Happy Easter!

I know Easter has come and gone, and I'm a little behind on blogging for it, but anyway...:) My first Easter with NO chocolate! I actually can't believe it! Mind you, there wasn't very much in the stores anyway - and what there was, it was REALLY expensive and it was Aussie chocolate... not as good...
But of course Easter is so much more than just chocolate - a time to reflect and celebrate. I went to an Good Friday service where a friend of mine got baptised in the ocean, then an Easter Sunday sunrise service where 5 Dalat students got baptised, and then the normal church service at normal time on Sunday as well! It was really awesome hearing these people's testimonies (the ones getting baptised )- of what God has done in their lives! Here are a few pics...


Good Friday evening... This was Luciana - a Brazilian woman who came to Christ here
in Penang.


These 2 pictures were on Easter Sunday morning - worship time before the sun came up and then after down at the beach for the baptisms.

Trip up Penang Hill

Some of us gals from church went up Penang Hill on Saturday for tea! There's a place up there called David Brown's Tea Garden where we reserved ahead of time. It was truly beautiful up there... and cool! The fog (as you can see) came in pretty quickly and the rain soon came pouring down! But a very "cool" experience all the same! These are pics of the garden up there, me and my friend's baby (isn't he adorable!!) and some of the ladies that came up. A very enjoyable Saturday, what!

An amazing week..

This last week at school was Missions Emphasis Week. Our school usually brings in an international speaker to speak over 3 days (one session in the mornings and one at night.) This year, we had the privilege of having Paul Young, author of The Shack - the most life changing, most awesome book I have ever read... If you haven't read it, I would really encourage you to go out and buy it NOW!! It has spread like wild fire and is touching peoples lives all over the world!
I don't even know where to begin to tell you about what Paul spoke about. He has an amazing testimony - one that would rock your world... And basically the book he wrote has been the result of his 11 years of inner healing that's taken place in his life. He is the most humblest, down to earth man I have ever met - who gives everyone a hug when he meets them! Over the next while, I will try and put into words some of the gems he threw out over the series of meetings. It takes a while to spiritually digest them! Here's one that I will never forget: If I am afraid, I should not be asking God to take my fear away, but instead, ask God "What part of your love am I not understanding?" Since perfect love casts out fear, we shouldn't be afraid if we knew how much God really loves us. Hope this makes sense in writing!
Below is a picture of Paul in my classroom - I asked him to come and talk to my kids about being an author. He gave them new inspiration for creative writing :)