First Impressions

Greetings, Loved Ones! Boy, do I have some news for all of you... I safely arrived in Australia in the late afternoon of Thursday, January 22 (January 21 for America). I had no "expectations" for my destination here and yet somehow was completely dumbfounded as to the place I was brought into. The base at which I am staying is mainly hard concrete and unpainted walls, still undergoing massive renovations. There are wood chips and pieces of heavy machinery everywhere, spread out evenly among the plastic chairs and tables in the small "cafe" area (also concrete and unpainted, and the only room with Wifi). The AC is a bit limited even inside- when it is turned on, which is not that often, it isn't cold, but rather blows air around 74 degrees instead of the outside temperatures of ~90 degrees. It's currently the "rainy season" here, which means thunderstorms are a daily or bi-daily occurrence-- for those of you who have experienced an environment like this before, you know that this means one thing: humidity. I feel as though I'm swimming through most of my days, either through the air or through my own sweat. I have entered the land of broiling hot days and showers that can never be cold enough even when rivaling the temperature of cold drinking water; showers, by the way, are taken at least two and sometimes three times daily by almost everyone here on base...

Now that I have told you all the graphics of where I live now, I will share the majestic and ordinary wonders: first, there is a mountain directly behind our base that is absolutely awe striking to look at. A mix of brilliantly green foliage and stark red, sheer cliff rocks, it's name is "Castle Hill"- there are WWII bunkers atop its peak, accompanied by one of the most amazing views I have ever witnessed, even after living in the Adirondack state park for most of my childhood. The path to the top is not too long but rather brutal- while it is mainly derived of rows of stones making countless "steps", the path itself is more or less STRAIGHT UP, and the bugs are relentless. I have had to deal with thousands of black flies before in the mountains of New York, but in Australia, it seems that everything is bigger and more numerous. As we were climbing back down the "hill" last evening, we were joined by hordes of dragonfly sized insects that would congregate in clouds located directly at head level. And I don't mean groups of, say, twenty. I mean groups of at least a hundred in each cloud, all flying into your face and hair. Not fun. But the sunset... Jaw dropping. So many different colors, radiating from Magnetic Island to the reef to the shipyard to the mainland.

The trees here are also unique, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. As you walk the streets (quite a task your first couple days as the cars are all coming from the opposite direction- the crosswalk lights take too long to operate so you have to satisfy yourself by looking the wrong way and running to the middle of the street and stopping and doing it again) you'll come across palm trees that start off at their base like a giant plant bulb and get thinner as they bend and curve upwards to the sky. Right next to those you could run into a mammoth cluster of trunks made of hundreds of cord-like branches so thick and so thoroughly twisted together that, were you to try to navigate the inside of the tree bunch, I'm sure it would be black as night. Then, across the street, there might be a courtyard with one massive Lion-King-esque tree in the middle, perfectly trimmed and just plain beautifully grown.

Also, I've already seen the flying foxes, as previously mentioned in one of my earlier posts! They're a good deal larger than small dogs and not at all afraid of flying only a couple yards from your face. Also, there are indeed wild kangaroos here... I haven't seen those yet, but I'll be sure to update you when I do!

Lastly, I will tell you the spiritual environment that I am in, as that is truly what I am here for. YWAM is a non-denominational organization, and in being non-denominational, they fully accept and, as I've found, greatly encourage the kind of charismatic Christianity that is a bit new to me. To give you a small example, during the first worship service I experienced, sometimes there was loud praise, and at other times dancing and people clapping to their own rhythm, etc.. There was a point in the service where we were all called to pray for the Holy Spirit to come dwell among us, at which point everyone in the room burst aloud into singular prayer for at least 6 to 7 minutes. While the nature of the service may have surprised me at first, it was incredibly refreshing. To know that everyone in the room desires Jesus - that everyone is there of their own choice - to feel the Holy Spirit in the room, listening to us sing and dance and yell our praises to him...just awesome. There is truly something special about worshiping in a church where, ten miles away, there is an island full of people who have never heard the gospel but are literally crying out for help.

Thank you for your prayers, and I am sorry about how long this post was- there's just so much to tell you all. Though I have already encountered many oddities and difficulties, I want to make it clear that I LOVE it here, and I feel completely comfortable, as this is the exact environment (right down to the lack of AC and carpet), that I feel most at home in. I am thriving here, and Jesus is living in me.

Random Fact of the Post:

Everything is different here concerning the bathrooms. First off, the women's rooms are ALWAYS painted blue, and the men's are ALWAYS painted pink. Second, they aren't called "women's rooms" or "ladies rooms" or "restrooms" or "bathrooms" at all. They are exclusively called "female toilets" and "male toilets". As if the toilets themselves had gender identification needs. Thirdly, the toilets themselves flush the opposite direction (apparently because we are South of the equator?). Fourthly, whereas America has toilet bowls half filled with water at all times, here there is no such thing. (I've begun realizing while here how much America really does use unneeded amounts of things like water and electricity. Not that I'm growing prejudiced at all against my home country- on the contrary, I would welcome half-water-filled toilets and AC blasted with all the windows open and lights that don't ever flicker--down here they just don't tap as many utility resources). Lastly, the stalls are not stalls but rather cubicles, wherein the infamous gap between stall door and stall wall is nonexistent.