Raining cats and...dingos?

Post Mortem: Cyclone Olga declassified for the last time. By Tim Shu January 30, 2010 18:36 "Olga struck the Queensland coast on the 24th at category 2, around 4pm EST before cutting though the peninsula. It was declassified for the first time and then hugged the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, gradually re-intensifying before re-entering the gulf near the town of Bing Bong early on the 29th. Olga then rapidly reformed into a category 1 cyclone later in the day. Today it crossed back inland before 10am and will not likely head back to sea, dumping tropical moisture deep in QLD before moving down into NSW. Olga was unique in that it followed a path that allowed it to maintain strength even while centered over land. This was most likely due by the presence of the monsoon trough, a system that kept drawing in large amounts of humid air, essential to give life to tropical cyclones." So, it rained quite a lot yesterday. Well actually that's a lie, i haven't ever seen a storm like that! The wind was so strong that palm tree branches were being blown off like dandelion seeds, the lightning was so intense that it cut out the electricity in most of the town, and the effects of the rain were many! Various DTSers went swimming in the floodwater and were later very ill as a result. I had to build a dam to prevent our room from being flooded. The drainage system completely backed up, preventing all water from working back at our house, and what's worse than that, some of the sewage was washed back into our laundry area - leaving small trails of faeces behind. Now that's just wrong. Thankfully, after a week of terrible weather - we are now predicted the hottest week of the year so far, starting today, so we're all slightly happier! Bring it on. The other good news is that all water and power has been restored, praise God. Anyway, this past week included lectures on the topic of Clear Conscience, with speaker (and Base Director) Ken Mulligan. He did a good job of explaining the importance of having a clear conscience 'before God and man'. Which basically means being transparent with God, and being accountable to the Christians around you. Everyone really benefited from this experience, and we would all agree that the group is now much closer because of it. Speaking of which i really feel like i've settled in to this DTS with a great group of friends. We've continued to support each other through difficult issues brought up during the lectures, we've made each other laugh an unhealthy amount, and we've carried each other when we've had no energy to make it ourselves! Also, fun fact of the day, did you know that apparently a friendship on a 6-month DTS is the equivalent to having a friend for 6-7 years back home? Interesting! In other news, we are still yet to hear back from the course leaders as far as our outreach destinations/groups are concerned. We're expecting to hear back some time during next week, so we look forward to that - and of course i'll put the results up here as soon as i find out! It was also really fun this week to finally get used to using skype - it's been amazing speaking to family and friends more often, it's really kept me going when i've sometimes felt incredibly homesick. So thank you so much to everyone who's been staying in touch - despite me failing miserably to get back every now and again. My final thought is this - there really is no concept of time here. I feel like i've been here for a whole year, and i also remember leaving for the airport the day before we left, in the heavy snow, as if it were yesterday! So who knows how quickly 5 and a half months will go by? Thanks again for reading, it's been a pleasure! Take care and do be in touch, God bless. Matt. Prayer Requests Townsville will recover quickly from the recent flood damage Everyone here on the DTS will use this weekend to relax, before another intense week of lectures I would learn to balance work time/socialising/work duties/communications/God time That the weather would be OK for camping next weekend