School Reunion

Every year Peter's mum has an opportunity to join in with a class reunion. She is part of a couple of grades of children who did their sub-junior and junior years (today's grades nine and ten) in Herberton during the war years. Herberton is on the south western edge of the Atherton Tableland and was noted for its good schools. She boarded there at the Methodist hostel. Peter was particularly interested to meet George, his mum's boyfriend of these highschool years. The picture above is of George and his wife Lorna with Peter's mum and dad. Each year it becomes just a little bit harder to get to these reunions and those who make it are becoming fewer, but it was worth the effort. The day was cool with the occasional light shower. Nice.

Before they disbanded, the three eighty-year-olds posed for a photo: Max, Hazel and George. Hazel and George went to the Herberton School and were one year ahead of Peter's mum. In another year, almost all of the group will have passed eighty.

Death of a Cow

When a cow becomes a pet and lives for twenty years, it is inevitable that sometime along the line one would have the difficult task of seeing her demise.

Here is one such story just recently happened in the hot humidity of North Queensland. An old man now 82 has been raising a few head of cattle from the time Peter was just a boy. In those days, this man would take his children and Peter and his two brothers to the Boulders in the back of his truck. The Boulders is the classic, cold and wild swimming spot amongst the rocks, and the truck ride was part of the fun.

Just last week, one of his old cows fell into the creek and was stuck there. This fellow and his neighbours tried various methods to coax her out but to no avail. She lacked the wherewithall to move. They searched for her most recent calf, but it could not be found. They tried molasses since she was a molasses junkie, but even that did not work. The best they could do was prop the head out of the water so that the yabbies would stop nibbling at one of her bulging eyes.

On the third day, there was a terrible bellowing from all the other cattle. They had come to her as she lay in the creek. Their normal lowing had changed to a mournful and constant barrage of sound, one long forceful wake. Everyone about knew she had died.

When the old man came with his neighbours to the place, they found all the other cattle standing about her lifeless body. As soon as they saw the humans approaching, they stopped their bellowing . They were released from the Spirit that held them there, from their focus on her, and the wake ended abruptly. Two of the bulls hung about agressively, but the old man, only in his speedos and gumboots, shooed them away. These bulls, one mature and one still growing, were two of hers.

The way to the creek was completely overgrown, and fallen trees had not been removed since the destruction of the last cyclone. It took three more days for a path to be cut through for the tractor to reach her. By that stage, there was a very strong odor and he and his neighbours had to cope with this as they whinched her out.

The conclusion to this fairly gross saga was the great pyre prepared for her on a hill, some distance away from the creek. There the old queen of the jungle was lost amongst the ashes.

Tropical Rain

Greening the green
Wetting the wet
Cleansing the air
Answering prayer
..
Cooling homes
Clearing drains
Rincing sand
Refreshing the land
..
Splashing paths
Washing roads
Delaying the wash
Filling the trough

..
Simplifying lives
Quietening souls
Desolving resist
Returning the gift..

Wow, three inches this afternoon.

Shepherd Storytelling

There is a further story to tell about our Good Shepherd enactment from earlier this month. We left the golden box with the story props in it with our family at Gembrook. When we did, Peter first showed them how the story went. The four kids - Caleb, Piper, Miriam and Jasper all watched how it went and then had a go with the story themselves (not Jasper though). They then had another go and this time began to alter the story, like having the ordinary shepherd chase away the wolf and every sheep becoming lost!

And this story was offered to a Bible study group the following week. Bec sent an email describing what happened:

"Caleb used your props to tell the story at biblestudy last night - pretty good - everyone was listening. Then the kids made their own good places and shadowy places, and had a turn with the shepherd... That was interesting to watch too. So thanks againfor bringing it round, cos it's been really ace..."

We are realising just how much potential this Godly Play teaching method has with multi-generational groups. Fantastic stuff Caleb, and what a keen memory you have.

Bedroom Meals

There was a time not too long ago when no body was allowed to eat in the bedrooms. Necessity has altered this rule and Peter (camera eye), Mon, Mum, Dad and Phil shared a memorable and rare family lunch together in Mum and Dad's bedroom. It is becoming less and less common to see either of the oldies downstairs these days. Old age is taking its toll and we all have to adapt to our present conditions.

Peter has flown up to North Queensland again, this time for a slightly longer stay. His brother Mon had a real need to return to Melbourne to wind up his affairs there. When Mon returns, it will probably be for a very long time... like Atherton will be his home. Mon overlaped a full day with Peter in order to show the many details required to be a carer for both old parents. Peter was on a high learning curve. If he makes a mistake Ma and Pa (as they are known by our children) will forgivingly correct him.

Peter drove Mon to Cairns Airport and saw him off in the dropoff zone. My goodness Cairns is hot at the moment! Mon was off on his new adventure, the main part being emptying his unit in Melbourne and driving back with loads of stuff. May God give him travelling mercies.

John Weds Chrissy

On one of Melbourne's coldest November days our dear friend Yvette saw her eldest son John marry his beloved Chrissy in the Greek Orthodox Church near Coburg station. Not everyone invited to the reception actually attended the church ceremony, which is strange for us who see this part as the important witness to God. The lovely picture is taken at the reception and shows Yvette with her three children and Chrissy the new member.

What was quite unusual at the church was the symbolic way John and Chrissy' heads were physically bound together with a white ribbon attached to large silver ring-like crowns. They had to walk around the communion table three times maintaining this connection. This gave a lot of meaning to what was happening for those of us who did not understand the Greek mass.

Afterward we were allowed to pose by one of the wedding cars. The driver went out of his way and encouraged us to make use of the opportunity while we had it. Who were we to argue.

Wind, rain, wind or more rain, it was a wedding to remember. The bride's maids all froze. Chrissy was not deterred by the cold. It was her day. It was certainly a good day for Victoria, since we are more often in drought.

The Hut

This is a lesser known building at the Gembrook Retreat. It is out of sight from the other buildings and much lower in the valley. It was used as the main residence before the main building was completed. Let's say that was about a generation ago. The hut's unique character is not well appreciated because the place has an ugly external appearance, and the word "hut" has connotations of having to really rough it. A big plus is its fire place. We have sat for hours and gazed into the flames on the nights we have stayed there. These were times for our spirits to revive. We think the building is very special and it is our preferred choice of accommodation there at the Retreat.

If this place grabs you like it has us, then be advised to bring a few torches and a mosquito net. There is no electricity and there is water about with plenty of mosquito lava. There is a small gas cooker supplied and basic kitchen equipment. You must bring your own food of course. There are plenty of blankets about, but you will need to bring your own sheets. There is a visitors book on the little table to add your thoughts to. The place has a double bed and a double bunk arrangement.

Some time in the future, Peter would like to clad the unfinished internal walls with something in keeping with the uniqueness of the place.

Children's Service

It was Peter's task to give last Sunday's message at church. Unlike ordinary sermons, this was totally focused on primary aged children. He used an adapted version of Godly Play, a method of teaching the Bible (from Texas) that leads to contemplation and self-examination. The theme was the Good Shepherd. The Godly Play method required meaningful visual aids like the standing figures of the Good Shepherd and an ordinary shepherd. Five sheep and a wolf were also made. Green felt was the good grass. Blue felt was the cool, clear, still water. Black felt shapes represented the dangerous place. There was also a simple sheepfold to complete the props. It is always a bit of a trick finding the wherewithal to make these things but it was worth the effort.

The adults did not miss out. There was a closed circuit video camera on the Good Shepherd story and the story action was beamed onto the big screen for everyone else to see. This of course proved a distraction for the children who would often look at the big screen as well. But it seemed to work out. The children enjoyed listening to the story and watching the figures move about, and were ready to participate by reaching in and moving the sheep. So there were factors to this Godly Play story that were very random and risky. It was Godly Play and God was playing in our midst creating surprises. Peter got plenty of positive feedback afterward.
The service also had a creative prayer time when people left their seats and joined a group to write or draw a prayer message. This brought in something of a craft element into the service, something our Children's Church always does when we are in small groups. Even though some adults sat this one out, it seemed hugely successful and afterward the prayer sheets were hung up at the front. We got good feedback on that too.

Once a year our Children's Church and Beginner's Church lead the adult worship. This took a bit of planning because it was something completely out of the ordinary for everyone in our church. Children gave the Bible reading, led in the actions to the songs, acted in an interview drama, collected the offering, and fully participated in every segment of the service including the creative prayer time and the Good Shepherd message. We are so thankful to God for such a positive time for all. An "all stage" (of life) worship is tricky to do and this was as close as we have ever come to believing that it can be done well. In God's grace, that is.

Big Room Changes

We have come a long way and it is time to give Gembrook Retreat's new look a bit of a showing. Below is a rare picture of Peter taken at the start of the current renovation project over a year ago. At that stage the Gembrook Working Group knew what had to be done. The new plan was to divide up the retreat's very large dormitory sized room into four: two bedrooms, a toilet room and a large living space. This all had to be done to a pretty tight budget and at a speed that suited everyone involved. The north wall of the new living space now has two new windows. They throw in plenty of light and hopefully extra warmth next Winter. Now that this stage has been reached, the new bedrooms will be immediately used by an additional family who have just joined the community to support Steve and Jane' family in their hosting of the retreat and caring for the land. Without the Working Group's vision and resulting renovation work the new family would not have been able to come and contribute. It has been good to see the smooth and divinely managed way all this has come together.

Small Room Challenge

This toilet room in the project proved the most complicated to bring to a functioning state. It involved separate work for new wall, window, toilet, sink, lighting, plumbing and piping. And all that after the floor had been mostly reboarded. The mirror from a second hand collector, now the front of a built in wall cupboard, has helped to complete the room's requirements.

The sink cupboard was built to house an 'under the bench' sink and not be too wide. The bench itself is a combination of two types of timber joined, shaped, sanded and painted up. The cupboard sides are of scrap wall cladding. The spout and taps were set into a tiled wall area to save space. This sink had to do more than just provide for hand washing. It will be used for tooth-brushing as well. Alternative sinks being retailed, that suited the size restrictions, were designed for a totally different sort of decor. It was inevitable that we created the unusual in a place like this. Even now the doors of the sink cupboard still require constructing. That will happen in due course.

One very real challenge was cutting through a double brick exterior wall and setting in a new window. There was much study done for where to attach the flashing and other waterproofing measures.

An unknown factor was when a plumber could come and much was completed without knowing when that would be. When he came he did a first class job. Peter likens the plumbing work to a piece of art since the space available to join new pipes seemed too tight. So for it all to come together the way it did has been a great encouragement and a relief for Peter.

Gembrook Changes

The first picture shows what the great north wall looked like one year ago. The windows ran along the top so the tremendous view was only available from the ground floor. As part of the interior work to make the dormitory room into four useful rooms two windows were cut into this wall to add to the earlier one. The old cladding was progressively removed. Surprisingly, there were three wall cavities if the outside plastic cladding is counted to enclose a cavity. The wind was taking bits of that away whenever it got gusty.

After removing the plastic and black painted sheet metal, and the loads of dead Jasmine branches, we came to unpainted sheet metal. Behind that was the normal yellow synthetic wall insulation with the interior timber cladding of the living space behind that. So to create windows in this wall much had to me stripped off. At present there are three windows at the end of the house where most of the project work is getting done.

This is a recent picture of weatherboarding on the wall surrounding the new windows. The weatherboard nails have penetrated the sheet metal easily enough, thankfully. The original wall covering at the other end of the house will have to wait a few more years while other projects at the retreat have their turn.