Okay so it has been a while since I update you all and I think most of you know why. Since the last entry I returned to Brisbane from Sydney for 1 night, flew 25 hours to LA, spent 2 nights in LA, then flew on July 26th to Grand Rapids!!!
It was a great last couple of weeks. After being emotional leaving Sydney I had a good night saying goodbye to my friends in Brisbane. I left there Thurs, July 24th and headed to LA. I was able to sleep some on the planes so the flights were good and arrived in LA at about 11pm. Trevor picked me up and took me right away to In & Out for a Double double meal (a must in LA). We went and overlooked the city and then headed back to his parents house - he even drove on the wrong side of the road for a couple of minutes... scarey!
Friday Allison Ozaki from my DTS last year came to the house and we got to see each other again and catch up. In the evening Trevor took me to his brothers in Santa Monica and after dinner they brought me to the Santa Monica Peir as the only "touristy" thing that I did there. It was a great time just relaxing and getting back into American culture.
On Saturday I arrived home at about 1030pm and Shanda was at the airport to welcome me home. I thought my dad was home but he wasn't so I had to wait until church the next morning in order to surprise anyone. I hadn't told anyone that I was coming home so soon! My sister was the first in my family and she was really shocked. Then after church and dinner at some friends my brother Kurt and Tracy stopped by my parents house. I talked to them and then headed up to Lake City to find my parents at the campground. I was really tired, but with the help of Red Bull I made it up there. My dad saw me walking up and then I tapped my Mom on the shoulder and she about fell over her chair trying to get up and give me a hug. It was a great reaction and definately worth keeping the secret!
I spent until Friday with them at the campground just trying to get back into the right timezone and relaxing. Now it is Friday night and I am back at my parents getting ready to take a trip to Louisville, Kentucky with Shanda's parents. We are leaving Sunday morning and returning Thursday. So even being home I am still living out of a suitcase.
Thank you all for your prayers during this journey. I am glad that I followed God's call and accepted the challenge. It wasn't easy, but I have grown again through this experience.
Now my prayer is "what's next?" Please pray as I look for where God is leading me next. I need to find a job, buy a car, and pay off the bills from this trip. Thank you so much for your continued support. I will try and keep this page going as many of you know, I am always up for adventures!
I hope to hear from you all soon! Btw I am getting a new cell phone that I will have when I get back, you can call me at my parents or email me for the #.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
One last trip to Sydney
So the DTS is over and I have spent the last 5 days in Sydney. It is great to be away from all of the structure of the DTS and just be able to do whatever whenever we want. I flew down here Saturday morning with Trevor and we have been hanging out with Liz, Justin, and Warrick who also made the trip. I am also spending time with some other friends and saying goodbye to all of them. It is amazing how close I have become to people that I have only been around for a short time. It is such a blessing!
It is kind of emotional for me to be saying goodbye to Sydney. I love this city! It is a beautiful city that I am going to miss. We were sitting in front of the Opera House and I just kept looking back and forth from that to the Harbour Bridge and not wanting it to be the last time that I get to see them. I had always dreamed of seeing the Opera House and God has brought me here a few times and I am grateful to Him. I pray that someday I get to go back.
Well I have to get a quick nap in because tonight is a planned girls night for all of us on the base. They have told me it is going to be a late night. ;) I will update you again soon!
God Bless and Have a GREAT Day!
It is kind of emotional for me to be saying goodbye to Sydney. I love this city! It is a beautiful city that I am going to miss. We were sitting in front of the Opera House and I just kept looking back and forth from that to the Harbour Bridge and not wanting it to be the last time that I get to see them. I had always dreamed of seeing the Opera House and God has brought me here a few times and I am grateful to Him. I pray that someday I get to go back.
Well I have to get a quick nap in because tonight is a planned girls night for all of us on the base. They have told me it is going to be a late night. ;) I will update you again soon!
God Bless and Have a GREAT Day!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Graduation Day
Hey everyone it is Graduation day for Walkabout 2008! It has been quite a ride and I am excited to see where everyone goes next, but also sad to say goodbye to all of the students that I have become close to. Please pray for us all as we leave from here and pursue what God has for us in the future.
I will not have to say goodbye just yet to most of them as we are heading down to Sydney and spend some time together there. There are 6 of us going down. We are going to go downtown and experience some of World Youth Day. It is a huge catholic event with the pope. There are youth from over 70 countries represented there and just massive crowds. Island Breeze Sydney is doing outreach outside downtown for all of the visitors. We may also team up with them and see what we can do. Pray that we can share with lots of people.
The rest of the time, when we are not in the city, is going to be spent on the IB Sydney base meeting new people. Please pray for the Island Breeze conference that is being held there next week. Directors and leaders from all of the Island Breeze bases around the world (I believe there are 14) are meeting to discuss what is happening and the future. I am excited to meet some more of the people from other bases.
I will also be saying goodbye to some good friends. This could be the last time for a while that I get to Sydney and I am going to miss the people. Also the current DTS from our base is going to be there and it will be the last time that I see the staff. I give thanks to God for giving me one last chance to spend time with them as we didn't think it was going to happen.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support! It won't be too long and I will be on my way back home....time flys!
God Bless You All!
I will not have to say goodbye just yet to most of them as we are heading down to Sydney and spend some time together there. There are 6 of us going down. We are going to go downtown and experience some of World Youth Day. It is a huge catholic event with the pope. There are youth from over 70 countries represented there and just massive crowds. Island Breeze Sydney is doing outreach outside downtown for all of the visitors. We may also team up with them and see what we can do. Pray that we can share with lots of people.
The rest of the time, when we are not in the city, is going to be spent on the IB Sydney base meeting new people. Please pray for the Island Breeze conference that is being held there next week. Directors and leaders from all of the Island Breeze bases around the world (I believe there are 14) are meeting to discuss what is happening and the future. I am excited to meet some more of the people from other bases.
I will also be saying goodbye to some good friends. This could be the last time for a while that I get to Sydney and I am going to miss the people. Also the current DTS from our base is going to be there and it will be the last time that I see the staff. I give thanks to God for giving me one last chance to spend time with them as we didn't think it was going to happen.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support! It won't be too long and I will be on my way back home....time flys!
God Bless You All!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Back at Island Breeze
Wow after 2 months in PNG it is good to be back in Australia. It was a great experience being there, but it is nice to have the comforts of home again.
On June 25th Trevor and Warrick headed back to Brisbane because of sickness. They got back and went directly to the hospital. They found out that they didn't have Malaria and Typhoid but Trevor had Dange fever. Trevor was in the hospital for 4 days before returning to base. They are both doing better now, but still not 100%. Please continue to pray for them and the health of the rest of the team.
The past couple of weeks have been an interesting time with the staff at the Mount Hagen YWAM base. Our first Saturday at the base the staff took us on a hike to a waterfall. It was a rough hike for me as I was really worried about my ankle on the slippery rocks, but it was worth it in the end. It was beautiful and the water was so fresh and cold. After we spent time playing in the water we made the hike back through the trails in the mountain instead of the road and saw some amazing views. I love the mountains.
We did ministry almost every night and most mornings were also set up with some kind of ministry or work. It was a very tiring time as we had to walk up and down the mountain to get anywhere.
On July 2nd we took a van up to Wabag, another town in the Highlands. It was a few hours away through the mountains. We ministered at a Women's conference the first night and then the next night Sione felt we needed to stay at the house and not go back to the conference. It ended up that while we were in the house and sleeping there was a big fight. Seveti woke up to the neighbor screaming and found out there were guys outside our house with guns. they were not after s but it was a pretty intense time for him. He prayed for us all and saw a vision of angels standing on the house protecting us all. The next morning we were scheduled to leave which was good because the people told us that we should go just for insured safety. I am glad that I was sleeping and didn't know what was going on, but God was protecting us.
I left the Hagen base with Justin and Liz and flew back to Port Moresby on Wednesday, July 11th. Sione, Katie, Seveti and Joshua took a bus back to Lae in order to save money and were in Moresby already. We arrived and then spent Thursday shopping and getting ready to go back to Australia on Friday. Everyone else's flight was at 6:20am and mine was at 3:10pm. They arrived back on time and I had to spend 4 hours in the airport waiting for my flight. (Typical PNG flights!) I finally arrived at the base about 10:30pm on Friday night. A few of us stayed up until 2 am catching up with Lucy, Trevor, and Warrick and talking about everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks. (Lucy never did end up getting the finances to leave the base so she has been doing her outreach here with the Community staff.) The rest of the team that is at Palm Island with be back Monday night and we will finally all be together again. We have reentry, debriefing, and just relaxing this week before graduation on Friday night. We are all pretty excited about graduation!
Thank you for all of your prayers. While this has been a difficult experience at times it has also been very rewarding.
Sorry for the really long entry, but I am finally back where I can spend some time on MY computer! I will update you again soon!
God Bless
On June 25th Trevor and Warrick headed back to Brisbane because of sickness. They got back and went directly to the hospital. They found out that they didn't have Malaria and Typhoid but Trevor had Dange fever. Trevor was in the hospital for 4 days before returning to base. They are both doing better now, but still not 100%. Please continue to pray for them and the health of the rest of the team.
The past couple of weeks have been an interesting time with the staff at the Mount Hagen YWAM base. Our first Saturday at the base the staff took us on a hike to a waterfall. It was a rough hike for me as I was really worried about my ankle on the slippery rocks, but it was worth it in the end. It was beautiful and the water was so fresh and cold. After we spent time playing in the water we made the hike back through the trails in the mountain instead of the road and saw some amazing views. I love the mountains.
We did ministry almost every night and most mornings were also set up with some kind of ministry or work. It was a very tiring time as we had to walk up and down the mountain to get anywhere.
On July 2nd we took a van up to Wabag, another town in the Highlands. It was a few hours away through the mountains. We ministered at a Women's conference the first night and then the next night Sione felt we needed to stay at the house and not go back to the conference. It ended up that while we were in the house and sleeping there was a big fight. Seveti woke up to the neighbor screaming and found out there were guys outside our house with guns. they were not after s but it was a pretty intense time for him. He prayed for us all and saw a vision of angels standing on the house protecting us all. The next morning we were scheduled to leave which was good because the people told us that we should go just for insured safety. I am glad that I was sleeping and didn't know what was going on, but God was protecting us.
I left the Hagen base with Justin and Liz and flew back to Port Moresby on Wednesday, July 11th. Sione, Katie, Seveti and Joshua took a bus back to Lae in order to save money and were in Moresby already. We arrived and then spent Thursday shopping and getting ready to go back to Australia on Friday. Everyone else's flight was at 6:20am and mine was at 3:10pm. They arrived back on time and I had to spend 4 hours in the airport waiting for my flight. (Typical PNG flights!) I finally arrived at the base about 10:30pm on Friday night. A few of us stayed up until 2 am catching up with Lucy, Trevor, and Warrick and talking about everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks. (Lucy never did end up getting the finances to leave the base so she has been doing her outreach here with the Community staff.) The rest of the team that is at Palm Island with be back Monday night and we will finally all be together again. We have reentry, debriefing, and just relaxing this week before graduation on Friday night. We are all pretty excited about graduation!
Thank you for all of your prayers. While this has been a difficult experience at times it has also been very rewarding.
Sorry for the really long entry, but I am finally back where I can spend some time on MY computer! I will update you again soon!
God Bless
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Mount Hagen
Hello again everyone. Things are crazy here. We are saying goodbye to 2 of our team members that are heading back to Australia. They have come down with Malaria and Typhoid and while they did receive medication here they are requesting to go back for more treatments. They are leaving on a flight this afternoon to get back to Port Moresby and then tomorrow morning heading back to Brisbane. Pray for continued healing for them and that the rest of the group stays healthy.
Our team just seems to be splitting up all of the time. We now will have 7 of us in PNG, 2 in Brisbane and 5 in Palm Island Australia. We are trying to look at the positive side of it all as we can minister to more people this way, but it is tough not all being together.
The YWAM base here in Mount Hagen is beautiful. It is on the side of a mountain and overlooks a valley. We are getting lots of excercise as we have a 20 minute hike down and up the mountain everytime we leave the base. We ussually do it 2 times a day. Yesterday we walked for 1.5 hours to go to a ministry but no one else was there so we turned around and headed back. Luckily for Liz and I the base director drove by and picked us up. That is all part of life in PNG. There motto is to expect the unexpected. We are even getting used to "island time" with things never starting when they are supposed to, sometimes it is 1-1.5 hours later. Oh well it all adds to the adventure.
I don't remember what all I said in the last email, but we are in Mount Hagen until July 9 then heading back to Brisbane on July 11th. Graduation is July 18th and then I will be doing some traveling and saying goodbye before my scheduled date to return home on August 25th. That is only 2 months from today. Time seems to be picking up steam. I will be back before you know it!
I hope you are all doing well. I will update you again when I can!
Tami
Our team just seems to be splitting up all of the time. We now will have 7 of us in PNG, 2 in Brisbane and 5 in Palm Island Australia. We are trying to look at the positive side of it all as we can minister to more people this way, but it is tough not all being together.
The YWAM base here in Mount Hagen is beautiful. It is on the side of a mountain and overlooks a valley. We are getting lots of excercise as we have a 20 minute hike down and up the mountain everytime we leave the base. We ussually do it 2 times a day. Yesterday we walked for 1.5 hours to go to a ministry but no one else was there so we turned around and headed back. Luckily for Liz and I the base director drove by and picked us up. That is all part of life in PNG. There motto is to expect the unexpected. We are even getting used to "island time" with things never starting when they are supposed to, sometimes it is 1-1.5 hours later. Oh well it all adds to the adventure.
I don't remember what all I said in the last email, but we are in Mount Hagen until July 9 then heading back to Brisbane on July 11th. Graduation is July 18th and then I will be doing some traveling and saying goodbye before my scheduled date to return home on August 25th. That is only 2 months from today. Time seems to be picking up steam. I will be back before you know it!
I hope you are all doing well. I will update you again when I can!
Tami
Friday, June 20, 2008
PNG
Hey everyone! I have 7 minutes of internet time left and just wanted to quick update you on where I have been and where I am going. So far in PNG we have been to Alotau, Samari, East Cape, Yangoru, Wewak, and Lae. We have been doing ministries almost every night and spending a lot of time getting to know the people of PNG. The people that we meet are all very nice and the hospitality is incredible. It is very humbling.
One thing that I struggle with is that it is not safe for us to walk around by ourselves without a local so my independent streak is being tested.
We are now in Port Moresby for the weekend and then have 2.5 weeks in Mount Hagen. We are all excited to connect with the YWAM base there.
Well that is all of the time I have so I will update you again when I can.
Have a great day!
One thing that I struggle with is that it is not safe for us to walk around by ourselves without a local so my independent streak is being tested.
We are now in Port Moresby for the weekend and then have 2.5 weeks in Mount Hagen. We are all excited to connect with the YWAM base there.
Well that is all of the time I have so I will update you again when I can.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Outreach
Hello everyone... I have finally been connected to the outside world for more than a couple of minutes. I have been on the internet a couple of times but only had enough time to read my email and then log off.
Outreach has been a good challenge so far. We have been very busy with traveling and doing ministries every night and some days. The group has been working very hard and we have seen many people affected by our ministry. We spent 2 weeks in Alotau and surrounding areas with a CLC church. The people of PNG are great! They are so hospitable and make us feel so welcome and so at home. (Even when we are taking bucket showers and squating to use the toilet.)
We are still working on getting the rest of the team up here from Brisbane as their money is still coming in. We are praying that they can join us this week and start traveling with us. Please pray that this happens and when it does that it will be a smooth transition for all of us being together again.
We are leaving this week for Wewak and then Lae, Mount Hagen, & Goroka. Please pray for all of these locations and for safety in traveling.
Well I am running out of time again. I have tons of stories but they are going to have to wait until I return to normal internet. Please keep me informed on what is happening there. I love to see lots of messages when I do get to log on!
God Bless you all!
Tami
Outreach has been a good challenge so far. We have been very busy with traveling and doing ministries every night and some days. The group has been working very hard and we have seen many people affected by our ministry. We spent 2 weeks in Alotau and surrounding areas with a CLC church. The people of PNG are great! They are so hospitable and make us feel so welcome and so at home. (Even when we are taking bucket showers and squating to use the toilet.)
We are still working on getting the rest of the team up here from Brisbane as their money is still coming in. We are praying that they can join us this week and start traveling with us. Please pray that this happens and when it does that it will be a smooth transition for all of us being together again.
We are leaving this week for Wewak and then Lae, Mount Hagen, & Goroka. Please pray for all of these locations and for safety in traveling.
Well I am running out of time again. I have tons of stories but they are going to have to wait until I return to normal internet. Please keep me informed on what is happening there. I love to see lots of messages when I do get to log on!
God Bless you all!
Tami
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