Christmas

Four Vennings for Christmas!

50k Walk

Last Saturday, I participated in the Upstream 50km walk.  I was part of a team of 4, the "Jamjollies".  James, Lilly, Tim and I were raising money for The Leprosy Mission (where James works).

The walk started at 8am at Docklands in the city.  We walked along the Yarra and then Mullum Mullum Creek until we finished at Donvale Christian College at about 6:15.  The majority of the walk was in the rain, but our Aqua ponchos kept us dry!  It was such a nice walk along the Yarra, we saw some beautiful scenery!

Some highlights:

1. My favourite thing was the bridge at Fairfield which was so slippery from the rain, that we could skate along it!!

2. We saw a donkey at the Collingwood Children's Farm!

3. I really enjoyed the part when we jogged (only about 1km)

4. The walk through Southbank in the early morning was nice - the city was grey and rainy and the cafes were busy!

5. There was this boardwalk through a forest along the river right near the end that was just beautiful!

By the end, the bottoms of my feet were so sore, every step was like stepping on knives!  The last 15kms I was kept busy trying to keep up with the boys, having to walk pretty quickly and even jog to catch up.  But I very sneakily sprinted past them at the finish line!!

With Lilly before we started!
We were so happy!!

As the rain started up!

Wet Joy with a wet donkey!

Taking shelter with James from the pouring rain at the second checkpoint 

Holidays 4

Last weekend, Lilly and I drove up to Canberra for the last part of my holidays.  We stayed with Isaac and Liberty and did lots of fun things, had lots of rest, and caught up with lots of people.  Highlights are below.

We rode right round Lake Burley Griffen on Segways!  It was so much fun - I wasn't very good at it, but after some practice, you get the hang of it!!  Such a great way to see the Lake as well!

Mealtimes were a lot of fun - good food, good conversation and lots of hilarity.

It was nice to sit outside in the evenings - the weather was nice and balmy and the view was fantastic!  Lilly particularly loved all the mountains around Canberra!

Fun and games on the balcony one night!

We had dinner one evening in a Korean restaurant - it was a lot of fun to practice my Korean to the staff.  The food was excellent - as you can see, Isaac was enjoying it!

We drove out to the War Memorial one night and took some photos with the Parliament House behind us.  Isaac is wearing his new shirt I picked out for him on our Saturdate.

On Sunday afternoon Lilly and I took a drive out to Tidbinbilla and Cotter.  It was a lovely drive - except there were heaps of cyclists out and about.  It was a beautiful afternoon though.

 One of my highlights was catching up with old friends from Church.  It was great to see everyone again, and I was amazed by how everyone had grown up!

Fun in Canberra

Holidays (3)

Thursday morning I was picked up and dropped off at the airport by 5:30am.  Soon enough I was landing at the Adelaide airport and my cousin, Robert, and I were on our way to Kangaroo Island.

We spent Thursday - Saturday on the island having many adventures!  Some highlights were: A river hike down to the beach, running up and down the sand dunes, many coffees in small cafes, visit to the coastal attractions, caves, animals and lots of driving.  There's some pictures below!

 The view as we climbed down out of the canyon and onto the beach.  It was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.  There were many little waterfalls as the river ran over rocks.

 On our beach walk, we climbed out on to some rocks.  It was very choppy here and we experienced some 'freak waves'.  The ocean spray was really refreshing!

 Standing from the end of the river at the place where the river water meets the ocean.  You can see that it is brown water near the edge, and then changes to a magnificent blue.

Standing on the lookout with the coastline and two islands behind me.  There were many attractions along the coastline that we stopped to have a look at.  We also saw seals.

The Admirals Arch - there were some seals on the rocks barking at each other.

 We visited the Kelly Hill caves and had a guided tour.  There were some magnificent formations

 It was nice to be in the caves, but I was a little disappointed we couldn't explore them further.

 We explored some abandoned machinery in a paddock.

 We visited the Little Sahara which was unbelievable.  It was way bigger than I ever imagined.  There was so much sand just sitting in the middle of this island.  We climbed many many sand dunes and ran all over them.  This was one of my highlights!

This is lying on the edge of one of the dunes.

 We visited a wildlife sanctuary where we got to feed lots of different animals.  The kangaroos were classic.  I'm so ticklish that when they licked my hand, I almost dropped all the food.  There was a lot of laughing and hysterics.

 This was a classic animal.  It would come up to be patted, but wouldn't want to eat anything. 

 The most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

SoS 2:9 "My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag"

 Joy and Joey - I got to hold an orphan joey

 We had our own private feeding of some greedy pelicans.  They were a lot of fun!

My favourite pelican photo - one pelican trying to get bread, the other one biting it in half!!!

Sunshine over the coastline at Penneshaw.

 On the ferry ride back to the mainland.  

Holidays (2)

My time in Halls Gap is almost finished.  It's been a very nice time though.  Here are some other things I've done since my last post:

One afternoon I walked around the dam at Lake Bellfield.  When I got back I sat on the deck and had some apple and cheese and did some reading.  I saw some kangaroos and a magpie kept coming up on to the deck where I was sitting ( I was scared it was going to steal my apple).

Kookaburra

Lake Bellfield

Can't touch this

Sweet set up

Roos in the neighbours yard

Another day, I walked out to Silverband Falls - it used to be a really beautiful stroll through a dark forest, but now it's all messed up from flood damage.  The falls were still nice though.

The main Tourist Road in Halls Gap is closed because of the damage from the flooding, so I drove all the way around the back way to get to MacKenzie falls.  I always visit here when I come to Halls Gap and it was definitely worth the drive.  Because I was by myself, I didn't climb into the waterfalls like normal, and there was a LOT of water coming down!!

Holidays (1)

Well, I am officially on holidays...and it's lovely!

I'm spending the first part of my holidays out in Halls Gap.  I'm staying in a friend's house and enjoying the peace and quiet.

I arrived yesterday around 1pm.  It's nice and quiet here.  Lots of birds and animals!  After unpacking everything and setting up the house, I went for a hike up one of the mountains behind the house.  It was a warm day, so I packed some lunch and water and started walking.

Now, I love to hike, but hiking by yourself is very different!  I walked and walked and walked...I saw a couple of people on the way, but most of it was really quiet.  There were lizards and skinks everywhere.

I finally made it to the top and saw some great views.  I was higher than the opposite ridge, so I could see over it into the valley on the other side.  I was right above Lake Bellfield, which was nice!

I ate my lunch on top of the mountain, and then started coming back down.  I jogged a little bit, but had to go carefully because it was pretty steep.

I've also done some reading and started a 500 piece puzzle!  I slept a lot last night :)

Standing on top of the Viewpoint

Lake Bellfield.  Those little white dots to the left of the Dam Wall is where I am staying.

The other side of lake Bellfield.

A head's up!

Myers Briggs Personality Joy Venning Extraverted (E) 64%	Introverted (I) 36%
Intuitive (N) 82%	Sensing (S) 18%
Thinking (T) 60%	Feeling (F) 40%
Judging (J) 82%	Perceiving (P) 18%

From Wikipedia: ENTJ


ENTJs are among the rarest of types, accounting for about 2–5% of those who are formally tested. They tend to be self-driven, motivating, energetic, assertive, confident, and competitive. They generally take a big-picture view and build a long-term strategy. They typically know what they want and may mobilize others to help them attain their goals. ENTJs are often sought out as leaders due to an innate ability to direct groups of people. Unusually influential and organized, they may sometimes judge others by their own tough standards, failing to take personal needs into account.


ENTJs focus on the most efficient and organized means of performing a task. This quality, along with their goal orientation, often makes ENTJs superior leaders, both realistic and visionary in implementing a long-term plan. ENTJs tend to be fiercely independent in their decision making, having a strong will that insulates them against external influence. Generally highly competent, ENTJs analyze and structure the world around them in a logical and rational way. Due to this straightforward way of thinking, ENTJs tend to have the greatest difficulty of all the types in applying subjective considerations and emotional values into the decision-making process.

They are dynamic and pragmatic problem solvers. They tend to have a high degree of confidence in their own abilities, making them assertive and outspoken. In their dealings with others, they are generally outgoing, charismatic, fair-minded, and unaffected by conflict or criticism. However, these qualities can make ENTJs appear arrogant, insensitive, and confrontational. They can overwhelm others with their energy, intelligence, and desire to order the world according to their own vision. As a result, they may seem intimidating, hasty, and controlling.

ENTJs tend to cultivate their personal power. They often end up taking charge of a situation that seems (to their mind, at least) to be out of control, or that can otherwise be improved upon and strengthened. They strive to learn new things, which helps them become resourceful problem-solvers. However, since ENTJs rely on provable facts, they may find subjective issues pointless. ENTJs appear to take a tough approach to emotional or personal issues, and so can be viewed as aloof and insensitive. In situations requiring feeling and value judgments, ENTJs are well served to seek the advice of a trusted Feeling type.

When striving toward a goal, ENTJs often put personal needs aside until the work is done (and may expect others to do the same). For this reason, ENTJs may be considered self-sacrificing by some, but "cold and heartless" by others, especially those who prefer Feeling.

Skipton Mission 2011

This week, Lilly, Maddy, Kevin and I have been in Skipton, Victoria for our annual Canterbury/Skipton Holiday Club week.  We have been running an outreach Holiday Program for kids around the Skipton/Lismore area.  We have had a fantastic time doing Bible stories, songs, crafts, games and memory verses.  It has been a really nice time of partnership between our Churches and a really great time to spend with the kids here.

We've been doing some other things while we've been here.  There are some highlights below!

On Sunday morning, the Canterbury Crew came up to launch the Holiday Club.  We joined the morning worship service, and then they arranged a farm visit for the young people.  It was a great time!!

Feeding a baby orphaned lamb on the farm.

A very windy Thursday, on a volcanic mountain just outside of Camperdown.

Memory game with Kevin and Nathan

Sillhouettes with lilly at Lake Bolac

Kite flying with Elder Stuart!

Two photos from around the Skipton area.  One in a tree and the other by the lake.

Outside Lismore Presbyterian Church!