Lorne Summer Project Video

Hey guys, I know I talked about the Summer Project, but here is a video the students put together about our time there so feel free to watch! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmb6Wf47AWQ&feature=youtu.be

Arrived in the states.

So the last few weeks have been absolutely hectic with moving and transferring countries. I am back in Seattle though for the next 10 days. It is good to be able to relax and begin to wrap my mind around transitioning and that I have moved out of Australia. Please pray that I would transition well and be able to catch up on sleep. Even though the transition is hard I am learning what it means to lean on God and keep my eyes focused on Him in spite of random trials.

Summer Project

I just got back home to Newcastle and the past two weeks have been hectic. First, God grew me in ways I couldn't imagine. He challenged me to take steps of faith in leadership, sharing the Gospel, and loving others through extremely tough situations.

God grew the students in absolutely incredible ways. The students were stepping up and taking leadership throughout the entire project. It was incredible how the students were learning how to listen to God's voice and lean on Him through every circumstance.

Then we were able to watch God grow the schoolies. We had over 400 spiritual conversations, over 100 Gospel challenges, and we have 7 new brothers and sisters in Christ. It was so amazing seeing God work in these students lives and see their lives turned around. Praise God! :)

Here is a link of a video from our 2 week project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P_f3f9Zn0Y&feature=share

Summer Project

Well I have arrived at the Melbourne airport and am waiting to be picked up to head to Lorne which is where the Summer Project I am leading will be going.

We are going to this coastal town where a thing called schoolies takes place. This is an event that happens once students graduate high school. They go off to small coastal towns to party in the pubs and celebrate finishing school and getting ready to move onto university.

We will be staying for 2 weeks with these hundreds of schoolies taking care of them and helping them if they get into trouble. We also provide free shuttle bus pick up and drop offs and will also have a no alcohol zone activity centre. At the centre we will have free food, games, possibly some live music and provide a place for the students to go if they do not want to drink.

Please pray that we would be able to share the Gospel with the schoolies and that over the next two weeks our team would be united in reaching out to these students.

Celebration Night

The semester has come to an end and we had our celebration/vision night for the students as well as community members of Newcastle. This was such an encouraging night because we got to hear about and remember all the amazing things God has done over the year. Students got up to share about how they have grown or stepped out in faith this semester and it was so amazing to hear how God really changed hearts.

We also had a lot of community members come from our local churches or families to hear about what Student Life is doing on the campus and how uni students are growing in their relationship with Jesus. It was sweet to be able to cast vision and share what Student Life is about and what we are doing on campus.

Here are a couple of the students stories from that night:

-Being connected with all the people at Student Life has been amazing this year. Just getting to see all of these other young people, totally on fire in the spirit and seeking hungrily after God’s heart is completely inspiring and encouraging to the soul. I really feel God’s presence and His blessing when we meet together. I really feel that God has been growing me in my understanding of worship - total submission of my life for the purpose of His glory. Being with Student Life has been a major part of that. I remember that, for many, many months, God’s voice was quietly calling on my heart to perform the symbolic act of kneeling before Him as I praised His name. I stubbornly refused, despite full knowledge of my disobedience and the way this attitude - seeking to cling onto myself - was holding me back. Then, one night, during a session of worship in the form of music at Real LIfe, I clearly felt this desire again and I finally knelt. I stopped resisting and finally surrendered myself to God’s love and will. I have learnt so much this year. God has used the people to challenge and stretch and teach me. I am blessed to be in fellowship with them. God is good!! 

-This year Peter Barlow and I have been trying to do outreach through something we both enjoy doing, playing games. We did some brainstorming before the start of the uni year and came up with a plan to run a Halo Lan night every Friday. We would try and have some breaks and talk to people during those breaks. We wanted to invite anyone so we put up posters advertising it around uni trying to get as many non-Christians coming along as possible. However, during the first semester we got few people responding to the posters and the ones that did often didn’t make return visits in following weeks. We had the two of us, one guy from our church and another Student Lifer after first semester. Second semester went a lot better. We now have about eight people regularly there and we have up to sixteen involved or interested. We have yet to have anyone become a Christian from it but my prayers are for more spiritual conversations and that fruit will come from it.

-At the start of the year I was someone who was quite fearful of sharing my faith with others. By the end of the year I’m someone who does it without even meaning to sometimes. It has become second nature to me. Student Life has taught me the tools to do evangelism and by finding my strength in God, I have no fear anymore.

-I have learnt so much through meeting Jake. Basically he is a guy we met on walk up. To me he appeared like the most unlikely dude to want to receive Christ. He looked tough, well built and disinterested. Even in conversation he didn’t seen to show an interest at all and didn’t say much. Yet during the first follow up he received Christ in the most authentic way which brought me to tears mid-prayer. He said he had been looking for hope (in Christ) or something like that for awhile and thanked us for meeting with him discussing and eventually praying with him. At every step of the way Jake continued to blow away my perceptions of what someone receiving Christ was like (I had never been part of it before). He was keen, listened, wanted to keep meeting up, went home and read a whole gospel and is now planted deeply in a local church. What did I learn? Don’t assume someone is not ready or does not fit the bill to receive Christ. The harvest is ready!  

Baptisms

This last Sunday was really exciting. We had two of our students who have recently accepted Christ decide to get baptized through their church. It was such an amazing day watching them share their testimonies and seeing them take the next step in their faith.

Sarah is one of the students who got baptized. She accepted Christ at the beginning of this year and shortly after started coming along to Student Life events. She ended up in one of my discipleship groups and it has been amazing watching her grow. She is so on fire for the Gospel and sharing it with others. I am so excited to see what God does in and through her.

Jake is the other student who was baptized. He is so awesome and really seeking after the Lord. Ryan and myself met him doing a walk up evangelism the second day of second semester. He was so interested in the Gospel that he decided to meet up with us and start the Christianity Explained course the very next day. He accepted Christ at that second meeting and has completely turned his life around this semester. I have loved seeing him grow in his faith and it has been so cool to see God changing his life.

One more week and my decision!

I seriously cannot believe how fast time has gone and that we are down to our last week on campus. Next week finishes up our last week of classes for the students and then they enter into exam time. I would love to ask for prayer for myself as well as our team as we finish up this year. Pray that we would finish our time here strong, that we would be able to pour into our disciples well, and that we would be able to evaluate the year well during our week long evaluation.

I would love prayer for myself that as my STINT time is coming to a close I would be able to finish up well. There are so many things I want to do and people to say good bye to, but pray that I would do that well and that I would be able to transition out of STINT well.

As far my decision is concerned I will be joining staff with Campus Crusade and applying to work as ICS (International Campus Staff). I will be looking at coming back to Australia and working at Macquarie University which is in northern Sydney. I will be back in the states from December until I finish raising my support. So please pray for me that as I apply for staff and attempt to come back to Mac Uni that God would have His hand in that and I would be able to trust Him with all those little details. :)

Women's Time

Every week Hannah, Stacey and myself will meet up for a couple hours to talk about how we are going in life and also discuss this book we are reading through. I realized how special and good this time is this week. I love coming together with these two women and being able to open up and be honest about anything and everything that is going on in our lives. :)

This week we talked through a chapter in the book called Truefaced. It is about not wearing masks and allowing people to see you for who you are. It has been such a challenging book and has really opened my eyes to allowing people to enter into my life. I have loved discussing it with Hannah and Stacey and feel so cared for by them.

This is a time I really value and am so blessed to have these two girls in my life. :)

Stacey, Hannah, and myself

Back to Campus

The last 2 weeks the students have been on a break from classes. It was a good couple weeks to catch up on some work and also be able to relax a little bit. The second week of the break me and 7 other students/missionaries went to a place called Byron Bay. It was a really relaxing and refreshing week. One of the students parents own a house up there and let us stay there for the week and hang out at the beach and wander around the town.

This week we have jumped into the last 3 weeks of second semester and it has been really good. The first day back I was sitting in the grass organizing my work and overheard a conversation taking place next to me about Christianity. I went over and asked if I could join in the conversation and ended up talking to these 4 girls for about 40 minutes. There was a Christian, Catholic, Islam, and Atheist there. It was such a cool conversation being able to ask questions and answer questions as well. :)

I am excited for these next 2 and a half weeks and would love prayer that we would continue and finish this year strong! :)

Sydney Visit

So this week has started our 2 week mid semester break for the Newcastle students. Tomorrow our students and team will be traveling to Sydney to spend some time on their campus as they are still in classes. We are going to be helping the Sydney Student Life team promote an evangelism event/talk that will take place in the afternoon and then help follow the students up that come along to the event. It should be really fun and exciting and I am excited to be able to hang out with the students more and be able to do evangelism on the Sydney campus. So please pray that our trip goes well and that we would be able to be an encouragement to the Sydney students and vice versa. :)

Student Leader Dinner

This last week we took our student leaders out for dinner to encourage them and show them how much they mean to the ministry. This was such a fun night and the students were so grateful for it. :)

The missionaries and all of our student leaders who are leading the movement this year at Newcastle Uni. 

New things....

1. I have started leading kids church on Sunday mornings. This happens roughly every 3 weeks or so and it is amazing. I am working with the 3-5 year olds and reading short Bible stories and then doing different crafts to help them learn the message. It has seriously been so much fun working with them and they are teaching me a lot. :) Today we learned about the Big Catch and how Jesus helped them catch lots of fish in their nets.

2. Swimming!!! I have started swimming in the ocean about 3 or 4 times a week in the mornings. It has been incredible. There is something about the pink sky and overlooking the ocean each morning that just keeps me falling more in love with God every day. It has really started making me feel better throughout the week too which is awesome. :) One day last week there were so many dolphins that swam right by as well. That was probably the best day! :)

I wanted to share with you a few things that I am doing outside of ministry on campus and how it has been so great to live in Newcastle. I love this city and the new things that I pick up doing. :)

Growth!

Man, God is so good. It has been amazing to see His work on campus so far this semester. We are in week 6 of semester and there has been so many new students coming along to different things. The last couple weeks our weekly meeting has had over 20 students, which is so exciting. As a staff team we keep praising God for things that are happening on campus this semester with students stepping up to take leadership as well as new students coming and others beginning relationships with Jesus. :)

Keep praying that God would continue to build upon this momentum and that the growth would continue to happen. :) So exciting to share with you how God has been and is opening hearts here in Newcastle! :)

Evangelism

Ok so I feel like there are way to many cool stories to share that I don't even know where to start, but I will share with you 3 stories of the last few weeks. I feel like God is seriously moving hearts closer to Him and really opening up doors and growing our movement.

Story 1: Ryan and I did a walk up survey with this guy named Jake. He was somewhat interested in Christianity and really wanted to meet up again to talk about who Jesus was and learn more about him. After a sweet hour conversation with him, we set up a time the next day to meet up and start a Christianity Explained course. At the course the next day Ryan and another student Sam met up with Jake and at that meeting Jake decided he wanted to turn his life around and prayed to receive Christ right there. He has now been coming along to things throughout the week and has even brought his girlfriend along to church and began sharing the Gospel with her. It is amazing seeing his growth and so cool what God is doing there.

Story 2: I met a girl named Louise doing a walk up survey and she was so interested in Christianity and never really learned who Jesus was. Her comment to me was that she wanted to learn who Jesus was through the Bible and not through the skewed view that the world can portray. I thought this was awesome that she actually wanted to learn who Jesus was and the truth of who He is. She is a very shy girl, but we have been meeting up every week consistently and going through the Christianity Explained course with her. She asks some amazing questions and is so keen on learning who Jesus is. I am loving meeting up with her and she has been opening up more and more each week. Please pray that she would come to put her full trust in Christ.

Story 3: I have been meeting up with this girl Sarah who just accepted Christ 3 months ago. She is so keen on getting involved and so passionate about sharing her faith. The other day I took her out sharing for the first time and she was so nervous, but we ended up talking to this girl named Karen. Karen was so open and told us she wants to become a Christian, but she has sin in her life that she would have to give up. She is not ready to give up this sin, but knows that eventually she would want to accept Christ. After chatting to her about that for an hour or so we asked if she would want to meet up with us again and she said yes. We were going to meet up tomorrow morning, but Karen texted us saying she forgot she had an extra credit lab during that time, but was still extremely keen on chatting and having coffee so we are meeting this thursday afternoon to catch up again.

It is just so exciting seeing how God is really opening hearts on campus. These are just three stories of so many amazing things happening. Please pray that God continues to grow the students and open hearts.

Women's Weekend Away

This weekend the women went away to a house at Nora Head to chill and grow closer to each other. It was seriously such an amazing time for 9 girls to spend quality time together and be able to relax and escape the hecticness of life just for a little bit.

Hannah and I organized renting a house up on the coast and 7 girls from the movement came up. I think the thing I really enjoyed was staying up at night drinking tea on the porch and getting to know the girls in a deeper way. We were able to share different struggles and things going on in our lives and be able to pray and encourage each other throughout the weekend. We also were able to have fun and relax which was much needed.

There were also two girls that came that do not know Jesus yet and they asked heaps of questions. It was so fun to spend time with them and be able to grow deeper with them. Please pray that we would continue to grow closer together as the women's ministry and for the 2 girls to continue to ask questions and seek answers. :)

This is Pip and myself chatting on the beach outside the house. :) 

Week 1

There were so many cool stories that I can't even begin to share them all, but here are just a few. :)

So this week we focused on doing evangelism with our students from 10-3 each day. It was such an amazing experience going out and seeing where students are at and hear about their beliefs.

We ended up having about 4 students interested in wanting to learn more about Jesus, so they are meeting up with us each week reading the Gospel of Mark together. It is amazing seeing open hearts wanting to learn more about Jesus and who He is. We also saw one guy give his life over to Christ and decide to accept a personal relationship with God. It was so exciting seeing him desire God and completely turn his life around.

Besides that there were so many stories of God working in peoples hearts and opportunities to share God's love with people. It is awesome to be a part of what God is doing here on Newcastle University.

Below is a picture of a Sydney team of students that came up and helped us do evangelism all day on Tuesday. There were 12 of them that came up for the day to help out on our campus. This was such an encouraging time for the students of Newcastle and Sydney. It was amazing seeing the campuses of New South Wales working together to share the message of Jesus with university students.

Prayer Night

Last night we had a prayer session with the students and it was so encouraging. We all met up together and chatted about our second semester mission. This year we will be doing a lot of walk up evangelism and talking to people about what they believe and inviting them along to different events that we are putting on as Student Life. We will be having a lunch hour each day to chat, eat, hang out, and play cards. We also will be having a weekly meeting and also a new Chai tent one day a week. We will be handing out free Chai tea and creating a social on campus around this.

I am so excited about this mission and going out doing evangelism each day and just getting to know people and what the believe, but last night was one of the highlights of this year. Listening to the students prayers for this campus and for them to be so excited and passionate about reaching out to students and making evangelism as a way of life was so amazing.

At the end of the night the students put us missionaries in the middle of the circle and surrounded us and prayed for us as well. This was so amazing hearing the prayers of the students surrounding us and hearing how much we have encouraged them and I guess helped them was overwhelming, but so exciting. It is amazing what God has done in just three and a half years of having Student Life on Newcastle campus and how much the students have grown.

I was so encouraged last night and am so excited for second semester mission. Tomorrow is our first day back on campus and I would love to ask for prayer for our first two weeks of outreach. Pray that God would pour His strength into us as we go out and pray for open hearts for those we talk to. Pray that we can really see fruit from these 2 weeks of outreach.

One Day Prep

I am back from our road trip through outback Australia. It was a blast and so many cool experiences. :)

I am back home for one day (today) and preparing for MYC (Mid Year Conference). This starts tomorrow and goes for the week. I am stoked for this and we have 15 Newcastle students going, which is amazing!

Please pray that this next week we all grow closer to Jesus as missionaries and students!

Riding Camels :)

So half way through our road trip we were at Uluru, the big rock in the middle of Australia. We ended up riding camels at sunset. It was awesome.

Hannah and I riding our camel. 

Hannah and I with Apollo, the coolest camel ever! ;) 

Road Trip

So about 5 days ago me and two of my teammates and one of our students set off on a 2 week road trip. We are traveling out to Uluru which is the rock in the middle of Australia. It has been an adventure and it has been a good experience that draws us closer together and really has been an encouragement to each other.

For prayer requests: Please pray that we would all find rest and refreshment on this trip. We all have been going for the last couple months with finishing up semester and meeting up with students and we are going to be coming back from the road trip right into our mid semester conference. So even though it is busy with driving and seeing new places, pray we can find rest in it too. :)

This is Ben, Me, Sam, and Hannah before heading out on the road trip. :) 

Team Day

Our team decided to take a "team day" and hang out and have some fun, so we decided to go and explore this beach called Caves Beach. It is amazing and we had so much fun. :)

Lauren's Birthday!

The other day we went out and were able to celebrate one of our student's birthdays! It was fun meeting more of her friends and hanging out. This is at a coffee shop near Newcastle. : ) 

Couple Pictures.

Just some photos to share with you about Australia. :) 

The sunset over Nelson Bay. I went up there for a day with the Lord and it was amazing. I love spending time with God and really seeing His creation. It is beautiful in Australia and I really enjoyed this day. :) 

The girls here at Newcastle University. These girls have been a huge part of my life and I am so beyond thankful for them. These are the 4 student leaders of the women's movement plus Hannah and I. It goes Briony, me, Hannah, Prue, Tiasha, and Jacqui. :) 

Refreshment and Life

Do you ever have moments where you feel like life is buzzing all around you and you seem to be standing still?

I don't know if that makes sense, but for me that is somewhat how I am feeling. I can get so busy or so tired that I can't find energy to keep up with life and it feels as if life is passing me by.

But the cool thing is when I get into these states, I usually notice it is because I haven't been spending as much quality time with Jesus. Once I sit and spend some one on one time sitting with Jesus and listening to Him I all of a sudden feel this life and energy and peace flood back into my soul.

It is amazing how Jesus can pour so much life into you, especially when we are spending time with Him. So lately this week I have been escaping to places to go on little dates with Jesus and they have been amazing. I love that when I take time to spend with Him, He will always meet me and talk to me. He is so faithful and so loving!

Leeland - Beautiful Lord

I just love this song right now! :) Thought I would share with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9NXNLCs-M

Community

I think this week I have been overwhelmed at the community and love within our movement out here. It is so encouraging being a part of a deep community/family that surrounds people when they are hurting, rejoices with people when things are awesome, and supports people with their different events they are a part of.

It has been amazing to share life with the Student Life community and to even invite others into our group. We now have to push two tables together for coffee hour when we sit and chat about life with each other. There are quite a few people who don't know Jesus that are coming along to these different events on campus as well and have said they just love hanging out with such a great community.

A student yesterday said, everyone I meet within your group is so nice. It isn't something I have ever seen or experienced before.

It has been such a blessing being surrounded by my team and the students involved in our movement. They have been such an encouragement to me.

Discipleship

I know I have written about this before, but I seriously love discipleship and living life with the uni students. This week I feel like I have been able to meet up with amazing girls and be there for them when things are going crazy in their lives. So yeah, it has been fun to encourage them and build them up.

A couple nights ago Hannah, Briony and I took three students out for dinner and coffee. It was so much fun to hang out with them and be able to reflect Jesus to them. :) The three girls were from Laos, Malaysia, and Japan.

Exciting News...

So I don't know if you remember a girl named Elizabeth from last year. This is a girl I met about 2 weeks before I was going to leave for the states to begin support raising for the second year of STINT.

I met Elizabeth at church. The service was over and one of the church pastors asked me to go pray with a girl that was standing at the front of the church. When I walked up to her she told me she wanted to receive Christ and walk a life with him. It was incredible, we were able to sit and chat for awhile and she totally gave her life over to Christ. It was such an amazing experience to witness someone completely turning their life to walk with God.

I met up with her one more time before leaving for the states and she was looking at getting involved in a small group and was really seeking growing in her faith. She was already wanting to share Jesus' love with her family and friends and be a witness in life.

Well, a couple days ago I was told that Elizabeth had led her sister to Christ. I just want to praise God for such a cool experience to witness multiplication within Newcastle and how God is working in people's hearts.

David's Baptism

This weekend we had the opportunity to go to one of our students baptisms. We met David beginning of second semester last year (10 months ago) and he was someone who was searching for answers, but did not know who Jesus was. As he continued to meet up with people and hang out with us as Student Life he made a decision to follow Christ and got extremely involved for the rest of the semester.

At the start of this year David has been so passionate about going out and sharing Jesus with others. He is leading a CE (Christianity Explained) course with a few guys. This is a study that goes through the book of Mark and discusses the basics of Christianity and who Jesus is.

This weekend David made the decision to get baptized and it was so fun to be a part of it. As well, today David's friend Francisco made the decision to follow Christ. It has been awesome to see David growing in his faith as well as leading his friends to Christ as well.

Here are a couple pictures from the baptism....

New Experiences...

1. Using Soularium for evangelism. Soularium is a set of pictures and we talk to people and have them explain to us what their life is like and who God is through pictures. It has been really fun to hear how people relate to this and it has brought some really oil conversations.

2. Cooking: Tonight I made a butternut squash soup. It turned out really good and was actually really fun to make. I haven't really enjoyed cooking in the past, but I have really started to like making new recipes.

3. Worship: So last thursday night during our weekly meeting I played the djembe (a drum thing) and it was really fun. I have never played an instrument before, but it was a random and fun experience. :)

These are three new random experiences of this week and it has been fun. :)

2 Week Update

Hello and greetings to all!

I am sorry I have been out of touch the past couple weeks! I want to update you briefly on what has been happening!

First, I want to thank all of you for your prayers for Connexions, it came off really good! I have heard many stories of students who grew closer to Jesus from that weekend. It was a very tiring weekend for me, but extremely fun to work behind the scenes of a conference and have it pull off! :)

The week following Connexions was our last week on campus before our week long Easter break. This week went really well and we had our largest weekly meeting yet. It is cool to see how God is really building momentum among the students and how the movement is really growing.

Once that week finished we had a week long Easter break, so this is time where we were off campus. I spent the first part of break in Sydney visiting friends which was a nice way to relax and rejuvenate for a few days. After 5 days in Sydney, I came back to Newcastle and we had a 3 day staff retreat. This was a great time for us to get to know our teammates better and spend some quality time hanging out as well as discussing the movement and our time on campus.

We have just started back on campus today and it was really good to be back on campus at work again. I was able to talk to a girl today who I am meeting up with again for coffee on Thursday. She has been going to church, but has a lot of questions and is really seeking community. It is fun to be meeting up with students again and am excited for the rest of this semester!

Thanks for all your prayers, encouragement, and support! It is fun to share with you what God is doing here in Newcastle!

4 Days until Connexions

We are in the final stretch to the conference coming up this weekend! Please pray that Connexions is a time where the students can feel connected and close to God through this weekend. That each student and staff that would come would draw closer to God and walk away with a new passion in their hearts.

This week I will be finishing up final plans for this conference as well as continuing to be on campus each day. Pray that as busyness can get in the way, that I would find time to rest well and prepare well for my discipleship times on campus as well as for the conference.

Discipleship Groups

So yesterday I started 2 discipleship groups. The first group is with 4 girls who are older students and the group was so much fun! I love how real they are with each other and how we can come together and live life with each other and pray for each other. This will be a group where we can come and share how ministry is going and read the word together and grow deeper with our relationships with God and with each other.

The second group was with 2 people who have recently accepted Christ and begun living their life for Him. It was SO awesome meeting up with them and being able to see people thirsty for growing and learning more about who God is and how to have a relationship with Him.

So yeah, these two groups will be on Tuesdays at 11 and 12 and it is seriously one of my favorite parts of the job. I love seeing students thirsty for growth and being able to live life with the girls. :)

Prayer Please!

I think most of you know I have been in charge of planning this conference coming up in a couple weeks. It has been going well, but there is still a lot to plan. I would love prayer for this since it is under 2 weeks away. 

The conference is for all the new south wales students and will be held March 30 through April 1. Please pray that this weekend is fully led by Jesus and that the students that come would grow in their faith and their relationship with God. 

Women's Night

So last Friday night we had the girls over for dessert and hanging out. It was so good to be able to connect well with the students and be able to have them build community and relationships. It is cool to see them living life together and really building each other up through constant prayer and encouragement. :)

Please continue to pray for the ministry here as we are in the process of putting together discipleship groups for the year and getting the students connected within the ministry.

It has been a really good year and God has been really moving on campus through students so that is exciting! Please pray that the momentum would continue to build and students would continue to grow and be challenged in their faith. :)

Meeting up with students

The past week I have been meeting up with students from last year and it has been such a joy to see them again. It has been awesome to catch up over coffee or a meal and hear how their summers were and how they are doing with God. We have had many tears and laughs and it has been so good to live life with these girls out here! :) It is encouraging to see them walking in their faith, taking risks, and living life to the fullest.

Along with planning for this year and meeting up with students, I have also been in charge of planning a conference for all of New South Wales. I am putting together a weekend retreat for the students and the planning has been hectic. It is a lot of fun getting to plan the retreat, but it is also a time for me to lean on God because I don't really know what I am doing and need Him to lead me in the planning.

Overall, ministry is going really well. I feel like God is really stretching me and challenging me to take on more leadership roles and tasks that I don't really know how to do, but it has been awesome to see God move and lead me in these areas. :)

Thanks for all your prayers! Please pray that as I continue to plan for the Connexions conference I would be leaning on God's strength. Also, that the women's ministry on campus would continue to grow students in their faith. :)

Day 1: Students are back!

So today was our first day of campus and it felt so good to be back at work and fully being engaged in campus life again.

This morning we as a team got together and prayed and worshipped for an hour before heading down to campus. It was a great time praying for the year and really focusing back to Jesus.

At campus, we had coffee hour where I got to meet 2 new girls and chat with them a little bit. It was really fun meeting new students and hearing what they are doing and everything.

After I met with an Indonesian lady who I followed up with from our orientation week surveys. She was a Christian lady who was so full of life. It was so much fun talking to her and she asked me for some Indonesian Knowing God personally booklets. So these are little books that share the Gospel and she wanted to have a bunch to share with her family and friends. It was so cool chatting with her and seeing her heart for others.

I then met up with a girl who is really interested in learning more about Christianity. We might do a Christianity Explained course with her where we read through the Gospel of Mark and talk about who Jesus is.

After these two meetings, I randomly started talking to a girl and just asked what she is doing and it ended with me being able to meet up with her again tomorrow and explaining more about Student Life and what we are and everything.

So yeah, I had some amazing meetings on campus and it was so encouraging to be back again and be able to share Jesus with others and be back in ministry. It still amazes me how open people are to talking about God and how they want to hear about Jesus. A really good first day on campus and I can't wait to see what God is going to do this year. :)

O week!

Today was the first day students were back on campus during their orientation week! We were on campus all day and were able to meet multiple students and chat with them! :) It has been a great time, but please continue to pray for us this week as we are meeting students and following them up with phone calls.

One more week....

So there is one more week until campus starts! This week I have been attempting to PREP all my materials and resources for the students, PREP discipleship times and core group materials, and also meet up with the students before their lives get hectic! :)

It has been a good week of much prep work, but also time that I have been able to spend with Jesus. I have had mini little dates with Jesus such as going out for coffee or breakfast in the morning, painting, and just spending time with Him. It has been extremely refreshing and reenergizing. I think I am getting ready and prepared to be on campus again and am looking forward to spending time with the students again. :)

So one more week of getting ready! :)

I have roommates!!!

YAY!!! :)

Thanks for all the prayers. God has been doing some amazing things in my life! :)

I have 2 roommates moving in next week. Becky is a first year medicine student which is awesome. And Hannah has finished her support!!! Praise Jesus!!! :) Her support went from 50-95% in roughly a day and a half!!! :) Yay!!! :)

I have also come to 100% support this week which is awesome as well! :)

Thank you for all your prayers and support. I can't wait for the two girls to move in. Hannah will get her Wednesday Feb 15 and Becky will move in Sunday Feb 19. :)

Week in Sydney

Roxy, Me, and Tash

So I have been in Sydney meeting up with the students I used to disciple at the beginning of last year. It has been an awesome week full of encouragement and really fun times seeing the students and being able to hear where they are at and pray for them!

This is me meeting up with Roxy who is a student from University of Notre Dame. It was amazing being able to see her again. Tash is the new staff person who will be taking over the Notre Dame campus this next year, so she will continue to meet up with Roxy. :)

Thank You Jesus!

I have been living in Newcastle for the past couple weeks and really praying about getting another housemate. This girl from my friends church needed a place to live, so I have hope that she would be able to move in and help cover Feb rent. She decided not to move in yesterday and I was praying because I had one day left to try to find a roommate for Feb. 

At this point, I have been struggling a little bit with faith and trusting that God is there with me through everything. I know it in my head, but I think with transitioning to another country and feeling a bit unsettled I was in a place of questioning. 

So after finding out this girl won't be moving in, I post some ads on Facebook, gumtree, and Christian flatmates. As I am posting I am praying God I don't know if you are going to answer this prayer, but I would love for you to show up in a real way through this situation and show me you are there with me in all these little details. 

About an hour after I posted the ad, I got a phone call from one of my good friends in Sydney saying this girl desperately needs to find a place to live and will be moving out to Newcastle within the week. I called her up and she is awesome!!! Her name is Becky and she is a first year student at Newcastle University and really wants to get involved with Student Life. It was more then a blessing and I am so excited to have her move in. 

After getting off the phone with her, I saw on Facebook that two of my other friends had responded to my housemate post saying, "Hey, you should contact this girl Becky because I know she is looking for a place to live." It was amazing seeing God's confirmation in this decision through 3 random friends. 

It was amazing seeing God work and I can honestly say my faith has increased through this. I know sometimes I can worry about all these little things that need to get done and sometimes doubt that God is in each and every one of those decisions, but the truth is He is each moment of our lives and He totally cares about us and will provide. 

So yes a big thank you to Jesus and His provision. I get to meet Becky next Wednesday and she will move in a couple days after. :) 

Australia Day!!

Happy Australia Day!!! :)

Australians Foundation Day: Day of bbq's, playing in kiddie pools, chilling, and playing games! :)

Time with Jesus!

So with the busyness of leaving the states, traveling back to Aus, and going to the staff conference here I haven't really spent time reading the Word or talking to Jesus.

Today, I got up and knew I needed to spend time with God and talk to Him about everything. It is amazing what a couple hours with Jesus can do to your soul. I went to a small coffee shop that I love called suspension and just sat and journaled, prayed and read this morning. It was so refreshing and filled my heart with a joy and refreshment that I had been longing for. I didn't read anything mind altering or even come to any life changing decisions, but it was just that I spent good quality time with Him and was reading and learning about Him.

I am currently reading Acts and am so falling in love with Jesus. :)

Prayer & Praise

PRAYER:
I feel like it isn't a place or city that makes somewhere feel like home, but it is the people and community. I have been missing my friends and family from the states and feel a lack of personal community here in Newcastle. I don't have any housemates yet and am lacking friends that are outside of Student Life. Prayer that I would be able to find a really good church here and community would be amazing. Also, that I would find the right housemates and that this house would really be a place of refuge and that the 3 of us girls that live here will have deep friendships.

PRAISE:
This last week we had a national wide Campus Crusade for Christ Australia conference and it was so encouraging. It was awesome to see all the workers for every organization within Campus Crusade there and see friends from other cities and catch up with them. The conference was so good and so encouraging. The speakers spoke to us on praying boldly, living a life of faith, and growing deeper with our personal relationships with Christ. It was extremely good for me and felt like a mini 4 day refreshment.

Back on Australia soil!

Well, God has provided again! :) I have made it back to Australia two days ago! It has been good to be back, but surprisingly it was also difficult and the transition has not been the easiest. I think it was hard because I didn't have a chance to process through transition or that there would be transition into the second year of stint. I knew in my head it would be different, but I guess I didn't realize how different it would be.

Since I was able to buy my plane tickets really quickly within leaving, I didn't have a chance to really say good bye or process the fact that I was about to leave the states and not see people again for another year.

Without the process time, it made it a bit more difficult of a transition. I stepped off the plane extremely tired because I couldn't sleep very well and entered into Australia again. Throughout the day, I hit some realities that were hard to process.

This year will be a different staff team, some of my friends won't be here this year, I just left my family and friends from back home, this year will be extremely different from last year. So yeah, after a few reality checks, it was good to take some time to process through everything that would be new with the second year.

After the first day, I have been able to unpack everything, set up the house again, and meet up with a couple students again. It has been really great to see them and talk about how their summers are going.

Tomorrow I fly to our staff conference where all staff members with Campus Crusade for Christ will be and am so excited to see everyone else again and talk about this next year! :)

Leaving Spokane

Tomorrow I am leaving Spokane and for the second time saying good bye to good friends and the city I love. It is bitter sweet leaving. I am so excited for what is to come next year and the adventure God will have me on will be amazing, but it is always hard leaving people for a year.

It is weird how God brings relationships into our lives for periods of time and then lets us go off on our own to grow. I am so thankful for my friendships and the people God has put into my life to encourage me and keep me going through life. So I just want to say a big thank you to Spokane and the people there who have been home to me. Even when I am gone for so long I can still come back and fit in like I have never left.

Tomorrow I start the adventure of 2012. I am excited for where God will take me and what will happen this next year! I will be on the road saying good byes for the week and flying to Australia next Wednesday the 11 of Jan! Please pray for safe travels and that I would leave the states well!