Australian Hospitality

As I prepare to go to Australia again, I've been blessed by how pieces are falling in to place.  While my airline ticket was a pain to buy, other things like housing are reminding me of the joys of Australian hospitality.  I will be visiting five different cities and learned from the last time I was there that Christian hospitality is alive and well.  I opted to stay with friends at as many places as possible.  This enables me to hang out with Godly people at night (instead of staying in a hostel with unknown roommates), know that I am safe even if I am out later than dark (groups are great and it gets dark early), and it helps with cost and transportation (my public transportation skills are still lacking since I drive everywhere).
For four of the cities I have set up housing already, but the setting up of Cairns housing was the most amazing.
Two nights in Cairns are going to be my vacation and I knew noone who lived in the city, or so I thought.  I asked a few friends if they had any friends who lived there.  One only knew a few guys and wouldn't recommend me staying with either, while another mentioned a mutual friend who knew someone there.  I contacted him and go the name of the girl who lived in Cairns.  Turned out I had met her at the EasterFest Christian music festival in 2009, but had not kept in contact.  She agreed to let me stay there after checking with her roommates.  Then she realized she was going to be out of town... but her roommates are super excited for me to stay with them.  I even get to celebrate one of their birthdays during my short stay.
This short exchange with roommates of a friend of a friend reminds me that Jesus taught us to stay with others in Luke 10.  I am thankful of my brothers and sisters who are people of peace welcoming travelers on the way.  They remind me of how I need to be hospitable in my own apartment.



Luke 10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.  5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.  8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.

Check out my blog from 2009 for other stories of Australia. Unfortunately, I did not blog as much as I wanted to cause I was busy.