I'M HOME!!!!

That is all. ;-} (More after I unpack.... Yikes.)

Quick update

Quick update before I leave for the airport--I got to go snorkeling! YAY! The guy that I found that doesn't make his call until the morning about cancellations decided to go out. The waves were pretty big, so the visibility wasn't great, but I still got to go. At the end of the snorkel, they threw pieces of bread into the water and these HUUUUUGE fish came over to feed--SO cool! I'll post pictures (that didn't turn out very well) when I get a chance.

Today was my last full day in Australia--so weird! I can't believe that 6 months has gone by so slow and so incredibly fast at the same time. I'm really going to miss this place, but am still excited about coming home. I'm on a plane in less than 24 hours!!!! Gotta jet, so I can get on a jet and go back to Sydney to pack. Praying that everything I want to bring with me fits in my bags.....

Final Countdown *dun nuh nuh nuh....dun nuh nah nah nuh....*

Kudos to those of you who got the song reference in the title. Bonus points if you started singing it to make sure I put the right number of syllables. ;-}

Well, I'm enjoying my final days here in Australia. Our "graduation" was good, but ended up going super long as most meetings at IBS do... ;-} We went out afterward and had our first official drinks in 6 months--very nice, even though the bartender was a little weak sauce with the shots... I stayed up that whole night packing and hanging out with friends to say our final goodbyes. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, especially since I was the first one to leave.

I got up to Townsville on Saturday morning--slept the WHOLE flight, which is extremely abnormal for me. I guess I should stay up all night every time before I fly! One of the staffers from the Townsville base came and picked me up and gave me a tour of the town and the base. Their base is SUUUUUPER nice! I'm staying in a flat all by myself, which I'm enjoying to no end! I get to cook my own meals, chill out, watch movies, paint my toe nails, and sleep in the most peacefully silent room I have experienced in the last 6 months. ;-} Yesterday, I hung out on "The Strand", which is a long boardwalk in downtown Townsville. I went shopping at the markets, laid on the beach and read, and experienced hand-made Bailey's-flavored gelato for the first time--I don't think there has ever been a more amazing gelato flavor created in the history of mankind, just to let you know.

Today, I took the ferry over to Magnetic Island. On a whim, I decided to spend the night on the island because it looked pretty cool. I'm staying at a Backpacker's Hostel/Wildlife park. It's pretty nice, and a 5 minute walk from one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my entire life. Don't worry--there will be lots of pictures coming.

I'm trying to list all the good things to outweigh the incredibly sucky thing--I called to confirm that my reef/snorkeling tour for tomorrow is still going on, and they said they had to cancel because of a high wind warning! SO LAME! I called around to every snorkeling tour place in the area, and they all canceled except one. The place I found doesn't make their call until the morning of the tour, so I'm praying that they will still go out tomorrow! It's my last day to snorkel because I'm flying back to Sydney on Wednesday, and I will be supremely disappointed if I don't get to do the one thing I came up here for! Hopefully I'll get the hook up from the big Weather Man upstairs...

Other than that, I'm just thinking about how I'm going to get all my stuff home, and looking forward to the CRAAAAZY heat wave awaiting me in Puyallup when I get home! 3 days and counting!!!!

Let the sappy songs play...it's almost time for graduation!

Hey all! I can't believe I'm coming to the end of this 6 month journey! We've spent the last week doing de-briefing here at the base, and most of us have spent the week taking antibiotics to kill a crazy cold we got in the outback--one of the girls even got pneumonia! I'm up and walking around, which is more than I can say for when I first got sick, but I'm still waiting for the last bit of cough and runny nose to go away.

Last night, we had a big dinner at a buffet place nearby with the school and some of the staff from the base. It was a nice time to hang out and say goodbyes, since the base double booked a huge conference at the same time as our graduation, so we don't really get a proper graduation because the conference is going on.... Oh, the joys of YWAM. I made a "most likely to..." slideshow with all the students in it that got some pretty big laughs. I must say it was above the bar of my usual comedic genius and I was quite proud of myself. ;-} Today and tomorrow each of the outreach teams is giving a 15 minute speech at the conference, and then on Friday night (during the conference) we will get our fancy pieces of paper saying we passed our DTS. Sort of an anti-climactic ending after 6 of the craziest months of my life, but I think we've all accepted that we're not going to have a proper graduation. We're trying to make plans to go out afterward and say our last goodbyes before everyone leaves, but the conference is throwing a snag in those works too because it's running so late.

After "graduation" on Friday, I wake up early Saturday morning to fly up to Townsville to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and catch a little R&R on the beach before leaving for home. I started packing today--still not sure how my giant didgeridoo and my djembes are going to fit in my bags/not break/make it through customs, but I'm going to worry about that later.... I'm looking forward to coming back to the states, enjoying all of the things from home that I've been missing since February 6th, and seeing all of you! Can't wait to catch up and give you all big hugs when I get home!!!!

Back in Sydney, again!

Hey friends! I'm back from the outback! It was absolutely beautiful, but SOOOOO cold! I'll write more about it later when I have time. Everybody got to make a didgeridoo, which is AMAZING because buying them is suuuuper expensive. I was the only person who didn't get to make one because I was really sick the last two days, but our host made one for me so I could have one to take home. We had some crazy adventures with wild kangaroos and emus, broken down vans, and small housefires, but I'll write about all that when it's not 2 minutes before lunchtime. Right now, I'm just soaking up the last week with all my DTS friends and counting down the hours until I come home! More later!

Off to Brewarrina!

Hey all. I'm taking a quick break from packing to tell you all that we're headed off on our last part of outreach to an Aboriginal community called Brewarrina tomorrow. We'll be spending somewhere between 5-10 days there doing whatever ministry they find for us to do. It's all organized Island Breeze Sydney style right now, which means that we have no idea what's going on.... The biggest challenge so far is trying to pack all of our heavy winter clothes (it's winter down here, by the way) for a week into a carry on sized suitcase. I'm pretty much going to freeze for the whole week, especially at night, because apparently, we're going to be sleeping in a shed or something... Hopefully the Lord will do amazing things in and through our potentially frostbitten bodies--pray that the fire of the Holy Spirit goes with us in more ways than one!

20 days til I'm back at Sea-Tac!!! ;-}

I come from a land down under...

Hey all! We made it back to Australia safe and sound! It was a long day of flying without a cool trip to Hong Kong, but I think we're all just really glad to be back. Our group got back to the base last night around 10:00ish, so we got a decent night's sleep. The other gang flew in at 6:00 this morning, so they're going to be jet lagging pretty hardkore. We had an AWESOME time of worship this morning--it's so good to be back at the base! A lot has changed since we left--there's a new DTS here, and a huuuuuuge short-term missions group from the states. We have a week at the base, and then we head off into the indigenous communities, which we're really excited about. The short term missions groups and some people from the base have been going into the indigenous communities and have seen heaps of people coming to the Lord, so we're really excited to see how God is going to move!

Love you all!

Flying sucks

So, as you may have read, we are spending the next few days traveling. We were SUPPOSED to get to spend a day in Hong Kong, but British Airways screwed us over with our baggage and gave us heaps of trouble, so we missed our connecting flight, and instead of spending a night in Hong Kong, we spent the night at the London Heathrow airport. The highlight of the evening was when a transient man who had been crashing on the chairs in the arrivals section whipped out his business in the middle of everything and peed on the floor. Welcome to London....

On the upside, I paid for 24 hours of internet access to keep myself and the rest of the team entertained, so I had time to upload new photos! These are from the last week of North Africa, which includes a couple trips to the beach and my camel ride! Yes, I finally got to do it--on our last day in Africa. SO much fun! Me, Jordan, and one of the girls from another team that was staying with our contacts went and rode in a camel caravan. I rode the mamma camel and her baby followed us on the ride--SO CUTE! Here's the link for the pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049077&id=44901593&l=b94c35acc8

Well, I suppose I should pass the laptop off to the next person. Hopefully the rest of our flying experiences will go off without a hitch and we'll be in Sydney after 20 hours of flying!!!! YUCK!

Last few days in North Africa

Hey everybody! We've had an amawing time here in North Africa--I can't believe it's coming to a close! This past week, we've had a lot of fun hanging out with all the friends we've made here. The boys have been hanging out a lot with the Five Speedboys and some other guys we've met through our English classes. They went cliff jumping at the beach a few days ago. The girls have been helping out at a home for pregnant women. In this country, if a woman is pregnant and doesn't have a husband, she has to spend two years in jail. This home offers the women shelter and also offers care for the kids. We worked with the toddlers--SO cute! We had a blast, but also had our hearts broken for one of the real needs of this place. You'll see pictures and more info from that when I get home.

This week, two of us also had an opportunity to go to a choir concert, which was really fun for the music geek.... :-) We tried to go to their first performance, but got there late, so we had to go to their second performance, which happened to be at a consulate in town with a bunch of fancy dignitaries! Jordan did some sweet talking with a waiter who put our names on the list and we somehow got in to spend an evening listening to this choir and hobknobing over orderves and drinks (soda for us unfortunately) with a bunch of fancy rich people! It was pretty surreal...

We're speding our last full day in country at the beach with our friends, where, God willing, I will get to ride my camel!!!! I promise to take lots of ridiculous pictures and post them all once we get back to Australia.

After the beach, it's packing, and then we leave for Paris on Monday afternoon. Our group has one night in Paris, then we leave for Hong Kong. We have a one night layover in Hong Kong, so we'll be able to see a bit of the city there as well. We're back in Sydney by the 2nd, and we'll have a few days to sleep off the jet lag before we head to the aboriginal communitites. I'm hoping that all of our travels go well, that the airline doesn't lose my guitar again, that I can fit everything in my bag, and that all the souveniers I bought will make it through customs without being confiscated by the nit-picky Australian government...

A month an 2 days until I'm back on US soil! Can't wait to see you all!!!

Update

Hey guys! Hope you are all well and are enjoying your June! I can't believe it's the middle June already!!! We've had a great week here in North Africa. We've been a bit bummed out because the lady who was supposed to organize our work time here has been really sick, so she hasn't been able to get us into the places we were supposed to be working at. Mr. J ha totally been orchestrating our time though, which has been really cool. We have been hanging out with a girl we met on the train down to the mountains who has just moved to the area we're in and doesn't know a whole lot of people yet. She's an absolute sweetheart and we love spending time hanging out. Yesterday, we went out or ice cream and talked to her about Mr. J for like two hours! She was really interested and she wants to buy his book, which is really exciting! We're hanging out with her a bunch more before we leave, so hopefully we'll get a chance to talk more. The boys have been hanging out with these kids who call themselves the 5Speedboys--watch their YouTube stuff here: http://www.youtube.com/user/5speedboys they're legit! They have a whole gang of guys who do this thing called "free running" which basically involves running down the street and doing crazy acrobatic flips off of whatever comes across their path. When I met them, they were filming a short movie about not doing drugs for a film festival in the city. If it wins, it's going to play at the Cannes Film Festival!!! We were there watching the shoot, and we actually got to be in part of the movie! It should be up on YouTube in a few months--I'll be sure to send the link when I get it. The guys have had some good opportunities to hang with the boys and share with them as well, which is really cool. English classes have been going well too. We taught another song this week, and I helped teach the beginning English group their colors and the days of the week.

My body is recovering from a second round of the Arican Montezuma's Revenge, which was not fun, especially when we were at the beach WHERE THERE WERE NO BATHROOMS!!! I had some special bonding times with my team mate who held a towel up or me so I could go to the bathroom in the bushes.... The day we went to the beach was my one opportunity to ride a camel, and I didn't get to do it because I was sick. Suuuuuuper bummed out, but I'm going to try to go back if I can possibly mannage so I can tick another life goal off the list. I am feeling better now and am in better spirits, but still bummed about mising out on the camel experience.

I uploaded new pictures which you can see here: http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/
I don't have time to organize them or add comments to them today, so I'll leave the timeline and captions to your imagination until next time. Hope you enjoy!

Love you and miss you all!!!

New Pictures

Hi friends! Back safe and sound and finally recovered from the death food poisoning. I uploaded some of my photos from the last week or so that you can peruse here:

http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/

We’re getting settled back in with our other friends and getting ready to get our hands dirty. The woman who plans our outings is really sick right now. She had surgery a while ago and is undergoing some partial chemo to get rid of the growths that the surgery couldn’t remove. The next time you talk to Mr. J, think of her. We’re not quite sure what we’ll be doing here because she’s not well enough to organize our work times, but hopefully we’ll get to do something. We are for sure helping with the English classes that are going on here, which is really exciting. I’m stoked to go see the kids again this week and review the stuff we learned last time.

I’m having a great time here, but I’m starting to really count down the days until home (literally—46 days from today, I’m on a plane!). We’re at the point in the school where you’ve been living with the same 6 people for 5 months and they’re really starting to get on your nerves. I still love them all heaps, but I’m trying to keep my distance so I don’t accidentally kill one of them…. Love you and miss you all!!!

Back from the mountains!

Hi friends! Sorry haven't updated in a while--turns out that remote mountain villages don't have internet access. ;-} For those of you who didn't know, our group had an awesome opportunity to spend a week trekking through the mountains. For those of you who know how out of shape I am, you can imagine that it was a bit of a challenge at times to go trekking anywhere from 3 to 10 miles in a day with a legit hiker's backpack on, but I made it! Our guide for the first part was an amazing local who showed us the sights and hiked us all over the earth and back to stay with these amazing village families. It was so cool to stay with them, play with the kids, and see a bit of how they live their lives. We ate some AMAZING home-cooked food, which we have all fallen in love with and will never be able to get again because it's only cooked in this mountain region... The scenery was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! It reminded me a lot of Arizona, but with a lot more mountains. I took almost 1,000 pictures, which I will try to get up on the internet asap (might have to wait until we have more reliable internet access--not at an expensive cafe).

After the first four days, we switched guides and worked with an international trekking team to see the last few villages. We met up with another international trekker and got to know him a bit--super cool guy. On the first day with them, we went to a brand new village that the leaders had never been to before. This might have turned out to be a mistake, because I think we ate something there that gave half of the group food poisoning. We decided that since so many people were sick, it would be better to cut our trip short. A two hour taxi ride down from the mountains after spending the night outside on the ground to be next to the squatty potty wasn't the most fun experience, but I made it back alive and think I am on the mend (aka, I don't feel like I want to DIE every second I'm awake anymore, only every 30 seconds or so....)

We're planning to stay where we are until everybody is over the sickness and then head back up to the place we came into to continue our cultural exploration. Be thinking of us and hope that we all get better quickly and have more opportunities to meet awesome people and experience this beautiful land as we continue our travels!

Made it safe

Hi friends. Writing a quick note to say I made it safe to my destination. We're having a great time so far. The only mishap in our travels was that the airline lost my guitar. Poor Gojita has been through a lot lately... She's back safe and sound now but her case has a few new shiners to remember the ordeal by. The gang is waiting for me so we can go out and see the sights, so I'll write more later when I have a chance.

Love you all!

Last update from Le Gault la Forêt!

Hi friends! This will be my last update from our lovely town of Le Gault la Forêt in France! We leave tomorrow for North Africa! I'm so excited, especially because I'm finally done packing! Living out of a suitcase is definitely my least favorite part of traveling.... We've had an awesome time here at the base getting to know the staff and the communities around the base. We've made some really great relationships here and it will be hard to say goodbye. We're also having to say goodbye to the other half of our team that is staying in France. I will definitely miss them heaps!!! It's sad to leave such a beautiful place with such great friends, but I know that there are wonderful things in store for us as we head to Africa!

I'll try to keep you updated as often as I can, but I doubt we'll have reliable internet access while we're in Africa. Be aware that I'll be sparse on the details of where we are and what we're doing because of some security concerns, but I'll try to drop a line here every once in a while to let you know that I'm having a blast doing whatever it is we're doing. I'll try to post pictures when we get back to Sydney or when I get home (two months and counting!).

Miss you and love you all!!!

Other photo albums

Here are the photos from outreach week 3:

http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/France%20Outreach--Week%203/?albumview=slideshow

Trip to Reims and Epernay:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/Trip%20to%20Reims%20and%20Epernay/?albumview=slideshow

Outreach, week 4:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/France%20Outreach--Week%204/?albumview=slideshow

Enjoy!

Paris Photos

Here are the photos from Paris!

http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/DTS%20goes%20to%20Paris/?albumview=slideshow

Happenings in France

Hi friends! It has been another amazing week in France! We moved back into our rooms upstairs, which is nice. We had some amazing weather this week--very springy. We had a BBQ for one of the guys who has been helping out at the base and left to head to his next venture in life. It was fun to hang out with the base folk. I played with a couple of the kids most of the time, which was really fun. Kate, who is four years old and has adorable red hair, is my new friend. I will post pictures of our adventures if facebook ever decides to cooperate...

When we went to church this weekend, Liz, Brea, and I helped with the Sunday school kids--so much fun! We taught them Father Abraham and then took them to the park to play outside. After church, we decided to get lunch at the pizza/kebab restaurant in town. One of the ladies from church (who happens to be a primary school music teacher) saw us in the restaurant and gave us a bunch of certificates to pay for our whole lunch!!! SO NICE! We came back that afternoon and hung out in the beautiful sunshine at the base. It was pretty much the perfect day.

On Monday of this week, we went to Reims and Epernay, which are north of Le Gault. Reims has a huge cathedral where the kings of France used to be crowned, and Epernay is the champagne capital of France. We toured some churches in Reims, walked around the city, and ate morning tea at a really delicious bakery. We saw a street magician who must have been working on his portfolio because he had a video camera following him around. He was pretty good, but not as good as Heath Page (for any of my CSIN friends who know who that is....). When we went to Epernay, we toured the Mercier champagne factory, which was really interesting. They take you on this lazer-guided tram tour of their underground factory and tell you about the whole champagne making process, which is incredibly intricate. I bought a bottle of champagne that I am excited to crack open as soon as DTS is over... ;-}

This week, I got to babysit Yannick, the son of a couple from the base. He is a little guy--maybe around two years old, and he is SO CUTE!!! We ate lunch, read heaps of stories, and played with a stuffed Babar while we should have been napping. We also had a CRAAAAAZY thunder storm that almost felt like a tornado with how windy it was! We had way too much fun--I'll try to put up some of the videos I took of the lightning--it was pretty unbelievable!

Last night, Eliane, Brea, and I went to a home group that was totally awesome! The group is mostly non-Christians; neighbors and friends of the family who runs it. We played some worship songs, did a sign language performance, and Brea and I shared our testimonies. It was a really powerful time--I saw tears in people's eyes while Brea and I were speaking. The people were incredibly warm and hospitable, and we had a great time getting to know them and sharing with them. I am excited for how God is going to use what we shared last night to touch those people's lives.

Other than that, it's business as usual here! We're getting ready to leave for Africa on Monday! It's coming SO SOON! We're all really excited. I'm not excited to pack again, but I am excited to move on to the next adventure God has for us. We'll be spending a few weeks in the north working with some ministries there, and then we're going into the mountains for 6 days, which is going to be hard, but amazing! I'll try to get as much internet/Skype time in as I can this week, because we're probably not going to have as reliable internet in Africa as we do here. Still trying to upload my pictures. I think I've given up on Facebook, so I'm trying Photobucket, but I'm worried that I'll go over my limit because I take too many pictures!!!

Love you and miss you all!

Visit to Paris, etc...

Hey everybody! It's been another crazy week in France! On Tuesday, we all went into Paris to see the sights for our day off. It was pretty much amazing! We left SUPER early in the morning, so we were all way tired, but we wanted to have heaps of time to see everything because this was probably our only shot to get to the city. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Town Hall, the Paris Opera House (where Phantom of the Opera was set and the movie was filmed), Notre Dame, the Louvre Courtyard, and a bunch of other amazingly cool places. We went to one church and saw a Lutheran Choir from Wisconsin getting off a tour bus. We went up and talked to them, and it turns out that one of the guys is from PARKLAND! I flipped out! How random is it to meet someone from Po-Dunk Parkland in Paris!?!?!?! We had lots of fun, despite a few snags in our travel plans....

I haven't done much but sleep for the past two days because I've been sick, which is kinda lame... But I'm on the mend, so it's all good. We've moved out of our rooms at the base we're staying at because they booked a huge group in here before our travel plans changed, so they're being amazing and bending over backwards to find a place for us to stay. Four of us girls are crashing in the lounge room at the house we have been in, the other four are in the basement prayer room at the other house, and the boys are tenting it in the backyard. We're here until the end of the week, then we get to move back into our rooms.

Travel plans for the next leg of our journey are really coming together for our team. We heard from a contact who wants to take us into the mountains to work with an unreached people group, which is really exciting because our team has gotten heaps of words from the Lord about mountains! We're in the logistics phase right now--trying to figure out travel and accommodation plans. Keep praying that everything works out and that we go and do exactly what God wants us to.

Keep lifting up the France team in prayer as well. They are under some serious attack from the enemy with their travel plans, and they need breakthrough! Pray that contacts and people to stay with will come out of nowhere and that God will orchestrate their travels and outreaches.

Love you and miss you all! I'm in the process of posting pictures from Paris, so be expecting those as soon as our internet decides to cooperate!

Exciting news!

Hi friends! We just got word this morning that our contact came through for us in North African Country Number 2, so we're officially going!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am, especially since that's the country I've had on my heart the whole time! We're staying in one city in the north for the whole month unless we find contacts in other cities. Keep praying that all of our travel plans go through and that we go to the exact places God wants us to go. Also be praying for one of the staff from that base who is really sick and is having surgery on Wednesday. Pray for a full, quick recovery so she can continue her ministry in this country. Also be praying for the France team, as their travel plans are slightly more fluid than they would like them to be (aka, they're supposed to be leaving here on Wednesday, but they don't have a place to go...) Pray that God's will be done and that people will take the swift action they need to take to make things happen for the France team.

Thanks SO MUCH for your prayers! The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective! They're not just words--we pray to a living and active God who changes circumstances on our behalf. God is so good!

Week 2 Update

Hey friends! This has been a CRAZY week! We had an open air in a town called Provins (pronounced pro-vAAn, with the French sounding nasal vowel) on Thursday. We had prepared a bunch of stuff, and as often happens, things turned out completely differently than we had expected. There were heaps of kids in the square we were in, more than the base staff had ever seen before. We taught them Bambalela, a fun African praise song we do all the time at our base, and did a drum circle. Some of the kids came and played drums with us, while others played a game like musical chairs, but with scraps of paper instead of chairs. We handed out pieces of paper folded like hearts with scriptures and encouraging words on them to the kids afterward. It was really exciting for us, because God spoke to us before we got here about ministering to children and how they were going to be the key focus for our ministry.

Last night, we went to a house group run by some of the people from the base. We lead worship, and then another French person who has been at the base for a while shared his testimony. It was really fun to be able to meet with and bless some of the people from the community, as well as continue to build relationships with the family from the base.

Today, we had a crazy move of God's Spirit in our team time. The Lord brought up a lot of stuff for us to deal with, and there was a lot of healing that took place in relationships with each other and our relationship with God. God spent all week preparing us for this morning with different words and things he was speaking to us, and I think now that we've gotten rid of a lot of junk in our own lives, our ministry will be much more effective. I'm excited to see what God does at the Youth Group service/hang out time tonight at the baptism service we're helping with tomorrow!

In my last update, I mentioned that we were having trouble with our visas. Turns out, there's no way for us to get visas for the country we were going to, short of going back to each of our country of origins and applying at our local consulate (which for me, would have meant applying in person in Washington....DC!). The option we're exploring now is going to the other country in Africa that we were originally planning to go to but cut out of the plan because of finances and timing. If you're confused about which country I'm talking about now, e-mail me and I'll give you a hint... :-} We need mad prayer!!! Pray that our contact in Africa still has room for our team to come in June and pray that everything with finances and travel works out. We've had a lot of changes and disappointments with our travel plans so far on this team, and I think all of us are ready for a little stability! Pray that God would speak to us clearly about what we're supposed to do and where we're supposed to go. Pray that he will open up doors and provide contacts for us so that we can have effective ministry in the places he wants us to be. Pray for our team to be encouraged and strengthened by the Lord, and that these changes won't distract us from the plan he has for us while we're in France.

Thanks for all your prayers! Love you and miss you all!

Africa Update

Hey friends! Our leader went into Paris yesterday to work on our African visas at the consulate office, and they told her that because we're not French citizens, we can't apply for a visa to the African country we're going to while we're in France. She's going to call the base tomorrow and see what to do, so we're kind of in limbo right now. Be praying for us! Pray that God will grant us favor with the governments and give us wisdom so we can get to the places he wants us to go! I'll keep you all updated when we have any new information.

I had a chance to upload a few more pictures from the last few days. I just can't stop taking pictures! It's too beautiful here!!! ;-}

Week 2, #1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046905&id=44901593&l=3072b32196

Week 2, #2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046915&id=44901593&l=8b52e604dc

First Week of Outreach!

After a good sleep our first night here, I finally felt like a real human being again! We had a pretty chill day our first full day of outreach--cooking, grocery shopping, and a talk with some of the people involved with ministry at the base about France as a mission field. It's going to be really challenging--pray for us! France is known as the most pagan nation in Europe and has a reputation for burning out missionaries faster than almost anywhere else in the world. The people have pretty much turned their back on God and everything that he stands for, so we have our work cut out for us! We're going to be working with a youth group in the area and also doing a lot of practical work around the base.

Yesterday, we had some prayer and intercession, then went on a tour of our village which is pretty amazing. We did some practical work in the afternoon and had more prayer and Bible reading in the evening. We also had a chance to start planning for the youth group meeting that we will be leading on Saturday. The worship team is attempting to learn One Way Jesus (the chorus), Majesty, and Our God is an Awesome God in French. Pray for us--we're gonna need it.... ;-}

We led a Youth Group meeting on Saturday which was really fun, then we led worship for a church in a nearby village on Sunday. Next week, we are going to a nearby town to do some performing arts in the town square, which we are all really excited about.

We have heard some awesome news from our other team in Tahiti and the base back in Sydney. In Tahiti, the team had a healing meeting their first week, and a lady came and got healed of a whole bunch of stuff and dedicated her life back to the Lord, which was amazing!!! They also said that two of the team members had significant healing with ear problems they've had. At the base, they had their second Youth Street meeting this last weekend. They told us that four kids gave their lives to the Lord!!!! AMAZING! I'm so excited for all that God is doing, and I hope to see some of the cool stuff he wants to do in France first hand in the next couple weeks!

I have been trying to upload all my pictures for the last week, but I keep taking so many that it's hard to keep up! Like I said earlier, the base is absolutely beautiful! A little country village about an hour and a half outside of Paris. I am expecting the garden in the backyard to make for some amazing quiet times in the next three weeks!

Here are the pictures from our last week at the base--our final dinner together before outreach, and the launch of Youth Street:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046666&id=44901593&l=6415ada3fa

Here are the endless albums from the first week of France. You may need a week's worth of food and water with several breaks in order to get through all these pictures--my camera is going to get a work out here!!!

France 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046667&id=44901593&l=8da40bf59e

France 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046671&id=44901593&l=53c84a7d0e

France 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046735&id=44901593&l=9ffd4072e7

France 4:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046856&id=44901593&l=605c9c3a15

France 5:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046865&id=44901593&l=5a54291f89

France 6:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046866&id=44901593&l=613885e265


More to come very soon!
A plus tard! (Actually pronounced "aye plu tar" and means "see you later"!)

France!

Hey all! After 21 incredibly long hours in a plane and a two hour layover in Hong Kong, we have arrived in Paris! The rest of our team (the ones who flew through Korea) will be here this evening. The flights were a little sketch--everyone was wearing face masks, and before we landed in Paris, they hosed down the whole plane with disinfectant spray! EEK! Hopefully none of us will come down with Swine flu....

We're staying at a YWAM base in the countryside about an hour and a half out of Paris. The base is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I took a bunch of pictures, but I can't upload them yet because my computer's film card reader is being funky. I'll try to get them up ASAP. We have wireless at the base, so I'll have readily available internet and Skype for the time that we're here! YAY! More updates after I have slept and can form coherent sentences... Hopefully I can stay up all day and beat the jetlag--I've slept about 4 out of the last 70 hours, so I'm pretty loopy right now...

Je vous aime! (French for I love you all!)
~Maggie

Travel Update

Hi friends! We went to the travel agent again yesterday, and to get us the best deal, they had to split us up on two different airlines. They had only confirmed 5 of the tickets when we went Friday night because it was so late, so they were only able to get 7 of our team on Korean Air. The rest of us (including me) are flying through Hong Kong. We don't have a stop over on the way there, but we do on the way back, so we'll get to spend a night in Hong Kong, which is pretty cool! It's lame that our team is split up, but I'm just happy that we have confirmed, booked, paid for tickets! It's actually good that we're split, because we leave in the afternoon, and the base hadn't taken our ground fees out of the bank yet, so if we had all left on the early Korean Air flight, we wouldn't have gone with any money! I guess God really knows what he's doing, hey?

So, we leave TOMORROW!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!! SO excited! Pray that we are all able to make out last minute preparations without any hindrances. Also pray for protection as we travel--no Swine Flu in Jesus' Name! I don't know what our internet situation will be in Paris, but I'll try to keep you updated as often as I can. It's the start of another big adventure, and I can't wait to see what God does!

Love you all!
~M

GOD IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just in case you didn't know)...

Ok, so God is pretty much amazing. Just thought I'd let you in on that little secret. So, before the fundraiser, we still needed over $27,000 to get everyone on our school to outreach. We raised $3500 at the fundraiser, which was amazing, but we still had a long way to go. As of today, we are down to **drum roll, please** $2,000!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!?!?! GOD GAVE US $25,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why I'm surprised honestly... He is the God of the universe after all. The rest of the money is totally coming in, and we are going on outreach!

Once we heard the good news about the finances this afternoon, I started looking for plane tickets again. I had found fares anywhere from $1,400 to $2,500 per person for Paris round trip. When I started searching again today, all of the fares I found were SUUUUPER expensive--way out of our price range. I immediately forgot the God who provided the $25,000 just a few hours ago and began to stress about how we were going to get plane tickets. Long story short, one of the staff members at the base found an AMAZING deal for all of our team on Korean Air for $1590 a person!!!! We went and booked the tickets tonight, and we're leaving for Paris on May 4th! I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! The really fun thing about our flight is that we get a night's stay over in Seoul with enough time to get out and see the city AND a hotel stay included in our ticket price! We have two South Korean students on our outreach teams, so they're pretty stoked to see a bit of home, even if it's just for a day.

So, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers! God is so faithful to provide in HIS timing and HIS way, and I know that your prayers played a huge part in that! Keep praying for us! There is one person on our team who doesn't have her money in yet and might have to fly out later than the rest of the group. Pray for a miracle for her finances so she can come with us! Also, be praying for us to find cheap airfare for the second leg of our journey and pray that we will get our visas processed ASAP!

Love you and miss you all! I'll be sending you greetings from Paris in three days!

Outreach Update

Hi friends! I just wanted to give you a quick update on our outreach. We had planned to go to two countries in North Africa, but the doors have been closing for one of the countries, so we've decided to spend our first three weeks of outreach with one of the other teams in Paris! We all feel a huge peace about it, especially me, because I'm pretty sure I'm called to go to the other country some time in the future, so it's not totally off the books for me. ;-} So, be praying for us! We really need to get a heart for France before we leave and have some hardkore unity going on with the other team. We have praise reports of finances coming in already, but keep praying! Know that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective. I can't wait to update you all after God provides for us!!! More details when I have them.

Love you all!!!
Au revoir!

Invisible Children

Hey friends! Just a quick update on the last week, because it's super late and I should be in bed, but this is the only time that the internet works (after midnight) so alas, here I am! The fundraiser on Friday went really well--we raised Over $3500! Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for our team, as we are supposed to be leaving for outreach in a week and we still don't have the funds. We can't buy plane tickets until our leader has her funds, so pray that she gets the money she needs so we can go on outreach!

On Saturday, we went into the city to volunteer for an event called Invisible Children. Some of you are probably already familiar with IC, but the basics of it is that a man named Joseph Kony has been kidnapping Ugandan children for the past 20 some odd years to fight in a guerrilla war against the government. On April 25th, over 100 cities in 10 countries around the world staged peaceful protests to bring about the end of this war and see Joseph Kony brought to justice. There are a lot of Christians who participate in these events, but they aren't necessarily religious in nature. In Sydney, the Island Breeze YWAMers (me and my crew) started a huge African dance circle singing some of the African worship songs our base leader has taught us. We got over 1,000 people singing "hold on to Jesus" and "always pray, always give, always praise the Lord"! It was completely amazing! I got the bright idea to drag a couple of rubbish bins into the middle of the circle and use them as drums, and pretty soon, we had an all-out dance party! I'll try to get some photos or videos of it uploaded, because it was pretty stinkin' amazing!

None of them have comments or tags yet because I'm too tired, but here are all of the newest photo albums, including fundraiser and IC:

Week 10: Evangelism
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046145&id=44901593&l=302dd0d9ef

Week 11: Missions
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046281&id=44901593&l=2d0d67068c

DTS Fundraiser
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046297&id=44901593&l=9be8ad73a5

Invisible Children I
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046298&id=44901593&l=64222b3e36

Invisible Children II
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046299&id=44901593&l=fab46c72ee

Invisible Children III
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046301&id=44901593&l=fdeb89107f

Invisible Children IV
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046303&id=44901593&l=ec75d2ce43

The Death of a Dear Friend

**CAUTION** The following story is true and contains graphic details. May not be suitable for young children. Some of the names may have been changed to protect the identity of those involved in the story.

Today, my friends, we mourn the passing of a dear friend to all of us.... Gojida. We were out in the parking lot today taking group photos for our outreach team, and it was my brilliant idea to bring our instruments to put in the picture. We wanted to take a picture without the instruments, and I didn't want to set my guitar down on the wet grass, so our staff member called over one of the other people that was standing around and asked him to hold my guitar. I handed it to him, and he grabbed it by the strap, but since I don't have strap locks, the strap came off and it went crashing down on the pavement. When we picked it up, there were two big cracks in the side that it hit where the front panel connects to the side panel. As I looked at her fatal wounds, I felt as if I were mourning the passing of a dear friend. I knew my life would never be the same.

I know that many of you are shedding tears right now, as you have all been touched by Gojida's sweet spirit and beautiful nature. But remember my friends as we mourn, that our Lord Jesus told us, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25)

As I called to mind this scripture, I began to have hope that Gojida would rise as a phoenix from the ashes. I spent the afternoon looking up guitar repair shops, and finally found one about an hour away that could get it fixed before I leave for outreach (all of the other shops gave a 2-3 week minimum wait time). The most amazing and wonderful Tim drove me out to the shop, and they said that not only can they fix my baby, but she'll be ready by Wednesday! The shop looked pretty freakin legit and the guys seemed to know what they were talking about, so I feel like they're going to do a good job. I had to pay extra to get it done by the time I leave for outreach, but in all, it wasn't as expensive as I was anticipating.

So, that was my little adventure for the day! All in all, everything turned out well, and everything will be well, so I'm not worried. I'm just glad we got it taken care of today because the shops aren't open this weekend, and I would have spent the whole weekend fretting about it if we hadn't taken it in. Other than my little adventure, today went well! The fundraiser was great--I've heard rumors that we made about $3,000--Praise the Lord! I'm really excited about that, but it is kind of a drop in the bucket of the $24,000 we still need for all the teams to go on outreach. Please be praying for our staff and students--that EVERYONE gets the finances they need to go on outreach and that God will pour out in a really miraculous way (he's pretty much going to have to, because we're running out of time...) Love you all and hope you're enjoying the beautiful, (albeit quazi-bipolar in WA) spring weather!

~M

2 Weeks and Counting...

Hey friends! We're about two weeks away from outreach, and we really need some prayer! We had an awesome night of prayer tonight and God really convicted us of coming to him only when we have needs, so we did some serious repenting and just spent some sweet time with the Lord, which was really good. Be encouraged to press into Jesus ALL THE TIME, not just when you need stuff... ;-}

One of the girls on our team also had a word from the Lord about writing out a list of all the stuff we need, so I thought I'd write it on here so you can be pressing in with me:

--Finances: there are 4 people on our team who still need some serious financial provision. Pray that the floodgates will open and that God will miraculously provide finances for everyone who needs them. We have a fundraiser happening on Friday night (like 3AM Friday your time back home), so pray that we will have favor for that and that heaps of people will come and be blessed through sowing into our ministry.

--Travel arrangements: We have been having some real difficulty making travel arrangements. They're really complicated, and every permutation we come up with, no matter how many crazy planes, trains, or automobiles we take puts us over budget. Pray that God will give us wisdom and that he will open doors exactly where he wants us to go.

--Opposition: God gave us words of caution when we first started pressing in for our outreach locations that it wouldn't be easy, and we're seeing that now. The enemy seriously doesn't want us to go into these countries, and he's putting some pretty big blockades in our way. Pray that we will walk in our spiritual authority and not give the devil a foothold in any of our lives.

Thank you, my friends!!! I really need your prayers in this time before outreach. God is going to do amazing things, but we really need to press in and believe in his character for him to move! Love you all!!!

~M

Happy Easter!

Hi friends! I’ve had an epic adventure today (as usual) of trying to find internet. I can’t WAIT to come back home and have telecommunications equipment that functions as it should. I just have to keep telling myself to be grateful, because they don’t have internet in North Korea….. I hope you all had a blessed Easter! The holiday was pretty chill here at the base. We led worship for a small service on Saturday night at a church plant run by a pastor who is friends with the base. It went really well and the message was awesome. It was all about how much God believes in us and loves us. We might think that we love him and believe in him, but really it’s him loving and believing in us! How cool—the God of the universe believes in YOU! If that doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will… On Easter Sunday, a big gang went to the Blue Mountains, but I stayed at the base and chilled. I needed a weekend off after going to Brisbane last weekend, so it was nice to just relax. We tried to go to the evening service at Hillsong, but all the drivers from the base were gone, so we didn’t have a ride.

Hmmmm… What else have I been up to? We had another market on Saturday. It was a bit small because it was Easter weekend, but it was good. We’re starting to recruit for a new program we’re starting soon called Youth Street. It’s basically getting kids from the community and training them in skills like music, dance, drama, skating, etc, and using that as an avenue to reach them with the Gospel. It’s going to be pretty cool—I’m excited to get started with it, because the youth of this community definitely need something better to do on Saturdays than clown around and get into trouble.

When I finally found internet today, I had a chance to upload the latest pictures from the market and my trip to Brisbane. Here are the links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045642&id=44901593&l=99e1fd322c (Brisbane Album 1)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045678&id=44901593&l=d2e42e15d3 (Brisbane Album 2--this should satisfy all the people who have complained that there aren't enough pictures of me in my albums)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045679&id=44901593&l=f0d837f313 (Brisbane Album 3)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045680&id=44901593&l=7401593e86 (Brisbane Album 4--I took WAAAY too many pictures!)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045681&id=44901593&l=d10a5daa5c (from the Market)

Miss all of you and love you bunches! Take lots of pictures of the cherry blossoms and daffodils in the next few weeks—I’m definitely missing spring at home right now!!!!

Nicole's Surgery

Hi friends! Just wanted to let you know that Nicole had surgery on her foot today. The doctor said that everything went really well. The hope is that she'll be able to come back to the base on Saturday, but it all depends on how her recovery goes. Pray that she heals quickly and is able to come back to the base soon. I finally got around to posting the pictures of the epic foot saga online, so here they are if you're interested:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045490&id=44901593&l=5c4c503cab

I haven't had a chance to post my Brisbane pics yet, but I promise I'll get around to it--maybe this weekend. I can't believe this weekend is already Easter! We were supposed to have a mini-outreach into some Aboriginal communities, but it ended up not working out, so we're having a bit of a chill weekend. We have a market again on Saturday, and then we're leading worship at a small gathering Saturday night, but we have the rest of the weekend free, which will be good. I'm off to get some sort of productive work done. I miss you all heaps! I am really missing the beautiful Pacific Northwest right now. The more I travel the world, the more I realize that I live in the best place on earth!!! ;-}

Weekend in Brisbane

Hi friends and family! I just got back from Brisbane this afternoon. I had a blast hanging out with Stephanie and seeing the sights! It was a fairly short trip, but I still got to cross one of my life goals off the list--I held a koala! I haven't put up all the pictures yet, but here's the one I do have:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31460619&l=47df30c99b&id=44901593

More to come, don't worry.

After hanging out at the koala sanctuary, we spent a little time in town at a really neat place called South Bank, along the Brisbane River. On Sunday night, we had a yummy dinner at Steph's apartment and watched a little So You Think You Can Dance, Australian style! It was really exciting because Tabitha and Napoleon choreographed two of the numbers on the show that night (Mom, at least you understand what I'm talking about...)

We're off for another exciting week of lectures--our speaker is firey and he's got some challenging words from the Lord for us this week! Keep praying for our outreach team. We're believing God to provide a whole heap of stuff for us, but he has encouraged us to be strong and courageous Joshua style and press in to him for miracles. I'll keep you posted with praise reports when he comes through big time. ;-}

Love you and miss you all!!!

Weekend Trip to Brisbane!

Just wanted to write a quick note to let you all know I'm flying up to Brisbane this weekend to visit Steph Vernon! YAY! SUPER excited! I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I can--it's supposed to rain all weekend, but we're still going to try to go to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary so I can hold a koala!!!! YAY!!!!!!

Amazing week! YAY GOD! ;-}

What an amazing week so far! It’s Wednesday, which means that it’s base fasting day. One of my fellow students gave an amazing presentation on North Korea today—really powerful. I’ll try to post the link for the video she showed about how their freedom is restricted and the harsh treatment they have to endure. It made me really thankful for the blessings we have in the West—I am thankful for the slow, restricted internet access that we have here at the base, because in North Korea, they don’t have internet (or ANY access to the outside world—TV, Movies, Books) at all!!!

Our speaker this week is named Bev, and she’s talking on Spiritual Warfare. She’s taking a unique approach to it that I really appreciate. We spent the first day of lecture talking about who God is. We have had two speakers share the story of Handel’s Messiah and the Hallelujah Chorus with us, which I just eat up because unlike when it was shoved down my throat in college, I actually enjoy classical music now! The ‘jist of it is that Handel wrote the Messiah, a massive 17-scene oratorio for voices and instruments, in 24 days. The final movement, dubbed the Hallelujah Chorus, declares the glorification of Christ as depicted in the Book of Revelation. After completing the final movement, Handel burst out of his room, and screamed in a loud voice, "I saw Heaven opened and the host of it worshiping the Glory of God." WOW! To have that kind of revelation of heaven and the glory of God!!! I’ve had a small glimpse of it in the last few weeks, and it’s pretty powerful.

After we finished talking about the Glory of God, we spent the second day on reviewing who we are in Christ. We split up into groups and put together some dramas and presentations based on the first two chapters of Ephesians, and 1 Peter 2:9-10. I encourage you to read those passages and really let the truth of who you are in Christ sink deep into your heart.

We only just today starting talking about the devil and how he operates. It was really good to start with taking a stand on who God is and who we are in him as a primary means of spiritual warfare. I’m excited for lectures the rest of the week, because I feel like God’s truth is really starting to take root in my life in a way that will change how I think and who I am forever! YAY GOD! ;-}

In other news, things are going well around the base. It’s Island Breeze’s second anniversary today, which is pretty exciting. It’s neat to be a part of the pioneering history of this place. It’s been a bit rainy here lately, which makes me miss home. We’re heading into fall, so it will be getting colder (60’s and 70’s—I know that doesn’t sound very cold to those who had snow again recently—CRAZY!). I have mid-summer Northern Africa to look forward to for outreach, so I’ll probably be relishing the cold as long as I can! Be praying for us about outreach—we’re trying to decide if God still wants us to go to one of the countries we had on our list, and we need a decision ASAP so we can buy plane tickets. Pray that God will give us wisdom and discernment to know his will for us. This week, we met with one of the contacts from another country that we’re for sure going to, and she’s really excited for us to come!

I’m hoping to fly up north this weekend to visit a friend who’s living in Brisbane (Steph Vernon for the PLU crowd). She lives in the same city as the koala sanctuary where they let you hold the koalas, so be expecting lots of fun pictures from that when it happens…. ;-}

I know there’s heaps more happening, but I can’t think of anything else right now. I’m trying really hard to stay on top of blogging and keeping in touch, but we have restricted internet access (only two hours per week, not including Skype), so it might be a bit challenging. BUT! I’m thankful for what we have, because there are many parts of the world where they don’t have any internet! Thank you Lord! ;-} Love you and miss you all!

~Maggie

EPIC!!!!

We just got back from the Hillsong Live Album recording about an hour ago. AMAZING!!!! There aren't words to describe how epic it was. SO COOL! The lights and sound were amazing, and their new songs are off the hook. It's going to be a really amazing album, I can tell you that! I can't wait for it to come out. I want to get the DVD and see if anyone from our group ends up on it. We got seats on the floor that were six rows back from the "mosh pit", which was pretty insane. OH! I can't get over how good it was!

I just got finished posting my most recent pictures.

This album has the pictures of the kitten (so cute!!!) and some other random pics from week 6:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044959&id=44901593&l=ddb2709c7d

This album is from our Love Feast at the beginning of this week and us hanging out down by the harbor before the album recording:=
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044960&id=44901593&l=9159af2556

This one has the rest of pre-album recording, the album recording, and post-recording:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044961&id=44901593&l=963a1ff69a

Hope you enjoy!!!!

Crazy Week!!!

WOW! This has been a crazy week for sure! We had an amazing speaker named Tim that pretty much rocked our world. I'm still processing through a lot of what he said-- a lot of stuff that I've heard before about freedom and grace. It seems like everybody I've met has talked about it and read all the same scriptures, but nobody's actually living like we are free from the power of sin like Paul talks about in Romans. Think about it! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free! It's about time we start walking in our freedom instead of choosing to be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!!!

We also had some amazing training tonight for a new program that we're going to be starting called Youth Street. It's basically a program started by a base up in Newcastle that reaches out to youth in the skate, surf, dance, music, and arts cultures by having workshops and meetings to train them in their skills. Through those trainings, the staff are able to build relationships with the kids and walk through a lot of really tough circumstances with kids who don't necessarily have another positive adult in their lives. The Newcastle base runs camps, workshops, youth church, and even a tutoring program (right up my alley!) in their outreaches. They had some crazy stories of really rough kids who's lives were turned around because people reached out to them and genuinely loved them, so I'm really excited to get that rolling at our base.

Tuesday night we had a bit of a catastrophe on the base. One of my good friends Nicole was running down the stairs, tripped, and landed four stairs down on the tile landing flat on her foot. We went to the hospital at around 11:30pm, and 6 hours later found out that she had broken a bone in her foot. We just found out today that she needs to have surgery on her foot and it will take 6 weeks to heal. (We're 5 weeks away from leaving for outreach.) Pray for healing for her foot and that she would be able to have the surgery soon and heal quickly. They can't do surgery until the swelling goes down, so pray that the swelling will go down quickly so the doctors will be able to operate as soon as possible. Nicole and I have moved to a room on the third floor so she doesn't have to go up and down the stairs to get to lecture. I've been trying to help out as much as I can, but I definitely need prayer for patience and an attitude check every once in a while, because it's a lot easier for my flesh to want to be selfish rather than a servant.

This weekend will be a bit of a break--we're getting super stoked about the Hillsong live album recording on Sunday. It's going to be amazing! I can't wait to hear the new songs they're going to lay down, and it's going to be pretty amazing to listen to that album for the rest of forever and be like, "yeah, I was there..." ;-} More details about that I'm sure after it's over.

I have some pictures to put up, but our internet is still being super lame (and probably will be until the beginning of April). I'll work on getting them up as soon as I can. Hope all of you are well! Missing you heaps and sending much love from down under!

~Maggie

March Madness!!!

I can't believe it's the middle of March already! I don't know about you all back home, but I feel like the time here is flying! This week, we had an amazing speaker from YWAM Perth (on the west side of Australia) come to our base and speak on Biblical World View. She was out of this world! So funny! She nicknamed one of the guys in our class "Days of Our Lives" because he admitted to watching that soap opera "in the summer when there was nothing else on". She really challenged us to walk in holiness and fear of the Lord. We also talked about a lot of the other prominent world views that are out there, which was really eye-opening for me.

The big adventure of this week happened on Thursday when one of our compadres came back from a shopping trip with a tiny little gray kitten. Apparently, she found it on the side of the road and it was starving, so she brought it back here and we've started taking care of it. There's no way we're going to be able to keep him, but he's so darn cute!!! His favorite thing to do when I'm holding him is climb right up next to my face, nuzzle my cheek, and fall asleep on my chest. How could you resist something that cute??? It's going to be hard to turn him over to the animal shelter, but he's been just what I've needed this week--a little fuz therapy. That, in addition to the care package I got from home today (complete with Reese's) has made this pretty much the perfect day. You can't buy Reese's down here, so all of my American friends are totally jealous of them.

On top of all the goodness, my bracket is doing fairly well in March Madness! I'm bummed that I'm not home to watch the games, especially because NOBODY follows college ball down here! But, I have my bracket filled out on Facebook, and I'll be diligently checking it to see how my teams are doing during the Tourney. I'm sure I'll rock the first round or two and tank in the end--that's usually what happens....

So, life is good down here, my friends! Hope all is well with you--keep in touch and let me know how you're all doing!

~M

P.S.
Cat pics will be coming as soon as we have internet that isn't lame... I can't remember if I posted the rainstorm album, but if not, here it is:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044435&id=44901593&l=61bd8b6aa5

Market Day!

Hi friends and family! It's been a busy week here at the base. We've been packed full with classes, and we've been preparing all week to host our first open air market at the new base. We had the market today, and it was heaps of fun. We had crafts and face painting for the kids, food, clothing, jewelry, and lots of other fun stuff. It is a neat way to reach out to the community and serve them. The community around us doesn't have a whole lot of events or anything to draw them together, so we really wanted to show them that we are here to bless them. We'll be having the market on the 2nd Saturday of every month, so we're hoping it will grow and we'll be able to meet more of the community.

Here are some pictures from the market today:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044277&id=44901593&l=5573e (after the starbucks/studying pictures)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044409&id=44901593&l=b4a68

Hope you all are having a great day!
~Maggie

Outreach Location!

I wanted to write a quick note to let you all know that we got our outreach locations today! I'm going to..... **drumroll please** North Africa!!!! We have a team of 7 students and 1 leader and we're going to be focusing on music and worship during our outreach.

I have to get back to class, but I wanted to let everyone know the big news!

More pictures

Found some more pictures on my external HD from a few weeks ago before we moved into the new base and I just got them up on Facebook. Here are the links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044205&id=44901593&l=5a91b

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044275&id=44901593&l=d44d3

I also updated last week's album with the joy of the swiss chocolate fondue party:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044153&id=44901593&l=b2ce6

This Monday, I took a trip into Mt. Druitt (a nearby Suburb) specifically to go to Starbucks. I've been in Australia for over a month now, and that was the first time I'd had coffee from the mother land. I was so overcome with joy when I walked in that I had to explain my story to the Barista. I told her I was from Seattle and that I haven't had Starbucks in over a month. She said she was nervous to make my Grande Java Chip Frapuccino because I really knew what it should taste like. When I took my first sip, I smiled at her and said, "It tastes like home".... ;-} I hung out in Starbucks for a few hours to work on some homework, listen to John Mayer on my iPod and pretend like I was back home. This album documents my journey, as well as some of the other shenanigans of early this week.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044277&id=44901593&l=5573e

Hope you all are surviving the snow back home. I'll try my best to send some of the heat from down here up your way, though I don't think we have much to spare--it's only been in the 70's the last few days.... ;-}

Skype Number

For all you uncool people out there who don't have Skype, I just set up a subscription on my account that lets me make unlimited calls to any number in the States! Yehoo! Be expecting a call from me soon! ;-} As part of the account, I also have a local (253) phone number that lets you call my Skype account on a normal phone for free (as long as you're representin' the 253). My number is: (253) 299-4054. Feel free to call and leave me voicemails any time, and if I'm online when you call, I can pick it up and talk to you--or I might let it go to voicemail if I don't actually like you that much..... J/K! ;-}

Love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

~Maggie

More Pictures

So, apparently the internet was running super slow after they hooked it up because our server was messed up. The internet seems to be fixed now, because it's running fast enough to upload pictures and use Skype (it wasn't before). This next set of pictures is from the last two weeks--our new building and the trip to the city are a few of the highlights. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044150&id=44901593&l=bdd83

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044151&id=44901593&l=4e68a

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044152&id=44901593&l=f6760

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044153&id=44901593&l=b2ce6

Finally--INTERNET!

Be prepared for the longest blog post ever……

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written. We moved into our new building last week and have just gotten our internet hooked up. It was pretty hysterical—we got done with lectures tonight, they announced that the internet was working, and everybody raced downstairs to start checking e-mail. The internet has been moving super slow because literally every single person at the base is online right now. Moving to this building was intense, but we’re finally getting settled, and it’s totally worth it. Our new digs are pretty sweet—lots of space to stretch out and move around, which we definitely didn’t have at our old base.

Forgive me if there are inconsistencies in grammar or tense—I have been writing this blog post in Word over the last week and a half, so it might not all match up. I have lots to catch you up on, so here we go!

Last week, we spent our two days off moving and then went straight into classes, so everybody was pretty wiped out. Our lecture topic was on worship. Our speaker, Cynthia, was completely amazing and brought some really challenging words to us. God has really been showing us how important worship is to him. We had a chance to do some more performing arts stuff this week—playing, singing, dancing for and with each other. It’s been cool to see the talents God has gifted us with start to emerge. We also had a guitar/songwriting workshop with Cynthia on Tuesday and she taught us some sweet new guitar chords that I’m really excited to start experimenting with!

The big exciting thing that happened last week is we found out the locations for outreach! Right now, the options are France (Paris and then south), parts of Northern Africa or Tahiti and maybe another island in the South Pacific or some extra time in Australia with indigenous cultures. SO EXCITING! As of right now, they’re looking to send a max of 8 people to each location, but everything is subject to change. Be praying for me—that God will give me wisdom and discernment about where he wants me to go. We have to turn in our choices by Saturday the 7th, so I’ll let you know after then where I felt like God was leading me. After we turn in our choices, the staff and leadership prays about it, and then we get our final answer.

On Saturday, we went to this really cool Arabic-speaking church that is about 30 minutes from our base. It was fun to worship in a new style—the music they sang was so beautiful. All of their songs were in minor mode, which is very different than your average western church, but I enjoyed it heaps. Before the meeting, they had food for us to eat—SO YUMMY!!!! I’m pretty sure I ate more sweets at that church than I have had all together over the last three weeks!

We had our first day off in two weeks on Sunday, so we all decided to go into the city. They were doing work on the train tracks, so we had to catch a bus to another station and then get on the train to the city. One of our brilliant copmpadres managed to get us on the wrong bus, so we spent an hour going the wrong direction. Then we had to get on another bus to take us back to the train station we were supposed to go to in the first place. We had quite the adventure, but the company made it bearable. Once we finally got to the city, me and three of my other classmates went to a huge indoor market called Paddy’s in Sydney’s Chinatown. It was SO much fun!!! We had a blast looking around the shops and being goofy. After we were done with the market, we went to the harbor to catch a ferry to Manly Beach and spend some time in the waves. While we were waiting for the ferry, a street performer pulled one of the guys in our group, Brian, into his act. It was pretty hysterical and made for some great pictures that I’ll have to post as soon as I get a chance.

The beach was SO beautiful! And yes, my Washingtonian friends, the water was about 70 degrees! OCEAN WATER YOU CAN SWIM IN?!?!?!?! ;-} We chilled at the beach for a bit, then met up with the rest of the gang and headed home, and this time, we got on the right bus!

This week, our base leader, Etienne is speaking on the Character and Nature of God and Hearing God’s Voice. It’s been really good so far, but be praying for us, because as a base, we’re experiencing some intense spiritual warfare right now. Pray that God will strengthen us and fill us up with his love!

We’re so busy that I feel like everything is going by so fast! It’s March already! When did that happen??? Our group has gotten really tight so far, and it’s been awesome getting to know everyone on the school. ALL of the students are completely amazing, and I am constantly in awe of the way God specifically put this school together with exactly the right people.

I think that’s all I have for now. Like I said, I’ll post pictures as soon as I have a spare moment. I have a TON of them from our city adventure this weekend! Know that I miss you all bunches and I think about you and pray for you all the time. Love you heaps!!!!

~Maggie

P.S.
Thank you to all of the people who wrote in “the book” before I left. I read it every morning and think of my amazing friends back home every day!

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?

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

"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!!!! ;-}

Going Away Party

So, if you have Facebook, you know I've changed the date at least a million times, but I think I've finally got a date where most people should be able to drop in for a bit and say goodbye. I'm having a going away party on January 25th at my house from 2:00-6:00. It's open house, so just drop by for a bit, eat some food, and hang out one last time before I leave. Message or e-mail if you need directions to my house!

YAY JESUS!

Wanted to write a quick note to inform you, in case you didn't know, that GOD IS COMPLETELY AMAZING!!! Thanks to God's provision through some generous hearts, I am only $200 short of what I need to send YWAM before I get down to Australia! I KNOW he is going to provide the rest of what I need, exactly when I need it. Keep praying that he will pour out the blessing of his provision for the little bit that I need to send before I get there, and for the money I will need once I get there. God is faithful, and I can't wait to share the awesome testimony I will have after God provides everything I need!

I'm Leavin' on a Jetplane!

Hey friends! Exciting news--I bought my plane ticket! I leave SeaTac on February 4th at 7:00pm for LAX, where I will take a 14 1/2 hour flight to Sydney and arrive at 9:20am on the 6th (weird time change). I'll leave Sydney on July 30th at 1:20pm, and 16 hours later, I'll be at SeaTac at 3:13pm.

I have been debating for a long time about buying my ticket because it's kind of the point of no return. I was praying about it, and I really felt like the Lord wanted me to step out in faith and buy the ticket, even though I don't have all the finances for the school yet. God directed me to Noah and the Ark, reminding me that Noah had to start building WAY before the rains came. His neighbors must have thought he was nuts! I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart, but chose to make up a bunch of lame excuses about how I should wait until I was sure.

The very next day, I logged on to the United website and saw that the ticket price I had been so carefully watching had skyrocketed $400! I wanted to kick myself for being so dumb. Waiting until I was sure??? I have been sure for the past few years that this is what God is calling me to, but I let the devil sneak his lies into my head that I needed to see the proof to believe--show me the money! The Lord graciously reminded me of Hebrews Chapter 11, which says:

1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for...7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

I prayed and asked God to forgive my foolishness, and resolved to seek God and obey him, no matter how crazy it seems to the world. Kid you not, the next day I looked online, and there was a sale on the Quantas website for cheaper than the original ticket I was looking at through United! God is so gracious!!!! I am so thankful that he chose to take my disobedience and use it to teach me and grow me, and then bless me Job-style with something even better than I had before!

So, I am still praying for God to provide the rest of the finances I need, but now I am praying with renewed confident expectation that God will rain down his blessings in his time and his way. Please keep praying that God will be glorified in everything that happens as I prepare for and go on this adventure with him!