going there means leaving here...

I haven't updated for a while...and it's December already! I only really noticed that yesterday when I was at the airport leaving Hong Kong. It seems that it takes a while for me to realize that things are happening...and I've been away from Sydney for almost a month! So Hong Kong was really fun. I didn't get to go to the new Disneyland tho! But the festive decorations there were amazing...walking down the street you can really feel the Christmas cheer and spirit all around!

So I am going to be trite and say "I can't believe another year has gone by already!". Here I am, all ready to reflect back on the year again...maybe not just yet! I've been listening to George Michael's "Last Christmas" a lot these days because it seems to be playing whenever I am certain stores. It's such a sad song and I wonder why they play this during X'mas when it mentions nothing about the festival except in its title. However, it just makes me think of everything that happened since last Christmas and I'm feeling incredibly blessed...

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another" - John 1:16.

Amazing Grace...how sweet the sound!

So, what's happening this summer? I will be going on a short term mission trip to Taiwan (where I'm already at right now actually) with a team of 7 from my church in Syd from the 14th Dec (in one day!) 'til the 31st Dec.. The location is BaoShan which is a farming community and we will be teaching at a high school there as well as helping out at the local church.

I'm really excited about this trip...to experience God's work in a different culture. So much training and preparation has gone into this (we even hired a professional balloon twister to teach us how to make animals out of those long balloons! Must say I'm terrible at it...and have been told numerous times to try and smile while twisting those balloons instead of frowning in horror...I think I will just stick with making the 'sword' for the kids...:p). However, this is going to be the second year that I will be away from my family during Christmas time. :(

Alright, I better go pack and do some final prep!

Goodbye 2006...I think this will be my last post of the year! Toodles...