At 6:45 a.m. we boarded the plane and flew to Darwin, leaving beautiful Perth behind. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, and also the northernmost city (closest to the equator) we visited in Australia. It was hot and humid, and as soon as we stepped off the plane we knew we were in the tropics. It was monsoon season, and rain would fall suddenly and then stop as quickly as it had begun. We battled the flies for possession of our hotel room. Altogether, we decided -- this definitely was not going to be as enjoyable as Perth!

Robert, the man who organized our meetings, was a weary warrior who alone had been trying to organize the "Call to Australia" party in Darwin. Without much help or support, he was discouraged and didn't expect more than a handful of people to come to the meeting that night. He was pleasantly surprised, however, and greatly encouraged when approximately 150 people came.