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. 

Outrach 1 - Week 2

This week has been amazing, God has seriously been moving in Gladstone and everything that we have done has been very positive, whether gardening, making egg and cheese muffins for a brekky club to helping out at a school shine programme (a group of 10 girls who get together talk about identity, relationships, get help with their class work etc.)

Indepth look of the week:

• School programme – Ok so 6 of us are planning a school R.E programme for what we thought would be about 5 – 20 primary school kids. A few games, a talk and then a prayer to finish. Sweet very exciting! So we turn up at this school all pumped to talk to 20 kids and find out that we would be talking to the whole school, yes the whole school all 120 kids! The programme we planned was so much fun, 3 minute games all different to keep them entertained, I spoke about the Good Samaritan but changed it to a school setting which was fun, my team mate Courtney told a story of when her car broke down and how a stranger helped her out and how it meant a lot so maybe they could also help their teachers or parents out during the week.
• Melon bowling – 40 minutes of melons flying everywhere! We went back to a school that we had done breakfast club in and got to catch up with all the people we had spoken to the week before which was awesome. The melon bowling was a real hit, at first I thought it would just be the YWAM team and a few others from the Christian group there but there were loads of people standing around looking and the line up for a go was awesome! J

Travelling to Emerald…

A five hour journey north-east of Gladstone is a small town where we have now encamped in a room above the church. An hour after arriving myself and Hilary (team member) were thrown into writing testimony/sermons for the youth group in the evening, 20 minutes before we are meant to be talking I finally worked out what I was meant to be talking about. The cost of being a disciple, what it meant to me and how giving up everything to go to Australia has really changed my life around, how God has opened my eyes to new things and from stepping out in faith I am now able to carry the cross and follow Jesus. The best thing was that we had no idea what the night was going to be on but God linked everything together so it was all about sacrificing money, time, career, family etc. TOTALLY AWESOME! J

We also had a day helping someone tidy there garden from the floods that happened in January, the water came up a meter from the bottom of the house, take a walk outside and have a look at how high that is, then go back inside and have a look at all the stuff on the bottom level of your house.. devestation would be a nice way to put what the people of the floods have been through!

*** Personally God has also broken my heart for what breaks his – as awesome thing to say but when he does you’ll know about it. I had the privilege to look through his eyes at his people, I saw the faces of the broken, lost, the prostitutes, the abused, the starving, the dying, the homeless, the young and old and everything in between. The look of emptiness in their eyes was devastating, I was overwhelmed with grieve and a confusion and longing to help. From this however I now have a passion to help the people above, I don’t know how or when but I know why: I want to give them the opportunity to have life, a life walked with Jesus Christ and an eternity with the Creator of the world.  ***

Outreach One, Week One.

Leave Townsville: 6.10AM

Arrive in Gladstone: 5.30PM

Three stops and one giant mango (there is nothing more to say on the mango because that is all, it is giant mango, doesn’t really look like a mango but apparently it is a mango none the less! J

Ok, so as a team we have decided that our outreach is going to be mainly youth focused and we have had many opportunities in schools and youth groups to show them who we are and what we believe. This past week has been jam packed with brekky programmes serving toast and pancakes (I had to make some of the pancakes, after the first 8 they got better!), lunch programmes telling short testimonies. We have experienced half day R.E programmes and a massive youth event ran every Thursday evening. The variety has been excellent, the days have been long and God has really been showing us all as a team where to go, what to know and how to show his love. (Ooo that nearly rhymes) 

More detail:

• R.E Programme – Two hours out of Gladstone is a town called Monto where we did the R.E morning. The hall was split into two halves, one half had chairs and the other was just a space where we could get into small groups and play games. The topic of this teaching was ‘living the dream’ and we spoke out earthly dreams such as being rich, partying hard, great sex, big house, etc… and then talked about God and what his plan for us was, to be in eternity with him. Then was the interesting part in our small groups we asked them if they would give it all up all their earthly dreams to follow God’s dream. The reaction to that question was a plain no, but we did have conversations about what we would give up if anything which did get them thinking a bit. The debrief at the end with the leaders was really positive, the kids had loved us being here, one girl in particular wrote me and note saying that she loved having me as her small group leader and wanted me to come back last time, which was a bit encouragement and God must have been working through their lives because I was just my silly self!

• Brekky programmes – Getting up at 5AM to have breakfast at the church and then off to the specific school that we are helping to run the brekky club, at one we help distribute toast and juice to primary schoolers who may not get breakfast in the morning and the other is to high schoolers and we made pancakes! Like I said before after about the eighth pancake they started to look edible. Yay! J We normally get about 10-15 minutes to wander round and talk to the kids afterwards so me and my friend Gill went off together to see if we could get to know some of the kids. God pointed out this girl who was stood on her own and so we went up and started chatting to her. She was the most kind girl in the world, that was struggling to fit in at school and was occasionally bullied, we knew we were doing a lunch time programme at the same school later on that day so invited her to that which she came which was awesome! God was totally just moving and by the end of it we were laughing and joking and were really good friends. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing how she is getting on when we go back next week! J

• Thursday night event – Is an event that is run by youth to keep the youth of Gladstone off the streets and out of trouble. There must have been over 200 young people chilling out on this park, there was a skating area where some sweet moves were being pulled on BMX’s and scooters, a climbing wall (I managed it once but felt like I was going to die) and then sing star and pool going off in different corners of the park! It was awesome! When we first rocked up and got out of the van it was very intimidating, seeing so many young people in big groups and knowing that you could possibly be getting to know them and chatting made me want to jump back in the van and go as far away as possible, I didn’t though and had such a good time, didn’t necessarily have any conversations of Christ but general topics such as shopping.

• Youth group – We ran a youth group which had 40-45 young people in and we decided to play mini golf, when I first heard this I thought we were going on an outing but it turned out to be us making a course which was sooo much fun!! J I will be an expert at explain YWAM after this school as every time we are at a new place we explain what and who we are! We decided to talk about acceptance and showed the Woman at the well monologue and then two of the team shared there testimonies – we are all now pro’s at two minute testimonies.   

During the week we also had a day off and went to a beach called Angus beach, a beautiful 7KM beach, just stunning, spent the day chilling on the beach some of us went swimming in the sea and 3 hired surf boards and did some surfing, I didn't want to make a fool of myself so I slept on the beach.J We also got the chance to go kayaking between church services on Sunday, which was just so much fun, we went to a lake surrounded by mountains, look a picnic and just relaxed.

The church services were really good, the first one was lively and there were two baptism which were moving and such a great thing to be a part of! I couldn't get over how many young people there were, atleast 40-50 scattered all over the place which was just so encouraging and great to see! J

I'm having so much fun out on outreach, god is really teaching me patience and a confidence to speak to those i don't know. A great way to put into practice what i have learnt over the past two months!

God bless.

Two weeks in a field.

Camping according to Wikipedia. "Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants (known as campers) leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite". 
Ok so outdoors, check. Left 'home' and urban areas,check. Enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, well yeah I was outdoors for several nights but what's this ENJOY rubish?! Obviously Mr Wikipedia hasn't been camping in a field!
I've got 20 reasons for anyone and or everyone to NOT go camping with me:

View From Tent #1

1. Picture this- A 2 man tent + 2 blow up mattresses+ Me...
So the tent we hired from the base was probably the smallest 2 man tent on earth but it still was a good tent (take note on the 'was'). So 2 inflated air-mattresses in a mini 2 man tent means that it might just be a bit hard to get in and out. Emma being the smart woman that she is decided that entering the tent would be best done with a run up and exiting would be best by being heaved out by a caring friend, mostly me! Lets just say Emma broke tent..
2. The second night it decided to rain. Because some clown broke the tent, the tent flooded. 
3. I became completely covered in what we named leprosy but ended up being bed bug bites. Our tent was infested with bed bugs. So. Bye bye 2 man tent hello 1 man tent.
4. If from the last line you didn't pick up that we got a 1 man tent, WE got a 1 MAN TENT, WE.. 2 PEOPLE. So now there is me, Emma and 2 air-mattresses in a 1 man tent. I felt like I had a 1 night stand for 3 nights!

12 baptisms took place!

5. As we where camping there was no laundry facilities. Plus it rained non stop so we wore the same clothes for 3 days and couldn't shower for 3 days.
So by this stage Emma is getting a little stabby but still in good spirits with a 1 man tent with 2 people, no shower for 3 days and no clean clothes. Mind you in this time its pouring with rain most of the 3 days and the ground is becoming more and more like a chocolate thick shake. I'm smelling like a homeless-mans foot and I'm looking about the same. 
6. A whole heap of our gear went moldy- Runners, t-shirts, pants.. Hello landfill 

Tent #3 luxuary we could stand up!

7. Emma and I got diareiah (exploding poo). So another mental image. 1 man tent + 2 air-mattresses+ 2 very 'over it' people + I having direah = DISASTER. In the middle of the night I needed to go to the toilet and becuase I had diareiah I NEEDED to go. Only problem being that Emma is on the door side of the tent. So in the midst of trying to get out by climbing over Emma, Emma freaks out because there is someone half on top of her in the middle of the night. We are wobbling around in our one man tent making a racket trying to figure out what the hell is going on! Eventually after a struggle I stumble out of the tent into the mud outside!
8. Emma gets diareiah for 5 days straight! SELF EXPLANATORY!
9.  Do washing- wet for 3 days- smells like bum, then needs to be washed again.
10. Emma got an in-grown toe nail
11.My back starts hurting.
12. Mental picture number 3. As the sewerage system is a small stream that flows through the campsite you gotta be careful where your walking. So Emma being pretty over it by this stage is walking around at night near 'Poo Creek' some how manages to nearly go bottoom up and ends up with half her leg stuck in 'poo Creek'. She didn't just have her leg covered in ass but her thong got sucked in so she had to dig it out with her hands. Yeahhhh 
13. Might as well add the fact that there where 2 showers and 4 toilets for 60 people then on Friday and Saturday 2 showers and 4 toilets for 200 people.
14. After the crowd of 200 left I was pretty stoked to have a shower so she made sure she was one of the first ones!
15. Not being able to flush the toilet for number ones but even if you did a number two it would barely flush anyway! Emma doesn't have a very strong stomach especially in the mornings. The last thing she want to be smelling in the morning is someone curry chicken bowel movements from the night before. Thank-you to who ever that was. Thank-you very much, since she kindly told me about it in a lot of detail!
16. My back is seriously hurting by this point
17. My cup, managed to get a big whole in it so no hot chocolate for me! ...Good times

View From tent #3

18. Just about every time the milo tin came out I had to use my bowl! And just an add on.. every time I used the urn I got burnt!
19. The damper that i did cook over the fire was either burnt or not cooked at all. FAIL! 
20. Conversation - Emma to El: Emma " Dude, can you look at my back, it feels like I have a massive pimple!"
El" Sure,......ahhhhhhh that ain't a pimple". So because her immune system was so low from being sick or infected most of the camping trip, she got shingles.. Sweet bubbly rash on her back! Ended up having to come home 2 days early, leaving me to have more space but no one to complain to!


So in between all of that I actually had an awesome time in Hidden Valley and would love to go again. The scenery was awesome, the company was great, loved the swimming hole, food ruled and campfire was the bomb.
I've got my out reach coming up in a week an a half. I'm nearly half way through the course and I'm pumped to come home and see what's next. So many ideas flying around my head it's hard to switch off, so we'll have to just wait and see what God has planned! :-D  
Love you all!
Peace out. X

Musings of an 18 year old on relationships...

Relationships, one of the most terrifying things that a teenager could talk about, don't do this, do this, say this, think that, guidlines, boundaries... Interesting and all relevent, in context of course..
The past week on my DTS we have been looking at relationships and what it means to be in a relationship that is healthy and strong. For it comes down to one simple things. God. For me having a relationship with God is the only way to go, God doesn't break promises, He won't leave me, He likes talking to me..  Trust. I trust God, the deeper I allow myself to go with God in friendship and reliance of his provision and guidance I can put this into practice with my earthly relationships. The further I love God the further my capacity to love others. So that is what I will do, I will put God first, I will rely on him and trust him and talk to him about everything, as I lean into him I will learn the importance of different things in relationships, how to open up and how to trust others. I am blessed to look at my parents reationship and my sisters relationship to see that there is a thing called a God given relationship where they are focused on God which has provided them with a best friend relationship which is a real blessing, I can take loads from their own relationships and put it into practice with my boyfriend which is totally awesome. We have been made for relationships, God made us for relationships, relationship with him.

An interesting thing which took me by surprise...
Who am I? - A very important question, if I don't know myself how I can I get to know others without being confused.
Who is God? - Awesome, loving, beautiful, giving, perfect, kind, servant hearted, clever etc

-- This is where it gets interesting --

I was made in God's image! So who am I? I am beautiful, clever, kind, perfect, loving, awesome, servant hearted, loved, clever!
Its funny how the world is such a negative place you have to look like this person and you have to talk like this person and act this way.. but its not like that! I don't have to be anyone i'm not! I am are me. I am are an image of God - No one lese has been or will be like you. I have a different aspect of God's personality and character that no one else will have, they may have simillar but not the same, I am so different that I am unique! :-) Fearfully and wonderfully made! How exciting is that, my potential is feared by my God, He know's how much I can change the world and it is so incredible and he fears that! :-D I have a lot to live up to! Not that its a pressure that will consume me, when God know's it is the right time He will give a gift which will get me to the place i need to be!

A song that you may like to listen to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBH9sJj_8HY

So the question I leave you with.. Who are you?

God bless.
Els.

N.B. These are my personal views.

Thank you.

My dear friends,
I am well and safe, the base is safe and we have been blessed with no damage to any of the buildings or flats that we live in.
Power went off for 24 hours and as i also got to spend 24 hours with my flat mates! It was strange as the fellowship of us all together was awesome and we all got to spend time together that we probably wouldn't have done if cycone Yasi hadn't hit. I guess the news is showing the worst circumstances and there are places up and down the coast that have been hit badly, as far as we are aware no one has been killed of injured! A miricle due to the size of Yasi!
It has been very humbling experiancing a cyclone, the fear of what is to happen, the loss of power and then the loss of clean water really made me realise how lucky i am to have such a strong faith an amazing family and friends that are supportive in what i am doing. Knowing the the whole of England was praying for Townsville and safety made me smile and gave hope.
The lack of power and clean water also stired my heart for all those around the world who don't have celectricity or clean water straight away.
So i thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, everything is slowly getting back to normal - Its very werid to think back over the past 48 hours. surreal, i real eye opener to how blessed we all are to have clean water and electricity at the swith of a button! :-D

Thank you again for all your thoughts. I am truely blessed to have you all in my family.
God bless.
Els. 

Prayer

Prayer: As you may have seen on the news a Cyclone is going to hit the cost of Australia and through townsville. We are on the outskirts of the storm so won't get the worst but we will still have strong winds and rain. We have procedures in place and we all know what we are doing. Please just pray for safety, not just for me and the base but everyone north of me. :-) Thanks. God bless.

Outreach options

I got my outreach options today - very exciting. The first outreach is for three weeks and the second one is six weeks. :-)

Please can you pray and see what/if God speaks to you for me going on a specific on. If you have a certain one you think i will benifit from please explain why you believe i should go here. :-)

1)     Cairns/Taber lands + PNG

2)     Towes region in Aus + Darwin/East T-Mor

3)     MT ISA + PNG Medical ship

4)     Gladstone/Emerald + Throughout Queensland.

God Bless,

Els.

Creative Devotions

Thursday 27th January I have to do a creative devotion for 5-10 minutes on a Character of God, And how it was can related and put into practice in real life, i.e work, relationships, social groups. I have decided to do love as my characteristic as i can incorporate many different aspects into this.
I would love your ideas and thoughts on this topic, so please feel free to make sugestions! :-)
I will tell you what i end up doing! :-)
God bless.
Els.

Peace

So the few days since my last blog A LOT has changed. I feel at peace, everyone is becoming more open and more trusting. I realise that being here I can fully trust in God instead of relying on my friends, boyfriend and family. I realise that this isn't going to be easy - I don't know why I thought it would be easy.
I've been telling people what I've doing here for a good few months and before that for examply, lectures, assesments, etc. However actually being has made me realise that this isn't a holiday where everything includes sleeping and going to the beach, with a few lessons here and then, but its going to be an awesome experiance of delving deeper into the heart of God with the outcomes undescribable and so powerful that each and everyone of us here doing the DTS will go and change the world.  We've all come from different back grounds and deffinately different countries - there are 14 nations in Townsville! but we all have one thing in common, to serve a God with all our hear and to show his love to people who need it most. Were not perfect, we may not look how you would like us to look, you may think youth slob around grunting but actually - we have hearts that can and will change the world if someone will just believe in us. I've learnt in the 3 days that I have been here that if you invest love and time into one person, that one person will go and do incredible things.
The idea's that I have to bring home with me already as steadily stacking up, the excitment of coming home and investing what I have learnt in Chesterfield puts a massive smile on my face - I've only been here 3 days!!
My mum is awesome and even though I'm on the other side of the world she is still showing her love for me in so many different ways - whether its getting out of bed to talk to me late in the evening. to e-mails of support and encouragement. This is one of the things that really made me realise that there is no point worrying about the future as it's not in my control, it is in the hands on OUR gracious, loving, caring, funny Father.
With love, God bless.

>> Thank you to all prayers over the past few days of peace and comfort as it has been tough. They are greatly appreciated.

Townsville

Its hot, very hot.
What I've been up to:
So I've been here (townsville) two days, its good, lots of fun, tiring and VERY HOT - Did I mention that?
Yesterday when I arrived it was very overwhelming. After getting up at 5.30 to catch the plane at 6.45 I was very tired. It took 3 hours on the plane and when I got here I got a mini tour around Townsville - I thought it was going to be bigger but its not. I arrived at the base at about 10AM met the girls in my dorm, there are 8 of us in one room all bunkbeds and limmited storage - they weren't kidding when they said that! We all went to the beach anout 10.30AM - there was loads of us doing the 30 minute trek to the beach, it was deffinately worth the walk, the beach is all palm trees and white sand. Stingers are really common in Australian summer so there is a part of the sea that is netted off so we don't get stung by them which is really good. After the trek you just go and jump in the water, which is a very ncie warm temperature, not freezing just cooler than the air temp (which is REALLY HOT) Chilled out for the rest of saturday. Major problem: as I couldn't fit a pillow in my suitcase over here, saturday night without a pillow really sucked! But i managed to get about 8 hours sleep. All the dorm woke up really early though 6.30 so today (sunday) it feels like I've been awake forever!!

Today(Sunday) has been another chill out day as the rest of the January DTS students get here. Me and a few of the girlies went to the Sunday market accross the street - it was more like a carboot sale! and then over the the shopping centre which is 15 minutes away .I bought a pillow (good night sleep tonight I hope!) and some other bits and bobs. Today has again been REALLY HOT! Give it a week or two and I'm sure I won't be mentioning the weather but for an England girl this weather is very hot! We had orientation this afternoon which basically meant we were all together chatting and then had to go through all our home info and put things in the safe! :-)  Worship was at 4PM and it was really awesome. :-) really moving! I feel like the next 5 months is going to be AMAZING! :-D

How I'm feeling:
I really need prayer at the moment, I'm struggling to find my confidence, I'm struggling to believe in myself, I might be jumping to conclusions or being paranoid but these were the feelings I felt last year when I was first struggling with depression, I'm anxious in massive groups and the need to go hide is really strong. So I guess I ask that within your prayers you could pray that I am able to be apart of the group and not withdraw into myself. However, when I'm on my own I'm really looking forward to what God has instore for me which is great but not good. I'm not giving up hope and I know God brought me here for a reason and I believe one of those reasons is to become more reliant on him. He will keep me safe and He will guide me and He will protect me, which is great but at the moment I'm struggling to believe that He'll proetect me which I know doesn't make any sense but I'm human and that's one of the best things about us, we are complicated.

What's in store:
Tomorrow (Monday) the course actually starts so we start doing lectures and worship and get into the swing of things which is really exciting. :-) I guess as the not know what we are doing is making me anxious so when everthing actually gets going it will get much better! *fingers crossed* We actually get a lot of free time which is great for getting settled but also for doing assignments when the course is really going. :-)

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
   where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.
 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
   he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.
 ⁵ The LORD watches over you—
   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
   nor the moon by night.
 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
   both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121.

Fish and Chips

Its been raining since Monday, on off but its not gloomy rain, its still very warm and pleasent. :-D Went over to Sorrento today  on a boat, it was raining when we got on the boat but became dry and lovely as the day went on. :-) (Good call Reg!) Went to this cute cafe where i had a gorgeous hot choc and this muffin which was chocolatey and gooey - Mmmm! :-D Linda and I went moseying around the shops - very expensive but the clothes were so lush I could have spent loads! However never fear no money was spent in Sorrento! :-P R&L's neighbour was there, turns out he has a relative that lives in chesterfield - Glouster Rd - such a small world! Yay for england! :-)
So we all had fish and chips in this resturant which was very nice, although you can't beat fish and chips from a polystirene container with a plastic fork! :-P
Went for a swim in the sea before tea - well it was more jumping over the waves and a lot of body boarding! I haven't lost my touch from all the times in France! :-) Zooming in on the waves was lots of fun! :-)
Bargain Hunt, want a brilliant TV programme, its so funny! Out of the ones I've seen non have gone away with a decent profit, the only one I have seen went away with £24... :-P
I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone up in Townsville on Saturday/Sunday, it will be good to start that part of my adventure! :-)
The funny thing is i don't feel like I'm on the other side of the world, due to technology it's amazing (uh oh starting to sound like my dad.. :-p) keeping in touch is a lot easier but I've still had time to ping a few old fashioned letters off in the post! :-) Everyone loves getting post! Especially when its not a bill or a bank statement!

Mark 11:24Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." 
This verse is awesome - I can deffinately say that this is amazing, God is amazing, he can provide anyone with anything if they just believe, He took me to the otherside of the world, just imagine what He can do for you. Keep strong, Have faith, and believe.
God bless, Els. Xx