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