Perfect.

• The Turkey Trot:  Earlier in the day, Thanksgiving morning, Ali Millikan (the amazing matriarch of the afore mentioned Millkian family) and I ran the 6 mile Turkey Trot.  Looking back, I probably shouldn't have dragged her along seeing as she had only given birth 6 weeks earlier.  Anyway, she did great and we had a grand ol' time trotting along the Sacramento River trail with a couple thousand others.  If anything, it made room for the meal which was to follow later.

• The Holiday Feast:  This is an annual community event run by Bethel Church to reach out to the poor, homeless and people in need of Redding.  It is a free sit down lunch with three courses entirely done through volunteers.  The aim is to give these people a Christmas meal and experience they otherwise would not get.  It was held at the Redding Convention Centre and I think over 1000 people were fed.  Every table was hosted by a volunteer, who decorated the table with their best china, ornaments, treats and cheer.  The meal was served to the people by hundreds of servers, all dressed in black pants and a white shirt.  Outside the main dining room was an area reserved for kids to meet Santa, have a photo with him and choose a gift.  Outside in the carpark was a huge marquee with tables and tables of secondhand clothes, sleeping bags, blankets etc.  When each table had finished eating, each person was given a bag to go and fill up with whatever they wanted.  There was live music, a drama and powerful testimonies of God's goodness and love.  The gospel was preached and people gave their hearts to Jesus.  It really was a demonstration of the Father's love.  Watching these people being treated with honour and love was truly incredible. I was privileged to serve in the kitchen and spent time preparing food the day before and then plating up the dishes on the day.  It was so much fun.  What made it extra special is that right in the middle of the meal, it began to snow outside!  It was so very pretty and made the day seem extra special.

• Sam's 7th Birthday:  December 21st saw Sam turn 7!!  Wow.  Time really does fly.  I cannot believe that my first baby is growing up so fast.  That being said, with each year that passes we get closer to the age when all the kids want to do on Saturday morning is sleep in.  I'm looking forward to that.  Sam had asked us to buy him a watch for his birthday so I went searching for one that fit all his criteria.  It HAD to have a stop watch function.  I managed to find one and he was pumped to be able to tell the time.  And tell me the time, and tell Ben the time and anyone that came within 3 feet of him.  For a while there we knew what time it was every few minutes.  It was both irritating and quite handy.  Sam would also time us doing various things, without our knowledge.  For example, I'd go to the loo and come back to be told, 'woah Mum, you took 10 minutes and 37 seconds in there.  Why did you take that long?'.  We also invited the Millikan family to join us for an afternoon at Chuck E Cheese's.  It's an arcade type place where you buy tokens, the kids use the tokens to play games and the games spit out tickets with which you 'buy' a piece of rubbish toy at the end.  Whoever thought it up is a genius.  It totally feels like a casino for kids.  You pay $50 for a bunch of tokens and end up with a plastic cockroach whose legs snap off on the way home in the car.  Genius!!  The kids had a blast though and Ben had fun figuring out the machines and making them spurt out ribbons and ribbons of tickets.  The kids loved it!  Oh and it snowed on his birthday!!!

• Christmas:  Christmas without family was a little harder this year.  Last year we were blessed to have my parents visiting us at the time and so Christmas felt a little more normal.  This time it was just us.  It only hit me on Christmas Eve, as I was looking at the Christmas tree and thinking about what our extended family were up to.  Feeling sad didn't last long though as I began to be thankful for being here in this place at this time.  God reminded me of His goodness once again and I felt much better.  We spent the day together as a family enjoying Christmas music, presents,  the odd scream fest as the tired kids lost their mind over their new toys, food and cider.  We were blessed to have hot chocolate with friends in the afternoon and then on the way home from that we stopped and checked out some outrageous Christmas light displays.  All in all, it was a long but wonderful day.

• Randy Clark Healing School:  Ben had the honour of serving two of his heroes, Randy Clark and Bill Johnson at the Healing school/conference.  Randy is a teacher of the Word and has a strong gift in healing the sick.  He has a well known ministry called Global Awakening, which takes him to many nations teaching about healing and doing the stuff!  Hundreds of people were healed from all kinds of ailments and illnesses.  Even without being prayed for!  God's goodness and Presence is that powerful.  People were healed from deafness, blindness, cancer, heart disease.  Some people had metal dissolve from their bodies and freedom of movement in joints return.  One man testified to being healed of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  It was very very powerful.  I don't think there was anyone not moved by the goodness of God who was listening to this man describe his new found freedom.  Ben had the honour and privilege to serve Randy and Bill as they ministered.  Ben ran the mike and helped out with whatever they needed assistance with.  He had an absolute ball and loved being able to watch these great leaders move in their anointing.   He learnt a lot in those few days about how God moves and how we need to be so sensitive to what He is wanting to do in a room and how He wants to do it and partnering with Him in it.

• Gearing up for Mission Trip:  This year Ben has the opportunity to travel to central Asia for his mission trip.  Their team has been given open access to places and communities that would not normally welcome westerners.  Many of the details will not be disclosed to Ben (or me) until he gets there to protect those they will be meeting with and those on the team.   Thankyou to everyone who has so generously sown in prayer and finances for this trip already.  We so appreciate your support.  Please keep praying for the trip and covering the team while they are away during the first 2 weeks of April.  We are excited for what God is going to do in central Asia!!

• General Going's on:  The kids are loving school and we are so very blessed to be able to send them to Bethel Christian School.  They are happy and healthy and learning each week about who God is and how much He adores them, not to mention all the maths and reading etc.  The kids are flourishing and it is a pleasure to watch them grow in awareness of how much they are loved by the Lord and how that knowledge empowers them in the day to day.  Sam is cruising through 1st grade and seems to be a hit with the ladies, always bringing home drawings of hearts and rainbows that have been given to him.  Takes after his Dad in that way.  Hannah loves dancing and singing and anything pretty.  She is such a 'girly girl' and yet has this raw power that comes out when she's challenged that is not really lady like.   She is hilarious and we love her sense of humor and her funny faces and jokes.  I am often blown away by how much personality she has for an almost 3 yr old.  She's a little fiery gem and we love her!

Well, thats about it I think.  Hopefully it won't take me so long to write next time.  It started to feel as though I had a uni assignment to do that I was avoiding, which is a horrible feeling!  Who knew blogging came with such pressure!  

Time to dream

Being here in Redding is a dream come true.

God really values our dreams.  Not just the ones we have while we sleep, although our sleeping dream time is often used by Him to speak to us.  I'm talking about the real deep down desires of our hearts.  The things we tend not to tell everyone we meet because they are like a treasure; hidden and waiting for the right time to be revealed.  Or they are so outrageous that to disclose them to another person requires a very deep level of trust.

I am becoming alive to my dreams.  Things I didn't even know I felt.  Desires I have never had the arena or permission to explore.  It is a very liberating experience, being given the freedom to dream.  And yet, it can be difficult and scary if one has never been encouraged to lay bare the inner workings of their person.

I am learning who I am as a daughter of God.  As I begin to learn who He is, what He's like and how He is working in me, I feel safe.  Safe to explore my dreams.  To my Daddy God, my dreams are important, they are valuable, they are wonderful and precious.  Am I saying that if I dream of a sports car, that God is going to drop one off in my driveway tomorrow? Nope, not necessarily.  What I AM saying is that in Him, we have permission to dream but even better than that, we are welcomed into His heart to dream WITH Him!! It is glorious.

I am learning just how much my Father in Heaven loves me.  That He is so pleased with me, quite simply for being me.  I am the apple of His eye!  His heart is for me!  He never takes His gaze off of me and He is fiercely protective of me for I am His child.  Knowing these things (and so much more) creates a safe place for me to express my whole being; mind, body, soul and spirit.  It is paradise in His embrace.

Homecoming

We've been 'home' in Redding for about 5 weeks but it feels as though we never left.

Our flight to the U.S. was horrible.  Things started off well and our first leg of the journey, from Adelaide to Auckland went smoothly.  The kids watched movies happily and the excitement of the plane trip was still fresh.  Presents from Grandma and Grandad provided much joy and much sugar, a combination perhaps not so appreciated by the passengers seated around us but the kids loved their special treats from special people.

After a brief stopover in Auckland, we boarded our flight to San Francisco.  By this stage everyone was starting to feel a bit tired and cranky.  Hannah was not keen to be strapped back into her chair after being able to run free through Auckland airport.  The boys just wanted the plane to take off so the T.V. would start working.  I mean, they had not watched anything for at least an hour, their screen-high was wearing off and they were beginning to have withdrawals.

Eventually we made it up into the air and the real fun began.  Please, please, note my sarcasm.  There was, in fact, no fun had that night.  Zero. Zip.

Hannah refused to go to sleep and proceeded to cry and scream and thrash about in her seat. Much to the horror of the young men in front of us.  There were many rude stares thrown back in our direction.  We were doing our best, we really were but Hannah was having none of it.  The boys struggled to get comfortable enough to sleep and at one point Lachie was in tears, he was so tired but just couldn't get himself in a position that worked.  I really felt sorry for him.

Ben and I took turns all night to walk around with Hannah trying to get her to sleep.  She would drop off in our arms and when we tried to sit down she would wake. How about just standing up with her? I hear you ask.  Well, she is a sturdy lass and our arms, backs, knees and feet were feeling the strain.  Goodness, how we tried but to no avail.  It really was like some strange form of torture.

Hannah finally fell asleep about 2.5 hours before we were due to land.  I also managed to drop off, the first time all night, only to be woken shortly by an air hostess kindly giving me Hannah's breakfast.  Dang it!  I let Hannah sleep as long as I could but had to wake her, which was like a cruel joke, so she could eat something before landing.  She was as cranky as all get out.  No, she certainly didn't want anything to eat.  In fact, just the act of asking her if she would like some yoghurt sent her into the scream zone once again.  It was quite, quite awful!

So we landed.  Gathered up all our belongings and waited for everyone to disembark the plane before it was our turn. We herded the little ones, who were so very tired, up the hallway towards Immigration.  Making the crucial mistake of stopping at the toilets meant we were at the back of a VERY long queue.  The kids were so far gone. Sam was in tears at the prospect of standing up in the queue for so long.  Lachie collapsed into the ground in his dramatic way and declared 'I just CAN'T do it!'.  Hannah was so tired she was falling asleep standing up.

After about 2 hours in the line, we made it to the desk.  All our paperwork was in order and with the help of three small crazy-eyed kids we were pushed fairly quickly through Immigration and waved past any sort of customs activity.  Thanks kids.

We made it to the car hire center and loaded up our van with our luggage.  Which, by the way, had been collected for us by some kind person (angel?) and loaded onto carts and was waiting for us as we made our way out of Immigration.  Such a blessing.
It was weird to be on the other side of the road once again and the weirdness was enhanced by the fact that neither of us had had any sleep overnight.  Sort of felt like a dream. Thankfully, with the help of a very good GPS, we made it out of San Francisco and up the I-5 to Redding.

When we arrived home and pulled into our garage, I noticed there was an odd piece of furniture sitting in there.  Looking down the passage as we went inside, I noticed a chair that was in the lounge room when we left was now in our bedroom.  Weird.
As we went from room to room, we realised our whole house had been decorated with extra furniture, art work, toys and clothes for the kids and more!  We were astounded!  My wonderful friends from my small group had been very busy turning our house into a home.  It was simply amazing.  We felt so loved, it was a wonderful moment.  There was food in the fridge and it was the best feeling to sit down for a meal after such a long couple of days.  Thank you Jesus!

It has become rather obvious to us that there is a special grace for our family to be in Redding at this time.  In this season, Redding is home.  Although our hearts are for Australia and we miss our family and friends dearly, this city, these people have embraced us and we love it.  It feels as though we are growing at an accelerated rate.  Learning new things about God, about us and about the world every day.  It's as though God has uprooted us from Australia, and planted us here in a big pile of juicy fertile soil, for us to grow quickly.  To speed up processes that may have taken years to happen had we stayed in our homeland.  Things are moving at a rate that at times, seems a little scary.  But in a good way.  Sort of like a roller coaster.  It's incredible fun and so exciting but at any moment you could pee your pants.

Thanks for all your love and support.  I am sure that much of what is happening for our family would not be possible without your prayers.  God hears and He is showing Himself faithful.  Be blessed to know that we are doing great!!

Long overdue update!!

Well goodness gracious me.  It has been over three months since I last wrote a post.  In June I turned 30. Can I just say, time seems to fly by when you get old doesn't it?

Let's back track a little to fill y'all in on the details of the last 4 months.  I'd like to take the time to make sure this is well written and witty but I simply don't have the time.  Sorry if this ends up feeling a little abrupt!  Hopefully by the end of this post, my conscience will be clear about not blogging for so long.

May 14th was Hannah's 2nd birthday and Ben's graduation ceremony.  It was a big day.  Hannah was very grumpy and spent her present opening session throwing a tantrum. Unfortunately, her mood continued into the cake eating.  More screams ensued after being informed that not all the cupcakes were for her to eat.  I don't blame her though.  I get a bit cranky if people try and take cake away from me.

Our celebrations were rather hasty as Ben and I were trying to get ready for the graduation ceremony.  I wore chose to wear a dress that I bought on sale months before and hadn't actually ever worn in public.  It was lovely to dress up and Ben looked dashing.  It only took 5 goes of tying his tie before he was happy with it.  Nerves were making him a little jumpy.  The ceremony was going to be streamed live through ibethel tv and he didn't want his few seconds of limelight to be tainted by a ridiculously short tie.

Ben had also been nominated for the M.Earl Johnson award.  This award is the highest honour a student can receive. It is named after Bill Johnson's father, Earl Johnson, who established the culture of revival in Bethel Church many years ago. Nominees are selected by the student body and then interviewed by the leadership of BSSM.  The award is given to the man and woman who best personify the ideals of the school.    Anyway, Ben knew he was in the running and had been told to get a few thoughts together in case he won.  He was stressing out about having to make a speech should he win.  Needless to say, he was more than a bit jittery when he left for the ceremony.

I made my way there after getting the kids settled with our amazing babysitter, Bec.  As I was walking into the Civic centre, I managed to catch a glimpse of my reflection in a large window.  It was then that I realised my dress was a lot shorter than I thought.  Oh gosh.  In reality, it was not that short.  I am just not used to wearing such items.  Give me a pair of jeans any day.  I felt very lady like, although a little wobbly on the heels I was wearing.

The ceremony was long but wonderful to clap and cheer for all the students as they graduated.  My guts were churning thinking about the possibility of Ben winning the award.  It came time to announce the winner and after a long and drawn out prelude, Ben's name was called.  HOORAY!!!!!
It was amazing.  In that moment I was so proud of him.  I was so happy and nervous, I almost vomited all over my lovely green shoes.  I was able to meet Ben at the side of the stage and give him a quick cuddle before he went up to receive the award.  Bill met Ben on stage and motioned for me to join them. Uhoh, I wasn't expecting to be doing that!  It was really special to be up there with him as he accepted the award.  I was given a seat on stage alongside Bill and and the rest of the leadership of BSSM.  Lights were in my eyes and all I could think about was how short my dress was and how I needed to glue my knees together at all times.  Oh dear!  Ben's speech was great and he delivered it very well.  I was even more proud of him, if that was even possible.

After the ceremony, we were swamped by people congratulating Ben and it was incredible to have people come and tell me how Ben had impacted their lives at BSSM.  It was like I was seeing him in a new light.  Although on the other hand I've always known Ben is an exceptional man.  Such a wonderful night.  A definite life changing moment, but just the beginning.

We left Redding on the 8th of June, driving down to San Francisco in a very large, very sexy Ford F250 truck.  The boys were pumped and I have to admit, so was Mummy.  I have become quite appreciative of a big shiny truck since living in Redding.  Makes a change from the mini-van.

Our plane trip was wonderfully uneventful.  The kids were great.  All the waiting around in queues at various airports was hard but we made it though by the Grace of God.  Thankyou Jesus!

We have spent our 8 weeks here in Milang catching up with family and friends as well as packing up our house.  Ben did some work on the farm while his parents were overseas on holiday and also played a few games of footy.  He had a lot of fun and was given a variety of religion-based nicknames by his teammates.  Ahhh, Aussie culture is a funny thing.  Love it.

Last Monday we completely moved out of our house, with much help from our wonderful family and we are currently living out of our suitcases at Ben's parent's house until Sunday, when we fly out again.

The weeks in Australia have passed quickly and I am finding it harder to leave this time as I am more aware of the pressure it puts on my close relationships.  Being across the other side of the world makes things just that little bit harder.  I know, however, that we are called to Redding at this time so we go with excitement about what the Lord has for us this year.

We had an incredible time last year and we could not have done any of it without the support of our family and friends.  Thankyou all so much for loving us and releasing us to follow the call of God on our lives.  We will endeavor to keep this blog better updated this time around!!