The trip of a lifetime!

D Day – 65th Anniversary – 6th June 2009 - Normandy – Australia New Zealand ANZAC Convoy I wonder what your idea of a “trip of a lifetime” is?

My past experiences of driving around in an old truck with Dale have bordered on being called “trips of near death experiences.”

Though scary at times, I’ve always enjoyed myself, and so it was, with the seed sown into our imaginations by Lang and Bev Kidby, we began preparations for our “trip of a lifetime” – the 2009 Brisbane to Ariomanches self-drive or bust traveling 5,000 km from Turkey to Athens, Crete, Florence, Pisa, Swiss Alps, Verseilles, Etreham, terminating in Zeebrugge, Belgium.

Our goal is to drive an appropriate vehicle to attend the 65th anniversary of the WW2 D Day landing at Omaha beach, Normandy on 6th June 1944.

With now only 10 days to go I look back on a lot of sadness which has enveloped us, particularly in these past 6 months, and I look forward to the exhilaration that the trip will bring.

YOUR SUPPORT FOR BARNABAS – LIFELINE CHARITY AUSTRALIA

For 8 years now, we have shared our love with a group of aging parents whose handicapped children have been nurtured in their homes and who, now that they are in their 80s, fret about their children’s future placement when they die. The children, victims of Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or other mental disorders do not receive any Government financial help. This little group is so excited about us going on this trip, it’s just as if they were going, and ask you to:

1.Make a once off donation towards their support by clicking on the link to the Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland http://www.cplqld.org.au/

2. Sponsor a truck and follow our journey along the way via the Cerebral Palsy link http://www.cplqld.org.au/

3. Do nothing – just continue to follow along with the adventures of Karen and Dale and other members of the Anzac Convoy!

Family photo of Dale’s daughter Jo, Irish husband, Clem Wall and our delightful little grandsons, Jack 2, and Aonghus 5 months (recently diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy)

Karen and Dianne Lawrence at a Barnabas meeting held at the Oxley Uniting Church

Peter Hall on one of his regular visits to help Karen and Dale out on their farm at Pallara, south west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia