Ministry in Australia

been looking forward so much to spending Christmas with our family, and although the doctor had suggested that she be admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve, we didn't have the heart to do it. We put a couch into the lounge, and she was present for the whole celebration, but I doubt that she would have remembered anything about it. By the end of the evening she was so poorly, that we decided to keep watch over her all night. Everyone volunteered to go on the roster, even Sue Chandler, who was also with us that time. It was marvellous, how the family rallied around her.

On Christmas Day we had to admit her to Calvary hospital. By then she was so bad that she didn't recognise anyone. She was put on a drip immediately, but even when I went the next day to visit her, which was my birthday, her mind was still not back and she didn't recognise me. But she slowly improved and thankfully her mind returned without leaving any permanent damage.

At Lake Conjola Mutter was able to stay in the unit where Alison's Mother had stayed the year before. We would take and fetch her by car, but towards the end of the holidays she was able to walk the distance, at least one way.

For our silver wedding anniversary in 1984, Mother visited us again together with David and Sibyl Chandler, the Knights, the Eckels, and some others of our wedding guests 25 years ago. We invited our former minister, Bob MacArthur, to conduct the service on the following day in our Melba congregation. In this way the whole church participated in that thanksgiving service.

As a special treat we bought ourselves tickets for a three-weeks safari tour to Central Australia. We had a most enjoyable time. We even climbed Ayers Rock, but I would never have made it without Alison, as I discovered that I was petrified of heights. I had never given it a thought before, and not until we reached 'chicken rock' did I realise that there would be a problem. But with Alison's encouragement, and by using the chain both up and down (going backwards), I managed. It was a unique experience.

In March 1985 Mutter had suffered a kind of heart attack when she was holidaying in the German Alps. Gerda and I were greatly concerned that she would not be able to look after herself any more. We decided she should come to live with us permanently. Gerda went to Göttingen to help with the packing, and Mutter came to us via Cairo, arriving on 26 October 1985. We tried to make her room as comfortable as possible, with her own pictures surrounding her, and we even bought some furniture and a TV for her. She recovered well enough to come with us again to Lake Conjola after Christmas. This time she stayed in her own tent, next to ours, which we made quite comfortable for her. It had always been her dream to camp, so at 83 this dream came finally true. I think she quite enjoyed it there. Luckily, the weather was very good that year. This was also to be our last time at Lake Conjola.

417