Westport

Well I have finally got around to some blogging. I had almost forgotten how.... I will back date this entry a bit just to make it look good but also so I can keep things straight.

Westport is a small town. There is approximately 6000 people in the district. It is a beautiful town with rivers on either side and the sea on a third, so we are surrounded by water. It is interesting talking to locals about what we are doing here in Westport. During our first week I had to find Melissa (my sister) a birthday present and went into a shop and was asked how long was I on holiday (it being summer hols) and the lady behind the counter got the shock of her life when I told her that my family and I had just moved to town. We still get the standard 'So are you enjoying your stay in Westport?' like we will be leaving next week. And we get asked all the time 'How long do you think you will stay here?'

Our congregation is small and made up of people who are mostly 50yr +. Numbers have been in decline over the years. The previous officers had started to replant the church and have started some family and children ministries and we are looking at taking what they have started, change it a little to suit us better and add to it. There is a lot to consider about the direction that we are going to go though and what ever we decide to do will be done with limited resources.

We are slowly getting grips with all the things that we need to do and all the places that we need to be. We are also getting to know our way around even if we get a little bit messed up on the order of the streets in the grid system.

The children have settled into school well and are making friends. Emily is doing things tough with afternoon kindy being the only thing available for her. She has gone from Educare at Training College 6 hours a day to only 3 afternoons at 2 hours a time. All the childcare places here are full with waiting lists and I wager most of them will take full time children before Emily for whom I have booked her for 4 hours a day (mornings basically) I would like to spend some time with her in the afternoons before she goes to school next year.

Well that is all for now...