A Bit of L.A. in Sydney

This past weekend was pretty busy in the Jung household. In addition to the ministry responsibilities, we've hosted a couple (dear friends and our East-Australia teammates from Brisbane) who came to visit Sydney for the first time. We took them sightseeing around Sydney; but most importantly, it was a blessing to have spent the weekend with them talking and sharing about the challenges and blessings of serving in a country that at first seems so similar to our home country, but in actuality is so incredibly different. It was especially encouraging to have had their presence at our Sunday Night meeting at home as we had a couple who had come to our meeting for the first time this weekend.

The lovely couple

Attempting to watch the Sydney Christmas Parade

On the busy streets of Sydney CBD

Resting on the journey from the CBD to Circular Quay

Then when they left, we went to watch the L.A.Galaxy (with Beckham) play against Sydney FC. This was our first time at Telstra Stadium at the Sydney Olympic Park, and my first time watching a soccer match at the actual stadium. It was pretty exciting to see so many fans. Of course, although the majority of the crowd was cheering for Sydney FC, the 80,000+ crowd turned up to watch Beckham. I'm not a huge fan of his, and although L.A. Galaxy lost 5-2, it was an exciting match. I love watching soccer! What a relaxing way to end a busy week!

The stadium a half hour before the start of the game


Nerdy soccer fans


Profile of "the" key player


Beckham and Donovan

Note: Poor quality of the last four photos due to dying old digital camera. Left the good camera at home.

A Grey Gloomy Day Turns into Sunshine

The weather has been gloomy and cold, not very unlike the way we’ve been feeling lately. But in spite of the weather or the way we are feeling, we have been carrying on trusting that God will sustain and strengthen us in our spirits. Today God reminded us that He truly does provide for all our needs and that we’re not alone in this journey.

This morning the postman delivered a BIG package; it was sent from our home church. Since I had a busy day ahead of me I didn’t bother opening it right away; plus, I thought it was the box of books that they had generously collected for me to use for outreach, so I was in no hurry to open it since I had seen the books back in August. After spending all morning and most of the afternoon running errands and taking care of other responsibilities, I finally had time to open the box.

As I opened it, at first I was puzzled because they weren’t books! I began fishing the items out of the sea of styrofoam pieces and I was even more confused because they were things like “ramen”, gihm (dried seaweed), dried fruit packages, ji-poh (dried fish), vitamins. Jim said “I think this isn’t for us. They must have sent it to our address by mistake.” I was like “Do you think?”, but as soon as I saw boxes of magic-sponge, I knew it was no mistake! As I took out the rest of the contents from the box, it dawned on us that it was a care package from our loving La Mirada District from our home church. The package was for us! We had a good laugh about it and felt so blessed to have received a “love package” from them. Our gloomy day turned to SUNSHINE! Thank you La Mirada District!!! We feel so loved…

P.S.: Awards for DVD performance:
1) Most natural female in front of a video camera: Gower.
2) Most natural male in front of a video camera: Russell.
3) Most photogenic: Madeleine and Zoe. (sorry don't know to put the 2 dots over the 'e'.)
4) Honorary Mention: Elliana, Emery, Caleb, and of course, Lucy (though not in DVD).

Here are some pics.

The Box

Opening the box. Of course, Buddy wanted to "help".


The goods


Thanks for the special gifts sent just for me (like this top)!

My boys enjoying the goods.

Buddy "guarding" the goods.

Hallowhat?

So Halloween has made it all the way to Australia. Originally, in Australia Halloween was also known as Mischief Night or Danger Night as they celebrated Guy Fawkes Eve.

Guy Fawkes Night is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th of November primarily in the U.K. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in which a group of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the House of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November, 1605, when the Protestant James I of England (James VI of Scotland), his eldest sons, and the majority of the English Parliament were within its walls.

Guy Fawkes Night seems closely related to the celebration of Reformation Night. But as with many old traditions and celebrations here in Australia, Halloween is another holiday that was brought into Australia through their ties to the U.K. Over the years with the influence of American pop-culture, it became a night for children to create mischief by doing tricks or getting a treat. Either way, overall most Aussies don't give it much attention anymore. There is no dress-up-to-school-frenzy, no trick-or-treaters, nor the candy-madness in grocery stores.

Last year Halloween wasn't even in our radar because we were so distracted with trying to start our lives here. But this year, we were reminded of it because an American expat girlfriend I met recently (who happens to have been a Kindergarten teacher like myself) baked me some muffins in the shape of Pumpkins and Ghosts; she was even all dressed up in black and orange! Also, we actually had TWO trick-or-treaters come to our house! Anyways, I found a picture of the pumpkin above and thought whoever carved it did a great job! Don't you think?

Random Ramblings

So I was cleaning the bathroom the other day and had some thoughts in my head about some things that really excite me, so I decided to share with you all. I think the greatest invention in the 21st century so far, in my opinion, has got to be the magic eraser/sponge. This simple product can do 100% better job than any other cleaning product! It not only removes unwanted marks from your walls, but it also removes all the grease and grime from the oven, burn marks from the bottom of pots and pans, and it can even make your dirty white sneakers look brand new after a few scrubs! I can clean the entire bathroom, including the bathtub, tiled walls, sink, windowsills, and the toilet with a single magic sponge! I used to really dread cleaning because I was usually so tired by the time I got home from work that the thought of scrubbing the bathtub or the oven was like torture. However, after I discovered Mr. Cleans' Magic Eraser cleaning became not only easier but a real delight! I remember I was actually motivated to clean because I was on a mission to uncover what else this Magic Eraser could magically erase. Anyway, when we moved out here I brought with me a big box of 24. It's been a year now and I've only used half of it. Better get some more next time I visit home again. If anyone is interested in sending me some more, you know my address! hehehe
BTW in speaking of Mr. Clean, I'm not sure what came over him but Jim wants to shave his head!!! HELP!

The Honeymoon is over!

Yesterday we celebrated our one year in Sydney. Can you believe it? It surely feels like our one year anniversary came too quickly, but at the same time we feel like a lot has happened in this short time. We give all glory to God for His amazing grace! Actually we closed this first year very appropriately with the Area Retreat I wrote about in the previous post.

We had a great time! We had worship time in the mornings and in the afternoons with seminars and free time in between. All throughout the day we caught up with many missionaries we knew, including the Kims and Rich Hong, and met many others who were really an encouragement to us. Thank you all for your prayers. Here's to another year of experiencing God's amazing love!

Vision Casting

Praise & Worship

Sharing a meal & conversation

Having a good time with the Aussie Family

Being a Tourist

Blessings

On Wednesday we're traveling to Asia for MTW's Asia-Pacific Area Retreat. This is a retreat that happens every four years for each region in the world, and Asia-Pacific's is this year. Everyone serving in this area with MTW will be attending. Although we are sort of "traveled-out", we're pretty excited to be attending a retreat where we'll be spiritually nurtured and where we'll be able to fellowship with so many other co-laborers. We plan on taking our church-plant project to a new level, so we hope that being among so many experienced folks will cause us to come back inspired and re-energized. Please pray for us: a) travel mercies, b) sensitive to the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit. I'll leave you with what I had promised to some of you. We have added a new member to our family. I guess he's not so new to us, but new to you since this is his debut.

• Given name: Noble Mate Shalom
• Nickname: Buddy
• Birthday: April 15, 2004
• Adopted: February 5, 2007
• Gender: Male
• Height: 2ft.
• Weight: 70 lbs.
• Hair Color: chestnut-blonde
• Eye Color: hazel
• Occupations: Volunteer Therapy Assistant, Social Ice-Breaker, Cheerful Greeter, and Loyal Companion.
• Interests: Swimming, running, hiking, eating, sleeping, going for a car ride, playing catch, chase, and hide-and-go-seek.
• Expertise: Chasing cats, hunting and digging for lizards in the backyard, getting in people’s way, tearing teddy-bears apart, fetching balls or sticks, chewing on plastic toys.
• Dislikes: Vacuum cleaner, taking a bath, staying home alone, staying out of the loop, barking small dogs.
• Favorite foods: Meat, bones, stinky foods like dried anchovies & squid.
• Species: Dog
• Breed: Labrador Retriever

"I'm having a good day! How 'bout you?"

So handsome!

Strike a pose!

True Aussie

Man's Best Friend

Bush is in town!

Tonight President Bush came to Sydney for the APEC summit. What is APEC? APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and it is an economic forum for a group of Pacific Rim countries to discuss matters on regional economy, cooperation, trade and investment. Together, these countries represent about 60% of the world economy (World Bank). The organization conducts the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, an annual summit attended by the heads of government of all APEC members. The location of the summit rotates annually among the member economies.

Since this year's meeting is being held in Sydney (from Sep. 3rd through Sep. 9th), Bush, along with 600 people in his entourage, flew into Sydney on this rainy and cold night. The entire Central Business District has been under lock-down. The police have built tall iron gates around the city center to prevent people from getting too close to the places where these world leaders will be meeting. No one is allowed in he city whether on foot, by car, or by public transportation. No one is being allowed to take photos, not even the media. Many Sydneysiders are worried about possible violence from protesters, however, most importantly they are dreading the chaos in traffic. Residents are encouraged to go away for the weekend. The city was given an additional public holiday on Friday, Sep 7, by the New South Wales state government to ease disruption caused by the world leaders' arrival in the city. What a great compromise for what some people have to endure!

The point is: If you were thinking about surprising us with a visit, this is not a good week. We won't be able to take you to the city, nor show you some of the most beautiful sites which include the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge to name a few.

Just for fun: A famous tradition during this summit involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host member. As I was reading the local newspaper today, I found this funny interactive cartoon. I love how the Aussies find humor in any and every situation. Click here to see what it is: http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/bush_dressup/index.html