phase one/wedding phase complete.

Nothing like finishing a great day in Brisbane by blogging accompanied with a glass of wine, while kangaroo is being stir-fried.

First off, I (Jon) am here and am loving Australia.  It has been great for Aimee and I to be together, and we're both now really excited for our weeks here.  Since I arrived Friday morning, so much has happened.  Friday was spent getting to know a lot of the people (Aimee had already been getting to know a bunch) who surround Beth and Luke and were a part of their wedding.  We had great times with people, we had times to just be with each other, I drove on the left side of the road for a first time, and we helped with set up for the wedding the next day.  Saturday was a wonderful day - the wedding day. The day was such a beautiful celebration of Beth and Luke - a really unique wedding, with afternoon tea being served before the ceremony, watching the proceedings sitting on hay bails with a beer in hand, and a beautiful reception on Brisbane river.  It was wonderful.  We each spent time with great people - Aimee with some wonderful girls she has grown close with over the past week, and me with so many great people I was just meeting.  Today (Sunday), finally, has been a day to relax and come down from the busy wedding weekend.  This morning, Aimee, Jeni, our new friend and host Nathan and I grabbed coffee on the West End and then found a Canada Day celebration in a park where we met some great Canadians who each had their own stories for how they have ended up here. Beth and Luke also decided to stay for the day before heading out on their honeymoon and wanted time to hang out with their friends, and so we all got together at Beth and Luke's place (where we are currently staying) for the afternoon, relaxed together, sharing stories and enjoying the rich community of friends they have here.  This evening was then church, where Aimee and I both felt that we already were part of the community as so many people we have met are part of this church here, called Life Point.  We were both blessed to be there tonight.  It is always remarkable and powerful getting a picture of the universality of the gospel when you see the message of Christ and his grace being preached and lived out in a place halfway around the world.

And now we are finished this phase. Along with the surrounding beauty of this place, we have deeply enjoyed the people we have met here - if this is a fair representation of Australian culture and community, Australians are incredibly kind, hospitable, relaxed and warm people.  We have been really well hosted.

Next up, we start phase 2 (I'm just naming these phases as we go...who knows how many phases we'll have), where we head down south a bit, with Jeni, to Byron Bay and surrounding areas tomorrow morning, where we'll stay through Wednesday.  Byron Bay is supposed to be a beautiful spot that is a "must-see" here. We'll keep you posted with what we find there.  And then, Jeni flies home and who knows what is next...

Some pictures from our weekend...

Nice to finally be here. A view from around Kangaroo Point.

Not a great shot, but the view of the bride and groom and wedding party.

 All of the lovely bridesmaids and Beth, accomplishing Beth's dream well of having nothing match.

Happy Canada Day!