Now Katoomba is about 30 minutes west of the edge of Sydney, or about 100 minutes from the CBD (traffic being relatively clear) and a fair way up into the Blue Mountains, meaning it was cold for most (though not cold enough for a jacket for me). While it used to not be the best place in the world due to unemployment and drug issues among others, in recent years it has improved greatly due to better access to the mountains and a swathe of development which has seen more shops, amenities and opportunities for employment open in the mountains.
Hat tip in the watermark.
After 15 years they still haven't finished duplicating the road across the mountains - I know it takes time but considering that it took less time to originally explore the way across the mountains themselves the engineers and construction companies aren't well liked.
All of this leaves the driving experience like being the guy strapped to the spinning wheel when knives are thrown at you by someone in a blindfold - everything is just fine until a tiny mistake is made somewhere. Then you sit and wait, as there isn't a duplicate road around meaning you can turn around and go home or wait and hope someone just stopped to let some ducks pass - which actually happened to me while I was up there.
Too bad there wasn't one of these - road rage is reduced when there is a sign, right?
A good time to be indoors - though while Sydney was being soaked it seemed it hadn't worked up the courage to climb the mountains towards us - plenty of fog though, enough to cause slower speeds on the way back.
The weekend away itself was good - there were two talks from Zach from Menai Anglican Link - talking about the church community and what it should look like, and how we can use our gifts within the church to serve.
Unfortunately at such weekend away type talks, it is mainly the committed who come along, while those who need the encouragement and teaching about learning to put your gifts to use and being part of the community aren't there. This isn't to say everyone who isn't there is a slacker - life intervenes in strange ways for people and work commitments also take their toll - but the point still has merit. However, a better sense of community is formed by those who spend time with each other, which has a value all of its own - and sharing a meal with people you don't often spend time with is a great way to get to know people in a more meaningful than the usual head nod fashion.
In regards to spiritual gifts, it is always a tricky topic, which the speaker covered the general points without getting bogged down into any major specifics, which is both good as it offends few, but leaves people knowing little more than they did previously, especially when churches on either end of the spectrum surrounding some of these gifts project strong viewpoints of the issue.
All in all, a good day out and about - the photo rally taking us across the mountains was especially enjoyable as it took us to some interesting places and watching the photo's come up afterwards was awesome, especially those socially awkward ones when you ask someone to take a photo and so they take 12, all of which have your face blurred and eyes half shut.
No, really, thanks for the photo mate... anyone else want to try and not take a post modern take on 3 people standing together? Anyone?
Hope all of my 2 readers had a great weekend and a good run into the week to come.
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