Arrived!

I have safely arrived in Australia and it has been a crazy three weeks! I have found a place to live and a car to buy and have been able to see good friends. Thank you for praying for the journey and transition. God has been really helping me settle in well. :)

Sorry I have not written on here for a long time, I will begin to update it more frequently. :)

Good bye Trip!

Hey!

The time is coming to say goodbye and I am planning a trip through the Northwest. Please come because I would love to see you and say goodbye well!

Tri Cities:
Saturday November 2 from 3-5 PM

Portland:
Sunday November 3 from 4-6 PM

Seattle:
Wednesday November 6 from 6-9 PM

Spokane:
This will be end of November - I will let you know a date and time when I know.

Email me and I can send you the address of where the goodbye parties will take place.
erin.cooper@cru.org

Update!

This month has completely flown by. I am leaving beginning of December for Australia and I can't believe how fast approaching that is.

I finally sent my visa application in yesterday to the Australian Embassy! This is a huge praise because now it should only take 3-4 weeks and I will have approval for my visa! This will let me enter the country and be good for up to two years. :)

With support, I only need $300 monthly left. I am so blessed by everyone who is on my team and the finish line is so close! This is definitely a praise seeing how much God has provided. It is also a prayer because the last bit needs to come in before I can purchase a plane ticket!

I am doing fairly well. I can feel overwhelmed thinking about the reality of leaving coming up, but I am also really excited to be able to jump back into ministry! :)

Support Finish Line Prayers!

Greetings!

It has been a journey of amazing growth and trust in the Lord. Support raising has been challenging at times, but God has been so good throughout it all. I am encouraged and thankful for each of you for all your prayers, support, and encouragement! This couldn't be possible without you! :)

I am seeing the finish line! I only need $400/monthly left to raise in support and would love prayer for that to come in! I am praying to be at 100% by September 15 so if you could join me in that I would greatly appreciate it! :)

Thank you all again for your partnership in mission!

Leaving for the mission field

This is something my friend Simon wrote about leaving for his assignment on the mission field. I feel like it sums up what I will be feeling as I leave and wanted to share his words with you.

Just finished packing my bags and the tears that I've been holding back this whole summer started flowing. I didn't know for sure I'd be leaving Saturday but now it's almost here. I am sad to leave my family and miss out on my little niece/nephew's lives for several years. I will miss the sights, smells, trees, open roads, home cooked meals, Redbox and ice cream nights, and random Costco runs.

but I must go. God calls, I must obey. People need to hear. Souls are perishing. This life is short. Heaven awaits. I miss being in the field. I miss sharing about our Lord and Savior. I miss riding my bike everyday and learning the language. I miss the food, the people. And so, I go. The time is now. No turning back.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

Praises and Prayers

I just want to praise God for what He is doing! I am so encouraged by each and every person who is a part of this ministry through finances, prayer, friendship, or any other way. It is a blessing to have hundreds of people working together in order to further God's Kingdom.

I am trusting God right now with a few things and would love to partner with you in prayer.

1. My VISA application. This is something I need that will get me into the country of Australia. I am hoping that comes back to me by november so I will be able to leave for Australia as soon as possible after that.

2. The rest of support! God has provided so much through you! I am so blessed and encouraged. I just need 10 more people at $100/monthly and I will be at 100%. I am hoping this comes in by Sept. 15 so I would love to have you be able to partner with me in prayer.

I want to thank you so much as well. I am praying that God continues to grow each of you closer to Himself each and every day. That His love would overflow out on you and He would bless you and encourage you just as you have blessed and encouraged me! :)

Meet the U.S. staff serving in Australia!

I am so excited to be able to serve along side other U.S. staff in Australia. Becca will be serving in Brisbane Australia which is farther north of Sydney. Erik and Maureen with their three girls will be serving on the Sydney Regional Team which is really close to Macquarie University where I will be. Please pray as all of us are finishing up support and trying to get back to Australia as soon as possible. 

Macquarie University Team

I can't wait to get back to Australia and here is a video I was surprised with this week to show you why! :)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/22f4p2e2z1hv4oh/Operation%20Empow-erin-g.m4v 

Happy 4th of July!

I wanted to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. Today we have the morning off and then will be getting together tonight for a BBQ and hanging out with each other! It is nice to have a morning and afternoon off to take some time to relax at a coffee shop and have a great quiet time. :)

I hope you all have a great day off as well!

XTrack!

Time is coming!! I am officially accepted to go to XTrack! This is a training that takes place in Fort Collins, CO from June 7 until July 21. I have a couple more weeks in Spokane and then will be driving down to Colorado for my training. It is a training for all of the new international missionaries about living overseas long term. I am excited to be around fellow international staff members and to learn more about living overseas! :)

You can be praying for safe travels down to Colorado and that my heart would be open and ready for what God is going to be teaching me while I am there! :)

Thank you for all your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Staying at the Bunfill's

It has been such a blessing living with Ben and Kayla! They have been so gracious to open up their house to me and let me stay while I am raising support! It has been so fun to be a part of their family and get to know them! This is a picture of me helping taking care of their daughter Hannah! She is amazing! :) 

God's Provision

I have really been overwhelmed at how much God loves us and how He provides! He has totally taken care of me over the last few months of being back in the states! I have had generous friends give me free places to live and I have just confirmed that I will have a free place to live until the time I return to Australia! :) I am so thankful for God's family and how we can all take care of each other and help each other out.

It has been really great to visit with family and friends here as well! I will miss the states, but I am also excited for returning to Australia. I feel like my heart is in two places and it is sad that they are more then a 15 hour flight away from each other. haha.

But God is good and I am thankful for His love and provision each day.

Easter Weekend!

I had the privilege to go to Portland over Easter weekend. It was a beautiful weekend with the sun shining! It was a great way to celebrate Easter and be able to see friends again! :) I am back in Spokane now and working hard! :) 

Amber, myself and Brittany after church on Sunday 

Connexions!

In two weeks the students in Sydney and Newcastle will be gathering for Connexions Conference. This is similar to a fall retreat and is a weekend away for students to grow closer to God, fellowship with one another, and build community. Pray that more students would sign up for the conference and that God would really use this time to grow the students and staff closer to Himself. :)

Time in Spokane

So it has been good settling into life here in Spokane. I have been able to catch up with friends and also continue to work hard on getting back to Australia. This weekend I am heading out to Seattle for the weekend to meet up with people out there. Please pray for safe travels and that it would be an encouraging weekend. :) 

Working in a coffee shop with friends! :) 

University is starting!

So today was the first day of classes for the year back in Australia. The staff and students finished up their orientation weeks and are now jumping into the start of the new year! You can pray that the year would start well for them!

I am doing well, settling into Spokane WA. I have been here two weeks and enjoying seeing friends again. I am also full time support raising so that I will be able to get back to Australia as soon as possible! :)

Hanging out with the Bible study girls in Spokane. 

Newcastle and Macquarie Summer Project.

I just got this awesome newsletter from a staff member who is at Newcastle University this year. The Newcastle students and Macquarie (where I will be working) students partnered together for two weeks to go on a short term summer mission trip. Here are a couple stories from their newsletter!


It was our first night of pub ministry, and we were fairly nervous. We weren't sure how the locals would react to a bunch of Christians wanting to chat about spiritual things. But as it turns out, God had totally prepared people for some big conversations. Talitha and I approached a woman sitting by herself in the pub, and told her where we were from and what we were trying to do on the coast. After a couple of minutes she was really intrigued and was sharing her view that there were lots of different paths to God. Then her husband came back and I think he was a little confused as to why a couple of strangers were chatting with his wife, but she encouraged him to share about his own Christian background, which he'd walked away from as a young man. We were able to share with them both the devastat- ing effect of separation from God, and how trusting in Jesus was the only way to have a relationship Him. Then their kids came by (all in the early teens), and the couple wanted us to chat with the kids about spiritual things. In the end we'd had a good chance to share the gospel in depth and challenge them to look more deep- ly into spiritual things. It was also really encouraging when they told us they'd really en- joyed our conversation (which had gone for over an hour). We're praying this is only the start of their spiritual journey!

- Blake Cavanagh 

Alex and I were partnered up ln Australia day and hadn’t really done to much walk up together so prayed God would pro- vide us with a conversation. Immediately after we prayed we saw two girls. We went and sat with them and started to chat. At first they weren’t really interest- ed but as we went on and stated telling here about the gospel with a book called Knowing God Personally she started to open up. She really related to the idea of brokenness in the world and started talking about the brokenness on the coast and in her own life. She then start- ed to talk about her cousin who had been a drug addict and horrible person then had become a Christian and how it had changed her. She then told us that Jesus was the answer to the worlds bro- kenness and that she wanted to have a relationship with God. She prayed to let God into her life and we gave here a bible.
- Bec Wilson

Throughout these two weeks I have been amazed at the number of times I have expe- rienced Gods perfect timing come into play. One night on pub evangelism with Gaz, I saw someone I knew from school. I felt God calling me to her straight away, and we started a conversation with her and her boyfriend which lasted the rest of the night. We noticed throughout the night as spiritual conversation came up how perfectly timed God had planned this conversation in their lives. I have become friends with her and we have planned to meet back up in Sydney!
- Sarah Romer 

Spokane!

I have made it to Spokane and am in the process of getting settled. It is nice to be in one place for awhile, but it has also been a whirlwind.

I find myself still going through transition and trying to fit into this new culture. I see people that I have known over the last couple years, but also feel like I don't know them that well. It is a weird transition and sometimes I feel a bit lost.

I know God is good though and has given friends to connect with and talk to in amongst all the new changes. I am excited to be full time in support raising and trusting God with it all. :)

Please pray that I would be able to settle in well to Spokane and continue to work hard. :)

Officially Accepted!

Well, I wanted to let all of you know the exciting news that I have been officially accepted to go on ICS (International Campus Staff) to Australia! :)

This means that I will be in the states until at least August raising support to go back and work with the movement in Australia for the next 3-5 years.

I am so excited about this opportunity and to see what God is going to do. I am excited that God is calling me back to Australia and that I will be able to help out other campuses. :)

Please be praying for me as I start support raising and finish up our training in Florida. I finish here Feb 10 and then will be hitting the ground running with support raising. :) I will be around Spokane, Seattle, Portland, and wherever else God leads me. :)

I will be writing a newsletter after my training finishes up here, but thought I would get the exciting news out about where God is taking me. :)

I pray you are all doing well! :)

Studying at Starbucks

So today was our first day of classes. :) It has been so good and I am actually really enjoying it even though it is a lot of work. We are taking Intro to Christian Theology and Bible Study Methods. These are both graduate level courses and we will be busy the next couple weeks as we go through these classes. :)

After class today, I went to the nearby Starbucks to study. The awesome thing was the barista was actually the worship leader of the church I had gone to this weekend. It was sweet to chat with him and share with him what 118 of us are doing in Daytona Beach.

After the group of us ordered and sat down, we heard the barista ask his co worker if he had ever heard of Cru and began a spiritual conversation. The rest of the 2 hours we were working, the two workers were talking about God and faith and what it means. It was so encouraging and exciting to go into a place to study and meet a worship leader of a church and then hear him get spurred onto spiritual conversation with his co worker. It is exciting seeing God working in Daytona.

Please pray we would continue to see God work through us here and that God would continue to allow us to fall more in love with Him as we learn more about Him through our classes. :) 

Classes are beginning!

Tomorrow I will be heading back into a classroom after three years of graduation. :) I am really excited for this opportunity though. We will be taking two courses. The first is Intro to Christian Theology and the second class is Bible Study Methods.

I am really enjoying New Staff Training and being able to be surrounded with Christian community. It has been a great time to process transition out of another country and be able to get to know everyone here and the journey God has them on. :)

I am excited to start class and really go deeper into His Word. :)

Arrived! New Staff Training

Greetings everyone! :)

I am currently in Florida at our New Staff Training. It is a month long and we are learning more about the ministry and the job that we are going to do. This morning we had the opportunity to listen to Steve Douglass talk to us. He is the president of Campus Crusade for Christ and runs the ministry.

It was so encouraging listening to him talk about the ministry as a whole and how much God is moving through each movement that has been placed. It was so exciting. :)

It has been a great time meeting new people and connecting with them as we journey into this new phase of life together. Please continue to pray for me as I still feel like I am transitioning into the states and out of STINT. It has been getting easier depending on God, but it still is difficult sometimes as well. Pray that I would really connect with God while I am at this training and that we would all leave equipped to serve Him better. :)

New Staff Training

Well, the last few weeks have had many ups and downs emotionally. Transitioning is hard and missing a place that you love, but God has been faithful and I am taking it one day at a time and really leaning on Jesus.

I had a good Christmas and New Years and was able to spend time with some family which was fun. :)

I am currently living with my sister and preparing for New Staff Training. I am so excited to be able to join staff with Cru and go to this training to help better equip me for future ministry. It starts the 8 of January and will go until the 10 of February. I am currently raising support for this training and would love to ask you to pray about giving a one time donation of $500, $300, or any other amount that you would feel led to give. My site for donations is https://give.cru.org/0628731 so you can donate directly through that site.