Two Weeks Gone

Greetings, Loved Ones.

The fatigue has set in.

This week has been the worst for me in the area of physical exhaustion. The first half of the day is straight lectures and only the second is work, so it's not as though my days are excruciating, but the cumulative tiredness has begun to take its toll...

We leave on Sunday for two weeks straight of Australian Bush camping. No wifi, no phone signal, no charging stations- I am extremely excited. The QUIET that will be present, the peace that will be felt, the serenity of nature! Granted, due to the large amount of us going (about 60) it will be more of a glamping (glamour camping) trip than a tried and true, old fashioned camping trip, but I'm alright with that. For instance, the kitchen is bringing a fridge or two. Don't mistake me, they won't have electricity for anything but food and water, but nonetheless. The men, going up a day early to prepare the site, will also be setting up a water tank for us to drink from. (I will have you all know that I am bringing my own water filter-- my father gave it to me before I left. It's not that I don't trust their filtered water, it's just that I, personally, would rather have my own potentially life saving filter to carry around in my bag at all times (along with a ten-pack of vacuum compacted emergency towels and a trustworthy hunting knife- all from the wonderful Nate Winters)).

That being said, there is a downfall to the wilderness: I will be unreachable (and unable to reach out) in the most absolute sense of the word for two weeks. Because of this, there will obviously be a bit of a gap in my blog. I will write down or take pictures of (at least in the first week, before my only camera runs out of batteries) the exciting scenarios that I fall into and be sure to relay them to you all later, once I again have access to the internet.

On a completely unrelated note: lectures this week have focused on the Character[istics] of God- not entirely the same as the Attributes of God, but close- and the main characteristic has been faithfulness (derived from His love and unchangeableness). Listening to these lectures brought back many memories from my high school days- the man speaking briefly touched in one week MAMMOTH topics that I was made to (in schooling) mull over for months. Topics such as Infinite Regression, Predestination, and even historical topics such as the Assyrian Armies of Nineveh. The first four days were moderately excruciating for me: it seemed as though all my comrades were having revelations of biblical truths or interpretations they had never been exposed to before. Having a pastor as a father and going to a classical Christian school for 6 years you can imagine that I was not experiencing quite as many "mind blowing" revelations-- I was feeling quite left out and, in a way, almost insecure that I had already heard a lot of the material being spoken of and thus was not participating in the campus-wide excitement of new knowledge.

On the last day of the week, the speaker told a story of being abroad leading a team on missions. One of his students decided to pray that the team would be shown God's faithfulness through an "impossible situation". After hearing the story, the speaker made a joking comment to the effect of "don't pray to be shown His faithfulness if you're not prepared to trust Him through impossible times."

....Interesting. Do not mistake me: I trust the Lord. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will work everything out for my good because I know that I love Him. I'm not, however, entirely sure if I holistically believe that He will provide for me; FOR ME. I've known He protects my parents, and I've often reasoned that that translates to Him protecting their children, as we are extensions of them and if we are hurt, they are hurt, but would Christ walk with me just for the sake of my own well being? Or would He place me in a situation and supervise as I built character? There have been times in my life when I have been in a serious trial and I have not turned to Christ or any physical human. I know in my mind that Christ must have helped me without my actively knowing it at the time, but do I have anything to base that belief off of beside the fact that I'm still here, breathing?

So. These observations bring me to this question: Do I believe that Christ cares for me at such a personal level that I am willing to pray for an impossible situation and trust Him to bring me through it because He loves ME and is unchanging to ME? I have to tell you, I'm not sure. I don't want to experience a tragedy or trial just to work out my "heart issue", especially if my heart isn't mature enough to not turn bitter during the process. A tad paradoxical, I find. Well then, I suppose we shall see, won't we?

I have found out for certain that I will be headed to Papua New Guinea for my outreach (in May). We will be headed to the Central Province to a specific tribe and train some of the natives in evangelism, their area of missions being surrounding tribes. The Lord is going to be doing some amazing things. If I could ask for prayer for something, it would be this: pray for me to be less critical. My first reaction to instruction--whether it be lecturing, confrontation, team building, mentoring--is skepticism. While it's good to be able to find the thread of Truth in the weave of words, it's not good to "throw the baby out with the bath water", so to speak. That phrase was once used against me as I rejected a confrontation on the grounds of faulty logic... I am so foolish. At any rate, prayer for skepticism. Thank you.

As always,

I love you all, and I will talk to you in two weeks! Click Here to Read More..

Second Impressions

Greetings, Loved Ones!

Now that I have been here almost a month (imagine that!), I feel as though I have a better take on this place. I'd like to share with you just 10 of the different Australian oddities that I've noticed- only 10 of the plethora.

1. All the outlets have their own switches, and I mean EVERY outlet- two plugs and two switches per white rectangle. You have to turn the outlet on before energy is pumped into the cord you just plugged in.

2. They pronounce the adjective "Aussie" as "Ozzie", not "Awssie", and Australia is often referred to as "Aus"(pronounced and sometimes written as Oz).

3. There are geckos. Everywhere. We found one in our food the other day.

4. The people here are (get ready for a sweeping generalization) much taller than in the USA, meaning that I don't attract quite as many odd looks. Although I must say, I've had my fair share of comrades at the Base come up and enlighten me as to the fact that "I'm so tall" and "I should play basketball". (Ha!)...

5. Sadly, due to all the diversity here on campus, I've learned just how much cheaper college really is in just about every country apart from the US. In Germany, Norway, and similar countries, it's free! Also, there is not the pressure that is present in the US to "go to college no matter what." I've found this information fairly depressing, considering my current plans for college...in America. We shall see where the Lord leads!

6. The majority of church services here are held in the late afternoon, typically between 3pm and 7pm. Personally I think that's a genius idea.

7. There are wild crocodiles- and they're surprisingly common here in Northern QLD. The Strand (the ~70 meter area of the beach designated for swimming which is enclosed in a net to keep the jellyfish out) was closed last weekend due to a 5 meter croc that had made its way into the area- it could have easily gotten through the net, so they restricted swimming until they found it further on up the shore. Let that sink in for a minute: I swam on Friday night, the exact place I was swimming was closed the following morning because there was high risk of a 5 METER CROCODILE lurking in the same water. It literally could have been just outside the net while I was swimming. Crazy, right? How thrilling.

8. They have market day on Sunday, where everything you could imagine has been homemade and put up for sale by someone. It's like a flea market, but tighter packed, and with more street musicians. They have everything from exotic fruit to finger puppets!

9. The restaurants are very diverse and exceedingly tightly packed; just here down the road there is an Indian place which is next to a Chinese place which has an upper level that is a Thai place-- all of which are right across the street from the Australian version of Chipotle, which is next to an Irish Pub. There's a frozen yogurt place right there too- basically, whatever you want, they've got.

10. Lastly, I'd like to share about the ocean- the Pacific, though I was told prior to leaving that it would be colder than the Atlantic and the Caribbean, is actually quite warm- the sun heats it to the point that it's still quite warm even at 11pm and after. (There are times we have to go night swimming if we want to go at all- they work us quite hard here- I love it!) In addition, it's INSANELY salty. If you swallow even a spoonful, your entire throat goes raw. There are also vinegar stations along the Strand in case you do get stung by a jellyfish (which, by the way, they call "stingers" here). Apparently it happens often, especially once the net goes down in August.

Well, that's all, folks. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what I've been encountering these last several weeks- I hear there's a blizzard somewhere in the States right about now, moving into Indiana and such? Very interesting... If it makes you feel any better, living in mid-90's every day isn't always fun! (Ha!) Thank you for your prayers, and again, if you'd like to contact me personally, my email address can be located by clicking here.

Have a wonderful week, all!

Random fact of the post:

Ant bites HURT! Who knew those little suckers could pack such a punch, ay? I had to learn the hard way. As soon as you step in the wrong spot, ten of them will instantly be on your foot and then.... BAM: sharp, stinging, itching pain. Got to love Oz. Click Here to Read More..

Health and Wealth Update

Greetings, Loved Ones!

I have been dreadfully sick for a few days now, and only worse for knowing that it's been a week since I've last touched base with you. My sincerest apologies! I would like to start out straight away by saying that it is quite difficult being sick in a country you've never been in before. This is because, first, chances are you've caught a bug native to the land and your body simply isn't used to it. Second, and something I've been running into without end this past week - you've never heard of ANY of the medicines that are apparently used to help you get well again.

So, now that the whining can be set aside, I'd like to get you all up to speed on "the haps" (otherwise known as "the happenings"). Life has become quite busy here... and to the dismay of all, the small cafe we have here on campus is closed and has been closed for a week now on the basis of construction. Community living, for those not used to it, is starting to sink in, as is the fact that we will be in this state for five more months! Luckily, I love community living and am used to it by now due to my summers working out of state at a Christian family resort in Upstate New York.

I'm sure you've already gotten a good feel for the mood that's been settling here, but here is something you don't know: we found a cockroach in our room over the weekend! Actually, I found it, to my own disgust. We have all resolved to not let a single crumb fall to the floor un-vacuumed. While we are all still adjusting to this environment for a variety of reasons, one thing rings true (and this we have thanked the Lord for already multiple times): the 16 girls in our room absolutely love each other, and the entire YWAM base has a constant aura of acceptance, patience, and brotherly love around it.

Our lectures last week focused on Identity; the phrase "I didn't expect to be this challenged so early on in the school" was said so frequently that by the end of the week it was just an understood campus-wide thought. It was SO good. We were all brought face to face with issues we may or may not have wanted to confront, and made to take the first step in overcoming them. I feel that you all deserve to know as my support base that I too had a few things to confront in myself-- I want you to know that Christ is with me and He is championing me into more than a conqueror. Thank you again for your prayers- they are NEEDED and they are FELT!

I also want you to all to know that I have thought of you all frequently- I have been deeply thinking on the best way to get into contact with you personally. My cell phone doesn't work over here, and payphones are quite pricey after a while, as is postage ($2.45 for a single overseas post card). My email finally works again, and I would be more than happy to converse with you all individually through that medium if you could find the time! Click here for my email address. Please, feel free to shoot me any questions or  comments and, even more importantly, I'd love to just stay updated on how you all are! I may be overseas, but we are all missionaries in the sense that we are the sent out Body of Christ. Nothing is more encouraging than hearing about how our comrades prosper in the journey, eh? I will answer as soon as I am able. I may not have a solid Wifi connection, but I am never too busy for you all.

Now, my specific DTS is made up of 12 people (rarely enough, we are evenly split into 6 men and 6 women!) and, blessedly enough, we all love each other. In saying this I don't mean that we all "deal" with each other or "get along" with each other- I mean this as a MASSIVE praise to Jesus that we LOVE each other. We already long to see each other grow and prosper in Christ and in life- we are rooting for each other in everything each one of us does with the Lord. We support each other and want to be with each other every step of the way in the next half-year. Because of this, we are all praying that we will be able to avoid being split on Outreach (which, at this point, is looking like it will indeed be Papa New Guinea- no absolutes, though!). Often, a DTS with more than 10 people is split into two groups for evangelistic outreaching; we will have, including leaders, about 14, and we are all praying that we get to stick together. If the Lord has other plans, so be it, amen, we will follow them as best we know how. Our personal wish is that we stick together- we are praying about whether we SHOULD along with asking that we would be allowed to. So, keep that in your thoughts and prayers if you would- that we would see what to do concerning our missionary teams. Thank you, friends!

Lastly, I would like to talk to you about money. I know, I know- it would be much easier to just breeze over this topic and have it all flow in when we need it, wouldn't it? (Ha!) It is currently looking like outreach will cost anywhere between $3,000 and $4,000. I currently have about $3,600 in my bank account for this mission and have not yet deducted the cost for things I needed to purchase when I arrived like bedding, basic toiletries, and other staples of living. (Ps- everything in Australia is expensive! The cheapest pillow anywhere was $20!) In addition, I will need to purchase certain camping gear (deet bug spray, boots, etc) along with outreach equipment as it becomes necessary depending on our final, decided destination. Now, I fully and completely believe that the Lord will provide for me, and I have been already utterly blessed by such an incredibly generous support base family! This being said, I would feel much safer with a small bit more- I know that many missionaries operate on infinitely less than this, but I am in a place that requires tuition payment as well as mandatory equipment purchases. While this can be stressful, I know that the Lord is working it out for the good in me and in my fellow students. If you feel led to give me any more help financially (and, as always, your prayers are a huge support to me!), you can make out checks to West Shore Evangelical Free Church. If you need the address of that church (as that is where my funds are collected), you can find it in my previous blog post titled "a note to my financial supporters", which includes other vital info such as the reminder to make it clear what your money is meant for when it is sent in. Thank you all for journeying with me through this. It is truly incredible here and I can feel encouragement from you the States even as I write this. Thank you again.

Random Fact of the Post:

I was at a sort of bonding night for my DTS this evening. It was quite dark out even though it was early in the evening and I was sitting under what looked like a beautiful yellow rose tree. I reached up and plucked one of the blossoming flowers from its vine and twirled it in my hand before, suddenly, the woman next to me (a native Aussie) says quite casually "they can blind you, you'd better wash your hands." I responded with a classic American "wait, what?" And was met with a more elaborate "the blossoms are poisonous and they can blind you if you touch your eyes after touching them. You'd better go wash your hands!" So naturally, I got up and washed my hands. I have two observations: 1. Numerous people saw me pluck the flower- why were my naïve American hands not stopped? 2. What if no one had told me to wash my hands? Would I still have use of my eyes? These are the questions that taunt me. As always, thank you for your prayers... I thank the Lord for you all. Click Here to Read More..