Joy in Auckland: friends

I'm going to write about the Auckland weekend in two parts instead of purely chronologically: really because other than a break to sleep, the 10 ladies that my cousin Joy had gathered together to celebrate the occasion of her 50th birthday flowed from one eating event to the next with non-stop chatter to keep things going; to break the flow in two posts would be wrong! So, come with me to His House in Warkworth...a rural retreat designed to revive the spirit and the appetite, to provide a place for people to gather in fellowship, or just to think and pray. I was surprised and privileged to be invited, and more so to be absorbed into this delicious group of Christian ladies - also incidentally all SAcan! Chatter swirled around constantly, sometimes light and bubbly as it skimmed over easy topics and other times quiet and earnest, the deep waters reflecting the honest struggles of sinners in a fallen world. It's a magnificent thing to behold the bond that springs up so quickly when Christ is the focus! Saturday lunch was the first item on the agenda; we stayed at the diningroom table nearly until afternoon tea was ready! Joy opened pressies and there was a bit of ice-breaker and party-game silliness planned for us. A walk had been on the cards for the afternoon but time got away and before we knew it there was an amazing roast set before us for tea, followed by pavlova and rhubarb tart with ice-cream. The evening's DVD also got canned as time was against us and we wanted to sleep in...on this side of midnight! We all drifted to bed, slept, then drifted back into the main lounge on Sunday morning for a breakfast of fruit and yoghurt and cereal. We had all said 'no thanks' to a cooked breakfast, being terribly conscientious, but all it took was one honest gal to ask for bacon and eggs before we all (bar one or two) got on board and so there we were around the table for a VERY long time again, barefoot and with no need of woolly thermals. By about 11 am we were all packed and ready to head off in three directions according to the cars we were in...many more photos were taken, lots of hugs all round and promises made of Facebook connections, and we were off. Happy unbirthday dear Joy, and thank you for the enormous blessing! We do it again in 50 years, yes?!