Kingdom Currency

 Where are we … ? 

We are in Tandur, not far from Gympie. Our new friends allowed us to spend two weeks on their property where they only spend weekends. Parked up among the tall Eucalyptus trees, surrounded by beautiful bird sounds, we have been able to heal and chat with our Father for two whole weeks.

New Beginnings

Image by Tom from Pixabay

The day after I completed our last blog post, we entered a new phase in our journey as nomads and permanent expats. AJ’s work contract was terminated. It had in fact reached its completion two months earlier. Misguidedly, he reckoned he could count on his Training Department managers’ promises that ‘all is well, the renewed contract will arrive soon. They’re working on it’. So, he continued to work as required by their schedule.

Unfortunately, he had not emailed an official query, but he had begun asking in August already regarding the renewal of the contract. This was usually via WhatsApp, or when he was actually speaking to someone face to face on Teams. Always the same answer, “Don’t worry. It will come.” Little did they know themselves, that HR was in no way planning to renew his contract. The same HR department must have known that he was still working when they received his 13^th invoice. Yet, they did not step in to stop it. When the invoice was not settled within 2 weeks as per usual, AJ began to ask why. Only then, did the Training Manager discover that he needed to request from the CEO to allow AJ to continue. This procedure took a further 10 days. A tense wait for us. Initial feedback after the meeting was that he would continue, with no problems. We breathed a sigh of relief. The next day, however, he was sent a curt email by the Training Manager, “It’s not over yet, but you will be paid!”.

As he completed one Type course, he was due to begin another. He let them know that unless he had a definitive response to the issue of the contract, he could not continue with the next course. Seems someone had had a comprehension problem, as in the end, it was a firm NO. However, they waited until he had completed the month-long Type course to deliver a one-liner (after 14 years of loyal service) saying he was no longer needed. No mention of payment was forthcoming. The next day his name was removed from the training programme where it had appeared until January 2024. The following day, all access to training materials and email accounts was denied. He penned three requests to honour the now 2 unpaid invoices – one to his training manager, one to the HR manager, and one to the CEO of the company. Not one person has responded. It’s as if he never existed. And to date, he has not received payment. Had he not challenged them for a decision, yet another week would’ve been squeezed out of him for no pay. (Please see my update on this below.)

You could ask why he continued to work when his contract had expired. Well, as mentioned, it was because he was promised verbally that he would continue, and believing the best of everyone, he trusted the leaders in the Training Dept. And they continued to use him. In his last month he worked up to 12 hours a day instead of the required 8, prepping for the class and writing revision questions for the students for each day’s training. Because he was busy 5 days a week on the Type course, they requested he work on a Saturday for pilot training. He complied, always loyal to the company.

What is justice?

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.com

According to most dictionaries, 'justice' can be defined as conforming to truth, fact or reason. Doing what is equitable, being morally correct, or fair. These concepts clearly do not ring true to whoever runs the company. They have not stated why they ignore his payment request. However, AJ says he suspects that unless you have a contract, you do not get paid. Bollocks! (Please note the update to this post below.)

Completely taken aback at first at their treatment of him, AJ has let it go. Admirably, and in silence, he blames himself. Before the emails were cut off he emailed the entire company to wish them all well and he blessed them. I bet that was one email that was not shared with the company’s employees.  

Until a few days ago I was angry. Not because of the pennies lost, but because of the injustice of it. I watched my hubby slog for the last month especially, under pressure to complete the course successfully, while suffering with poor technology that the company refused to upgrade on their end. He went the extra mile for that class, daily. Without payment. they have stolen from him. Justice is conforming to truth, fact or reason. Doing what is equitable, morally correct, or fair. True justice belongs to the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Especially when it comes to His children. Paul reminds us that the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” (Hebrews 10).

Cast ... throw off, hurl!

My all-consuming anger festered to the point of planning all kinds of actions to right the wrong. It kept me awake at night. Waking up exhausted on yet another morning where my first thoughts were of vengeance, I was reminded in a devotional on Psalm 55, that David had written, “Cast your burdens on the Lord and He will sustain you”. ‘Cast’ in the original translation, the speaker pointed out, means to throw off, hurl, with gusto. Onto Him, the one Who knows the end from the beginning. Your path, your story, was written long before you were born. (If you read Psalm 139 you’ll know that is true.) The famous verse came to me, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28) That day, using Psalm 57 v 2, I went to the Lord and cried out for justice. All alone in the forest, with no one around that could possibly hear, I cried out to God. “It’s the principle of it all! Don’t you see?”

“Give it to me,” I heard in my spirit.

“I can’t do that … I just can’t!. I would not be able to walk away and leave this with you.” I retorted.

Alone, open and honest with my struggle, I felt God’s gentle urging. He kept on … “Give it to me. Give it to me.” Finally, after a spiritual battle like no other I have experienced, knowing it would set me free, I caved in. Verbally I CAST the whole matter onto the Lord, aloud. And because not a soul could see me, I also physically CAST it onto the Lord, going through the motions like it was a parasite that I was throwing off … and it felt liberating. But suddenly, the injustices of this world flooded in on me… of Jews slaughtered. Of Palestinians lied to by ideological hate cultists. Of people losing all in deliberately-lit fires in Australia. Of the agenda of far-left ideologists who pass laws allowing full-term, live, aborted babies to die a slow death on a cold hard table, forbidding the medical world to care for them because they were ‘aborted’. Of ordinary salt-of-the-earth folk and their family being made homeless by greedy governments, corporates, and landlords. SO MUCH INJUSTICE! Does that make God unjust? No, because He is always a good, good God. Holy. Loving and kind. Just and righteous. Not a dictator, He leaves us to choose to submit to Him or not. Because He is God, His plans prevail, for the good or the bad, according to His purposes. Who can question Him? Who can know the end from the beginning? Who can question His ways?

“Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God?” Rom. 9 v 20.

Shall we accept prosperity and not adversity from the Lord? No, He has a reason for everything that is written into our life’s walk, and in the end, His name will be glorified. Even if that be in the next life, in eternity, He will get the glory. Unpaid wages are the least important in a world gone mad. God owns the proverbial ‘cattle on a thousand hills’. We are His children. Has he not repeatedly promised us … “I will be with you, I will help you”? Has he not repeatedly told us to ‘not be alarmed’? ‘Don’t be dismayed’! Over and over again, those promises, in different verses from the Word, have been coming at us through people, through sermons, through devotionals. 

I walked back to the caravan, a mess, but freed from the feelings of anger and vengeance.

An Uncertain Future

The future is uncertain. What we now seek is for God to be glorified through this. We both feel that AJ should take until the New Year to think, pray, and heal. To wait on God's leading. He went through an appalling time over the last 2 months. At the last, being eaten alive by midges, reacting to each bite, and having to work 9 am to 9 pm throughout. 

Training online

Then he was delivered a harsh blow. He has let it go, but he needs to work through the reality of a 45-year career having come to an end. Can it continue here in Aus? Not sure yet. In this country there are different requirements to be able to train adults.

By God’s grace, we have enough to carry us financially into the New Year. Thereafter, both of us will need to earn an income to be self-sufficient as our visa requires. We pray that we will not become reliant on help from our loved ones here, who are also battling to make ends meet.  The day after AJ was let go, we received our Tax return for the last year. Let me put it this way, while we had saved for the Tax man, it was in no way sufficient. Our advisor had not warned us of the true scope. International earnings are taxed differently, I think. 

Image by Perlinator from Pixabay

Had we not have had the major accident and been paid out fully for the loss of that vehicle a year ago, we would not have been able to pay the Taxman. But now we can. God knows the end from the beginning. It leaves us with a very small crutch … but, we are reminded that God our Father is our Mainstay. Our Keeper. Our Provider. Our Protector. A good, good Father. And a righteous Judge! 

His eyes travel to and fro across the face of the earth seeking to strengthen those whose hearts are turned toward Him (2 Chron. 16 v 9).   

Kingdom Currency

A few days ago, we were sent a voice note … a devotional talk before school … the person entitled her talk, “What is your Kingdom Currency?” Using the Old Testament story of Elijah and the widow in the famine (1 Kings 17), and of Peter and Paul and the lame beggar (Acts 3), she painted a perfect canvas with words, illustrating how each one of the characters had a choice – a choice to react to what they SAW before them, or to employ their Kingdom Currency of FAITH, OBEDIENCE and GOD-GIVEN ABILITY in exchange for something else – help from above for God’s glory.

Thank you, Kirsten! We resolve to employ our Kingdom Currency. 

Image by Perlinator from Pixabay

Thanks for stopping by. We are scheduled to house-sit in and around Gympie until mid-January. The next blog post should be more fun … be sure to watch for it. We will be looking after 4 very cute creatures … I won’t let on just yet. 🤭 Watch this space, it’ll put a smile on your dial. 😆

Until next time. Be blessed. 🌼

A later update to the above post....

In the Eye of the Storm ... the proverbial storm ... we found peace. To God be the glory. 💜

In mid-November we left the property in Tandur to park in a small caravan park in Gympie, closer to town and our children. We had a long list of to-dos to work through. Tax needed to be paid. The caravan's water pump gave in and needed a warranty claim. We needed to sort through banking issues and AJ's GP issues. (In this country, even if you are well, they keep nagging for you to visit the doctor so that they can check you out to see what could possibly be wrong with you. 😑🙄) We have decided to change to a different GP practice, hoping to get rid of the nagging doc.
We have had a heat wave – up to 38 degrees on 2 consecutive days. No fun. We put the AC on in the van and left to spend most of those days at our children’s home.

Ten things we learned over the past month.

1. We can live on a ¼ of the income we thought we needed. 😅
2. We are feeling better with two meals a day. 😁
3. After ‘casting our burdens (truly) on the Lord’, we found that there is, in fact, peace in the eye of the storm! 🤗
4. While we want to say a lot to God, it’s best to just listen to what He says for a change. His promises keep coming at us. We feel His love, like never before. 🥰
5. Having a chance to relax and decompress after a shocking couple of months, is good for the mind, body and soul, 😌 but …
6. Daily exercise is important for mind clarity after all! (Trying to keep it going.) 😅
7. Paying a huge tax bill is blood-curdling. 🤑
8. Ideas galore are hitting us thick and fast, but sorting them into short-, medium-, and long-term objectives is not THAT easy. 🤯😧
9. Prayer has a way of calming hyper-ventilation. 😊
10. Friends and family are amazing. 😘😘

And a bonus ... 11. God hears our prayers ... some He answers, some He doesn't.
Yesterday evening, I happened to look at our bank balance as we had spent a bit of money during the day on things we needed, and there it was – full payment from Gulf Helicopters! We were both gobsmacked. AJ couldn’t believe it, as he had written it off. I was amazed at how God had answered prayer. Even though I had left it with Him, I had kept on at God (like the nagging widow in the Bible story) saying that I could not believe that He would let AJ go unpaid. With continued expectation, I felt that He would motivate them to pay what was due. He did! We are eternally grateful.Our new favourite verse:

"As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me." Micah 7 v 7.

In the last week ... AJ downloaded a program on his laptop, which will allow him to do quality screen recordings. We are hoping to get a training channel up on YouTube so that he can share his knowledge with those who need it. So much expertise shouldn’t go to waste. And, who knows, it may just take off and be popular in the industry. As God wills.Our church is having a fun event over Christmas to reach out to the community, so I volunteered to help design signs and posters. That kept me busy in a fun way for a few days. The church will be on the Gympie Christmas Lights Tour for families. We hope to make it a special experience for all.
In two days we are off to our next house-sitting. Will chat again soon, along with images of who for and where. 😃😆
Thank you to all who have offered us prayers and support. We value you. Thank you for being part of our journey.
Blessings. 🌼

Hello, Hervey Bay!

 Where are we now...? Hervey Bay!

Image capture from Google Maps Data (c) 2022 Australia 

As you can see, Hervey Bay is a city North East of Gympie, a 1½-hour drive. Situated on the Fraser Coast, it is a bustling town, thriving from whale-watching tourism. At the moment it is whaling season. Apparently almost $11 million is injected annually into the region from whale-watching tourism. Hervey Bay has been named as the world's first Whale Heritage Site by the World Cetacean Alliance. Nearby is Fraser Island (or K’gari, as it has now been named) – a popular destination for tourists and locals alike for fishing, camping and 4WD expeditions, only accessible by ferry. 

There is much to see and do in Hervey Bay alone. In the coming days we hope to make up a list of places we’d like to visit in the mornings and on weekends when AJ doesn’t work. We look forward to discovering the area. Sadly, the house is a 20-minute drive from the beach, so there are no frequent beach walks – we are trying to conserve our fuel consumption.  

The weather at present is moody and cloudy. We still feel cold. Coming from the desert it will take a while for us to adjust. The current temperatures here are winter temps in Qatar. As tourists, we truly look the part! The only ones covered to the chin when we go out. Locals are dressed for summer, and along we come in our jackets. 😁

Those darn peskies!

The house we are minding now is in a suburb of Hervey Bay, called Eli Waters. Saltwater canals fed by the Eli Creek, wind between immaculate houses. There are walking/cycling paths along the edge of lakes where we walk each morning for about 5.5 km. 

The area is a mangrove wetland.  We have been warned to look out for snakes, yes, but also for sand flies, aka, biting midges, aka black flies. 😣 The locals could use any one of the three names for these pesky creatures, but they are one and the same. They are especially prevalent when there is no breeze. Tinier than a mosquito, they pack a nasty punch, which begins to itch sometimes only 24 hours later.  We were told that if we wanted to sit on the patio, we would need to put the fan on to blow them away. Sunrise and sunset are when they appear the most. They are worse in rainy weather (thankfully it’s been dry) and at full moon or new moon. A complex insect if ever there was one. The smaller ones are able to fly through the mesh of fly-screens … 😖

Image from Indefiniteleave.com.au

In Tandur I was bitten by what I thought to be mozzies on the one occasion that I didn’t spray my feet and ankles and went walkabout in the garden. I was in agony for days, and I’m beginning to wonder if they weren’t biting midge wounds. Yes, I call them wounds! 😣 I am allergic to mosquito bites, but this was so much worse. They have left scars on my feet and ankles that I’m hoping will eventually fade. We are constantly spraying ourselves with Sandy’s Essentials' Peskies-Off spray when we step outside. It seems to work, and that makes me happy; I’ve had one bite since we arrived, and it was the day I relied on the wind to stop them and didn’t spray myself to hang up the washing outside. AJ, who never gets bitten, is suffering from multiple bites because he thought that, like mozzies, they would not bother him and chose not to spray himself on the first two days. He quickly discovered otherwise, poor guy. 

AJ's legs showing midge bites

😬 The thing is, as soon as one sees or feels a bug, you feel as if your skin is crawling all over with them! 😅 There'll be no relaxing on patios while we are here! 

Remedies? We have been given all manner of remedies … the most popular local remedy is a spray made up of equal parts of Dettol and Baby Oil. Another remedy the locals believe in is consuming large amounts of Vegemite. It's the Vit B, they say, that the midges don't like. 😅 (... one midge to another, "Ugh! Don't bother with that guy, he's on the Vegemite bottle!" 😂) This Aussie staple is Australia’s version of the beloved UK Marmite … except that it honestly has a more medicinal, albeit salty taste. 😄 Believe me, you can buy Vegemite flavoured Baked beans, Vegemite Pizza, and more. There are recipes for Vegemite hot cross buns, and Vegemite roast potatoes. The Aussies are crazy over their Vegemite. We’ve started eating it on toast, but vast amounts… nah! 😅

© CC BY-SA 3.0

Heavy-duty insect repellents for tropical areas are sold in the stores, but these are no joke – they have a high concentration of DEET (diethyltoluamide). I can’t imagine long-term use of that yellow goo and what it could do to a person's system. Natural repellents sound far more appealing of which there are many on the market here. Especially when you're practically bathing yourself in the stuff all day long. 🥴 We’ll continue to test my mix to make it effective. I perfected a spray to repel Qatar’s flies 😄 … I’m hoping to beat this annoying midge as well. In the meantime, it’s a running joke that we hear from everyone ... "midges love international tourists!" The locals have seemingly become immune to them. 😄

God’s grace and mercy    

People call us lucky!

“You're so lucky”, they say. We disagree.

Why? Well, six years of planning have come to fruition. We sacrificed a load of things over those six years to save for this. We worked our butts off and were content with staying home when others went away or had fun times out. We planned carefully and asked our Father many a time for His will to be done in our lives. Not lucky... blessed. Blessed by pure Grace. We are amazed at how God has facilitated things for us. How many times did we run to Him, put things before Him, ask for His will, and beg Him for guidance along the way. Pure grace! Grace and mercy. No, these two concepts are in no way similar. Here is a lovely explanation of their difference.

We pray that we will never take his kindness for granted. Yet, there are times when we stray, stress, and rush, and forget to ask for His guidance. Sometimes He says no. Sometimes He’s silent. But mostly, we are gobsmacked at how He has worked things out for us. For weeks on end, before we left Doha, we felt that He was giving us the same promise of protection from His word. Our blog post in July discussed this. Eventually, we sat up and took notice, but our stress levels ran high regardless.

 

Upon our arrival, our family facilitated our stay with a warm welcome. We launched into getting the equipment for the van and the Ute. The cost of everything caused us to break out into a sweat. But because the van will be our home, we pressed forward with what we needed. Thankfully, AJ was retained as an instructor by his company in Qatar. What a help and what a gift from our Father! More mercy and grace.

 

After 2 weeks AJ began to work. A routine that has taken some getting used to. His ‘workday’ starts at 13:30 and ends at 21:30. The first week of training was a struggle in the family home because of the busy, playful, children. But then came the first house sitting. There we were, in beautiful quiet surroundings, with ample space in a large home and AJ ensconced in a study. Caring for the dogs was a joy! Towards the end of the week, the homeowners called and generously offered their home to us for an extra 2 days to avoid having to move in with our family for only 2 nights. They remembered that we had said we were leaving for the coast on the Monday after they collected the dogs. (That house is their weekend home – they live elsewhere full-time.)

‘That would make things easier’, we said, ‘thank you’!

Two hours later our daughter called to say they were all ill with a mystery virus. It had hit some of them in the family harder than others. We were amazed at God’s provision and protective hand, as we could not afford to be exposed to a virus and then move on to meet the next homeowners directly before they travelled abroad, possibly infecting them too. Also, we do not have a medical card or cover yet. Our application was delayed in the mail due to some unknown factor. God’s timing and goodness left us speechless. Mercy! Grace! (The family in Gympie are only just recovering from the nasty virus, almost 10 days later.)

In Tandur the dogs were collected as planned. The last two days were spent packing up, cleaning the house, and catching up with online tasks. AJ was given an unexpected course to teach and was able to spend the last day preparing material, well into the night. Early on Monday 3 October, we departed for Hervey Bay. The drive was pleasant, along a different route to the last time when we came up to meet the homeowners. We arrived early enough to do a quick walk along the esplanade in Hervey Bay. It was so good to finally see, and smell, the ocean. 

We planned to stay the night in a motel, as we needed to be at the new house sitting early the following morning. We had to be at the motel and checked in by 14:00 so that AJ could begin teaching a group in Doha. A few minutes before the time I went to check us in, while AJ used a hotspot from his phone to connect his laptop to the internet, in the Ute, to link up with his students. In true digital nomad style, he transitioned from the Ute to the room like a pro. 😊 He settled himself into a corner of the room to teach, while I went off in search of some supper. Fresh fish and chips sold from the nearby Marina. 

 

The next morning AJ was up at 05:00 to continue prepping for the new course later that day. We had to be at the house-sitting venue by 09:00. We gobbled down a small brekkie with coffee and rushed over. We had offered to give the homeowners a ride to the station in Maryborough, the town where Mary Poppins was born! 😊 (Yes… I sense a blog post in the making … 😉). From there they would take the train to Brisbane International Airport. Before they left, we were given the rundown of instructions, acquired the all-important Wi-fi password and were presented with a fabulous lasagne lunch, along with salads no less, to enjoy later in the day! They had catered a delicious meal for us, at a time when they were packing and preparing for a major overseas trip! 

“The pantry is yours; the wine rack is yours”, they said. “Use the meat in the freezer! Please help yourself to anything you need. The vegetables in the garden are yours. We bought you brown sugar.” (They remembered, from 3 weeks ago when we came to meet them, that we preferred brown sugar in coffee!) They moved all their tools around in the garage so that our Ute would fit in. What an amazing couple! Such a blessing for us. 

Grace and mercy abound.

Returning to the house after the ride to the station, we went into unpack mode and well and truly moved in. We were speechless at God’s care, evident through this secular couple. As we had no groceries yet and were feeling a little lost and strange (and hungry!), we were overwhelmed with gratefulness for the lunch. AJ had to begin teaching at 14:00, and once again the space was just perfect for his use – well away from the hub of the house and the noise I might make in the kitchen. Later, I did my first solo shop for groceries. I took a wrong turn and got lost. Only then did I decide to activate google maps 😆. Arriving at the store, I felt jitterbugs… strange aisles, strange faces, strange names for things, strange brands. Strange checkout methods too -- vegetables are weighed at the till and the till operator packs the bags. It all felt so unreal. And to cap it all, I had had to park the Ute for the first time, in a very small space, under pressure, with a queue of cars behind me waiting to pass. 😅😆 And the jolly thing felt huge – I was expecting a bump or a scratch at the very least. Lol. Before we could blink, our first day in the house in Hervey Bay was over.

There is more pressure to take care of this property. They are clearly very particular, with absolutely nothing out of place! Everything was sparkling clean and neat when we moved in. The lady of the house used to be a nursing sister, so the house shouts clinical cleanliness, all in white, minimal style. The kitchen has white stone benchtops. Gulp! But so far (a week in) so good. There are strict instructions on how and when to water the plants, with specific plants mentioned. After 21 years of not having a garden worth mentioning, there’s me, running to Google to find which is which. 😊 No animal to take care of this time … their beloved dog died 2 months ago before we arrived in Aus. His name was Jack. On the list of plants is ‘Jack’s Gardenia’, with a note that ‘this plant is very important’. (Jack’s ashes are in an urn on a shelf in the study. 😧) Trust me – I cannot see a Gardenia in this garden. Not for the life of me! And I know what a Gardenia looks like. 😖😬 I even checked that I had it right by googling Gardenia images. 😯

 

They return on 5 November at 7 in the evening. After handing over the keys, we’ll spend the night in a motel nearby to avoid driving at night. The next day we make our way to Brisbane to take delivery of the van on 7 November. The time is getting closer. Not once have we practised what we were taught in the towing course 😣… we had better get our noses in those course notes. 😅

 

Andries is teaching 5 days a week. While he teaches I write, plan, budget, and catch up on correspondence. I’ve managed to put a bucket list together of things to do and see while we are in Hervey Bay. After a week we’ve managed to cross off 4. Three weeks to go. Grace and mercy sustain us.

My workspace in the kitchen

Last Sunday we visited the local Baptist Church and received a mighty blessing. So pleased we went, even though that age-old enemy tried to keep us away. We pray grace and mercy over them as a congregation. We pray over you as our followers and prayer partners; over South Africa, our birth country; over Qatar and our children and friends there, during this difficult time of the FIFA World Cup event; over Australia too, that is fast becoming a secular, Christian-averse country. 😕 Over our children and grandchildren who live here, for a future in the Lord, and for many chances to witness to them of God’s beautiful plan for salvation for all mankind.

 

Friends and family, we appreciate you. We pray for each of you. May God extend His grace and mercy over each one of you. In Jesus’ name.

 

Until next time. 🌼 Blessings from us. ♥

Graphic insert: Pigeons by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay.