A belated update and a change of plans.

First let me fill you in on what we've been up to lately. 
Well, we have settled in well to Darwin and have quickly adapted to the change in lifestyle and weather.  The cyclone that came through Darwin missed us and so it seems we have survived the wet season - which was actually beautiful! We've both been getting plenty of work and I've been having fun teaching prep to 12, including taking some Indigenous classes.  Lots of on-the-job learning!  As part of JR's work he spent a couple of days on the Gove Peninsula (about an hour away by plane) hanging out with the Indigenous kids there which he absolutely loved.


Birthday celebrations with a difference 
2 days before my birthday I was at work and was approached by the education support officer regarding whether or not JR and I would be available to step in as house parents for the weekend for a couple who were sick.  We worked out a few details (still having no idea what being house parents meant!) and decided that we were happy to help out.  So we packed a few things that night and then started the 2 hour drive to the remote homeland school straight after work the next day.  And so began a weekend of fun adventures and eye opening experiences...  In short, we were in charge of looking after 7 indigenous teenage girls for the weekend, including providing meals, monitoring mobile phone use, washing clothes, cleaning and generally making sure that they didn't get up to too much mischief. It was such a great experience for us to spend the whole weekend with these girls and while there were many challenges, overall it was a great experience for us.  We took the girls shopping in Darwin and had a ball swimming with some of the girls in a local waterfall.  JR convinced a couple of the girls to sing me happy birthday and I felt privileged to spend my birthday weekend with our new friends.

Beautiful waterfall just near where we looked after the girls

NTFL grand final 
And so we made it to our first footy match since leaving Vic and it was one of the best games we've ever been to!  Not only did the NTFL footy final happen to be on while we were in Darwin, but it was the TIWI BOMBERS who were fighting for their first ever flag.  To give you an idea of how it differed from an AFL final at the G, tickets were only $15 and we bought them at the gate and then found a grassy spot on the barrier right behind the goals with all the mad Tiwi supporters.  I was the only white female supporter for the Tiwi Bombers (apart from the odd one or two sitting up in the stands) and had a ball cheering with the Indigenous kids and families beside us.  I'll never forget the little kid next to me who looked up and said, "oh no, here comes my mum, she's so embarrassing" as his mum walked towards us screaming for the Bombers.  I loved the way they'd shout out, "that's my son," "see number 19, he's my family!" in support of their relatives. It was like being at a country footy match! Bombers were down at half time, but came back for a massive win and it was an incredible experience to run on the field after the match with all the other supporters and families as they danced around their players and celebrated their victory.

Change of plans 
It's funny, since I first wrote the draft for this blog (admittedly, while we were in the Philippines) our plans have constantly been changing. Life is a fun journey of trusting  God and following His lead! Up until a week or two ago we were seriously considering doing some remote teaching in the NT, but have put that idea on the back burner for the time being. Given our thinking at the time, JR started the first semester of his online graduate diploma of teaching and learning (they managed to squeeze him into the course the week we arrived in Darwin - a week after the course had already started!) and is deciding whether or not it is still worth pursuing to the end of the year. We've had all sorts of opportunities arise in the last week or so regarding our next steps, but I'll let JR    tell you fill you in on our latest thoughts in the next blog. Either way it is looking like we will be putting the rest of our trip on hold.

So as we put our trip plans on hold for now, we have just moved into a place of our own to rent. We absolutely love it and it is right on the foreshore of a beautiful part of Darwin and is conveniently situated right next door to Rachel and Adrian's (who have been amazing in accommodating us!). I've been offered 3 days teaching a week (plus relief work on the other days) for the rest of the term and we have settled into a great church up here. Life is one amazing adventure!

Take care and God bless,
J & R.

So we're in the Philippines.

Actually, we've been here for 2 weeks and are about to leave, but you know how it is when you're with family.  :)

I know, it's not technially part of Australia so it shouldn't really qualify for our "Around Australia" trip.  But funnily enough, it's only about 4-5 hours from Darwin which makes it a little more justifiable compared to if we were in Melbourne.

Sorry about the dearth of blog posts lately, we've had a pretty hectic last few weeks living and working in Darwin that I'll let Robyn fill you in on another time.  For now, I wanted to talk about my home country.  And I should probably inform you that this post is a little "introspective."  I promise I'll still try and keep it entertaining.  :)

The beautiful bride

My cousin Dan modelling

So we're here for my cousin's wedding.  She's actually about my age and her favourite colour's yellow so we get along like a house on fire.  I don't actually know how that metaphor works but my sister uses it a lot so I'll go with it.

Best colour

Fantastic moment to be a part of

The wedding was gorgeous (all yellow of course).  She had it on the beach - both ceremony and reception!  It was actually one of the most beaufitul weddings Robyn and I have ever been to.  They prayed for clear skies and thankfully the Lord answered with a yes as it had been raining several days before.

Our gorgeous little niece.

It's been 11 years since I was last here and it's amazing how your perspective can change in that period of time.  Since then I've finished High School, started and dumped a uni course, done nothing for 8 months, worked and started a theology degree, deferred said theology degree, lived in Japan for a year, met, dated and married my wife, finished aforementioned theology degree, been blessed to work for a fantastic charity for 4 years, witnessed the addition of our family's first two grandchildren and completed half a tour of Australia (spearing the biggest fish I've ever speared along the way! ;).

Back then, I was still working out who I was, what I wanted to do (pretty sure at that time I wanted to be a famous singer - like 97% of all teenagers who can hold a half-decent tune) and was still growing in confidence.  Now, I'm still doing all those things but have progressed a little further down the track.

Had me a couple of thoughts in the last few days that I wanted to share.

The other day we were talking about some members of our family and the history of how they were taken in because essentially, if they hadn't been they would've died from starvation or lack of medical attention.  To give you a bit of context, the Philippines is a 'little' lower than Australia in Global Economic standing.  At the current exchange rate, if you were earning $7 flipping burgers at Maccas you'd be making more in an hour than the average Filo makes in a day.  I don't want to take that out of context, because living expenses are also lower, but it gives you an idea of the nation's standing in the world.

My family that we've been hanging out with... and that's only half!

Anyway, as we discussed these things I came to realise how easily my fate could've been different.  My dad's dad (Isaias Snr) died when he was 12, and he and his 6 siblings were scattered among their aunties and uncles to finish their education and enter the workforce.  There was no way my grandmother could've supported them all.  Instead of being the upper-middle-class Filipinos that my family was and receiving the opportunity to migrate to Australia, there's every chance that I could've been born and not live to see my teens.

It's funny.  Robyn and I for as long as we can remember (even before being together) have always wanted to work in poverty-stricken areas.  We've always wanted to share about the Great Leveller that is the Gospel whilst working towards lifting people out of poverty.  But now more than ever has it been so close to home for me.

I've been given an opportunity.  A chance.  From being near the bottom of Global standing to near the top, I can do so much more than I could've possibly dreamed if things went differently in my bloodline.  My cousins are actually doing OK for Filos, yet what they have access to is severely limited.  Robyn and I can save up and go on a trip around Australia and fly to the Philippines without hardly needing to think about it.  For these guys, overseas travel is possible only if supported by family and probably once or twice in a lifetime.  Whilst we can contemplate all sorts of vocational pathways and options, my cousins have got to work out what job is going to give them consistent enough income for everyday living.

Robyn tries her first ever BALUT
(duck embryo)

"With great power comes great responsibility" (don't all the best quotes come from movies? ;P).  Even though none of us are Spiderman (except Tobey McGuire and that new guy of course - if somebody could explain to me why the heck you'd reboot that so soon that would be excellent), for each of us in the western world we have great power.  For me, I don't want to feel guilty about the opportunity that I've got, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't understand the opportunity that I have. And make the most of it.

We're trying our best to work out how that plays out.  Where God is leading us in our lifetimes.  Some of that Robyn will talk about in the next post.

For now, my prayer is that God continues to challenge me and keep these things at the forefront of my mind everyday.

Much love!

J.

The boys go all macho