Thursday to Sunday Stint - Part 3

Since I am highlighting my spiritual leading thinking in this stint, let me briefly address the question of prophesy. Some people think the spiritual realm is real and others don't. Some might think it seems like I am out to fulfill some Christian superhero fantasy, and perhaps I changed my name to John Christopher so I could have the same initials as Jesus Christ (nope I didn't, the name John just came to me as a feeling which I acted on without a logical analysis). Do I think I am a prophet? No. There are people that seek that out, but my focus is just simply following the direction I feel God is leading me, wherever it may go, and as a result, sometimes I have prophetic type experiences. For me, if I try to make something happen spiritually then it doesn't tend to work. I like to just focus on God and then I am happy to be surprised when he has something a little 'different' happen. Although I do tend to listen out for leadings, but I generally only follow them when I really feel pushed to do so. I believe God knows what buttons to push to get me to do something, and he'll talk to me through the ways that I am listening. Everybody is different, and that is part of the journey, to discover the ways you can talk and interact with God.

Friday 6pm:
I met up with Eco on the Steps, and we headed off to have some dinner. We thought about going to the Hare Krishna restaurant (which I had avoided going to previously, on the basis of need, as it was an opposing religion, but I was not opposed to a visit on the basis of going to experience something of a different culture) but we would not have time to tonight as we only had an hour before needing to head off to MIF Church. We instead went to the Melbourne Bar Bistro opposite Myer, one of Lord Mayor John So's restaurants, where there was an all-you-can-eat buffet for only $8, excellent for stacking up an empty stomach with plenty of satisfaction. Eco is an non-stop encyclopedia of interesting information and discussion, and he can talk for hours, without ever repeating himself, so we had a good time.

Then we headed to MIF Church, which was very welcoming, and again it was very easy to lose yourself in the fantastic music. Darren was there and we caught up before Eco and I were last to leave, heading out the door at 11:30pm. We chatted with a couple of girls, also heading to the Steps, as they were very excited as one was going to be baptized the next day, down at Brighton Beach.

Saturday:
We hung around the steps until after midnight and then went over to catch the Night Rider bus down the peninsula towards Rosebud. I spoke to the driver about letting us off at Craigie Rd, near Mt. Martha, and he said it would be fine but we should remind him after we passed Mornington. We chatted with another passenger a bit, as we got under way, and then we both fell asleep on the back seat. Thankfully the driver didn't need a reminder and stopped the bus at the right spot and then came down and woke us up so we could get off. We thanked him and then walked down the road to the beach. We sat on the beach for a while just enjoying the quiet sound of the gentle waves lapping at the shore, and then lay down on the sand to get some sleep. At some point it started to drizzle a little rain, and we moved onto a boat shed porch, which had a small roof providing shelter from the wet, and we slept until morning.

As I got up I noticed Eco was shivering a bit as he only had shorts on, and while it was a relatively warm muggy night, the wind can still chill things down a bit. After he got up he asked if there was an Op Shop around, so he could get something a bit warmer, but I was sure there wasn't one, although I hadn't been here for a few years, so I wasn't sure. I suggested we head off for a walk along the local estuary boardwalk, as Eco is a nature lover and hadn't been to this one before. As we walked down a road we came across a Garage Sale, which had some very cheaply priced clothing. So Eco was able to get a good all-weather jacket, and some other items, and was all happy again.

After the walk through the estuary, and a stop at the shops to get some lunch supplies, we headed back to the estuary shelter-shed BBQ and fried up some buttered bread, and relaxed. My clothes were fairly soaked as it had been raining all morning and would do so for the rest of the day, but I didn't mind, as I wasn't cold.

We took another nap and then headed back to the beach. I said it was time for me to head back up the beach to the boat sheds, as that was why I had come, as I had felt it was the right time and place but I had no idea who might be there. In fact I really doubted anyone would be there due to the constant rain, and the beach was pretty empty of life. Eco said he wouldn't come but would meet me back at the shelter-shed later. It was about a twenty minute walk along the beach and as I got close I saw some children playing by the water's edge and then someone waved hello from a boat shed entrance. As I got closer I saw it was Charles, an old family friend I had only seen once in the last 10 years. We were happy to see each other and catch up. To my surprise he told me he was currently Chairing the board of Street Smart Australia. It is an organization that raises donations for other charities that deal with homeless people by asking for a $2 extra donation on your bill at certain restaurants. So not only was he interested in what I was doing, he was also able to talk and discuss the issues of street life from a very informed and experienced position, and I was just as keen to hear his thoughts and ideas! Thank God, for it was a very good meeting.

Afterwards I walked back to the shelter and met up with Eco. He said he had a feeling someone would be there and that's why he had stayed behind. We hung around for another couple of hours and then decided as it was getting a bit cold, to see if there was a local bus to Frankston so we could train back a bit earlier than waiting until after midnight for the returning Night Rider Bus. Also I was hoping to be back in time for the Saturday night Steps choir. The guy at the supermarket said the local bus had finished, but if we walked back along the board walk through to the other side we would come out at the Nepean Hwy and there might be a bus from Portsea coming by. We strolled back through the estuary and walked up the highway to the bus stop, but the time table said the last bus had been at 4:30pm and it was now 9:30pm. We sat down expecting to have to wait for 3 or 4 hours for the Night Rider to come along, and I said to Eco, let's pray, and we said a prayer that a bus would stop when it came by and for everything to work out for us travelling home. Then, less than five minutes later, along came bus and, to our surprise, it stopped. The driver said he was the last bus from Portsea that night, and his destination was the Frankston Station. When we got there the train was waiting and left as soon as we climbed on board. An hour later we reached Flinders St and the Choir was still going. Eco was dead tired on his feet and I helped him get on a tram and said goodbye, before going back to the Steps to sing praises to God, and then catch up with some friends.

Sunday:
I slept all day.