Itinerary part 1 - USA

Mon 7th Feb
leave Sydney

Mon 7th Feb – Thurs 10th Feb
LA, staying with Connie & Chuck Parrish

Thurs 10th Feb
fly LA to Orlando, Florida

Thurs 10th Feb – Thurs 17th Feb
at Walt Disney World, staying at Fort Wilderness Cabins

Thurs 17th Feb – Thurs 24th Feb
in Orlando, staying in Kissimmee

Thurs 24th Feb
pick up RV

Thurs 24th Feb – Fri 4th March
drive Orlando>Everglades>Keys>Cape Canaveral>St Augustine>Savannah

Sat 5th March
civil war re-enactment at Erhardt SC

Sun 5th March – Fri 11th March
drive Blue Ridge Parkway>Nelson County>Richmond, Virginia

Sat 12th March – Tues 15th March
Washington DC

Wed 16th March
drive to Pittsburgh, stay with Jim & Steph Fresh

Thurs 17th March – Mon 21st March
Michael to DC for conference, Karen & boys staying in Pittsburgh

Mon 21st March – Thurs 24th March
drive Pittsburgh>Amish country>Philadelphia

Thurs 24th March – Wed 30th March
New York

Wed 30th March – Fri 1st April
New England

Sat 2nd April – Tues 5th April
Boston

Tues 5th April – Thurs 7th April
drive Boston>Niagara Falls>Boston

Fri 8th April
fly Boston > London

by our 8 year old

Now it's only ONE WEEK til we we go away! Mum's getting all us kids to try on jeans to see if they still fit.I start school tomorrow.I only have four days of school, luckily that means no homework (I'm pretty sure).

‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’

is a quote from the bible, but the first place I read it was in one of my favourite books. I grew up with Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, Jane of Lantern Hill and Kilmeny of the Orchard. Some of my copies of these books were my mother’s, and my copy of ‘Anne of Avonlea’ says in the front ‘To Jean, 1926’ – Jean was my nana. They have been a legacy to me from the women in my family.

When I was pregnant with our eldest in 1997 my morning sickness was dreadful so that Easter I just went to bed and read all my LM Montgomery books again. They are like an old, dear friend. The sentence above is from ‘Anne of the Island’ – Anne realises she does really love Gilbert but he is dying. After enduring an agonising night, she hears that he has turned a corner and will be well again. It says,

‘A sentence from a very old, very true, very wonderful Book came to her lips: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”’.

It has been a dream of mine to visit Prince Edward Island…to visit so many sites from these books …and we had planned to do so on this trip…but alas! My sunny Australian optimism has meant that I had thought that April would be perfect (after all, isn’t that heading into summer?) But friends of my parents who live in Canada kindly researched for me and we have discovered that April isn’t perfect, in fact it’s snowy and cold and not much is open. So, we need a plan B (which doesn’t involve PEI!)

I’m waiting for joy to come in the morning.
Karen

The packing starts

Why 'A Williamson Odyssey'?

A good question, thanks to those who've asked! It started when Michael wrote on the front cover of our church newsletter in October last year letting our church family know about our LSL plans. That article is below...

L.S.L. a Williamson Odyssey

When 2011 rolls around it will mark 10 years as an Anglican minister for me (6.5 of these spent in here in Shellharbour City). This means I’m due to take Long Service Leave and I plan on taking Karen and our boys with me! Our plan is to combine the 10 weeks of LSL with 3 weeks of annual leave holidays and 2 weeks of study leave, making it a 15 week odyssey from the 7th February to the 19th May.

What about SCCAC? The Anglican Church LSL “rules” declare that I am to vacate the Parish entirely and install a Locum Tenens in my place. Hence, in consultation with the Parish Council the following arrangements have been made: Mal Forrest will be in charge of all operational matters of the Church for the duration of my absence, ably assisted by the Rev. John Cornford who will work part time for 12 of the 15 weeks (as the Locum Tenens).

Where will we go? Our long term dream and savings plan has been to tour the east coast of the USA in a motor home: touring the Civil War sites, Puritan towns, political heartland as well as taking in the scenery, see some old friends and visit Disney World with the boys. With the strong Aussie dollar and some discounted fares, we’ve been able to extend this now to include parts of Europe & the UK. With lots to see and lots to do, we are praying it will be a real milestone for our family.

In terms of study leave, I will be examining different models of ministry in other churches I expect will help us in our mission here. To this end I am enrolled in a 5 day intensive in Washington at Capitol Hill Baptist Church with Mark Dever. In the UK I will be spending a day each with staff and Rectors at 3 separate churches recommended to me by our First Fruits supporter. We also plan to visit the Sparks family and their church in Gijon, Spain; this will be a particular highlight of our trip.

All in all it will be a significant time of recuperation and stimulation to get us ready for the next 10 years!

So there you have it! Our odyssey starts in 10 days. Can't believe we're this close!

Welcome!

As you know, we are heading off on our trip of a lifetime very, very soon! That’s right, Team Willo (comprising of Michael, Karen, L, M, E and A) are packing their bags and going on Long Service Leave. Well, actually, only Mike gets LSL but the rest of us are coming too!
We thought we’d try and blog our way around the world. Let us know if you’re reading, and feel free to comment.