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! :)