Saying goodbye to Australia for a bit

Tomorrow morning I leave for Vanuatu for 6 weeks on outreach. We will be doing building projects and village ministry. The third week we are there we have the opportunity to go to a mountain village. It is a 2-3 day hike up the mountain and 2-3 day hike down. That makes me a little nervous, but I know God will take care of us. Please keep us in your prayers, especially for the hike, for the people we come in contact with, and all the building that we will be doing (that we will get lots accomplished and for safety in that). My team has 6 people and then after 3 weeks another team will join us that has 5 people. Vanuatu is supposedly very beautiful and we will get to see some amazing sights, but it is remote and we will not have access to lots of things-no running water, no electricity, no internet (except maybe in town that is a 30 minute boat ride away). I'm excited about living a simple lifestyle for a little while! The picture below is from a girl who went last year. This is one of the buildings at the YWAM base there with the ocean in the background.

The past few weeks here have been good and relaxing, but at the same time still getting things ready for leaving. All the other outreach teams that went to other locations have already left. It was interesting to have all your friends that you've been around everyday for the past 4 months to leave. I've also been thinking about all the things that I've learned while I've been here. I've learned so much. It is hard to think about just the major things, but all the little things make it something major. One big thing I think I've realized more of is the power of prayer. I've learned to pray about everything big or tiny. Also, the big things that we think we can do nothing about, it so powerful to pray for those things, like praying for our world leaders, praying against poverty and disease, praying for world issues. Yes, those are huge things, but when we pray we stand in the gap for those things. Of course, we can do more than just pray, but when the situation seems overwhelming why not intercede for it until we know what else we can do. That has been something God has challenged me with to pray for the issues that break God's heart even when I feel like I can do nothing else. I've been challenged by so many things while I have been here and God has helped my realize more of His provision and how much He cares for me.

I may have internet again, but I don't know when. I'll try and keep people updated as much as possible!

Crazy Colors

We are starting our last week of our road trip. There has been so many great things that have happened on our trip to different places. I finally feel like I have really experienced the Australia I had in my mind and it really shows God's creativity. It is amazing how one different shade of color can make something so beautiful and how the sun can just bring it all together. I've learned lots about God's creation and how it is all made to glorify him. We've had weeks of lectures and weeks of ministry outreach.

I'll start from the first week of traveling. We spent our first week doing a mission's simulation. We were with our whole school, but we were divided up into our outreach teams. We were on Stradbroke Island. We played lots of team building games and even some extremely stretching games for me...We had one night of "mission impossible" where in the middle of the night we had to go through a swamp and do team challenges. That was incredibly challenging and made me realize how to fully rely on God in walking out daily against anxiety and worry about lots of things. It also was good team building with the people I'll be spending 6 weeks with in Vanuatu.

The next week we went to Byron Bay. I loved it there. Byron Bay is really hippie and everyone is very "spiritual." It also has a ton of backpackers. It is really interesting to be around people who are so open-minded and willing to talk about spiritual things. It is a great place to tell people about Jesus there because people from all over the world come to Byron Bay, so if they get to know Jesus then they can take Him back to all their home countries. It was fun just introducing ourselves to new people and having significant conversations. We also got to hang out with the YWAM Byron Bay people and their school leader is from San Angelo. I was so excited! It was great to be around someone who knew about home. While we were there we had lectures with their school over relationships. It was really good to hear more information about Godly design for relationships. I also got to try surfing for the first time...definitely something I want to try again and get better at! It was a great week!

Our third week was in Chinchilla. Chinchilla reminded me of Texas. It was amazing! It is a town that is more inland Australia. Its a bush town and it was so great! I was able to see flat land and red dirt it reminded me of somewhat home. It was a country town, so it was small and friendly. We had lectures over Spiritual Warfare. We also talked a lot about walking in the opposite spirit, which for example if there is a negative attitude somewhere do something that is purposefully positive in that area. That is a simple thing, but really it goes against the bad and helps build up the good. It was really cool because we walked in the opposite spirit for the town...to help build unity and focus in the town we did things as a group that made us had to focus. We talked about praying for areas that we know we are weak in so that devil cannot have a hold in those things and also praying for authorities, nations, families, and communities so we can pray against anything that the devil could and does use and praying for Godly things in those areas. We were able to help the church and youth group out by doing things in the community, as well. It was fun!

Last week we came to Airlie Beach. We did evangelism in the community here. It is a backpacker/traveler community. It was really challenging to go out into the town and try to just start conversations with people. We went out one day just walking around and then sat down not knowing what to do, but then people actually came up and talked to us. It was really cool. I'm learning lots on how to be bold and start relationships with people in everyday life in order that they could have a relationship with God. It's been good! At the end of the week some of us went out to the islands and to snorkel around the Great Barrier Reef area. It was so beautiful and really shows God's artistry, the water, the land, the fish, the coral - the colors were all amazing!!! We are here for one more week. This week we have lectures over the Holy Spirit. It is good being here where it is warm and so beautiful. I'm hoping to learn even more this week!

Leaving Base

We leave tomorrow for a week to Stradbroke Island for camping and outreach training (at least i think, we really have no clue what all will be happening, but we are just supposed to trust our leaders). It should be fun! After that we come back to base for a couple of days then go on a 4-week road trip to lots of really cool places! Since we will be gone I will not be able to update for a while.

This week our lectures were on Lordship. Our speaker was very energetic and definitely has a passion for Jesus. We got so much great information, but I am still processing all that I've learned. Yesterday we had an entire day of ministry where consecrated things to God, (for me my future, even though I felt like I had said that before, but this time really losing my control and giving it to God's control), we had sin offerings where people asked for forgiveness, and then we blessed each other and worshipped the Lord. It was a hard, but great day.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

I've been away too long

So, I've been away too long has lots of meanings...1.I've been gone away from internet, then back and so busy with homework here, so I haven't been able to update people in a while., 2. I'm missing home a little, 3. I'm learning things that keep me away from a better relationship with God, and 4. I'msure there are other meanings, too!

This blog is quite a bit longer just because I haven't posted in so long and I've learned so much!

Rainbow Beach

While on our road trip, thefirst week we had lectures over worship and missions. We camped on the beach at Rainbow Beach, which is beautiful. I saw so many amazing things (like dolphins, whales, kangaroos, and goannas-there's one in the picture I posted) and it made it really easy to spend more time with God. It was easier to get up and go talk to God and listen when you are camping and you can’t shower or get ready and you have nothing to do but sit on the beach. It is nice to sit and have the waves quiet everything but you and God. You can sit and read and hear an occasional bird, but you are focused on God and reading. I learned that my surroundings definitely influence my time with God,and it should not be so much that way. My time with God should be solid and focused always, not just when I can sit by the ocean. Also, we had a great lecturer who has done missions in several different countries, worked with YWAM many years, and has just moved to a new country with a small team to learn the language and share the Gospel. I learned so much. Through the worship lectures it made me realize how best I can worship God and when Jesus says "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind" that means give all those things to God and then you can fully worship, fully love other people, fully listen. The main points I realized in Missions is that God gives people vision for a place, a people group, a ministry, or all of those things, so it could be very specific or more general. God cares about all nations. Nations meaning not just where borders are drawn, but where different people groups are. He doesn’t just care about China for example he cares about every different “nation” within China. That was really cool to hear because I never thought about allnations being people groups, and how intricately God knows every group of people and how different cultures can be.

HerveyBay

The next week on our road trip we went to Hervey Bay where we did a week of outreach amongst the community there. Hervey Bay is a relaxed town of mainly older people. One of the first days we went prayer walking and asked God to tell us about the place and what was going on there. When we came back together to talk about things it was amazing to see that God had told lots of people very similar things about laziness, people feelingbitter towards the younger generation and the government, dissatisfaction, boredom, and disparity between the poor and the rich. Then we went out into the community to try and bless the people. My creative evangelism task was to go out and find an op-shop (2^nd hand store) and ask to help with anything, and then pray for the person. I found a second-hand furniture store and the lady was incredibly nice and allowed me to help her. She was the owner and worked alone there. She said she often felt lazy and knew there had to more to life (laziness and dissatisfaction), so we got to talk about her life and my life and how she had such a hard life with her daughter dying of leukemia, her husband dying from emphysema, and her having rheumatoid arthritis. She was very joyous despite her circumstances. Also, she shared with me how many people in the community where opposed to the young people and that thegovernment had caused problems, and there was lots of bitterness in the town. It was exciting to see that what God told us was really true and hopefully we were able to walk out in an opposite spirit against those things and make a difference in the community.

Also, God continues to teach me about patience and being around people all the time. It is so different here than what I’m used to, but it is growing me. In Hervey Bay we had 27 people in one house and 2 bathrooms. It was loud and crowded, but it was a learning experience because I made it through, and even by the end I was able to not be frustrated by the circumstances in the house. Also, God provided me with the least cluttered, cleanest, and quietist room in the house, so it was important for me to realize my blessings, too!

Back to the Base

The next week we were supposed to go to Muli Muli, an aboriginal community, but there was a death there, so theywere having a funeral and we could not come. Instead our leaders prayed about coming back to Brisbane to do outreach here. We came back to the base and helped with base projects and prayer mapping for our community that we live in. It was good to be back, but it was hard to be here at the same time. It seemed like at times we were doing the same things over and over, so it was hard to be motivated. But I know that God still uses that time and does things despite our bad attitudes. One cool thing that happened is that we were supposed to pray about something to do close to the base, but for someone outside the base. I prayed and felt like God told me to go and tell an older lady with a red sweater that she was appreciated. I felt like that was very specific and I didn’t really know why God would want me to do that, so I just thought, well I’ll go walk. I went walking and didn’t have much time, so I didn’t see anyone. The next day we were supposed to go out and do creative evangelism around our area again, so I was walking with 2 other girls, and then I saw an older lady in a red sweater…so I told the girls I felt like I was supposed to go talk to her and tell her she was appreciated. I didn’t want to seem too weird about it, but I really felt like I was supposed to talk to her. So, I walked behind her until I caught up, then she actually started the conversation with me. It was really cool and I still felt a little awkward, but I told her that God told me to tell her she was appreciated. And she said thank you and that was it. Sort of strange, but it still felt good.

Lectures

So the past 2 weeks we had lectures over destiny and partnering with Jesus and the fear of the Lord. The teaching was really great, but at the same time it made me think lots about the future. Also, it has been hard just struggling with other things going on here. I'm learning so much about unconditional love and how sometimes it is so hard and feels horrible, especially when you love and do not notice anything in return. But, what I learned through that is that God loves everyone and there are billions of people that never give God anything back, no love, no thankfulness, and so to be more like God we need love despite how it is returned. Also I’m learning more about Faith, so I'm praying that God will allow me to be more open and not judgmental so he can use me to do miraculous things. Along with this all, we talked about fears/obstacles that keep us from following God and sometimes that can be just not doing what he’s put in our hearts because we have a hard time committing to things. The pastor at Hillsong, where we went to church last week, talked about how God gives us things that are in our hand (characteristics/talents God has given us) that we need to use rather than lay down to accomplish the things God has put in our heart. It was really cool to hear again how God has gifted us especially for his purposes! Also, with fear of the Lord we talked about how it is not a scary thing, but something that gives freedom because when follow God's moral laws (what Jesus did) and what God says to us that helps us to be closer to God.

This week we are talking about Lordship and I am told that our speaker is amazing! So, I'm excited about the upcoming week and the challenges it will bring.

This is our last week on base before our 5 week road trip!

Returning with excitement

First all the touristy stuff...We got a chance on our weekend break (which by the way is Sunday and Monday, so its a little hard to get used to) to go to the Gold Coast. We went to Surfer's Paradise (the first picture) and hung out on the beach. It was beautiful, but still is a little cold for the beach. It was nice in thesun and the water was not too cold, butthe wind was chilly. So,we will have to make anothertrip some other time. Also, on Monday we leave for ourfirstroad trip to 3differentplaces over 3 weeks. I'm excited to see more of God's beautiful creation and I think it will be a little warmer because weare going north. I don't know if I'll have internet throughoutthe 3 weeks, but I will try to keep everyone updated! The second picture is from Brisbane city at night.

Besides all of those things, it has been a challenging week. Not because of lack of communication with people at home, but just lots of reasons, living in community, being around lots of people all the time, not knowing where to go on outreach (our mission trip to another country at the end of our Discipleship Training School), and just feeling kind of stupid on some things we were talking about. God was good to help ease my mind. Along with that, they challenged us last week while we were discussing intercession to not talk to people at home and anytime we wanted to, to pray for them. It was really cool to think about people and pray for them instead of turning to people instead of God. Also, last week we talked about hearing God's voice. It was exciting to learn more about that and practice it. With hearing God's voice we had to tell our leaders where God wanted us to go for outreach. They gave us four locations and told us to pray about them. I felt God was leading me to go to Vanuatu, which is a small island about 3 hours flight from here. So, we learned more about our locations tonight and the people going to each of those. It was really cool to see pictures from Vanuatu and hear about the people and the work we will be doing there. It will be lots of manual labor, but it is beautiful and right on the ocean. We will be encouraging the local missionaries there, as well. This week we started learning about the Father Heart of God. Its so cool to talk about how God is our perfect father. I had a great earthly father as an example, but its so amazing to think of people who did not have good fathers and how God is their loving, perfect dad. He can be that father that so many people in our world are lacking, so if you think of all the things your dad did not do or you wanted him to do God doesn't miss the mark on any of those things. Its so cool to learn more about God's love and his adoption of us. God is our loving father who always wants to spend time with us and can give us his full attention all the time, which amazing since he can do that for everyone all at the same time! And the last picture is of our entire Beach to Bush school group.

Small Break

Just letting everyone know that I will be unable to email and post my blog for a little while, so I will be updating things again when I get a chance.

Already so much

Wow! I can't believe its really only been a week since we got started with our Beach 2 Bush program. It feels so much longer than that because of how well I feel like I know the team I'm working with and how God has already shown me. Trust...

Kim (our leader) told this story about one of her friends from this base that was diagnosed with cancer and died this past January. It made me think about my friend and how recently she died of colon cancer. Those things are so hard to understand why God, but her point was about trusting God. She actually shared a recorded message that this girl had spoke on trust before the whole cancer thing. It was just very real to me. She also talked about how we give God's characteristics definitions that God has not really defined, but that we have defined, like provider means He will provide everything we want/think we need, but sometimes that's not God's definition of providing....although he really will give us everything we absolutely need. Also, sometimes we just have to trust in God's power. We sometimes make him seem like he has so little power when his power is infinite. Although we don't understand he does and knows what he's doing. I feel like I'm rambling, but my main point is that God is already teaching me things!

Along with all that God is doing here are some interesting facts about being here:

I have to take a 4-5 minute shower (Queensland is always short on water), but its hot water, so I can’t really complain too much.It does get cold here…esp

ecially while camping
You can buy pretty much anything here that you could buy at home, which is much different from anywhere else I’ve been,

but things are actually quite expensive.
We all have work duties because the base is our home-mine is dinner cleanup
I think I was expecting cafeteria type food and its nothing close to that. All the food at the base has been great!
We have actual lectures, which so far is not like real school, but you do learn lots

People you know can actually get lost on mountains
I’m sleeping in room full of bunk beds with 12 other girls-I have a top bunk
We have a Target in the mall, which is only like 7 minutes walk from here. Amazing- since I love Target, but unfortunately its not exactly the same, but its still good.

Some other basic info: We have 20 students and 6 leaders. Most of the students are from the US which is surprising to me, but there's 1 from finland, 1 from sweden, 2 from holland, 2 from australia, 3 leaders from canada, 1 from switzerland, 1 from denmark, and 1 american girl who's parents were missionaries in taiwan so she grew up there. We have 12 girl students and 4 girl leaders. It just depends on the days about our class times. We have been having lectures in the mornings from 9:30-12:30 and we have had intercession times, and worship times in the morning also. We have all shared our testimonies has part of teaching/learning about each other. Other times we do work chores, like mine is cleaning up after dinner with 4 other students. On saturday afternoons we work around our base either yard work, painting, working out in the community, or with youth. We also have some free time to go to the park and meet local people or play sports. All of our meals are at the school and we have 2 leaders who are in charge of cooking and the food has been really good!

A little more about our travels

We found out yesterday in our school orientation that we will be traveling to lots of really cool places and amazing beaches. We will get to visit a few aborigine communities, as well. The furthest we will travel up the coast is to Arlie Beach, which is about 14+ hours away, but we will get to go to the Barrier Reef from there. We will have the opportunity to go to the largest sand island at some point in our travels, too! At all these places we will get to talk to backpackers, people who live in more remote places, and whoever else God puts in our path. I will have more information about all of these places along the way. Today we leave for our first retreat where we will go close to Byron Bay and we will get to know our team a little better. We will be back Monday.

On to Brisbane

Well, I've been in Australia for a few days now and its been lots of fun! It has been pretty cold and breezy especially coming from 100 degree days. Sydney is a big, beautiful city with lots of history. I've gotten to do most of the touristy things (including climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge) and take lots of pictures. The people we have stayed with have been so great. They are incredibly nice and giving. It is strange to move on to somewhere else already.

I'm getting excited/things are becoming more real as we prepare to leave for Brisbane today. We will be going to the YWAM base and begin meeting all the people we will spend the next few months with. I'm excited to see all God will begin to show me and how he will use our team. I'm excited just to know more about what's next.

First Ever Blog Posting...

So, I'm getting ready to embark on a new journey-going to Australia, but also having a blog. So, hopefully I'll get better at this posting thing as time goes on. I think I'm finally through packing and I guess ready to leave my house in the morning for 6 months. It's a strange feeling. I fly out tomorrow at 7:30pm, flying out of Dallas, then eventually to Sydney on a 15 hour flight! Pray for safe travel and patience! I don't feel like I'm going to be gone for 6 months, so it is exciting, but also makes me a little nervous. Once I get to Australia I will spend a couple of days in Sydney then I'll travel to Brisbane, which will be my main base for the majority of my time in Australia. I know when I get to Australia it will be so great to meet new people and have God show me new things.