Half Way There

The clock is ticking down; we have one week until the Basketball Outreach Clinic and Holiday Bible Club begin. The schools are wrapping up their second term and everyone is anxiously awaiting their two week holiday starting next week. Thursday was our last day of bike riding with this group of kids. Next week we will have a celebration time with the students and their parents for completing the program. 

Geaux Tigers!!!

Today I was able to show my Tiger spirit, but this time it wasn’t for LSU, it was for the Black and Gold Richmond Tigers. I was able to experience my first Aussie Rules Footie match today. The football rules are a lot different than what I’m used to, but football fans are pretty similar (passionate and loud). 

We have reached the half way mark on our time here in Australia. It’d be easy to get discouraged right now from the lack of response we were expecting from the Aussies or the fruit we were expecting to see this far into the trip, but our supervisor reminded us it’s not about us, but about Christ and His Kingdom. On Friday, I was able to see of glimpse of the impact God’s using us for at the school. 500 primary school students gathered at the church parking lot for an evacuation drill. In the midst of hundreds of chattering students, we kept hearing our name called and tiny hands reaching above the crowd to wave at us from every direction. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but it was really cool to see how many students actually recognize us and were excited to see us outside of school. I didn’t realize until that moment, how many students God has placed in our reach to impact while we are here and how many students we have already begun building relationships with. All that to say, it was a really encouraging morning and a great example of our supervisors words: it’s NOT about us, but about CHRIST and HIS KINGDOM.

 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.- Colossians 4:2-6

Livin in the Land Down Under

It’s official; I’ve now touched a Kangaroo. We went to Gumbuya Park today and were able to feed kangaroos and emus. The kangaroos swarmed us once they realized we had food and one even let me pet him. The emus swarmed us too, but they didn’t receive such a welcoming reaction from me. 

Meet Joey Sr., my new friend!!

I hope all you dads had a wonderful Father’s Day on Sunday. Although it was celebrated in the States this Sunday, it’s not celebrated until the first Sunday of September in Australia. 

The Basketball Clinic and Holiday Bible Club are quickly approaching. We haven’t received a huge response back yet, but apparently Victorians aren’t keen about RSVPing. We’ll be working at the primary school Wednesday thru Friday; so hopefully students will be more inclined to come to both programs since they’ve gotten to know Austin and I. Please pray we can get a good response within the next week so we know how many kids to prepare for.

Gumbo means Okra

We are finally into a weekly routine between the church and the primary school. We had 9 boys attend the Elevate Leadership program at the school on Wednesday and the bike program and the brekkie club are still going fantastic. The bike program isn't just exercise for the kids, but its helping to keep my physique in shape too, considering the amount of chocolate I've been consumed with since arriving here.

I'm staying with the Kilkers and their blue tongue lizards

Since the search for Okra was a success on Monday, I made Gumbo for the Kilkers last night. There wasn't much left in the pot so I'd say everyone enjoyed it. Did you know?... The word gumbo actually means okra.  It came from French speaking Creoles in the Caribbean as a variant on the Spanish guigambo' for okra (this history lesson is courtesy of Roger Davis).

Happy Birthday to the Queen

You read that right, Monday was a big holiday: the Queens birthday. Most everyone had a 3 day weekend; the only down side is there was no birthday cake. But there was a trip to Costcos, a giant Canadian warehouse in Melbourne, where I found okra. Now I can make a proper Gumbo for the Aussies. And of course a holiday is never complete without a little browsing in the shopping center.

To back track the last few days. Friday we had our usual Brekkie Club at the primary school and the kids are really excited that we've been coming back every week. Youth group went great Friday night, thanks for the prayers for the devotion on Daniel 4. Everyone got to show off their athletic abilities during the youth group's sports night.

Brekkie Club- Rm. 8

Packing has become my new hobby. I packed my suitcase for the third time this trip on Saturday to prepare for my invasion of my new host family, the Kilkers. I'm going to miss staying with the Stebbins, but I love that we're getting to know so many different families at the church.

An afternoon by the lake with the Stebbins

It seems like Americans are invading Pakenham Baptist Church this winter. Sunday morning we had an awesome worship service led by the OneVoice Gospel Choir from Cedarville, Ohio.  I loved  spending the afternoon with some college students that share my accent and having that little reminder of home. Soon we will have a team from Florida coming to help with Holiday Bible Club.

A Box of Chocolates

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what ya gonna get"- Forrest Gump sure was a wise one. Everyday in Australia has come with its own unique story and surprises, but there has been two constants everyday: I will probably drink at least one (if not more) cup of coffee and I will probably consume at least one (if not more) chocolate bar. A large portion of my luggage returning will be filled with Cadbury Chocolates. Even the menu for tea at the young adults bible study involved chocolate- biscuits and chocolate gravy, prepared by Chef Jeremy.

Our shipment of VBS supplies from LifeWay has just arrived and we are moving full speed ahead to Bible Club Central Station.  I've been using my cutting skills to make taxi cutouts and Austin has been putting his manly construction skills to work by making hanging rods that give the illusion of a subway in the main hallway. Big Apple Adventure here we come!

Austin and kids before the fitness exercise.

Pakenham Hills Primary School has become like a second residence for us while we have been here. We have been able to spend a lot of time at the school the past two weeks. Yesterday we helped with a program called Elevate, which helps students develop leadership characteristics.  Today was the weekly bike program, it's wonderful to see how fast we're building relationships with these students. It was only our third day for the program, but I could tell they're getting more comfortable with us and trusting us a little more now that they know we are going to be there every week. Most of these kids come from lower socioeconomic families and have rough home lives, its amazing to see how a little encouragement and attention cheers them up and completely changes their attitudes. We'll go to the school again tomorrow for Brekkie Club.


I'll be leading the youth devo time tomorrow night on Daniel 4, your prayers are greatly appreciated!!

Snow Day!!

Monday morning started with a cappuccino and daily devotion with Pastor Darryl from Max Lucado's book, A Heart Like Jesus. Here's a little exert from our devotion:

The heart of Jesus was pure. The Savior was adored by thousands, yet content to live a simple life. He was cared for by women, yet never accused of lustful thoughts; scorned by his own creation, but willing to forgive them before they ever requested mercy.

"Create in me a pure heart, o God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."- Psalm 51:10.

We spent the afternoon working at 4C's food bank. There is a lot of fresh produce at the food bank that we got to clean up. We started with husking corn then we got the privilege of cutting brie cheese into slices to package. In case you were wondering, brie cheese really grosses me out. I got to leave Austin in the produce room to cut cabbage and pumpkin while I went to stock shelves with dry foods, this was much more appeasing to me. 

Louisiana Creole with the Stebbins

The Stebbins were able to enjoy home cooked Louisiana Jambalaya. I tried to make it as mild as I could, since most Aussie's don't prefer much of a kick. 

So this is what snow looks like!

Today we made our own SNOW DAY (on one of the coldest days in 18 years)!! We drove about an hour to Mt. Baw Baw to play in the fluffy white stuff. I got a little worried when we were nearing the top and there was still no sight of snow, but the temp started dropping and at last we found snow. The roads started getting icy, so we were only able to play for about 20 minutes before heading back down. But twenty minutes of snow was good enough for this southern girl. The most interesting part of the trip was morning tea time at Mrs. Mac's Corner Cafe. Sketchy and comical might be appropriate words to describe our dining experience. I drank a lovely hot chocolate made with long life milk... yumm :/ All in all it was a fun day in the snow with great company.

Under Age

Basketball 101: don't use your feet! Well Saturday brought another day of fun on the basketball courts. I'm so used to kicking a soccer ball that's its been really hard to get used to playing basketball, not to mention I lack hand-eye coordination. But it was still fun to hang out with some of the youth and college students from the church. Saturday night I went with the Stebbins to a family friends house to visit with a couple who are missionaries in Colorado.

New York City Skyline

Bi-Bi-Bi, Bi-Bi-Bi; Big Apple Adventure! I had the privilege of teaching the Sunday School kids the motions and words to the theme song for the Holiday Bible Club this morning. The kids will be working on learning the song the next few weeks, so they can present it as an advertisement to the church before Bible Club begins. I was surprised at how well the kids caught on to the song and I really enjoyed doing the music with them today.Next week I'll start teaching the 2nd & 3rd grade Sunday School class, so today I assisted and got to know the kids a little bit better.

"Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"

 

This was just one of the many hymns sung at the Hymn singing tonight at church. Austin and I felt a little under age for the group tonight, but they sang some of my favorite hymns so I enjoyed the service. Since we work in the Sunday School during the morning service, we don't really get a chance to sit in on a Worship Service, so tonight we attended the young adults service at Beaconsville Baptist. It was definitely upbeat from the hymn singing we had just come from. It was a great time of worship and it was really nice to be around people our age.

Keeping Busy

     We've been staying super busy the past few days. Wednesday was the first day of winter and the end of the coldest May on record. I think my body's beginning to acclimatize to 4 Celsius. We've done a lot of searching for Bible Club supplies the past few days. Running to discount dollar stores left us with the final supplies we needed to create a NY Taxi Cab and add a few buildings to the already started NY skyline in the worship center.

     Wednesday we visited a couple of churches to pass out information about the basketball outreach and Holiday Bible Club. We met with the pastor and youth minister at Beaconsville Baptist Church for about an hour, I think the pastor was contemplating kidnapping us for their church. Most of the day was spent on a Bible Club supply search. That afternoon Austin, Pastor Darryl, and I began working on building the NY Taxi Cab. The night ended with good fellowship and bible study with the young adults.

Creating a NY Taxi Cab

     Thursday was another busy day, but I've found that coffee is like water here, so I'm keeping awake by all the caffeine I'm in-taking.  My favorite part of Thursdays is the bike program we are involved in at the primary school. Today I was the leader, so I got the privilege of riding the bike and leading the kids around a dirt track (...without getting hurt). The students had to answer questions about bike safety and manners at each stop, which I thought was a great way for them to build social skills. We had a quick Bible Club meeting that night, before I was able to head back to my wonderful Aussie family (the Stebbins) for tea and a game of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Leader of the Pack

     Today came complete with a huge wave of exhaustion. We helped with the Brekkie Club in the morning at the school and had about 25 kids attend. This has become a really great way to make connections with the kids. We finished up some work at the church for youth group tonight and then headed home for a much needed rest. We took the youth group bowling in Warragul tonight. I bowled a high score of 53... anythings better than a 0 right? Saturday will be a day to sleep a little later, before heading to the gym for some more basketball training.