Square dancing!

New friends at church, Phil & Janine Searles, invited us to try square dancing, which has become an enjoyable hobby! We travelled to Rockhampton last weekend for a weekend event run by the Capricorn Waves club on the north side of town.

The main caller was Brian Hotchkies whose voice and style we had become used to as our callers use some of his records for some dances (like when they want a dance). Our callers, Peter and Margaret Harvey and Charles Barnes, also called some dances.

Our group is Pioneer Valley. Here we are in our group's formal attire.

While in Rockhampton, we stayed with Vicky as she lives close to the hall where the event was held. We have greatly appreciated Vicky's company on the occassions we have passed through or stayed in Rockhampton.

Ballantyne Wedding I

Laetitia saw our friends, Esther Jacobsen and Andy Ballantyne, at the end of June. A fortnight before their wedding, she had gone to visit them at their new townhouse to discuss which album coverset and what type of pages to give them as a wedding present.

A week later we bought tickets for flights down to the wedding. The next day we received a phone call from a distressed, but calm, Ruth Parker, Esther's sister. The conversation went something like this for Laetitia:

Ruth: Have you heard about Andy and Esther?

Laetitia: No? (They can't have broken up; I just saw them last week!)

Ruth: Andy's in hospital - he had to have his leg removed.

Laetitia: Pardon?

Ruth: He had one of those flesh destroying bacteria that attacked his leg. They've had to remove the whole leg. So you don't need to come down now because there isn't going to be a wedding next weekend.

Laetitia: Oh, my! (Pardon, have I heard all this correctly?!) Well, we've already got plane tickets so you still might see us...umm. (Someone pinch me, please?)

So we joined with the rest of their family in prayer, got Andy added to our and our families' churches' prayer lists and went to Brisbane anyway.

And the wedding went ahead - in the hospital chapel. It was the first day that Andy had without an operation. We didn't get to see it though - it was family and bridal party only. Oh, and Women's Day.

When Andy went in for the original op, all the preparations for the wedding (florist, photographer, caterers...) were cancelled. Then when they decided that it was back on (the day before), Andy's dad called WD and offered the story in return for some funding of expenses (evidently has a head for business, that man). So WD provided photographer, afternoon tea reception, flowers etc. and according to the wedding party were all very nice.

So now the story has come out in WD and we got to see the wedding that way. We did also see Ruth and family on the day, even though we didn't get to see Andy and Esther. Andy's been in and out of hospital since for some 'mopping-up' operations and seems to be recovering ok.

It still seems rather surreal - it's one of those things that one reads about happening to "some guy in the US" or other far-off place, not to someone one knows.

Laetitia's new job

To pay the rent, Laetitia has found a part-time job working for civil engineering consultancy firm, Cardno Ullman & Nolan, in Paget on the south side of town near the airport. We live in North Mackay so this is a 15 - 20 min car drive in the morning. Laetitia misses Brisbane's public transport.

CU & N specialises in sub-divisions and Laetitia's job consists mainly of writing engineering reports for small sub-division development applications.

Although only working three days a week, Laetitia earns more than Ian does working full-time. Granted, Laetitia has been in her industry for around a decade whereas this is Ian's first year as a teacher, however, we see it as a reflection of the status that teachers have in Australian society.

Finding somewhere to live

True to Mackay's reputation, it took us two months to find somewhere to live.

We ended up in a house literally over the back fence from Ian's school. It's very convenient!

Many thanks to Traude & Eric Carter for their generous hospitality and patience.

Church

We tried a few churches, ending up at Mackay Church of Christ, about 1.5km from home. On the first morning we went, all the women between the ages of about 15 and 65 descended upon Laetitia with flyers for a women's night at the movies.

We have felt very welcomed and a real part of this church. We enjoy the fact that it is relatively small and therefore we can get to know everyone. We have also joined the music roster with Ian on strings and Laetitia on vocals.

Mackay!

In mid-January we drove to Mackay for Ian's new job as a high-school teacher. It took us three days! On the way up we had dinner in Rockhampton with Vicky whom we had met at CMS Summer School.

It rained so much that parts of Mackay flooded. The water was knee-deep inside some of Ian's classrooms!
We don't understand why people insist on building on a tidal swamp.

CMS Summer School

The year started, as usual, with CMS Summer School on Mt Tamborine. There we met a lady named Vicky who lives in Rockhampton. We also got to know some of the new missionaries, such as the Greeffs, and those in training who will go next year, such as the Barlows and the Weekes.