To back up a bit...

We seem to have got ahead of ourselves in the story. Our brief mention of arriving at the home of Sara and Wayne Jacobsen in Moorpark, a large town about an hour north of Los Angeles highlights our delight to have time with these dear friends. It was a long weekend in California and many people who we might have met with were absent, but we had a wonderful time seeing the growing Jacobsen clan and beginning to understand why Wayne (and Sara in a quieter way) is so excited with their delightful toddler granddaughter, Amy.

It was also good to meet Brad Cummings and his family. Brad we had met through listening to 'The God Journey' the podcast that is presented by Wayne and he each week on the web. The 'God Journey' has listeners around the world. Brad is a vibrant bloke and reminded us of Ian Graham in Lancefield (for those who know him!) Brad with his wife Kelly. have two sons and a daughter. Val and I had our first real experience of American Baseball when we spent an afternoon watching their twelve year old son playing in (and winning) a Baseball championship.

The excitement, vibrancy and life that is often experienced when listening to the podcasts is evident when Wayne and Brad get together. They are 'mad' enough to make us feel at home! You can check out "the God Journey" at www.thegodjourney.com . While we were there Kevin joined in a podcast session. One of the two sessions has been released and the feedback is immediate. Wayne emailed us some encouraging comments. Here's just a couple:

• Oh this is a wonderful topic, and listening to Wayne's longtime friend Kevin Smith's journey is such a delight, and such an encouragement. It has all of the characteristics of God's love, care and adventure.

• Kevin lives about an hour away from me, and I've been trying to get up there and meet him and Val for the last few years but it keeps falling through for some reason - hopefully soon I'll be able to hook up with them and have a chat.

Wayne has spent lots of time over the last months (and years perhaps) helping publish a new book written by William Young, a man who grew up in West New Guinea. Entitled 'The Shack', the book is fiction and traces the encounter of a man with his God. It is not the usual 'Christian Fiction' but seen by many as a literary delight and a compelling story expressing the love of God. Perhaps the endorsement on the cover of the book by Eugene Peterson (of 'The Message' fame.) echoes this when it says:

• "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"

We have sent home a box of "The Shack" so they will be available in Aus soon!