In a follow up to my post that asked for rain for the Central WA Wheatbelt. The average rainfall figures for July is 51mm (1903-2006). Last month we had 73.3mm! That is awesome - praise God.
Many thanks for all those who prayed. It will give the farmers a better start to the season and make a huge difference to the region as a whole.
God Bless,
Dave
I love the advert on TV where the old farmer goes out on to the veranda and yells with excitement, “Marge the rains are coming”. The camera then pans back and you see his kids eating corn on the roof and the corn is so juicy that the water hits the veranda roof and sounds like rain.
In the last 24 hours we have had that sound on the roof. Only for us it wasn’t corn juice. It was the sound of rain. We have had 17 mils of rain in our gauge in that time. That is awesome. Since we have been in Merredin I don’t think we have had that much in one day!
You might remember that several weeks ago in a post I asked people to pray for rain for the central WA wheatbelt. Well it seems like those prayers have been answered. Praise God and thanks to all those who prayed.
I am no expert in farming, but what I have learned so far is that if farmers get a decent rain of 10 to 20 mils and then another 10-20 mils a few weeks later, then they have a chance of starting a good crop. This is what has happened for us here in Merredin.
From driving down to Perth last week there a few places that looked a lot more greener than this time last year. So for those farmers at least things look promising.
Rain is an amazing blessing from God. It blesses and changes things so much when it comes. It brings hope, and hope is a very powerful thing.
God Bless,
Dave
PS. I just checked the official rain figures for Merredin. We had 20 mils. That calls for an even bigger praise God 
It is 12 months ago today that we packed up the car and a big moving truck and headed up Great Eastern Highway to start our new life in Merredin. For us it has been a great 12 months. We have all learned a lot in the process, grown a lot and had lots of fun. Our tree change has worked out better than we hoped or imagined.
Something that I thought that was really strange is that today I re-enacted the journey. I had been down in Perth for a few days and drove back this morning. I only just worked out that I left Perth at the same time and arrived at the same time as we did 12 months ago. Very spooky 
It is amazing how rain can bring hope. Overnight we had 10mm of rain. That is more rain than we have had in one day all year. My wife went out to the local shops this morning and people were buzzing. One of my neighbours even called out across the road and said wasn’t the rain lovely.
It is amazing how much of a difference to people rain can make, especially in farming regions. When we lived in Perth rain was about the dams and keeping the garden green. In country areas it is about livelihoods, families and local businesses surviving. It certainly has changed my perspective on rain and the difference it makes.
Rain brings hope. Hope that crops will come, which means the banks can be paid, families stay on the land and local businesses survive. It really is a domino effect. One that I am only just starting to understand.
If you are a praying person, can you please pray for more rain in the Central Wheatbelt region of WA. Just like hope, many people need it.
God Bless,
Dave
It has been 10 months since we moved from Perth to Merredin. It is hard to believe it is that long already. In many ways the time has flown by. In other ways it has felt like we have been here forever.
One of the things I love about the country is the feeling that we have jumped off the treadmill. Life is certainly a lot slower and more relaxed up here. When we lived in Perth it always seemed we were busy working to pay the mortgage, the endless bills, the loans and rushing from one thing to another. Up here we feel we have stopped and can smell the roses. I have actually noticed that roses do smell…and they smell nice!
If you feel like you are on a treadmill and you are just running from one thing to another, you might like to prayerfully consider the country move. For us as a family it is by far one of the best things we have ever done!
Thank God for pot belly fires. Merredin is generally about 3 or 4 degrees colder than Perth. That is something I am still getting used to. The night before last we had minus 1 degree and I am not sure about last night yet. Pretty cold.
At least now we have learnt that if it is a clear night sky that we need to build the fire to keep us warm and heat the house up.
Hello all,
We have arrived in Merredin and our house is almost unpacked. Well apart from a few boxes that have been designated “non urgent”!!!
A couple of things I have really noticed and enjoyed is the wide open space and the quietness. There are places you can get away to and you can only hear birds or sheep or wind. It is very relaxing. One of the guys here even said I look a whole lot more relaxed than last week already!
One place I have been several times is Merredin Peak. It is a huge rock to that overlooks the town. It takes about 10-15 to walk up, but when you get there it is a great view. It is well worth going to if you come up this way. It is my new place to sit and pray. I’ve been up there four times already in the week we have been here.
Anyway, I better get back to those non urgent boxes. I will post a few more things in the next few days.
God Bless,
Dave
Here’s a funny story about our moving process. A certain member of my family was ringing all the power, water, gas and other utilities to cancel our conncetions and transfer them to our new place in Merredin.
After doing quite a few disconnections and reconnections in a row. The certain member of my family asked if we could have the gas connected in Merredin. The person politely said that we do not have gas available in Merredin. It is by large gas bottle only!
I wonder how many times they have been asked to connect gas to house 300 kilomtres away from their plant. I am sure they could do it for us, but it would probably cost about A$20 million or so for the pipeline
Wow I am amazed how much stuff we have accumulated in the last 11 years in our house. You just don’t realise how much you have until you start to pack it into boxes. My shed which is a two car garage is filled with so much stuff I thought would be handy one day. I am starting to think that I kept a little bit too much!
As I was packing boxes this morning I had a realisation that this time next week we will be driving up to Merredin. We would have said goodbye to our humble home in Perth, our family and we will be heading up Great Eastern Highway to our new life.
If you had of told me 12 months ago we would be doing this I would have laughed, but now the Tree Change or more precisely the God Change is really happening! I am getting more pumped by the day
Hello all,
I thought I would give you a bit of an update of how the move to Merredin is going. We now have a date for settlement of our homes (old and new). It is the 9th of July. So all things going well, we should be loading a truck on the 9th and heading up Great Eastern Highway to sunny Merredin - the greatest country town on earth!
For me personally I have six working days left at my part time job in the State Government. It is a strange feeling about leaving work. I have been here for over ten years and I work with a great group of people. I probably wouldn’t leave if God hadn’t called me to Merredin. It has been my best job ever, but I am going on to an even better one at Merredin. Praise God!!!
If you are someone who prays, please pray for us as a family. I would appreciate if you could pray for a smooth transition and that it all falls into place.
God Bless,
Dave