Category - Family

It must be getting closer to school holidays. Emily and James came home with their school reports yesterday.

I wish I had school reports like the ones they brought home back when I was in school. Both of them have done very well for the first term of 2005.

One of the interesting things is seeing their response when they’re told how well they’ve done. While James still needs a bit of an explanation of what the report actually says, Emily is more than old enough to see that she’s got ticks in the number one box – for everything – yet again. She must know that reports don’t come any better than that, and yet her face still lights up when she hears Pauline or me telling her how well she’s done.

James is the same. I sat down and explained every area of his report to him last night, and then told him how proud we are at how well he’s done. I’m sure his smile was wider than his face and his eyes lit up like firecrackers.

I suppose it’s one thing to know that you’ve done well – it’s another thing entirely to know that you have the approval of those you love. I’m sure that the knowledge that someone you love approves of you and your achievements is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Conversely, not having that assurance can be one of the most destructive forces known to mankind.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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After almost 3 weeks overseas I arrived back in Perth on Friday afternoon.

Our team of 9 Australians was joined by hundreds of Indian cyclists as we rode through parts of North West India.

It’s hard to describe the whole journey apart from saying that it was a sensory overload. There was so much to experience that it’s hard to describe the trip without taking forever. Even then, it’s impossible to convey a real sense of India to anyone who hasn’t been there. It’s just so different to what most of us experience day to day.

I’m going to miss a lot of India, especially the wonderful people, but there’s something so special about coming home. Words can’t even begin to describe the emotions of walking through the doors of the airport to see Emily and James running toward me for a hug and then seeing Pauline standing there with her amazing smile that still gets me every time.

India was spectacular but coming home is just the sweetest thing.

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I think there comes a time on any journey when you start really looking forward to being home again. I think most of our team has reached that point.

I’ve been missing my family and home from the moment I stepped on the plane to come to India but there was the excitement of the adventure to look forward to. In the last couple of weeks we’ve been in constant sensory overload and I think that our brains are now full.

Don’t get me wrong; we’re all still enjoying ourselves but the call of home is growing stronger by the minute.
I don’t think that anyone on the team would like to board a plane before tomorrow’s visit to the Taj Mahal or Tuesday night’s farewell dinner where we’ll catch up with the Indian team that rode with us. It’s just that things are so different there to home and there comes a point where you just need to get off the merry-go-round.

The percentage of incredibly beautiful women must be higher here than anywhere else in the world, yet I know that none of them are anywhere near as beautiful as Pauline. (In saying that, I know that at least one of the team members here, and probably more, will tell me again how much I continually brag about how wonderful my wife is. Sorry … but you haven’t heard the last of how much I love Pauline.)

The children here are adorable and full of life yet I want to feel Emily and James throw there arms around my neck.

We have developed life long friendships with so many people here. It will be so very difficult to leave such wonderful friends behind but I long to see my friends back home.

If you’re praying for the team, please continue to pray for health. While there has been no major illness, a few of the team members are running out of energy and their bodies aren’t used to the constant meals of Indian food. I’m sure that most now enjoy Indian food a lot more than a couple of weeks ago but having spicy food day after day has knocked a few people around a little. We also need prayer for favour in the eyes of the airline. We are hoping that we will not be hit with an excess luggage bill. We’d also like to be able to book our bikes and our luggage straight through to Australia so that we will only have our hand luggage for our rest day in Singapore.

Please keep the emails coming. They are a real encouragement.

I doubt that I’ll get anywhere near a computer tomorrow so hopefully I’ll post on Tuesday.

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We visited Bethlehem last night.

A drive south on the freeway took us to Lakeside Baptist Church to their annual Journey to Bethlehem.

We were greeted by Roman Soldiers then took a wander around the Bethlehem village set up outside the building. There was a range of stalls with everything from a collection of the kinds of foods that were around when Jesus was born to a sword making stall.

James couldn’t wait to make his own wooden sword. Emily made herself one as well.

We arranged to meet up with friends there and so it was an extra special time. The kids loved taking part in all the activities provided including playing with the live animals and watching the live nativity display.

Pauline and I enjoyed seeing what there was to see but I think that one of the most enjoyable things for us was being able to spend time in the coffee shop chatting with David and Ainslie. There aren’t too many opportunities to sit and relax in the lead up to Christmas.

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With school ending today for our two, this is the week for school reports.

I never got all that excited about school reports when I was in school. I’m sure everyone could do better if they really tried. I didn’t need a report to tell me that. I didn’t need lots of reports to tell me that.

I’m a lot more interested in school reports these days. We’ve received this term’s reports for both Emily and James this week. Both have done exceptionally well. They’re both very good students who enjoy learning.

I suppose they must get that from Pauline.

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