A Joyful Army of Six

We are Brian and Cara Bergeron. We currently live, homeschool, work, and play soccer in beautiful Southcentral Oregon. We are children of God, children of two marvelous sets of parents who are still happily married, children of the '80s, children who fell in love when we were but children, children who have inherited four unexpected and undeserved blessings from the Lord--Brandt, Gresham, Seth, and Evangeline. Together we are (as Eva will tell you with a shout) "in the Lord's army. Lethirrrr!"

Monday, August 18, 2008

Sunday: Blue Mountains and Back

Sunday: Mount Victoria and Mount Tomah, Blue Mountains

Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to Mount Victoria to St. Peter’s Anglican Church for services. I snapped a few photos of the outside of the building, built of stone in 1891. According to Brian, my resident counter of all things, there were 21 other people, all Australian, worshipping with us. The temperature in the old building, despite the space heaters mounted to the walls, was frigid--so that I actually saw my breath in the church. As Brian said after the service and the following “bit of tea,” “It’s always great to see what the Lord is doing amongst Christians all over the world.”

The highlight of my Australian experience, thus far, was that trip to church. We were at least a full 30 years younger than anyone else in the service, so I’m not sure if this is the reason; but I’ve never seen so much tweed in one place in all my life. And if you’re wondering about the fashion viability of plaid wool pants, they are apparently alive and kicking on this continent. A kind and quiet woman named Mary poured my tea and it was her friendly husband Peter who was wearing the pants in question. Truly, I must have experienced this new world by now! Despite our obvious differences, we sang hymns that were familiar to us and the two passages of scripture preached by the rector were from Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 10—two passages we’ve been studying side-by-side in our weekly Klamath Falls bible study. Christ is certainly alive and kicking throughout the world and the Church belongs to Him!

Thus far, the Australian people seem the friendliest on earth. Yes, they really do call each other “mate” and they do say “no worries.” They also say “hi” for “Hello” and “ta” for “thank you.” A “hike” is always referred to as “a bushwalk” and their expression “very nice” is just as likely to be misinterpreted in Australia as it is in the States. Australians are difficult to understand when excited and speak a bit louder than Americans, if that is possible.

After church we made a quick drive back to Blackheath for a spectacular breakfast. Brian had what he called The Vegetarian Special—lamb chop, sausage, bacon and poached eggs! I had an omelet—what the kids call “A Three Egger.” We finished with two slices of banana bread, a favorite over here, covered with ricotta cheese. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, America!

From Blackheath, we drove the Bells Line of Road to Mount Tomah Botanical Gardens, truly the most beautiful and extensive gardens I’ve ever seen in my life. The gardens were gifted to the people of New South Wales by a plant-loving family in 1972 and have been extensively developed since by the Royal Botanical Gardens of Sydney. Included in their collection is over 800 species of rhododendron, only one or two of which were in bloom. However, there were bulbs, lavender, heathers, flannel bush, red flame and some large succulents in bloom. The foliage and texture juxtapositions and the grandeur of the mature trees and moss-covered boulders were all so spectacular that it more than made up for the lack of flowers. We walked the grounds for about 4 ½ hours and both agreed that it was, perhaps, the most dazzling thing we’ve seen since arriving in Australia.

The drive back over the Bells Line of Road (an old Aborigine trail) was full of quaint orchards, rolling hills, and pastoral scenery aplenty. But swiftly the scenery took a nosedive as we headed past Richmond—graffiti, mass commercialization, metal fencing, strip malls and industrial debris have all taken their visual (and otherwise) toll on Australia as they have in the States. We finally made it back to our hotel—after missing a major turn—around 8PM and watched the finals for the women’s individual vault competition before crawling into bed at 9:30.

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