Packing :(

I am going to be as honest as I know how to be.  The only reason I am updating my blog is because I am avoiding the much dreaded packing.  I really wish there were somehow my bags could magically pack themselves. 

Tomorrow will be our last day with East Freo Baptist.  Monday we take off 7am for Sydney.   I can now say I am ready to leave Perth.  Two weeks ago I would not have said that.  God has been bringing me to the point where I am ready to come home.  Let me say, this is a good thing.  It makes coming home easier. 

8 Days!

 As I type this I have 8 days until I will be in America. That fact seems so unreal! It does not seem like it has been 9 weeks since I came to Australia.

My life would not be the same if I never came to Australia. Not every day has been easy but I have learned so much, tried new foods, and made new friends. I have grown in my relationship with God and He has been clear concerning His will for my life.

Australia will forever hold a place in my heart.  I have heard it said "You know when you are in the will of God when a place on the map becomes a place in your heart."  That has been proven true in my life, not only with Australia but with Peru and South Asia as well.

Please keep all of the summer missionaries in your prayers over the coming weeks.  Believe it or not, coming home is the worst and hardest part of the summer. 

Love Endures!

Sorry to leave all of you waiting!  This is a follow up to one of my previous posts concerning all the things I have learned.

Last summer I had a commissioning service with the Alabama Board of Missions. The main speaker said “When you become a Christian you give up your right to choose who you will ever love!” That was the only thing I remember. A few weeks go by and on the hardest days God kept bringing to my attention the 1 Cor. 13 verse “Love endures all things!”

Love endures all the hard days and all the good days. Love endures all the days you may not get alone with your teammates. Love endures sleeping on a concrete floor for 6 weeks. Love endures 8 days without a shower.

 

LOVE ENDURES ALL THINGS!

So I can't think of some creative blog tittle.  All I can think about is how I'm going to be in America in 19 days!!  That seems SO unreal!  It does not seem like I left America 7 weeks ago.  Going home is something that is not fun and easy, but I know it is something that has to be done. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to travel and meet so many wonderful people.  My heart aches knowing I will have to say good bye. Although, I know I will get to see them again, even if it is the other side of heaven.

Still Learning!!

I have heard most of my life "Jesus is a teacher."  Since I have been in Australia God has taught me things I never would have learned if I were not here.  This is my third year to do summer missions, and it is so easy to come in thinking you know all about missions.  The thing I remember most from orientation is my supervisor telling me as a missionary you are always learning. 

I love that God is teaching me new things!  One of my most common prayers is "God, please make me teachable and teach me new things!"  I am just amazed at the things God has been teaching me and how He teaches me.  It has taken me 3 years to learn some things, and I think that is crazy considering I should have learned some of these things early on. 

I decided to list a few things I have been learning and this is just a few of those things.  These are some things I have learned on the mission field, in random order:

- God can use any of your skills, even Special Ed. It is essential for one to be open and allow Him to do so.


- Some formal training (by that I mean seminary) is important for minister’s.

- Just because you have had one bad experience in ministry, do NOT let that set your whole mind set. Always give it a second chance.

- Being involved in ministry will have its bad days, but the good days make it worth it!

- When you are involved in ministry, the term “sleep-in” is not even in your vocabulary!

- Love endures ALL things!! (I will explain this one really soon.

- YOU ARE ALWAYS LEARNING!

Happy 4th of July!

Let me start of by saying, this is the sixth consecitive year I have been away from home on the forth of July.  Until today I never realized how much I have missed being apart of the traditional 4th of July celebrations, yet I love my time on the mission field. 

One thing about being away from America is you begin to LOVE the little things.  I mean who gets excited over ice, COLD sweet tea, hot showers, clothes dryers, and FREE refills?!  I am excited to say, we have spent the weekend celebrating America.  Friday, we had an "America Night" with our youth group.  We took this time to introduce them to some American food and test thier knowledge with some American trivia. Saturday, it was a blessing to serve with 3 other Americans from a local church to them prepare for another "America vs. Australia" game night.  Sunday, we introduced the young adults from our church to some southern favorites, like fried chicken and pumpkin pie.  I am somewhat sadened I do not have any pictures,but all of these socials have made a part of me miss the ways america celebrates the 4th of July. 

Weekend Recap!

Apart from church on Sunday, we spent got to do some sight seeing Saturday!  Thanks to some wonderful Aussie friends it was heaps of fun!  We are now a little past our halfway point.  That fact makes me a little sad.

1st Month!

As of today we have been in Perth for 1 month.  It's bittersweet moment.  Yesterday we hit what we call the "first month slup."  I think anybody that works in ministry will tell you the first month is fun and everybody is so welcoming, but then there becomes a time where it is not fun.  Although, I am still enjoying my time here.  This "1st month slup" makes me realize what ministry is all about.  There will be days that are not fun and hard.

God has done so much in my life in one month!  I already know my life will not be the same if He never sent me to Australia.  I have learned so much about the local church, being involved in the ministry, and God has revealed and confirmed His will for my life.

It's June 21!!

Going by our calendar it is June 21.  It was one month today since we left the States.  HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?  I have always heard time passes faster as you get older, now I think I have found that to be true.  Next week will be our halfway point.  It depresses me to even think about that.  I mean we have not been in Australia that long and it is not that much longer 'til we leave.  To date, this is one of the best summer missions experiences I have ever had.

One of the greatest challanges is trying to determine if this is summer or winter.  We are summer missionaries, but it is winter time in Australia.  At least they say winter time.

The Things I Try!

One thing I love about traveling is trying new foods.  Unfortuately, there are many delicious foods that can not be found in the States. 

I will try ANYTHING once just to say I have tried it.  I will spare you the details of all the exotic foods I have tried, because I know there would be some people who will never read this blog again.

This is called "lamington."  It is just some yellow cake rolled in choclate syrup and cocanut.  It tastes yummy!

This is lamb.  Let me just say I have some new favorite food!

Week in Review.

Our Mondays would normally consist of meetings with the church staff. Although, this past Monday was a holiday. So Monday we got to hang-out with some wonderful Aussies and pet a koala.

Every Tuesday we are blessed with a day off. However, this Tuesday we caught up with some of the young adults from church.

I spend my Wednesdays working at the kindergarten program that is run by the church. That is one thing I did not think I would be doing, but I find myself loving it more and more every time I leave.

Most of my work here is getting the church ready for their annual VBS. Unlike America, Australia does not have the heaps of resources America has, which means we have to have all of our decorations. Thursday and Friday I painted some of our decorations.

I had the privilege to attend a children’s minister’s training conference Saturday, which I loved. I realized it is something I may need to do more often.

And today (Sunday) we had church and then went on our weekly church picnic. I will leave you with a funny story. In Australia they drive on the left side of the road, meaning the steering will is on the right side of the car. So today I go to get in the car and I go the side with the steering wheel (if I were in America it would be the passenger side). And the lady driving jokingly said “Do you want to drive?” I am still getting used to Australia! Every time I think I have it figured out I do something that will prove me wrong.

I'm Lovin' It!!

We have been in Perth 10 days! Some part of me feels it has been much longer! Although, every new day goes by faster and faster. You will also have to forgive me for my lack of blogging. Internet here is few and far between.


We have been here such a short time, but I have learned more during time that what I have ever expected to learn. With this being my third year to be out of the country, one will often come into this thinking they know it all. I will be honest I had those same thoughts. The one thing I remember most from training was my supervisor saying “As a missionary you are ALWAYS learning!” I have found that to be so true. I have learned so much about myself, church, and ministry. I am just amazed at how God is a teacher. My biggest plea is that He will continue to teach me new things and make teachable!

I love this country and town! I love how they are SO laid back! They have access to all the same technology we have in the USA, but they don’t let it rule the world. I love the culture and some Aussie food! I love doing ministry with this church! I say all that to say, Do NOT be surprised if my passport gets lost!

The Things We Find!

These are some kangaroos we saw during our training.  We were NOT expecting to see any kangaroos this summer since we are placed in big cities.

Um, Yeah!  This is a loaf of bread that is labeled "Untouched by Human Hand."  Somebody has to explain this to me.



Perth!!

Well, after three days of training we are FINALLY arrived to Perth.  Training was fun.  It was nice to meet some new people and learn some things about Australian culture.  The one thinig I most remember from training is one of my supervisors saying “as a missionary you are constantly learning!”  God has proven that to me over the last 3 days.

We arrived in East Freo Wed. Afternoon.  Three of our new Aussie friends were at the airport awaiting our arrival.  They are so excited we are here to assist them in ministry over the next 2 months. 

Yesterday my teammate & I done a little exploring.  We mostly walked around town.  After we made a target run!  Today we are off to attend some Australian sports games.

Hello Sydney!!

After 30+ hours of flying and 4 airports we have arrived in Sydney safe and sound. Please, forgive my lack of updates. I had every intention of bringing my computer to provide picture updates but I decided at 2am of my departure date that I would not be dragging my computer all the way across the world.

God has been so faithful. We made it through security with very minimal problems(just ask me about the confiscation later). Some luggage got lost but now it has been found. By the grace of God, I have not experienced jet lag! That's a miracle considering jet lag was TERRIBLE last time I had a 12+ hour time change.