2 Weeks Left in Australia!

I cannot believe I am already saying that we leave the Sunshine Coast in 2 weeks. These past 9 months have been wonderful (not always easy, but wonderful for the most part!). The little Missy is 20 months old, saying new words every day, and constantly brightening up our lives with her giggles and cheekiness.

It took nearly the entire nine months here, but she has finally warmed up to all the SBS students and staff and she loves to be the center of attention with them now. We wish we had longer with this great group of young people who love our sweet girl. They have all been SO good with her and made it their goal to get to this point with her. In the beginning she was pretty shy and overwhelmed with all the big people and new faces. It is great to see her so comfortable and playful with them all now!

A couple weeks ago Aubrey started "skipping", and we couldn't really figure out where she had learned that until one of the SBS staff girls saw her doing and was like "awww I taught her that!" It was pretty cool, I think it was the first thing someone had taught her outside of our home. She is definitely at the age where she is observing so much and learning from others.

Ben is working hard to finish his last bunch of books in these 2 weeks while Aubrey and I just try and enjoy every last day by taking trips to favourite parks, Underwater World, the beach, and of course to see friends.

This week I have been doing a lot of study on Jehovah Witness beliefs. 2 young women approached me at the beach the other day, and told me how much they love teaching the Bible. Of course this isn't the first time I have encountered a JW, and I am sure you have had one or two at your door before too. However this is the first time I have been really interested in what they are taught. The more I read and learn, the more God is breaking my heart for them. The less annoyed with them I feel, and the more love. I realize how much they have been lied to, and how the foundation of their beliefs is incredibly flawed. It is pretty easy to disprove, however I have learned that they have been taught to be very closed minded and to not think for themselves. I have learned that it doesn't do much good to just argue what the Bible teaches with them. If you really want to reach them, you have to try and get them to start thinking for themselves and resist the temptation to do any "teaching" yourself. If you are interested in learning more, check out this site I have found really helpful in understanding where JW's are coming from : www.towerwatch.com

Okay, here are a few pictures from the other day!



You'll have to jump over to my photography site to see more of them.