Gifts and visitors

Sometimes I am surprised by beauty, or by gifts from God in unusual places or by the enjoyment of hosting visitors.

Moriah treated Mark and me

(Mary) to breakfast at a local restaurant near the house where she is living. As we were leaving, I saw a pair of old cement wash tubs used as a planter for flowers in the outdoor dining area. The old wash tub taken out of our garage space was just killing grass so I now had a creative use for it. The lettuce plants keep us and our neighbour, on the lower level, supplied with salad greens. Hopefully there is enough growing weather left for the volunteer watermelon to develop down the front of the tubs.

After the back-room was demolished, we could see blooms that had been hidden at the back of the property. One was a two-toned, pink and yellow double hibiscus on a bush with mostly peach coloured (colored) flowers.

When the council (local government) representative surveyed the trees on our site for a possible new building on the front of the property, I asked about various trees that were a bother.

One was a cabbage palm that was just starting in our back garden. They are natives but self start all over the garden. Since one was

not very big, she said I could remove it. I sawed it off at the ground but it started to sprout from the root-ball. The new sprout was a beautiful green against the old brown stump.

One night as Mark was closing drapes and shutting windows, he noticed a visitor on our fence.

Even though it wobbled when he ran along it, the possum ran the length of our falling-down, side fence. He often makes so much racker jumping onto the tin roof over our back room and running to the front of the house. Even though he ate all my tomatoes on my deck forcing me to plant them in a bed out front and drape them with netting, it was still exciting to see him that night.

Regardless that the palms drop large quantities of flowers, seed and leaves all over and cause a mess, they also attract birds. One evening four Rainbow Lorikeets were hanging on this seed pod. Some were even upside-down. They are honey or nectar eaters.

Most of the potted plants that we had at our old apartment, Mary brought to the house. Wilamina, who lived downstairs wanted to block sound from the street by placing some of them in front of her lounge (living-room) door which used to be the area for the garage door. Due to the construction, we had to move many of them to make room for the rubbish skip-bin so we placed some next to our front door. They immediately started to bloom. We may leave some of them there. Mark thinks it looks like the entry into a plant shop.

We had friends (the Benders) from seminary days visit from Pennsylvania with their son and his wife. Driving visitor around, pointing out nice spots to see, draws our attention to the beauty that is around us all the time but often we are too busy to notice. Thank God that beauty is there even when we don't pause to appreciate it. The Bender's son gave us a hand-carved, wooden pie knife and server. It is so well formed and finished so smoothly that it is a pleasure to hold and touch. I love good wood and this piece is Maple.

Getting ahead of the termites

Mobile Mission Maintenance are a God Send! [see MMM's website for their service to churches, missionaries and missions www.mmm.org.au ] Five retired tradesmen volunteered their time to help us with the final attack on the termite infestation. (To the right is the team and one of the many times they discussed what to do and how they could possibly do it.)


(To the left is what the back room looked like before the cocas palms were taken out and the room removed.




Right is what it looked like inside before the reconstruction.





Below is the view when it was used to store all our things when the rest of the house was redone.)


Our back room was an entry point for termites. It couldn't be quarantined from the rest of the house nor made available for visual checks so it had to be torn down and rebuilt.

February 3rd they started and made quick work of the demolition. Men and their toys tore out block walls. NOISE!













Mark joined the team and was the young run and fetch it guy.


He hauled the rubble to the rubbish skip bin and lugs timber, bags of concrete, old pavers, and sand.











16 February he started painting (again - but this time on the new outside of our back room).

Mary's job was to prepare and serve morning tea and lunch. Which means she shopped, baked, cooked, set the table, did dishes and started all over again several times a day.



She was glad her job isn't full time chief-cook and bottle-washer for she hates doing dishes and needs more ideas for cooking. (We had devotions together at morning tea each day and prayed for MMM teams around the world.)

The first week was so hot, Mary couldn't keep up with the need for ice water. The second week turned to winter weather so she made soup to warm the guys. The third week continued cool, damp, and very rainy.


(They were able to reuse many things like insulation, roofing tin, sliding glass doors, windows, and floating wooden floor.)

(The orange is the termite protection that cost a fortune but is garanteed for 50 years.


It was put in before the concrete was poured and laid by a specialist.)


Right, everyone, in their 'wellies', was in on pouring the concrete for the backroom.




Though these are retired men, they work quickly. One day when materials were not here in time, Mark engaged the MMM workers in other small jobs around the house that needed attention and a bit of skill.

A little extra concrete helped fix a 'tripping spot' outside the doorway that used to be the garage door but is now the entry to our downstairs neighbour's lounge.

An extra piece of roofing provided a small roof over the lower level entryway.

A broken and clogged downspout and tilted gutter were fixed and re-attached.

Since the garage is now a living-room or lounge, we needed a garden shed so the men are helping organize that. One day they brought a small cement mixer to pour a base for the shed.

Unfortunately it rained on and off all day and temporary shelters were erected to protect the concrete a bit. More left over concrete helped prevent the edge of the driveway washing down the slope to the street.

(Ant infestation, not termites, in one back walls)

Anabaptism and New Monasticism Conference

As we were preparing for the bi-annual, bi-national AAANZ conference on Anabaptism and New Monasticism, we attended a house church gathering in the Blue Mountains of western Sydney. Several people shared about their heroes of the faith like Dorothy Day an C.S. Lewis. 

They encouraged conversation about life choices and how we could live our lives.  Does following Jesus in life impact the daily decisions we make? Does it give us a clear view of the world and motivate how we interact with folks and the creation around us? 

We traveled to Canberra and after an evening with Moriah, she joined us driving to Melbourne for AAANZ's conference over the Australia Day long weekend. [See Moriah's blog]

The weather was a weekend of cool between two very hot weeks.  We weren't prepared for the winter-like sleeping weather and were cold until Mark remembered the two wool blankets in the boot (trunk) of our car.

Mark and Mary started the first gathering for the weekend with a get to know each other activity.  Usually folks know the two of us, if not anyone else, but there were so many new folks that we didn't know everyone either.  The topic drew them.

Then we introduced Anabaptism and that the early Anabaptists were accused of starting a new monasticism.  [see Mark's article about Anabaptism and New Monasticism at www.csu.edu.au/special/accc/worddocs/Papers%20&20Publications/AAMZ%20missions%20confernce/Hurst.pdf ] 

Many of the new comers knew little, if any Anabaptist history and theology.  During another session, we explained AAANZ's beginnings.  For many sessions, Mary helped out with computer/ digital projector hook-ups and advancing PowerPoint programs.

Speakers from various intentional communities shared the hopes and struggles with living in communities that are committed to God and serving others. [see blurbs on several of the communities in the middle of the Frontline page on the AAANZ website www.anabaptist.asn.au ] 

 

Gordon Preece spoke on 'Everyone a Monk' - Monasticism, Anabaptism & New Monasticism.

Paul Wallis from Jesus Generation told us about the history and  development of Monasticism in England.  His baby daughter was the youngest attending but slept through most of the talks.  

Another group, The Community of the Transfiguration is a Baptist monastery outside of

 Melbourne that has been together for thirty years.  The Ephrata Cloisters greatly influenced their 'way' of being  community.  [Mark's folks live just a few miles from the Ephrata Cloister]

The first morning they led us in worship using an icon of the transfiguration created for them by the Bruderhof at Inverell.  Two of their group also presented talks for two sessions.  

Two years ago in Perth, I had been able to listen to a young woman as she contemplated joining the community.  It was good to see her so settled and at home with the group.  

Mark and I enjoyed meeting up with a man we met back in the early 1990's when he was part of the House of the Gentle Bunyip Community.  I (Mary) am always amazed at how God leads and directs our lives into the places that are good for us.

Early on Australia Day, Ross Langmead led our morning worship.  

Sunday morning we worked in four groups to organize a worship around hospitality.  Using the gifts in the group and much creativity, a passage in Kings on hospitality offered to Elisha came alive. 

Amy and Josh, friends who have often hosted us while in Perth, spoke about the daily life rhythms of the Peace Tree community.

 

Three folks from Urban Neighbourhoods of Hope also related the practices that sustain and encourage their work. 

Marcus Curnow-Scott spoke of the work of Urban Seed in inner city Melbourne.   [Mark and I spoke to the interns at Urban Seed the day after the conference.]

Though the program was packed, spaces in the afternoons were left for special groups to convene over issues or interests like  CPT [Christian Peacemaking Teams].  Free time was allowed for exploring walking trails around the campsite, visiting the local chocolate store or getting to know others.   One day Mary even had a nap to catch up on the sleepless might when she was too cold.

There was also time for conversations around meals or between organized gathering.   Several folks played games of 500 or 'Irish Fish' into the wee hours of the morning.

The last afternoon was spent in brainstorming and small group discussion on directions ahead and suggested priorities for AAANZ.  

The excitement around the issue of wedding a commitment to spiritual practice with service to others was contagious.  I, Mary enjoyed watching older radical Christians connecting to young adults newly interested in following Jesus in all of life, in community, and in service to the 'least of these'.

One preoccupation lately

In case you thought we had nothing to do lately...let me show you one of our preoccupations.
Since the back room couldn't be quarantined from the rest of the house or termite proofed, it has to be torn down. Before we could have the back room demolished and rebuild, a few trees had to come out. Before the trees came out we cut some of them down to size so that it didn't cost so much. Mark cut out many dead ones as well.
The 3 cocos palms [2 out back in photo above and one out front] were too big for us to fell and we didn't think we could control dropping things so close to the house.
A hand saw took too long for the thick trunks so we left them for the arborist [note two large trunks in the photo above]. But Mark did drop some huge trees.
On 16 January, with spiked boots and a sling harness, the arborist climbed the palms with two chainsaws hanging from his belt and dropped it piece by piece from above him.



This weed tree above, a privet had been cut before but kept growing back hence all the trunks on the fence line. Mark cut it to just over head height but the tree feller used a short cut, a chainsaw. He then poisoned it so hopefully so it won't grow back. We will have to rebuild the fence here.

Another job was preparing for a new fence so all the old fencing and over grown vegetation had to be taken out. Some places we couldn't see the fence for the English Ivy [which Mark reacts to like poison ivy] and other creapers. Believe it or not the photos above were taken after Mark took much of it out. Some of the fencing was horizontal since termites had eaten the uprights.
Neatly stacking the trunks, palm fronds and huge seed pods, they filled the truck to over flowing.






We also asked for estimates to clear the stacks of plant bits out front that Mark has cleared out of our 'jungle' since we moved in.