In September we will have lived in Brighton for 2 years – time really has flown by. People ask me if I enjoy living here and I can only say that I love it – really love it. Its not that this is the world’s greatest suburb or anything like that. Its a patch of dirt at the end of the universe full of similar looking houses, but I sense we are loving what we are doing, making some great friendships and learning heaps.

I always feel very priveleged to be living the life we live. And yet so many people have said they wouldn’t want my life for anything…

There is the advantage of being near the beach, which is always a winner for me. Its like a breath of fresh air to be able to drive 1km over the dunes to a deserted beach, or to launch the boat and scoot up to an uncrowded wave on a glassy ocean.

By nature I am a person for whom ‘home is where I am today’ so the sense of moving from the hills hasn’t been too hard on me/us. I wonder if that’s part of the missionary make up? At first i had thought we might be here 3-5 years, but obviously that was an underestimate. To  genuinely establish something and see it stable (on the track we are on) will probably take at least 5-10 years.

I’m intrigued by how Paul did it all so quickly and moved on so rapidly. While we are trying to learn from him, I just don’t think that is a characteristic that suits our setting. Relationships take time and we are only just at a point where we now feel well earthed and established.

What did Paul do?…