Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Camping Photos (Hidden Valley, QLD)














God's Provision

Typed: March 15, 2011

We had an evening of giving.  We were told to go pray about what God would like us to say to people (words of encouragement or Bible verses), as well as items and money.  God called me to give my spending money to a few people who still needed Outreach funds, as well as a few other items. 

When we got there, they had all of the people who still needed funds to stand up at the front.  They wrote out how much each person needed and totaled it for both DTSs (mine and the Not For Sale).  It was $10,664 and some change.  Then they asked us to pray for them. Those called to contribute to them to give them the financial gifts.  After about 20 minutes of this, we added how much everyone got.  There was less than $3000 left in need.  Then, they asked for those who hadn't given but now felt like God was calling them to contribute to also give.  After about 5 minutes everyone had their full funds!!!  All of this was given sacrificially from other poor students, not outside funds.  It was amazing how God just multiplied and provided huge amounts of money!  You wouldn't have believed it unless you were there!  It was so cool.   

Then, we had a time of communion and committed to each other through prayer.  I have really felt drawn to a certain girl.  She is an Aussie, 21 years old.  She lost her mom to cancer when she was 16 and she is the oldest in her family.  Her dad remarried almost immediately and she moved out on her own soon after.  She has experienced some abuse.  She was very much a loner when we first got out here.  Anyway, I prayed about it and have really been seeking a friendship with her from the beginning.  I just felt like I needed to commit to being a big sister to her and hold her accountable and pray for her regularly.  It was really cool to just spend time in prayer with her and commit to walking with her through life, no matter where we are at.  She was cute and finished by telling me she feels like deep down I am really Australian and belong here.... prophetic? We'll see.  She is one of about five Aussies who has told me they think I am secretly an Australian posing as an American.  I do get along with them the best. 

Anyway, then we had a time of giving gifts and items to each other.  During Lordship week, I had given away some books I really liked to people who I felt needed them more.  Well, my darling Brit, Laurie, gave me two books without knowing I had given away my books.  They are 2 books written by journalists about the middle east and central asia.... which is the area I've been reading about lately.  They look incredible and I can't wait to start reading.  It was just a huge blessing to see how God spoke to people to give up things and all of the things they gave were items the person who received them had really needed or wanted. 

Biblical Studies Lecture

Typed: March 10, 2011
This has been a great week back.  It has pretty much not stopped raining and I am so thankful that I am no longer sleeping in a tent.  My clothes smell good, not like campfire and moldy tent.  I am ready for some sun.  Hopefully we will get some this weekend since we leave next weekend for Ayer... the beginning of our Australia Outreach. 

This week we have been doing a lecture on Biblical studies.  Learning how to read and study the Bible.  They really encourage us knowing the Word.  I really enjoyed it.  We took the book of Philemon and did chapter titles and then highlighted things like the who, where, repeated words, and then we went through the text and discussed what was known from reading it.  Then we further delved into the culture and region at the time to gain a better understanding of the people involved in the letter.  Then, we discussed not just knowing but applying the text to our lives.  (This was one of my favorite lectures so far!)

A few more highlights from camping: not only did we get to hike some really amazing scenery but one of the girls found a wounded wallaby (small kangaroo like animal) and its baby.  Roger (the "Aussie bloke" in my class) ended up having to kill the wallaby since it was paralyzed but he saved the baby.... I will post photos as soon as I can.  He put the baby in his hat and everyone passed it around and cuddled it.  He and Ben (our Aussie leader) got up every hour of the night to give it water.  The next day they transported it to a wildlife refuge and it was saved!  We also got invaded at nights by paddy melons (small marsupials that look like giant mice... I enclosed a photo I took offline). 

Outside of lectures, we spent the week getting ready for our first Outreach.  We learned a really great skit/dance to an Underoath song.... great band.  We are also putting together teachings and activities to do.  Our Aussie outreach is in a week.  We go to Ayr, Bowen, and Whitsunday.  In Ayr we'll be working in schools (you can teach religion in schools here), Bowen mostly with churches and backpackers, and Whitsunday we'll be doing more building, cleaning communities and meeting with backpackers since it's a huge tourist area.

CAMPING and LIFE

Typed: March 6, 2011
This afternoon we returned from "Hidden Valley" Queensland.  It was an interesting time of camping and lectures.  I am exhausted and smelly.  

First day there I got heat stroke.  Then, it pretty much proceeded to rain for almost the whole 2 weeks.  My tent was flooded.  We readjusted, set up tarps, then had another hard rain and flooded again.  Finally moved our tent out of the swamp our campsite became and it still got wet but not nearly as much.  I also got a cold due to being wet all the time.  So, it was fairly miserable in a lot of ways but also really good.  Most of the time it was just our DTS and the Not For Sale DTS, so about 60 of us total.  No phones, no internet, no cars, noooooo anything so we got to spend a lot of time together and in nature (despite the rain, we played).

Lectures our first week there were the most intense so far.  It was on Lordship (making sure God is the first thing in our life in every area).  Our speaker was this hyper Kiwi man, Mark Parker. And when I say hyper..... I mean really hyper. He would end most of his sentences with "SHUT UP!  You're not the center of the world!"  He was hilarious, but also a very powerful speaker.  I'm still processing through a lot of it.  Recognizing how much crap is in our lives that keep us from fulling living for God and to the potential we are called to.  God revealed a lot in my life.... especially pride.  (Learning that pride isn't just thinking you are better than others, but involves a whole lot of other aspects).  

I cannot get over how pretty Australia is.  Yesterday we hiked to these ridiculous falls and rivers in a gorge.  And when I say hiked, it was an adventure..... don't let Aussies tell you it's just an easy walk over a hill.  We had to swim across 4 rivers and creeks, climb rocky hills, and then came to miles of these large rocks with waterfalls and pools everywhere.  We climbed over so much stuff, swam another river after hiking across rocky ridges.  I couldn't take my camera due to the conditions (it would have gotten destroyed).  It was the most beautiful scene.  I am cut up and sore but it was really fun.  We did a talent show last night.  It was hilarious!  It was pretty much everyone doing skits making fun of everyone else.  The best talent was when Aleski (a tall, 18 year old, really stereotypical Canadian guy) got up and told us he found verses in the Bible that really spoke to him and he was going to do interpretive music with it.  He started reading some laws in the Old Testament like "do not boil a baby goat in it's mother's milk" and he played a recorder really obnoxiously after each law. I laughed so hard I almost stopped breathing.  He was super serious the whole time.   

Anyway, it was quiet the adventure.  I think my feet are forever stained with mud.... mud, mud, mud everywhere, and my clothes are all damp and smelly.  But, it was good.  I'm going to enjoy regular showers while I can.