new years resolutions

Well, folks, I'm happy to say that I've arrived back in Brisbane, Australia once again :) I've really enjoyed being at home in Minnesota for the past 6 weeks catching up with friends, family, relaxing, enjoying the snowy weather and preparing for a second year of ministry here. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be back and am excited to dive back in, already knowing what to expect, more or less. The learning curve on STINT is pretty big your first year, and I didn't really feel like I knew what I was doing until about June. I know what to do and I know what I want to do better and differently than last year. While I'm on that subject...

I realize that yet again i've severely neglected this blog. my initial excuse was that i didn't think anyone read it... but to my surprise i was scolded by a friend during my time at home for stinking at blogging. so here i go. new years resolutions:

1. eat more vegetables

2. work on scripture memory

3. blog consistently

4. study apologetics ("New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" Josh McDowell. I got it as a gift from a supporter last year and have been intimidated by it for a while.)

so there you have it. more to come soon :)

new vocab

I still find it funny to notice the differences in vocabulary and pronunciation of words between Aussies and myself. I learned a new word last week- what I call a french braid, they call a "plat". I'm always learning!

And so, as I've been here over 8 months now, I must confess that I've adapted to some new terms:

college- "uni"

shopping cart- "trolley"

sweat shirt- "jumper"

gas/gas station- "petrol"/"petrol station"

trunk (of a car)- "boot"

candy- "lollies"

ketchup- "tomato sauce"

french fries- "chips"

Those ones definitely roll off the tongue with no hesitation. yikes! I of course still get made fun of-- there will be a never ending banter between correct/incorrect words and pronunciation i think... it doesn't get old :)

PS. We're going on a massive camping trip next weekend and I'm introducing the Aussies to s'mores! Thanks to Nate's girlfriend who transported "the goods"; you can't find graham crackers, jet-puffed marshmallows or hershey's bars in australia! Good ol' American summer tradition :)

the wonderful world of apologetics

I've been blessed with a team of guys who can study and speak about apologetics VERY well. God has gifted them with a brain like that. As I've heard them talk theology/philosophy/world views, etc for the last 8 months, I'm reminded of how much I don't know. Apologetics has never been something that I've attempted to study, but as I encounter more and more Aussies who are set in their post-modern ways, who are stuck on "tolerance" of all religious beliefs (meaning, a tolerance that says EVERYONE is correct)... I find myself frustrated and unable to stand up for the Gospel adequately.

So... I'm excited to announce that I'm doing something about it! One of my financial supporters gave me a book, "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell. Its a MASSIVE text-book style book on answering those challenging questions that people often have about Christianity... and I've actually cracked it open and started to study.

I'm excited to engage my brain in a challenging way again... not being a student for over a year now, I forget that I actually liked studying and taking exams! (just a little bit)

Feel free to hold me accountable or ask me what I'm learning!

WWJD? seriously!?

Oh how I remember those WWJD? bracelets from middle school... I wasn't a Christian then and thought they were pretty lame... especially because the people who I saw wearing them didn't really act how I presume Jesus would act. (I think about Jesus as a pre-teen... how did he live through that age and NEVER SIN!? amazing!)

God has been showing me lately how much I do NOT live like Christ. God (Jesus) became man to live among us and give us an example of how to lead our lives. I had this "lightbulb moment" the other week about those "challenging people" in our lives... about those who sometimes bother us more than others or who get on our nerves more than they should. I had a realization of this: Jesus lived the MOST relational life of anyone who has ever lived! He hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, hypocrites, religious leaders who glorified themselves... He was doubted, scoffed at, betrayed, murdered... He lived among people who I imagine are heaps more challenging than those I live among... YET, he never sinned! He never responded to sin with sin. never ever!

In all this realization, God has been showing me how sinful my mind is... how judgmental and critical I am, how quick I am to get irritated and annoyed. Boy, its a blessing and a curse to ask God, "make me more like Jesus!"... because HE WILL! and it has so far involved humility in ways I've not experienced before, and a dramatic encounter with my sinful nature. God is at work in me, and its a great and awesome thing when the Holy Spirit brings about change... I'm nowhere near "changed" in this matter yet, but I've found myself frequently asking "What would Jesus do?" It helps me to focus on HIM rather than myself.

Whew!

every thought captive

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

As I've gone through ups and downs in ministry throughout this semester, I can't help but wonder how or why I can know Jesus, know His commands, know what His Word says is true of me, know that Its only with God that anything I do is possible or relevant... YET... its in my insecurities, its in my pride, its in my American need to be so darn efficient and on top of things, that I get caught up in myself and lack dependence upon God.

When I'm exposed to my own doubts, and exposed to opportunities to be self-sufficient, impatient or judgmental... I have a choice! I can 1) go with the flow and once again fall short and cling to my pride and abilities, once again allowing unhealthy thoughts to take me captive or 2)I can recognize the danger in this mindset and turn away... running back to God and the truth of His Word.

As I serve here and live life alongside college students who are on all sorts of spiritual journeys, I want to love them and be able to point them toward the God who loves them and is the only place where they could have the desires of their heart met. But in the last few weeks I've been more easily irritated and impatient... and I've recognized that I've been pouring myself out in ministry without first being filled with God's love and strength. I've been serving Him out of my own strength which is always always ALWAYS insufficient!

I must give myself first to the Lord and then to ministry. I dare say that my ministry nearly became my walk with God! I'm looking forward to going away to our Mid Year Conference for a week of focusing on Him again :)

twenty three and still going strong :)

well, i'm 23! My birthday (june 15) was a huge reminder of how blessed I am... Thanks to all my friends here and back home who showed me love and helped to make my birthday special :) So many thoughtful birthday cards and gifts, and my roommates Dani and Amanda even made me TGI Friday's potato skins! My FAVE! To top it off, we played capture the flag with our students on campus... thats what normal 23-year olds do, right? haha.

Ministry-wise, we're mostly off campus now. Heading into the 2nd week of finals, my team and I are prepping for MYC (Mid Year Conference) thats coming up June 30-july 4. I'm doing the set design, so been trying to use my creative energy to paint a banner and come up with other sweet ideas... also, i'm co-leading two ministry training seminars, so been preparing for that. One called Into the Harvest, which is about having a lifetime of evangelism, reaching people with the Gospel whoever and wherever you are... and the second one is called Personal Discipleship.. about making disciples and helping younger Christians to grow in their faith, targeted at student leaders. Its been hard for me to workout what to do with my time... and hard to deal with feeling "guilty" about not doing hands-on ministry all the time, and instead, doing more behind the scenes tasks. I'm NOT good with structure-free days... I need appointments, I need timelines, I need a plan... and the last week and half I have not had that. So this week is a new week! I have specific times to meet with students, to share my faith on campus and to even have coffee with one of the summer project Directors, Sarah. Its going to be a good week!

On the topic of summer project... theres a group from the Midwest here for another week and a half. In total, they'll be here 6 weeks, and their primary focus is to do evangelism on all 4 Griffith campuses. They have been a HUGE blessing to us! Especially since we've been off campus and not having as many conversations with non-christians as we usually are... its awesome to know that there are 12 students and 2 staff sharing their faith monday through friday for 5 whole hours! So far, I think they've seen 5 students put their faith in Christ! Praise God! He is doing amazing things through them, and will continue to do so until they head back to the states on July 2nd.

Please pray for God's continued guidance in their lives and that God will orchestrate divine appointments in their final days spent sharing their faith on campus!

i'm back!

well i've been pretty poor at keeping up with this blogging thing.. oops! To update you on the ministry, things are going well! God is moving, He is answering prayers like CRAZY! Its been so encouraging knowing that so many people have been partnering with us in focused, intentional prayer the past week... At our weekly meeting called Fusion, this past tuesday, we had heaps of new people there! Two new girls that I spoke with really connected with the topic of that evening, "living a fulfilling life." I felt blessed to be able to have spiritual conversations with both of these girls, one of them has just started walking with the Lord again after falling away from Him for a few years, and the other girl is an international student from Zimbabwe who told me she had been thinking about these things for a while now. This just goes to show that God knows what He is doing, he brought both of these girls to Fusion that night to here a message that pointed them even more toward Christ... Awesome!

On another note, the summer project arrives here on wednesday morning.. 15 students and staff from the Upper Midwest region will be joining us for six weeks! They will be primarily doing evangelism on campus but also partnering along with us in all areas of our ministry. Please pray!

I'll work on updating you all more regularly :)

God bless you!