I finally got some time to write!

Hello blog readers!  I came home from campus early today so I could catch up my blog.  There is much to say so I won't waste time.

Monday through Friday we go to the university campus to engage students in spiritual discussion, with hopes to share the Gospel.  God is doing amazing things here.  There have been close to two hundred conversations, and about 50% of them we were able to share the Gospel.  Three people have trusted Christ, that we know of, and there are numerous others that desire to trust Christ but were not comfortable praying right there (we have yet to hear from them).  Praise God for our new brother and sisters!  The response here is great; people are very open to hearing what we have to say and often tell us they've never heard that message before.  It is amazing how students can go their whole lives, going to Catholic or Christian schools, and going to church with their parents, and never hear a clear explanation of the Gospel.  They often tell us how good of news it is.  Keep praying for God to open hearts here - it is working!

We have seven days left on campus, which is very sad.  We will be leaving soon, but these students that we've talked to will be staying.  So be in prayer for the students involved in Student Life (the Aussie version of Campus Crusade).  Pray that they may be faithful and effective in follow-up and discipleship of these people to whom we have talked.

Well, I guess that's all I really feel like writing.  If I start adding anymore details, I will go on forever.  Don't forget you can email me and I would be happy to tell you more that way.

We're Here

We are finally in Newcastle and settled. It has been a good trip so
far, but very busy and tiring.

We spent a couple days in L.A. for briefing. It felt somewhat like
like a retreat, digging into the Word and bonding with my team. We
have two leaders - Joe and Tammy. The rest of our team consists of 3
guys and 8 ladies. The first night together was awesome; there was no
scheduled team bonding activities but we did a good job just hanging
out and talking. I learned names very quickly. We have a good mix of
personalities and we laugh a lot. It is wonderful. We also spent some
time seeing L.A. While out, Matt, Dyar, Jillian, and I had gone down
to the beach to take some sunset pictures. God brought a few
Christians into our path. Somehow we ended up talking and before we
parted they prayed for us. It was a sweet divine appointment. They're
names are Luke, Jennika, and Danielle.

The international flight was ok. It was about 14 hours. The plane
wasn't as nice as last year, but the timing was great. We left San
Fran at night and arrived in Sydney in the early morning, so if we
slept most of the flight our body clocks would be pretty well adjusted.

We spent a couple days in Sydney as well, doing the tourist thing.
Some may know that it is/was World Youth Day. Because of that there
were tons of people, internationals, in the city. The majority of them
are Catholic, so the presence of people on fire for God was just
overwhelming. We crossed the bridge and it was so quiet and peaceful.
It was a good break from the multitudes. One lowlight is that
Jester's, an amazing pie place, closed down and isn't there anymore. A
highlight is that Pancakes on the Rocks was still open, so we had
amazing pancakes for dinner. We went to the zoo, which was nice.

So we finally made it to Newcastle and settled in. We walked around to
see the sights one day and the second full day we went to campus for a
tour. I'm on the first dinner team so we have been busy shopping and
cooking. Everyone has loved the food and Tim Tams have become our
staple dessert.

I can't wait to finally get to work on the whole reason we are here. I
feel I often get slightly side-tracked and just don't think about our
mission. But I pray for God to continually burden my heart and I'm
sure once we start praying, studying God's word, and going to campus
things will change.

On My Way : )

Well, I sit here on the plane to L.A. as I write this, but I want to
tell you how God has gotten me here and where I am at.

I could tell of the many ways God provided financially, but I'll share
just one cool story and the lesson I learned. I had a fun/movie
fundraiser night last Saturday. I knew I needed $230 after hearing of
$600 that was coming my way, and that just to cover the project, not
my stateside plane ticket. So out of 11 or so college students, God
provided the $230 exactly that I needed, down to the quarters and
dimes. And from that dollar in change he taught me a lesson about his
providence. Though something may seem small and insignificant it is
not of any less worth, and without it my need would not have been met.
Who am I to not count any part of God's providence? God will provide
in ways we would not recognize or accept sometimes, but unless we take
that which he has given us, we are only robbing ourselves. I have
raised over $4400 (although somehow I only have $4300; I'll have to
figure that out when I get back). And he is still continuing to meet
my goal. Praise God! He is good.

I'm excited that the time has finally come, but there is something I
didnt expect. God is working in my heart to resolve the wounds from my
past. It is hard and I find myself sad. It seems like such bad timing,
but I'm sure God knows what he's doing. It is difficult being away
from friends and my support system for this hard time. Honestly, I
don't like it. But I trust God to comfort me and I am interested to
see how he is going to use this special time to work in my heart. I
know he worked last year through a woman on my team and has continued
to work through her frequent support and encouragment. Too bad she's
not here this time; that would make things so much easier. But I
rejoice in the trials because they provide opportunities to grow so
much more than being comfortable.

Please be praying for:
•the work God is doing in my heart and how I cope with it on this trip
•our team as we meet and get to know each other
•team unity
•preparation for ministry at Newcastle Uni
•the many divine appointments, on and off campus, that God has for us
•safe, productive, and fun travels (it is around a 14/15 hour flight
I believe, then the train and bus adventures in Australia)

I'm here safely and awaiting my baggage and to meet my team. : D

The past two weeks

I didn't realize how long it had been since my last update. Even
though two weeks is not that long of a time, it seems like a lot has
gone on. I went home for a few days and will be doing so again today.
While in O-town, nothing too out of the ordinary has happened, just
life and getting ready to leave. I have had a LOT of fun with friends.
Activities included anything from Camp Rock, and other movies, to
laser tag, to just sitting around and talking. I haven't laughed so
hard or so much in a while...good times. It wasn't a long summer
vacation, but I guess it's long enough. I definitely enjoyed myself.

As for Australia, once I started doing my part, God took care of the
rest. Since making phone calls, emails, and a fundraiser, he has been
SO faithful and quick to provide. It just tickles me the way he pours
out his blessings and just the right amount too (that story will come
soon).

Spiritually, things have been great. I've been reading quite a bit,
though still not as much as I would like. I'm almost finished with two
books and I'm really excited to start this next one, or two. I am more
satisfied with my prayer life and how it has come back around. I have
had the priviledge of meeting some homeless people and being able to
serve them. I'm really excited to go see them again on Thursday. I
started studying Luke 15 and love my morning times with my Daddy. I
think that is my most favorite thing about summer - not having a time
limit on my quiet time. I can sit for half an hour or three hours,
however long it takes. I feel like it has been so long since I have
been able to do that. Going home is nice because I have the beach, but
at the same time it is hard to get away or be alone for a long period
of time, somebody is always right there or getting worried, or waiting
to go somewhere or do something. I rarely feel truly alone with God. I
guess I have a hard time setting those boundaries and enforcing them,
but the environment isn't very conducive for that anyway, which just
makes it harder.

When I look at the big picture, I see how these last two weeks have
been a rekindling of my first love (see May 1st for the prior story).
I just thank God for being patient and wooing me again. I am so filled
with joy, it's wonderful. I have been praying for God to prepare my
heart for summer project and I can see that he has been hard at work
making lots of changes. I am getting so excited about getting back on
campus at Newcastle Uni (University). I really can't wait to get my
hands dirty in the ministry there and to just work hard for God! I'm
even looking forward to the plane trip so I can read these books about
which I am so excited.

God has blessed me so much these past two weeks, I just can't say
enough about it. But I will say that one of the biggest blessings (and
probably my favorite) has been connecting with friends, new and old,
on the phone, internet, or in person. I love all my sisters that are
so amazing and I love knowing I have brothers that love me and that
are watching out for me. It is great to be embraced by the body of
Christ. I guess it is such a blessing to me because I feel like they
are filling in where my family and my past have left me empty. I think
maybe I am beginning to feel the depth and width of God's great love
for me. How sweet it is to my wounded heart, to feel loved. Thank you
brothers and sisters.

I don't like goodbye's, but that will have to be another post because
I need some sleep.

: )

Wow, good day

So I slept in today and spent the rest of my day with God. A very nice Sabbath indeed. Such a great thing after the semester I just had, and a great way to start these three weeks before I leave. It was a wonderful day and it's so nice to be back to spending alone time with God. *sigh* I just can't explain. : )

I'm done!

Whew! I can't believe it is finally over with. I got my paper finished in about an hour and it is amazing to be free of school for a while. And just like with last semester I'd like to take some time to reflect. If there's anything I'm learning from the college of education, it's reflectivity. I read somewhere that life isn't worth living if we don't reflect on it. That maybe extreme, but there's definitely some merit to the idea. I'll break it down again by domains.

Academically, this was my most challenging semester. It was rough. But I learned a lot, academically and about life. I learned much about educational psychology and English language learners, and a little about ethics and legal issues related to education. I also learned about the horrid inequalities that exist in our education system. Kozol's Savage Inequalities was eye opening and, I have to admit, I didn't want to continue reading it after the first few pages. It just broke my heart to read about the conditions in which some people live. It's worse than some third world countries, and it's here in America! Ugh, it just frustrates me. I also learned a lot about how to say no and set boundaries. It wasn't easy, but if I wanted to do my best and get good grades and really learn the material, I had to say no to just about everything except school. I said no to friends, fun, sleep, and too frequently I said no to spending time with God. I learned how to work hard and to keep working when everything in me didn't feel like it. I definitely notice a difference in my ability to persevere mentally. I learned how to be busy all day everyday until the weekend; then I was only busy most of the day everyday. : ) Rough as it was, it feels so good to have conquered it and to make it out alive and well. I don't think I would do it again, but I celebrate it and don't regret it in any way.

Emotionally, I didn't have much time to feel or reflect on my feelings so I can't tell you much about that. I started going to counseling and I'm glad I'm going. I was really unsure at first, but now, I'm glad. There's some things I need to work through. I'm not looking for the process and the emotional upheaval that will take place within me, but I really look forward to when it all settles back down. I'm excited to get to the end result and being more healthy emotionally.

Spiritually, it was good. Like I said, I did not spend much time with God, in my Bible, and just listening. I still talked, and am working on getting my prayer life back to where it was and where I want it. Even still, I think I grew so much closer to God. He blessed me all the time with school and really took care of me. Crusade is going through some changes right now and I'm so excited about it. I feel like we are finally starting on the right path, and he's pleased with the direction we're going. Sadly (that's another story) I'm not involved with the leadership this summer, but it's still in my heart. God has put that leading spirit in my heart and it's so cool to see how he's been telling me the same things he's been telling those who are on the leadership team. So even though I didn't spend much time in the Word, God still talked to me a lot, a lot.

I'm really excited to be done with school and to get on with the next things on my "To Do" list. I really can't wait to start exercising again. I am dying to get out on the court and play some basketball. Hanging out with friends is definitely a contributing factor to my excitement. I've felt so lonely this past semester and I can't wait to be around people again. Well, I know this is not well thought out and I probably forgot some things, but I'm going to play some b-ball before tonight.

Good day, great night!

So I had a good day today (technically yesterday, but whatever). Classes are over, although I still need to finish a paper and get it in ASAP. I still feel relief though, and I thank God for the second chance on the paper. I had an awesome conversation with a friend at lunch! It was just what I've been needing. Oh, it was great! Then, after my last exam, I skipped out on Cru to hang out with some awesome ladies. I haven't gone out and had fun like that in a while, like too long. We hit up the dollar theater and then the bowling alley. That's definitely what I needed after a semester like the one I've had. I think had forgotten what it was like to have genuine fun. Sadly. But I really look forward to hanging out more with these ladies. It's a nice break from the monotony that has become my life. Oh, God is good. I thank God for days like these when it's easy to praise him; they refresh me. So that's my blurb for the day. I can't wait to go hit up the basketball court. : ) I'm happy. What a wonderful God!