Bloom Where You Are Planted

As far as foreign assignments go, Perth is one of the best. They speak English here, the weather is great, the food is even better, and the kangaroos are adorable. It is safe for families and there are lots of things to do here. The public transportation is so good that with some planning, it is possible to get around very well without a car. The Australians are very friendly, and there is a variety of organizations for visitors from other countries such as the American Women's Club and the Petroleum Women of Perth. Then there are the sub-groups: bible studies, tennis group, young Mums' group, coffee club, walking group, book club, movie club, curry club and more. Local charities need volunteers, and there are even opportunities for paid work.

I am grateful to many people who helped us get settled here, especially the ladies in the beginner's Mahjong group. They have helped me find a good doctor, hairdresser, grocery stores, etc.  We've been here just over 3 months now. Vince's work is going extremely well and I have made dozens of new friends. It would be easy to spend my days attending one social event after another. But the question keeps popping up: why are we really here? What is God's purpose for us in Perth?

I don't have the answers to why Perth, why now, why us. But I do know that we need to make our days count. So... how do we do that? We started by finding a church, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) of Perth. Their doctrine agrees with ours -- click here for more details http://www.crcperth.org.au/What%20we%20Believe.htm and we've been made very welcome by the membership, composed of about 70 families with weekly attendance of around 65 at the morning service and 25 at the evening (teaching) service. There is a shortage of Sunday School teachers, so I have volunteered to teach the 3-8 year olds once a month. Fortunately I'll have an assistant! Vince is considering teaching an adult Sunday School class because they don't have any. After the church service there is a social time with coffee and cakes -- lots of cakes -- and this has been our primary way of getting to know our fellow believers. We'll no doubt find other opportunities to serve in time.

We enjoy many things about this church. We're forming friendships here and being exposed to cultures beyond just Australia. The roots of this denomination are in The Netherlands and at least 2/3 of  our church members originate from Holland or South Africa. Many emigrated to Australia after WWII and raised families here who now also attend the church. Another 1/3 is Australian, and then there's Vincde and me, the token Americans. It's quite a mix of accents on a Sunday morning. There is a group of pastors who preach in rotation at the 5 Perth-based churches. This gives pastors a rest from preaching on two Sundays per month and frees them to spend more time on pastoral care or other matters and less on writing sermons. Music? Well, there is a huge ministry opportunity in that area! Pastors select their own music to accompany their sermons, so the music is unpredictable from week to week. There is usually a mix of modern and traditional music, but they mostly sing hymns. Our church does not have a regular pianist and there is no choir. Music is played either by the pastor's teenage children (piano and guitar) or via pre-recorded instrumental CDs. Many of the hymns have recognizable lyrics with just a few changes of words, but often the tune is quite different. I am still learning the tunes to many hymns. Vince is oblivious to this -- he is super tone deaf and just sings loudly and joyfully. More than once we have sung a capella when pre-recorded music was not available. So if you have a passion for music ministry and you want to come to Perth, let's talk!

We celebrated communion last week for the first time since arriving here. The Lord's supper is served in a wonderful way at this church. A very large and long table is set up at the front of the church (think of two 8-foot tables next to each other end to end with white tablecloths on them). At the appropriate time the deacons usher people by row to the table at the front. When every seat at the table is taken the whole church sings a hymn and the pastor conducts communion at the table. The bread is passed around and eaten, then the wine, in individual portions just like we do it in Houston. The difference is that 32 people are sitting around one long table and it feels intimate, like family. It works for our church because there are usually less than 70 people attending on any given Sunday morning. It is possible to serve the entire church communion in two seatings. While we don't exactly "recline at table," it does make me feel like I'm having communion similar to the manner Jesus' disciples did :-D

There are many senior citizens in our congregation who bring a richness and history to the group. I hpe I am treated as well as they are when I reach their age. Last week our most senior member, John, turned 90 years old. The pastor announced it at the end of the service, they brought in a large cake, and we all sang Happy Birthday.  His grandchildren and great-grandchildren put together a "Happy Birthday Opa" Power Point slide show with photos from his life. The love in the room brought many of us to tears.

Here is an introduction to our new church home and some of our "family" members.

The sun pours in on a typical summer day in February. Buildings in Perth are made almost entirely of brick The red carpet is a nice touch.

. Coffee, tea and cakes (cookies or other snacks) are served after every Sunday morning service. It's a time for visitors to meet people, and for regular attenders to socialize in a relaxed way. Here, a group of ladies is having a "cuppa."

Rob, one of the elders. He wanted me to mention the earring in his left ear- a bit unconventional for this crowd, but I've seen them oin many Australian men "of a certain age." Everyone dresses casually in hot weather, which is most of the year. Maxi dresses are in style here too.

Vince having a coffee and a chat after the service.

Inside the modest but comfortable building. The words to hymns and praise songs are projected onto the screen at front left. Our pastors tend to speak from the pulpit (center). Announcements are made from the table at the front left, beneath the screen. The chairs are all orange plastic and I suspect they have been there for several years. Many of them have seat cushions, handmade made by various church members, which are left on the chairs week after week. Like folks everywhere, people tend to have a fovrite seat!  The table at the back left holds sermon outlines and current newsletters.

Some of the kids are having some fun on the piano after service. Every child the world over can pick out  "Heart and Soul." :-)

We have a small youth group which they hope to grow. Like elsewhere, when teens go to "Uni" (University) their church attendance tends to drop off for a few years.

It's not just girls -- most of the guys were outside playing sports, but one of them agreed to pose for a photo.

The church is on a small street in a typical neighborhood. There is a shortage of parking spaces, so cars park right up to the front door, sometimes even on the grass, or "verge." 

Third from the left is John, who just celebrated his 90th birthday.

They take good care of the pastor here. He needs his own parking spot since he has 3 kids and drives a "ute" (utility vehicle, or SUV) . It has been so hot that you can break a sweat just walking the 20 feet from your car to the church.