My Holiday

I just returned from my 2 week trip to NEW CALEDONIA / VANUATU with my cousins Belinda and Kimberley.... I am now very relaxed, have a little more of a tan and ready to get stuck back into things... Really missed being at work and really keen to get going again - which I think is a good and reassuring thing!

My favourite destination was Wala Island, that is part of Vanuatu... really beautiful water, coral and fish - snorkeling was great! PLUS the locals were super super friendly.

A typical conversation with any local on any island would be they would ask... What is your name? Are you married? What do you do? I would answer Hayley, No, Work for a church - and almost every time they would reply with an offer to set me up with a Vanuatuan Pastor... It is a very churched culture and they are very happy to chat about Christianity.

So on the Islands the fact that I worked for a church was a good conversation starter but with the other Aussies my cousins and I traveled with it was a conversation killer... Some conversations over dinner had many awkward silences... There were a few different variations to the typical questions I get about my job :
- are you training to be a nun?
- or a high priestess?
- are you one of those freaks who goes around knocking on doors?

I am glad to be home and begin to get stuck into work again... I have "Wise Up" on Friday night which is like a big youth church for Paddo and Wild St congregations, held at Wild St in Maroubra - I am leading singing which is a scary thought... I love to sing but I am unsure of the sound that comes out... Oh well its all apart of training right?

Then on Tuesday and Wednesday next week I have MTS training conference held at Moore College ... Which I am looking forward to.

Well I must fly... Meeting up with Lizzie today to do wedding prep stuff with her... She is getting married in 3 weeks very exciting... And as bridesmaid stuff goes I think I am doing what I need to - Kitchen Tea this weekend and Hen's the following then the wedding... It has been an absolute blessing having Lizzie at St Matthias this year as well... Lizzie and her fiance Tom are a great encouragement to me and source of support. It has been so great to see a familiar and loving face of a good friend week by week at evening church, especially in the first few months while settling in.

He's Into You

Monday night saw 50 women gather for the second of Women @ Paddo Evangelistic Events:

Fi, Alicia and I were on the organising team to get this event running. We held the event at the Hughenden Boutique Hotel (opposite church) and had Kirsten Hales come an speak giving the no-excuses truth to understanding relationships.

It was loosly linked to the book He's Just Not That Into You and Kirsten challanged the 20 non Christian women who came to pursue a relationship with God who clearly communicates with us and demonstrates his love for us in Christ Jesus! (Romans 5:8)

2 women indicated that they want to investigate further and should be coming along to Introducing God course Matthias is running - so that is really exciting.
Praise God!

(The first women @ paddo evangelistic event was Mother's Day Afternoon Tea at Bishop's Court (Archbishops Residence) - Christine Jensen gave a talk and pointed out that as a mother and grandmother two comforting things to know is that God is in control and God forgives! Many women were able to invite their mums and aunts and grandmothers to hear the gospel - I invited my grandmother, Doreen, and we had a good chat on the way home in the car about sin and forgiveness.
Praise God!

In other exciting news - I am off on holidays tomorrow for 2 weeks - heading to the south pacific with my two cousins Kim and Belinda... I am hoping to relax, refresh, read a good book (The Cross Of Christ which I got for my birthday) and get to know my cousins better.

TAKE CARE!