E-BLAST - 1 FEBRUARY 2015

Australia Day picnic - two lasses wearing Australia Day celebrations - Delma with her T-Shirt and Kandima Awendila her 'I love Australia' badge  -  rather ostentatious ! Kandima from Mozambique has been naturalised for 5 years and loves Australia. Delma gets out her Australia Day T-Shirt each year along with her Australian flags of various sizes.

YOUNG WRITERS TWEED PICNIC

Danielle Carney, Kandima Awendila and Daniel Stott at the Australia Day young writer picnic at the River Park on the Tweed River. After the picnic everyone came to the home of Delma and Mark's for a cuppa and people didn't leave until late afternoon. 7 plastic grocery bags of mangoes from our Mango tree were given out. John Grocott and Mark collected 5 buckets full last week, another five this past Wednesday and now to the higher up mangoes this week.   

AUSTRALIA DAY SUNDAY

Acruba hats were utilised to collect the offering for the Australia Day celebration service at the Tweed Coast Baptist Church last weekend. Morling College Principal Rev Dr Ross Clifford was the guest preacher at Rev Dr Russell Hinds' church - both good friends of Mark - the three of us got together.

RUSSELL AND ROSS WITH MARK

Australia Day Sunday Rev Dr Ross Clifford the Principal of Morling College (NSW Baptist) preached in Rev Dr Russell Hinds' church (Tweed Coast Baptist at Cabarita)  -  good friends for well over 30 years. Ross rang Mark to catch up so we drove to Cabarita for the service.

HALF OR HALF

 Half and half - Delma and Mark celebrate their 38th anniversary on 12 February. This photo came from Christina Tyson who is one of our young writer Panellists and it represents Delma and Mark - Mark's the half full character and Delma's the half empty.

CHARLEY GOIRIS

Charlie Goiris article published on Thursday titled 'Balmy nights and juice' was already on the Christian Today 'Most Popular' list by 10.30am that same morning. Charley Goiris is a professional model and actress in training, one of the three youth ministers at Melbourne's Crossway Church and spoke at the Banora Point Baptist Church the day after the young writer's conference last Sept.   

E-BLAST - 25 JANUARY 2015

Australia Day tomorrow 26 January with a Brisbane - Gold Coast Young Writer river side picnic (as we did 2 years ago) - if it is not wet (been teeming for 3 days). A 2015 project I'm interested in exploring with Simon Storey a retired professional footballer and his dad John (see photo) is Life After Football (Soccer) - as I have been active since 2001 with Life After Cricket. I met Simon and his dad John at Tony Dunkerley's funeral in late December in Melbourne. Simon had played professional soccer in many parts of the world and for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. 

McLAREN VALE REGION - ALDINGA BEACH

McLaren Vale is the region wherein Aldinga Beach is part thereof. The respite meeting gathering had lunch at a nearby lovely winery and then it was a 10 min drive to Ben and Robyn McLean's house in the Aldinga Scrub. Basil Sellers came in my vehicle for this drive where we chatted, while Delma rode in the chauffeured limo with Basil's PA Deb Thompson and Ben McLean.  

McLAREN VALE JAMS

On our drive to Aldinga Beach Respite meeting last week we visited the McLaren Vale Information Centre where these local jams were on display which interested Delma. We had morning tea at the centre's fresco and looked across to the acres upon acres of grape vines. Basil Sellers said the area has a Mediterranean climate.

ADELAIDE TRAFFIC

Adelaide traffic photo taken from the driver's seat when at a stand still. The rear view mirror shows the banked up traffic behind our vehicle while the photo shows the vehicles all around. We were on our way back from the respite meeting last week.

TRAFFIC JAM - ART GALLERY

Traffic Jam is the name I gave this artistic work at the McLaren Vale Information Centre at Aldinga Beach. It certainly reflected our drive back to Adelaide after our respite meetings. Delma and I enjoyed viewing the art gallery. There is no art prize in the area.

JASON LALONE

Jason LaLone is one of our new international young writers from the USA and currently 'short term' serving the Lord at Brisbane YWAM base (Youth With A Mission). He initiated his 'Comment' writing this past week which has been No1 on the Christian Today 'Most Popular' list for three days.

E-BLAST - 18 JANUARY 2015

Mr Basil Sellers AM explaining the guaranteed parameters of the proposed South Australian Aldinga Beach Respite to the Missions-Interlink leadership last Wednesday at Aldinga Beach - a very pleasing gathering. Mark and Delma were flown to Adelaide by Basil Sellers to be part of the discussions after 4 years of remarkable outcomes at the 'Basil Sellers Laguna Quays Respite' on the Whitsundays. The photo includes SA Missions-Interlink chairman Geoff Colton from Adelaide's corporate sector. 

WED 14 JAN 2015 - ALDINGA BEACH

The gathering - Aldinga Beach Respite - Robyn and Ben McLean, Deb Thompson (PA to Basil Sellers), Basil with Delma in front, Rev Andrew Downes and South Australia's Missions-Interlink chairman Geoff Colton. Notice the protected Aldinga Scrub in the background.

ALDINGA BEACH RESPITE LEADERS

Robyn McLean, Ben McLean, Andrew Downes, Geoff Colton the Adlinga Beach Respite leadership group. Ben and Robyn spent 9 years in Beijing as missionaries with a vision for missionary respite. Andrew is the local Baptist minister (18 years), Geoff is the SA Chairman of Missions-Interlink.  

ALDINGA BEACH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The beautiful Aldinga Beach - at its southern end, which runs north for looks like several klms. Two streets in from the beach road is what's referred to as Adlinga Scrub, a treed area with housing and three streets further back is a National Park protecting this unique scrub.   

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN YOUNG WRITERS

South Australian young writer lads looking interesting, away and not at the camera as Mark requested at their dinner in Adelaide. Tim Everton (Adelaide), Justin Monaghan (Victor Harbour) and Michael Dahlenburg (Adelaide). Justin, his wife Liana and Michael are new to the Christian Today program.

TOUR DOWNUNDER

Tour Downunder (Cycles) huge PR balloon right in the centre of Adelaide for this weekend's start of the week long international event. The route takes them past Aldinga Beach. We saw and spoke to many international cyclists.   

SUMMER E-BLAST - 11 JANUARY 2015

Summer E-Blast No 3  -  Anthea and Robert had a couple of nights at the Mantra and we cared for the two grand children. The morning of the 3rd day was spent preparing a sign with the help of grand-ma to welcome mummy and daddy home. Every family member back to their own places by Wednesday night 7 January.