Hello all! I realize it's been a month since I last blogged... Wow! Sorry about the lack of update for all you faithful followers. I appreciate your support and prayers so much!
The last month has been hectic -- finished up classes a week ago, and then last week and this week we are all prepping for Hillsong Conference (which is next week!). This is the biggest, busiest time for church: everyone gets involved. This weekend we had Heart for the House which is Hillsong's big offering weekend. Through this offering they are supporting numerous initiatives around Australia and overseas. One of the things we are supporting is the A21 Campaign which is an initiative to stop sex trafficking. The focus area is Greece at this time, and it is something that God has really laid on my heart. I directed my giving towards this campaign in the hopes that it would go directly to that aspect. If you want more information or are interested in getting involved, take a look at the website: http://www.thea21campaign.org/
As I said, last week and this week we are getting ready for conference. For the students, this looks like helping to get our church ready for guests, etc. and also helping in our specialized areas that we are doing for conference. A few days have been a lot of cleaning/painting of the church as well. It has actually been really fun (surprise!) and a good bonding time for getting to know other students that I don't get to interact with on a regular basis. The area I'm serving in for conference is JAM -- the student conference. It is being held at Luna Park which is Sydney's theme park! Basically I get to go to all the sessions at conference, hang out with the students, and ride rides :) It is going to be awesome. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do next week!
Personally, I have been growing a lot over the last month. I've realized a lot of things about myself that I never really thought about before, and God has been working on my heart a lot. I am learning that I need to get my worth and my value from GOD and not from people. I am such a relational person, and I often allow my relationships to define my emotions, feelings, and how my day/week is going. God has been using people in my life (Mom, Dad, friends - thanks!) to help point these things out. And He's been working on me like crazy. It's hard at times, but I know the end will be very rewarding. I'm excited and open to whatever God has for me in this time. I feel like my attitude and perspective on serving has changed so much since I've been here. If nothing else, that is something huge that I can take home and apply to my life.
Oh, by the way... I COME HOME IN 16 DAYS! AHHHHHH :D
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Trip to the Zoo!
Today Angelique and I decided it would be a perfect day to go to the zoo! So we trekked to the Harbour and took a ferry over to Manly Island to visit Taronga Zoo! Although it was a tad pricier than we thought, the experience was definitely worth it. We had such a good time, just us, getting out of the city and doing something new! We saw tons of animals, and neither of us have been to a zoo in SO long so we were really excited. The first animal we saw were the giraffes and we got VERY excited. That was definitely a highlight. What a cool creature! Magnificent and perfectly created. What an awesome God we serve.
Not much more to say about this, just thought I would include a picture and give a quick update to say that my break this week has been relaxing and fun! Hanging out with lots of friends and just building relationships. Back to school on Monday, but I can't believe it's less than 2 months til I come home for the summer break! AH!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
New Season Approaching
Sorry that it's been a while since my last blog/update! I sometimes forget how many people are reading this to stay in touch and updated on my life! It's really encouraging, by the way. :)
It has been, as usual, very busy around here. After Easter, we had a week off and I didn't end up doing anything special like I thought I was going to. But it was a good week of relaxing and getting refreshed from a busy weekend. Then it was back to classes and normal routine, as well as some big assessments that were due! Angelique and I found a Christian bookstore and trained over to it on a Saturday morning and spent the day working on our assessments. There was a nice cafe in there as well, so of course we got some coffee and breakfast too! There was no internet there, so it was easy to focus ;)
Everyone is getting their plans in place for living arrangements next semester... Almost everyone from my intake are moving out of their flats and finding cheaper accommodation with different people! It's gonna be a hectic week when we all move out. I am planning on moving into a 3 bedroom flat with 4 other girls (1 girl will have her own room and the rest of us will share) and hopefully that will be happening mid-to end of June. We're all really excited about it, even though it will be a bit of a hassle. I think God is going to challenge & stretch all of us in this new living arrangement but I think it will definitely be rewarding as well. A time to grow new relationships and continue to water old ones!
The last couple weeks I've had some particularly good/challenging classes in Old Testament and Personal Leadership. Goal-setting was one thing that really stretched me. I had to plan out 4 weeks and incorporate things into my life that I felt were "necessity" and take out things that didn't fit in. It was hard to stick to my plan for the weeks that I scheduled all the time, but overall it wasn't too bad. I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise more too... It's so easy to eat here when there's nothing else to do! haha.
Otherwise, I think that's about all that's been new around here! Nothing tooooo crazy. Oh! I got a free iPhone from a friend who doesn't use it anymore! So that's been pretty sweet, not gonna lie! :) Yep, that's all folks! :)
It has been, as usual, very busy around here. After Easter, we had a week off and I didn't end up doing anything special like I thought I was going to. But it was a good week of relaxing and getting refreshed from a busy weekend. Then it was back to classes and normal routine, as well as some big assessments that were due! Angelique and I found a Christian bookstore and trained over to it on a Saturday morning and spent the day working on our assessments. There was a nice cafe in there as well, so of course we got some coffee and breakfast too! There was no internet there, so it was easy to focus ;)
Everyone is getting their plans in place for living arrangements next semester... Almost everyone from my intake are moving out of their flats and finding cheaper accommodation with different people! It's gonna be a hectic week when we all move out. I am planning on moving into a 3 bedroom flat with 4 other girls (1 girl will have her own room and the rest of us will share) and hopefully that will be happening mid-to end of June. We're all really excited about it, even though it will be a bit of a hassle. I think God is going to challenge & stretch all of us in this new living arrangement but I think it will definitely be rewarding as well. A time to grow new relationships and continue to water old ones!
The last couple weeks I've had some particularly good/challenging classes in Old Testament and Personal Leadership. Goal-setting was one thing that really stretched me. I had to plan out 4 weeks and incorporate things into my life that I felt were "necessity" and take out things that didn't fit in. It was hard to stick to my plan for the weeks that I scheduled all the time, but overall it wasn't too bad. I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise more too... It's so easy to eat here when there's nothing else to do! haha.
Otherwise, I think that's about all that's been new around here! Nothing tooooo crazy. Oh! I got a free iPhone from a friend who doesn't use it anymore! So that's been pretty sweet, not gonna lie! :) Yep, that's all folks! :)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Easter & Break
Hello again! Easter is just around the corner and that means it's getting busy around here again. Hillsong (city campus) is renting out the Sydney Entertainment Center for Good Friday service and also Easter Sunday service! That's 9000 seats that we're trying to fill! We've been doing this cool initiative to invite people to the services where we do Random Acts of Kindness. Once we do the act, we give a business card that simply has a cross = love (where the cross is a symbol and love is a heart). Then the back of the card says This Is Love and gives a website which isn't directly hillsong. So it's kinda cool and gets people to a site which then explains why they were given that act of kindness and talks about Easter, etc. There have been some pretty cool stories with that so far!
Next week, Monday and Tuesday are public holidays here, and then we have Wednesday-Friday off of school! It will be a nice week to relax and catch up on sleep... Perhaps take a day trip somewhere south and hit the beach for the day! I'm really looking forward to just having absolutely nothing. Besides work... which is good because it's paying my rent! (yay bills! haha)
Another cool thing that I did recently was started to write the first song I've written since I've been here! That's pretty crazy for me as I love to write music at home a lot... I just don't have ready access to a piano or guitar here, so it's more difficult. But that was really refreshing to just write and get out some of what's inside (on the musical side of things!). I think my friend Angelique and I are going to try to write a song together for the college's talent show called The Box which is coming up in May. We're both pretty excited about that too :)
Anyways, I think that's about all for now. Besides Easter and the break, nothing is really new over here! Just keeping up with classes, friends, and God! Much love...
Next week, Monday and Tuesday are public holidays here, and then we have Wednesday-Friday off of school! It will be a nice week to relax and catch up on sleep... Perhaps take a day trip somewhere south and hit the beach for the day! I'm really looking forward to just having absolutely nothing. Besides work... which is good because it's paying my rent! (yay bills! haha)
Another cool thing that I did recently was started to write the first song I've written since I've been here! That's pretty crazy for me as I love to write music at home a lot... I just don't have ready access to a piano or guitar here, so it's more difficult. But that was really refreshing to just write and get out some of what's inside (on the musical side of things!). I think my friend Angelique and I are going to try to write a song together for the college's talent show called The Box which is coming up in May. We're both pretty excited about that too :)
Anyways, I think that's about all for now. Besides Easter and the break, nothing is really new over here! Just keeping up with classes, friends, and God! Much love...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Refresh.
These past 2 weeks have been ones of refreshment for me. As my relationship with God grows, so does the amount that I hear His voice speaking into my life. There has been so much going on here, and with help from The Big Guy upstairs, I really feel as though I've been making good decisions about different things/circumstances that He has put in my life. I'm learning more and more that when I put time and effort into my relationship with Him, He WILL speak to me.
I started reading "The Power of a Whisper" by Bill Hybels today (thank you Linda Lesperance!!) and it is SO good. I was only going to read one chapter, but I couldn't put it down. Some of the key things that really stuck out to me were:
1) Whispers from God can be dangerous and costly. If we want to hear from Him, we also must be willing to sacrifice.
2) Our God is a communicating God. He is relational and he is near.
3) The issue isn't whether or not God is speaking; it's whether we will have ears to hear what He says.
These things really are making me think more about God's whispers on MY life. Maybe He will/is calling me to do something involving sacrifice. I know I just need to have the ears to hear what He's saying, and be open to the things that he may be calling me to do.
On a little bit of a lighter note... school is going really well! I'm doing well on all of my assessments (aka: assignments) and my "worship band" just had our first performance! It went really well -- it was just fun to jam out on a stage with a live audience and get a feel for the other 3 performances we'll have to do this year! Now we know what to expect and can prepare accordingly. Working in a band setting without chord charts is really helping me learn better how to play by ear and figure things out with a group of people who all have different and unique ideas of how the song should sound. It's been a really good experience! :)
I'm starting to feel a bit sick (sneezing, congested, etc.) so if some of you would keep that in your prayers it would be much appreciated! The weather is changing slowly here, so that could be part of it. Although I've got to say, it's a beautiful time of year in Australia! I can still wear a t-shirt outside, but there's a nice breeze that comes through so it's really the perfect temperature... I promise I'm not rubbing it in... haha ;) Anyways, i'm off to eat some American Kraft Dinner (Mac n Cheese) that was shipped to Angelique from the homeland! mmmm... Much Love!
I started reading "The Power of a Whisper" by Bill Hybels today (thank you Linda Lesperance!!) and it is SO good. I was only going to read one chapter, but I couldn't put it down. Some of the key things that really stuck out to me were:
1) Whispers from God can be dangerous and costly. If we want to hear from Him, we also must be willing to sacrifice.
2) Our God is a communicating God. He is relational and he is near.
3) The issue isn't whether or not God is speaking; it's whether we will have ears to hear what He says.
These things really are making me think more about God's whispers on MY life. Maybe He will/is calling me to do something involving sacrifice. I know I just need to have the ears to hear what He's saying, and be open to the things that he may be calling me to do.
On a little bit of a lighter note... school is going really well! I'm doing well on all of my assessments (aka: assignments) and my "worship band" just had our first performance! It went really well -- it was just fun to jam out on a stage with a live audience and get a feel for the other 3 performances we'll have to do this year! Now we know what to expect and can prepare accordingly. Working in a band setting without chord charts is really helping me learn better how to play by ear and figure things out with a group of people who all have different and unique ideas of how the song should sound. It's been a really good experience! :)
I'm starting to feel a bit sick (sneezing, congested, etc.) so if some of you would keep that in your prayers it would be much appreciated! The weather is changing slowly here, so that could be part of it. Although I've got to say, it's a beautiful time of year in Australia! I can still wear a t-shirt outside, but there's a nice breeze that comes through so it's really the perfect temperature... I promise I'm not rubbing it in... haha ;) Anyways, i'm off to eat some American Kraft Dinner (Mac n Cheese) that was shipped to Angelique from the homeland! mmmm... Much Love!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
A Trip to the Blue Mountains!
Hello again! Well, I just got home from a 3-day trip to the Blue Mountains with a few friends... As I said, we had a few days off after Colour Conference so we decided to rent a little cabin/cottage (very low-budget haha) up North a bit, and just get away from the "bubble" we live in here! It was a really nice getaway. The first night we were there we walked down the road a ways from our cabin and found a place called Govett's Leap. It was a lookout point over the Blue Mountains and it was absolutely breath-taking. Here's a snapshot of what we saw, although it doesn't do it justice:
We spent out first evening just going through a couple of trails in this area and taking in the amazing view. We took a BILLION pictures (check it out on facebook if you can!) and also just took a moment to pray together on the top of a cliff. It was a beautiful, magnificent moment. It just all hit me at once... Something this beautiful could never just "come into being." And this is only a fragment of God's masterpiece. It takes my breath away.
The six of us that went on the trip (from left to right: Trey, Me, Kyle, Frankie, Rand, and Angelique) had just decided at the last minute we wanted to take the opportunity to get away and experience a bit more of Australia. It was really nice and refreshing, and we have a ton of memories that will last a long, long time. :)
We spent out first evening just going through a couple of trails in this area and taking in the amazing view. We took a BILLION pictures (check it out on facebook if you can!) and also just took a moment to pray together on the top of a cliff. It was a beautiful, magnificent moment. It just all hit me at once... Something this beautiful could never just "come into being." And this is only a fragment of God's masterpiece. It takes my breath away.
Other than the Blue Mountains trip, I am going back to normal classes starting tomorrow. It will be interesting as I feel I haven't been in regular school for a couple weeks now due to Colour Conference. Gotta get back into the swing of things now! Nothing major coming up anytime soon... Just back to school and back to the norm! I will blog again soon when I have more to say... Sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly what to write about! Anyways, will be in touch again soon! Sending my love...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Colour Conference
Wow it has been crazy here lately! We just came out of Colour Conference 1 and are headed quickly into Conference 2. Colour Conference (for those that don't know) is Hillsong's major Women's Conference that they do every year. It is a BIG deal here. Conference 1 was held in the Sydney Entertainment Center which holds approximately 9000 people. Every student was allocated to serve in a specific area for the 3 days of the conference. I was originally assigned to Refresh which was a fancy way for saying that I would be cleaning. However at the last minute they cancelled that team because the center actually had people to do that instead. So our team was reallocated to Snack Packing. We had to fill bags with a few snacks for the last 2 days of conference for the women. We packed around 17,800 snack bags. CRAZY! But it was really actually fun because we created assembly lines and just got the chance to get to know people we didn't really know yet! I met a few people from the Hills campus who are really cool. It's gonna be good to know people there so that I can go visit that area and see more of Australia! :) Anyways, besides packing snack bags I also got the opportunity to be in the "opener" for both Thursday and Friday of the conference. Essentially, I got to be one of the people on stage in front of 9000 people in a short song/performance to start off the session. It was really awesome! Here's a picture of the stage -- not the best quality, but better than nothing!
So I got to sit in for a BIT of conference but not that much. It was really all about serving for us, and it was a really cool experience. Conference 2 is coming up in a couple of days and it's going to look a bit different as I don't think the first years are part of the actual conference... Not 100% sure at this point but I will update you after it's over!
Otherwise things here have been good! It's been a weird schedule the past couple of weeks because of Colour, so I feel like I haven't really been in school too much. After this week is over I have 3 days off and I think a bunch of us are going to go do a bit of sightseeing! Not sure where exactly at this point, but again, will inform you upon my return where I went and what I did! :) The week after that, everything will be back to normal class schedules.
Anywhoooo, not too sure what else to blog about right now... But if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer them to the best of my ability :) Hope all is well over there. Missing you all!
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