Thursday, February 19, 2009

New Pictures

Just uploaded new pictures from the past two weeks. You'll get to see some pictures of my "mates", who are just about the coolest people on the face of the earth, I reckon. (I'm learning the Aussie lingo).

Here are the links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043596&id=44901593&l=3de1c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043597&id=44901593&l=522eb

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043601&id=44901593&l=c8468


God is continuing to rock our faces off through the lectures on the Father Heart of God. He's doing some serious work in all of us, revealing to us the awesome power of being adopted as sons in Christ to be in a love relationship with God (Ephesians Ch 1). Our speaker, Tom Hallis, is one of the head honchos of YWAM. He told us today that he thinks our school is pretty special and that God is going to do some big things through us, which is pretty exciting because he's seen a lot of schools and a lot of students over his last 40 years working with Youth With a Mission.

A huge praise! We started moving stuff into the new building! God has provided in some pretty ridiculous ways for us to move in there, and it's finally happening! They moved over some of the furniture today, and we should be in there for real next week! We're SO excited, especially since we girls in the dorm have been sleeping on the floor for the past two nights.

Well, the last of my photos have just uploaded, so I guess it's off to bed to prepare for another amazing day with the Lord!

Love you all!

P.S. What is this craziness I hear about Griffey coming back to Seattle??? Whoda thunk?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

First Week of DTS

Hi friends! What a crazy week it has been! We went from the hottest weather on earth to cold and rain, so it feels a bit like home. ;-} We had our first official week of classes this past week. We had Sunday afternoon and Monday morning and afternoon off. I spent most of the weekend cleaning out our room and packing so we can move into the new base. We had to disassemble our beds and lay all of our mattresses on the floor, so our room is absolute chaos right now--I'll try to post some pictures when I get a chance--it's pretty hysterical.

I also had my first experience attempting to do laundry at the base. We don't have a dryer, so we have to hang everything out on a line, which is normally not a problem, but it's been raining for the past three days.... Most of my clothes are dry now, but the stuff that is still wet is hanging all over the disassembled bed pieces in our room. ;-}

This week, our lecture series is on the Father Heart of God. It has been challenging and thought provoking so far. Pray that God will give us all understanding to take in what he is trying to teach us and that he would give our speaker, Tom, wisdom to deliver the Word effectively. This week is also 24/7 Worship week, which has been really intense as well. The Lord has been teaching me some pretty sweet things about worship as I am spending time with him. Pray that he continues to reveal himself to me so I can worship him with all I've got in spirit and in truth.

Also pray for us as we get ready to move into the new base! We're really excited about the move, but it's going to be a lot of work for everyone. Today, we went and started to clean the rooms--everything is covered with dust because the building has been empty for the past two years. Pray that God will provide everything we need for the move, and pray that he will get the glory for the awesome things he's doing for us!

Love you all and miss you bunches!

Love from Australia,
Maggie

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Featherdale Wildlife Park Photos

Ok, after many long hours of toil (at least it felt like many long hours) my pics from the Featherdale Wildlife Park are up. More birds, kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies than you ever wanted to see....

Album 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043326&id=44901593&l=4d9db

Album 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043327&id=44901593&l=46da7

Album 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043328&id=44901593&l=af7c4

Album 4:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043331&id=44901593&l=4221e

Enjoy!

First few days of YWAM

Hi friends! So, we've had our first few days of classes down here. The schedule is really intense, but I'm having a good time. My classmates and the staff are great, but we're in some super-tight quarters right now because our school is too big for the base. We're actually praying to be moving into a new base location in the next week or so. The new base is SUPER nice and huge, so we're really excited about it! Pray that God's favor will be over the move and that he will provide everything we need to get there quickly and effectively.
Class has been mostly basic intro stuff about YWAM so far, but we did have one really good session about the indigenous Aboriginal culture in Australia and the history of this place. It was really powerful to hear the testimony of one of our leaders who is native aboriginal and how God has brought her through a lot of deliverance from the atrocities that happened to her people. I am really excited to learn more about the aboriginal peoples, as well as the other nations represented at the school. One of my goals for the next 6 months is to collect a folk song or dance from each culture represented at the DTS so I can bring it back with me and teach it to my students!

More updates when I get a spare moment--things are really intense and our internet time is limited, so don't hate me if it takes me a while to get back to you!

~Maggie

P.S.
We had a blast at the animal park--I took WAY too many pictures which I'll post as soon as I get a spare moment!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

The hottest place on earth!

Quick update--One of the leaders was saying that the greater Sydney area was the hottest place on earth today! I don't know an exact temperature, but it had to have been between 90-100 degrees! SO HOT! We went to Hillsong this morning for church which was absolutely ridiculous! Darlene Zschech led worship (ahhhh!) and the Word was really good. A bunch of the girls went up to the base leader's house after lunch because they have a small pool. It was nice to get in and cool off. This evening, we had our official opening of the DTS! We got to see performances from all over the world--traditional didjeridu and dancing, First Nations of Canada, Hawaiian dance, EVERYTHING! It was so beautiful! Our DTS is really diverse--we have people from the States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Africa, everywhere! I'm having a blast getting to know all the different cultures and collecting lots of fun cultural music to take back to my students! ;-} The most amazing thing is that all of us from these different places can come together and untie under the banner of Jesus Christ! It's so cool to share a common faith with so many people from around the world.

More updates after our visit to the kangaroo reserve tomorrow! Classes officially start on Tuesday, so my schedule will be much more hectic and I will have less time for adventuring and blogging. I'll try to keep you up to date on everything--I know that God is going to be doing a huge work in all of us who have come to this DTS, and I am excited to see what He has planned!

Love you all!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Pictures!

Ok, so the Dropshots thing didn't work, but I did finally get some of the pictures to work on Facebook. You can see them at the following web addresses even if you don't have a Facebook account:

Album 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043107&l=d899a&id=44901593

Album 2:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31387965&l=eed4a&id=44901593

Album 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043109&l=10e3f&id=44901593

Album 4:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043110&l=a3313&id=44901593

Hope you enjoy!

Tourist Day in Sydney

Hi everybody! It's my second day in Australia! I slept well last night and am not feeling the jet lag too bad. I'm just wiped because it's SO HOT down here! It was in the 90's today, and it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.

Today, a few of my classmates and I went into Sydney to see the sights. It was so beautiful! We spent the first 45 minutes searching for food and were completely starving by the time we found a mall food court. Once we got food, we set out to see a bit of the city. We saw Hyde park and the Royal Botanic Gardens, which were absolutely beautiful! The garden had these trees that were full of huge fruit bats! I took at least a million pictures of the plants and flowers, and of course the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. I tried uploading the pictures on Facebook, but wasn't able too. I have a dropshots account that I'm uploading my photos to right now, but it's taking FOREVER! I'll let you know when I get them all posted.

We might be going to Hillsong for church tomorrow, but if not, we're definitely going next weekend. The DTS has it's official opening tomorrow night (Sunday), and then on Monday we're going to a kangaroo reserve where we get to feed kangaroos by hand (pictures will come--promise!). School officially starts on Tuesday, and I'm super excited! More updates when I have more news. Sending you hugs and lots of heat waves from Down Under!

Friday, February 6, 2009

I'm here!

Hi friends and family! I arrived in Sydney today and am getting all settled in at the base. It is ridiculously hot here--apparently I arrived in the middle of one of the worst heat waves they've had all year. I met a few of my classmates and leaders today. Our quarters are pretty tight right now, but apparently we're going to be moving into a new location in the next few weeks here, which will be nice.

The flight was SUUUUUUUPER long! 14 hours from LA to Sydney! I've never wanted to get off a plane so badly in all my life! Right now, I'm trying my best to stay up until at least 8:00 pm to fight the jetlag, but I'm fading pretty fast (and it's only 2:15pm)!

Please be praying for me. Leaving home was really hard for me, and I need the Lord's help to remember that this is where he has called me to and that he always blesses obedience to his will. Pray for comfort and peace in the Lord, and be praying for our team too--that we would all mesh wll together.

Love you all!
~Maggie

P.S.
Pictures will be coming soon when I have a little more time--I got some great ones from the plane!

Monday, February 2, 2009

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...."

3 days! I can hardly believe it! I have had all my stuff strewn out on the guest room floor for the past three weeks, and today Jami came over and helped me pack. It took some serious purging (after I had already done 3 rounds of purging on my own) and a lot of reminders from the "Stuff" series at church, but I have everything I need crammed into one 60 lb checked bag, one carry on, and a guitar case. WOW! Mad props to Jamers for helping me pack!

It still doesn't really feel like I am leaving in 3 days. I've been saying goodbye to everybody, but it doesn't feel real yet. Maybe it will once I'm on the 14 and a half hour plane ride of doom from LA to Sydney! Not looking forward to that... But, I am SUPER excited to get down there and start a whole new chapter of my life. Keep praying that I will have an open and teachable heart and that God will protect me in all my travels.

As I prepare to leave, I can't help but think of all the people who helped to make this trip possible. I have been SO blessed by the gifts and financial support from so many of my friends and family--I can't thank you enough! The Lord has used you all in a mighty way to provide for this trip and I am truly grateful for each one of you!

Expect the next update to come from Down Under!!!! ;-}