The Montifiore Manse

Christmas

On the morning of Monday the 24th, we headed down to Hobart to spend Christmas with some friends. We decided to leave a bit early and see a bit of Tas. The trip down to Hobart is always a beautiful one of scenic fields, paddocks, and rolling hills, but this time we stopped at Bonorong nature park. We had a chance to spend some time with Oz animals.

Here is a young "Common Wombat." Common Wombats are the only ones found on Tassie but there are different types on the mainland. They are quite tough little animals, with a bony plate on their bums. For defence, they simply dig a hole and stick their back side out.

An albino (or "al-bean-o" as they say in Oz) wallaby with a little brown "joey" (baby) sticking its head out of the pouch.

Koala bears sleep most of the day and the tour guide said dirt has more energy in it then the eucalyptus leaves they eat. They are not native to Tassie but they have a few in nature parks.

After Bonorong, we continued to Hobart and caught up with friends. We had dinner and then a relaxing night playing games. On Christmas Day, we got up and generally hung out and ate. We also prepared for the trip planned for the next day. The picture above is of the pastor of the Southern Presbyterian Church of Hobart, Iain Smith. Here, he is preparing his fishing rod for the next day. He grew up on the island of Lewis in Scotland; fishing was an essential part of life.

On the left is Lorraine tenHaaf, a friend from the Launceston congregation, and on the right is Mary Smith, Iain's wife. Both ladies are enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful day.

This is Terry "the Bishop" Connors. He is a retired elder from the Hobart congregation and the older brother of Pat Connors, one of the elders in the Launceston congregation. He is holding up a sign he got for Christmas. The sign is very fitting, as he is our fishing guru and chief. He may not be from Scotland, but even Iain acknowledges that "the Bishop" knows his fishing and asks for occasional advice.

This is Bev, Terry's wife. She takes good care of all the folk in Hobart, and has the challenge of keeping "the Bishop" in line.

Lorraine, Martha, and Terry opening Christmas gifts.

The day after Chrismas, we drove an hour south of Hobart and headed to Iain and Mary's "shack." The "shack" is what non-Tasmaniacs would call a cottage or holiday house.

Iain has done a lot of work on the shack himself. The latest edition was finishing off this enclosed porch.

The shack looks small from the outside but has a finished porch, kitchen, two bedrooms, dining room, and deck. Here is the first half of the living room...

...and here is the second half of the living room, which is also Iain's away office.

Iain and Terry sitting out on the "wee" (Scottish for "little") deck.

After spending an hour or so at the shack, we headed out to go fishing. Here I am all dressed up and ready to fish. Thankfully, I remembered my rod and reel, though they aren't pictured. Martha thought this was the perfect shirt for the occasion!

Here is the mighty fisher woman herself! My beloved wife caught five fish, tying with Iain Smith. I brought in the biggest haul with six fish. None of them were huge, but they were perfect pan size fish. When all was said and done, we went back to the shack with nineteen fish.

Our first Christmas in Tassie was a very blessed one. We may not have had church services (being Presbyterian, we do not follow the church calender), but we had an excellent and restful time of Christian fellowship. Martha and I have missed friends and family, and even the snow and the cold, but we have a special bond with Iain and Mary too. We have both come from different traditions, Scottish and Dutch, to labor in the Word and lift up Christ in this small island at the ends of the earth. We are both students of Reformed and Presbyterian theology, but each with his own specialty. Iain knows John Owen very well and I continue to be fascinated with Geerhardus Vos, Cornelius VanTil, and Neo-Calvinistic epistemology (the philosophy of how we know things) in general. We both have a strong love for the warm-hearted experimental Calvinism of both the Dutch and Scottish traditions and seek to have an evangelistic focus in our preaching and labors. Plus, we just get along. And of course our wives are "Mary and Martha."

The Lord be with you all. We miss you.

Terry & Martha and baby K