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 (2nd 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!
