Rivers Baptist Church - Christ alone - and Him crucified

Dear praying friends

In summary
- Praise God for Marion's check-ups.
- Praise God for a fantastic holiday en-route back to Australia.
- Praise God that a kids' optometrist identified problems with M & S's eyes.
- Praise God for the numerous good meetings to date and pray for the remaining few.
- Pray for us as we leave Aus on Wed 10th Sep.

Geof

The details

Wow, it's been a long time since I last wrote. My encounters with the internet have been brief periods primarily just to check emails. First things first. Thanks for praying for Marion's check-ups. She saw 3 doctors and they have all been pleased with her tests and reports. We praise God for His undertaking in this respect. We plan to be in Caracas for a 2 year stint, and will value your prayers as Marion finds a thyroid specialist and cancer doctor in Caracas for next year's check up.

We had a fantastic holiday break between Caracas and Australia. It was the first time for the kids and I to be in Europe, and the first time for Marion to do anything touristy there. The highlight of our time in Switzerland was our journey into the Swiss Alps. Hubert (my flat-mate from when I was at uni) and his wife Elsbeth took us on a train journey (3 hours each way) plus chairlift journey to Titlis. We explored a glacial cave, played a little in snow, and had incredible 'tyre tube' rides down one of the slopes. It truly was a fantastic day out. We also enjoyed catching up with my brother & his wife as well as other friends in Madrid, Switzerland and London. Our time was also very educational particularly the free walking tours we did in London.
While in Caracas, Michael had done a project on London Bridge. Our tour guide (a uni student with a history major) really appreciated being able to engage him in a very good discussion about the history of the bridge. In all our travels the kids were model travelers for which we praise God.

We've been in Aus 3 weeks now and have less than 2 weeks left. It has been a particularly timely visit. Segana & Michael have really appreciated their reunion with their cousins, their grandparents and poppa bikes! We don't have a television in Caracas so this was a real added bonus that they've been able to see parts of the Olympic Games.
It has also been a fantastic break from the constant noisiness and traffic problems of Caracas. (In Perth we were caught in peak hour traffic on one evening to which Michael replied that it wasn't really peak-hour traffic at all 'cause we were doing more than 20kph whereas in Caracas peak hour we can sometimes get up to 20kph).

Our time back in Australia has proved to be very timely. On Tuesday both Segana and Michael had eye tests with a kids' optometrist (which is 5 minutes walk from Marion's parents' new home). Previous optometrist checks have indicated that neither had eye problems but this optometrist has found that both have problems which mean they need glasses and need to do eye exercises. Segana's eye muscles fatigue too easily which is why she's been having what we thought were her motivation problems.

We've had some very good meetings in Australia.
Please pray for our remaining meetings (all in the Brisbane area):
MissioNext tomorrow night (29th) 7.30pm at Ashgrove Baptist; all services at Cleveland Baptist (30th ) plus Window-on-the-world (immediately after am service); Prayer meetings (Tues 2nd Redcliffe
(morning) & Thurs 4th Wynnum (afternoon); and Sun 7th at Sunnybank Baptist.

This visit to Aus has been so brief. We feel like we've only got here but yet only have a few days left. We leave Aus on Wed 10th Sept and will have a couple of days in Auckland before returning to Caracas via Santiago (Chile). Please pray for us as we bid our farewells again.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Geof