the end, and the beginning!

I graduated DTS yesterday. I got my certificate and everything so it is officially over. Some people have already left and more are leaving within the next couple days. It breaks my heart that I will never be able to be in the same room as all of these amazing people ever again. I thought I would write this blog post just to share my thoughts and reflections of DTS as a whole and also what I've learnt. So... things I have learned:
1. God is bigger then the box I put him in: I thought I had everything all sorted when it came to God, but I really didn't. I learned so much about him and there is still so much more for me to learn. Also, he does crazy stuff! Like heal people and speak to people and answer all sorts of prayers... he is bigger then I thought!
2. God is moving all over the world: I was very, very lucky to travel to three extremely different countries and see what life was like ther. Although they were SO different culturally and in many ways, God is still the same God and he is moving and working and transforming people all over the place.
3. My life has purpose: I have made a promise to myself to never be bored again. There is no reason for life to be boring and I am determined to make it exciting and full and awesome... there are endless opportunities!
4. I have learnt a lot about myself and who I am as a person and who God has created me to be. I have grown a lot if confidence in myself which has allowed me to become more bold and step out as a person.

I've learned many other things, but these are the biggies I think. Overall, I think I was meant to come to DTS because God wanted to shake me up a bit and then solidify me in my beliefs as a foundation for the rest of life. It has been amazing being surrounded by people who all love God and want to pursue him... it is such an encouraging enviroment to be in. Just the other day we had the most amazing worship session as a class where everyone was just so engaged, loving it, loving God and I realized how much I would miss that!

This has all been pretty deep, so on the lighter side.. I had heaps of fun during DTS. Highlights:
- late night beach adventures that involve missing the last train back and having to walk...
- many, many, many trips to McDonald's or Hungry Jacks for fifty cent ice cream cones
- going to the beach and ignoring everyone's advice to wear sunscreen and getting super burnt
- hanging out with my girls in room 10 - they are the BEST
- camping!!
- epic dance parties, including the legendary 'jungle feva'
- extremely long roadtrips through the outback complete with picking up hitchhikers, flat tires, running out of gas, dead kangaroos, hitting kangaroos, dance parties, using the bush as a toilet, best stars ever...
- tim tam slams
- the endless supply of bread
and so much more...

I am going to miss everyone a lot! I am ready for DTS to be over and move on to the next thing, but I will miss everyone a lot. DTS has been amazing. There has been many challenges and many things to work through, but it has all helped me grow. I've made amazing friends and amazing memories and I'm very grateful for this opportunity!

Up next for me... I'm headed to Bali on Monday for 10 days with a friend for a bit of a vacation, then I'll be staffing a camp back here in Perth for a few days, then I'm headed off to Hong Kong for 4 days, then home! There is still a lot coming up in this last month - I am excited for it!

Thanks for reading, thanks for all your support!!

Outreach part 3: Port Hedland

I am currently up in Port Hedland finishing of the last part of outreach. We have been up here for almost three weeks now and only have a couple more days left until we head back down to Perth. Port Hedland is a two day drive from Perth... two days through the outback of Australia. There is pretty much NOTHING along the way - basically only enough gas stations to keep you going. Although, we did run out of gas the first day. The gas station where we needed to fill up was closed, so we had to drive for over an hour on completely empty.. while pulling a trailer. We just got into cell phone reception when we ran out of gas. We had to call our contact in the city to come bring us some gas. It was a miracle we got as far as we did, adn that we were able to call someone!

Our main ministry here is presenting seminars in the high school. We have been talking to grade 9 and 10 students about self-worth and value as well as about relationships. We have had about one class a day, so not a lot, but some. It has been really cool to be able to go and talk to them as a class, but also on an individual level. I really like working with that age group, so it's been a really cool opportunity for me. The kids are pretty open and like to talk, so I have had some good chats with them. Because it is a public school, we can't talk about God and everything, which is kind of hard to do, but it is good in a way as well. We can just talk to them about important things without any pressure, and then if they want to talk to us more, they can. I actually would love to get invovled in something like this back home... We have also been connected to two of the churches here.. just getting to know members of the congregation and hanging out and stuff. They are very hospitible and have invited us into their homes and over for dinner and things. i have felt very welcomed here! We also spent four days camping at a place called 80 mile beach where we helped out with a family camp run by the church. We were responsible for the children's program so we planned games and songs and stories for them. I really enjoyed it - the youth are awesome and we had a lot of fun! 80 mile is a 3 hour drive from Port Hedland, so it is literally an RV park in the middle of nowhere. It was really cool being in the Australian outback, surrounded by red dirt, seeing the most amazing stars ever and hanging out with amazing people! We also saw the most amazing sun rise and sun set I have ever seen... imagine 80 miles of beautiful beach and then add the most stunning colours in the sky - perfect. I loved it! We also watched this hilarious skit night things, which involved some improv skits with different members from our team. Camping was one of the highlights for sure! There is something about getting back to nature with amazing people in another country - I just love it :)

This town is tiny. And it is not only tiny, it is so isolated! There really is nothing to do. And, unfortunately, that is kind of affecting our ministry opportunities here. We haven't been super busy, and spend a lot of time just hanging out at the church watching movies and stuff. I would like to be a lot busier, but a lot of it is out of our control, and there isn't a lot we can do about it. It's alright though - I am really grateful for this experience I'm getting. I don't know very many people who are able to live in a tiny little mining town in the middle of nowhere way up north in Western Australia. It is a really different life up here! This town brings in the majority of the wealth of Western Australia, and even the whole country, because of the mining boom, so people make a lot of money here! Most people come up here just to get a job and make money. Everything is also really expensive - try $7.50 for an iced coffee. And the people here are very Australian.. thick accents, very laid back, very friendly, dry humour... it's great. I feel like I am experiencing something a lot of people don't get to experience.

So, outreach is almost done. Then it's back in Perth for our report back week, where we rap everything up! And then it's over! I am kind of ready for it to be done, but I will miss people like crazy! I have extended my trip though.. I'll be in Australia for a couple more weeks. There is a camp in the middle of July that I will be staffing before I come home.. There might also be a trip to Bali happening.. we'll see. Anyways, I hope you are all good! Thanks for reading :)

Goodbye Italy

I am now back in Australia, heading into the third part of outreach. We are finished our time in Italy and are headed up North to a small mining town called Port Hedland, to work in high schools for three weeks. I haven´t written about our last few days in Italy, so I´ll fill you in.

Basically, the last week was AMAZING! It started off with a noble attempt to spend the day in Venice. It is only a three hour train ride to get from Milan to Venice, but it took us nine hours to get there. Factor in late buses, missing the train, long bus tours throughout Northern Italy and lot´s of announcements in Italian and not in English, and you have a very long trip to Venice. When we finally got there, we only had two hours to spend in the city. We did a very quick run through the city and took pictures and bought things as quickly as possible. Venice is an absolutely beautiful city and I am so excited to go back one day and actually have time to spend there! The way home took 4.5 hours on the train, so we ended up missing the last bus out to our town. We had to call up the ywam base in milan and ask to crash on there floor. We slept on the ground in our clothes and then headed back the next morning.

We got back to the church to find about 20 extra people at the church, including a team from Brazil and a ywam team from San Fransisco. All these people had come out to help out with this massive evangelistic campaign that the church was doing in the town we were staying in (Casarate Primo). This is a program they do in Brazil and have recently brought it to Italy to try it out. Basically they knock on every single door, talk to every person and run huge events and concerts in the evening. There is also constant prayer and intercession going on. It was four days long, and extremely busy and eventful. It was truly amazing to be a part of - many, many people came to know Christ and many heard of Jesus and were open to him. It was a little bit frustrating because we can´t speak Italian and most don´t speak English, so we couldn´t really evangelize to them. However, we were able to support them in prayer and we also performed our drama skit a number of times. It was just a really awesome time and I loved every part of it. The church is amazing and are very welcoming and hospitable. There were also a bunch of Brazilians who came over and were a big part of it. So any time we had a meeting or shared testimonies, they had to translate it from Italian to English and Portuguese. There were constantly three languages being spoken - it was pretty exciting. I loved it :) We also connected with the team from ywam San Fran.. it was really good to have some new people around to hang out with. Overall, it was a jam-packed four days and was tons of fun. Definitely the highlight of Italy!

I am going to miss Italy. The people we connected with were just amazing. I feel very fortunate for the experience we got. If I had been in Italy for a holiday, there is no way we would have met as many people that we did. We also wouldn´t have ha the opportunity to enter into people´s lives and homes and just really be adopted into their family. I felt so loved there all the time. Even though communication was hard because of the language barrier, we still had an amazing time together. They are truly amazing people and I am going to miss them.

We left Milan on Sunday night and slept in the airport. We then flew to Frankfurt, Germany and spent the day in the city. We flew through the night to Johannesburg, SA and spent the day in the airport and then flew through the night back to Perth. We had a day and a half in Perth and all the outreach teams were back so I got to see everyone else! I was a little worried about meeting up with them again, because I didn´t know if it would be the same, but it was. It was so good to see them and hear their stories!! We are now driving two days north, where we will be for the next three weeks. We have also gained 4 other members to our team, which is really great. I am excited for what God has in store for these next weeks!

Thanks everyone! I love you guys. I have many, many pictures I want to share but I don´t know when it will be possible… I´m working on it :)

PS. Just arrived in Port Hedland today. We drove about 10 hours today.... Australia really is a barren, empty land. We saw NOTHING along the way... only two gas stations. Last night, we ran out of gas because the one and only one we saw was closed. WE travelled for almost an hour on completely empty.... pulling a trailer and everything! It was crazy! Anyways, we are here now.. just settling in at the church :)

ITALY!

So we have been here in Italy for almost two weeks. We are staying in a small town an hour out of Milan, called Casorate Primo. We are staying in a church so we are just sleeping on the floor in the sanctuary and cooking our own meals in the kitchen. We also don’t have showers so we go to one of the neighbour’s houses to use theirs. They have been so kind, letting us come in every other day or so and taking over. That is the only time we can use the internet as well, so I’m only able to get online for a couple minutes every few days. This church is really great.. it is a very active evangelical Baptist church among all the catholic churches in Italy. They are also connected with the YWAM base in Milan, which is just getting started.

Casorate Primo is probably the cutest little town ever. It is one of those places where everyone knows everyone and you can walk anywhere within a couple minutes. There are quite a few old people here and everyone rides bikes everywhere! They all have the cute little bikes with baskets on the front. We have also gone into Milan a couple times – such a nice city. The architecture is awesome, and there is a lot of history here. We saw the square where Constantine gave the speech that legalized Christianity, which is pretty cool. The one thing that is really interesting about Milan is that there is a lot of graffiti. It is everywhere! I kind of hate it and love it at the same time.. It sort of makes the place look dirtier, but then it makes a cool contrast between the old architecture and the crazy graffiti. Also, Milan is a fashion capital so everyone is dressed very well. There is so much good style here! The most important thing is the shoes.. there are stilletos everywhere – even when people are riding bikes. It can be pretty intimidating trying to talk to people because they just all look so cool! It is a way different vibe from SA, where everyone is open and laid back.

In terms of ministry, we actually haven’t been too busy. We are getting involved in everything the church is doing and we have also been going into the city to do evangelism. The church has this massive evangelical campaign in a couple weeks, where they are basically trying to reach every single person in the town and talk to them about God. It should be pretty cool to be a part of. What I have really enjoyed about this part of outreach is how we have really been included in the life of this church and these people. They have welcomed us into their family, which is really cool. And because this is such a small town, we are able to get to know a lot of people. I like being in this little town because we are able to see how real Italians really live. This is a tourist area and practically nobody speaks English so we have to use our terrible Italian and they try to speak as much English as possible. We are experiencing the real Italy :)

I really like Italy. I like their gelato :) And I am excited to see what God will do here. Please pray for opportunities to open up for us to speak with people and really just minister to this city. Prayer for our team is also much appreciated. We have now been together for a long time, and I think the unity isn't as good as it should be. I think we might be getting tired of eachother... or maybe just tired in general.

I love and miss you guys! Thanks for your support!

PS. Some fun facts about Italians: they LOVE to say ciao (we say it all the time - for hello or goodbye), they greet eachother with cheek kisses, they use their hands like crazy when they talk, their coffee is a small espresso shot (really strong, really good), they are super good looking, they are loud, they care a lot about style (especially about shoes! But this might be specific to Milan), they drink a lot (beer taps in McDonald's, wine everywhere), they drive fast and crazy, they speak really fast and it sounds amazing! There are many more things about Italians that I am learning, but that's all I can remember for now. Ciao!

God is good

Outreach in South Africa is almost over! I am leaving for Italy in just a couple days. It is crazy to think of leaving this place because we have really been able to get to know and love people here. We have been so fortunate that our ministry has been very discipleship-oriented. What I mean is that a lot of people (the majority) we talk to here are already Christians, so we have the chance to encourage them and challenge them in their faith. I thought that outreach was going to be a time when we would lead a lot of people to the Lord, but there has only been one person who has become a Christian from our ministry here. His name is Jeremiah, and he is just awesome! He is recently out of prison, where he spent most of his time reading the Bible. When two of my teammates talked to him on the beach, he was so ready to accept Christ, but he didn't know how. But now he is the most on fire for God person I know... he just doesn't stop talking about God - like, we literally cannot get a word in. He was homeless, just sleeping on some rocks near the ocean, and didn't have anything at all really. We were able to get him a Bible (which we all had to sign and write our countries so he could show people how missionaries came from overseas to lead him to Christ) and we also got to buy him a house!!!!! It is actually only a small garden shed, but it was only $50 and he has a roof over his head! He is also now connected with the pastor here, so he has someone to mentor him. So maybe we aren't leading hundreds of people to Christ, but if Jeremiah is the only reason we came to South Africa, I am ok with that!

God is doing lot's of other awesome things too. We have been experiencing something I have never witnessed before - healings! God heals people when we pray. Today we were at this woman's house in Delft, the township, and she told us about her legs that have been sore for the past 6 months and it is difficult for her to walk. We prayed over her legs, asking God to heal her and when we were done, she stood up and was able to jump up and down and move all around. God literally healed her before my eyes. It was so amazing! God still does miracles today! Then she invited us in for tea and we watched the royal wedding. So good.

Outreach is going good. I can't believe it's a third of the way through, but I am excited for the rest of it! My team is doing well. We have been getting along well, although I have realized how hard it can be to live with and hang out with the same people all the time. It's all about patience and not letting people get on your nerves. It's good though, it really is. We have a lot of fun times together and we all work well together. Continued prayer for unity and safety over the team would be awesome! Thanks!

Outreach...

I love this place. And these people. And everything! I am really enjoying myself here. It is hard to believe how fast it is all going - only two and a bit weeks left! It is going to fly by. We have been keeping pretty busy here, mostly just going different places and talking to people. We spend a couple days a week in a township called Delft. We mostly just go door to door talking to people. In their culture, an open front door means "come on in, we're ready for visitors" so we can literally just walk into someone's house, sit down on their couch and start chatting with them. They are very open people and will tell you their entire life story - what's going on with the family, health concerns or troubles finding a job. We usually just chat a bit and then spend time praying with them. It seems like most people here believe in God and absolutely love prayer, so our role is to really encourage them in that and help them grow in their faith. I remember on the first day as we drove through the townships, I jumped to a lot of wrong conclusions about them and the the people who lived there. I now know that they are a beautiful group of people who are friendly and open and welcoming. I feel very secure and welcome in Delft and just love spending time there. I also got the opportunity to preach in the church there last Sunday. It is a pretty small church, but it was my first time every preaching! It was definately a great experience. The congregation was so welcoming and really put me at ease. Just imagine a bunch of black mama's amen-ing and hallelujah-ing after everything. LOVE IT! We are running the entire service on Sunday, so that should be interesting! I'm not speaking at all, but I'm just excited to go back there.

We also spend a fair amount of time at the beach evangelizing. Just as people are very open in Delft, it seems that South Africans are very open in general. It is becoming so easy for me to just sit down next to someone and have a conversation with them. They love chatting and sharing about their lives. I have met a lot of really interesting people who have crazy stories to tell. I have talked to quite a few homeless people, but also to a lot of the surfers or other people who hang out at the beach. I have noticed that these people are very spiritual, just in general. Mostly everyone I have spoken with have some sort of belief in God and have stories where God has supernaturally showed up in their lives in miraculous ways. However, there is this disconnect when it comes to living a daily walk with God. So I think that our role here in SA is not to necessarily preach the gospel and lead people to Christ, but to encourage people who are already Christians and disciple them and help them grow stronger in their faith.

I am still loving this beautiful country. Today we went for a hike up a mountain near where we live. It took a pretty solid 1.5 hours to get up and it was pretty intense. But the view from the top is amazing! So worth the hike :) Every time I am struck by the beauty of this city (which is quite frequently) I remember how awesome God is. He made it all.

I don't really know if anyone reads this blog, but thank you to the ones who do! Your support is greatly appreciated, as are your prayers! Some specific prayer requests would be for safety for our team, as Capetown can be potentially dangerous, and also that God would open up so many opportunities for us. Pray that God would direct us to specific people or ministries or situations that we need to be involved in. Thank-you for your prayers! I hope everyone is doing well!

OUTREACH: Capetown, South Africa!

I still can't believe I am here. It is so surreal to me. The base we are staying at here is so awesome. It's an old hotel, so it has all these neat staircases and stuff. I share a room with the three other girls on my team and we seriously have way more room then back in perth. And we have a shower between the four of us versus two showers between like 30 people.. This is like luxury living here. I feel almost guilty.. ahaha I actually don't mind at all.. it's really nice.

Yesterday we went into the actual city of Capetown (we are living in a suburb called Muizenburg). It is about 45 minutes on the train to get there. The train is pretty cool.. really rustic and old and crowded! We go in the first class just because there are less people who ride in it but it was still so full coming home during rush hour. The doors don't close automatically so there are people holding them open and hanging out of them, or they are outside in between two of the cars. It's a cool experience for sure. We walked around the city for a good while - it is so interesting! This is the most polarized city I have ever seen in terms of money distribution. Walking down the sidewalk.. you look to the left and there are poor street vendors and on your right are high end clothing stores. The contrast between rich and poor is everywhere. We all really enjoyed walking around, lot's of cool stuff to see. However, we did get a sense of the city and the darkness and danger that is there. There were a lot of people who came up to us begging for money and stuff or just hanging around us. We have been given many tips on how to travel safe, so if we are smart we will be totally fine. That being said, Capetown isn't the safest city ever, so prayer for safety over my team would be awesome! Because our team is multicultural (7 countries represented!) we look more like tourists.

Today was an even better day. We went into a township today, called Delft. We went there with the pastor of a church there who is going to always lead us when we go. Basically we visited his church (it's just a square building with nothing in it) and then we visited some of the people he knows. The township is like a slum area. It is a huge area or these super run down shacks. The government actually makes really nice (comparatively speaking) houses for them and gives them to the people for free, so that is good. But a lot of people live in terrible looking shacks made out of scraps. But when we went inside them, they are actually homes. They have furniture and electricity and it is a home. I was really surprised at how comfortable they are...at least the ones we went to. And the people we met were all soooo friendly. Very welcoming and just loved it that we were there wanting to help out and everything. And the children! Oh my goodness. My heart feels complete. They are just so full of joy, it is incredible. A whole swarm of them came up to us and just jumped on us. The climbed all over us and we gave them piggy back rides and swung them around and everything. And the cutest thing was that they kept on grabbing my hair and sort of stroked it. They actually took it out of the braid I had and were playing with it and said they loved it so much. It was so sweet. We are going back tomorrow and I can't wait. I loved it there.. I felt safe and comfortable - the people are awesome.

So basically, I love it here. I am excited for everything that is to come and all the opportunities we will have to talk to the people of this amazing city and share Jesus with them! So excited for the next month :)