I'm Home!!

Well I've been home for a while, and now I'm off to school! I've had an interesting time coming home and seeing everyone again which has been great. I've had an amazing time overseas and can't wait to go again, but for now I'm going to Ball State University.

I'm majoring in communication and taking five classes speech, interpersonal communication, sociology, health science, and music history. I had my first classes today and it seems like I'm going to learn a lot this semester.

Fourth week of OUTREACH!!

This is Scott cleaning the wall.

Samson, me, Scott and Jason painting

Me outlining the cross

We always had an audience while we were painting.

Me, Jason, Christine, Jared, Samson, Adrian, and Scott

So this week has flown by, in fact the last four weeks has gone by so fast! I'm still loving Africa and still seeing God moving in so many ways. This last week we spent four days in two townships named Green Park and Delft painting a mural on a house there.  In Green Park we have started a bible study, we've seen some salvation's too and I've made some friends there that I like to visit every other day or so. We are really seeing some break through in Green Park and we are excited to start doing ministry in Delft next week. If you could keep praying for the people, that they are receiving what we are sharing with them and that we can know what to pray against while we are praying over these places.  

 On our way home from ministry one day we decided to stop and enjoy an up close look at the view we get to drive by everyday :) This is Christine and I chatting it up as the guys explored some more.

3rd week of outreach

Hey Hey Hey! 

God has been teaching me so much more even on outreach! Like being flexible but still keeping a passion for whatever we're doing.  We do different things everyday it seems like we do a lot of evangelism in the townships, we did some on the UCT campus the other day, and we have also worked in a soup kitchen the other day which was fun. Getting up everyday and being with the same six people all day every day is also something that God is using to grow me, and at the same time we are becoming such good friends. Not much else has changed here though. 

Hope you all are having a wonderful spring!

Week 2 of Outreach!

So within the first week we have already been able to experience so much! Last weekend we went to my first black African church, and it was amazing! The worship was absolutely amazing, service was four hours long, and we were at the church for about eight hours. We went and helped set up, and sweep the floors put out plastic chairs in this little brick building in the middle of a township. African time is very different from north American time, and the church that my team attends is led by the spirit during every service so time is never really an issue anyway, which is why our sundays all we can possiblely do is go to church.

We have gotten the oppurtunity to visit many townships (which we would call slums) in the area and just get to know the people, the place, get a feel for how we can minister to them. Getting to know the area includes riding the trains, catching african taxi's, and finding our way through neighborhoods without any street signs. God is so good in all the things that he has provided for us from divine appointments to a free chocolate bar.

God is moving in great ways in my team we just had an amazing time just praying, talking, and really just being open with one another which has really brought us together. God knew just what he was doing when he placed me in the South Africa-Zambia team, everyday I love God more so I can love my team even more!!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me, I couldn't be here without all of your support :)

1st week of outreach!

I'm in Cape town, South Africa at the wonderful YWAM Muizenburg base; we're two minutes from the beach and out my window is a beautiful view of the mountians! We got here Tuesday moring and have been mostly just getting some orientation and getting to know the place. So far we've really just talked with the locals around the neghborhood and then this weekend my team is going to start helping out with ministries at a local church. Right now i'm still quite tired but tomarrow is our free day and i'm hoping to get plenty of sleep and to go shopping!

Week 12!!!

This last week I have been preparing for the second half of my school called outreach when we go and put all that we have learned into practice!! We are meeting in our teams and practicing our testimonies, messages, skits and getting to know our team members better. We're also packing! I'm borrowing a backpack to pack everything in for 3 months!!!  It's been challenging already to try to decide what to bring and what I have to leave here in perth after buying a few aussie clothes.  Wednesday we had our commissioning night where the base prays for us, and sends us out into the nations!!  Then we had one last dance party! 

Tuesday the 31st is when we leave for South Africa! We will fly form Perth to Kuala Lumpur, then Kuala Lumpur to Johannesburg, then Johannesburg  to Cape town. 

Updating will be my highest priority during outreach because I'm not sure how often I will have internet access, but it should be at least a few times.   Thank you all, I love you!

Week 10 &11

Paul Hawkins came and shared with us about Spiritual Warfare. The reality of this earth being a war zone became even more clear during this week, along with the fact that everyone is spiritual by nature. This week was good until thursday when what God had been speaking to me about started happening, I started to be hit again and again with so many different things one after another.  Things at home were happening, God was showing me that it's not always easy to over come past difficulties and struggles, and we really started to talk about preparing for outreach.

Week 11 was our last week of lectures and Maged Kolta came form England to speak about missions. He shared with us about how jesus did missions, which is quite simple be right with the Father and then obey.  It was a good encouragement as we are soon going to leave and be "real" missionaries!!

Week 8 & 9

By the end of week 7 our school had really become unified and we are each others family now, sometimes it's hard to have 75 brothers and sisters but at the same time absolutely amazing, I Love Jesus.

Week 8, Evangelism

Kristen Williams came over from New Zealand to share with us about evangelism, during the week he shared with us that we are in a war and that we were created for a fight. That all the plans that we could possibly come up with for our life are absolutely nothing compared to what he really has planned for us. 

Peni Patu came from Kona Hawaii to give us letters from our dad :)  This was an amazing week, before he came he had heard a verse and word for each person.  He wrote down the verse and a whole page for each of us then he had each of us read the verse with our name in it and then read us the letter.  This is what we did all week and he would also tell us stories about his daughters and how much he loves them, which were an encouraging example of how God loves us and so much more. 

 At the end of the week there was an opportunity to be baptized, so I got baptized in the river that is a 10 min. walk from the base.  It was the perfect time to be baptized after really just feeling Gods love being poured down on all of us all week.  The sun was shining, people were worshiping the whole time, dolphins swam by, there were jellyfish everywhere and each baptism was each so beautiful.  I have pictures some where but with me right now.

Pictures!

These are just a few pictures from lecture phase :) there are many more on facebook too :)

Drying the laundry above the bed :) This is our bedroom

My very first tim tam slam! (it's a cookie that you can drink through, they're are pretty much amazing cookies)

Gillian and I, I Love her and she's from Northern Ireland!

The fireworks at Australia Day!

This beach was amazing!!

Some wonderful tree at the beach.

The Outback!! (on the way to a new beach!)

Our lovely house, I'm a "228" girl!!

Downtown Perth!!

I saw these on the way to base one morning!

This is the view of the city on our way to the train station.

Week 6 & 7

 Week 6 Shirley Brownhill (our base director) lectured on Bible Unity. I learned a lot about how you have authority when you have unity and about how forgiveness is key to bible unity.

Week 7 Mark Parker lectured on relationships. We learned about how we should relate to God, to our families and to everyone else. It was eye opening to learn how each relationship was created to be and how God has really created us to relate to one another. During this week God really started to reveal to me some major areas of my life where I wasn't trusting him with everything. This was only the beginning of a huge revelation in my life.

During these weeks God had really been revealing to me how I  trust worthy he is with everything from thousands of dollars for finances to a new note book. God just amazes me in the ways that he provides!!

5th week

Sorry it's been so long everyone!  I'll still talk about each week though. 

The fifth week we had Etienne Pieterse Speak to us about Lordship, it was an intense week of really studying my life and what I have really given to God.  God has showed me that this is a lifestyle that he calls me to live out everyday, of getting on the alter and giving myself as a living sacrifice. He shared with us about putting my hope in his hands and surrendering everything to his will, then picking up our cross and how that will lead to our destiny.

This was the week that we got the options for outreach!!!!  The choices were Fiji, Mexico City, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Lesotho, Philippines, Cambodia, malaysia, Bali, and Australia. 

4th Week

This week Matt Dawson lectured on worship and intercessory prayer.  It was very good and I learned more about God's heart for youth. I also learned how to ask God to give me his heart for people groups and nations. I've also been learning that God wants me to worship him all the time even when I don't feel like it or when things are tough.  Now I understand a little more about his preferences and that I need to be sensitive to those.

 For morning exercise this week I power walked, it was good though because I could actually talk to the other people and find out more about my YP family!!  One of my friends taught me how to longboard this week too, which is just like a skateboard but it looks like a mini surfboard. It was so much fun because then afterward we had a long conversation and really got to know each other.  God is blessing me with amazing friends and leaders!!!

I've been to a few beaches in the past month or so and this week I found my favorite one yet, it's called Cottesloe, it has beautiful water that is calmer than the others, a reef, and I saw dolphins too!!  I'm thinking about each of you, love you all!

3rd Week!!

So the third week was about repentance and forgiveness and it was awesome!! I learned so much about how much God loves us, what repentance really means and how to forgive those who have hurt me.  We got so much closer as a school and as a family.  It was such an intense week that we mostly just stayed around the base.  

Second Week!!

Hey Everyone,

     This week has been soooo busy.  For some reason I joined the intense running group for morning exercise, and now I"m thinking it wasn't the best choice for the first week. It's been a good week though I've already learned so much, this week we learned about the Character and Nature of God. It was so informative but it's not just head knowledge anymore it's become truth in my life.   God has been showing me that he is my provider and protecter this week, that I can trust him in everything.  

          I'm getting to know people better and it's starting to feel like home and I'm trying lots of new things too.  The girls I live with in "228" (the building that some of the girls live in) have become a little family of our own, our first party was a coffee and chocolate party last wednesday.  Thursday was my schools first night of evangelism with the rest of the base, it was really neat to see all these people go out in to the city to worship and just talk to people about God. Then friday was my first night out, I went to Hungry Jacks for a good burger and fries, and then on to the ice cream shop for a smoothie.  Saturday I had weekend work duties and got to cook dinner for the whole base. Thank you for all of you prayers and notes, I think of you all often.

My First Week!

  Hey Everyone!

I have now lived in Australia for a week and it has been crazy, good crazy :) I got into Perth around 9 p.m. last saturday.  It was a long, tiring, stressful trip alone but even in this first week I can tell it's going to be worth it.

Starting next week my schedule is going to be 6 a.m. mornings exercise, 8 family chores (I help prepare for lunch), 8:30 lectures start, 12:30 lectures end, 12:30-1:00 lunch, 1:30-3:30 work duties (I work in the kitchen again, cleaning up after lunch, then i have some free time until 5:30 which is dinner then every evening there is something different.  My weekends are free which is a wonderful time to sleep in, work on my journal, and explore the city!

In the first week I've met people from all over the world, made some great friends, eaten some very strange things, almost been hit by a car, bought a very cute sundress, sweated after walking only two blocks, been to the beach twice, gotten quite a sunburn (even with sunscreen applied more than once), listened to lectures by a guy from Denmark, saw the sun rise over the river, eaten tim tams, and tasted vegemite.

I'd love to hear from you, and if you want to hear about anything else just ask I'm sure I'd love to tell you!

Sorry if I don't get back to you right away, I have to take my computer to base to get internet so I try to check it every couple of days.