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
Saturday, May 17, 2008
PNG
I have arrived safely in PNG. Eight people from our group arrived on Wednesday and I came up on Friday.
Please pray for 5 more members of our group as they are still in Brisbane raising funds to join us. There is a line for the internet so I have to go.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!
Please pray for 5 more members of our group as they are still in Brisbane raising funds to join us. There is a line for the internet so I have to go.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Never a dull moment!
This past week was supposed to be a relaxed week getting ready to have a busy week ahead with lectures and leaving for Papua New Guinea on Saturday. Also we were planning a fundraiser for the 15th and trying to raise the funds needed for everyone to attend our outreach.
Then on Wednesday everything kind of fell apart. As many of you know, for the past couple of months people have been looking at the buildings here on our property and deciding if they are structurally sound. On Tuesday they came and said that we had until Friday afternoon to clear out of our main hall, 2 houses, and the toilet blocks….yeah those are the most used buildings on the base. This put a halt to a lot of our plans and we had to all chip in to get the buildings cleaned out. This includes all of the offices, classroom, dining hall, meeting hall, and the kitchen! It was a lot of work mostly for the staff, but it was great to see everyone pitch in and get the work done. We have been given an extension to use the toilets until Monday but after that everyone on base will have to use 3 bathrooms in the houses on base. That is going to be very interesting to say the least.
Okay so here is what is happening with the DTS. Our classes next week had to be postponed to while we are on outreach and our travel plans were changed to leave on Wednesday for most of the group. This also means that our fundraiser had to be cancelled and therefore some of the group will not be going right away as they do not have the finances to travel with the group. Personally, I will either be leaving on Wednesday on a different flight or on Friday to join them. The reason for this is because I had to withdraw my visa application and therefore I don’t have a valid visa to get back into Australia. This means that I can only buy a one-way ticket to PNG at this time and then while I am there I can apply for another visa to return. Please pray that this happens without any problems.
We will be traveling around PNG for just over 8 weeks returning July 15th. I will try and keep you updated as much as possible, but access to internet will be pretty scarce once we leave Port Moresby.
Prayer requests:
- safety in travel
- team finances
- team unity
- a big impact on the people in PNG
- my visa getting granted in PNG
- wisdom for base leadership as they work on new plans for the base
Then on Wednesday everything kind of fell apart. As many of you know, for the past couple of months people have been looking at the buildings here on our property and deciding if they are structurally sound. On Tuesday they came and said that we had until Friday afternoon to clear out of our main hall, 2 houses, and the toilet blocks….yeah those are the most used buildings on the base. This put a halt to a lot of our plans and we had to all chip in to get the buildings cleaned out. This includes all of the offices, classroom, dining hall, meeting hall, and the kitchen! It was a lot of work mostly for the staff, but it was great to see everyone pitch in and get the work done. We have been given an extension to use the toilets until Monday but after that everyone on base will have to use 3 bathrooms in the houses on base. That is going to be very interesting to say the least.
Okay so here is what is happening with the DTS. Our classes next week had to be postponed to while we are on outreach and our travel plans were changed to leave on Wednesday for most of the group. This also means that our fundraiser had to be cancelled and therefore some of the group will not be going right away as they do not have the finances to travel with the group. Personally, I will either be leaving on Wednesday on a different flight or on Friday to join them. The reason for this is because I had to withdraw my visa application and therefore I don’t have a valid visa to get back into Australia. This means that I can only buy a one-way ticket to PNG at this time and then while I am there I can apply for another visa to return. Please pray that this happens without any problems.
We will be traveling around PNG for just over 8 weeks returning July 15th. I will try and keep you updated as much as possible, but access to internet will be pretty scarce once we leave Port Moresby.
Prayer requests:
- safety in travel
- team finances
- team unity
- a big impact on the people in PNG
- my visa getting granted in PNG
- wisdom for base leadership as they work on new plans for the base
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Time to say goodbye to Sydney
It seems like I am always apologizing for not updating you sooner, but here I am again 2 weeks later and just writing again. The past 2 weeks in Sydney have been an interesting time for me. We were all very tired after the outback and so we have tried to take some time to refocus and get back into the swing of lectures, etc...
I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Tania the base director here. It really helped me to speak to someone that has experience with DTS and that I could trust. This being my first DTS, I am not sure exactly what I am doing and if I am providing for the students what they need. I love all of the students and I am learning a lot from them, but sometimes they really test me. Please continue to pray for me as I try and relate with them and mentor them, sometimes I feel so inadequate to do it.
Destiny week was very busy for me as I was the leader of the week and was in charge of keeping everything going. I spent a lot of time also discussing decisions that some of the students need to make. It is interesting to see them wrestling with the same issues that I wrestled with last year. Knowing that no one can give them the answers except God, I am there for them to vent and just talk things out. Then on Sunday we went to Lucy's church and had a great fellowship with the Samoans. And in the afternoon a few of us headed into downtown Sydney for a day out. It was a great time. We spent the whole afternoon and went to Trevor's favorite restaurant there; Pancakes. It was really good, he and I shared pancakes and nachos. I know two very different tastes, but both very good.
The next week we had lectures on Holy Spirit and Spiritual Warfare. It was an interesting week for all of us as we also spent a couple of days at a juvenile detention center. It was fun meeting with the guys and getting to know them a little bit.
Well I am sorry, but I have to go. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Outback and beyond
The past two weeks have been busy moving around a lot. First, we moved from the church we were staying at to the Island Breeze Sydney Base for a weekend of lectures with the Australian National Director of YWAM. It was a great weekend of lectures on Making Jesus Lord and Unity. He was really down to earth and real with us.
On Monday afternoon we made the 9 hour drive to the outback. It was a long drive with the last ~30 miles on a red dusty dirt road with big holes and bumps all over. It was a rough (literally) end to the trip. We arrived safely at about midnight and spent the next few days exploring some of Stephen's land. Get this he has 75,000 acres! We went wild pig hunting in the bush. I ended up spraining my ankle pretty bad stepping in a hole and had to walk on it for about 40 more minutes before getting back to the truck. Please pray for continued healing so that I can walk and jog normally.
In the evenings we would visit some of the "nearby" communities and do a program for them. I say "nearby" because it would take us at least 1.5 hours to get to any of them and the one took us about 2 hours and it was an aboriginal community of 65 people. We did a BBQ and had about 10 people show up, but it was a good night with them.
The next night, Thursday, we went to a youth group and had a great time sharing with them and then talking with them after. On Friday we had a big dinner with some of the people of another town and then did an outdoor program for them. The whole week was late nights and pretty busy, but we were so blessed by the family we stayed with. It was a great experience, but I had enough of red dust covering everything and the dirt road was beginning to take its toll on me.
Now we are back at IB Sydney and enjoying the next 2 weeks here with the staff. This weeks lectures are on Destiny and Worldview. It is strange because this is the topic when God called me back to Australia last year. Wow a lot has happened since then.
Oh yeah I should update you on my visa situation. I went to have medicals done this week and they are requiring that I have an echo cardiogram because of my heart murmur. I have known about the murmur and my doctor said it was fine and I didn't need the test, but in order to get a visa I have to have it done. The rest of the story is that my visa will probably not get processed before we leave for PNG in May and on the one I am on right now I can't leave the country until the processing is complete so I would have to pay more to get a different one. I am trying to decide what to do as I could just cancel this one and go to PNG and pray that I get another 3 month visa granted to come back for graduation. Or if I should get all of the tests done and pray that it all goes through in time. Please pray for guidance and direction in making this decision.
Also please continue to pray for safety traveling. (I am the main driver for the van....scary I know...just kidding I am very safe.) Continue praying for finances for our team. Pray for the changes happening at our base. Pray for health and strength as some of our team is experiencing sicknesses.
Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please let me know how you are doing back at home.
On Monday afternoon we made the 9 hour drive to the outback. It was a long drive with the last ~30 miles on a red dusty dirt road with big holes and bumps all over. It was a rough (literally) end to the trip. We arrived safely at about midnight and spent the next few days exploring some of Stephen's land. Get this he has 75,000 acres! We went wild pig hunting in the bush. I ended up spraining my ankle pretty bad stepping in a hole and had to walk on it for about 40 more minutes before getting back to the truck. Please pray for continued healing so that I can walk and jog normally.
In the evenings we would visit some of the "nearby" communities and do a program for them. I say "nearby" because it would take us at least 1.5 hours to get to any of them and the one took us about 2 hours and it was an aboriginal community of 65 people. We did a BBQ and had about 10 people show up, but it was a good night with them.
The next night, Thursday, we went to a youth group and had a great time sharing with them and then talking with them after. On Friday we had a big dinner with some of the people of another town and then did an outdoor program for them. The whole week was late nights and pretty busy, but we were so blessed by the family we stayed with. It was a great experience, but I had enough of red dust covering everything and the dirt road was beginning to take its toll on me.
Now we are back at IB Sydney and enjoying the next 2 weeks here with the staff. This weeks lectures are on Destiny and Worldview. It is strange because this is the topic when God called me back to Australia last year. Wow a lot has happened since then.
Oh yeah I should update you on my visa situation. I went to have medicals done this week and they are requiring that I have an echo cardiogram because of my heart murmur. I have known about the murmur and my doctor said it was fine and I didn't need the test, but in order to get a visa I have to have it done. The rest of the story is that my visa will probably not get processed before we leave for PNG in May and on the one I am on right now I can't leave the country until the processing is complete so I would have to pay more to get a different one. I am trying to decide what to do as I could just cancel this one and go to PNG and pray that I get another 3 month visa granted to come back for graduation. Or if I should get all of the tests done and pray that it all goes through in time. Please pray for guidance and direction in making this decision.
Also please continue to pray for safety traveling. (I am the main driver for the van....scary I know...just kidding I am very safe.) Continue praying for finances for our team. Pray for the changes happening at our base. Pray for health and strength as some of our team is experiencing sicknesses.
Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please let me know how you are doing back at home.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Sydney
Wow things have been crazy around here. After Easter we went back to base on Monday and had 4 days of lecture. The topic was Faith in Finances & Stewardship with our base directors wife Jade. It was an interesting week and I felt that it was an important one for me. Though I haven't been rich, I have always been blessed with finances for what I needed. Now in this time of not working and not having income I am really looking for God's wisdom in how I spend what I have.
On Wednesday it was decided that we would be traveling to Sydney a week earlier than we had planned. So it was a crazy time getting packed and ready to go off base for 5 weeks. On Friday night we went downtown Brisbane for ministry. We walked around and then talked to some people. I talked to a girl named Dana. She does go to church when her grandma begs her to, but that is it. After talking for a few minutes about her life, I prayed for her. When I finished she said that she had tingles running throughout her body the whole time I was praying. I told her that I would keep praying for her and I pray that God continues to grow in her heart.
Three am Sunday morning we departed for Sydney. We took our van with all of the students and also our director's vehicle both packed to the brim with people and luggage. I still can't believe that it all fit.
We arrived Sunday evening and are staying at a church in one of the suburbs of Sydney. It is the church of one of our students and his dad is the pastor. It is a blessing for the team as we couldn't stay at the Island Breeze Sydney base for this week and also it is saving us funds.
Prayer requests: Financially some of the staff and students are struggling paying their fees. Pray for God to provide.
I received information on my visa this week. In order to have it granted I need to have a medical checkup, chest X-ray, Criminal report, proof of finances and I think a couple other things. This really disappointed me and I am continuing to look at my options and see how this is all going to work out as all of these things cost more money and there is no guarantee.
Pray for continued safe travel as we travel around to some different communities.
Thank you for your continued support & prayers!
On Wednesday it was decided that we would be traveling to Sydney a week earlier than we had planned. So it was a crazy time getting packed and ready to go off base for 5 weeks. On Friday night we went downtown Brisbane for ministry. We walked around and then talked to some people. I talked to a girl named Dana. She does go to church when her grandma begs her to, but that is it. After talking for a few minutes about her life, I prayed for her. When I finished she said that she had tingles running throughout her body the whole time I was praying. I told her that I would keep praying for her and I pray that God continues to grow in her heart.
Three am Sunday morning we departed for Sydney. We took our van with all of the students and also our director's vehicle both packed to the brim with people and luggage. I still can't believe that it all fit.
We arrived Sunday evening and are staying at a church in one of the suburbs of Sydney. It is the church of one of our students and his dad is the pastor. It is a blessing for the team as we couldn't stay at the Island Breeze Sydney base for this week and also it is saving us funds.
Prayer requests: Financially some of the staff and students are struggling paying their fees. Pray for God to provide.
I received information on my visa this week. In order to have it granted I need to have a medical checkup, chest X-ray, Criminal report, proof of finances and I think a couple other things. This really disappointed me and I am continuing to look at my options and see how this is all going to work out as all of these things cost more money and there is no guarantee.
Pray for continued safe travel as we travel around to some different communities.
Thank you for your continued support & prayers!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter
Happy Easter to everyone back at home! I am spending another Easter in Fingal with my family here. They have an Easter Convention with services on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. This morning was a sunrise service on the beach at 6am. It was beautiful watching the sun come up as we were singing about our risen Savior. It is an another awesome day.
I just got back from a swim and was loading a few pictures and read some of my email. I hear that you all are having a cold Easter, but I hope your experience was a memorable one.
Please pray for our base as we are having some problems with the buildings. We don't know at this point what is going to happen, but it is a possibility that they require us to leave some of the buildings that we use. Please pray for all of the decisions that need to be made.
Thanks for everything! God Bless You All!
He has Risen!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Another Birthday in Aussie land
The past week has been an up and down week. Last week Sunday I was in bed almost all day sick. The bad thing about that is that when I am sick and not doing anything is when I really think about home and become homesick on top of it all. But I did get to talk to some of you this week so that has really helped. It means a lot to me to hear from home.
The rest of the week was good. We had lectures and some good times prepping for outreach. We are going to Fingal again for the Easter Convention so we need to be ready to share. On Friday I woke up and was sad and missing home on my birthday, but I did have a few emails from home so that helped. Then Katie & Sione gave me a gift and hugs. And during a break in lectures the students called me up, prayed, gave me a gift, and lots of hugs from them. They really made me feel special and I appreciated all that they did for me. I had tears in my eyes as I read the card. In the evening Katie & Sione took me out for dinner. We went to LoneStar and had a real sit down meal! It was just like home (except way more expensive). Overall it was another great birthday in Australia. I wish you could all have been here to enjoy it with me.
I do have a prayer request for all of you. I can't go into detail, but please pray for our base. There are some things happening and we really need your support. I will give you more information as it becomes available. Thanks for your prayers and continued support it means a lot that we have people all over the world joining with us in prayer.
Dinner is ready....gotta go! Have a great day!
The rest of the week was good. We had lectures and some good times prepping for outreach. We are going to Fingal again for the Easter Convention so we need to be ready to share. On Friday I woke up and was sad and missing home on my birthday, but I did have a few emails from home so that helped. Then Katie & Sione gave me a gift and hugs. And during a break in lectures the students called me up, prayed, gave me a gift, and lots of hugs from them. They really made me feel special and I appreciated all that they did for me. I had tears in my eyes as I read the card. In the evening Katie & Sione took me out for dinner. We went to LoneStar and had a real sit down meal! It was just like home (except way more expensive). Overall it was another great birthday in Australia. I wish you could all have been here to enjoy it with me.
I do have a prayer request for all of you. I can't go into detail, but please pray for our base. There are some things happening and we really need your support. I will give you more information as it becomes available. Thanks for your prayers and continued support it means a lot that we have people all over the world joining with us in prayer.
Dinner is ready....gotta go! Have a great day!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Another embarrassing story
So it seems like I am having at least one of these stories every week. I don't know why I keep sharing them with you, but at least it makes the blogs more interesting.... :)
On base this week is a conference of YWAM leaders from what they call the Melanesian region of the pacific. There are about 30 extra people from all around the world that are working in places like Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, etc.. Last night there was a BBQ at the park near here. We were all invited and were having a good time sharing stories with them. There are even a few Americans that we are getting to know. Well during the BBQ I was sitting by a new group of people and I took a bite of my steak sandwich, it turned out to be mostly fat and not wanting to spit it out with everyone around, I tried to chew and swallow it. But as you can probably guess it got caught in my throat and I started choking. I tried to be nonchalant, but soon I was really getting worried. One of the girls asked if I was alright and I shook my head no. Everyone then started moving and she was just yelling for help when it finally dislodged and came out. It was scary and embarrassing all at the same time. I can't believe that so many things have happened to me in the short time that I have been here.
Besides that things are going good. We are having a good week. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers...
On base this week is a conference of YWAM leaders from what they call the Melanesian region of the pacific. There are about 30 extra people from all around the world that are working in places like Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, etc.. Last night there was a BBQ at the park near here. We were all invited and were having a good time sharing stories with them. There are even a few Americans that we are getting to know. Well during the BBQ I was sitting by a new group of people and I took a bite of my steak sandwich, it turned out to be mostly fat and not wanting to spit it out with everyone around, I tried to chew and swallow it. But as you can probably guess it got caught in my throat and I started choking. I tried to be nonchalant, but soon I was really getting worried. One of the girls asked if I was alright and I shook my head no. Everyone then started moving and she was just yelling for help when it finally dislodged and came out. It was scary and embarrassing all at the same time. I can't believe that so many things have happened to me in the short time that I have been here.
Besides that things are going good. We are having a good week. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers...
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Outreach #1
Wow God really knows what He is doing. This is the first time that a DTS has done a week outreach in just their second week, but it has been a great thing for our team. We have all been pushed physically, mentally and spiritually. The first couple of days Kyle was here in Fingal and had everyone up at 6 am for morning workouts. It was very tough for some, but everyone finished what they were asked to do and it became a real team builder.
On Thursday and Friday we joined with the YWAM base leader from Byron Bay and did ministry with them. Thursday was a trip to Nimbin which is a real hippie drug town. Just a small example of how much, I think we all got offered some kind of weed and one of the stores was named Bringabong instead of Billabong stores that they have here. It was a real eye opener for some of the group. We did a BBQ and just talked to some of the people. The Byron Bay base has really felt a call to minister to these people and it was great to help them out and just share God's love to a few of them. Later that night we were asked to help at a movie premiere of a Christian Surfers movie called Walking on Water. There were a lot of people that came and it was a good movie talking about finding fulfilment only in God. Friday we did another BBQ at a park in Byron Bay and again talked to people, explained why we are here and even handed out some Bibles.
It has been a very busy week and also a very exciting week as we are already seeing the students take up their roles and work hard for God.
I had one other crazy thing happen to me in the church.... I was sitting on the floor by some speakers that are stacked and the wind blew a metal vase with fake flowers in, right onto my head. Thankfully it hit by my hair line because now I have about a 1 inch cut on my forehead. It hurt really bad and all of the students were impressd that I held my composure. I thank God for that and that it wasn't any worse.
I pray that you are enjoying your week...I am supposed to meet the students at the beach by now so I better get going... I know it is a rough life but someone has to do it!!! :)
On Thursday and Friday we joined with the YWAM base leader from Byron Bay and did ministry with them. Thursday was a trip to Nimbin which is a real hippie drug town. Just a small example of how much, I think we all got offered some kind of weed and one of the stores was named Bringabong instead of Billabong stores that they have here. It was a real eye opener for some of the group. We did a BBQ and just talked to some of the people. The Byron Bay base has really felt a call to minister to these people and it was great to help them out and just share God's love to a few of them. Later that night we were asked to help at a movie premiere of a Christian Surfers movie called Walking on Water. There were a lot of people that came and it was a good movie talking about finding fulfilment only in God. Friday we did another BBQ at a park in Byron Bay and again talked to people, explained why we are here and even handed out some Bibles.
It has been a very busy week and also a very exciting week as we are already seeing the students take up their roles and work hard for God.
I had one other crazy thing happen to me in the church.... I was sitting on the floor by some speakers that are stacked and the wind blew a metal vase with fake flowers in, right onto my head. Thankfully it hit by my hair line because now I have about a 1 inch cut on my forehead. It hurt really bad and all of the students were impressd that I held my composure. I thank God for that and that it wasn't any worse.
I pray that you are enjoying your week...I am supposed to meet the students at the beach by now so I better get going... I know it is a rough life but someone has to do it!!! :)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
1st week
Well I survived the first week of this years DTS. We now have 9 students: Trevor & Justin (USA), Warrick, Liz, Rachael, Lucy (Australia), Joshua (New Zealand), Seveti & Maggie (Fiji). It has been a good group so far. It is fun getting to know them and starting to bond with them. We had orientation for 3 days and lectures on the Character & Nature of God. There is a lot of information packed into the first week.
We took them out to the Koala park and swimming at South Bank yesterday. It was over 40 degrees Celsius so it was tremendously hot! It felt so good to jump in the pool. Today we went to church and now have a few hours to relax and then practice for base worship tomorrow morning that we are leading. Our speaker for next week fell through so we are doing a week of outreach around this area. We are starting in Fingal and then coming back to a couple of communities here around Brisbane.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I miss you all very much, but I do feel God working in and through me here. I can't believe that I have been here over 1 month already. Have a great week!
We took them out to the Koala park and swimming at South Bank yesterday. It was over 40 degrees Celsius so it was tremendously hot! It felt so good to jump in the pool. Today we went to church and now have a few hours to relax and then practice for base worship tomorrow morning that we are leading. Our speaker for next week fell through so we are doing a week of outreach around this area. We are starting in Fingal and then coming back to a couple of communities here around Brisbane.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I miss you all very much, but I do feel God working in and through me here. I can't believe that I have been here over 1 month already. Have a great week!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Lesson learned
Today is the official start date of Walkabout DTS 2008! We have 8 students here (one is still working on his visa from Papua New Guinea). This past week was crazy with preperations so I am excited to get started. I worked 14 hour days the past few and we haven't even officially started yet! It seems like we are going to have a very good bunch of students, please pray that they all bond together with eachother and us as staff. It is really important for us to really become close with them as we try to mentor them.
Okay here is a gross... but kinda funny (if it didn't happen to you) story. I now know that I can't be lazy and not get up to workout in the mornings. On Thursday a few of us girls went out for Valentines Day. We went downtown and saw a movie, dinner and walked around a bit. It was fun and we got home pretty late. So on Friday I decided to sleep in a little bit and not workout, but do that later in the day. I had taken a shower right before we went on Thursday so I thought I would wait until I worked out so that I didn't have to take 2 again that day (our water pump is having issues). So I took it easy before heading up to the hall to quick check email and start working. As I was walking up to the hall I walked under the trees and yeah you guessed it.... a bird pooped right in my hair!!!! yuck, gross, disgusting.... Needless to say I went back got my stuff, took a shower, was late to start working, and got busy and never did workout that day. I now know that I can't be lazy and not get up to workout in the mornings, because even the birds will punish me! :)
I hope that you are having better starts to your days! Have a great week!
Okay here is a gross... but kinda funny (if it didn't happen to you) story. I now know that I can't be lazy and not get up to workout in the mornings. On Thursday a few of us girls went out for Valentines Day. We went downtown and saw a movie, dinner and walked around a bit. It was fun and we got home pretty late. So on Friday I decided to sleep in a little bit and not workout, but do that later in the day. I had taken a shower right before we went on Thursday so I thought I would wait until I worked out so that I didn't have to take 2 again that day (our water pump is having issues). So I took it easy before heading up to the hall to quick check email and start working. As I was walking up to the hall I walked under the trees and yeah you guessed it.... a bird pooped right in my hair!!!! yuck, gross, disgusting.... Needless to say I went back got my stuff, took a shower, was late to start working, and got busy and never did workout that day. I now know that I can't be lazy and not get up to workout in the mornings, because even the birds will punish me! :)
I hope that you are having better starts to your days! Have a great week!
Friday, February 15, 2008
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
I just have a second, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day! I pray that you are all well and enjoying the day with loved ones.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Last free weekend
Walkabout DTS starts February 17th, so on Sunday! We are getting prepared for the rest of the students to arrive and begin the classes. Two of our students have already arrived on base and are adjusting to Island Breeze culture. Seveti from Fiji arrive about a week ago and Trevor (USA) arrived on Saturday. Please pray for the rest of our students as they travel this week. Also pray for preperations and planning that we have to get done as a staff. There is a lot to do before the rest arrive.
This past weekend was the last weekend that I will have free for a while. It was a very fun weekend. We had Graduation for our All Tribes and Rugby DTSs on Friday night and then went to Macas (McDonalds) for icecream. I got up on Saturday and spent the morning having an Indian breakfast with a family on the base. The afternoon was going on a quick shopping trip and picking up Trevor at the airport.
Sunday morning I joined a group going to church in Tweed Heads so we left here at 7 am. We went to Tweed Heads Community Church which is on the Gold Coast. We spent the afternoon with some of the people of the church at the beach for a big barbeque and swimming. After that we headed up the coast and went to Surfer Paradise. It is a huge tourist area with a nice walkway along the beach and lots of shops. It was fun walking around, eating ice cream (again) and getting some new pictures. It was the first time I had been there even though it is only about 30 minutes away.
Overall it was a busy and very good weekend. I hope you all enjoyed yours as much. (I hear that you didn't have quite as nice of weather, Sorry about that) Have a great week!
This past weekend was the last weekend that I will have free for a while. It was a very fun weekend. We had Graduation for our All Tribes and Rugby DTSs on Friday night and then went to Macas (McDonalds) for icecream. I got up on Saturday and spent the morning having an Indian breakfast with a family on the base. The afternoon was going on a quick shopping trip and picking up Trevor at the airport.
Sunday morning I joined a group going to church in Tweed Heads so we left here at 7 am. We went to Tweed Heads Community Church which is on the Gold Coast. We spent the afternoon with some of the people of the church at the beach for a big barbeque and swimming. After that we headed up the coast and went to Surfer Paradise. It is a huge tourist area with a nice walkway along the beach and lots of shops. It was fun walking around, eating ice cream (again) and getting some new pictures. It was the first time I had been there even though it is only about 30 minutes away.
Overall it was a busy and very good weekend. I hope you all enjoyed yours as much. (I hear that you didn't have quite as nice of weather, Sorry about that) Have a great week!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Training is finished
Hey sorry it has been a while but I spent most of the past two weeks in class. Seven of us had to go to YWAM Brisbane for Certificate IV Training and Assessments. It was mostly review of things that I already knew, but they related it all to the DTS setting. They did a good job of keeping me involved because I didn't fall asleep. Usually when I sit for that long I am sleeping.
Over the weekend it rained and my clothes were on the line for 5 days before they dried, but we had a good time anyway. We went swimming on Saturday for about and an hour and then went to Sione's aunties house for the rest of the evening. It was fun hearing all of their stories and hanging out with them. They also had a lot of wonderful fresh friut that we ate and ate and ate. It was awesome to have fresh fruit like that.
On Sunday I spent the day on the base and did homework and some other things that I wanted to get done. It was a very relaxing day that I needed before another busy week.
Overall things are going very well here. I am enjoying the time and having a chance to become reaquanted with the people that were here last year and getting to know the new people. We now have 4 Philippino staff working here and they are a lot of fun to get to know and talk to.
I pray that you are all well back at home. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. I would love to hear from you what is happening at home. (I do hear that you are having quite a winter! Can't say that I am sorry to be missing it!)
Have a great day!
Over the weekend it rained and my clothes were on the line for 5 days before they dried, but we had a good time anyway. We went swimming on Saturday for about and an hour and then went to Sione's aunties house for the rest of the evening. It was fun hearing all of their stories and hanging out with them. They also had a lot of wonderful fresh friut that we ate and ate and ate. It was awesome to have fresh fruit like that.
On Sunday I spent the day on the base and did homework and some other things that I wanted to get done. It was a very relaxing day that I needed before another busy week.
Overall things are going very well here. I am enjoying the time and having a chance to become reaquanted with the people that were here last year and getting to know the new people. We now have 4 Philippino staff working here and they are a lot of fun to get to know and talk to.
I pray that you are all well back at home. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. I would love to hear from you what is happening at home. (I do hear that you are having quite a winter! Can't say that I am sorry to be missing it!)
Have a great day!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Always an adventure
This week was a pretty relaxed week. We had our last few days of staff training and also some meetings, but nothing to difficult.
One story from Wednesday: We have intercessory prayer every Wednesday morning with the base. This week Paula led and put us into different groups by our learning styles. I was in the group that learns by physical feel or doing something. We were to pray for the Base Leaders and then come up with someway to share what we felt while praying. In being physical people we walked around the base praying and then shared. James had the image of "contending for our faith" and we all also shared what we had. In the end we went in and had a boxing match between Blaire and myself. The others were nurturers, delegaters, encouragers, all things for the boxers. It displayed that we need to keep fighting for our time with God and our faith. It was very fun to do and I think funny to watch.
This weekend on Saturday Blaire and I were stuck on base. Almost everyone else was gone or leaving for a wedding so we were trying to come up with an adventure. Our first obstacle was transportation. We don't have a car and the bus doesn't run by here on Saturday. After checking around Penny said we could use her car if we didn't go far, because of insurance reasons. Penny has a manual transmission car, with the gear shift on the left side....I wasn't so sure about that. Also it has been over 5 months since I drove here on the other side of the road and that was only once, but we wanted to get out so off we went. Driving was actually not much different, besides reaching for the gear shift with my wrong hand and turning on the wipers once instead of the turn signal. :) We made it to Cold Rock for ice cream and then off to Ikea. We live within 15 minutes of Ikea and hadn't been there yet. After walking around dreaming of all of the things we could do with the furniture in our little rooms, but knowing we are on very tight budgets, Blaire bought a $3 clock and I bought a $2.95 lint roller. Exciting huh?!! We made it home safely and are getting good use out of our purchases. It turned out to be a fun time of being out on our own.
Okay you are probably getting sick of reading by now so I will let you stop. We are leaving tomorrow morning for the other YWAM base in the city to do our Certification course so we are certified to staff DTS. It is going to be a pretty full week.
I pray that you are all doing well. I love hearing from you! Keep in touch!
One story from Wednesday: We have intercessory prayer every Wednesday morning with the base. This week Paula led and put us into different groups by our learning styles. I was in the group that learns by physical feel or doing something. We were to pray for the Base Leaders and then come up with someway to share what we felt while praying. In being physical people we walked around the base praying and then shared. James had the image of "contending for our faith" and we all also shared what we had. In the end we went in and had a boxing match between Blaire and myself. The others were nurturers, delegaters, encouragers, all things for the boxers. It displayed that we need to keep fighting for our time with God and our faith. It was very fun to do and I think funny to watch.
This weekend on Saturday Blaire and I were stuck on base. Almost everyone else was gone or leaving for a wedding so we were trying to come up with an adventure. Our first obstacle was transportation. We don't have a car and the bus doesn't run by here on Saturday. After checking around Penny said we could use her car if we didn't go far, because of insurance reasons. Penny has a manual transmission car, with the gear shift on the left side....I wasn't so sure about that. Also it has been over 5 months since I drove here on the other side of the road and that was only once, but we wanted to get out so off we went. Driving was actually not much different, besides reaching for the gear shift with my wrong hand and turning on the wipers once instead of the turn signal. :) We made it to Cold Rock for ice cream and then off to Ikea. We live within 15 minutes of Ikea and hadn't been there yet. After walking around dreaming of all of the things we could do with the furniture in our little rooms, but knowing we are on very tight budgets, Blaire bought a $3 clock and I bought a $2.95 lint roller. Exciting huh?!! We made it home safely and are getting good use out of our purchases. It turned out to be a fun time of being out on our own.
Okay you are probably getting sick of reading by now so I will let you stop. We are leaving tomorrow morning for the other YWAM base in the city to do our Certification course so we are certified to staff DTS. It is going to be a pretty full week.
I pray that you are all doing well. I love hearing from you! Keep in touch!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Weekend in Fingal
It was a great weekend seeing friends and spending time on the beach! We left Friday afternoon for our weekend away. While I was here on DTS I became close to the people that live there. It was so nice to see them all again. Katie, Blaire, Sione, Troy and I all made the journey.
We three girls spent a little too long in the noon time sun and are experiencing some pain from sunburn. I know that it is tough for you to feel sorry for us while it is 15 degrees in Michigan. I was excited to be able to be outside again.
We celebrated Sis's 30th birthday with the family. It was a big gathering with kids everywhere. The kids are great, it reminds me of my family with the commotion of the kids everywhere.
On Sunday we went to Fingal Church and then had lunch with them before heading back up to base.
This morning I was at my first Base Worship of this year and then we are all taking a class called Kairos. This is a class on missions and fulfilling God's call for us to be a blessing to the nations. I have 2 weeks that I missed so a lot of homework to do, so that is what I am going to go start on tonight. I am interested to see if this is something that I can lead when I get back home.
Have a great week!
We three girls spent a little too long in the noon time sun and are experiencing some pain from sunburn. I know that it is tough for you to feel sorry for us while it is 15 degrees in Michigan. I was excited to be able to be outside again.
We celebrated Sis's 30th birthday with the family. It was a big gathering with kids everywhere. The kids are great, it reminds me of my family with the commotion of the kids everywhere.
On Sunday we went to Fingal Church and then had lunch with them before heading back up to base.
This morning I was at my first Base Worship of this year and then we are all taking a class called Kairos. This is a class on missions and fulfilling God's call for us to be a blessing to the nations. I have 2 weeks that I missed so a lot of homework to do, so that is what I am going to go start on tonight. I am interested to see if this is something that I can lead when I get back home.
Have a great week!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Settling In
In just a few days I feel like I am getting back into life at Island Breeze. We are in staff training during the day, learning more about the responsibilities and requirements of staffing a DTS. It has been pretty informative and I am glad that I only missed the first 2 days. On January 28th I start YWAM training in Brisbane. It is a class that we have to pass in order to be certified to staff a YWAM DTS. It should be interesting as there are 7 of us from here all attending together.
My time zones are still messed up a bit as is evident by my waking up at ~5:30 ready for the day. It is nice to have the time in the morning, but it makes my evenings short as I am tired by 8.
Please pray with us as we prepare for the school and for the students as the prepare to come.
My time zones are still messed up a bit as is evident by my waking up at ~5:30 ready for the day. It is nice to have the time in the morning, but it makes my evenings short as I am tired by 8.
Please pray with us as we prepare for the school and for the students as the prepare to come.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I made it!
The past week and a half have been crazy. Not even 2 weeks ago I was still wondering how God was going to get me back to Island Breeze. Now I am sitting in the Training office writing to tell all of you my adventures to getting here.
I received a call on Jan 4 about my visa and I was able to apply and get granted a 3 month visa that could get me into the country. I will need to switch to another visa while I am here, but I have at least 3 months to be here. After receiving confirmation of my visa I went online to book my airline ticket. I had been checking and the cost was right around $2000 so I was excited to book and leave the next Saturday. But another test hit me, I went online to book and the price had jumped up to $3100, then $3800 on Sunday. I almost cried sitting in front of my computer, because I couldn't pay that much.
On Sunday church did mine and Katie's sendoff, and I still didn't have a ticket. I was just praying that I would be leaving sometime in the week. Then on Monday I received an email about a ticket I could get for just over $2200. I was so excited, I called as soon as I got home and booked it. The crazy thing was I had to travel 40 hours to get here.
My traveling started in Grand Rapids at 6 am Sunday morning and took me to Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Cairns, and then finally Brisbane. I arrived in Brisbane about 10 pm Monday Michigan time. Praise God that everything went smoothly for me on the flights! I even had extra leg room on the longest leg of the journey (14 hours).
It is great to be here. I had a good nights sleep and then meetings all this morning. Now I am very sleepy and trying to adjust myself to this time zone.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
I received a call on Jan 4 about my visa and I was able to apply and get granted a 3 month visa that could get me into the country. I will need to switch to another visa while I am here, but I have at least 3 months to be here. After receiving confirmation of my visa I went online to book my airline ticket. I had been checking and the cost was right around $2000 so I was excited to book and leave the next Saturday. But another test hit me, I went online to book and the price had jumped up to $3100, then $3800 on Sunday. I almost cried sitting in front of my computer, because I couldn't pay that much.
On Sunday church did mine and Katie's sendoff, and I still didn't have a ticket. I was just praying that I would be leaving sometime in the week. Then on Monday I received an email about a ticket I could get for just over $2200. I was so excited, I called as soon as I got home and booked it. The crazy thing was I had to travel 40 hours to get here.
My traveling started in Grand Rapids at 6 am Sunday morning and took me to Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Cairns, and then finally Brisbane. I arrived in Brisbane about 10 pm Monday Michigan time. Praise God that everything went smoothly for me on the flights! I even had extra leg room on the longest leg of the journey (14 hours).
It is great to be here. I had a good nights sleep and then meetings all this morning. Now I am very sleepy and trying to adjust myself to this time zone.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Returning to Island Breeze????
Hey everyone I thought I should post an update on what is happening with my return to Australia. I am still home and trying to get my visa so that I can head back. I am still praying that I will be able to leave the end of next week, but this will require me to get a visa in the next week. Calls are being made to see if I can go on a tourist visa and change it when I get there. Please pray that this is approved and I can continue preperations.
I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
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