G'day mates!
Ha! just kidding! I haven't said that yet... I will stick to my Texan roots! Australian accents are hard to pick up anyway.
For Saturday's YouthStreet teams (2:30p-5:30p), I am on the art team. I am not creative... which means I contribute next to nothing to the administrative/planning part. But I do get to hang out and chat with the kids which is all I want to do anyway! 180 Hour is 6:30p-7:30p. This is worship time, a short bible message, and any announcements. Then after that until 10p, the kids have free time to do whatever. There are big group games to participate in or some kids bring their instruments and amps and play rock music ALL night. :) Each of us also have another youth activity that we work on during the week. Mine is AusLife. It's a school program that runs a full day in each high school. It's a day full of games, small group chats, and messages on goals, values, self-esteem, etc and we challenge the kids on how God works in to all of that. that may have been a bad explanation!
The other night, we went to our leader's house to have waffles and ice cream. ya'll should try it... delicious!! It was a great time to chat and bond with everyone! Houses here are slightly different. No bricks, no decorative architecture really. houses are pretty square/box-y. there is usually 1 house on the bottom level and another seperate house on the 2nd floor. many families rent out whichever one they are not living in. the insides are significantly smaller too. Americans like very spacious homes... here they are just the necessities.
Thursday we started lectures. Joanne spoke on hearing God's voice. It's really great that we get to go through these lectures and learn together as a group because we have the opportunity to be open with each other and be encouraging.
I've had a few good 1 on 1 chats with a couple people here. That's where the magic happens! Finding out what makes each person ticks is what ministry is all about. You can't have only one way to reach out to people. Everyone learns and relates different. For some (such as youth), its best to physically do something with them- dance, sports, craft programs. Others its just sitting and talking... long story short, I love chatting 1 on 1 with people to learn about their lives.
Another different thing here is that no one uses dryers to dry their clothes. It's always so warm and sunny in this region of the Pacific that its normal to hang all your clothes on the clothes line! Weird at first because this means undies, socks, ALL the unmentionables! haha! but you get over it quick if you want clean, dry undergarments!
Our first, full YouthStreet was yesterday (Saturday). My team (Art) cooked the meal for everyone. Then I spent a few different moments with 1 girl because she always seemed to be sitting alone. She is an amazing artist! At 8:30p, I started working the gate to sign out kids. The temperature decided to drop about 10 degrees to maybe 55*-60*. Krystal and I had to snuggle up close to each other for heat! She had shorts on, I had no jacket... we were a perfect pair!
If I'm not satisfying all your curiosities about me being here, feel free to ask any questions!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Orientation
This will be another post without pics or video... sorry to disappoint! :)
So I can't remember if I've told ya'll about the open windows in the shower stalls yet. They are pretty great... until you're showering when the sun isn't out, then its cold lol. It's winter time here though so maybe in the warmer months it will get better! Still love the fact that it's like taking a shower outside! Every window and door is open during the day and we eat lunch and dinner outside on the big patio... I already know that I'll miss being outside so much when I go home.
On Sunday, there are 2 different churches that rent out the YWAM auditorium and hold services. I went to both just to check them out. The morning service was great and I think I'll be going to that church every Sunday! I was sort of worried about not going to a church here and being under a preacher/pastor. Although I am surrounded by prayer, worship music, and the Bible here... it's always good to sit under good gospel-centered preaching with a body of believers. That night we had a base bbq. It was more of a meet & greet for us students and the staff. I also tried kangaroo. It tastes like a wild meat. People said it tasted sort of like deer. It was good! Felicity, Sophie, and I (ya'll will see them in videos later) went to the mall here. It's like American malls but it has a grocery store, meat markets, Target, & their version of Walmart connected to it (as well as clothing, shoes, jewelry stores). Minimum wage here is $15... which means everything costs more here. Bedsheets are $40-$60, clothes average around $40- many hundreds of dollars, juice and milk $10. And the big kicker... mascara is $15-20!!!! It's crazy!
Today (Tuesday) is our 2nd day of orientation. We've been going over standards and expectations. We talked about specific things relating to working with minors. Tonight we'll talk about our specific youth teams, our duties, and where we'll be serving... woohoo! can't wait!
I promise pics and video soon!
So I can't remember if I've told ya'll about the open windows in the shower stalls yet. They are pretty great... until you're showering when the sun isn't out, then its cold lol. It's winter time here though so maybe in the warmer months it will get better! Still love the fact that it's like taking a shower outside! Every window and door is open during the day and we eat lunch and dinner outside on the big patio... I already know that I'll miss being outside so much when I go home.
On Sunday, there are 2 different churches that rent out the YWAM auditorium and hold services. I went to both just to check them out. The morning service was great and I think I'll be going to that church every Sunday! I was sort of worried about not going to a church here and being under a preacher/pastor. Although I am surrounded by prayer, worship music, and the Bible here... it's always good to sit under good gospel-centered preaching with a body of believers. That night we had a base bbq. It was more of a meet & greet for us students and the staff. I also tried kangaroo. It tastes like a wild meat. People said it tasted sort of like deer. It was good! Felicity, Sophie, and I (ya'll will see them in videos later) went to the mall here. It's like American malls but it has a grocery store, meat markets, Target, & their version of Walmart connected to it (as well as clothing, shoes, jewelry stores). Minimum wage here is $15... which means everything costs more here. Bedsheets are $40-$60, clothes average around $40- many hundreds of dollars, juice and milk $10. And the big kicker... mascara is $15-20!!!! It's crazy!
Today (Tuesday) is our 2nd day of orientation. We've been going over standards and expectations. We talked about specific things relating to working with minors. Tonight we'll talk about our specific youth teams, our duties, and where we'll be serving... woohoo! can't wait!
I promise pics and video soon!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
1st post from Aussie land!
I don't think anyone can be prepared for the travel here. It was a full 26 hours of being in airports, flying, layovers, etc. Then add the 16 hour time difference. But we flew at night so sleeping wasnt hard & got here in the morning (a day ahead though) so jet lag hasn't been a big deal. The flight back to the States will be a WAY different story. Anyway, got to Townsville around 1:30 pm on Saturday which would be 10:30 pm Friday for you guys. There are 10 people in my DTS (Discipleship Training School) and 10-11 people in another DTS that will be island hopping essentially around the Pacific. They will be doing different lectures and things than us but we do everything else together. Yesterday YouthStreet was going on 2p-10p so there were tons of teenagers around. From 2-5, they have groups such as dance, music, drama. So its just something focused for them to work on. Every so often they perform for the whole place... which was last night! The music group sang from Les Miserables, then there was lots of random acts lol.
We live in flats (apartments) right behind the main base. There are 2 rooms each with 5 girls. 2 showers, 1 toilet... hasn't been a problem yet! :) The showers each have a window... I feel like I'm taking a shower out in the jungle or something. The doors and windows are always open here... which it feels amazing no matter what time of day it is. Bugs haven't been a big problem either. They have these little ants but they're so small you can barely see them! Anyway, I'll post video soon so you can actually see all this!
Orientation is this afternoon so I'll know more soon!
We live in flats (apartments) right behind the main base. There are 2 rooms each with 5 girls. 2 showers, 1 toilet... hasn't been a problem yet! :) The showers each have a window... I feel like I'm taking a shower out in the jungle or something. The doors and windows are always open here... which it feels amazing no matter what time of day it is. Bugs haven't been a big problem either. They have these little ants but they're so small you can barely see them! Anyway, I'll post video soon so you can actually see all this!
Orientation is this afternoon so I'll know more soon!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Leaving Lubbock...
Hello everyone!
I left Lubbock on July 2nd and it was a very sad day. I definitely cried while driving to DFW. Most people leave a place because of something negative… I left Lubbock even though everything was going great! Great church, great job, awesome friends and coworkers. I’m learning a lot about the actual act of following Christ. His apostles and followers had to drop everything… their family, friends, maybe even a profitable job… all to live a nomadic, homeless, & humble life. That day I drove to my nursing school friend, Holly’s house in Sachse, TX. We met with another nsg school friend, Shannon and caught up on life!
On Sunday, I drove to Ft. Worth to visit my former youth pastor’s church, CityView. They are always gospel-centered and Kingdom-focused! Great message from Romans! Sunday and Monday I spent at their home. There’s never a dull moment with 4 kids under the age of 10!
Monday evening I ventured to McKinney, TX to visit 2 friends from my high school days. Drew and I have been friends since we were about 15. Shelley and I have been friends since we were 18 and 19. They finally decided to get married (well, Drew FINALLY popped the question I should say) and they were hitched this past March. Anyway, Shelley insisted, and I mean insisted, that I try In-N-Out burgers. It was really good!
Tuesday, I drove to Lafayette, Louisiana. Once in LA, it rained about half of my drive. I drove through more rain in 2 hours than I’ve seen in 6 months in Lubbock. And it’s rained every day since then. Mother Nature is pretty unpredictable! Once here, I realized that I have no place to call my own. That’s another thing I’m learning… following Christ means literally living like Him… like having no home. The call to serve is more important than the “American dream”. So since then, I’ve been hanging out with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Nothing interesting.
I leave for Australia on Thursday! That’s just 5 days!
I left Lubbock on July 2nd and it was a very sad day. I definitely cried while driving to DFW. Most people leave a place because of something negative… I left Lubbock even though everything was going great! Great church, great job, awesome friends and coworkers. I’m learning a lot about the actual act of following Christ. His apostles and followers had to drop everything… their family, friends, maybe even a profitable job… all to live a nomadic, homeless, & humble life. That day I drove to my nursing school friend, Holly’s house in Sachse, TX. We met with another nsg school friend, Shannon and caught up on life!
On Sunday, I drove to Ft. Worth to visit my former youth pastor’s church, CityView. They are always gospel-centered and Kingdom-focused! Great message from Romans! Sunday and Monday I spent at their home. There’s never a dull moment with 4 kids under the age of 10!
Monday evening I ventured to McKinney, TX to visit 2 friends from my high school days. Drew and I have been friends since we were about 15. Shelley and I have been friends since we were 18 and 19. They finally decided to get married (well, Drew FINALLY popped the question I should say) and they were hitched this past March. Anyway, Shelley insisted, and I mean insisted, that I try In-N-Out burgers. It was really good!
Tuesday, I drove to Lafayette, Louisiana. Once in LA, it rained about half of my drive. I drove through more rain in 2 hours than I’ve seen in 6 months in Lubbock. And it’s rained every day since then. Mother Nature is pretty unpredictable! Once here, I realized that I have no place to call my own. That’s another thing I’m learning… following Christ means literally living like Him… like having no home. The call to serve is more important than the “American dream”. So since then, I’ve been hanging out with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Nothing interesting.
I leave for Australia on Thursday! That’s just 5 days!
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