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.