Sunday Lunch

So today after church Missy and I went over to Bev and Tony's house for lunch. We met one of their daughters, Alice. We went on a stroll around their neighborhood with her and just chatted. It was a gorgeous day! We learned all about her life in Australia, the cool places we need to go while we are here, and religion in Australia. (Apparently one of the must see places is a little town to the west of us where the hippy movement in Australia was started). It was interesting to learn that religion isn't as big here as it is back home. She says it's just not a part of people's lifestyle here which is sad. People are shocked that Missy and I go to church every Sunday while we are here.

But at lunch we were very pleased to find out that Lutherans in Australia also say "Come Lord Jesus" before each meal. Aww how cool is that. It's said all over the world!

It was exciting to eat a meal at the home of an Australian family. We learned so much today. For lunch we had "salad rolls." They are basically a big bread roll with turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, carrots, cucumbers, mayo, and beets (if you choose to put them on...Missy and I did not...). It was delicious. Bev also insisted that we must come back for a proper Australian dinner. And we will learn to make Lamingtons and Pavlova which are two authentic Australian desserts....yum! I've also found it interesting that tea is so popular here to serve after meals or after church. And everyone drinks it with milk and sugar...something I'm not used to.

The conversation over lunch was so interesting as we were questioning each other about the differences between each others cultures. They found it amusing that Missy and I had last names that didn't sound quite so American to them....Beste and Lachiver (German and French...hmm). It has been so nice to get to interact more with Australians instead of the Americans we meet at school. It makes me much happier to be here.