Moving.....

Hello everyone! :)

So I moved to Newcastle yesterday afternoon and have been here for approximately 24 hours! :)

The move went really smoothly and the transition has begun. I came in yesterday afternoon and that night we had a meet and greet with the Newcastle students and myself as well as the American Summer Mission Trip that is here. So there are 10 students from the states that will be here for the next 4 weeks helping us do mission at the University of Newcastle! :) It was so great being able to meet everyone and really connected with some of the students!

So yeah, transition for me has been pretty good....I think it will just take some time for the new reality of life to set in, but I am really excited for it too! So yeah prayer for me to get settled quickly would be great! :)

Today, I have just been at a coffee shop doing work, finishing up loose ends and emailing some students back in Sydney. I have also been working on my newsletter to send you all about the past month and just getting settled into Newcastle! :)

So yeah, thanks for all the prayers from you all....the move has begun well and just continue to pray that the transition will continue to go smoothly! :)

Thanks,
Erin

Mid Year Conference & Changes

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't written on here for awhile, I feel like the past few weeks have been hecticly busy and here is why! :) So, I went on holiday with my mom and sister when they were here the last week of June and first few days of July. This was such a great time to relax and see a bit of home! We had lots of fun and hiked up through the mountains and I got to show them all around Sydney so that was fun! :)

I got back from that holiday on the 5 of July and we had one week to finish planning for the New South Wales region Mid Year Winter Conference. I have been on the planning committee for this conference so the last week before was extremely hectic with random jobs to do and little jobs to organize. In amongst this week, we had a Life Options Night for the students of the Sydney Metro Region. This was a night organized at my house to give students options for their future whether they decide to do ministry or go into the work force. This was a very encouraging night for myself as well as the students.

After that week, we went to the MYC this last week and even though it was crazy being one of the main organizers, it was so much fun! God was absolutely moving amongst the students as well as the staff at this conference. This was a time for the New South Wales region to focus on Christ for a week and just redirect their steps. I got to sit back and watch the students I have worked with all semester growing in their faith and just taking bounding steps forward in their trust of Jesus. It was such an amazing conference. We went through 2 Timothy in the talks and talked a lot about God's Entrustment to us and how we are called to go out and share His Gospel. Besides the talks, we had some amazing prayer times, fellowship, and we had an outreach day where we went out and shared with people in the city.

After MYC, I am getting back into work mode and students come back to campus on Monday! I am excited to start work again and be able to go onto campus......so this is where the change comes in! Throughout all this busyness the past month, I have also been talking with the regional directors of STINT in the states as well as regional directors here in Australia. So originally the northwest region in the states sends STINTers to Newcastle Australia, but since I had studied in Sydney previously we decided together that I would STINT in Sydney. Well, this past month just some changes have occurred on the Sydney team and with looking into the future of the Newcastle ministry and the future of Sydney's ministry...I have been relocated to Newcastle's team. I want to tell you the honestly when I heard this change I was definitely not wanting to leave Sydney and didn't want to leave the ministry and students I have been working with, but with much prayer and fasting I understand why this decision has been made and God has just poured much excitement into my heart for this new change. It will be a really good thing and I am so excited to be able to serve with the Newcastle team and be able to do ministry on that campus! I know this is God's plan and where He is calling me so that is good, but I want to encourage all of you if you have questions to please ask me! I am definitely wanting to share with you everything and will write a story in this month's newsletter about it as well! :)

So yeah, my time in Sydney has finished....my going away party is tonight, but there is some exciting news! God answered our prayers!!!!!! At MYC, a guy from Notre Dame stepped up and is going to be a student leader, so we now have 2 student leaders on that campus and ministry will continue on in second semester!!! Thanks so much for praying...I am so excited to hear how this campus goes and will still be in contact with them and will let you know how it progresses next semester! :)

With that, I will be moving this Friday to Newcastle and as I said before starting work with the students on Monday! The US Summer mission trip is here currently in Newcastle so the first month of my time there will be working with those students and taking them out sharing. So it will be a great time and I am excited to see how God will use this for His glory!

Please pray that the transition goes smoothly into Newcastle! Thanks to you all and please ask any questions you might have! :)

Erin