Last day in paradise

To celebrate our very successful trip, some of us ( not me, mike, kyrra, Sara, miranda or Isaac) went up to grassy hill to watch the sunrise. Those that went were educated by mr hellinga as to the events of captain cook's landing he's not only tall and very good looking but also edumacated.

After that it was pack and clean up time at the church and then off to the cooktown markets. We lasted about 8 minutes. It wasn't real big.

We visited Peter and Chris Coates to say our last goodbyes and thanks

Then it was off on our road trip. Note to self - don't travel too close to the party bus being driven by mr hellinga. when the road is covered in road kill. I'll let your children explain in person.

We had much better trip back to cairns than our trip up to cooktown. Not nearly as many cattle feeding on the side of the road. We had maccas in mareeba and then went for a quick drive around kuranda. The scenery on the way home was just spectacular

The afternoon was spent down on the esplanade with hundreds of other tourists. Very busy.

Tonight half the group went to the freshwater youth and the other half chilled out in the classrooms taking delight in pranking mr hellinga on the phone. Very funny.

We are all tired and ready to come home but feeling very blessed and glad to have been part of this journey.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We know that lots of people have been upholding us in prayer.

See you tomorrow.

Hopevale and Cooktown

Happy 16th birthday Caleb (sorry Dan let your bed down to wake you )

This morning we awoke with much anticipation and a little apprehension as we thought about the day ahead.

The opportunity to go into the Hopevale State School was opened up to us even though we had been told that it would be impossible to get into the school. We know that God opened these doors as only He can. We not only got to go to the school but we were able to share our whole message during school time with the whole school. Then we were able to mix with the kids and they taught us a new game too.

We left Hopevale very encouraged as the staff shared with us just how connected the kids were with our team and our message. I am unable to explain just how confronting the school and community was. It was probably the most frightened our team was on
this whole trip but God just led the way from our very timid start to a very powerful ending.

Then it was off to have some fried chicken Hopevale style - very yummy. We went croc sighting after that - didn't see any.

Endeavour Christian school was the next stop where we were able to bless the kids with our time playing games, singing, ice cream spiders and lots of little toys. So awesome.

Then some time out walking around town this afternoon was enjoyed by all. Unfortunately Mirandra and Kerryn had some really sad news learning of their grandfathers passing. We grieve with them too as a whole team just like the flock of geese we've been teaching about all week.

Tonight we were hugely blessed when peter coates shouted us all to dinner at the local Italian restaurant. We were very very spoilt.

Our debrief was great tonight as we reflected on our last week.

2 more sleeps.

Day 3 in cooktown

After a great nights sleep, ( I'm finally getting used to sleeping on an air bed and in a church with 12 other people) and a wonderful hot shower ( I finally worked out that the hot tap does actually work in the shower ) we headed off for another day in
Paradise.

First stop was Endeavour College (our sister school in Cooktown) where we were made to feel very welcome. The team took a lesson with the prep to 2's. So lovely to watch our team use the same stories they did with the senior students and watch them change it down for the little ones.

You might be wondering how smelly the cow's tongue is now that we've been carrying around with us all week. Well, it's putrid. Yesterday we used it at Cooktown State School and accidentally left it in a classroom that we were using. We were in administration signing out when a staff member came up and said "hey you God people did you leave something in my room". We sheepishly answered yes and apologized profusely knowing just how bad it must have smelt when she opened the box. She said you God people are getting stranger and stranger. We froze it when we got it back to the church.

After a short break we went back to Endeavour and our team played with the students at lunchtime much to their delight. Then back into the classroom for the grade 3 to 6's. This was definitely the best team effort so far. The students just went off with our team. Tomorrow we will return in the afternoon to play end of term games.

After that we were taken on a tour by mr Peter Coates, David Coates' brother. We went on a big drive to a hidden jewel location. The locals say its the best waterfall in the area. After walking up some wild terrain we came to a beautiful waterfall where we swam for about an hour in freshwater.

Then it was off to the Lions Den an iconic local pub for some afternoon pizza and coke. Very relaxing and interesting spending time with the younger Coates brother.

We got home and dressed up and we headed out for dinner. A church couple, Jen and chem foo, invited the whole team for dinner. We were so blessed to be treated to spag Bol and salad. No cooking or deciding what to eat. Yay!!!!!

Big big day tomorrow. Hopevale primary school to teach re. We are so blessed to be invited into the school. We were told we'd never get in. More news later.

Cooktown - day 2

This morning started with a sleep in til about 6.30 am. Then it was off for a walk for all (except me) to the lighthouse. From what I heard it wasn't a stroll in the park but a difficult climb but with a great view as you can see from the photos.

After that we headed to Cooktown State High School to spend a lunch break with some of the students and their school chaplain, David, or as everyone knows him - chappy. A great young man with a real passion for the kids and their families in this community Up until a term ago he had a small group running at lunchtime but he hasn't met with the kids at all this term. So he told a few kids that we were coming and after a few invitations from our team we went into a classroom and presented our message to about 25 students. Chappy was amazed at how well they respected our team and joined in our presentation. He said that the teachers could only dream of that attitude from the students. Our team was definitely more nervous with this presentation but managed to overcome any nervousness and present our God to these kids in a fresh and real way. It was very encouraging to watch.

After that a quick break and then into the primary school for some time with some year sevens and the re classes of years 4 to 7.

Today the team was set the task of being given $5 each and told to buy their own lunch ( not an easy task up here). However, much to our delight, and surprise, they worked as a team and had an awesome lunch which they made under the trees. So wonderful to see their resourcefulness and their team spirit. They had change too which they donated to the church "chappy" tin. These really are a great bunch of kids.

Late this afternoon some of the team did some washing at the Laundromat whilst a few caught up on some z's. It's been a big week already.

We drove up to the lighthouse lookout where we were treated to a beautiful sunset. Lots of photos taken and memories made of this beautiful place.

Tonight we've been at the park having a Sausage sizzle. Much fun and great food. We had lots of food leftover so the team shared it with some indigenous locals which was much appreciated It seems too that Isaac was a big hit with these local girls.

Now it's time for a debrief and time to make some decisions about our day tomorrow. We've been offered some different alternatives for our day so we will see where God leads us.

Thanks for your messages of encouragement. Much appreciated.

Cooktown. Night number 1

Well after a very fun day which included shopping at the DFO (fun for me anyway), taking junior chapel at Freshwater Christian College and driving 4 hours to cooktown we have settled into our new accommodation at cooktown baptist church.

Fish and chips for dinner was quite expensive but very yummy. Don't think there will be many cheap meals here in cooktown but i won't be doing any cooking either as we don't really have a kitchen.

Time to settle now as tomorrow will bring lots of new adventures for us.

A question for you guys back in brissie. Is anyone reading this other than Denise Saron? We'd love your comments.