A Weekend of Fellowship

On Sabbath morning, I had a relaxing breakfast while watching the rest of the Moses documentary I began the other day. I spent some time outside, ate a quick lunch, then got ready for services and drove to the meeting hall. One of the messages was about how contentment can help enhance the Feast, while the other focused on the topic of restoration.

I stayed late after services to practice the piano. Most people had cleared out of the building, so I drove back to the AirBnb and changed clothes. I’d been invited to a friend’s house for an informal dinner social, so when the Sabbath had come for a close, I searched for stores that were still open and found an Aldi nearby. It was an interesting experience to visit an Aldi in another country. It was a part of a shopping mall, so there was a carpark available within walking distance. Inside, much of the signage and layout was fancier than the Aldi stores in the U.S. I’ve visited lately. The food selection was also quite different, including many Australian brands.

At the dinner, I talked to a number of people, slowly making some more connections with who was related to who. It certainly would help to have a family tree to reference as a visual to keep track of all the names and connections within the various Australian families, as this is the largest Australian Feast site, with many multigenerational family groups attending together.

I found my way back to the AirBnb successfully and spent the rest of the evening winding down and preparing for the next day.

On Sunday morning, I began the morning with a walk, as my habit has become, picked up coffee, then showered and left early for choir practice. It was a two-cups-of-coffee kind of day, so I bought another cup from the coffee van outside the meeting hall.

Services were also held in the morning. Since this Feast site is ahead 14 hours from the one hosting the webcast, we watched a recording that had just been uploaded an hour prior to the start of our service (from the service on Saturday in Eastern Standard Time). Mr. Shabi’s message about agape brought up several powerful points about this godly attribute.

Family Day began in the afternoon at a park beside the beach. The food was delicious, and I made several new acquaintances. Besides a few conversations and a quick wade into the ocean, I spent most of the time playing volleyball and sharpening my skills (the few that I have) for the volleyball team I’m playing in at home later this year. I rewarded myself for all those efforts with hot chocolate from a coffee van parked onsite. Throughout the event I saw plenty of “bin chickens” (a fun name of the Australian white ibis). After the event, I returned home with plenty of sand still clinging to my clothes, but no sunburn!