Bittersweet goodbye...

So this is it.. i have done.. completed. finished the 6 month school that has radically changed my life. I have learnt that not only the people of third world countries need help but western society desperately needs God, needs a relationship with someone who will love them for just as they are. It is exciting to think that i have learnt and been equipped with the knowledge to spread this love. However, you don't have to fly half way round the world to find out what God wants you to do (that just makes it more fun!) just listen to what he says, read his word and show people his love through actions and attitudes.
                                                                              
Thank you so so much for all support and prayer that has covered my over the past 6 months, i have greatly appreciated and needed it at different times during my stay.

My next stop is Adelaide and then the world!
I am looking forward to seeing you all again, catching up and finding out your stories! (For the past 6 months i have talked about myself, when i get back its your turn to tell me what you've been doing!!)

God bless, Love you all.
Xxx

Gold coast 23rd May – 2nd June... The Final stand...

Arriving at the YWAM gold coast base we jumped into a busy 10 day schedule of school programs and street evangelism.

School programs - We went into one school to teach grade 7 RE and decided to speak about who we were in God. Two of my team did testimonies and we then moved into small groups to talk about who they thought they were and then about the gifts they had been given. I was lucky enough to have an awesome conversation with a group of four girls and we talked about their strengths and how they were given by God. We also talked about bully – it surprised me how much bullying was going on. Thinking about It I’m sure I had bullying conversations at all the schools we as a team were involved with. A heart breaking thought.

Another school we went into we were doing games during their two lunch breaks (it still confuses me when the kids eat…) and we did toilet roll minute to win it which turned out to be a lot of toilet paper being thrown everywhere.  

We also had the privilege to go and help out at a two weekly event where free food and drink was served at a church for the homeless. Definitely an eye opening experience to hear some of the stories of what people had been through and what they were still going through being on the streets, or not having enough money to afford food everyday. It was also a very social place where people went to get out of the house. I spent the 3 hours on one table where the conversation bounced from God to anything but God!

The team were asked to work a youth event on the Friday evening which was going to be different to all the others. They were having a boxing theme and then Johnny Lee Clary was going to speak about his life and experiences (Johnny Lee Clary is an ex member of the KKK, and ex pro wrestler) it was a very eye opening and motivating talk which got many thinking about their lives and what they are going through. Afterwards there was the opportunity for people to commit of recommit their life to Jesus and 51 people were prayed for out of the 120 who came. It was an awesome night and lots of things were learnt by all.

Evangelism – Most days there opportunities to go to Surfer’s Paradise to evangelise. A description of Surfer’s Paradise would be like this: on one side there is the beach, with soft sand and crashing waves, on the other side there are so many shops, restaurants and bars that it is one of two things. 1) A perfect place to lose yourself in consumerism/ food/ alcohol, I would say it is a great place to disappear into to. 2) A perfect place to hear people’s stories, to influence their lives in a way of a smile, a listening here and in some cases talking to them about the love of Jesus Christ. As distracting as Surfer’s is great conversations were had by all the team and we all felt that peoples lives had been changed from us being in the city.  The different types of evangelism we did varied too. One afternoon we did beach sports evangelism, self explanatory we set up a volley ball net and played volley ball for 2 hours, whilst your team was waiting to play I was able to speak to them and ask them their story and in return tell my story.

We did a free coffee van where people could go get free coffee and if they wanted they could chat and have some bread/cakes.  The other type of evangelism was creative where we took video cameras onto the streets and asked people questions such as “What is true love?”  we also had signs saying ‘free hugs’ and ‘free prayer’ which were also effective and the confusion it caused allowed conversations to follow.

From staying in the gold coast I have come to realise the telling people about God and Jesus isn’t just a thing certain people do one day a week but its something everyone can do everyday of the week. It doesn’t have to be standing on the corner of a street screaming at people but a polite conversation over the counter at a shop or a smile to a stranger. Acting out God’s love is just as important as having those conversations with people. If I can do it, anyone can! 

God bless. X

Sunshine Coast... 16th May - 23rd May

Our time at the sunshine coast was a real challenge as it was mostly evangelism to the people, having some practice but not being at all confident at talking to strangers it was definitely an experience! One way that we did this was with a sausage sizzler, ingredients: Sausages, BBQ and people to talk to. We got all these things and had 3 hours chatting to people, playing games and really getting to know them! Everyone we spoke to and gave food to was so confused that we were giving out free food and everyone was just so greatful , especially all the back packers! It has definitely made me want to travel all over the world hearing some of their stories! :-)

We went to this youth group and just took part. We did this cooking challenge, we split up into groups of about 7 and had $14 to spend on making a meal for 12 people... at the shopping center we only had 10 minutes so it was such a sight, seeing 7 youth charging around a shop buying food and making sure that it came underneath $14! :-p My teams made stir fry and even if i say so myself it was pretty sweet! :-) Really nice, however they put a whole chillie in so after taking one bite all my taste buds disintegrated! It was still a great meal though! :-p

We went to the Eumundi markets, basically market stalls selling everything from food to pictures, to didgeridoos... I got the opportunity to try and play one... it didn't go to well.. :-p  I don't think i will take it up as a profession! It was a great time to evangelise and talk about beliefs because they were so many! :-) Lots of fun!

Day off:: Our day off we spend it at Mooloolaba, a beautiful beach with lots of coffee shops. The waves were MASSIVE and after being taken out a few times i decided to recover by resting on the sand and soaking up the sun! It really was beautiful! :-)

I hope you enjoyed reading my blogs! :-)
God bless. Xxx

Sarina - The Beach House... 6th May - 15th May

They really weren't joking when they told us we were lucky enough to be staying in a beach house for 10 days! The house was beautiful! about 20 meters away for the beach and the sunrise every morning was just so indescribable! Waking up was just such a great thing when you go to see an image like that! :-) However being here was when i finally felt cold again, it wasn't a very nice experience! 12 Degrees... i was shivering, had loads of layers on and my sheet wrapped around me and i was still frozen!

Lots of school program games which was fun, I now have so many great ideas for games its so exciting! :-) I went and talked to these two young girls and then they attached themselves to me and followed me around for the rest of the lunch time program.. which was definitely an experience! 
We also - after 2 months of practice - had our one and only Auslife. A program put together by Youth For Christ Australia  where a group of volunteers go into schools and run all day seminars for a whole grade. I was on sound and it was actually lots of fun! Well, there was a stressful bit in the middle when we were running over in time and things had to be cut and things like that so that was a bit messy but all the feedback afterward which was really good! All the kids that were involved loved it - some may have just appreciated a day off the timetable but there was a lot who actually got really involved! :-) It was nice to be on the sideline but such an important role! :-D
We went into one school and did a whole day program with different grades, one with grade 1and 2 and then two others with grade 6 and 7. We decided to talk about bulling and how even the smallest things can upset people, talking about different strengths that we all have and how that benefits everyone that we are different! We had this time of small groups where we were able to just chat about what had been said and really get the thoughts and opinions of the kids which was just great. There was this one boy aaron who started crying because he didn't like public speaking, it was such an awesome moment as i as able to speak confidence into him and really just say that i believed in him! Afterward he came and shook my hand and said thank you. It was just such an awesome experience! :-D

We were privileged enough to be invited to join a mental health choir practice one morning, it was really heartbreaking, when we first walked in, one of the ladies ran up to us introduced herself and immediately said "were not dangerous, we won't hurt you" as soon as she said this it broke my heart and i just wanted to know her past, why she felt like she needed to say this to us when we all knew that they were just the same as us, beautiful creations. After two hours of singing and having such a good time we had to leave but i was such an eye opener to what people in the community are doing for others and how people who wouldn't normally even get looked at are getting an opportunity to shine!
The same day we went to 'cuppa in the park' a gathering once a week for new people in the community to some and get to know the people who had been there forever, make friends and to build relationship with others! It was just so much fun, i got into a really awesome conversation with this one lady and got to find out all about her!

I have been blessed so much by living in Sarina for 10 days, it was sad to leave such a place so open and welcoming! :-D

The adventures in Emerald... 29th - 6th May

The adventure begins at 5AM where we all jump in the van to get to emerald before 7PM for a youth group that two of the team were speaking at! That didn't happen.. The van broke down and so an 8 hour drive turned into an 11 hour drive as we plodded along this dusty road going 40KM. On the bright side i didn't get to see the most amazing sunset in the outback.. the true outback, it was beautiful! :-) Also got to see some kangaroos hopping around the place and a sweet worship time in the van whilst we were admiring the scenery!

We did a lot of flood relief this time in emerald, the first house we went to was the pastor of the church we were staying at. there house has been completely wrecked so we helped out by cleaning windows, a lot of tidying and a few of us help with some of the building work.. i stuck to cleaning windows.. however the power washer was loads of fun!! :-D

Sunday 1st was a quiet day as we went to church and then had the afternoon off. the morning service was really interesting and i was reminded of 3 things:
1)Read the bible
2)Meditate on God's word
3) Obedience to God's word.
(I'm working on it!)
During the two services today 20 people turned their life to Christ which was just such an awesome thing to be apart of! :-)

Day off: Every place we go we are lucky enough to have one day off, our day off in emerald was EPIC! We went wake boarding! I wasn't very good at the hole standing up on the board so i resorted to knee boarding which was just as much fun and i was good at it! :-D (being pulled behind a boat on a board which you then kneel or stand on depending what kind of board it is!:-D )

We went to a primary school where we were able to teach about letting your light shine and what gifts each individual has and how you can help others by using that gift! :-) It was lots of fun. We also went into a high school over lunch and did melon bowling, in the first 5 minutes 3 of the 4 melons that we were using had smashed.. luckily the last melon managed to make it until the end of the lunch break!

God bless. Xx

What happened in Ayr… 26th – 29th April

We arrived in Ayr Monday morning at about 11.30. The shortest drive we have as it was only an hour and a half so a pleasant time to look out of the window and marvel and the beauty of creation. That afternoon we spent time worshiping and praying for our team and then went for a BBQ over looking the sea with the family that are hosting us. Gwen – who is our contact – made 2 delicious cakes for us and I happily had a slice of both! 

Good news though! I definitely worked off the two slices of cake the following day with a cross country walk and two hours of boxing! We went to a primary school that was practicing for cross country race on the Friday and we were able to walk around the course with them. That evening we went to a boxing club which was set up as an alternative to going out drinking which is just such an awesome idea and so much fun! We were taught different routines of punches and hits and had a time of abs work out afterwards! The day after I think a plank of wood was more flexible then me but hey it was so much fun I would definitely do it again!  Watch out world there is going to be a new world champion boxer/DJ!

Our last night we had a pot luck dinner with all the church members and it was a feast! I can safely say if I didn’t eat for a week I would be fine due to all the food I ate in Ayr! 

Ourtreach One - Week Three

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You ARE a CHILD of GOD. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel unsure around you. We were born to make manifest the presents of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in EVERYONE! As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” – Nelson Mandela 1994 inaugural speech.

Think about it.

This week has been the quietest of the three weeks but it has still been full with worship, showing God’s love in acts of service more than in speaking out. For example, the house of the pastor which was affected by the floods we helps tidy up, weeded and sweeped, mowed the lawn and generally made it look nice for when they got back from work. I’m sure everyone can agree the thought of gardening after a long day isn’t appealing so it was great to be able to help out in a small way. We also thoroughly cleaned the church, They had many people staying there when people were evacuated from their houses so walls were cleaned, windows washed, floor cleaned and the church was also made very presentable which was great! J What we did was greatly appreciated.

We had the chance to go into a school for a lunch program, after sitting down at a table with a group of 10^th graders and them all leaving my partner and I found a group who were willing to talk to us and we had a great time laughing at things they had done and sharing what we had done. It was great to start to make the relationships. Unfortunately we only stayed in Emerald five days and so relationships within the churches are strong but with the community and school it is less so as there weren’t many opportunities for us to go in and help out around the school. I am looking forward to spending longer in Emerald in the second outreach, we all believe that there is great potential for God to work in the community of Emerald so it’s all exciting! J

We were back in Townsville (home sweet home) on Wednesday evening and Thursday we got set on setting up for YouthFest – a day when teenagers from around Townsville get to come to seminars and workshops around a race track and get to experience different activities. The YWAMers had a garage which was decorated in bright colours and pictures and we were involved in a quality of life seminar, talking about how we as individuals, as Australia and a nation and how we can help Papa New  Guinea and build on that relationship. Part of the seminar was splitting into small groups and deciding what our strengths were and how we could improve our quality of life personally and what we could do for others, the things that the kids came up with were great – e.g. give blood, work for free, donate money, clothes, books, toys, help around school – all things that they could do to change and impact their lives and the people around them! J The evening was more of a time when the youth could just hang out, there was live music, a maze, rock climbing wall, silent disco, buggy riding with beer goggles and loads more different activities. Being able to mingle for 6 hours meant of course I went into the silent disco - AMAZING! and the rock climbing wasn’t too good as I freak out and only got half way up. However it was great to be able to just see the youth in a safe environment having fun and being able to ask questions about different topics at the different stalls.

It has come to the end of first outreach, a rollercoaster of emotions, from being shattered and not able to go on to pumped for get out there and change lives. The best bits for me was speaking to the youth group at emerald when God had his hand over it all and it all linked together, the feed back was awesome, Being able to make friends with particular people at schools and having the opportunity to speak life into their lives and encourage them, even listening to them and having a laugh was not only great for them but has also taught me a lot about how to work with young people. The experience has been amazing, my outreach team has become tight and the laughs have been many.

Thank you for all your support through prayers and encouragement on my first outreach phase! It really has been awesome!

God bless.