Things I won't miss

One thing I won't miss about Aussies is them being ok with shallow relationships. It's unusual for Aussies to go deep and share "real" things with their mates, which is fine, and I understand to some extent. But I'm amazed at how people can be friends for so long and not share anything real. An Aussies friends are generally very important to them, which I love, but I'm not sure how that goes hand-in-hand with not having any depth to those relationships.

Another thing I won't miss about Australia is their love of beetroot. They put it on everything, and it's always available in abundance. We had it out everyday for sandwiches on summer project, and the smell alone was always a little nauseating to me. I will say though, I did find one beetroot thing that I liked. The Aussie girl on our team, Elly, makes a beetroot hummus that is really good. But the beetroot flavor in it is pretty minimal. And for all my Office fans... generally all I could think about was Dwight... "bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica" :)

Things I'll miss

One thing I will certainly miss about Australia is the serving sizes of food. Everything is smaller here, and doesn't encourage you to be gluttonous. It's always just the right amount I need. A standard small coffee is 8 ounces, which for all you Starbucks fanatics is equal to a short. I worked at Starbucks for 2 and a half years and always viewed the short as not enough coffee; after living in Australia for a year I now view it as just the right amount. And I'm now convinced that the venti size should only be drunk by giants :)



Another thing I will definitely miss is the hospitality of Aussies. I always thought that I was a hospitable person, even been told by others that I am, but experiencing Aussie hospitality made me change my definition of the word altogether. We were having such trouble finding housing when we first got to Australia. A family from our team leaders church told them that we could stay with them as long as we needed, and they meant it. We ended up staying with them for a full month, where they housed us and feed us pretty much every night. We had never met these people before and they completely opened their home to us. And the more I got to know Aussies over the year, the more I became convinced that that amount of hospitality is the norm, not the exception.

One completely superficial thing I will miss is a TV show called Masterchef. I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but I became thoroughly addicted to this show. It's a cooking competition , but all the competitors are amateur cooks and have never had any proper training. I think I love the show so much because you get to see the competitors progress in their skills and talent as the show goes on, and because the judges are critical, but it's constructive criticism that the competitors can learn from, not criticism to tear them down, as we so often see in American shows. My absolute favorite was right before we left they had Junior Masterchef, so all the competitors were between the ages of 8 and 12. These kids were absolutely amazing!!

Things I've noticed

One of the first things I noticed about Aussies is that they are very non-materialistic. They might be a bit more in the bigger cities, but in the country town of Geelong they are not concerned with material things at all. They don't really care about what they are wearing, and things that are considered fashionable are very simple and comfortable. It's quite a change from the materialistic world of southern California!

Another thing about Australia is that it's totally culturally acceptable to be 40 years old and working at Starbucks or McDonalds. In America, those jobs are ok for students, but once you're out of school you're expected to get a "real job", but in Australia it's totally fine. There aren't any jobs that are looked down on in Australia, whether it's working at a cafe, gas station, or janitor. It's hard to find a job here that's genuinely disrespected by Aussies. Americans might not say anything to people working those jobs, but our attitudes and how we treat them usually do most of the talking.

Aussies are also very good at keeping up with the news, whether it's local, national, or international. Every hour on the hour there's news breaks on both the radio and TV to give short updates on current news. Most conversations you have with an Aussie will eventually turn to current events. I suppose you could say this about America too, but I think it's mainly with the older generation. In Australia it's every generation, and it's something that they learn the importance of at a young age. I'm amazed at how good uni students are at keeping up with current events, and it's something I certainly didn't see in UCSB students.

Things I've noticed, things I'll miss, things I won't

I have 10 days left in Australia, and it's hitting me like a ton of bricks realizing this. I am so excited to come home and see all my family and friends again, but I am going to miss this place a lot. I love living here, I love the people and the culture and what they're all about. But, like anything, there are some things that I'm definitely not going to miss about living here. So I've compiled a list: things I've noticed, things I'll miss, and things I won't. Maybe if I focus on the things that I'm not going to miss it will make it easier to leave this place :)

And I can't take credit for this, I totally stole it from my dear friend Hillary when she was leaving her STINT in Turkey. But so good for helping me process through leaving!

Gone to Summer Project!

There are so many more stories that I could tell, but we're leaving for summer project tomorrow so my time for blogging during the next weeks is going to be pretty limited. I'll definitely give a full update when I get back from project though!

Please be praying for us as we are serving down in Torquay:
- that God would prepare the hearts of those that He wants us to minister to
- that we would see schoolies make true and honest decisions to follow Jesus
- that our students would grow in their faith and their ministry skills, and that they would come out of this project with a deeper understanding of who God is

Thanks heaps!!!

Rakesh's story

I wasn't planning on telling Rakesh's story, but Campus Crusade for Christ Australia just did a story about him in one their national newsletters. Pretty sweet :)

Here's the article:
JESUS IN A BUCKET OF CHICKEN
by Tezza Brooks on Mon, 11/15/2010

Born and raised in India’s mixed religious culture, Rakesh Kumar was taught everyone’s god is right. It diminished his desire to seek God. When his family took him to the temple, he would ask how anyone could know that the Hindu gods were there. He never got a straight answer. Eventually he was driven toward atheism.

When he came to Australia over three years ago, he attended Deakin University where he met Nandeeta, a girl from his hometown. She was a Christ-follower and spent much of her time telling Rakesh how God changed her life.

One day she needed a ride to church and asked Rakesh to take her. For two months he sat with her in the back of the church, eventually becoming curious. Rakesh remembers: “So just as I did when I was a child, I asked her how she knew God was there. She said it was because she had a relationship with Him, God reveals Himself to her. She said the only way I’d understand is if I asked God to show me that He was real. Only then would I understand.”

A few days later Rakesh was walking to his car after an exam. He began feeling very hungry and weak. Nearly to his car, he became faint and could not walk anymore. Falling to the ground, he remembered what Nandeeta said. So he very bluntly told God: “Look God, I’m hungry, I would love some food. Show me You are real.” He was in one of the most remote places on campus. Hardly anyone parks there, and rarely does someone walk by. Suddenly a friend came around the corner with a bucket of chicken, saying he had been looking all over campus for him. “He wanted to share the meal and thought about finding me. So we sat there and ate KFC on the ground, and I just shook my head in amazement. God had revealed Himself in a bucket of fried chicken. He sure knows how to speak to a college guy.”

The next Sunday Rakesh went back to church very excited. However, he had no clue how to accept Jesus into his life. The pastor talked about repentance and how Jesus gave His life for all. “He told us all we had to do is believe in our heart and confess with our mouth. That’s it. It was that simple? I sat there thinking this can’t be right.” Rakesh thought there had to be more. He was used to doing heaps of good deeds and reciting memorized prayers. “Surely God needed to assess how good I was before He accepted me, right? After a discussion with the pastor and several questions, I prayed to receive Christ. Peace flowed into me, and I felt so light and full of joy. It’s not that way for everyone, but for me, I saw an instant change from that day on. I stopped partying and became more patient with people. That was 2007.”

Rakesh began reading the bible on his own. He did not know how to pray, so he just began talking out loud to God. He searched online and found anything he could to study. “God was teaching me to pursue Him. So I did. I researched bible college websites for downloads and read it all.” He began to have a heart for others who needed Jesus. He shared his story with anyone who would listen, even preaching at McDonalds and getting burgers thrown at him.

Eventually Rakesh developed a strong desire to start a bible discussion group. About that time he met Dave, an American missionary working with Student Life, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Dave had already done all the footwork to form a small group bible study, so he invited Rakesh to the group. While there Rakesh matured in the Christian faith and learned how to evangelise more effectively. “I’m so thankful for Student Life. I got that bible study I wanted and so much more. It’s awesome to see how God’s hand was on me and where He brought me from.”



Rakesh is now one of our most motivated and evangelistic KVs. Praise God for showing up in buckets of chicken!

Coco and Vivian's Story

Coco and Vivian are roommates and exchange students from China; Erin (my teammate) met them at an International Students Afternoon Tea at one of our Geelong campuses, and I was introduced to them shortly afterwords. Because we're American, they right away asked if we were Christians, and they were super excited to find out that we were. Vivian said that she has a few Christian friends back in China and they are like sunshine to her soul (honestly, that's a direct quote). They were super interested to hang out with us and hear more about our faith, so we got to go through a CE with them. It was so fun to go through the basics of Christianity with students who had barely heard the name of Jesus before, let alone knew anything about him. We could tell that what we were telling them was so contrary to and unlike anything else they had heard; sometimes I swear I could actually see the wheels turning in their heads as they processed everything that we were talking about.

I so wish that I could tell you that they both decided to follow Jesus with their lives, but they have both yet to make this decision. They have all of the head knowledge, they hang out with people that follow Jesus, and they know the steps they need to take, but there is still a very big disconnect between their heads and their hearts. Both Erin and I feel that we have done all that we can do and said all that we can, but it's ultimately their decision and there's only so much we can do. As hard as it is to see them so close but still so far away, it has been a sweet reminder that God is ultimately the only one that is going to change hearts. We can say and do all the right things, but it's still up to the Spirit to really change and prepare their hearts. And praise the Lord that we still have the very powerful tool of prayer. Vivian even told us that she feels a tugging on her heart (!!!) and she knows in her heart that this is true, but her head just hasn't quite gotten there yet. I know that we have laid some good foundation for them to fall back on when they finally do give into that 'tugging', and I'm excited to hear about the day when their heads and their hearts finally do connect.


Me, Coco and Vivian at a winery in Geelong. Please be praying for these sweet girls!

Ashlee's Story

Ashlee is an exchange student from China, and we met her through Kathleen. We put on a prayer and worship night at one of our Geelong campuses; Kathleen came and brought Ashlee with her (keep in mind both of them weren't Christians at this point and they came to a worship night, pretty incredible). They both really enjoyed the night and stayed through the whole thing. I actually met Ashlee while we were cleaning up; we couldn't get our own students to wipe down a table but here was this perfect stranger helping us!

Throughout the next few weeks Ashlee started coming to our Nooma discussion group (we would watch one of the Nooma videos by Rob Bell and talk about them afterwords, meant to be open to anyone, no matter what their beliefs). One day after Nooma Ashlee ended up talking with Adam and Jenny for quite some time. They shared the whole gospel with her, asked her if she wanted to respond to Jesus, and she said yes! Jenny and I were then able to go through a CE with her, and we got to watch her and walk alongside her as she discovered the basics of her new faith. She is extremely intelligent, and definitely kept Jenny and I on our toes with all her questions. Getting to minister to her was so sweet, being able to be a part of a new Christian's growth is such a privilege that I certainly don't deserve. But it also brought me back to the basics and gave me a new found appreciation for just how amazing the truth of the gospel is. I know that I'm going to spend my whole life seeking to understand it and still only graze the surface.

Ashlee's story also reminds me of just how sweet God is in His timing. Matt and I were in Ballarat for our last day with the UCLA team when Ashlee placed her trust in Christ for the first time. We had just gotten off campus and were on our way to the team's apartments for our final goodbyes to them when we got a text from Jenny with the good news. We were able to tell the team, the day before they left Australia, that they were a part in bringing one more student to Christ. Their reactions were priceless, and what an amazing thing for them to end their time in Australia on. God didn't have to do it that way, but how sweet that He did :)

Kathleen's Story

We met Kathleen when the UCLA team was here. Even after just spending a few minutes with her, it was clear that the Lord intentionally led us to her. She was just so curious about everything: why there were so many Americans around and why we traveled all that distance, what Student Life is and why we exist, and just about Christianity in general. She started coming to everything that we put on, including Catalyst, our weekly Bible discussion group. It was clear from her comments at Catalyst that she was thinking pretty seriously about this whole Christianity thing, so Jenny (one of my teammates) started going through a CE with her. A few weeks into the CE she decided to place her trust in Christ (It was actually pretty classic how we found out... Erin noticed that Kathleen had changed her religious views on facebook to Christian. Jenny asked her about it later and they had a good chat about it. I guess that's doing ministry in the social networking era for ya! :)

Kathleen has been growing ever since; she's gotten involved in a church and still comes around to everything we do. It's been so fun to watch her grow and not shy away from asking the hard questions that come along with being a believer. She is even already asking questions about how she can best minister to her friends and family. Please be praying for her that her roots would continue to be planted deep!!


Kathleen with her friend Ashlee (her story tomorrow!)

Sam's story

I shared a little about Sam in one my previous newsletters, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell his whole story. We met Sam when the UCLA team was here; we were handing out free coffee to students and he stopped for a coffee and ended up hanging out with us the rest of the day. We got to know him pretty well as he spent a lot of time with us and the UCLA team. He grew up in a Christian family, and had a solid Christian community back home, but he's moved around a lot and, unfortunately, quickly lost that community. After getting to know us, seeing how we lived our lives, and being a part of our community, Sam said that he felt close to God again, and wanted to re-dedicate his life to Him. It was so encouraging for all of us to see the true desires of his heart and how he wants to pursue after God. It was also a sweet reminder for me personally. I came to Australia to see God change lives. I guess I always had this idea somewhere in the back of my mind that this would mean non-Christians finding their fulfillment in Christ... not that this idea was wrong, it was just a pretty limited scope of how God might choose to use me. Meeting Sam was a sweet reminder that my desire to see lives changed could also mean helping struggling Christians find some community.

Be praying for Sam: that he would continue to pursue after Jesus and deepen his relationship with Him, that he would find a solid community (whether it be Student Life or not) that is able to help him grow, and that he would truly desire to know the truth of the Bible. He's a wonderful guy with such a sweet heart; he's been a true joy to hang out with!


Sam and I

Jessica's Story

Here is the first story in the series that I promised! We actually saw Jessica on campus and recognized her as one of the girls that leads worship at our church. We introduced ourselves to her and she has been coming around ever since! This is her own words when asked what it has meant to her to be a part of Student Life:

"I found out about Student Life a couple of months ago after meeting the US stint team at uni. I have enjoyed life so much more ever since. Meeting a bunch of committed Christians who have chosen to come to my home town as missionaries for a year has encouraged me so much. It has allowed God to change me and develop my life in so many ways, showing me that there is light at uni and reminding me about his purpose and love for the students that aren't saved. The Student Life crew have been phenomenal, becoming my friends and the friends of others without asking questions. They just love and accept people straight away. I have loved meeting every member of Student Life and seeing how God is using them. It challenges me but also shows me just how special I am to God."

Jessica is just as sweet as she sounds; she even gave each of us missionaries the most lovely going away presents! She has been such a joy to have around and seeing her grow and gain a heart for the lost is such a sweet reminder of why I like my job so much :)


Isn't she cute??


Opening my present from her

Unexpected Lessons

In staff meeting the other day Adam lead us through a devo that had us reflect a bit on this past year... what we've seen the Lord do, things that we've learned, things that were hard and things that were good. One of the questions he asked was "What are some things that you've learned here that you're going to take home with you?" Most of the team answered in terms of things that they've learned through doing ministry here, but I was actually thinking about the things that being a part of Aussie culture has taught me.

Being immersed into Aussie culture has really brought out certain parts of my personality. I have always tried to be hospitable, but seeing how Aussies are so open with their homes and giving of their possessions made me expand my definition of what hospitality means. I've always valued taking time to rest, but in the ever fast-paced American culture, it was hard to find people that understood that, let alone value it like I do. Being a part of Aussie culture has reminded me just how important taking time to rest can be, whether it be for a few minutes for a morning tea break or stopping work at 5 to have the rest of the night off. I have always known that these things are a part of who I am and things that I value, but living in Australia and being a part of the culture here has really allowed these things to flourish.

I knew that I would learn a lot from being immersed into Aussie culture, I just don't think I was expecting to learn so much about my own personality. And not only have I learned things about myself, but I've also learned a lot about the Lord through my time here. I'm so grateful that He chose this culture to teach me more about Himself.

Heaps of love,
Michelle

Officially Integrated

For the past few weeks Matt and I have been living in Ballarat with the UCLA team. It's been so fun living with them, and I'm so grateful for the extra time in Ballarat, but it's been a little nuts spending half the week in Ballarat and half the week in Geelong. This is our last week traveling back and forth, and I'm super sad to see the team leave, but I'm also looking forward to getting back to a slightly more normal schedule... not to mention sleeping in my own bed :)

Having the team here has sent my mind reeling with thoughts, on everything from ministry to Aussie culture to even how I interact with people. I've had a lot of fun moments with them too, one of my favorites, and possibly one of the more thought provoking, happened yesterday. I don't even really know what was being said because I was kind of on the outside of the conversation, but all of sudden I hear, "Well Michelle doesn't count. She's lived here so long she's barely American... I mean, look at her, and listen to how she talks... I mean, she's practically Aussie!" We got a good laugh out of it, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be offended that I'm apparently not American anymore, but the comment really got me thinking.

I talk about footy more than I've talked about any other sport, and if anyone doesn't go for the Cats, I'm quick to console them for going for the team they do support. I crave cuppas and take morning tea pretty seriously. If I can help it, I don't work past 5 or on the weekends. I say "heaps" and "lovely", and as I'm writing this I'm in my Ghanda trackies. And since Master Chef ended, I'm convinced there's nothing good left to watch on TV. All characteristics of a token Aussie.

Please don't read this wrong, by no means am I claiming to be Aussie, and I will always be a California girl at heart. I think I've just been integrated into the culture really well, and it happened so gradually that I didn't really notice it until other Americans came and pointed it out to me. I love how this culture has rubbed off on me, and I'm gonna be so sad to leave it when the time comes, but I'm excited to take my Aussie influence back to my life in the States. And am fully expecting people not to be able to understand me because of all the Aussie lingo I've picked up :)

Heaps of love,
Michelle

Wait, that was Andrew BRYAN?!?!

We just got back from our MYC... it was a blast, full of meeting students, challenging talks and getting to hang out with the Aussie staff. The week was full of highlights, but the most comical came on the first night, when it was just the staff there. Erin and I were sitting at a table chatting with the STINTers in Newcastle, just catching up and talking about life and ministry. All of a sudden this guy comes up to us and introduces himself, "You're Erin and... Michelle, right? Hi, my name is Andrew" This actually isn't that uncommon as it may seem. Aussies are super friendly, and there aren't too many full-time staff with Student Life so when new people are around they notice, and generally take the time to get you know a bit. It's wonderful, and definitely something that I am gonna miss when I leave this place.

After chatting with Andrew for a few minutes, I discover that he works at headquarters and is very in touch with the staff; he said that he kinda cheated on knowing our names because he has pictures of us on his wall. I thought to myself that was a little odd, but how cool that he wants to know the staff so much that he has pictures of us so that he knows who he is praying for. He mentioned that he spent some time in Orange County and the PSW regional office, so we chatted about that. He used to be an engineer, my dad is an engineer, so we chatted about that. Kind of a typical conversation, nothing too out of the ordinary. He thanked us for coming to serve here in Aus (like most people do), told us to have fun at our first MYC, and left us with the typical Aussie "Catchya!"

After he left, Erin turned to me and said, "Wow, that's really sweet that the director takes the time to know the names of STINTers." It took a second to register, then I said (probably a bit too loudly) "Wait, that was Andrew BRYAN?!" Erin started busting up and I turned beat red.

I had just had a good 20 minute chat with the national director of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia. This guy is in charge of setting direction for the entire country. He was in Orange County to talk to the PSW regional leaders about what it looks like to have a partnership with Australia. He's the stinking national director.... and I didn't even know who I was talking to. Now that's embarrassing.

When my face returned back to it's normal color and Erin finally stopped laughing, we started to realize just how cool that interaction really was. I can not even imagine how much this guy has on his plate, how many things are on his to-do list, and how many things are on his mind. Yet he still takes the time to get know his CCCA staff... even the American ones that are only committed to being here for a year. That's something that I just adore about Aussie culture, they're so relational and caring, it never ceases to amaze me. It doesn't matter if you're the checker at the grocery store, the guy next to you on the train, or the national director of CCCA.

And note to self, know what the national director of the country you're serving looks like because you never know... you just never know :)

Lots of love,
Michelle

Hats

Our team leader Jimmy often talks about the different "hats" that we wear in our jobs. There are so many different aspects to our job, so many different roles that we are aiming to fulfill. I had a perfect example of this on Thursday. We did a pancake outreach on Thursday at Ballarat, just loving on the students there and giving them some free pancakes. It was a blast, we met a lot of new people and just got the name of Student Life out there. One minute I was figuring out how to get a fairly dodgy barbie down 3 flights of stairs, the next minute I was talking to heaps of different students about a wide variety of topics (ranging from why we were doing this and who Student Life is to the music on last week's Glee episode), and the next minute I was talking to Leighton, the head of the Ballarat Student Association, about club funding and how clubs like Student Life add to the atmosphere and culture of the uni. As I was talking to Leighton, I almost started laughing. I kept thinking to myself that 5 minutes ago I was down on the main part of campus flipping pancakes and telling students about Student Life, and now I'm up in the Student Association office talking about the inner workings of the uni. I went from wearing a very casual, hey-come-be-my-friend hat, to a very professional, representing-our-club-to-the-head-of-the-student-association hat.

We can put on so many of these different "hats" throughout the day. Sometimes it's overwhelming, sometimes it's just funny, but most of the time I absolutely love it. It keeps me on my toes, makes me extremely aware of my surroundings and who I'm talking to, and stretches me in ways that most jobs wouldn't. It's a bit crazy at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

From the friendly I-miss-you-all-heaps hat,
Michelle

Pictures!

I love taking pictures. I'm not claiming to be a professional, or even good, by any means, but I just really enjoy seeing the world through photographs. It's actually something that I experience the Lord through, looking at His creation, whether it be people or nature, in a whole new way. And I love having control over what the focus of the picture is. I got a new camera for Christmas right before I came to Australia, and I've been having so much fun messing around with it. One of these days I'll work my way up to an SLR, but for now I'm perfectly content with the one I have. Thought I would share some of my favorites I have taken so far!


So this looks like a boardwalk, and it is, but not like the ones we're used to. There is a swimming area blocked off in the Geelong bay that's enclosed by a circular boardwalk. Shortly after taking this picture Erin and I started running back to land because it started pouring :)






These were all taken at the Geelong Botanical Gardens. Adam, Erin and I spent last Saturday morning just wandering around there, taking pictures and chatting. It was such a lovely morning, and a great way to enjoy the way-too-warm for May weather that we've been having lately.

Of course one of my favorite subjects to take pictures of is kids, so I have heaps of pictures of Zarah, Josi, and Rita.

Zarah and Dad


Josi is one of those kids that just never stops smiling. The only time I have seen him not smiley was when he was super sick with a nasty stomach bug. His smile brings so much joy into my life!


Because I'm around Rita the most out of the kids I have the most pictures of her, and this is easily one of my favorites. Something made Jimmy (Rita's Dad) laugh, and she just happened to look right at me, it was so perfect. This picture even made it to a frame in their house, I feel so honored!



I got a chance to go to the 12 Apostles with the spring break team. These are iconic Australia, pretty standard protocol in tourist advertisements. When people picture Australia, they picture these, with the white sand beaches and the clear blue water. It's lovely and absolutely gorgeous, but keep in mind it took a 2 hour car ride to get here, these aren't in my backyard or anything :)

There is a massive stadium in Melbourne called the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). It's a huge stadium that can hold up to 100,000 people, it's quite the experience. We have been to 2 footy games there, one when the spring break team was here.



They let you come on the field after the game is over. It's pretty sweet seeing the stadium from the players point of view, just beware of flying footy balls everywhere! I love having a picture with my Gauchos on the MCG field!


STINTer love in the stands


Kuda, me and Matt at the Collinwood vs Geelong game. This was a pretty big game, since it was the 2 top teams going against each other. The stadium was nearly sold out. And Geelong won! Go Cats!

Annie, one of the girls that came with the spring break team, who is also a dear friend of mine, was able to stay longer than the rest of team since she is already done with uni. One of the days she was here, Rakesh and Sam (2 of our students) took me, Annie, and Matt out to some fun areas around Melbourne, some of which were St. Kilda, Philip Island, and Sorrento.


On the ferry from Geelong to Sorrento


Beach huts in Sorrento


Rakesh being silly with a beach hut :)


I don't think I'll ever get over how clear the water is here.


Sunset from St. Kilda, overlooking Melbourne

Sorry, that was a long post, I guess I just like sharing my life, through pictures, with you guys!

Lots of love,
Michelle

No I didn't know...

I love the drive up to Ballarat that we do every Thursday. It's a good time to just hang out with Matt and Jono, to pray for everything going on, and (when I'm not the one driving) to just sit back and take in all the beauty that this place has to offer. It's getting especially beautiful now sine it's fall here, so the leaves are changing into beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow, and the fields get greener and greener everyday. Don't get the idea that I'm driving along the Great Ocean Road once a week, cuz I'm not... going to Ballarat we are actually getting further away from the ocean. It's nothing but country and wide open spaces, and it's next to impossible to count all the horses and sheep that we pass. It's quite different than Southern California, and not the kind of scenery that I'm used to... a comparable length of the drive would be SB to LA, but not the same at all! No 6 lane-highways with massive SUVS doing 85, mainly just a 2-lane road doing about a 100 k's, which is about 60 mph. Much more low-key and truly Aussie :)

This week we passed a house that had a MASSIVE banner in their front yard. The first line read "DID YOU KNOW?" I was intrigued, wondering what this house wanted to so clearly present to its neighbors and everyone that passed by. My mind began to come up with lots of possibilities that this house wanted me to know, some ideas a bit more ridiculous than others. As we got closer, you could read the second line that, in smaller print, said "that Buninyong has 2 bars..." (Buninyong is the tiny little town that you hit before you get to Ballarat, and when I say tiny, I mean tiny) My first reaction was complete surprise that such a small town would in fact have 2 bars in it. When I got done wondering where the bars actually were, the implications of what I just saw began to hit me. I thought about all the time and effort that went into making the banner, the money that was spent to get it produced, and the dangers, and possible accidents, that occurred while hanging it from their second story balcony. It made me sad to think about the fact that all this time, effort, money, energy, labor, etc went into letting people know about these two bars. This banner was sending quite a message about the people that lived in this house and what's important to them, and it broke my heart to think that this is what so many people are living for, and think it is worthy of their lives.

I know what it means to pour time, effort and energy into something; I pour so much into this ministry everyday, and, if I'm honest, it's exhausting and, at times, it can drain me like nothing else can. But I come home everyday knowing that I am working for something greater, something more worthy than I can probably ever comprehend. This banner advertising these bars doesn't have that promise attached to it, for all they know they could put up that banner and not a single person could show up to these bars (which is probably the reality because it didn't actually say where these bars were... poor advertising if you ask me). It broke my heart to see first hand that these people thought this message was worth pouring into, and even spreading to others, and made me all the more grateful that the message I'm "advertising" is one of redemption and hope. Thank. You. Jesus.

For the only message that's worth spreading,
Michelle

A picture worth a thousand words

At our Connexions camp last week we took a few minutes to take a big group photo, and then got shots of everyone with their campuses. I just saw these photos, and can't stop smiling at them.


Everyone from the Greater Geelong area, so all of the campuses that we are in charge of. Pretty good looking bunch, eh? :)

When we started taking our campus pictures, there were many, shall we say "encouraging jests", when they called Ballarat. Keep in mind, as of right now, I'm the only girl at Ballarat. So the picture is me and 6 guys, gotta love it :)



I love these guys, I really do, but I'm desperately asking the Lord for some women... hanging out with these fellas all day is starting to wear me out. I can already see the Lord working, and there are a few women that have been coming around, just weren't able to come to Connexions. I'm grateful for the ways that He's moving, but desiring to see so much more. So many times I feel inadequate and wonder how much the Lord can really do through just one woman, but I know that's just my doubt and lack of faith getting in the way. If you could please join me in praying for more women at Ballarat. I have seen the Lord work in crazy ways when I ask you guys to pray, so I'm asking you, almost imploring you, to join me in interceding for some women.

And I have complete faith that the picture for Ballarat next year will be more gender balanced... shoot, last year there wasn't even a picture for Ballarat, so praise the Lord for that!

I can't thank you enough for praying with me,
Michelle

The beginnings of a fulfilled vision

I read some where that you should update your blog at least once a week.... yeah, definitely epically failing at that. Sorry guys. But I now have a house that has internet so I will be more intentional in trying to update this thing.

So some of you may have heard me talk about this, so forgive me if this is repetitive. The founder of Campus Crusade, Bill Bright, had 2 visions when he was led to start this ministry. The first was that college students are key in reaching the world with the gospel because they are tomorrow's leaders. The second was a vision of a map of the world, and a bunch of arrows coming out of Australia, going into the rest of the world. The arrows represented laborers, showing that Australia is a key sending nation. This makes total sense today, with an Aussie passport being one of the strongest in the world, and the fact that the population here is so international. Our team leaders realized that most of the students in our movements probably don't know about this vision, and thought it would be encouraging to share with them, so I actually got to share it with everyone in my talk at Kickoff Camp.

The reason I share Bill's vision with you is because it has to do with one of my favorite moments from this past week. We were in a meeting with our KVs; there were a few Aussies, a few Indians, a few Americans, one African, and one guy from El Salvador (named Jose). I don't remember what prompted it, but something led Jose to say, "Look at us! We ARE Bill Bright's vision!" All I could was smile and praise God that we get to see the beginning of this vision being fulfilled.

Because our God fulfills His promises,
Michelle


Some of our students at our Connexions camp :)

I just love Aussie culture :)

Last night we were invited to have Indian food at one of our student's houses. The guy making the food is actually from Indian, so needless to say the food was amazing, but that's not what made the evening so special to me. Half way through the meal, I just kinda stopped and looked around the table. They are all amazing people that I have simply fallen in love with (and keep in mind I have only been here for a month). As I was looking around the table I realized the amazing diversity that was right in front of me... there were 4 Indians, 3 Aussies, 1 guy from Portugal, 1 from Kuwait, 1 from Zimbabwe, and then the two Americans (Erin and I). I was simply floored by the level or fellowship and friendship in the room, and that that could happen between so many people of such diverse backgrounds. I guess that's the beauty of Jesus and what the cross has done for the body of Christ.

It was just one of those moments that I was able to sit back and truly say that I love my job and love where God has me. What other job could I be sitting around a dinner table with such amazingly diverse people that have been so welcoming to me coming here? It was just one of those God-giving perspective moments, thanks Jesus :)

Lots of love,
Michelle

Whew!

It amazes me how much time goes by between my blog posts. I really am desiring to be consistent in updating, time just gets away from you, you know?

Well, the first praise is that we found housing!!! We can't move in till March 3rd, but we absolutely love the house, it was definitely our favorite out of all the ones we looked at, so we feel very blessed to have it. Thanks for all your prayers, the Lord is so so good and provided in His timing!

We just got back from kickoff camp, and while we are all exhausted, it was a pretty sweet weekend. We have some amazing students that are so desiring to see movements started on their campuses, and their hearts for the lost are nothing short of contagious. And they are seriously some of the nicest, welcoming people I have ever met. All of us missionaries (missionaries doesn't have a negative connotation here like it does in the States, so that's what everyone calls us) were thanked multiple times throughout the weekend. What caught me was that they weren't just thanking us for planning the weekend, but thanking us for just simply coming to Oz. They are so appreciative of us being here, it's so incredibly humbling that these students would be excited about me coming... little old me.... :)

I think my biggest prayer request right now is for energy, supernatural energy that can only come from the Lord. I am completely exhausted from this weekend, and there's no slowing down. Our schedules are a bit crazy right now, and I find myself coming home everyday completely and entirely spent, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Please pray that I would not be relying on myself for energy but on the Holy Spirit instead!

Lots of love,
Michelle

Oh yeah, and driving on the other side of the road... not working out so much. I can't seem to get my American ways out of my system!

Finally Down Under!

I can happily say that I am finally writing this from Australia! It was pretty crazy getting down here. I left 3 weeks later than I was supposed to, but when I finally did leave, it all happened really fast. Last Monday I called the FBI, they told me that my clearance was being mailed out the next day, so I would have it by Friday. Much to my surprise, it came on Wednesday, and I was on a plane the next night (only God could have done something like that). And in the midst of all this, God provided almost all of the financial support that I needed to get here. It all happened so fast, and I feel like I am still processing the fact that I am here. It's all just very surreal.

Other than the fact that I am still on California time, things are really good here. Aussies are extremely friendly and hospitable, so it's been a true joy meeting everyone. We still don't have housing, so right now we are staying with a family from our team leaders church. They are the nicest family and have been more than accommodating, and it's been a great way to immerse ourselves in Aussie culture. But we are hoping to have our own place soon (my poor teammates have been hopping around from house to house and living out of suitcases for almost a month now). Please be praying that we find housing soon!

School (or "uni" as it is called here) starts in a few weeks, so we have started planning for the upcoming school year. So far we have mainly talked about how our team is going to function, what we expect of each other, and so forth, and started some evangelism training and learned how doing ministry in Australia is different from the States. It's been slightly overwhelming, because I haven't had much time to adjust, but overall it's exciting to be able to hit the ground running. I do miss you guys a lot, and am so so grateful for the support system that was responsible for getting me here. Thanks again for all the love and encouragement!

Nothing but love,
Michelle

And soon to come... learning to drive on the other side of the road, yikes! :)

So much to tell you...

The past few weeks have certainly kept me on my toes, that's for sure. The first bit of news is that our team has gotten bigger! The Melbourne team and the Geelong team are now one big team. So I want to introduce you to Matt, Adam, and Jenny. Matt is coming from Maryland, Adam from Wisconsin, and Jenny from D.C. We are now quite the eclectic mix of Aussies and Americans, singles and families, East Coasters and West Coasters. It's gonna be fun to watch this team really come together and to see how all of our different backgrounds and influences will be used to ultimately bring the Gospel to Geelong.

The next bit of news is that I will not be leaving on Monday like originally planned. There are two reasons for this, the first is that I don't have all of my support raised, and the second is that I don't have my visa yet. The rest of my team has theirs, and the Australian embassy was working tirelessly to get us our visas on time (they are seriously the nicest people that work at the embassy), and they were able to finish everyone's but mine because they are still waiting on my FBI clearance. It could be another two weeks before I get my clearance, but once I get that I'm good to go. Be praying that it comes soon so I can be on a plane ASAP!

All things considered, I'm doing really well. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and the past few days have been nothing short of intense, but the Lord, as always, has been more than faithful. Even in the midst of all this craziness and having so much up in the air, He's kept me so grounded and level-headed. No matter what happens, at the end of the day I'm still saved by grace, He still loves me, I still have the most amazing family and friends that anyone could ask for (seriously you guys have been nothing short of amazing throughout this entire process), and I still get to be used as a part of His kingdom work. Pretty incredible if you ask me. I've been praying for quite some time that the Lord would show me just how blessed I am, and boy, has He delivered. Our God is pretty cool like that I guess :)

Nothing but love,
Michelle

"You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety." ~ Psalm 4:7-8