january newsletter + a little blurb of an update

hello blogging world! here's my latest newsletter. So far nothing all too blog-worthy has happened. I've been in-country just over 3 weeks now and things have just started to pick up.

We have had a few team meetings... been planning impact camp (our student leadership weekend which is 11-13 of Feb.) been meeting students and getting to know our student leaders. Last week we played ultimate frisbee and also had a dinner/movie night.

This upcoming weekend of Impact Camp, I'm in charge of food. I really love to plan, organize AND cook, so I figured I'd volunteer for this job! Our group is 30 people-- all are Aussies except my team-- 5 Americans. My first problem-- what I would choose to cook might be way different than what Aussies would choose-- for example: anything with beet root on it. (they eat it all the time!)

Secondly-- what does it take to figure out how to buy the right amount of food for 30 people?! 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 afternoon teas, 2 dinners and 2 suppers. (a tip: "afternoon tea" happens at 3pm and its a snack, and "supper" happens at 9pm and its also a snack.) Ruth is helping me-- she's a friend and girl I'll be discipling this year. Bonus: she also has a CAR so I don't have to take the shopping cart (trolley!) home with me from the supermarket.

I'm excited to be having tacos as one of our meals! Apparently mexican food is hard to come by in Australia, and when you do find it its never any good. Now I can't guarantee that I can make the best tacos on the planet-- but they are delicious :)

As far as things coming up... after Impact camp we have a week of planning time (which we will definitely need!) Then we have O-week (first year orientation week) which will be really busy for us. Then after O-week the semester starts and we'll be in full swing!

Thats all for now! Thank you for reading :)

Blessings, Emily

am i blog-savvy?

Ok people. I've got something to admit. As I read the blogs that my friends keep I'm SUPER intimidated. It doesn't help that several of them are English majors, and have an incredible wit about them as they write about the everyday things in their lives-- whether they're in Nigeria or starting a teaching job in Minnesota-- I feel I can't compare.

I realize, however, that competition isn't the point. Duh. I'm here to invite you to be a part of the adventure that God has placed me in here in Australia-- to share how He is at work in my life and in this country, to give Him the praise and glory, and to add bits and pieces of my experiences this year.

So maybe I'm not all too savvy in this blogging world... but I'll give it my best! Its not supposed to be about me anyway.

settling in

G'day! Its another hot, humid and sunny day here in MacGregor (the suburb of Brisbane where I live). Yesterday was a national holiday here-- Australia day! Pretty similar to the fourth of july for us.. Very patriotic, lots of barbecues, red white and blue, aussie flags everywhere and fireworks at night!

Theres a picture of me in front of the beautiful city. I got an entire patriotic outfit from K-mart so I fit in. My shirt even said "100% Aussie". (oops. I lied).

Today marks our team's official start to the year. We had a week at a staff conference, then we've spent the last week settling in and "nesting". We had our first team meeting today-- the most unique meeting I've ever witnessed. 3 of us were here and 2 were still in the US! Nate joined us on skype from a Caribou coffee in St. Cloud Minnesota, and Amanda joined us via skype from her home in Racine, WI. Here's our first ever team picture:

We got a lot accomplished today and are having another planning meeting tomorrow. Praise God that we have this incredible use of technology at our finger tips so we can get things going even if we're not on the same continent.

Thats all for now! Please pray (still!) for Nate and Amanda to arrive quickly! Nate's still waiting on his Visa, and Amanda has to wait to come with him.

Thanks and God bless you!

hello from the land down under :)

Hello friends and family! I've been in Australia for 3 days now, and am adjusting to the heat and humidity fairly well. Last night my teammate Ben and I joined 2 others at a Cricket match at the largest professional Cricket stadium in all of Queensland. What a cultural experience! It was a lot of fun-- especially once I understood what was going on on that field!

Tomorrow we leave for a 5-day staff conference called Nexus. I'm excited to meet other CCC staff in the country and prepare for the upcoming year of ministry! We'll be near the ocean as well, which I am especially excited for. Please pray that God would use this next week at the conference to prepare me for ministry this upcoming year!

God bless, Emily

PLEASE READ!

Hello friends and family :)
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I want you to know that my intentions for documenting my time here is so that you can share in this experience with me. I'm here as a missionary--Christ's ambassador, to share His love with students and help them to grow in their Christian faith. I want to thank each of you who have supported me financially and prayerfully, and for your encouragement along the way. I also want you to know that I also plan on including photos, stories and insights into every aspect of this year-- the fun things we'll do on weekends, trips to the beach and other travel experiences-- but its ALL to the glory of God. I hope that you'll be encouraged by how God is moving and by what He is teaching me through this experience!

Blessings, Emily

prayer letter posts

A friend told me how to do this and I'm just giving it a shot. I'm planning on posting my monthly prayer letters on my blog throughout the year. (this was my October newsletter) Thanks Londa :)

its a new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I feel so blessed to have been able to spend the past 5 new years eves surrounded by 1500 college believers at the Campus Crusade for Christ conference in Minneapolis, called TCX.

Twin Cities eXperience (TCX) is an incredible time to grow in your faith, learn practical applications and develop deep friendships with other Christians. I've made so many memories there during my 4 years as a college student, and this year was no exception. The theme was "RADIATE", and all about how we are called to radiate Christ's love to the people in our life, and take steps of faith so that everyone has an opportunity to follow Him. I'm so thankful that my dearest friends were there, many drove as far as 6 and a half hours to celebrate the new year in awesome community. There was fellowship, prayer, worship and of course, lots of dancing as we counted down 'till 2010.

I finally got to meet my STINT team mate, Amanda, and we hit it off right away :) The former stint team and our new team got to "pass the torch", so-to-speak, and I feel even more excited about this upcoming year of ministry. We also finally booked our flight! I leave January 12th!

I feel absolutely blessed with the best friends I could ask for. I'll miss you all this next year!

Much love and blessings in the new year,

Emily