Written last night. Draft lost, morale sunk. Rewritten today, Wednesday. But let’s just pretend it’s still Tuesday.
BEFORE | A Swim
It’s 10am. Maroubra Beach, 3.5km from Malabar. Predicted forecast: sunny, 27°c. Reality: overcast, 21°c. The cool breeze sweeps over goose bumped skin. We sip coffees in anticipation of an amateur surf lesson. It’s our day off.
Unfortunately, our surf sensei and others on team are busy at St Marks Malabar fixing a sagging beam in the roof of the church. Aside: you can tell a lot about the character of a person when he is the senior minister and has rolled up his sleeves and is doing heavy lifting with us plebs.
AFTER | A Cold Swim
The bravest among us leave our companions with their books and scuttle into the sea. Optimistically, it is chilly and um…refreshing. The waves roll, rise and crash with impressive force. The water is wild and choppy, but hey, so is life.
This morning was nothing like planned. Oh and when is ministry predictable?
AFTER | Day Off (continued from last post)
We spent a lovely afternoon eating a barbecue lunch at Archie’s home. He even offered us a hot sauce marketed at 11/10 heat – I am happy to report that no one ran to the fridge in search of milk. Stomachs full with raspberry brownies, backyard cricket and a game of Taboo brought merriment to all.
Driven by coffee addiction and the promise of a postponed surf lesson, some ventured further to cafes and the beach. The general feeling among us tonight is relaxed, coupled with an undertone of very minor panic – our rest day is over, and there is a big week ahead.
PLEASE PRAY
- That God would sustain our energy this week
- Scripture Assemblies x 4
- The people we will meet as we door knock
- Prep that is still yet to do
- That billets would be an encouragement to hosts