Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
i'll follow you into the dark
i miss home!! i miss greensboro! i miss my family and my friends and my youth group and my church. i miss my bed. i miss lucy, my dog! its strange having such mixed feelings. i do not want to go home.. i can't imagine leaving my YWAM family... but i want to go home. i want to see my family!! i love australia. i miss america. silly feelings!!
so every tuesday for the rest of DTS i will be going to a local elementary school to run a program called Extreme. basically we (shae, andy, ezra, martin, and tina) have 25 minutes to entertain kids and tell them about Jesus... while being politically correct! its usually really fun. we do dramas and skits and play crazy games. we also share simple stories about God and how he has worked in our lives. i love it. i'm already getting attached to their cute australian accents and yellow and green school uniforms. i just love having the opportunity to go there every week and build relationships with these kids and tell them about Jesus. there is nothing i'd rather do with my time.
so i've started paying my school fees!! its really exciting to have all my lecture fees taken care of!! but i still need about $1500 dollars for outreach... but i know God will provide. and i want to thank everyone who has supported my financially! i couldn't be here without y'all! i really, really appreciate it!!
lately i've been learning about trusting God. i mean, really trusting him. with your heart.that means being vulnerable with him... letting him in to see how you REALLY feel, not just what you want to let him see... not just what you think is presentable... no. i'm talking about letting God see your pain.. your heart. your wounds. letting him in. and its not something i've been able to do on my own... in my own strength, i am not able to allow God into those painful places... its too scary.. its too vulnerable.. but i can allow God to go in there in HIS strength (2 cor 12:9) and change me... its a hard things. its like... trusting him to help you trust him with those wounds. but its cool at the same time. you know the Psalm where it says "search me O God, and know my heart" (psalm 139:23, btw) well that is what is happening to me right now. not by my own strength, but by His, i'm letting God into those wounds... those vulnerable places that make you squirm and maybe even cry when you think about them. its funny how we say all these things to God about how we will do whatever he says and we are his to do whatever he wants with and how we give him our hearts... but we don't really. we always hold one (or more) thing back... that one wound that you just can't let go of... it hurts too bad. well i want to encourage you to trust god. go out on a limb. offer your heart on a platter. God won't let you down.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise. -hebrews 10:23
you know what. even if heaven wasn't real, even if we all just went to hell when we died, or there was just nothing at all... i would still follow Jesus. he is so worthy. even if there was nothing in it for me.... i would still love my Jesus. God is good. hes not tame, but hes good.
so every tuesday for the rest of DTS i will be going to a local elementary school to run a program called Extreme. basically we (shae, andy, ezra, martin, and tina) have 25 minutes to entertain kids and tell them about Jesus... while being politically correct! its usually really fun. we do dramas and skits and play crazy games. we also share simple stories about God and how he has worked in our lives. i love it. i'm already getting attached to their cute australian accents and yellow and green school uniforms. i just love having the opportunity to go there every week and build relationships with these kids and tell them about Jesus. there is nothing i'd rather do with my time.
so i've started paying my school fees!! its really exciting to have all my lecture fees taken care of!! but i still need about $1500 dollars for outreach... but i know God will provide. and i want to thank everyone who has supported my financially! i couldn't be here without y'all! i really, really appreciate it!!
lately i've been learning about trusting God. i mean, really trusting him. with your heart.that means being vulnerable with him... letting him in to see how you REALLY feel, not just what you want to let him see... not just what you think is presentable... no. i'm talking about letting God see your pain.. your heart. your wounds. letting him in. and its not something i've been able to do on my own... in my own strength, i am not able to allow God into those painful places... its too scary.. its too vulnerable.. but i can allow God to go in there in HIS strength (2 cor 12:9) and change me... its a hard things. its like... trusting him to help you trust him with those wounds. but its cool at the same time. you know the Psalm where it says "search me O God, and know my heart" (psalm 139:23, btw) well that is what is happening to me right now. not by my own strength, but by His, i'm letting God into those wounds... those vulnerable places that make you squirm and maybe even cry when you think about them. its funny how we say all these things to God about how we will do whatever he says and we are his to do whatever he wants with and how we give him our hearts... but we don't really. we always hold one (or more) thing back... that one wound that you just can't let go of... it hurts too bad. well i want to encourage you to trust god. go out on a limb. offer your heart on a platter. God won't let you down.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise. -hebrews 10:23
you know what. even if heaven wasn't real, even if we all just went to hell when we died, or there was just nothing at all... i would still follow Jesus. he is so worthy. even if there was nothing in it for me.... i would still love my Jesus. God is good. hes not tame, but hes good.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
spring cleaning
i am SO sorry i haven't updated in ages!! its really hard to find the time to write an entire blog!! the past couple of days have been amazing!! to give an example of an average day, i thought i would post a schedule on my blog!
every morning we wake up at 6:30am to do workduties. work duties are just cleaning the house, and every week, we all rotate. this week, i'm on kitchen duty.
then from 7am to 8:40am, we have quiet time, eat breakfast, and get ready. we are just left to do our own thing. i usually shower first, then eat and then have quiet time before we leave.
at 9am, lectures or class start. we usually have something like intercession or worship in the morning, so not usually lectures. but its different everyday. yesterday, we all sat in a circle and talked about how we were doing emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and then we prayed for eachother. its awesome to be so close with everyone. we are all very honest and open.
(side note- tuesdays is community day. so every tuesday morning we have worship and intercession, and then go out into surfers paradise, homeless shelters, or put on programs for the local schools in the morning.)
10am- TEA TIME! we have a 30 minute tea time EVERYDAY. and its a big deal! everyone in australia has tea time!! we have tea or coffee with like fruit or bread or cookies. its so cute.
10:30-1pm- lectures!! we have different speakers every week, but each week is themed. like this week was hearing god's voice.
1-2pm is lunch. this week i was on lunch clean up, so i cleaned with ivan after lunch everyday.
2pm-4- lectures/small group/one on ones/ ACTS. it changes everyday. one on ones is when you go out with your staff mentor to talk. just to check up on us and give us a chance to be open and express what we're learning or if we're struggling with stuff. my mentor is Tina. she is great!! ACTS is explained in an earlier blog. my ACTS is cleaning the base. so yeah, 2-4pm is something different everyday.
4-5:30pm is free time! this is when i use the computer.
5-6pm is dinner.
6ish-9pm is lectures or outreach prep or coffee van (we set up a free coffee van in downtown GC and just minister to people. but this is only on thursday nights). or just free time. it changes everyday.
so after whatever we do at night, we go back home. i love our house. i feel at home there. i love coming back there after a long day. we usually hang out and play cards or swim. i usually just go to bed at like 10pm because i'm so tired!!! and then the whole day starts again!
its a pretty full day, especially when its EVERY day all week. its a little overwhelming sometimes. people keep asking me how i'm doing or how my heart is or what i'm feeling... and its hard to just tell people one emotion. i am just learning and processing SO MUCH information, and God is just teaching me and revealing so many things to me and just cleaning me out. thats how i feel. like its spring cleaning time. in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a scene where the narnians and aslan take over the witch's castle. people are charging in and opening every window, every door. they are letting in the light and the fresh air. every damp and dark room is exposed. thats how i feel. like God is shining his light into the very darkest corner rooms of my heart. hes just charging through and spring cleaning has begun. i kind of just feel like i'm just along for the ride. its hard to pinpoint ONE thing i'm feeling or ONE thing i'm learning, because its all just A LOT. but its good. its very good.
last night, we celebrated the Jewish feast, Purim, which is when Ester helped save her people from an attack. So, in the tradition of Purim, we all dressed up in costumes! everyone looked so cute. i was a cat :) haha. so we all met in our costumes and took turns reading the entire book of Ester outloud. then we all just ate food and talked and stuff. it was so fun! i loved dressing up!
anyway... thats all for now! i'll try to be better about updating y'all more often! thanks SO MUCH for your prayers for me! i need them! i miss and love y'all so much!!!
hugs and kisses from australia!
grace
every morning we wake up at 6:30am to do workduties. work duties are just cleaning the house, and every week, we all rotate. this week, i'm on kitchen duty.
then from 7am to 8:40am, we have quiet time, eat breakfast, and get ready. we are just left to do our own thing. i usually shower first, then eat and then have quiet time before we leave.
at 9am, lectures or class start. we usually have something like intercession or worship in the morning, so not usually lectures. but its different everyday. yesterday, we all sat in a circle and talked about how we were doing emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and then we prayed for eachother. its awesome to be so close with everyone. we are all very honest and open.
(side note- tuesdays is community day. so every tuesday morning we have worship and intercession, and then go out into surfers paradise, homeless shelters, or put on programs for the local schools in the morning.)
10am- TEA TIME! we have a 30 minute tea time EVERYDAY. and its a big deal! everyone in australia has tea time!! we have tea or coffee with like fruit or bread or cookies. its so cute.
10:30-1pm- lectures!! we have different speakers every week, but each week is themed. like this week was hearing god's voice.
1-2pm is lunch. this week i was on lunch clean up, so i cleaned with ivan after lunch everyday.
2pm-4- lectures/small group/one on ones/ ACTS. it changes everyday. one on ones is when you go out with your staff mentor to talk. just to check up on us and give us a chance to be open and express what we're learning or if we're struggling with stuff. my mentor is Tina. she is great!! ACTS is explained in an earlier blog. my ACTS is cleaning the base. so yeah, 2-4pm is something different everyday.
4-5:30pm is free time! this is when i use the computer.
5-6pm is dinner.
6ish-9pm is lectures or outreach prep or coffee van (we set up a free coffee van in downtown GC and just minister to people. but this is only on thursday nights). or just free time. it changes everyday.
so after whatever we do at night, we go back home. i love our house. i feel at home there. i love coming back there after a long day. we usually hang out and play cards or swim. i usually just go to bed at like 10pm because i'm so tired!!! and then the whole day starts again!
its a pretty full day, especially when its EVERY day all week. its a little overwhelming sometimes. people keep asking me how i'm doing or how my heart is or what i'm feeling... and its hard to just tell people one emotion. i am just learning and processing SO MUCH information, and God is just teaching me and revealing so many things to me and just cleaning me out. thats how i feel. like its spring cleaning time. in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a scene where the narnians and aslan take over the witch's castle. people are charging in and opening every window, every door. they are letting in the light and the fresh air. every damp and dark room is exposed. thats how i feel. like God is shining his light into the very darkest corner rooms of my heart. hes just charging through and spring cleaning has begun. i kind of just feel like i'm just along for the ride. its hard to pinpoint ONE thing i'm feeling or ONE thing i'm learning, because its all just A LOT. but its good. its very good.
last night, we celebrated the Jewish feast, Purim, which is when Ester helped save her people from an attack. So, in the tradition of Purim, we all dressed up in costumes! everyone looked so cute. i was a cat :) haha. so we all met in our costumes and took turns reading the entire book of Ester outloud. then we all just ate food and talked and stuff. it was so fun! i loved dressing up!
anyway... thats all for now! i'll try to be better about updating y'all more often! thanks SO MUCH for your prayers for me! i need them! i miss and love y'all so much!!!
hugs and kisses from australia!
grace
Sunday, March 1, 2009
miscellaneous blog entry
so i've been really wanting to try to drive here. in Australia, they drive on the opposite side of the road and the driver sits in the passenger seat!! also, most of the cars here are stick shift. but, i don't know how to drive stick shift, so there was no way i could drive. however, Carly told me that she had an automatic and that she would let me try driving!!! so friday night after dinner, she let me drive around the neighborhood! haha it was so exciting!! it was strange to be on the wrong side of the road, but it was STRANGER to be driving in the PASSENGER seat. but it was fun!! next time i'm going to drive on an actual road... haha! its going to be amazing.
saturday we all went to Currumbin Beach, which is the beautiful beach that mostly locals go to. shae and i layed out while everyone else surfed.. haha. i'll try surfing... one day... maybe. haha. but it was fun to just all be together. i love living with everyone!
this week we are learning about intimacy with God and hearing his voice. we've had one lecture this morning (its 3:30pm on Monday) and so far... its been amazing. i can't express enough gratitude to the people who have supported this trip. i am learning so much and having the time of my life!!
its funny how time passes here in the YWAM bubble. one day can feel like five minutes or ten years, but you are just oblivious to it. i seem to be wondering around in this strange mix between time passing and time standing still. its like another dimension that faintly resembles the world i know, but its much deeper... like there is much more to soak in. even when i am doing something like scrubbing the bathroom toilet i am aware of time passing, but i don't really want it to. then in worship, it feels like time is standing still, but then in a moment... its over. its gone... passed on. i wonder what God feels about time and its passing. is he aware of it? he is so outside of time and our ideas of time...
anyway. this is irrelevant. i was just pondering things. i love reading your comments! if you read my blog, please comment! it makes me feel just a little bit closer to home :)
love, grace
saturday we all went to Currumbin Beach, which is the beautiful beach that mostly locals go to. shae and i layed out while everyone else surfed.. haha. i'll try surfing... one day... maybe. haha. but it was fun to just all be together. i love living with everyone!
this week we are learning about intimacy with God and hearing his voice. we've had one lecture this morning (its 3:30pm on Monday) and so far... its been amazing. i can't express enough gratitude to the people who have supported this trip. i am learning so much and having the time of my life!!
its funny how time passes here in the YWAM bubble. one day can feel like five minutes or ten years, but you are just oblivious to it. i seem to be wondering around in this strange mix between time passing and time standing still. its like another dimension that faintly resembles the world i know, but its much deeper... like there is much more to soak in. even when i am doing something like scrubbing the bathroom toilet i am aware of time passing, but i don't really want it to. then in worship, it feels like time is standing still, but then in a moment... its over. its gone... passed on. i wonder what God feels about time and its passing. is he aware of it? he is so outside of time and our ideas of time...
anyway. this is irrelevant. i was just pondering things. i love reading your comments! if you read my blog, please comment! it makes me feel just a little bit closer to home :)
love, grace
Thursday, February 26, 2009
baaa baa black sheep
last night at dinner i was just talking with everyone and then it turned into "make fun of grace's accent night" and everyone started repeating everything i said in an exaggerated southern accent!! ugh. haha. and THEN they said that i sounded like a sheep when i say "bye" because i say by. or ba. or whatever. a sheep! they said i sounded like a sheep! whatever. they are all just jealous of my amazing southern accent. they will miss it when i leave!
we are all starting to really settle in. i think its hitting us that we're going to be here for awhile. its not just summer camp. we're here for months! its exciting though. we all get along and i really like everyone. we are a good group and we really get along. its friday afternoon right now (1:22am on thursday at home) and with our first week of lectures over, i'm feeling pretty good. our speaker this past week was AMAZING. and worship. man, worship this week was incredible. seriously, i couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to take six months of my life to just be with God.
i'm going to leave you with this to think about:
seek His face, not his hands. seek the PERSON, not the principle.
Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life. he doesn't HAVE the way. he IS the way. he doesn't HAVE the truth, he IS the truth. he doesn't HAVE life, he IS life. seek his ways, not is actions. his face, not his hands. seek his heart. the person, not the principle.
<3
we are all starting to really settle in. i think its hitting us that we're going to be here for awhile. its not just summer camp. we're here for months! its exciting though. we all get along and i really like everyone. we are a good group and we really get along. its friday afternoon right now (1:22am on thursday at home) and with our first week of lectures over, i'm feeling pretty good. our speaker this past week was AMAZING. and worship. man, worship this week was incredible. seriously, i couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to take six months of my life to just be with God.
i'm going to leave you with this to think about:
seek His face, not his hands. seek the PERSON, not the principle.
Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life. he doesn't HAVE the way. he IS the way. he doesn't HAVE the truth, he IS the truth. he doesn't HAVE life, he IS life. seek his ways, not is actions. his face, not his hands. seek his heart. the person, not the principle.
<3
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
waove, towue waove...
what i want to challenge you to do is to love. i've been learning about love this week. what i've learned is that love is NOT a feeling. get that out of your head. love is not an EMOTION. love is a decision. a sacrifice. and with sincere love, feelings usually follow. i'm not just talking about marriage or romantic love, but with everyone. god IS love. and love is God. out of hope and even FAITH, love is the greatest. the entire universe revolves around this unconditional love. everything hangs on this.
God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his only... you know the rest. love is a sacrifice. not just giving because when you give, you usually can get something back. but sacrifice, you don't get anything from that. its a SACRIFICE. God created us in his own image so that we could be like him and love like him. God's kind of love is a covenant love. it expects nothing back. it is completely selfless.
faith works in LOVE.
"love the lord you god with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength." if you understand love, you understand God. god is love. god is a GIVER. the entire universe hangs on this principle. God is calling us to love him first and then others with this kind of love. this covenant. 1 john 3:16 says
"we know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. so we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters."
that doesn't mean we are supposed to just die for everyone. it can also be practical. thinking of others first is very simple. and its loving them. isn't it funny that the key to the universe is simply thinking of others first? if you know God, you know love. if you know love, you know god. loving like this is engaging your spirit. at the same time it is DISengaging and destroying the Enemy. if you can get into love, you can get into the spirit.
love is not an emotion. its who God is. its the law of the kingdom. its how everything functions. the entire reason the universe was created was for us to love God and for him to love us back. its the reason he gave us free will. loving people is not about FEELING emotion. the very CHARACTER and NATURE of God is LOVE.
if you mull this over and think about this and accept it, it'll change your perspective on everything. if you understand love, God will CHANGE your heart. my heart has been flipped upside down and turned inside out by this concept. its totally not about me. how silly it was to think it was. the key to EVERYTHING is love. God IS love. forget the emotion "love". that is not real. love is deeper. read 1 cor 13 for heavens sake. those aren't mushy "aw i love you" feelings. although god created those too. but 1 john says if we don't love we don't belong to God. love is crucial. it is pretty much the answer to EVERYTHING.. haha. even if you get nothing in return. its not about you. God will bless you. find TRUE love and you find God. life isn't about boys or petty friendships or clothes or music or movies. all those things are IN life, but life is not ABOUT those things. life is about love. God is in the love business, people.
God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his only... you know the rest. love is a sacrifice. not just giving because when you give, you usually can get something back. but sacrifice, you don't get anything from that. its a SACRIFICE. God created us in his own image so that we could be like him and love like him. God's kind of love is a covenant love. it expects nothing back. it is completely selfless.
faith works in LOVE.
"love the lord you god with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength." if you understand love, you understand God. god is love. god is a GIVER. the entire universe hangs on this principle. God is calling us to love him first and then others with this kind of love. this covenant. 1 john 3:16 says
"we know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. so we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters."
that doesn't mean we are supposed to just die for everyone. it can also be practical. thinking of others first is very simple. and its loving them. isn't it funny that the key to the universe is simply thinking of others first? if you know God, you know love. if you know love, you know god. loving like this is engaging your spirit. at the same time it is DISengaging and destroying the Enemy. if you can get into love, you can get into the spirit.
love is not an emotion. its who God is. its the law of the kingdom. its how everything functions. the entire reason the universe was created was for us to love God and for him to love us back. its the reason he gave us free will. loving people is not about FEELING emotion. the very CHARACTER and NATURE of God is LOVE.
if you mull this over and think about this and accept it, it'll change your perspective on everything. if you understand love, God will CHANGE your heart. my heart has been flipped upside down and turned inside out by this concept. its totally not about me. how silly it was to think it was. the key to EVERYTHING is love. God IS love. forget the emotion "love". that is not real. love is deeper. read 1 cor 13 for heavens sake. those aren't mushy "aw i love you" feelings. although god created those too. but 1 john says if we don't love we don't belong to God. love is crucial. it is pretty much the answer to EVERYTHING.. haha. even if you get nothing in return. its not about you. God will bless you. find TRUE love and you find God. life isn't about boys or petty friendships or clothes or music or movies. all those things are IN life, but life is not ABOUT those things. life is about love. God is in the love business, people.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
lbs and cleaning
the girls house has been sold for a while (ywam was only renting it) and we were told we needed to be out in about two weeks. so this past week darcy and rochelle went out to look at houses for the girls. so on thursday they ended up finding an AMAZING house. its HUGE. its in a nice neighborhood, its fairly new, it has seven bedrooms, and a pool! haha. so it ended up working out for us to buy the place! and its big enough for EVERYONE not just the girls! so on saturday, the boys and girls and staff all moved in together! we got up at about 7am and seriously..i was cleaning from 8am until about 5pm. i have never cleaned SO much in one day in my entire life. i was with the first group to go to the new house and start cleaning while people stayed at the old house to pack up. then when they got to the new house to unpack, i was taken to the old house to clean. i seriously wiped and vacuumed and swept and mopped all. day.
but man. it was worth it! the new house is AMAZING. its huge! the girls room is the biggest. its very spacious and it has a HUGE walk-in closet! and the balcony.. lets just say that holly and i jumped up and down on the balcony for a while cause we were so excited (ever since i saw Aladdin when i was little, i've always wanted a balcony! they are just so magical!). after we finished moving in we all went and just sat and soaked in the pool and then ate dinner. it was nice. its so fun to live with everyone! we are all bonding and forming a little family :)
sunday i went to a church called Set Free. it was a lot like the fellowship, but a little crazier worship services. haha. but it made me miss my church family!! after church we got lunch (all i could think about was sunday dinner at home..... man i miss mama's sunday dinner) and then a bunch of us went swimming. then we went to one of the prettiest beaches ever. i've never seen a beach like that!! (pictures will come later, don't worry! be patient!)
today we had a worship service at like 9-10am. it was so nice just to worship. i love the way they do worship services. they just say to do whatever you feel like doing or felt led to do. you are free to lie flat on your face (which happens at YWAM. a lot) or dance in the back, or sit in your seat. whatever you feel led to do or however you express yourself in worship. its very chill and pressure-free. i lovee it. and cause its so small (they're aren't a ton of people here) its very intimate. i love it.
all this week we are having lectures about the character and nature of God. its sooooooooooooooooo interesting and amazing. our speaker outlines things that i never even thought about. its really cool. i wish my dad could hear it! he would love it!
this afternoon we started our A.C.T.S. (applying the call to serve) which is like work duties that we do once a week all around the base. and mine is cleaning. i can't get a way from it! i've been doing a LOT of cleaning since i've gotten here. maybe God wants me to be cleaner or something.. haha no just kidding. but it makes me think... what does God want me to get out of cleaning all the time? i'll let you know when i've found out.
anyway.. its almost dinner time! finally. i'm starving! i've lost TEN POUNDS since i've been here. TEN. 10. in a WEEK. isn't that crazy! just from not snacking and walking around and eating healthier! its insane. so anyway.. yeah. love you all and miss you! i love reading your comments, so please leave them!!!
love love love all the way from Australia!!
Grace
but man. it was worth it! the new house is AMAZING. its huge! the girls room is the biggest. its very spacious and it has a HUGE walk-in closet! and the balcony.. lets just say that holly and i jumped up and down on the balcony for a while cause we were so excited (ever since i saw Aladdin when i was little, i've always wanted a balcony! they are just so magical!). after we finished moving in we all went and just sat and soaked in the pool and then ate dinner. it was nice. its so fun to live with everyone! we are all bonding and forming a little family :)
sunday i went to a church called Set Free. it was a lot like the fellowship, but a little crazier worship services. haha. but it made me miss my church family!! after church we got lunch (all i could think about was sunday dinner at home..... man i miss mama's sunday dinner) and then a bunch of us went swimming. then we went to one of the prettiest beaches ever. i've never seen a beach like that!! (pictures will come later, don't worry! be patient!)
today we had a worship service at like 9-10am. it was so nice just to worship. i love the way they do worship services. they just say to do whatever you feel like doing or felt led to do. you are free to lie flat on your face (which happens at YWAM. a lot) or dance in the back, or sit in your seat. whatever you feel led to do or however you express yourself in worship. its very chill and pressure-free. i lovee it. and cause its so small (they're aren't a ton of people here) its very intimate. i love it.
all this week we are having lectures about the character and nature of God. its sooooooooooooooooo interesting and amazing. our speaker outlines things that i never even thought about. its really cool. i wish my dad could hear it! he would love it!
this afternoon we started our A.C.T.S. (applying the call to serve) which is like work duties that we do once a week all around the base. and mine is cleaning. i can't get a way from it! i've been doing a LOT of cleaning since i've gotten here. maybe God wants me to be cleaner or something.. haha no just kidding. but it makes me think... what does God want me to get out of cleaning all the time? i'll let you know when i've found out.
anyway.. its almost dinner time! finally. i'm starving! i've lost TEN POUNDS since i've been here. TEN. 10. in a WEEK. isn't that crazy! just from not snacking and walking around and eating healthier! its insane. so anyway.. yeah. love you all and miss you! i love reading your comments, so please leave them!!!
love love love all the way from Australia!!
Grace
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sticky
our morning lecture was about Conflict Resolution from a Biblical Perspective. Annette wanted us to understand that with so many different backgrounds and cultures living on top of one another that conflict was bound to happen, but there is a way to resolve those conflicts in a loving Jesus-like way. It was really interesting to me and I really got a lot out of it. I’m excited about all the things we’re going to be learning over the next three months. I feel so ready- so…. eager to soak up as much God as I can.
Everything is sticky here. Everything. Skin, fabric, food, my sheets, my bible, my hair, everything. Sand manages to get everywhere. Its always SO humid. I don’t understand how the air could possibly be SO thick. I mean… I gets this bad in North Carolina, but we have air conditioning. There is simply no escape to the sticky heat that seems to be constantly smothering me! Right now I’m sticking to my shirt, my sheets, and my computer. Its really the only thing that I can complain about Gold Coast. Its beautiful.
Tonight we had a free night so we went down to Surfers Paradise. It was beautiful at night with all the shops and lights and the beach and the ocean. Holly and I walked around the shops and I got some fantastic shoes. I know mama and daddy are rolling their eyes at this, but they should know that they can actually be proud because I have barely spent any money on things like that. Everyone here thinks I’m cheap because I won’t buy stuff or I’m always asking about the price. So, y’all can be proud of me! Haha
After we finished shopping, Holly and I took a walk by the ocean. Surprisingly, not a lot of people were on the beach even though the shops were packed. It was beautiful. On one side was this HUGE city skyline. The Buildings were huge and all lit up. On the other side was the vast ocean. The ocean is so different here. It’s so much scarier. I don’t know how to explain it, but its totally different from our ocean. Holly and I walked down to a part where it was really quiet. It was just the waves and the sand and the stars. We could see the Milky Way. It was so magical. All I could keep thinking was that I was in Gold Coast, Australia, sitting on the beach, all grown up, looking at the stars. Holly and I had a really good conversation about God and about what we wanted from this DTS. I really like her. Even though she is a couple of years older then me, and has a completely different culture and background, she has a very sweet spirit that I relate to. Anyway…that’s all that happened today. I’m listening to Explosions in the Sky (the best band ever) and about to brush my teeth. Its about 9:30pm (6:30am at home) and I’m exhausted. YWAM is making me so responsible! I keep eating right and walking everywhere and going to bed early! And spending money responsibly!! What am I going to do with myself?!
upon request, i am going to post the names and ages/nationalities of the people here:
DTS Students:
Shae- my roomie. 21 years old. from Richmond, Virginia
Holly- my roomie. 24 years old. from New Zealand.
Frankie- 18 years old. from Canada.
Ivan- 20 years old. from Canada.
Andy- 26 years old. from California
Ezra- 19 years old. from Malaysia
Staff:
Carly- early twenties, Australian.
Tina & Emmanuel- later twenties. Tina is from Canada, Emmanuel is from Nigeria
Frank- 26 years old. Norwegian.
Rochelle- later twenties. Australian.
Cheri and Dave- late twenties. Cheri is from Washington State and Dave is from Canada. they are the DTS leaders.
Annette and Darcy- Annette is Norwegian (Frank's older sister) and Darcy is Canadian. they have four children. they are the Base Directors.
Martian- i have no idea how old he is. from Germany.
Ugh I’m so sticky and I have sand all over me and I can’t get it off. Oh well… haha I’m to tired at the point to care. Love you all and miss you heaps!
grace
Everything is sticky here. Everything. Skin, fabric, food, my sheets, my bible, my hair, everything. Sand manages to get everywhere. Its always SO humid. I don’t understand how the air could possibly be SO thick. I mean… I gets this bad in North Carolina, but we have air conditioning. There is simply no escape to the sticky heat that seems to be constantly smothering me! Right now I’m sticking to my shirt, my sheets, and my computer. Its really the only thing that I can complain about Gold Coast. Its beautiful.
Tonight we had a free night so we went down to Surfers Paradise. It was beautiful at night with all the shops and lights and the beach and the ocean. Holly and I walked around the shops and I got some fantastic shoes. I know mama and daddy are rolling their eyes at this, but they should know that they can actually be proud because I have barely spent any money on things like that. Everyone here thinks I’m cheap because I won’t buy stuff or I’m always asking about the price. So, y’all can be proud of me! Haha
After we finished shopping, Holly and I took a walk by the ocean. Surprisingly, not a lot of people were on the beach even though the shops were packed. It was beautiful. On one side was this HUGE city skyline. The Buildings were huge and all lit up. On the other side was the vast ocean. The ocean is so different here. It’s so much scarier. I don’t know how to explain it, but its totally different from our ocean. Holly and I walked down to a part where it was really quiet. It was just the waves and the sand and the stars. We could see the Milky Way. It was so magical. All I could keep thinking was that I was in Gold Coast, Australia, sitting on the beach, all grown up, looking at the stars. Holly and I had a really good conversation about God and about what we wanted from this DTS. I really like her. Even though she is a couple of years older then me, and has a completely different culture and background, she has a very sweet spirit that I relate to. Anyway…that’s all that happened today. I’m listening to Explosions in the Sky (the best band ever) and about to brush my teeth. Its about 9:30pm (6:30am at home) and I’m exhausted. YWAM is making me so responsible! I keep eating right and walking everywhere and going to bed early! And spending money responsibly!! What am I going to do with myself?!
upon request, i am going to post the names and ages/nationalities of the people here:
DTS Students:
Shae- my roomie. 21 years old. from Richmond, Virginia
Holly- my roomie. 24 years old. from New Zealand.
Frankie- 18 years old. from Canada.
Ivan- 20 years old. from Canada.
Andy- 26 years old. from California
Ezra- 19 years old. from Malaysia
Staff:
Carly- early twenties, Australian.
Tina & Emmanuel- later twenties. Tina is from Canada, Emmanuel is from Nigeria
Frank- 26 years old. Norwegian.
Rochelle- later twenties. Australian.
Cheri and Dave- late twenties. Cheri is from Washington State and Dave is from Canada. they are the DTS leaders.
Annette and Darcy- Annette is Norwegian (Frank's older sister) and Darcy is Canadian. they have four children. they are the Base Directors.
Martian- i have no idea how old he is. from Germany.
Ugh I’m so sticky and I have sand all over me and I can’t get it off. Oh well… haha I’m to tired at the point to care. Love you all and miss you heaps!
grace
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Aussie Adventures
Today was the first day of class!
This morning we all had to wake up at six thirty for work duties. Six thirty. 6:30. am. Oh well… I guess its good for me. So every morning we get up then and meet in the living room ( or the lounge room as the Aussies call it) and pray before doing our work duties. This week mine is cleaning the hallway and foyer, so its not to bad when you’re half asleep. So after that we have until 8:30am to get ready, eat breakfast, and have quiet time.
So at 9:00am classes start. This is Orientation week, so we are focusing on YWAM, its focus, mission, history etc.
So the Aussies have the cutest little tradition. Every day at about 10:30 they have tea time. And this is like serious stuff. You have tea and a snack and everyone does it. Its super cute. So we had lunch at about 1-2pm and then had class until four. Four to five was free time and I FINALLY got to use my computer. I got onto facebook and almost cried when I saw that I had 23 notifications, 2 messages, 2 friend request, and a bumper sticker. It made me miss my family and friends so much. Its weird to see how life is just going on for every one because for me, I completely dropped my entire life and started a new one. It was weird to go back to that world for just a second. It made me really miss my siblings. I feel like I’m missing out on them growing up… sadness. I miss mama and daddy and southern food. I miss my bed and lucy and copper, and texting my friends all the time. I know those are silly things to miss, but getting on facebook made me miss it. But at the same time, I LOVE it here. Its weird to have such conflicting feelings.
Tonight was amazing. After dinner we didn’t have any class so shae and I walked down to Woolworths (which is like the Aussie Harris Teeter) and got some stuff like a laundry basket, detergent, allergy medicine (pray for my allergies… they are driving me crazy) etc. I felt so old shopping for laundry detergent in Australia… haha! While we were walking back, it started raining so Shae and I gave up trying to stay dry and enjoyed the rain. We twirled around and sang songs and walked barefoot and talked about God and our childhood and our friends. I think I’ll remember that walk for the rest of my life.
When we got home we went for a short swim (which made me miss my pool and emma and john and whose line and ice cream…) in the dark and then gave up cause we were cold. Now I’m sitting here typing this on Word and I’ll post it tomorrow when I get to the base because I don’t have internet here. But anyway.. I just thought you should know what I’ve been up to!! Tomorrow is more class and fun stuff, so I’m sure I’ll have more adventures to write about. so anyway…if you are reading all of this then you must love me and if you love me its quite probable that I love you, so I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU! I’m safe and happy and learning and loving! Thanks for the support and love and prayers! I feel them!!
TTFN, tata for now!!
Love, grace
the kitchen!!
the living room or the "lounge room"
patio area right outside our dorm room and in between the main house
view of our room from my bunk
the view of our room from the door
Burleigh Beach
me and my purchases! feeling all grown up!
This morning we all had to wake up at six thirty for work duties. Six thirty. 6:30. am. Oh well… I guess its good for me. So every morning we get up then and meet in the living room ( or the lounge room as the Aussies call it) and pray before doing our work duties. This week mine is cleaning the hallway and foyer, so its not to bad when you’re half asleep. So after that we have until 8:30am to get ready, eat breakfast, and have quiet time.
So at 9:00am classes start. This is Orientation week, so we are focusing on YWAM, its focus, mission, history etc.
So the Aussies have the cutest little tradition. Every day at about 10:30 they have tea time. And this is like serious stuff. You have tea and a snack and everyone does it. Its super cute. So we had lunch at about 1-2pm and then had class until four. Four to five was free time and I FINALLY got to use my computer. I got onto facebook and almost cried when I saw that I had 23 notifications, 2 messages, 2 friend request, and a bumper sticker. It made me miss my family and friends so much. Its weird to see how life is just going on for every one because for me, I completely dropped my entire life and started a new one. It was weird to go back to that world for just a second. It made me really miss my siblings. I feel like I’m missing out on them growing up… sadness. I miss mama and daddy and southern food. I miss my bed and lucy and copper, and texting my friends all the time. I know those are silly things to miss, but getting on facebook made me miss it. But at the same time, I LOVE it here. Its weird to have such conflicting feelings.
Tonight was amazing. After dinner we didn’t have any class so shae and I walked down to Woolworths (which is like the Aussie Harris Teeter) and got some stuff like a laundry basket, detergent, allergy medicine (pray for my allergies… they are driving me crazy) etc. I felt so old shopping for laundry detergent in Australia… haha! While we were walking back, it started raining so Shae and I gave up trying to stay dry and enjoyed the rain. We twirled around and sang songs and walked barefoot and talked about God and our childhood and our friends. I think I’ll remember that walk for the rest of my life.
When we got home we went for a short swim (which made me miss my pool and emma and john and whose line and ice cream…) in the dark and then gave up cause we were cold. Now I’m sitting here typing this on Word and I’ll post it tomorrow when I get to the base because I don’t have internet here. But anyway.. I just thought you should know what I’ve been up to!! Tomorrow is more class and fun stuff, so I’m sure I’ll have more adventures to write about. so anyway…if you are reading all of this then you must love me and if you love me its quite probable that I love you, so I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU! I’m safe and happy and learning and loving! Thanks for the support and love and prayers! I feel them!!
TTFN, tata for now!!
Love, grace
the kitchen!!
the living room or the "lounge room"
patio area right outside our dorm room and in between the main house
view of our room from my bunk
the view of our room from the door
Burleigh Beach
me and my purchases! feeling all grown up!
The Amazing Race
Sunday night, Carly informed us that Monday was “adventure day.” Now, you have to picture this right: Carly is about 5’3, tan, and has the cutest little Australian accent you’ve ever heard. She is also very active and adventurous. So, when Carly tells us that we have an adventure day, we have reason to be worried. She even handed out a “packing list” so we would know what to pack without finding out where we were going.. the list was:
- comfortable walking shoes
- a hat
- togs (we later found out that togs are bathing suits…)
- a camera
- Australian sunscreen
Needless to say, we were a little worried, but very excited.
So Monday morning we all get up bright and early and the boys meet us over at the girls house so we could all ride together in the big YWAM van. We ended up at a park with these big buckets tied to strings that were attached to trees. It was there that Carly explained that we were participating in the Amazing Race: Gold Coast. She split us into three teams:
1) cheri and frank (both staff members)
2) Andy, Shae, and Holly
3) Frankie, Ivvan, and Grace
She explained that throughout the day we would be given clues that gave us a task to do or a place to get to, and when we completed the task or arrived at the correct destination, we would get our next clue. So when the game began, we had to get water from one end of the park to the other by using the buckets tied to the strings. Cheri and Frank were the first to finish (of course) with team 2 and team 3 close behind. We spent the rest of the day completing silly tasks that involved walking for miles in the sweltering Australian sun, running through shopping malls, baking cakes in the front yard of the base, etc.
One of our clues was to take a bus to surfers paradise where we had to ask Australians questions about Australia like “what was the song that came in 2nd place for the National Anthem” and “an Australian BBQ is not complete without the following” and we were even forced to learn how to sing the National Anthem by asking the poor shoppers to teach us. We were making such a scene that the McDonalds people “rang security” and we had to run out of the mall before they came! I almost got taken to Australian prison!! It was terrifying slash hilarious! And when we finished that task, the next one was to eat a “Vegemite” sandwich, which is quite honestly one of THE MOST disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten.
Later on in the day, our clues took us to Surfers Paradise beach and one of the biggest out door malls in the world. Unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy the beautiful beach ( and surfers ) or the amazing mall because we were given a bag full of items (a cowboy hat, tattoos, an Australian flag, face paint, and stickers) that we had to wear while taking pictures with things like a sandcastle, in the ocean, a big clock, etc. So my entrance into Surfers Paradise was holding an Australian flag, wearing tennis shoes (gross….) and looking completely gross and sweaty and asking random Australians to take our picture… but hey, it was all for the Amazing Race!
Our last task of the day took us back to the base’s front yard where slip’n’slide was awaiting us. But was it normal slip’n’slide? Oh no, not with Carly and Martin making up the game! At the bottom of the slide was a bowl of red jello and in the red jello were pieces to our next clue. And…. We weren’t allowed to use our hands. So not only were we stuffing our faces in bowls of red jello and searching for clues with our teeth, but then we had to CRAWL back UP the slip’n’slide!! All the while the staff is cheering and taking unflattering pictures in our faces! I kept getting jello in my eyes, and it stung.. haha! Who would’ve known that jello was bad for your eyes? I didn’t think I would ever find that out!
So at the end of the day, we had walked 12 miles, gained marvoulous (and painful) farmer’s tans, only to be beaten by, of course, cheri and frank. However team 3 came through in the end and beat team 2… in my opinion its because we were better at stuffing our faces in the jello. Or something..
After that we were exhausted but we all ate dinner together. I’ve been eating really healthy foods here. Lots of veggies. Mom would be so proud! Haha!
You think this day is over? Think again.
Shae and I walked back into our room only to find a HUGE spider in the middle of our floor. I mean… HUGE. I’ve never seen a bigger spider in my whole life. Thankfully, Emmanuel was in the kitchen so I ran to get him and he charged in our room and killed the spider. Shae and I thought we were safe. We prayed over the floor and asked God to keep us safe and keep the spiders away. So we began painting our finger nails. At one point, shae opens the door to go to the kitchen and then starts scream “THERES A SNAKE!!!! THERES A SNAKE OUTSIDE OUR DOOR!!!!!” and she RUNS across the room and doesn’t get in her bunk bed, but instead hangs onto the top bunk and is like dangling….. (hahahahahhahahaha….) so if you know my feelings about snakes you know that by that point I was already under my covers hyperventilating and praying that God would help me breathe. We didn’t know what to do! We contemplated screaming for help and throwing things at it, but neither of us wanted to get near the door. Finally we agreed that since I can’t even look at snakes, I would open the door (standing ABSOLUTELY as far away as possible) while Shae would sit on the top bunk by the door and tell me if it was real and if I needed to slam the door. All the while we’re whimpering and crying and freaking out. Finally I get up the nerve to open the door and it was gone, and Emmanuel was standing there laughing.
It was fake. He tricked us.
I almost cried in joy, anger, and trauma. So then we just went to bed.
what a day!
Monday, February 16, 2009
G'day mates!! hello all the way from Australia!!!
first and foremost, i would like to thank everyone who has prayed for me over the past days! i really, really, REALLY appreciate it!!! and i defiantly felt your prayers! i saw God work in miraculous and obvious ways on my trip here. it was soo cool to see God work in a tangible way! everything from stopping a storm in atlanta so i could take off (the captain said it would be hours, but about 10 minutes after i called and texted everyone to start praying, a window of oppertunity occured and the storm died down just enough for us to take off..) to turning engine trouble into a one day vacation in hawaii, to last minute avaliblity on a plane to Gold Coast from Sydney. and those are just the highlights! God did a MILLION big and small things on that trip to let me know that HE was in control and HE wanted me to make it to australia. it was really awesome to see him work in such dramatic ways and by the end of the trip, i wasn't even worried about using an australian pay phone or running to my gates because i knew God would make a way. thank you SO much for your prayers!
i really like it here at Gold Coast! i love all the YWAM staff! they all have cute accents and are very willing to help and very understanding. they all have such passion for God and its such a refreshing environment to be in.
right now there are seven DTS students, myself included. three girls and four boys, but we might be getting another girl next week. so far i get along with everyone and we all enjoy hanging out and getting to know eachother.
anyway, i'll post some stories of my adventures later! but i just wanted to let you all know i'm safe and i'm enjoying myself and God is doing mighty things in my life! thanks so much for your prayers! i still need them! i love and miss you all!
Grace
first and foremost, i would like to thank everyone who has prayed for me over the past days! i really, really, REALLY appreciate it!!! and i defiantly felt your prayers! i saw God work in miraculous and obvious ways on my trip here. it was soo cool to see God work in a tangible way! everything from stopping a storm in atlanta so i could take off (the captain said it would be hours, but about 10 minutes after i called and texted everyone to start praying, a window of oppertunity occured and the storm died down just enough for us to take off..) to turning engine trouble into a one day vacation in hawaii, to last minute avaliblity on a plane to Gold Coast from Sydney. and those are just the highlights! God did a MILLION big and small things on that trip to let me know that HE was in control and HE wanted me to make it to australia. it was really awesome to see him work in such dramatic ways and by the end of the trip, i wasn't even worried about using an australian pay phone or running to my gates because i knew God would make a way. thank you SO much for your prayers!
i really like it here at Gold Coast! i love all the YWAM staff! they all have cute accents and are very willing to help and very understanding. they all have such passion for God and its such a refreshing environment to be in.
right now there are seven DTS students, myself included. three girls and four boys, but we might be getting another girl next week. so far i get along with everyone and we all enjoy hanging out and getting to know eachother.
anyway, i'll post some stories of my adventures later! but i just wanted to let you all know i'm safe and i'm enjoying myself and God is doing mighty things in my life! thanks so much for your prayers! i still need them! i love and miss you all!
Grace
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