GOOD FRIDAY AT NTC/AU, April 6, 2012

What a meaningful Good Friday! It started out riding with Val and Bob Thomson to Meadowlands (?) 

Church for an excellent service conducted by Rev. Dr. Bruce Allder, Principal of NTC/AU.  His title, “The Silences of Christ”. We observe Him silent in the face

• of false accusations,
• of multiple injustices (illegal use of the temple guard, illegal trial at night, illegal to pass judgment & sentence the save day, illegal trial during Passover, etc.
• of betrayal as He washed the feet of the Disciples
• of lack of support, like the disciples’ sleeping, Peter’s denial
•  of the high purposes of God; He didn’t argue with His Father

These silences speak of His strength, His obedience, and His submission. These can be our personal goals Therefore, let us keep our quiet time with the Lord, discipline our speech, take advantage of quiet spaces in our days and reflect on the silences of Christ.

We had communion facing the garden, then moved to the fellowship hall where the church people chatted over “cuppas”. Sister Ana gave me the receipe for the yummy bars she brought: 1 small white cake mix, baked; top with a can of apple slices, cover with sour cream, sprinkle with cinnamon, then bake again for 20 min. and serve cold.

Back on campus, we washed clothes, hung them to dry then ironed some of them. How many years has it been since I’ve done that!? We can’t get any internet in the guest room, so we have to go near the Admin office which we did this afternoon. We sat on a stack of concrete blocks so we could have a good view of the fields, hoping for animal sightings. An hour past and Jon noticed a yellow-eyed chicken-sized bird sitting near us in the brush. A few minutes later, we noticed another one just beyond. Can you spot the bird beside Jon? It has very good camouflage! They are called curlews.

 

On our way to Dr. Bruce’s house for supper we walked around campus hoping to see a koala or a wallaby. We saw a kookaburra & took a picture. Then we saw  Mrs. Wallaby – with a Joey beside her – and we got a picture! You have to look closely because they blend in with the grey tones of the forest but they're both in the picture. 

We still haven’t seen a koala and we're not likely to see one. Dr. Bruce says it’s the wrong time of the year.

We had such a special time at the Allders with two other couples as guests: George and Nancy Miller, missionaries from the Solomon Islands who came in for medical care and Ian and Ann, former parisheners of Allders. Jackie served a great meal – an Australian fish called barramundi baked with potatoes & carrots & sweet potatoes and a dish made from something we called “xuxu” in Brazil, a watery, green spiney vegetable with almost no flavour in itself. There were three desserts, including Passion Fruit Delicious. Then tea or coffee and I chose “White Tea” that Jackie recommended.

I asked Jackie about her training for special education. She did an on-line certificate. We spoke of our needing to train someone in Central Africa; we spoke of other alternatives. Jackie will be returning to work after a period in which she was giving terminal care to her daughter, Belinda, who passed away in February. We spoke of the impact of Louis Giglio on Belinda, and the star her friends named for her and gave her for Christmas. We shared other prayer requests. The pastors for their Samoan Church – where the McEwan’s attend. The missionaries, for his medical condition. Bruce – for the new directions at the college like starting a new program, The Gap, to attract a younger aged student, the coming from Nampa of the Ken Wade Family. Jon closed in prayer for all. We walked back to the guest room to read, write…and sleep.