Fun and Friends in Sydney

First look

It’s always an emotional moment for me when I first catch sight of my homeland from the airplane window. An ache for all the time spent away from my family and friends and culture, and a simultaneous catch of breath to be welcomed back again to my sunburnt country. This time it was a bit of the southern coast of Sydney, then Botany Bay and very quickly the airport, no sunburning, but still my country.

Botany Bay, the first place Captain Cook landed and considered as a place to set up the new British colony. They ended up in the beautiful Sydney Harbour 10 miles north.

 Off and running! After a brief nesting in Baringa (church office and social hall and guest house) and welcome from my Baringa house-mate Margaret Ward, it was off by train to see Donna Heldon, hubby Jason Martin and their 7 month old twins, Anna and Erik. On a hot day at the end of a hot summer – 39 Celcius, 102 F.

Donna, Anna, Erik, Ros, Jason. Never did get all 5 looking in the same direction at the same time. Kudos to Owen for keeping on trying!

And to complete the Heldon day, a Valentine’s Day dinner at Murray and Lori Heldon’s, complete with a heart-shaped red-topped Pavlova. After dinner, Todd and I met to plan out the Lay-Lead Service for Sunday, since he was going to Perth in Western Australia to minister to a General Church group there for an extended weekend. As I wrote earlier, he had originally wanted me to lead the service, but the General Church leadership objected to the choice of a female lay-leader. But they agreed to an outdoor service with a balanced worship leading team: a male lay leader doing the liturgics (opening the service, prayer, readings) and me giving a children’s talk and leading a discussion about “Correspondences in Nature.”

Dylan, Zachary, Rev Todd, Jenn, Jessica, Jeffrey, Lori, Lily, Kristen, Liam, Sam, Murray. Sorry for any misspellings. Not literally all Heldons since the Beiswengers and I were included.

My path the next day took me to my favourite running track when I’m in Hurstville: through Quarry Park and preserve. After that wonderful exercise in the bush, and a load of wash hung out to dry quickly in the sun, a friend from St George Girls’ High School picked me up for lunch at Doll’s Point on Botany Bay. Our plans for a formal afternoon tea with other St Georgians in our class had fallen through, so Diana and I went out anyway!

Our view from the cafe on Botany Bay

It was too hot to sit outside, but this would have been our view of the bay.

By the time we got back from lunch, the laundry was dry and I caught up on those housekeeping details that are sometimes hard to keep track of when on holiday. I’m learning to make time for myself as I go along so I won’t need a week to recover when I get back!