This week's travel story

Who can resist a good travel story? It's a common topic of conversation between those of us who live and work overseas. 

Like the time I got food poisoning in Manila and then the next day, on my way back to Brisbane got stuck for many hours on a plane on the tarmac, and then had to disembark and was stuck so long in the boarding lounge that we witnessed the crew go home! We ended up flying, but arriving in Hong Kong too late to catch the connecting flight to Brisbane, so got a free 24 hours in their fancy airport hotel. But still sick enough to not really enjoy the free food vouchers we also got.

Well, I've got myself a new travel story, in fact it's not over yet.

I find myself in a weird between-world just now. I feel a little bit transparent, in fact. It's a strange place. We were supposed to fly to Tokyo yesterday morning. But, like all the other flights we've booked on this trip, it was cancelled. Thankfully we were able to rebook pretty quickly. But the timing of discovering the flight was cancelled meant that we'd already said goodbye to everyone and were literally on our way to the airport. As we're flying from a nearby city, and we'd decided to minimise the pre-flight travel (and stress) by booking a hotel next to the airport. So Wednesday looked like this:

2 a.m. I woke up and my mind started roaming through all the logistics of the coming 30 hours. I think I drifted back to sleep sometime before the sun came up, but I'm not sure.

7 a.m. David and I had, what has become (during August) our regular morning video call and Bible reading/prayer time.

Sometime after 8 I had breakfast and chatted to my friend/host.

Sometime after that I spent an hour or so organising and packing my luggage, so that I'd had minimal unpacking at the hotel that night and had sorted my carry-on luggage for the next day.

Around 10.30 I lay down with a book and forced myself to be still for an hour.

11.30 I got up, packed the clothes that had been drying on the line in my luggage and went upstairs to make some lunch and chat with my friend and her daughter.

12.30 I put my two suitcases, backpack, and small travel shoulder bag in the car. Hugged my friend and her daughter goodbye. And left.

1.00 I pulled into where my middle son had been staying with his brother over the last 10 days. Sorted out final packing questions with them. Said goodbye to the house cat. Heard a few stories. And sadly said goodbye to our eldest son.

2.00 Drove to the other side of town to drop off our borrowed vehicle to its owners, who drove us to their nearest train station.

3.07 Hopped on the first of two trains (plus a bus) that would get us to the hotel.

3.30ish Hopped off the first train and struggled to figure out which platform the next train would be arriving on. Went up and down in the lift a couple of times! Finally got on the right train. I would not like to have mobility issues and be using Brisbane trains. We struggled to find easy ways to get our heavy suitcases up and over the train lines, and train platforms are, in many places, a big step down from the train.

3.49 These Brisbane trains don't have room for large suitcases. The seats are mostly facing towards the front or back of the train. I was squished into a seat beside a lady, with one of my suitcases where my knees should be and backpack balanced on top. I got a text from my husband: "Flight is cancelled"!!!!

Then ensued a lot of texting: back and forth with my husband as he sought to book another flight. Then quickly texted the lady in Wynnum who we'd only just said goodbye to (owner of car), asking if she could possibly host us again for three or four nights (she said yes). Checked to see if we could get from Wynnum to the Gold Coast airport by 7.30 a.m. via public transport on a Sunday morning (negative). Emailed the hotel to say we were cancelling that night's booking, but could we rebook for Saturday night.

Sometime after 4pm Changed trains and headed back up to Brisbane. Then changed trains again.

5.21 We arrived back where we'd first gotten on a train and were taken, a little shell-shocked, back to a lovely quiet home. This is where we had arrived in mid-June after our 36 hour journey from Tokyo. I can't say we were in much better shape when we arrived this time!

That evening, despite not being in a great way, I contacted the booking agent for the hotel and rebooked. Looks like the hotel has been very gracious and won't charge us for the late cancellation. I also figured out we needed a new PCR test, where to get that, and what we needed to do (print out a new pathology request). 

All afternoon my throat had been getting sorer and by the evening my head was starting to get clogged up too. The aftershock of it all made me shaky and I pretty much lost my appetite. I was slightly panicking about the possibility of COVID and the new PCR test I had to pass to fly again, but having only just recovered from COVID, it seemed unlikely. Nonetheless, the thought of going through another cold-like sickness wasn't appealing. It probably goes without saying that I didn't sleep well that night either, despite being exhausted. But the next morning (yesterday) I did feel a lot better about the whole affair.

On Thursday my main job was to get new PCR tests and also a few groceries to tide us over. Thankfully we were able to borrow the car for one more day. We're in a "granny flat" where there are some supplies in the cupboard and fridge, but not really enough for three days and nights. It was hard to plan for meals for just the two of us for those three days, and even more so once I realised (again) that portions sold in grocery stores are larger here, and often more expensive. For example, a small tub of yoghurt cost more than a large tub of yoghurt!

I also took some time to wander along the esplanade at Wynnum. Not the prettiest of beaches, but lovely to see the sea, and the sky, and trees, and to breath.

Today (Friday) has been a quiet at-home day. I'm thankful that once again we've jumped through the "negative COVID test hoop". I've managed to do a little bit of urgent editing, but mostly resting. Because I again didn't sleep well last night (read from 2 am to 4am!).

Tomorrow we begin the journey to the hotel airport again, though this time we're a little bit closer and we've got a lift to the hotel. This is a protracted journey that I hope will come to an end with my head on my pillow in my own home in Tokyo on Sunday night.

And why do I feel transparent? Well I've said goodbyes here and people have generally expected that I've left (unless they're on social media) and I was expected back in Tokyo yesterday, so people there are already saying "Welcome back". It's as if I'm in a time warp.

There's no knowing the "why" of this. But simply, it's good to recognise that we're not in control, and that times like these can grow our faith, when we continue to trust God amidst the uncertainty. We've had people praying for us. Our host sent us these verses:

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you. (Isaiah 41:10,13 NIV)

Comfort!

Unexpected joys and regaining of health

It's only been a few days since I last blogged, but I'm feeling quite a bit better. Which is very good, especially considering all that I've ended up doing over the weekend. 

One very large tree at the park on Saturday: an Indian
Banyan. Obviously not all the trees in the park 
were native! My friends and I were imagining our kids
climbing in this tree when they were younger (and
probably even now).

On Saturday I spent several hours in a native-tree park with two of my best friends. It was delightful weather and fantastic company. The evening was also busy as my son and I socialised with our hosts over pizza and a documentary about the Thai soccer team rescue, followed by our usual weekend family video call.

And Sunday also ended up being very social. At 8.30 am I went to church with my two oldest sons, then talked to various people I knew there, some I first met as a child. The church now runs two services on a Sunday morning, to accommodate the restrictions the government had at one point for COVID, and so you can only talk inside after the 8.30 service for an hour before you have to leave. I ended up talking with an acquaintance who is an illustrator and author. After it was clear we needed to vacate the church building we progressed on to coffee at a nearby cafe, talking about writing, editing, writing retreats, creative process, etc. It was an unexpected delight, and one that has sparked some positive ideas and connections for the future. 

I then gathered my sons and we went for a Korean lunch in the home of a retired missionary; I first met her as a child when she came and taught my Sunday school class about Korea. We've stayed in touch all these years and it's wonderful that our eldest is now in the same church as her. She loves young people and enjoys inviting them round to her house, so our son isn't a stranger to having lunch with this lady.

After that we went back to where my middle son and I have been living and packed up our stuff. From there I took him to move in with his big brother. And I drove 30 minutes away to a friend's house, which is a real blessing to me at the end of this long period of living out of suitcases. These are our seventh abodes since mid-June, and we're a little travel weary! This is just for ten days and then we'll head to a hotel near the airport for our last night (hopefully) before flying back to Japan.

So, our sojourn in Australia is drawing to a close. We've still got a couple of appointments to take care of and I'm planning to spend time with my parents and sisters on Saturday. On Sunday I say see-you-next-year to the folk at our home church. And in the meantime I'm continuing to work at staying on top of the usual editing/managing/writing responsibilities I have for the Japan field, and thankfully I'm feeling a lot more able to do that this week. 

I came across the term "knowledge worker" yesterday while editing. It's the first time I've heard of that classification. And what I do fits it very well. My job is to "think for a living". I think it's a helpful term to understand some aspects of what I do. It was encouraging to hear my writing friend say on Sunday that recently, for some reason, she didn't have the headspace to cope with the larger editing tasks that her editor had asked her to do on her latest book manuscript. I often feel like that, only able to approach some of the harder editing tasks I have when I'm "in the right headspace". This month it's been challenging to try to push through getting editing work done while being below par health-wise. If you're a "knowledge worker" you have to be well enough for your brain to function at a higher level than if you're just doing relatively mundane tasks, like, say (for me), cooking a simple meal, or answering basic emails.

Back in March, I wrote this about one of the reasons we were coming to Australia at this time:

I'll stay longer in Australia with our middle son to do some reconnaissance for his future. He's still deciding about what his next steps are, and I hope that an un-hurried period in Australia as a young adult will help him consider what he might like to do next. Last time he was there he was 16, and in a period of high anxiety and stress at school, so it's really hard for him to imagine what life in an English speaking country might be like as an independent adult. 

It's hard to judge how well this reconnaissance has gone. But I think we'll be reaping the benefits over the coming year as we plan to relocate both our youngest sons more permanently in Australia. We've certainly been able to give them both plenty of "this is what it's like to be an adult or older teen" experiences. It's quite remarkable to do something they're familiar with in Japan, like going to the dentist, and see them experience the remarkable difference when they do it in Australia. Language makes a huge difference, and culture does too.

I'm heading into a more intense period of "transitionitis" again over the coming nine days, but hopefully not too bad, especially as we know that we're heading back "home" and into a familiar routine. And it's only one plane and two countries, not three and three! Hopefully I'll find some headspace to write here next week before I fly.

How are you? How do you even answer that?

How are you? Is a difficult question. It often requires one to either gloss over anything that isn't a brief "fine". If one goes beyond that, you have to be careful about "reading the air": is this person going to have the time to hear the whole story, do they even want to know? Or is this just a greeting, not unlike "Hello"? The postman asked me this after lunch, that was an easy one. The guy who sold me the RAT test that several minutes later came back positive, also asked me how I was! 

An array of brightly coloured cut
flowers at a local supermarket
that I enjoyed when I wasn't
feeling up to doing much more
than a bit of grocery shopping.

I'm no longer in quarantine, and more than two weeks past my "positive test day". But I'm not 100% back to my usual level of energy yet. Chronic asthma means my lungs take some time to recover from respiratory illnesses, but this virus has sapped my energy in ways that have surprised me. 

At its height, the illness felt very much like a miserable cold, but the lingering fatigue is different. Twice this week I met friends for coffee or a meal and I lasted about two hours before I was struggling to breath. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were busy days with multiple excursions outside the house (appointments with or without my son, church, lunch/coffee) plus people at home to socialise with. These left me shaky and out of breath, or even feeling mild heart palpitations or discomfort in my throat. It's been challenging to balance all I want to or feel I need to do, with the energy I have available. It definitely reminds me of the "spoon theory" and gives me an extra appreciation for the daily struggle that people with chronic diseases or disabilities that sap their energy deal with.

It's now less than two weeks before we have tickets on a flight that will take my son and I back to Japan. This coming Sunday we make our second-last change of accommodation for this trip. We're splitting up. I'm going to stay with a friend and her family and our son will be trying out life in a share house with his brother and some other young guys. It's an experiment that we hope will help be a stepping stone towards independence for him.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to work as I can on my varied responsibilities in Japan: I'm working on two issues of the Japan Harvest magazine as well as leading the social media team for OMF Japan. 

I'm thankful that I'm able to start most days with a video call with David, the time difference isn't a problem. We're starting each day with Bible reading and prayer, which is normal for us, so is helping to keep me balanced and to catch up quickly daily is also really helpful. He's back at work now and our youngest starts Yr 12 on Tuesday.

It's been good to have time to touch base with a few people in the last week or so and give them a longer answer to "How are you?". But also to be able to reassure them that we're planning to be back in Queensland this time next year, except then we'll be settled here for at least a year and be freed up to catch up with a lot of people. By the way, this coming year is going to be a big one: last year of having a child at school, packing up our home of 13 years, handing over our Japan ministry responsibilities, and settling into life and ministry in our fifth home assignment! 

But I'll be grateful to have August over and be back together with David in Tokyo soon. The prospect of that trip back to Japan is not appealing, it's one of those things that will be better to be in the past instead of the future. I simply can't believe Australians are busting to get back into international travel again, for fun! It really isn't that fun right now. 

However, I have enjoyed the freedom of going out without a mask on, and talking to people without that barrier. Yes, I probably got COVID because of that, but I also may have gotten it anyway. I see the importance of the strategy of masks, but that doesn't mean that I'm really comfortable with wearing one.

Summarising all the above as an answer to "How are you?" is pretty hard...but perhaps the short answer is "I'm doing okay." I'm breathing, my heart is beating, I'm loved, I've got food and a roof over my head. And most of all, I have hope. I was reminded of this encouraging passage again at church last Sunday:

But this I call to mind,

    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

 they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

    “therefore I will hope in him.”

 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

    to the soul who seeks him.

 It is good that one should wait quietly

    for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21–26 ESV)

Blogging from quarantine

Yep, I caught the dreaded COVID. That's not all that's been going on. It's been a huge 10 days since I last posted.

The lovely view out my bedroom window.

Sunday

We all went to the same church and the same service for the first time in several years. After morning tea at a local coffee shop, the rest of the day was spent hanging about at home, enjoying our proximity for what we thought would be the last time for perhaps a year. 

But after dinner we got an email saying that David and our youngest son's flight the next morning was cancelled and things got all topsy turvy (these stresses go straight to my gut). So, we hung about, trying to be calm and watching the Commonwealth Games, while David worked to sort out an alternative flight, which turned out to be just 26 hrs later. Then we needed to tidy up all the dominoes: accommodation, transport to the airport, PCR tests (yes, still required for entry into Japan), transport from the airport in Tokyo, notifying OMF etc.

Monday

David and and our son travelled in the morning to get a new PCR test because Japan's rule is it needs to be done 72 hrs prior to flying. But while they were on their way our Japan line manager let us know that there is a loophole for cancelled flights: 96 hrs. So, they got there, cancelled the test David had booked, applied for a refund, and came home.

We got a few more hours as a "five-some" as we ate dinner together again that evening.

My plans for the day had been: drive the guys to the airport at "crazy o-clock" then go "home" to clean and move to our next accommodation. None of that happened. It was also supposed to be my first day telecommuting to Japan for work. I hadn't anticipated being able to get much done if things had gone to plan. But instead of sitting around in limbo, I pulled out my computer and tried to get a sense of where things were at with my two teams, and answered some urgent emails. I'm glad I did, because the rest of the week didn't pan out as planned either!

Tuesday

The change of flights meant a change of airport. I had a shorter drive at "crazy o-clock" to get them to a local train station. However, the farewell left me quite distressed, it was hard to drive "home" alone when part of my heart was heading back to the place that really feels like home at the moment.

A couple of hours later, though, I had responsibilities. I took our middle son to the psychologist and together we received the results of her assessment over the previous three weeks. This has been an important part of our time in Brisbane and will hopefully help guide us as we move forward in the next 24 months. But it wasn't easy to do this without David to talk to (he was in the air by then).

Then we went back to our "home" of three weeks and finished packing up and cleaning. Never my favourite tasks!

We drove to our next lodging (just 10 minutes away), which is the home where our eldest son boarded for over three years. He came over and helped us settle in and was a good ice breaker.

Wednesday

I tried to get up and get some work done, but really struggled to focus. Getting back into my work after six weeks away is hard, but with so much disruption going on around me, it was even harder. But then I started to feel my chest tightening up.

After lunch we went to buy groceries for our breakfasts and lunches. My throat was sore and I started coughing. I also had a nasty headache. Not unusual, I've had headaches most days in the last few months, but I think this one was extra nasty.

I got a little more computer work done, and had a Zoom meeting with my Line manager.

Thursday and Friday and onwards

I woke up on Thursday knowing that my first stop after breakfast would be obtaining a rapid antigen test for COVID. And, you know the end of the story: it was positive.

While I haven't been desperately ill, I really didn't get much else done in terms of work on Thursday or Friday. Just a little bit of urgent chasing up of people, or delegating. Some of which was typed on my phone while lying in bed.

My experience of COVID infection has been indistinguishable from the way my body usually reacts to a bad cold. I know that is not true for everyone, but that is how it's been for me. Because I have chronic asthma it's hit my breathing hard, but I have meds that I've been able to use to keep that in check. I know it's going to take a while to get back to a normal level of energy and breathing.

It's been a bit strange doing this in someone else's home with very few responsibilities of my own. I've mostly kept to my own room, but have had to use the kitchen and shared bathroom. We've been eating joint dinners outside on the verandah at separate tables!

I'm thankful that this has come at a time when I had few plans that needed changing or cancelling. This hasn't disrupted travel plans either! And also that there were few things that others were relying on me to do. But also that I've been sufficiently well enough to take care of my own basic needs. I've had a clean, cosy, and private room to quarantine in. And a family living in the house with their own schedule that has given some structure to the day, even though I couldn't participate in much of it. They are also providing our dinners (and we'd shopped for food for other meals just before I went into quarantine). I'm even thankful for the government rules that tell me to stay put and recover in isolation. I can't ever remember feeling so guilt-free about staying in my room and "being lazy" for such a long period!

I'm also thankful for friendship that I've developed that haven't depended on physical proximity. And technology. Though I've been alone in my room, I've not been lonely. Indeed, for example, I had a fantastic 2 ½ hr video call with two close friends yesterday afternoon that was life-giving.

I'm in quarantine through to Thursday morning and hopefully will only have a lingering occasional asthmatic cough by then. I have typed this sitting up at a desk, and had a sufficiently clear head to do some editing work too! Indeed, I have spent a lot less time horizontal today, so it seems like this infection is on its way out.

I hope the next ten days are less dramatic!

Mt Coot-Tha botanical gardens meander

This week we've had beautiful weather here in Brisbane. And it's turned into a "week of parks". On Monday three of us spent a couple of hours at Mt Coot-Tha botanical gardens, a place we've driven past many, many times, but not gone in. It was spectacular. I've shared some photos at the end of this post.

On Friday we met my parents at Queens Park in Ipswich for a BBQ lunch, also a really lovely park, but one that's much older (159 years, according to a plaque I saw). The park also houses a free Australian native animal zoo that we enjoyed. It's the first time we've gone to a zoo in many years. It was a fun experience with these Aussie boys who've not spent much of their lives in Australia.

Today David and I spent several hours at a much newer park: Rocks Riverside Park. We were joined by two couples who have known us for many years. Great conversations.

The temperatures here have been around 20C in the middle of the day. Very comfortable. Alas David and our youngest son are about to return to Tokyo, where the temperatures are hot and humid day and night. I'm sad to see them go, but happy that I don't have to brace for that.

The next month is going to be weird. David and I have rarely been apart for so long, and in this case we'll both be single parents. I'm staying here and "telecommuting" to Japan from my desk. My middle son and I are also moving to our sixth bed for this trip on Monday. For the next four weeks we'll be staying with a family from our eldest son's church, incidentally, the same family he lived with for a few years. Later in the month we'll move one more time: this time to two separate places. Our son will stay with his brother for a couple of weeks and I'll stay with a friend and her family.

It's a very different look to our usual routine, so will take some adjusting to. On top of starting work again, I will have a few more appointments to attend with our middle son. These extra two weeks will also give me more time to hang out with my two older sons. Plus I plan to catch up with a few more friends that I haven't been able to see thus far. 

We'll see how it all works. The main idea is to give our anxious middle son a bit more time to experience Australian life, experience that we hope will help fuel his thoughts about the future. 

I am a little anxious about my return in September, because in addition to the uncertainty about international travel at this time, our visas expire only two days after we're planning to fly back. Worst-case scenarios are playing on my mind, especially if I awaken at 3 or 4am!

Trust in the Lord, that's what my close friends are reminding me to do. God who goes before us! 

    It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed (Deut. 31:8 ESV)

Early this morning I was also silently repeating as much as I could remember of Psalm 23 to myself:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

But look at these photos from the Mt Coot-Tha botanical gardens. I've used a free app, PictureThis, on my phone to identify them accurately.

Japanese camellia

New Zealand cabbage tree

Hairpin banksia (native Australian)

Aloe vera

Coral tree (native to Brazil)

My companions in this two-hour stroll

Butterfly agave

Close up of the hairpin banksia flower

Crimson bottlebrush (native to Australia)

Cockatoos

Parrot's beak

Just my little phone camera: so I couldn't Zoom
in to the two kookaburras who were entertaining
us from the top of this sign. We've driven past
this sign so many times! It was odd to be on the other side of the wall.

Endemic to this part of Australia: bush turkey.

Grevillea (Red silky oak, a species of spider flowers, an Australian native)

Huge fern: silver tree (from New Zealand)

Food, awkward conversations, and trust

I've had time to think about a lot of things. Here are some of them:

Providing food for an itinerant family (on a budget)

As I explained in my last post, we've been travelling around Queensland in the last month, sometimes with our own kitchen and sometimes with family (and the presumption that they will organise meals). Planning and grocery shopping has moved to a slightly higher challenge level. I've mostly stuck with the simple options, but trying to keep things healthy means not every night can be pies, pizza, or sausage rolls. Not to mention that I just get bored too easily. 

But cooking dinners without a pantry means you're often missing those important extras like salt, vinegar, or flour—the things I think of as staples, that you buy once every few months, but not for a flying visit of a few weeks. And as one who is not only on a budget but is averse to waste, it's not easy to come up with good meals for hungry young men (not to mention David and me).

Here are some of the evening meals I've ended up making:

• sausages and veggies
• chicken wraps
• bacon, eggs, and damper (like soda bread, it's quick wheat bread made with baking soda as a rising agent, not yeast)
• dry rub (garlic flavour) on chicken drumsticks, with rice and veggies
• BBQ (beef patties on bread rolls)
• Japanese curry (roux bought in shops)
• roast lamb

It's a mix of things that we enjoy about Australian food, plus some comfort food we're familiar with from home in Japan. It's worked fairly well, though I'm also dealing with the unfamiliar electric stove/hob. In Japan we use gas, and it's a quite a mental shift to go to electric again. Gas is just so fast! The stove top at our current abode is also complicated—I needed to pull out the instruction manual a couple of times! Plus, adjustments are needed due to the different types of equipment in a kitchen that's not my own, for example, where we are right now has a rice cooker (yay!) but no "rice" cup (180ml). Also there's no potato masher or big-sized tongs.

We're only in our own place until the end of this month. Then David and our youngest son go back to Japan. I'm here with our middle son for another six or so weeks, during which we'll be living with other people. That's going to provide different challenges, too, I'm sure. But at least they'll have a pantry with staples in it.

Spotting a missionary out of their “natural” habitat 

Have you ever spotted a missionary out of their "natural" habitat? We expect that missionaries are either in their country of service, doing what ever they do. Or if they are in their passport country, they will be doing home assignment. As we've met people during these last few weeks in Australia, we've answered questions that made us realise that our presence here is a surprise, or even a tad unsettling. We're not in Japan and nor are we doing deputation. "Here to see family" seems an acceptable answer, but "on holidays" is a bit strange, especially when we're in Brisbane (which isn't really a standard holiday destination). However, if someone is willing to stick around and ask good questions, I get to explain a little about the challenges we're facing in transitioning our middle son from high school in Japan to adult life in Australia and that this is one way that we're trying to help navigate that gap. 

I anticipate it's going to get more difficult to explain in August. Then I will be back at work, but will still be in Brisbane. I work from my home office in Tokyo, and will be doing the same here in Brisbane for a few weeks. That's definitely going to be a bit tricky to explain.

But I'm not the only missionary with our organisation working in Australia. Did you know that we have quite a lot of people who work here? Their work helps us stay in Japan, but also they help recruit others to join us. I imagine they often face this challenge in explaining their roles. I know that they struggle to find sufficient financial support (yes, they are supported by gifts from others, just like we are).

Trusting God

I'm also thinking about this. We've been given the gift of time away from work, but it's been harder to "be still" in the midst of that than I might have guessed. Being still and not being consumed with lots of to-dos means there's more time to think. And of course with that comes the thoughts about "bad things that could happen", especially surrounding our upcoming flights back to Japan. I woke up yesterday morning with that all running around in my head and it took a while to shake it off.

One tempting way to avoid getting stuck in that bad place is to fill up my schedule with lot of other things to entertain or distract. 

Another way is to focus on God's character and his all sufficiency. We're so tempted to rely on our own strength: "you've got this" is the classic. In reality we're very fragile and easily knocked over. There's so much that we simply don't have ultimately control over. Even if it looks like we do, things happen that show that that isn't truly the case.

I was reminded of Isaiah 40 yesterday, but also Job 38–42. Both passages remind us of how mighty God is, and how relatively small we are in comparison. Job said: 

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (42:2 NIV).

Paul wrote that the Lord said to him: “'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

And: "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5 ESV).

And Jeremiah prayed: "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you" (Jer. 32:17 ESV). God responded, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?" (vs 27).

The Psalmist wrote: "Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" (Ps. 42:11 ESV).

And these things are what I should be directing my thoughts to when I start dwelling on what could go wrong!

(Check out this article for more about El Shaddai, the all sufficient God.)

Meet David and Wendy

I've been thinking about this too, and our rough plan at this point is to take a picnic lunch to Rocks Riverside Park in Brisbane on Saturday 30th July, probably from around 11.30. If you're local and would like to join us, please do. To help locate us, I'll plan to wear my bright red jumper. We don't have any chairs, so we'll try to find a table somewhere.

Update from Australia

I've been off the air (here and also social media) for much of the last month. One reason for that is travel.

On June 19–20 we travelled 5,380 + 6,302 + 750 = 12,432 km by air. It's actually only about 7,100 km between Tokyo and Brisbane, but in June no airline was flying directly from Tokyo to Australia, so we had to fly via another country (in our case, Singapore) and another state (Sydney). In Sydney we hit congestion and baggage delays, so missed our connecting flight to Brisbane. A journey that could take less than 12 hours, door to door, took 35! We've done this journey a number of times in the last 21 years, but never has it taken so long. It was exhausting.

We spent the week after that in Brisbane recovering from the journey as well as taking care of some urgent things. Our eldest son, who we hadn't seen for three years, was going to meet us at the airport, but he came down with COVID the day before we arrived, so that reunion was delayed. We did drive over to see him later in the week and shared a brief afternoon tea in his yard (at an appropriate distance).

On the road in inland rural Queensland. It's been good to
see the land thriving. Last time we were here
it was in drought.

Then we gathered ourselves for a "tour" of Queensland. First a week's holiday by the beach with two special friends and their families; a few days with David's family, and then my parents (who live eight-hours drive apart). So, since 25 June we've travelled 360 + 390 + 690 + 120 = 1,560 km by car. A total of about 17 hours of journeying in the car, on four days. (That's just counting the drives between beds.) And we didn't leave the state, in fact we didn't even make it half-way up the coast of Queensland. This country is huge.

Here are some other photos from some of the places we've seen.

Brisbane River

First view of Brisbane after 35 hrs of travelling

Queensland beaches, even in winter, beat most Japanese beaches.

South of Yeppoon, central Queensland

Woodgate Beach

Our youngest with two dogs belonging to family.

This week we arrived back in Brisbane and laid our heads on our fifth beds in Australia since we arrived just over three weeks earlier. I've struggled with headaches most days since I've been in Australia (and in the days leading up to leaving Japan) and my body is showing other signs of strain. I'm now on antibiotics (for a non-respiratory infection), a common sign I've been travelling, a lot!

I've held off posting much on social media because just dealing with all of the above, plus trying to make the most of time with important people who we haven't seen for several years, has taken most of my daily strength. I've been trying hard to "be present" in the moments. That, of course, has meant that I've had little time alone, and little time to reflect. Writing is one way that I process my thoughts, and I've missed having time and energy to do it. I'm glad to be settled in one place now, in a self-contained place that's "just us" in Brisbane for a few weeks.

It's been good to spend precious time with family and close friends, to hear and discern how they are just now. I have two-and-a-half more weeks of personal leave, during which we've got a few important appointments. But we especially see these weeks as opportunities to help our younger two boys see life in Brisbane through eyes that are older (they were 13 and 16 last time we were here), and to think about what it will be like to move here in the middle of next year. Exactly how these weeks will shape up, we're not sure. That makes me feel a bit uneasy, but I'm trying to relinquish my desire to plan and be in control, and to wait and see how God works things out.

Those of you who live in the Brisbane area, please be patient with us. We are actually on leave from OMF! We aren't doing deputation, but we're thinking about an informal open invitation social gathering before David flies back to Tokyo, details haven't been worked out yet, though. Stay tuned.