We almost missed Good Friday service this year. In Australia it is traditionally held in the morning and we had no idea. The service time was probably announced at the local church we have been attending, but we missed it due to the traveling we've done two weeks prior (to Brisbane, Australia to visit our MTW's East Australia team, and to Canberra, the Capital of Australia where Jim was guest preaching at a church on Palm Sunday). But Friday morning, at 9:30 a.m. I checked the church's website to check the schedule, and to my horror I found out we had to make it to church by 10:00a.m.! Good thing we were up and ready for the day pretty early on.
Mostly, Easter traditions here in Australia are the same as in the U.S., like the Easter eggs and chocolates, the Easter Bunny, etc. But there are other traditions we found out about, like: eating Hot Cross Buns (sweet, spiced buns made with dried fruit and leavened with yeast decorated with a cross, the symbol of Christ, on top of the buns either with pastry or a simple mixture of flour and water) on Good Friday; celebrating Easter with the Easter Bilby, an endangered species that in 1991, the Anti-Rabbit Research Foundation campaigned to replace the Easter Bunny since rabbits are an introduced species in Australia and are unpopular because of the damage they do to the land. Also, Easter in Australia is enjoyed as a four-day holiday weekend starting on Good Friday and ending on Easter Monday. This extra-long weekend is an opportunity for Australians to take a mini-vacation, or get together with family and friends. Easter often coincides with school holidays, so many people incorporate Easter into a longer family vacation, which in turn lowers church attendance. It's almost like the Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.
There are so many different things that I want to write about and share, but it's going to have to wait for other posts. You can also read all about what's been going on in our Jungle News which we'll be sending out pretty soon. I'll leave you with this for now and some long overdue pictures. Enjoy.
Our humble and cozy home. We live in an area where a long time ago used to be considered
the "Bible Belt" of Sydney, and is now more like the "Silicon Valley" of Sydney.
Local shopping area near our home w/ grocery store, hardware store,
post office, news agency, video store, bank, bakery, pharmacy, etc.
K-town in Sydney a few suburbs away from us. It's basically one block w/ Korean
restaurants, Korean grocery stores, Korean video stores, etc on both sides of the street.
Here's Jim doing one of his least favorite things: waiting for the bus.
* Notice a slight frown.
Here's Jim doing one of his favorite things: buying food at the grocery store.
* Notice a slight smile. ;-p
Hot Cross Buns
Funny!
