1. Camping

We went camping with about 50 other brothers and sisters and had the BEST time! And guess what?! We ran into a brother that we knew from the States!! A brother that used to live in Arizona and attend Nikki's congregation! It was the CRAZIEST thing. Not only are we in Australia but we were in the middle of the Australian Bush(forest) hours away from civilization and we run into someone we know! Jehovahs organization is soooo big, yet So small. But camping itself was amaxing! It was so beautiful out there. We spent most days swimming in the dam, hiking, walking, 4wheeling and exploring the bush. Most nights were spent around the campfire telling jokes, we even had a dance party!!

2. Bethel

Wow, the highlight of our trip. We spent 9nights at Bethel and it completely changed our lives. Being in that environment, surronded by Jehovahs people night and day really highlights that the way the world is today, the way people are today, is not how we were meant to live. Jehovahs people and his organization are so loving, so organized and just flat out amazing, we were truely touched and feel like we got to experience a bit of what we have to look forward to in the new system. It was honestly the greatest experience yet. Wish I could go into more detail but time is running out....

3. Jarad &food

A friend of ours from Dubai came down to Sydney to spend time with us(he is a flight attendant originally from AZ, he travels to Syd for work frequently)! We loved having Jarad around as he is like a big brother to us. He took us to all his favorite spots around the City. We had the most amazing food during our week with him! Korean BBQ, Malaysian, Thai...we basically covered evey Asian Pacific type of food!! It was AMAZING!! I didnt know food could taste so good!!

ANyways, thats all the time I have for now...I plan to write a big update when we get back to the States...complete with pictures and everything.
We leave in 6 DAYS!!!! sooooo crazy!

Missing you all!
Look forward to seeing most of you really soon!]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=105444 0 -34 150.8666667 Tonight was Chester Hill's Theocratic School and having just now arrived home from the meeting I can't even explain how excited Nikki and I are... so much happened tonight!

The brothers and sisters in the Congregation were SO sweet and super happy to see us at their meeting! The brothers announced mine and Nikki's names and our congregations so that was awesome! They sent their love back as well! After the meeting heaps of people came up to meet us. We meet Brother Patrick Cootsee (the Coordinator and the brother who had been setting everything up for us) he was super nice and encouraged us to keep in contact with him and his wife about our travels and any good experiences we have along the way. We have plans to go to the Assembly Hall cleaning with his wife and baby boy tomorrow morning!
Brother Graham Martin approached us and said "So your Lisa and Nikki?! I came across your letters of recommendation, I work on the Service commitee at Bethel. It's nice to see you girs here, the letters from your bothers were so nice!" Crazy right?! He was unaware that we had been assigned to his congregation but he was haappy to meet us and said we had to make sure to come for a "cuppa" (cup of tea) with him and his wife when we visit Bethel! Awesome! We also met a young brother that we had previously heard about (we met his relatives in Coffs) that is assigned to Chester Hill and serves at Bethel as well! He was super nice and invited us to dinner after the meeting! We also ran in to a contact that we had previously made while still the States that we hadnt been able to get in contact with. He was attending the meeting at the Hall adjacent to us! We made plans to see him in the next couple of weeks!
We ended the night at "Mackas" (McDonalds) with about 30 brothers from the Hall and 3 young Bethelite brothers! We grilled them with questions about the procedures at the Australia Branch. They put us at ease about alot of things. They were such nice brothers, we were super happy to meet them and get a taste of what to expect (like a gameroom, outdoor pool and SingStar in the dorms!! haha)

It was a lovely night!]]> Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=101522 0 -33.8666667 151.1 Afghanistan and was surprised by her attentiveness to the versus I was reading from the Bible. She commented that she didnt know whether or not there was hope for the future. I showed her the pictures in the Bible Teach book comparing the world we live in today and the hope that the bible holds out for us. She accepted the book! It made me feel really good because prior to that i wasnt feeling like i was being as effective as the other brothers and Sisters (and Nikki!) so it was nice. I hope to return to her before leaving.
We were invited over to Sister Saad's House along with a few others for dinner tonight! She made a typical Leboniese meal for us and it was so amazing!! We did the Bible reading with her family and then sat around and talked about our backgrounds and about different aspects of the Truth. It really was an enjoyable evening, we instantly felt right at home with this sister and her family, she treated us like we were her own children.

I think what Nikki and I have appreciated and enjoyed most about this trip is the love of the broherhood. Jehovah's people come in all different shapes and sizes but the love among us is unmistakable, its quite amazing to experience it on an international scale.]]> Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=101337 0 -33.8666667 151.1 Sisters from America"! The Chester Hill teriitory has been quite a shock to Nikki and I. Every door is someone from a different part of the world. Chinese, Islamic, Arabic and Leboniese people are behind every door so its been extremely interesting speaking with them. We found it difficult at first (in the States we dont commonly come across many that arent either Christian or Cathlolic) but with all the help from the local brothers and Sisters we've brushed up on our knowlegde of differing religions and have thus been able to establish common ground and feel comfortable with the householders in the territory. Our first day out Nikki was able to place a book and a couple of magazines so it was really nice way to start the week!]]> Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=101334 0 -33.8666667 151.1 Strathfield NSW to start our assingment from The Branch with the Chesterfield Congregation. We arrived around 4pm and after another bus and taxi ride pulled into the driveway of Brother Jim and Sister Jessica Sing, a super nice older Asian couple. We were excitedly welcommed into their home and they instantly started to prepare fried rice and vegetables for us. Sweet! Although the room they prepared for us is rather small, equipped with one single-size bed, we instantly felt right at home. Brother Sing showed us the Watchtower and Awake in all the different languages they use in the territory (Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese) so we're excited to begin working with those! We made a few phone calls to the local pioneers and made service arrangements for tomorrow morning.
We're looking forward to a fun and activity-filled week!]]> Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=100695 0 -33.8666667 151.1 Before we left the assembly one of the Elders from the Woologoolga cong pulled us aside and said he really wanted to thank us for being such an encouragent to the hall. He said that we had really shown the young people in the hall that you can pioneer and travel the world and have the best time doing it! That really touched Nikki and I because it was out of the blue and really sincere!
We finished off the evening at a restaurant with a group of young people from the assembly. All the young ones are so nice and eager to hear stories about America.
It was a really great day:)
]]> Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=100693 0 -30.3 153.1333333 Coffs Harbour and awaiting the Special Assembly day tomorrow! The C.O and his wife were visiting the congregation this week so we were able to do service with them yesterday! They were a really nice couople, the wife especially was super funny and quirky! We spent the whole day out, sight-seeing, preaching and getting to know each other! It was wonderful!
One of the older Pioneer Sisters really connected with Nikki and I and shes been looking after us alot. She invited us to her House for lunch yesterday and the 3 of us just sat around talking and laughing! So many brothers and Sisters have been so sweet to us while we've been in Australia. Its so amazing to see Jehovahs people in another country, not only are they nice and welcoming but they genuinely want to look after you! Its been so great!
We'll be packing up our things tonight in preperation for travel to our assignment in Sydney! We're really looking forward to it!]]> Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=100046 0 -30.3 153.1333333 All is well in Brisbane! The congregation we are at has about 50 publishers and 2 regular pioneers so its been quite a shock! The friends are really loving though and happy to have had us at their meetings. We recieved a really nice card from one sister saying that we had been an encouragement to her and her family so that made us feel really great! We had another contact in Brisbane, a young pioneer sister that came to the States for the International Convention this year and met some friends of ours, so we have really enjoyed spending time with her and her family. Went to a congregation BBQ(thats the Australian thing to do on the weekends, we've been to about 4 bbq's so far!) so that was super nice. We got to meet alot of nice people from a neighboring congregation.

We are looking forward to a busy week in service and then also to our assignment from The Branch in Sydney next week. From our travels thus far we've really learned to lean on Jehovah and let him guide and direct us in all matters...and its only been 2 1/2 weeks!!

Side note: We've been trying tons of new foods since we've arrived in Oz! I especially(as many of you probably know) am a terribly picky eater, but lately i've been eating whatever is put in front of me! And im loving it! From simple things like onions(yes, i usually dont touch onions) and pesto to beetroot, curry and PRAWNS!! Its been soo amazing, and has opened my eyes to so many amazing foods I had been missing out on! Im eternally grateful! :)

Also, my camera broke(of course!) so picture uploads will be less frequent...

Thats all for now, cheers!]]> Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=99600 0 -27.5 153.0166667 Byron Bay which is a nice beach town. We also stopped in Brisbane and Surfers Paradise. Nicole knew some friends that lived in Brisbane so we were able to meet up with them for a bit.They invited some friends over to there House and we had a nice barbeque! It was super nice to get together with some other young people.
We arrived back in Coffs on Monday and went to the Koala Zoo with sister Canney. That was really nice! We got to see Kangaroos, Koalas and all sorts of native Australia animals!
Our last meeting in Coffs was tonight so that was sad, but we plan to come back on the 12th for their Special Assembly Day so we hope to see the brothers and Sisters again!

We will head to Brisbane late tomorrow afternoon to begin our assignment with the Creastmead Congregation! The brothers seem super excited for us to come and they are eager to meet and get to know us so we cant wait to arrive there! We are a little nervous about fulfilling our first assignment but with Jehovahs help we're sure everything will work out and go smoothly.
]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=98694 0 -30.3 153.1333333 We talked with a couple nice people in service and was able to get another placement. Australians are very laid-back and willing to talk so that has been so great in the ministry.
There was quite a big service group out and we all met up at THE BEACH for our mid-morning break. It was so great, the brothers brought out coffee and bisquits and we all sat around a picnic table and chatted.

We recieved an email from the Australia Branch offices informing us that we had recieved another assignment to serve a congregation, this one in Sydney central!! So we're super excited about that! In addition to us helping out in Brisbane we'll be able to visit the Sydney brothers for a bit and then we also have been approved for the priviledge of staying at Bethel for about a week and a half! Just an amazing opportunity! We still kind of dont believe it....but we have lots to look forward to over the next month or so.

The sister from this morning offered to take us out surfing and we gladly accepted! There ended up being more tanning than surfing happening but we had a great time nonetheless. We all got pretty burned up...some of us turned red, others black(finally!)

The mid-week meeting was tonight and we really enjoyed that!! The brother are very expresive in their comments do that makes things really interesting/encouraging. Nikki made cards for ua that included our information, a picture of us and a cute farewell('Catch ya on the flip side!') so we handed those out to a few sisters that had been super sweet to us...we gave those out along with handmade bookmarks and bracelets from mum! The sisters couldnt believe what we were giving them! You wouldve thought we gave them a million dollars or something! They were so appreciative of a little act of kindness, they couldnt stop hugging and kissing us, some almost giving way to tears! Thanks mum!

We came home to a homemade dessert from Lloydie and then off to chat and a good nights rest!

Missing all of you reading this, hope all is well:)]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97837 0 -30.3 153.1333333 Sisters House and she indulged us with Indian chi tea (which was amazing!)
The brothers in this area are extremely welcomming and loving, Australians in general are, but especially the brothers. On a spiritual high, we headed back to the Canney home only to find a tow truck in front of te House! The car that the Canneys had intended for us to borrow had caught on fire! It was pretty funny and sad,,, more funny than sad though!
After that we went out for a nice lunch.

We met up with some young people in the late afternoon and went out for Thai curry and a stop at the local Pub.]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97836 0 -30.3 153.1333333 Woke up early for the 9:30am meeting. Really, really nice congregation/Beautiful Hall. Lots of windows to see the beautiful surroundings. Congregation had about 150 publishers and 15 pioneers and all were very nice and happy to have American visitors. Met some really nice young people and invited them over for a barbeque later that evening.
After meeting Llyod made some amazing sandwhiches for us(he's the best cook!) Rested up at the House for a bit and then headed for the beach and then to downtown Coffs Harbour.
Everyone headed over later that night for "shrimps on the barbie" and good conversation! Had the best time getting to know the Aussie folks. Introduced to them the game Spoons and played a couple intense rounds of that!

Good music. Good food. Great association...cheers mate!]]> Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97724 0 -30.3 153.1333333 Coffs Harbour to meet up with the Canneys, the family of some friends we met in Mexico. They welcommed us with open arms and brought us back to their Australian style home! Its the perfect House, half inside, half out, right by the beach with Kangaroos surrounding the area!
Llyod, their youngest son, made lamb chops and salad. We ate and talked well into the night. The Canneys have lots of stories to tell, they are really a charming family!]]> Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97722 0 -30.3 153.1333333 Woke up in the late morning and had breakfast at a cute place by our hotel.
Recieved a call from mum about mid-day informing us that Nikky Baran (a good friend from Minnesota) had got her Sydney travel dates mixed up and was on her way to Sydney, a whole month early!! Made some calls and prepared for that...
Hopped on the subway to Bondi Beach, one of the nicest beaches in Sydney. Stayed there for a couple hours and soaked in the sun! There are many people visiting Sydney on holiday from other countrys so the beach was filled with all sorts of people...saw some familiar faces (oddly enough!)
Took a bus back to Sydney city and did some shopping downtown! There are really nice stores downtown but things definitely cost twice as much so that was interesting. We were desperate for energy so went on a hunt for a coffee shop but was dissapointed to find that all the shops stop selling coffee at 5pm(dont know why!)...
Went by the Central Train Station to make some more bookings to other cities then headed back to our hotel.]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97721 0 -33.8833333 151.2166667 Angeles. "MY FRIEND" was heard for Miles across the International Terminal as Nickumz approached gate 77 for our flight to Sydney. Although the trip started off a little rocky (i.e Nikkys card being declined at Starbucks, glasses crashing and shattering in a souvenir shop and strangers trying to steal electrical outlets) we were more than excited to be on our way!!
We boarded our flight at 10pm, shared our excitement to be on "such a big plane" with the flight attendant and met Lenny (re-named Kravitz) who was our seat buddy. Started off fun but in the end we found Lenny to be a bit chatty and uninteresting.

November 19th (Australian time)
LAND!!
Aussies are so amazing. That's the first thing we learned when we arrived at customs in Sydney. We were greeted by Hugh Jackman-esque customs officers and were instantly infatuated! Haha, enough of that:) We caught up with our bags and hopped into a taxi. Our Asian-Australian taxi driver was super nice and informative, but we couldnt pay much attention to him because we were so amazed that we were riding on the other side of the road!
Our hotel room was super nice, very small but modern and in a really busy area about 15min walk from Sydney Central! Elevator was super tiny but we managed!
We arrived about 7am so we went straight into the city and ran a bunch of errands...met some really nice Aussies along the way...Everyone is extremely nice and welcomming, always willing to dish out directions or answer a question.
Walked all the way to Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge...took in the amazing views...walked back to our hotel and rested up a bit. Showered up and went out for a nice dinner and some live music!!
AND THIS WAS ALL IN THE FIRST DAY!!
]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=10782 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=97709 0 34.05222 -118.24278