we have WORK.....

Yes, it's true, I think.

Right now we are waiting for our interview at a job agency and we are supposed to start work tomorrow. In all honesty I don't even know what we are doing for work. But it does involve getting paid so that is all we need. So for four day we are working this mystery job and then after that we have 3 weeks of apple picking lined up. So things are looking much better.

Yesterday we had to leave our friends the Hein family, and it was hard. Please pray for them, that they would be blessed for blessing us with a good place to sleep, good friendship, good times spent together and good FOOD!!! They even sent us on our way with some goodies! Hopefully we will be abel to return the favour when they come visit us in Canada!

Well, after doing some research we have found out that the fish that we speared are called Ludericks, the fish Jordo caught was a Cod, a Eel and a wollumby Shark ( I think I might have messed that one up).
The snake that we caught wasn't the "blackheaded python" that we thought it was ( a harmless snake) it was actually a juvenille Eastern Brown Snake which is australia's deadliest or second deadliest snake. I guess God protects his children even when they are acting foolish......
And the Bull Ant that bite me in boort can supposedly kill you if it bites you 20 times, so no wonder it hurt!!!

We have now seen a Koala bear, I touched a kangaroo, and was bit by a Bush tailed possum in response to me trying to coax it onto my shoulder. It didn't break the skin so I don't think I have rabies or anything.......

So..... I think that is everything new. I hope that this job interview works out. They might pull one of those "oh, we can't help you because you're not an Australian..." again. But God will provide! So we can trust him.

I have now changed the settings on this blog so that anyone can add a comment, so COMMENT!!!!! Comment like crazy if you want to.

God Bless!!

God is good, and that's all there is to it

It's true that no matter how we feel, God is good. I'm glad for that. And very thankful.

As of yet we still haven't found work, but things are looking brighter. Saturday we rolled into Mt Gambier, a small town on the southernmost point of South Australia. The mount isn't big enough to call a hill, but in such a flat place it does stick out..... I guess it is an old volcanoe.

It's a wonderful town and a little more lush than all our previous stops. There is some green in the grass.... wonderful! And last night we were rained on at a Church BBQ. That's a first for us since we've been here.

So far we spent saturday at a place called Ewen's Pond which is a ground-fed pond about the diameter of a small house, but it goes down 35 ft and has these small channels that connect to two more similar sized ponds. It is a popular snokeling sight around here since the water is so clean. We arrived to find it surprisingly busy as quite a few divers were there with their wetsuits and underwater cameras, and there's us:

Two white (well actually we are tanned where we aren't peeling...) Canadian with flippers, mask and snorkel and our boardshorts on. We looked like a couple of hacks. And we are! Everyone was complaining about how cold the water is with their wetsuits on, so we asked what the temperature was...... 15 degrees. That's nothing. So we went in and lasted as long as most did and were amazed at the underwater world!!! It was beautiful!! Can't even put it into words. So hopefully we will post the little bit of video that we took while we were under!

After a couple of swims we headed to the salt water so we could do some spearfishing. That was good but the tide coming in was rough so we moved on to do some fishing from the breakwater around the marina. The first hour was slow and I caught a small Tommy Roungh or something and threw it back. Jordy, on the other hand, started off bad when we tossed his handline into the ocean and niether of us felt like going after it. But after 2 hours and a bit hooked himself a fish. As he is pulling it in I'm badgering him with questions like "how big is it" and "is it fighting hard" and Jordo couldn't give me an answer. So just as it is getting dark he pulls to our rocks a 2.5ft-3ft SHARK! Woohooo! We are eating fish TONIGHT! But as I am fumbling to read our little pamphlet on fishing regulations (couldn't find out if we could keep it) the shark bent the hook and broke the line/undid the knot on the other hook that had him by the tail. And it was gone.

NEXT, Jordo happens to pull in an EEL in another half hour or so, and later on a fish that we learned was a "slimy cod." The eel was around 2 ft and the slimy cod would've been 16-18inches. So quite the adventurous night. I was stumped, but glad that at least Jordan can provide SOMETHING to eat....... even if it looks nasty or wants to eat you in return.

So we packed in in late and headed down the road to find a welcoming ditch to sleep in. Sunday morning we woke up and drove into Mt Gambier again to find a church, and found a good ol' baptist. So we ate at the bakery, which has become tradition as of now, and went to church. Almost all the songs were new to us, but good and the sermon was from a guest speaker going to russia as a longterm missionary. I realized this is the third random church we've been to and every single one had a guest speaker talking about missions........ I said if it's the same next week, we'll KNOW God is trying to say something.

Afterward we were invited to lunch (oh yeah) by an AMAZING family, Richard and Angela Hien, and their kids Daniel and Jordan. And now we are staying with them for a couple of nights. Ange has been such blessing to me by making more coffee than I can drink!! We went to the church barby with them and had a blast and met lots of people, and were just blessed to be with God-loving people!!

Today we are on our way to try and catch something to earn our keep. Ange wants us to get her some crayfish. So off we go!!

Thanks for your prayers, and e-mails! Peace and blessings!

Deflated like a sack of soggy potatoes..........

I am So frustrated.

So we drove to McLaren Vale and went to the office of Cream of the Crop in person because over the phone wasn't working well. And sure enough the work has been delayed possibly a week possibly more or less. No one is able to give anyone a strait answer.

So once again we are without a lead for work. I feel deflated because it seems that whatever we do back fires....... Sometimes I wonder if it going to be like this the whole way. If it is, then this isn't fun. I think I need to win the lottery. But I guess that would be too easy.

I don't think God is into easy. Or else perseverance wouldn't be a fruit of the spirit right?
Jordan and I have decided that the theme of our trip has been and may as well be James 1:2-8 which says:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

But in all this the uncertainty and newness of everything is what makes it an adventure! Right?
I don't feel convinced.

On a cheerier note I did catch my first snake today. It was a brown one with a black head. No idea what it was but will try to find out. It tried to bite Jordo, but I don't think it was big enough.

Well, In all of this God does have a plan. I hope it doesn't involve going flat broke and having to come home early, but if that is His will, then Glory to him!

Peace and Blessings!
Josh

Feb 15th

So I didn't even know it was Valentine's Day until my awesome little sister wrote me a note.... Sad. But that's cool because we are having a great time!

This morning I woke up to the sounds of wallabies bouncing around our tent, and proceeded to stalk one around the campsite. These are such cool creatures that have so much personality to them. I got within 10 feet of one that was feeding in some tall grass, and stood in a amazment at how they move and hold on to stuff with their little hands. Very much made my day.

Makes me realize how creative God really is! The animals are so much different from what we have back at home. Still haven't seen a snake or koala and many other strictly Aussie animals, but am really looking forward to it!

This morning I purchased a cell phone so that when we apply for jobs we can get a call the tell us when to come in. So that is good and cellphones are really cheap here. So if you have the crazy urge to call us, for any reason, our number is 0435 030 682. But don't call Jordan cause it will cost you a day and a half of your life and about a million dollars...... Just kidding buddy.....

thanks for your prayers! with lots of Love,
Josh

Just another update!!

Hey all
so first off, I think I need to apologize for my terrible amount responses and emails! Even though it is difficult to get connected to the internet without paying a million dollars everytime, that is no excuse! So PLEASE, forgive me!
Having said that, I will give you guys an update. It is currently tuesday feb 12th or 13th. I don't really know. We still haven't been able to get going on some work. Either we are too late or too early to pick grapes in every area we've been too, and most other jobs want you to commit for more than a month. So we are still looking....
On sunday we went to a tiny church in a place called yankalilla. yes it's the real name of a real town... the church we went to was an Assembly of God, which is very similar to a charismatic pentecostal church back home. There was 30ish people in the congregation (including kids) but was full of great people. the worship was great!
afterwards we were blessed to be invited to a home for lunch by Tom Palma and were joined by Leanne and her kids (Sarah, Joel and James) and Tom's mom, sister and nephew. Tom's mom Antoinetta (sp?) is italian and made us fantastic pasta in FANTASTIC amounts... I think it's the first time i've been full since I got here....
We ended up staying with Tom for 2 nights and were taken on a tour of the entire Fleurou (sp?) penninsula and fed well many times!
Pray blessings on Tom and his family and Leanne and hers, and also their church if you can!!

As of right now we are in victor harbor SA. we have gone to another employment agency and have a few leads on work. We also found some second hand surfboards that we would love buy, but will have to wait until we have found work.

thanks for all your prayers! they mean alot!

From me to you through God be blessed!

Feb 10th

So here we are in Rapid Bay South Australia, and it is beautiful! We are surrounded by big rolling hills and nestled in a little bay on the ocean. The water is clean, clear and an awesome green. The one downside is that it hasn’t stopped blowing since we got here.
we have at least seen some kangaroos now (it only took ten days on the road) I was beginning to believe that Roos were an imaginary creature that aussies had created to bring people over..... but I guess not.
both Jordo and I are pretty sunburnt despite the attempted sun blocking we have tried.... I guess we are just a couple of Pink Canadians.. It’s Ok, though kinda hard to sleep at times.
Today we climbed a little cliff beside our camp ground, so that was fun. We tried a little more fishing but despite my best efforts I cannot catch anything. Still haven’t caught anymore than some crabs and snails...... I am embarrassed. I don’t think I can call myself an avid fisherman anymore. Today i packed up after fishing for an hour and half or so only to find that a couple of city kids had caught a fish in their first 15 minutes or so......I just had the wrong hooks........
So tomorrow Jordo and I are really looking forward to going to church and meeting some good people. It’s been hard because there are no campfires allowed in any of the campgrounds so there is no communal spot to gather around...... It’s too bad because that was a big part of this trip, especially for jordo.... I think he’s sick of me already.
Ha ha ha... too bad for him, eh?
We aren’t sure what church we are going to yet but we’ll find that out tomorrow morning, probably in Normanville. We found a couple today that are close by but one is anglican and the other is Uniting (must be the same as United). And the uniting church had a woman pastor so....... no thanks. I think the united church also allows gay ministers.... too bad.
so we have come to conclusion that we are going to have to get normal jobs in some town or city and settle down for a month in order to keep going. We have only stayed in one place for more than one night so far, and I am sick of setting up the tent everyday and always looking for where we are going to sleep and such....
On the lighter side I am currently watching some city kids trying to set up a tent. I have no idea what they are doing but it’s funny.
Well, keep us in your prayers. And hopefully we will be able to respond to your e-mails and comments and such.
Peace and blessings from the other side of the world.
Josh

Newest News

As of right now we are on the road between Mildura and Adelaide. Our presence in Mildura existed for a whole day and involved sleeping in the car in a park that stated no camping because the church across the street wouldn’t let us park in their parking lot for the night and told us to go sleep in the park. Next time well look to the heathens for hospitality....... for shame.
Next our adventures took us to an employment agency where we were referred to a grape farm. The agent was hesitant to give us this job because she said these type of grapes might be a waste of time since they were so small and we were paid by the bucket. The going rate was $86 and change for 100 buckets..... so basically 86 cents a bucket. So we got there around 1 in the afternoon feeling stoked to have work. So we gave her berries for four hours........ yeah..
I finished 19 1/2 buckets and Jordo did 13, and on top of that our “boss” told us that the buckets weren’t full enough........ we worked out to be about $2.50 and hour for Jordo and $4.25 for me...... so we didn’t even ask to get paid, and left. We figured that even if we worked our butts off for 8 hours a day we collectively make $74. To stay in a hostel would cost us 20 each and then there is food as well....... not worth it when it wasn’t even a fun job or town.
So instead of working hard for a month to be able to afford an extra week, we’d rather have a shorter trip that is packed with fun or find a decent job in a cool town on the ocean. Yesterday Mildura was 41 degrees. Too hot for my canadian blood.
Things we still haven’t done:
been in the ocean
seen a kangaroo
seen a snake
we did find a stowaway when we arrived at the vineyard, it was a little skink or blue-tongue lizard. he was cool but seems to have disappeared.... hopefully he shows up again.


a day later and we are in Gawler... cool

Our lizard friend showed up again and so I hav dubbed him Ronchy Ron the Stinky Skink! Or Ron for short.

So here we are in Boort Australia! Yeah, that's right, it's called boort! So far to get here, this is how it went down:
So we got the car, it's sweet, except after paying for it we left it parked where it was and walked around town. When we got back we tried to start it and NO GO..... yeah it wouldn't start. so after trying to fiddle a little we noticed a note on the windshield. It was from sebatian (the seller of the car) and he explained that he forgot to give us the "immobilizer" it's like a car alarm, but instead of making noise it just makes the car not work.
Cool.
So after getting it going then was the ADVENTURE of driving out of downtown melbourne on the wrong side of the boat in a BOAT of a car. (we literally have to three point turn soooo much!) So I was navigating and Jordan had our lives in the palm of his hand. Jordan did excellent, and I nearly failed him completely. But after a few wrong turns we were on our way to the country side.
After an hour out of the city we pulled over and slept in the car. Not sure where that was but it was on the way to boort. It was COLD. Windy and maybe 5 degrees. so it made for a chilly and uncomfortable night. We woke up to wonderful scenery of the australian countryside, and continued our drive to Malmsbury where we stopped for some breaky. There was a quaint little bakery so we ate there and found out later it's one of the best around. It was very delicious, indeed!
After a little more driving we came to the little town of Boort, population 800. Where everyone waves to one another and where the whole town shows up for lawnbowling on thursday nights! There is a little lake that is man made but is currently drying up, a swimming pool, lawnbowling yard, tennis courts, croquet field (pronounced croky) a couple banks and such. Very nice. Sort of a utopia you could say!
As of right now, we are staying with Andy Walton's parent, Kevin and Nancy and they are awesome!! Served us some meat pies last night and took us to lawn bowling. I also had the first good sleep in a week. It was fantastic!
We will probably stick around until sunday so that we can go to church with the waltons, and then head north to find work around Mildura or Swan Hills! But we'll see if we can handle it, it is around 30 something and it is supposed to get to 40 by tommorrow!! And already i am feeling it really good.
I guess that is it for now. I am hoping to edit some vids soon so we can post those, but we shall see!Peace and Blessings