"Hey I'm Back."

It's been a long while since my last blog and I have decided it's time to come back and put fingers to keyboard and get this blog up and blogging again.

It's been a bit of a journey for me with my dad passing away earlier this year and the urge to blog went way out west somewhere.  It was sort of like not all that important anymore.  But I have come back to my original intention for keeping this blog and that was for information about what was going on so family and friends around the world could keep a bit of a track of what is happening.

I love people's stories, listening to them enthralls me intensely.  We all have one.   Just this week I conducted a funeral for an 85 year old lady and her story stirred me and inspired me.  We might not all be famous but I suspect that no one would be famous if there were no ordinary  people like you and me.  So one of the first things I am going to do next week is post up the tribute I gave at my dad's funeral.   So I hope you enjoy my dad's story.  I will post it up early next week after I edit some names and places out so it's not to specific.  You know these days about privacy and all that jazz.

Anyhow, catch you again soon in the soup.

Fifty plus, plus, plus about to be another plus soon.

"Very Slack."

Well one whole month without a post.  I should be ashamed of myself.  Well that's ok because there has been a lot happening over the past month.  As you know my dad had been very sick.  Well on the 12th of January he passed away after a long illness.  Last week was pretty busy as you can imagine.  I will post up some more info very soon.

Catch you.

Fifty plus, plus, plus.

"DROWLEY NEWS 2008."

The year has flown by – not sure where it went but we had loads of fun along the way.

There has been quite a lot of sadness too, watching our parents go down hill with illness and ageing. Russ’s Dad entered low care accommodation in March this year and most recently has entered high care as he lives each day coping with terminal bone cancer, now near Dawn at Narracan Gardens.  It was a long process to pack up their house and distribute a lifetime of memorabilia.  My Dad, although well at 84 has short term memory loss and that has its share of frustration and challenges. Mum still enjoys her life, although at a much slower pace.

Russ enjoyed 3 months long service leave from April - June, after 20 years in full time ministry. A well earned rest where I had him busy at home for the first month laying tiles and doing much needed maintenance around the house.  He also painted through the Newborough house ready for new tenants who moved in, in April.  We enjoyed a months holiday in Qld in May and even did some camping at Rainbow Beach for a few days – ahh what an experience.

During June Russ had his hearing checked again and has now upgraded to stronger hearing aids. It has taken him quite a while to adjust and now has devices that Bluetooth his phone etc direct to his inner ears.  All very technical but necessary for him to be able to continue in ministry hopefully for another 10 years at least.

I was able to complete the Training and Assessment Course for Adult Learners this year and that has allowed me to become a tutor for Community Welfare Students. I have been marking student assignments for 35 + students and I love it.

Luke & Libby are well established in their apartment in Matraville.  They are planning to move to Malaysia in 09 for a year’s work with Luke’s Co. SMEC. They have enjoyed their first year of marriage in Sydney together.

Mic is still in Dubai. He and his girlfriend, Sunel became engaged in September and will be married in May 09 in South Africa. So we are preparing for a trip there. They will have a beach wedding in a coastal town, Hermanus, about 2 hours out of Cape Town. We are really looking forward to meeting Sunel’s family. Sunel is now a Graphic Designer after successfully completing her course in Dubai.

Sarah is still a country girl, now house sharing in Maroopna and is working on the Future Flow project.  She had a great holiday to NZ in Nov with Leash.

Leash finished her degree in June and travelled to the States, Ecuador and NZ for 10 weeks. She worked night shift at Safeway to fund her trip.  She will be doing her Dip Ed at Vic Uni, Sunbury in 09.

Kylie and Chris decided to come back to live with us in August to speed up their saving program. Kylie completed her Dip Ed and will be taking her first teaching position at Sunshine PS next year. Chris now works for the Eye and Ear Hospital after 15 months at Victoria Parade Eye Consultancy. He also has done some work for Latrobe Uni. He finally finished weekend work with OPSM and now can enjoy weekends off. Kylie also has resigned from Target after many years working her way through Uni.

Russ travelled to Philippines In Feb and then in Oct to China & the Philippines.  He conducted Pastoral Care and Counselling seminars as well as performing 2 weddings in China. He continues to amaze me with all the adventures he takes on.

Our “lose the weight in 08” proved successful for us both via the CSIRO healthy eating plan. Russ lost 13 kilos and I lost 7. He goes to the gym each week and continues to cycle as much as he can fit in.

Hope Centre is still the main focus of our lives and we are so blessed to be able to Pastor such a vibrant, multicultural church in the best city in the world!!   

Love you all, R & L.

(Written by my adoring wife of 32 years plus.)

Photo's added by yours truly.

"Count Your Blessings."

It's been too long between blogs.  It seems like I only got home yesterday from my time overseas but it's been two weeks now and I've done absolutely nothing on the blog.  How slack of me.  There has been a lot of catching up here at home.  My dad is no better and continues to deteriorate.  It's only a matter of time now and they are really just keeping him as comfortable as possible.

There have been some amazing developments in the Philippines where I spent some of my time.  Just two and a bit weeks after our departure a Typhoon hit one of the areas that we visited and badly damaged it but during the typhoon an electrical fault caused a fire and almost all the village was burnt to the ground.  

 

Thankfully no one was killed in the fire and especially the 400 or so children who lived there with their families were safe.   We found out this tragic story Sunday before last and took up a special offering in our morning service.  48 hours later we received the good news that our gift of 60000 Peso's had appeared in the Churches bank account in Peurto Princessa.  The Church in Peurto Princessa is now feeding many people and helping them through this terrible time with some basic necessities of life.

We often complain about our lot in life and it is not until tragedy strikes another place or family that we realise our problem is not all that significant.  A world view is a good view to have and by having one it makes us much more appreciative of the blessings that we have at home.

We are blessed so that we can be a blessing.

Fifty, plus, plus, plus.

"China."

Hi we have surfaced again in Sanya, China. It's been a very busy few days since we arrived on Friday. Two weddings on Saturday with another gathering in the evening. I was able to share about the good news and there were several people who responded to the call. Amazing.





Sunday was a very busy day for us with three meetings to attend. The people were very responsive and listened intently to what I had to share with them. Again it was amazing to be able to speak into their lives. The people here are growing and there are wonderful stories of peoples lives being changed dramatically by the love of our saviour.

We have a little rest today and then tomorrow we have some more gatherings with some married couples and will encourage them about family life.

The people are wonderful and friendly and accept us with open arms. it is a privilege to be here with them and share with them. China is changing fast and the changes I have seen in the past 10 years are amazing. It is a country that is going places and they know it and it's people know it. The economy is booming especially here in Sanya with tourism increasing at an incredible rate.

I will post another installment when I return home.
Fifty plus, plus, plus.

"The Philippines."

We have hit the ground running here in Palawan.  Many meetings in the villages.  Our hosts are looking after us very well and the food is sensational.  The people are warm and friendly and enjoy having a joke with the big Aussies.  The weather is humid but a heavy one hour of solid rain was a welcome change to dry old Melbourne.  I really do miss those rainy winter days of old.

The photos here are designed to give you an idea of how things are done a little differently here in the Philippines.  When you want something in a hurry you just pull up at the nearest convenience store and away you go.  These two pictures give a whole new meaning to the old phrase; "things go better with Coke."

"Short Blog."

A short blog today. Life has been a bit busy with things happening left right and centre so the blogging has been a little lean. Tomorrow I head off on another adventure to the Philippines and China. I will return to Melbourne of the 7th of November. I will endeavour to keep you up dated on this blog concerning my movements which will also appear on face book.

Tonight I attended a 1st birthday party of one of the children in our Filipino community and the food was typically Filipino. Tomorrow night I will eat the real thing in Manila. Wow that's amazing.

So until we blog again,
Fifty plus, plus, plus.