Tuesday, 26 December 2017

Over the moon, under the stars and under the sea

Over the Moon

We had an amazing Christmas gift just before Christmas.  We were granted our 187 permanent residency visa for Australia.  A huge answer to prayer. Part of the letter is below.  We did not expect to see this until next year.  To say we are thankful is an understatement.  We are grateful to all those in MAF who made this possible.


20 December 2017
Simon WUNDERLI
P O BOX 1477
CAIRNS QLD 4870

Dear Simon WUNDERLI

Notification of grant of a Regional Employer Nomination (subclass 187) visa
A decision has been made on this application and visa(s) have been granted on 20
December 2017 to the applicant(s) listed in the attached visa grant notice.


Under the Stars

Simon had to do an airstrip evaluation and was able to take Joshua, Zara and Islay along for the experience.

Out in the bush in Australia

Joshua and Islay helping Simon measure the airstrip for an evaluation

Luxury accommodation for the night

Dinner anyone?
 
Zara wasn't going to be eaten by anything so took the mosquito net.
Africa or Australia?


Under the Sea

A day out on the Barrier Reef - An awesome gift from friends.
Our pontoon for the day including a BBQ

I got a bit of a fright in the water when a jelly fish floated by.  Thought my time might be up but thankfully I managed to dodge it and we were wearing stinger suits so all good.  At the back of the pontoon there was an amazing amount of jellies.   The crew on the boat said these were of the non stingy variety so that was happy news!


Zara having her last swim in the ocean before heading home.  The water was a bit churned up so didn't see a whole lot under the water but a thoroughly enjoyable time nevertheless.


Monday, 4 December 2017

The heat is cranking up

In the last couple of weeks the temperature and humidity has notably increased.  Mopping floors, vacuuming or some other necessary household task can reduce you to looking like you just got caught in a monsoon.  As I sit and write it is already over 30 degrees in the house and humidity is rising.  However, for all of you sitting in the northern hemisphere I am not jealous of your cold weather although maybe of the snow.

This past month has been eventful to say the least.  In my last update I mentioned that I went through an in depth process for the role of HR Officer in the MAF Cairns office.  I am thankful that I was accepted for the role and will start under the new terms and conditions in January.  Thank you to all of you who have been praying.  Along with that our new HR Manager will be starting this week after her induction in the UK.  We have been without an HR Manager for a number of months now so it has been quite the juggle managing the needs that are far and wide.  We are looking forward to having a new team member join us.

We seem to be managing Joshua's issue with diarrohea.  After a few conversations and time spent looking into the issue it appears that he has an issue with an amino acid called Tyramine.  Foods such as cured meat, aged cheese and sourdough bread, to name but a few seem to be the cause.  His body doesn't have the enzyme to break down this amino acid in big quantities.  If he has one food item on his plate containing this amino acid then it is fine but if he has multiple then it is a problem.  We are just so glad it is easy to manage and for the past few weeks he has had no further stomach issues.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us in this regard.

Joshua and Zara finished school last week and they were rejoicing at the much needed break after a busy first year in a new school.  Simon finishes this week with instructing and then is planning to scope out a new airstrip next week that could be used for training.  The plan is to take Joshua and Zara along and they can help with all the details that goes into planning and evaluating an airstrip.  Looks like they might be camping under the starts as it will be an overnight trip.  Islay, our puppy, might also get to go also and have a change of scenery from Cairns.  Thankfully she loves to go in the car.