Melbourne Trip Part 1
We have been back from Melbourne for a bit now. Getting settled back in Tassie, catching up on things, and keeping up with work has kept us busy.
We arrived in Melbourne, the second biggest city in Oz, on October 18 and made it back to Tassie on November 4 (if memory serves). The trip was a bit of a working holiday; we had basically three things going on.
First was the U.S. side of Job's government paperwork. Before we left, we had scheduled an appointment with the U.S. consulate in Melbourne. At the appointment, we got Job's birth registered (basically creating an official birth certificate for U.S. citizens born abroad), obtained his Social Security Number, and arranged to acquire his passport.
The second thing was a minister's fraternal with the brothers from the Australian Free Church. The Australian Free Church is a denomination very similar to the Southern Presbyterian Church. Both fully subscribe to the Westminster Standards, use the King James Version in worship, sing the Psalms exclusively in worship without accompaniment. The fraternal was a real blessing to all the ministers who could come. It was a small gathering with four ministers (the Southern Presbyterian Churches have two ministers actively serving and the Australian Free Church have four ministers but only two could attend). The fraternal was informal and we had a lot of brotherly fellowship - spending time in prayer together, sharing about the struggles and blessings of the work of the ministry, discussing approaches to evangelism in the Australian context, going out for lunch, and hearing and presenting three theological topics. I presented a topic on how the children of believers are viewed in the Covenant of Grace. Rev. John Nelson, the pastor of the Australian Free Church in Chadstone, Victoria, presented a topic on the relationship between circumcision and baptism. (Victoria is the state Melbourne is capitol of and Chadstone is a suburb of Melbourne.) Rev. Iain Smith presented a topic on the Kennedy view of baptism concerning the baptism of adherents in the Scottish Highlands. We all found the topics helpful, encouraging, and thought-provoking.
The last scheduled thing to do while we were in Melbourne was the "Communion Season" at the Australian Free Church in Chadstone. The Communion Season consisted of a preparatory service on Saturday, morning worship on the Sabbath with the Lord's Supper, and a reflection service in the afternoon. The Lord gave strength and we had a blessed time remembering the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and the strength and encouragement we have in Him for our lives of service.
The rest of our time in Melbourne was spent visiting folk from the Australian Free Church, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and even some of our own Southern Presbyterian folk who had moved to Victoria. The rest of the time we relaxed a bit and saw some of Melbourne.
The following pics below, and in a couple more posts to come, are a few of the photos we took.
We have been back from Melbourne for a bit now. Getting settled back in Tassie, catching up on things, and keeping up with work has kept us busy.
We arrived in Melbourne, the second biggest city in Oz, on October 18 and made it back to Tassie on November 4 (if memory serves). The trip was a bit of a working holiday; we had basically three things going on.
First was the U.S. side of Job's government paperwork. Before we left, we had scheduled an appointment with the U.S. consulate in Melbourne. At the appointment, we got Job's birth registered (basically creating an official birth certificate for U.S. citizens born abroad), obtained his Social Security Number, and arranged to acquire his passport.
The second thing was a minister's fraternal with the brothers from the Australian Free Church. The Australian Free Church is a denomination very similar to the Southern Presbyterian Church. Both fully subscribe to the Westminster Standards, use the King James Version in worship, sing the Psalms exclusively in worship without accompaniment. The fraternal was a real blessing to all the ministers who could come. It was a small gathering with four ministers (the Southern Presbyterian Churches have two ministers actively serving and the Australian Free Church have four ministers but only two could attend). The fraternal was informal and we had a lot of brotherly fellowship - spending time in prayer together, sharing about the struggles and blessings of the work of the ministry, discussing approaches to evangelism in the Australian context, going out for lunch, and hearing and presenting three theological topics. I presented a topic on how the children of believers are viewed in the Covenant of Grace. Rev. John Nelson, the pastor of the Australian Free Church in Chadstone, Victoria, presented a topic on the relationship between circumcision and baptism. (Victoria is the state Melbourne is capitol of and Chadstone is a suburb of Melbourne.) Rev. Iain Smith presented a topic on the Kennedy view of baptism concerning the baptism of adherents in the Scottish Highlands. We all found the topics helpful, encouraging, and thought-provoking.
The last scheduled thing to do while we were in Melbourne was the "Communion Season" at the Australian Free Church in Chadstone. The Communion Season consisted of a preparatory service on Saturday, morning worship on the Sabbath with the Lord's Supper, and a reflection service in the afternoon. The Lord gave strength and we had a blessed time remembering the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and the strength and encouragement we have in Him for our lives of service.
The rest of our time in Melbourne was spent visiting folk from the Australian Free Church, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and even some of our own Southern Presbyterian folk who had moved to Victoria. The rest of the time we relaxed a bit and saw some of Melbourne.
The following pics below, and in a couple more posts to come, are a few of the photos we took.
Here is Julia ready to go to an amazing store: USA Foods!!
USA Foods is a shop that imports American foods (especially candy) to Australia.
As you can see from the pic above, we were there around the end of October.
To the left of the warehouse is the walk-in shop. The rest of the building is for storage, shipping (to other stores in Australia), receiving, and the business office.
Here is the bounty of good things we left with.
A1 Steak Sauce, Triscuits, Twinkies, Country Time Lemonade, and Jet-Puffed Marshmallows are items we have not been able to find anywhere else we have been in Oz.
A1 Steak Sauce, Triscuits, Twinkies, Country Time Lemonade, and Jet-Puffed Marshmallows are items we have not been able to find anywhere else we have been in Oz.
Having fun on the swings at a park not far from where we stayed
Job found his first ride on a swing slightly unsettling. You may notice that his eyebrows are especially expressive.
Julia had lots of fun sliding until she fell (or was pushed by other kids playing?) off the platform to the left of the slide. I saw her fall, but could not make it to catch her in time. As soon as she fell, all the other kids on the play equipment took off. The fall was over 6.5 feet, but she was fine and left without even a scratch. We are very thankful. Of course, she was a bit shocked and shaky, and insisted repeatedly, "I go to bed."
Julia and I enjoyed coloring and snacking in the late morning sun in the back yard. We stayed at the home of David and Robin Stewart. David is one of the elders of the Australian Free Church of Chadstone (a suburb of Melbourne). I met the Stewarts the first time I came to Australia to visit Bert Pohl and his family. David and Robin's two children now live in Launceston not far from us.
Job having fun with Mommy
Robin Stewart and Julia go and get the mail (or should we say post?).
They got something!!
Julia playing in the front yard
The front of the Stewarts' home
Robin and Julia having fun in the front yard
We decided to head to the pool for the afternoon.
Job was ready for all the water action in his swimsuit.
Job was ready for all the water action in his swimsuit.
Julia liked the kickboards that were available at this pool.
Job had fun during his first time in a pool.
One of the visits we made was to Ben Nelson and his family. Ben is the son of Rev. John Nelson and a Latin teacher at a Christian School. He is also an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Australia. In the above photo, Ben's wife Jen puts the finishing touches on the salad.
We always enjoy getting together with Ben, Jen, and their children. Ben and I can freely range and roam in discussion through theology, church history, our own walks with the Lord, and how it all relates to serving the Lord in Australia. But it is not as if Ben and I talk while Martha and Jen are left in the dust. Our wives can hold their own. They join in with us on theological topics, assuming we aren't holed up in Ben's study, but Martha and Jen also discuss literature, history, family matters, and making a home in a new country as well. Jen is originally from England.
We always enjoy getting together with Ben, Jen, and their children. Ben and I can freely range and roam in discussion through theology, church history, our own walks with the Lord, and how it all relates to serving the Lord in Australia. But it is not as if Ben and I talk while Martha and Jen are left in the dust. Our wives can hold their own. They join in with us on theological topics, assuming we aren't holed up in Ben's study, but Martha and Jen also discuss literature, history, family matters, and making a home in a new country as well. Jen is originally from England.
Ben and Jen's daughters (starting from the left) Tessie, Hepsibah, and our Julia
Robin made Julia some play dough and they enjoyed playing with it together.
Julia loves play-dough! She learned to roll sausages.
One thing we could do in Melbourne that we cannot do in Launceston is go to the mall. Launceston has a CBD (Central Buisness District) with shops, and it does have some strip malls, but Launceston does not have any big shopping centres. It is fun to look around and see the variety of things available, and it feels a bit like being in North America again.
In the above picture, Julia is sitting on one of the little merry-go-round kids' rides. She loves to sit on them and have little pretend adventures. We are too cheap to pay the $2 for a ride (there are no Meijer penny horses in Oz), but occasionally another child will jump on and their parent or grandparent will pay and Julia gets a free ride. (There are three seats on the ride, so no point wasting the extra space!)
In the above picture, Julia is sitting on one of the little merry-go-round kids' rides. She loves to sit on them and have little pretend adventures. We are too cheap to pay the $2 for a ride (there are no Meijer penny horses in Oz), but occasionally another child will jump on and their parent or grandparent will pay and Julia gets a free ride. (There are three seats on the ride, so no point wasting the extra space!)
We got kebabs and chips (fries) for lunch and we sat right next to the ride she liked to sit on.
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