Kimberley’s Update

The moment you were waiting for is finally here…an update on outreach.  Outreach in the Kimberley’s was amazing!  I was so blessed and my heart will be forever changed.  At first, I was scared and focused on the question, “What if I actually don’t like working with Indigenous Australians?” I have had that calling for years now, but what if as I am doing it I hate it?  Well it turns out I LOVE IT!  Our time went by so fast and I wish we could have stayed longer.  In order to keep this somewhat short, I will give one highlight from each town we were in.

Kununurra: I was asked to speak at a church BBQ.  It was very casual, but I still prayed about it and really asked God what he wanted me to share.  I got to share about the fact that God would call someone from the other side of the world to minister to them.  I really spoke about how this shows the love of Christ to them and how they are not a forgotten people, but one that He wants to lavish with love.

Fitzroy Crossing: We worked with a sporting festival and then did ministry in smaller communities.  The most meaningful time for me was the last day of the sporting festival.  I was helping to run a kids program: games.  On that day a girl named Rowina was stuck on me like glue.  She asked me a million questions.  Part of the sport festival’s request was that we not share about our faith unless the kids ask, so it wasn’t planned, but she asked me about my tattoos and that led into talking about Christ.  It was so good and she asked me a million questions about me, life, my faith, etc.  She just wanted to be loved on and cared for and I was happy to do that.

Noonkanbah: We went to this very, very small town to run the kids program for a church conference.  The best part, besides afternoon swims in the river with the kids, was the last night of the conference.  I was speaking about how God made each of us with care, love, and being an individual.  What I said was so led by God and was amazing.  I shared about my history of being bullied for being different.  I shared Psalm 139 where it talks about being woven together in your mother’s womb.  I showed a bracelet that I had taken a lot of time to create.  I spoke about how much care I had put in and how much more care God put into creating each one of us.  I then had the kids share about one thing that they like about themselves, since being shamed is such a large part of their culture.  We ended the night by dancing to the song “Mean” by Taylor Swift.  The kids loved it!  About 15 of them later chose to be part of God’s family.

Looma: Twice we got to go down to the river, very far away, and play with the kids.  I really loved playing with the kids and just going where they go, jumping where they jump, and playing what they play.  It was always Miss Miss and Watch this Watch me do this.  It was amazing to really give them time and love them the way they deserve.  We spent almost all of our time with these kids…if they could they would have slept in the youth center with us. 

Broome: There were a lot of great ministry times with the church, but my favorite day would have to be my birthday.  I will admit that is me being a tad selfish, but it was a great day.  I started the day out by skyping my parents.  We went to church, we had a prayer meeting after lunch, and then the guys who live next to the church (youth pastor and his two friends), threw a BBQ for our team. This is how my leader Matty and I spent our birthday (same day!).  We had sausages, bits of steak, pork of some sort, CAKE, and other goodies.  I got to run into the ocean with my clothes on (twice), have a moonlight swim, be driven on the sand, have a night birthday drive through Broome with tour, car dance party (safe I promise), and a volleyball game where I got super sandy.  It was a great way to spend a birthday and I had amazing people to spend it with.

Those are the towns we were in and the highlights of my trip.  I have added some photos and have way more on facebook.  So check them out.  More updates to come…we have Internet in the Philippines because we are on YWAM bases.  Thanks for reading. 

I am leaving on an...orange bus!

I am leaving for outreach tomorrow morning.  I can hardly believe that three months has gone by so quickly.  I will be leaving on a big orange bus at 7am tomorrow morning.  I am excited and nervous.  I have a bunch to get done today, so this will be a short post.  I will be out of contact for the next three months, minus a short post here or there when we are in a bigger city with wi-fi.  Here are some prayer points:
-My health, have a spring cold...it is spring here...it's not too bad
-My team unity, constant prayer request
-That I stay concentrated on the hear and not be focused on the future
-The hearts of the people that we serve
-For safety in travel, camping, and service
-The Indigenous Australians cultural understanding, on our end
I will be back from the Kimberley's on October 27th or 28th and then leave for the Philippines the following day.
Thank you so much for all of your support.  I would love all of your prayers!

Perth People

While many of you may think that being on a YWAM base that I would only be friends with YWAM people...for the most part you would be right.  However, there are a couple of people that I have gotten the amazing opportunity to hang out with and get to know through YWAM that are not YWAMers themselves.  There are a couple of brothers (Joel and Jesse) from a church that a staff member attends that have been attending Friday Night Meeting (FNM).  I first met them one night after the FNM out in Northbridge when some of us were out for bubble tea (a common YWAM occurrence).  The following week, I got to know them better after that FNM.  That Sunday was the Music DTS concert.  They came and brought two of their friends also from church.  I instantly feel in love and bonded with their friend Beth.  She is so much fun and has so many questions about DTS, she is hoping to do a DTS next summer (possibly music). She is just so sweet and personable.  I also met their friend Jake.  I have seen them on occasion since then.  Beth came to the April DTS' graduation and we got to chat when I was on break from my lectures.  On Friday night, after the meeting, we went out as a large group for late night coffee and played random games in the cafe.  It was really a great opportunity to bond.  I am kind of sad though because I am leaving on outreach and she is moving 45 minutes away for a nanny job.  However, this Sunday because the family that drives me to church with is on a weekend holiday, I went to church with them.  It was so great to sit by Beth and pray with her.  Also after church, we were treated to lunch by Jesse.  He has really displayed a servant and giving heart.  He is so willing to give of his time, his money, and his car for transportation.  Before lunch, we were invited into the brothers' family home for a bit.  Their dad actually picked us up from the train station before church.  Their family is so loving and inviting and kind.  Getting to know them has been such a great reminder to me about how God is displayed through people in all different ways and places.  Doing evangelism every week, I have meet some people who are not kind or caring and it has been wearing on me.  However, God has really used these four to show me His love through the local church body in Perth.  It was so God's timing after a long hard week to be loved on by fellow believers who are not from YWAM and who I do not know well or see everyday.  Thank you God for using your body of believers to encourage me and love on me.

PS I will be doing one more post before I leave for outreach next Sunday morning.  After that they might be few and far between due to lack of Internet when I am in the Kimberley's and the Philippines.  I will write an update when I have a three day break back at base between the two and another one for sure when we are here for report back week.  Thanks for reading :)

Things that Paul Hawkins Says

This week we had a speaker named Paul Hawkins.  He has been in YWAM forever and is amazing.  Here is a link to a blurb on him: http://www.christianrenewalcenter.org/phawkins.htm (please ignore the outdated camp registration).  Paul is known for his amazing one liners...they are gems.
-We need to be intolerant of what God is intolerant of.
-What you believe about God will determine what you believe about everything else.
-God holds back blessings at times because He wants us to grow in faith and spiritual muscles.
-Christians never have financial problems, they are financial opportunities to receive from God.
-We know we win the war, but we need to fight to win the battles in the mean time.
-We need to use the equipment God gave us to learn to be in communication with Him.
-I'm praying this stuff and I'm thinking this is crazy.
-What was God doing? He was rubbing satan's face in it.
-If your theology leads you to question God's goodness, then change your theology.
-The greater the test of faith, the greater the possibility for lasting fruit.
-God has control over all things, but He doesn't control everything because he wants to be relationship with us.
-If your not going to do what God says, don't ask Him. It's worse.
-My potential is in my will and God's will is my potential.
-Whatever you obey is your god.
-Sometimes the warfare is just getting out there, pushing through, stepping out in faith.
-The devil doesn't want to population to grow because it decreases his influence.
-Your feelings are real, but they are not always truth.
-We need to ask, "God what are you saying that I'm not getting?" NOT "What are you trying to say?"
-Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every spoken word of God.
-It pays to hear God's voice....literally.
-Money is not the issue, the will of God is the issue.
-Those who pray for the nations, God will send them to the nations.
-When the pressure is on the cream comes to the top.
-Judging is coming to a conclusion before having all the information.
-Just because you see something that needs to be done doesn't mean you're the one who needs to do it.
-You must not underestimate the significance that God can do through you through prayer and intercession.
-God is just looking for people who are available.
-It is globalism that wants us to say we all believe in the same god.
-All the enemies of God are found in scripture.
-Satan wants to destroy our intimate relationship with God.

There were so many more, but these were the ones I felt called to add. I was so blessed this week in so many ways: spiritually, emotionally, in friendships, and by words.  Thank you again for all of your support, love, prayer, and encouragement.

PS I love comments :)

Gardener

This week I did my chapel talk for my DTS.  This is basically like a mini-sermon where I focus on an attribute of God.  I chose to talk about God as a gardener...the ultimate gardener.  I gave everyone paper and a marker (they could take more then one if they wanted) and told them I was going to read a Bible passage twice: John 15-17.  The first time I asked them to just listen and the second time I would read a different version and asked them to draw what God was showing them.  I also played some Jon Foreman solo music after that.  This is the passage:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

Then I started to share how God has been my Gardener.  I talked about an experience where I was hurt deeply by a few friends and how through that God showed me that those friendships were not bearing fruit or if they were that it was bitter tasting fruit.  Also that He wanted to prune that branch away so that new fruit may grow and be abundant.  I also shared how for almost the entire time of me being here, God has given people pictures involving nature and plants related to me: a North American Willow about to bud, a field of flowers being cut away and regrowing so they covered the whole ground after, being the apple of God's eye, and God breaking up hard soil so that a new seedling and break through (to just name a few).  As I was speaking God gave me words about how if we are to be God's branches we need to flexible.  When a vine is growing it needs to be flexible so that is can be weaved through the lattice.  It was really cool.  I encouraged everyone to be flexible so that God can totally guide us and so that we can do whatever He calls us to.  

The really cool thing about God leading me to share about how we all need to be flexible is that the next day Matty (my leader) asked us all to be flexible.  Our first outreach location changed!  We will be sending the first 5 1/2 weeks in the Kimberleys in Australia.  We will be working in the Indigenous Australian population.  I am soooo excited.  I might have shed a tear or two when Matty told us.  I am praising God for this opportunity.  It will be such a blessing.  We will no longer be going to East Timor, but will still go to the Philippines.  We will also be pairing up with the Sport DTS for our time in the Kimberleys.  It is so exciting.  Keep us all in your prayers.