Another update.

This is just going to be a brief update to let you all know that we're still alive and kicking. This has been another week where there has been not much happening, so I've not really got any news for you. The 'something special' that I thought I might have for you this week didn't materialise, so you'll have to wait until next week.

I suppose that a lot of this week has been taken up thinking about the coming year and what it might hold for us. We're still not sure if we're going to be in Dubbo for another year or if we'll be shipped off to a first year centre in another part of the country. We're open to either option and there are benefits to both.

Matt and Jane left last weekend which means that Bill and I have been left with responsibility for the Mat Exchange. It also means that I have lost a Risk buddy. Oh, and if you're reading Jane then you left some tweezers in the flat. Ruth is going to send them on to you. Or maybe they're Matt's tweezers?

Spring is a really nice season. The flowers are in bloom and the weather is lovely, but we're still praying for rain. This week I was speaking to a guy who reckoned that he was going to lose about $15,000 worth of crops unless we have rain in the next week. Drought is a serious matter.

Congratulations to English pals Terry and Ruth who are expecting their first baby sometime in the next six months or so. Having babies is also a serious matter. Just as I've found so many Australians who are able to be positive about their future (regardless of the drought) so too can the birth of a new baby be and expression of hope for us Christians. There are a lot of things that aren't going too well in the world, but bringing children into it can be a practical way of demonstrating faith that God is still involved and going to do good things in the future. At least, that's what I tell myself when I catch Xanthe causing various degrees of havoc around the house. See you in six or seven (days).