So Schappelle got 20 years jail for her ‘crime’. Interesting. I’ll continue following this case as probably most Aussies will do with the hopes that she’ll win an appeal or the Indonesian govt gives a bit of leniancy. I’ve read lots of the comments people have put out there about this case. Some people state that we should avoid going to Bali for a while to protest and others say that we shouldn’t do that or the Indonesian tourist trade will suffer. My opinion on this is that in order for a protest to be heard, someone has to sacrifice and in this case it’s their tourist trade. Australia has been very very good to Indonesia. We gave 9 of our own lives in that helicopter crash rescuing Tsunami victims, not to mention the continual aid for that event and all the assistance and care we gave after the Bali bombings. It’s about time they were shown what it means to show mercy. Even if Schappelle is guilty (and I don’t think she is), 20 years jail is an over the top reaction to this crime. In Australia, she wouldn’t have even got 5 years jail. Sure, you have to give the government of another country credit for their own legal system but when there has been a lot of take from Indonesia, the least they could do is give a little.
It seems like ages since I’ve posted here. Not that it really is but a lot happens inbetween. In Australia at this time the name Shapelle Corby is being repeated everywhere. In this news.com story Shapelle asks us to pray for her. I must say that’s something I’ll do but I seem to have by doubts as to her getting off tomorrow in Bali. I intend on sending her a little parcel when the time is right, perhaps with an encouraging Christian book or biography (they say she’s ‘found religion’ since going into jail in Bali). Like many Aussies, I’ll be starting at the teli at 10am Perth time (which is the same as Bali time) tomorrow morning, waiting to see what happens.
Last night we went and saw a concert by the Watoto Children’s Choir and it was encouraging to see some hope coming out of a hopeless situation in Uganda. They are here for a while yet (in Perth) before heading over east then NZ and finally Singapore before heading home in November. The kids are full of energy and their smiles are priceless. Check out their site and ministry in Uganda, it’s worthwhile.
This story in news.com tells of how Aussie pets are more depressed than ever. I have written a lot of posts about my dog lately and I reckon she’s had a lot of the symptoms of this for a long time. Not sure if it’s so much depression but more anxiety. Thankfully she’s sleeping peacefully at the moment though!
What a busy weekend that was. I organised a quiz night at our church for Saturday night (only a little one) which centred around missions as a theme. It was good fun and went well. Then Sunday morning I shared at a church north of the river about SIM. This also went well. I did the missions spot in the service and then went out when the kids did for their chidren’s church which I ran for the morning. It was a nice change from the usual youth crowds I talk to . The kids were great, I showed them some things we’d brought back from Africa and explained that they make things out of what they can find in Africa a lot of the time and don’t use much machinery. One bright 8 year old remarked ‘wow! Imagine what they could do if they had technology!’. Smart kid.
Yes, that’s me. At night time I lay there in bed thinking when I’m meant to be getting some sleep and I manage to come up with a list of ‘good ideas’ or things I should do and I even convince myself that I’ll get right onto them the next day. Then I wake up the next morning and either forget about my crazy schemes or realise how stupid they were! Ocasionally I come up with something good though!
This is doing the rounds on the email at the moment but there’s a lot of truth to it. In all honesty, I do have a couple of friends who I could class as ‘real’ according to this:
A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself.
A simple friend has never seen you cry.
A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A simple friend doesn’t know your parents’ first names.
A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed.
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.
A simple friend wonders about your romantic history.
A real friend could blackmail you with it.
A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.
A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.
A real friend expects to always be there for you!
Yep, that’s what my little dog tried to do today. Poor thing, she’s on a fast until her stomach settles but she’s still going strong. We on the other hand spent most of the night up, injecting her mouth with 5ml of water every 15 mins. It worked because the vet was quite pleased with her by morning. I however only got up at 3.30 pm in an attempt to recover from a night of no sleep!
Yes, my sausage dog has another ‘tail’ to tell. This time the quarterzone that she’s on for her back (which has cleared up) has caused her to get a stomach ulcer which in turn caused vomiting and now dehydration! To fix that we have to give her 5ml of water every 20 mins all through the night! No sleep tonight then. She’ll of course need some treatment for her stomach (more pills!). Poor little dog. I hope this all clears up soon.
Ok, these two things aren’t actually related apart from the fact that they are the two main things that happened over the last two days (apart from Mother’s Day). Firstly, a big scare. My sausage dog had a bit of an accident on Friday morning (unrelated to the last one). She’s old and so it was inevitable for a daschund. She jumped up with her two front paws on our bed (she can’t get up though) and either popped a disc or pinched a nerve. Anyway, she was in a lot of pain and we ended up with a nice bill and a bit of a shock from the vets that morning. Almost three days later she’s going really well and is on lots of medication to help. It’s working praise the Lord for that!
Secondly, I was involved in running a special day for missions reps called a reps retreat here in Perth. We started the day with a breakfast for Pastors and Missions reps and this was followed by some really great disucssion. It was very thought provoking. We had around 50 there for brekkie which I was basically in charge of organising. After that there was a series of spiritual encouragements for the missions reps which went into the afternoon. A very encouraging and successful day. I of course am exhausted and am taking tomorrow off!
Stumble it!
