The heat has decided to give us a break and I feel able to think and function again. The temperatures have not helped the situation with the fires, as many of you might have heard. In the office we have taken to reminding each other when we complain about the heat that at least we have our homes and are not under threat of losing our homes and families.
Last week I started out by celebrating my 28th birthday. I was delighted to receive greetings from people all over the world. Thanks everyone! The day itself was spent in meetings, which is not my favourite pastime, but they went well. There were little celebrations throughout the day. The rest of the week saw me rushing around trying to get things in place for the beginning of a new term and a new year. This year we are going to start trying some different things in the youth ministry of our church which is exciting and fairly daunting at the same time. I think that change is healthy and I see some very positive ways forward – but a lot of work will be required as well.
Two weeks ago I was down in Melbourne. My parents drove through Canberra and picked me up on the way to Melbourne. It’s nice to get to spend time with Mum and Dad and I also loved not having to drive! All three of us took part in the AAANZ (Anabaptist Association of Australia and New Zealand) conference that happened in an outer area of Melbourne (we were close to where the fires are now). The weekend was inspiring. There were people there that I know and love and who love me and also new people to meet and to hear some of their stories. The conference focused on New Monasticism and I drank in all of the communities telling us about their lives together. There was a deep honesty in the weekend as we named the need for community but also acknowledge the hard side of living together as broken humans. I left the camp with more ideas for Irene’s Place and a stronger conviction that this sort of work and community is needed in Canberra.
While I was studying for my undergrad I came to Melbourne for an internship with Collins Street Baptist Church and the Urban Seed program. Many of the people that I became close to over those few months of work are still around Melbourne. I spend a few days after the conference catching up with friends, hearing what is happening at the church and Urban Seed and seeing how we can support each other in our work. Overall I felt like the week had been a much needed gift of time with people who know me well.
The last full week in January we had our Kids Holiday program at church (this is the equivalent of Vacation Bible School). I was the speaker and we looked at a few parables. Little people are so much fun; they exude enthusiasm and enter life without the hidden emotion that most adults attempt. I had not worked with children for a while and appreciated a change just for a bit. I had to think of how to get ideas across to a group ranging from ages 6-12 instead of the 13-21 year olds I normally work with. It was good to see some of the youth step forward as leaders as well and to play off of this shared energy.
Back in Canberra I’ve taken time for some community events like the multicultural festival and a gardening day.

Video intros

Take a look at these videos introducing my life here in Canberra:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MoriahDownUnder

Christmas and New Years

The week leading up to Christmas started with the Aussie tradition of Carols in the park. One of the wonderful things about a warm Christmas is that you can be outside sharing the season with your community. The evening kicked off with a sausage sizzle as people from the church and neighbourhood pulled out blankets and lawn chairs, filling a section of the park across from the church. I wandered from blanket to blanket greeting people and sampling the snacks they had brought with them. Our singing was led by a volunteer choir and orchestra some 40-50 strong. We sang of Jesus’ birth and of dashing through the snow (which still seems hilarious to me, as we sat there sweating, even though this is about my 8th Christmas in Australia). As one soloist lifted her voice, a flock of Cockies (Cockatoos) soared over us filling the air with their cries as they landed in the gum trees that stood as our backdrop. I love this sitting and singing with whoever happens along.

I spent the week from Christmas to New Years with my parents. This time was a flurry of food and friends. Mum and I baked some of our favourites (sticky buns for Christmas morning and pizza to share with guests) and enjoyed a quick dip in the pool in the hotter parts of the day. We were invited into others families as they celebrated together and loved time on the phone or Skype talking to our own family as they gathered to celebrate around the world.
Mum and Dad and I carried on the tradition of playing cards when we are together as a family. I was having pretty bad luck but still managing to beat my Dad.
One evening some of the women from Mum and dad’s community came over for a girl’s night. We watched movies and gave foot massages. What a wonderful way to relax!

One afternoon Mum and I went to see the movie Australia. As the war planes started to swoop down on Darwin, my Mum began to cry. Later, while we walked home, Mum told me again how much she hates war. I do too but I feel powerless to change it some days. As I hear of more and more deaths in the Gaza Strip, many of whom are children and civilians, I despair knowing that I can’t stop these wars. But I have also heard that the best way to bring about peace is to do what you are gifted with, working with that gift toward peace. So I am not going to throw myself in front of a tank or change the armed forces for now but I will work at teaching people ways of peace, ways to live in faith and hope. I will work with the next generation so that they will know that we have more options than war or apathy. This is why I am working in Canberra. This is why I have followed God’s call half way round the world again. When I feel small and insignificant I hope in this.

New Years we spent in the city sitting next to the bridge with thousands of others. In many ways the nasty side of humanity came out. People were pushing, drinking too much, fighting, saying things that were uncalled for, and generally being rude. But in all of that the fireworks were beautiful. There was a moment at the end of the fireworks when we had bright, colourful flashes on three sides of us and all was lit up; at that point I thought maybe the tenseness and frustration was worth it, but I’m still not sure.

In between all of this I took time to read, Baptist baptism material and books on youth ministry theory and theology. As I reflect on the year past I look toward the year to come with hopeful eyes. We still do not have any participants for Irene’s Place but I am trying to be patient and trust that God will lead us where we should go.
I have been in Canberra about 6 months now and am starting a new year. There are possibilities but I still find myself lonely many days and wondering how long it will be till I stop feeling displaced. This past year I have been in 5 countries and while I love the travel I can’t wait to be able to really unpack and find a place where I fit.

The last two weeks I spent in Western Australia travelling with my parents. We started the trip in Perth with the Peacetree Community, an intentional community of young adults who have connections to AAANZ. Our first holiday day trip was north from Perth about an hour and a half to the small community of New Norcia. This little town is owned entirely by the monks who live there. Years ago there were several schools and a lively community, now 10 monks practice their monastic way of life and raise money to keep their buildings as a museum for tourists. We spent two hours walking around gazing at the beautiful artistry and wondering how the aboriginal children who were brought to this school were treated.

The next day Mum, Dad, and I caught the bus two hours down the coast to Bunbury. Our few days in Bunbury were full of conversation, playing with little kids, teaching our hosts some of our favourite baking recipes, walking around the little city, and taking part in some of the cities Christmas celebration. We visited what would be the first of our four lighthouses for this trip. Eventually the three of us piled into a borrowed van and drove off for five days of vacation together.

Our first port of call was one of the longest wooden jetties in the world. We walked all 1.8 kilometres of the jetty stopping to talk to a family catching crabs and marvelling at the shallowness of the water.

We moved on to lighthouse number two and had the first of our experiences of things being closed. This led to a long list of places being closed. While December is summer time in Australia, the real holiday times start at the end of the month and evidently people take advantage of the slow time at the beginning of December and take a break and either close early or don’t open at all. We joked through the rest of our trip that we went to Western Australia and it was closed.
That evening we stayed in our most beautiful lodging of the whole trip. Looking out the door of our cabin we could watch the blue waves breaking onto white sands. Mum and I climbed out on the rocks to try and catch the sunset over the sea and were blessed with a few bright colours before the sun disappeared into clouds.

The rhythm of our trip became that I would pour over brochures, maps and tourist information in the evening and present my parents with a list of activities for the next day, which they mostly followed. Dad stayed in the car for several of my Mum’s and my trips into stores like the Olive Oil Soap Factory and Venison Company, but he followed us when we would stop at little shops and bakeries for morning and afternoon tea.
The weather was not altogether friendly and we had downpours and cool days. Because of this we tended to look at the beaches instead of spending much time on them. Several of our walks though opened up over waterways or presented views of rocky coastlines. It was not whale season yet some of the whale watching points gave us quiet spots to sit and contemplate the crashing of the waves and the birds singing.

Our third lighthouse was of course closed when we arrived so we decided to stay in the local town of Augusta and come back in the morning. It was well worth the wait. This light house is at the point where the Indian Ocean and the South Ocean meet. As we stared out over the expanse of water we realised that the next body of land would be South America, stunning!

As we pulled out of Augusta we headed toward big tree territory.
Dad and I had seen big trees before, visiting the Redwoods on the West coast of the USA but these were the biggest trees that Mum had even seen. One of the highlights was being able to climb one of the larger Jarrah trees. As part of the strategy of keeping fires under control, numerous trees have become lookout points. Metal posts are hammered into the trees in an ascending spiral and tourists are allowed to climb the trees for fun. The first day we saw these trees it was raining and unwise to climb but at the end of our trip we took a small detour so that I could climb the Diamond Tree. When I say big I mean that I climbed 51 meters into the air without a safety harness or anyone around me. It was breathtaking in more than one sense. At the top I looked out over the canopy of an old growth forest and into neighbouring farmer’s paddocks. My legs were a little shaky when I returned to the ground and it took a while till I calmed down.

While Dad drove I spent many hours gazing out the window watching the world go by and daydreaming. I almost had tears come to my eyes as I looked over clear cut hillsides especially having been, just hours before, in old growth forests with trees that have been alive for longer than several generations of my family. Watching out the window I saw roos, vineyard after vineyard, fruit groves, tour buses, penetrating clear blue skies, red earth and then green lushness. I made Dad stop as we entered each new little town that I thought was significant (this meant considerable amounts of backing up and turning around or parking perilously on the side of the road) so that I could get a picture of the welcome signs with the town names.

One evening Dad had had enough driving and was content to read his book so Mum and I took a flying trip to a few local lookouts wanting to make sure we didn’t miss anything. It was a good thing that we did this because that evening we had downpours and many of the dirt roads leading back into the forests were closed due to flooding.

Overall I took more pictures than were necessary and loved it. Small flowers raised their faces often along the track and I enjoyed learning about the features of my camera to capture soaring landscapes and delicate buds.

I returned to Perth two days before Mum and Dad so that I would have a chance to spend a little more time with the Peacetree community. It was good for my soul to be with likeminded young adults for a few days. It was strange to realise how I felt like an outsider and yet wanted so badly to get to know all of them. I have great respect for what they are working at and while I am normally confident I found myself desperately wanting them to like me and feeling unsure of myself. I know that I am longing for community. We need community to hold us accountable and to hold all of the issues of the world in perspective, we cannot all do everything but together we can keep one another mindful and support one another’s efforts to change the world. Don’t be mistaken I know that living with other people is hard but so is living alone and I would rather strive to work at my quirky parts than return to an empty home every night. Yet while I longed to have more time with these people I also told them of my calling to Canberra and spent time reflecting on why I came back to Australia. I left with sadness because these people live so far away from me but I was glad to get home and to unpack.

my week

Last weekend I had too many things on and so finished the weekend feeling exhausted and wanting to curl up in a little ball in my flat. Most of the activities were good but there were just too many of them. So this week I have been trying to take it slower. I am dog sitting right now and that means that part of my daily rhythm is to walk the dog. For about an hour every day I have been wandering around the neighbourhood finding trials and paths.

Last week at youth group we heard stories from one of the young women in the church who spent the summer in the USA at a camp. For one of the activities she outlined the all the states of the USA with masking tape on the hall floor. At the end of the evening we had to pull up all of the tape. My ball of the tape was the largest but not the most compact, and Yes it was a competition.
I told one of the women at the church that I was looking for a puzzle to work on in the evenings and now have a steady supply of puzzles ready for me to put together. This is a good way for me to relax and to let my mind drift where it will (especially good on days that have required a lot of concentration). When the Bible study group was over at my house the other night they swarmed around my table and by the time they were finished only a few sections around the edges were left to put together.
Part of moving back to Canberra has meant learning again what groups/organizations are doing here and how we can work together. This means that I have been having lunch or coffee with people and talking about what work they do, what work I do, and how we can work together. I am glad to have the space to make these connections and I believe they will be fruitful in the long run.
Tonight at youth group I am leading a Bible Study of sorts. We are going to look at a few of the stories of Jesus’ life and take part in an activity around each one while we discuss. Preparing for something like this makes me glow. I love this part of my work! I just hope that it works when there are youth in the room.
I am looking at a quite weekend which will be nice seeing that next week gets busy again. I am preaching next weekend and so will be able to curl up with my Bible and notebook this weekend and try to figure out what I want to say and how to say it.

Finding balance

Life is starting to find its pace without me racing along. This past week I have felt more at ease in my work. The month after I got back from India felt like I was flailing myself head long at work and was left shaken. The last few weeks I have had time to read my book, walk the dog at the house I am house sitting, make food and generally think about my life here. I am trying to find places to meet people outside of the church. This is a slow process but I found a farmers market last Saturday and I have signed up to usher at a local theatre so that I get my theatre fix and also meet people. Don’t get me wrong, I am not sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I am teaching Sunday School, leading two Bible studies, and still coordinating youth group as well as attending to church meetings, admin and pastoral care. But I think the balancing act of my life is starting to shift in the right direction.

This picture is of me at a youth group event.