Wow it is Sunday again and one more week is over. I don't know where the time is going. The rest of the week at the conference was okay. Thursday night was good, but I had a hard time focusing on the speakers by the end of the week. I don't know if it was just my attitude or if they didn't relate to me as well. They did a very funny game show type thing on Wednesday night where the leaders in the area all got up and told stories. It was fun to watch, some were funny, some were serious, and some were challenging. The conference wound up on Friday afternoon and we headed to the Sydney base.
Friday night after we had dinner and orientation to this base Blaire, Joshua, Sova, Etteinne, and I went to another Rugby game. The game wasn't that great as the team that we cheered for got beat pretty bad, but we had fun. It was at one of the venues from the 2000 Olympics and in Olympic park, so the area was very interesting. It was raining a little so there were not too many people at the game so Blaire and I went down to the first row to get a closer look and to say that we sat in the front row of an Olympic stadium for a rugby game.
Yesterday we went to the laundrymat and got our clothes washed. And then some of us headed back to the city. Some people went to the Aquarium, while some of us just walked around and talked. Then we met up and went out for dinner, our first dinner out besides fast food since we left home! It was very good.
This morning we went to Hillsong church. Everyone was excited to go there, but I was kind of disappointed with the service. I am sure that it is not always like it was today, but the "sermon" didn't really seem to have much Biblical support. This afternoon we have just been relaxing and napping trying to get ready for another week of lectures.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Proclaim
4-22-07 I am now at the Proclaim Conference in Sydney. It is a conference for the YWAM staff of the Pacific. We are here to serve, but we also get to attend the meetings. The drive here took us ~17 hours with all of the stops and breaks. It was a long trip, but all in all it went pretty fast. Katie & I sat in the front of the van and kept Sione awake for the drive; he didn’t sleep at all before we left. We had some interesting discussions both funny and spiritual. It is interesting hearing different viewpoints on things.
There are ~700 people attending the conference from many different countries, mostly in the Pacific. We are one of 12 DTS classes that are here volunteering to help. So far the work has been pretty easy. One of our main jobs is to welcome and usher people at the sessions. So other than shaking hands and smiling, we just stand around and be available.
The Island Breeze Production Team danced in the welcome last night and have a part in the session tonight. I am videotaping them all so that I can show you what some of the people at our base do. It is awesome to watch.
4-25-07 Finally the wireless is working!!! The conference is going very well. We get to sit in on the sessions which are quite good. Yesterday the afternoon was free so we headed into the city. We walked around for a while and saw the Opera House, but it was raining so we didn’t walk around too much. We then met the leaders, who took over an hour to park the van, at McDonalds and had a feed. After that we wanted to go to IMAX but we missed the time for the next show, so we walked to get coffee and sit down to talk. We ended up at a McCafe (McDonald’s Café) and spent another ~2 hours there just mucking around. All in all we spent ~4 hours at Maca’s. One of those crazy nights I won’t forget for a while.
I hope you are understanding my Australian slang. If you need translations let me know.
Have a great day!
There are ~700 people attending the conference from many different countries, mostly in the Pacific. We are one of 12 DTS classes that are here volunteering to help. So far the work has been pretty easy. One of our main jobs is to welcome and usher people at the sessions. So other than shaking hands and smiling, we just stand around and be available.
The Island Breeze Production Team danced in the welcome last night and have a part in the session tonight. I am videotaping them all so that I can show you what some of the people at our base do. It is awesome to watch.
4-25-07 Finally the wireless is working!!! The conference is going very well. We get to sit in on the sessions which are quite good. Yesterday the afternoon was free so we headed into the city. We walked around for a while and saw the Opera House, but it was raining so we didn’t walk around too much. We then met the leaders, who took over an hour to park the van, at McDonalds and had a feed. After that we wanted to go to IMAX but we missed the time for the next show, so we walked to get coffee and sit down to talk. We ended up at a McCafe (McDonald’s Café) and spent another ~2 hours there just mucking around. All in all we spent ~4 hours at Maca’s. One of those crazy nights I won’t forget for a while.
I hope you are understanding my Australian slang. If you need translations let me know.
Have a great day!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Road Trip
Another week of lectures is completed. It is amazing that I have been gone 2 months! My trip is already 1/3rd over. That's right mom, I will be home before you know it! :)
In a little less than 7 hours we will begin our road trip to Sydney. It is a 15 hour drive down. I am not excited about sitting in a van for 15 hours with a bad back, but it should be pretty fun. We are leaving at 4 am so hopefully we will be able to get at least a little sleep.
We are going to Sydney to serve at a YWAM Proclaim Conference. It is a big conference with people coming from all over the Pacific. We will be serving them the first week.
The second week we will be having lectures with Etienne & Tanya (who just started the base in Sydney after leaving here early March). We met them a few times and helped them clean there house before they left. They are a very nice family and Tanya was already planning fun things for us to do while we are there.
The third week we will be heading to Mulimuli for outreach. That is somewhere between here and Sydney. While we are there we think we will be doing more mercy ministries and helping people.
Please pray for traveling safety and that everyone gets along in the van. Pray for the vehicles, that we will not have mechanical problems on the trip. Also, for all of the others traveling and attending the conference. Ask that it be a successful week for everyone.
I will update you more information when we get to Sydney and have internet.
Have a great weekend!!!!
In a little less than 7 hours we will begin our road trip to Sydney. It is a 15 hour drive down. I am not excited about sitting in a van for 15 hours with a bad back, but it should be pretty fun. We are leaving at 4 am so hopefully we will be able to get at least a little sleep.
We are going to Sydney to serve at a YWAM Proclaim Conference. It is a big conference with people coming from all over the Pacific. We will be serving them the first week.
The second week we will be having lectures with Etienne & Tanya (who just started the base in Sydney after leaving here early March). We met them a few times and helped them clean there house before they left. They are a very nice family and Tanya was already planning fun things for us to do while we are there.
The third week we will be heading to Mulimuli for outreach. That is somewhere between here and Sydney. While we are there we think we will be doing more mercy ministries and helping people.
Please pray for traveling safety and that everyone gets along in the van. Pray for the vehicles, that we will not have mechanical problems on the trip. Also, for all of the others traveling and attending the conference. Ask that it be a successful week for everyone.
I will update you more information when we get to Sydney and have internet.
Have a great weekend!!!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Prayer Updates
Thanks everyone for you prayers. I thought I should update you on what is going on.
- My back is getting better. It still hurts, but I do feel like it is better than it was. I got reprimanded for running the other morning and so I am trying to take a week or so of really being careful of what I do. I am really not looking forward to riding in the van for 15 hours on the way to Sydney.
- Sila's visa renewal request didn't go through, so we were told yesterday that he will be leaving us. We are very sad as a group and this came as a shock to most of us. We have all grown as a "family" and it is going to be very hard to see one of our "family" have to leave us.
- Continue to pray for finances for some of the members of our group. Also give thanks to God for all that he has provided for me.
- We are leaving for Sydney on Saturday morning at 4 am. It is a 15 hour drive! We are going there to serve for a big YWAM conference and then to have a lecture from the base director there. Please pray for preparations for us and the staff as we get ready this week. Pray that we have wisdom in packing and also prepare ourselves for the road trip.
- Continue to pray for us as we learn more about Spiritual Warfare in lectures, it has been a good week and we are learning a lot.
Thanks again for all of you prayers!
- My back is getting better. It still hurts, but I do feel like it is better than it was. I got reprimanded for running the other morning and so I am trying to take a week or so of really being careful of what I do. I am really not looking forward to riding in the van for 15 hours on the way to Sydney.
- Sila's visa renewal request didn't go through, so we were told yesterday that he will be leaving us. We are very sad as a group and this came as a shock to most of us. We have all grown as a "family" and it is going to be very hard to see one of our "family" have to leave us.
- Continue to pray for finances for some of the members of our group. Also give thanks to God for all that he has provided for me.
- We are leaving for Sydney on Saturday morning at 4 am. It is a 15 hour drive! We are going there to serve for a big YWAM conference and then to have a lecture from the base director there. Please pray for preparations for us and the staff as we get ready this week. Pray that we have wisdom in packing and also prepare ourselves for the road trip.
- Continue to pray for us as we learn more about Spiritual Warfare in lectures, it has been a good week and we are learning a lot.
Thanks again for all of you prayers!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Prayer Requests
Please pray as we begin a new week:
- I have been experiencing back pain for about 1 1/2 weeks and this weekend it has gotten a lot worse. I can't sit for too long and it is a constant dull pain in the lower back. Please pray that it heals and that I can get back to doing the things I want/need to do.
- Pray for a fresh new attitude for our team as we have another week of lectures. This weeks topic is spiritual warfare.
- Pray for Sila (SEELA), a member of our team, as he is having problems with his visa and if it doesn't get worked out he has to leave May 7.
- Pray for finances for some members of our team as they do not have their outreach phase paid for yet.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
- I have been experiencing back pain for about 1 1/2 weeks and this weekend it has gotten a lot worse. I can't sit for too long and it is a constant dull pain in the lower back. Please pray that it heals and that I can get back to doing the things I want/need to do.
- Pray for a fresh new attitude for our team as we have another week of lectures. This weeks topic is spiritual warfare.
- Pray for Sila (SEELA), a member of our team, as he is having problems with his visa and if it doesn't get worked out he has to leave May 7.
- Pray for finances for some members of our team as they do not have their outreach phase paid for yet.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Turkey
I had to do a presentation Friday morning on a country and I did it on Turkey. I had to look up information on the country and then tell the class about it and then we all pray for that country. In looking at the information on Turkey I found out some interesting things. I am not sure when the information was last updated but according to my research there are approx 66 million Muslim people in Turkey that have never heard the gospel. They associate Christianity with terrorists and people that they have been fighting with in Europe. They are also 39th on the world rankings for persecution of Christians and many times the government does nothing about it. I don't know about you, but I never would have guessed that. When you think about all of the time that Paul spent there on his missionary journeys it seems like some of that would have stuck in the land.
As I said I am not totally sure that my information was exactly accurate, but I still wanted to ask you all to join me and the class in praying for this country and the people there. It sounds like they could use a revival.
As I said I am not totally sure that my information was exactly accurate, but I still wanted to ask you all to join me and the class in praying for this country and the people there. It sounds like they could use a revival.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Back to lectures
This has been kind of a tough week for me. I think that after everything we did last week and the excitement of the group and meeting new people, it was hard for me to settle back in here at base. So much has happened and I wanted to be able to share it with everyone. I think a lot of the group has struggled this week, so please keep us all in your prayers. As the week has gone along things have gotten much better and I am not wishing that I am anyplace other than here, I just feel a little down.
The topic this week is Clear Conscience and Fear of the Lord. A lot of the things from the start of the week seemed like review, but I guess that is good. Today we spent a lot of the time just sitting in the presence of God and thinking about His Holiness. It was a good day, I think I needed to just have a day to refocus and concentrate on God and not worring about listening to a lecture.
A couple people in our group came up with the idea to continue our 6 am prayer meetings, so some of us now meet every morning at 6 to pray for things that come to us. It is really a great way to start our day. Then at 6:30 we go for our run; after running on the beach it seems easier here. Even though the scenery is not as beautiful as the beach.
Today is our weekly trip to the Hyperdome Shopping Center! It is really not that exciting, it is just nice to get off the base for a little while.
I pray that you all had a blessed Easter and that DJ had a great birthday!
The topic this week is Clear Conscience and Fear of the Lord. A lot of the things from the start of the week seemed like review, but I guess that is good. Today we spent a lot of the time just sitting in the presence of God and thinking about His Holiness. It was a good day, I think I needed to just have a day to refocus and concentrate on God and not worring about listening to a lecture.
A couple people in our group came up with the idea to continue our 6 am prayer meetings, so some of us now meet every morning at 6 to pray for things that come to us. It is really a great way to start our day. Then at 6:30 we go for our run; after running on the beach it seems easier here. Even though the scenery is not as beautiful as the beach.
Today is our weekly trip to the Hyperdome Shopping Center! It is really not that exciting, it is just nice to get off the base for a little while.
I pray that you all had a blessed Easter and that DJ had a great birthday!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Happy Easter!
Hey everyone! I pray that you have experienced the love of God this Easter!
I believe that this has been one of the best weeks of my life! We did so many things that if I tried to give you details on them all you would be reading for the whole day…. So I am just going to bullet the highlights for you and explain more later:
- We arrived at Fingel Fellowship Church on Sunday night and met with Kyle Slabb who freed up his whole week to spend with us. He is part of the Slabb family who are all very special, wonderful Christian people.
- Prayer at 6am
- Training Mon - laps up a dune and back down and then push ups, sit ups, and squats. It was a great workout, but very tough. Joshua even fainted on the beach and the waves came up and got him all wet!
- Quick evacuation because of the Tsunami warning and orientation to Aboriginal culture on the top of a small mountain.
- Training Tues - Steps up to the lighthouse and down the dunes 3 times as a team. Then leg work and sprints down the beach.
- Outreach in Coolangatta. Split up in pairs we walked around on the beach area and talked to people and prayed for them.
- Jumping off of a cliff at a waterfall in the middle of the bush after hiking a trail to get there.
- Kayaking for about 4km and tipping over a few times in the waves. A dolphin swam right next to the kayaks. Then it stormed and we had to fight winds and rain to get through.
- Learning a lot about Aboriginal culture from Kyle who goes to different places to teach people.
- Jogging up a mountain to watching the sun rise from rocks at the top with surfers surfing just below us. Then getting up early to watch the sunrise from by the lighthouse.
- Watching the guys surf from the rocks and then helping point out Blaire and Allison to Kyle so that he could save them from drowning in the ocean- they were caught in the rip.
- Kangaroo hunting in the bush - even though we didn’t see anything it was still fun - oh yeah it stormed on us again!
- Spending time studying the book of Colossians with the Kyle and some others from the church.
- Quiet time on the beach listening to the waves crash the shore.
- Maundy Thursday night the ladies of the church made us a special dinner and then washed our feet to prepare us to go out and spread the gospel. Then we had communion together and prayed together. Also discussed how the women were the first to see Jesus after the resurrection.
- Ran a 6k race along the beach on Saturday!!! It was tough but definitely worth the effort.
- Participated and helped with the Easter Celebration Weekend at the church - met many new people from many different places.
- Easter morning sunrise service on the beach. Tanya, Blaire, and Julianna were baptized in the ocean by Kyle and Joshua.
I am sure that I even missed some things and it was still really long. I can’t wait to tell you all about everything and the people. When we left they invited us to come anytime and we decided that they might regret that because we hope to visit as much as possible.
I pray that you all had a blessed week!
I believe that this has been one of the best weeks of my life! We did so many things that if I tried to give you details on them all you would be reading for the whole day…. So I am just going to bullet the highlights for you and explain more later:
- We arrived at Fingel Fellowship Church on Sunday night and met with Kyle Slabb who freed up his whole week to spend with us. He is part of the Slabb family who are all very special, wonderful Christian people.
- Prayer at 6am
- Training Mon - laps up a dune and back down and then push ups, sit ups, and squats. It was a great workout, but very tough. Joshua even fainted on the beach and the waves came up and got him all wet!
- Quick evacuation because of the Tsunami warning and orientation to Aboriginal culture on the top of a small mountain.
- Training Tues - Steps up to the lighthouse and down the dunes 3 times as a team. Then leg work and sprints down the beach.
- Outreach in Coolangatta. Split up in pairs we walked around on the beach area and talked to people and prayed for them.
- Jumping off of a cliff at a waterfall in the middle of the bush after hiking a trail to get there.
- Kayaking for about 4km and tipping over a few times in the waves. A dolphin swam right next to the kayaks. Then it stormed and we had to fight winds and rain to get through.
- Learning a lot about Aboriginal culture from Kyle who goes to different places to teach people.
- Jogging up a mountain to watching the sun rise from rocks at the top with surfers surfing just below us. Then getting up early to watch the sunrise from by the lighthouse.
- Watching the guys surf from the rocks and then helping point out Blaire and Allison to Kyle so that he could save them from drowning in the ocean- they were caught in the rip.
- Kangaroo hunting in the bush - even though we didn’t see anything it was still fun - oh yeah it stormed on us again!
- Spending time studying the book of Colossians with the Kyle and some others from the church.
- Quiet time on the beach listening to the waves crash the shore.
- Maundy Thursday night the ladies of the church made us a special dinner and then washed our feet to prepare us to go out and spread the gospel. Then we had communion together and prayed together. Also discussed how the women were the first to see Jesus after the resurrection.
- Ran a 6k race along the beach on Saturday!!! It was tough but definitely worth the effort.
- Participated and helped with the Easter Celebration Weekend at the church - met many new people from many different places.
- Easter morning sunrise service on the beach. Tanya, Blaire, and Julianna were baptized in the ocean by Kyle and Joshua.
I am sure that I even missed some things and it was still really long. I can’t wait to tell you all about everything and the people. When we left they invited us to come anytime and we decided that they might regret that because we hope to visit as much as possible.
I pray that you all had a blessed week!
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