Words from the left hand side of the road!

I was sitting here today and I was like ooh I should blog, I said I would within the two weeks. Then I looked at the date ad realized that it had been two weeks exactly since my last post. So here is my two week update.

Timaru has been great! I have really enjoyed being here, Timaru is just as beautiful as I expected it to be. I dont know if anything in this country could be ugly.

As we have been in Timaru we have been staying with a family and it has been so nice. I have really enjoyed being a part of a family again. (not that my DTS hasnt been a family they have been every bit of a family and more) But, what I mean by that is that it has been nice to be back in a normal family type lifestyle. Waking up in the morning in a normal house, eating breakfast, heading out for the day, and then coming back, eating dinner, and then hanging out in the living room watching the news. The people and families of been more than accommodating to our team.

On another exciting note, something that I forgot to tell anyone that I have talked to back home. I have the joy and pleasure of driving here! Its been quite exciting learning how to drive on the left hand side of the road. And have gotten quite comfortable driving a manuel drive as well.

On a ministry note, our time here has been about the same as Dunedin. Personally I have a few more opportunities to speak and I even got the chance to MC our jump rally. It has been really fun.

A big part of this update is to also let you know whats next. We have two weeks left in New Zealand, and they we will be spent back in Dunedin. As my last blog stated we were supposed to be heading up to Nelson. There however in true YWAM fashion been a few changes made to our schedule. The doors in Nelson just werent really opening up for us, so we decided that going back to Dunedin (where we have quite a few contacts) would be our best bet.

So thats a little bit about me. Hope this finds you well and I will give you another update when I am back in Australia!

Love You all and see you soon!

Love and Light,

J.

Hello New Zealand!!!

Hello to those who are still actually reading this thing. Sorry for the gap between posts, I have been quite busy as of late which means hopefully you will find this blog somewhat entertaining.
For those of you that might not remember or know I am actually now on my outreach phase of my DTS. (Well I am on the second part of outreach, we have already done a short stent but this is the long one.) So , that puts my current location in Dunedin, New Zealand. I will be remaining in NZ for 4 more weeks, then 1 week in AUS, and then it will be time to return to the land of the free and the home of the brave. Just in time for the most important day of the year, and you know that would be my birthday of course! Dec. 17th for those of you forgetting, but don’t worry if you want to go ahead and send my presents to my house or give them to my mom to have when she picks me up from the airport that’s ok, I will not be upset! HAHA!!!!

Back to the point of my blogging, as I previously stated I have been quite busy. I guess as we like to say here “Welcome to outreach!” (Which is funny because we have now been on outreach for 5 weeks total, so the statement has slowly shifted to “it is outreach!”, welcome just seems a bit silly now).

I guess I will start from the beginning and just see where I go from there. Please forgive me if I wander off on some aimless rambling, I am not submitting this thing for a grade, however having an English teacher as a sister though I sometimes feel everything I type is being graded. (HAHA Love You Lish)

We flew into Dunedin on the 18th of October. We were traveled for 24 hours because of an 8 hour layover overnight in Christchurch. It was actually rather fun, we received a few stares as people entered the airport and there was this motley crew all spread out in the airport baggage claim area. Good stories though and some pretty funny pictures as well. Once we arrived beautiful scenery and yes sheep immediately welcomed us, there is indeed quite a number of sheep here it is no stereotype.

Even though many of us were in our sweats and we all were exhausted, we headed off straight to church. I mention this mainly because it has been very cool how welcomed we have been here. Every church we have been a part of has welcomed us with open arms. Families have fed us and given us more sweets than I have eaten in several years combined. But, even outside of the churches we have been treated very well. This town is beautiful in landscape and with people. It is one of the friendliest towns I have ever been to.

Yeah so day one we went to a church service and were taken to one of the elders houses and fed. We spent the afternoon just hanging out and fellowshipping with people from the church.
After most of us were fighting sleep as the afternoon went on we were finally taken to where we have been staying. Our entire team is sleeping in the basement of a church. It has been exciting living with the whole team; it has really given us a sense of family and unity. The church is nice as well, there is only one shower, but we have lots of toilets and a very large kitchen to cook all of our own meals. We also have been blessed with real mattresses, which has been rather nice!
The next couple of days were easy for us, we spent the time getting acclimated to the city, hanging out at the cafes, some prayer times, a bit of prior proper planning to prevent poor performance, and stocking up with food for our team. And then Wednesday we hit the ground running and its been a blur ever since. My numbers are not exact but I think we have done something around 12 or 13 school programs, 4 or 5 youth groups, a couple of church services, a girls group, and a men’s bibles study all in the last week and a half. Along with a city wide youth rally and open houses for people to learn more about missions and take a tour of the ship that is docked here that is a part of mercy ministries. (That is a branch of YWAM in case you were wondering out there)

In these programs, youth groups, and service the schedule and what was said has varied each time. The basic point however has been the same. We have just been encouraging people to get involved, get active, and realize that there is more to life than just what the norm is. And that we need to think outside of ourselves and give back in whatever way that may be for each person individually. Through this we have also looked for all opportunities to share the gospel and we spent a lot of time inviting people to the Jump rally that I mentioned, as well as for them to come down and visit the ship.

The ship has really just been a catalyst or talking point for us to get peoples attention and encourage them. As we have been here our goal has just been to allow our lives to be the gospel that people can see and hopefully though that we can love them and encourage them to love others and get active and get involved and not just sit back and watch life pass them by.
Now sadly my time here in Dunedin is winding down, but its ok because tomorrow we are heading off to Timaru for two weeks where it will be a lot of the same thing. We will be taking a bus; we have been told that it should be about 2 and half hours. Once we arrive in Timaru we are going to be billeted in with people of the community. The experience that billeting will provide could prove to be somewhat interesting but I am excited about it. We will be in Timaru for 2 weeks as well, and then our schedule becomes tentative. Our plan is then to head another 5 or 6 hours north from Timaru onto Nelson. Our time at Nelson will look very similar to our time in Dunedin and Timaru, but as I mentioned no plans in Nelson have been confirmed. I will keep you up to date with our activities as they happen and as I find out more.

I hope that you are all doing quite well out there, and I cant wait to get back and see everyone! Even though my time has been more than wonderful here and I could easily move to New Zealand, home will be a welcomed thing in my heart especially all of my friends and family, and I hoping for a bit of early snow as well so I can get out on those huge Paoli Peaks, that is just wishful thinking though.

Well I hope this was as interesting for you as I kept telling myself it was as I typed it. I will hope to give another update in a week and a half or two weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

Love and Light,
J.

Moats and Boats and Waterfalls

Here I am, Sunday night before my last week of lectures. I can not believe where this journey has taken me. The last 13 weeks, or whatever it has been, have been absolutely life changing. I am not the same person that I was when I left the United States in July. And I am positive that as I am about to leave Australia for 6 weeks and head off to New Zealand, that I will continue this journey on down the rabbit hole.

I did though just want to you guys a quick update on what the game plan looks like for me the next couple of weeks . . .

So yeah, this last week I was just here on base it was quite the busy week. Catching up with friends and preparing to leave again, homework, and book reports, and most exciting is that the new October DTS rocked up. Its so fun to see them and get to talk with them and look back at how far I have came already, and to just think about the journey that they are about to embark on. So this coming week is just preparing to leave . . .

My team and I will be leaving on Saturday afternoon the 17th of October, flying to Brisbane having a little layover then to Christchurch, an 8 hour layover over night at the airport then a flight to Dunedin. Where we will be spending 2 weeks. And then driving up to Timura and spending the remaining 4 weeks.

While in Dunedin we will be staying at a church (the whole team will be together) in Timura we are getting split up and put in different peoples homes. While we are in these two cities we will be doing relatively the same thing in both . . .

We will be working with Schools and Youth Groups for the YWAM New Zealand Ship Tour, I dont know how much I have told you or how much you all remember about the Australia PNG ship tour that is about to happen here that RTO is leading, well this is that ship. Here is a little Video to let you see what I will be involved with . . .

Below I also posted the video again or maybe for the first time of the ship tour that our base is going to be doing just as a little refresher . . .

I hope that this helps fill you guys in on what is going to be going on with me . . . Ill definitely blog again before I leave.

Love and Light,

J.

Its all crazy! Its all a dream! Its alright!

And Im back for two weeks then off again to New Zealand this time . . . Sometimes its surreal! The title says it well, its crazy and it feels like a dream, but it is definitely alright.

Mission adventures was AMAZING!!!! I loved it, it was so much fun and was right up my alley. I loved having the opportunity to disciple and teach kids that were willing to learn and wanted to grow deeper in their faith with God. That for me is what it is about. Helping people to better understand and know God in a deeper more personal way. For the first week of minor outreach we were here on base and teaching the kids running a lecture type week for them much similar to the weeks that I have had previous to my outreach. We had plenty of exciting things happen during that week as well . . .We did a play that was a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus in which I was Jesus, it really moves you going through that experience being hung on a cross and faking the absolute agony that he went through in order for us as imperfect humans to be eternally saved. We also did fun things like play a lot sport teach kids to walk like a cow, baby shark, and a little about polar bears and camping haha. We also had a massive food fight during the week that was disgusting to say the least.

Then we headed off to Palm Island (P.I.). Having the opportunity to minister in a cross culture setting is something that everyone should do in there life! It is eye opening and just simply fun! No Jokes . . . Playing with all of those kids everyday was tiring yes but also quite joyful! I was a human jungle gym a photographer and whatever else you can think of that these kids asked for.

It was one of the greatest experiences of my life . . .We slept on concrete floors, took cold showers, and ate our meals outside and I never really felt the need to complain (except for the cold showers because they were like ice cold and I dont like cold water, who likes cold water? lets be honest here) I woke up every morning feeling complete and fulfilled. Plus we really got to see God work in many ways I have plenty of stories if you want to hear the details.

I guess I could have started with this part but Ill back track now . . . Palm Island was much like being in a different country. It was by no means 3rd world but it was no where close to what we would expect in a modern western civilization. But though it was not the cleanest place in the world and not the safest it was still beautiful! The sunsets were epic and the night sky gorgeous. The forest and ocean were breath taking . . .Its such a shame that such a beautiful place has been reduced down to so little and that the people there dont take better care of the land they are given. But there is hope there are people there who do try it is not all lost!

During these two weeks of mission adventures on a spiritual and personal level I really began to understand who I was and learn and grow deeper with God. These two weeks are two I will never forget . . .For lots and lots of pictures of Palm Island and my team check out my facebook . . .I forgot to take any pictures during the lecture phase but it was just us here on base so it wasnt to exciting from a picture standpoint!

That leads us to 5DE . . . First and Foremost Gold Coast was beautiful as was the camp we stayed at about an hour up into the Mountains. Brisbane is also a wonderful city that I loved very much and hope to go back to some day. For 5DE my outreach team was required to switch gears a bit . . This wasnt necessarily a trip all about God but a trip for kids who came with a lot of questions about God and a chance for them to just have fun and for us to get to show them some love.

It was a tiring weak slept very little starting with about an hour half the first night on the way down ther on the good old double decker bus. Our first day there we did some relay games and had some friendly team competition (We were split up into 4 team that ran through out the week it was one boys cabin with one girla cabin and there were 4 cabins for each ironic huh?) So yeah that was the first day and on that night we had a massive game of Sardines my group dominated with the best hiding spot ever! Day two was the water park and that night was a bit of capture the flag. Day three surfing and Gold coast shopping capping the night with a litle dance party with a cowboys, indians, and Mexicans theme . . . Yeah you can tell that Americans had their hands in the planning! Day four was the other theme park we went to and that night was a praise and worship service some testimonies and our only real ministry night for our outreach team and it was good. Our last day there we went into Brisbane for some shopping I got food poisoning from the Australian version of Burger King (Its called hungry Jack here because when the King tried to come over there was already a place called burger that refused to sale the rights I guess) and then it was another 20+ some hour bus ride back!

I almost forgot that on the day we went surfing that morning I attempted to eat a pancake that in the history of the campgrounds that we stayed at only three people have ever finished. It stayed that way because I couldnt do it but I was so close it made me angry its was one of the hardest things I have ever done. . . Check out the pics on FB its crazy!

So yeah that is my outreach in a nutshell I guess now that I think about it I could have gave a little more detailed break down of Palm but it was pretty relaxed and loose I spent a lot of the itme in the kitchen and stuff and I know I didnt mention that we did an open air service in a courtyard one night that went really well and yeah so thats it . . .if you have any questions PLEASE email me I love emails or just hit me up on Facebook . . .I miss you guys and I thank you so much for your prayers and your support while I was gone trust me, my team and I both could feel them working. We needed it and appreciated it more than you will ever know. If you dont always think that prayer works or that there is no power in prayer . . .WELL STOP because there is and I am living proof of that right now as I write this and everyday that I live my life I see that prayer works. Teaching point here though is that sometimes it just dosnt work out the exact way we had envisioned so we get all crazy saying it dosnt work but it does just look at the situation and talk to God and he will show that it works!

Ok its my bed time here now you are all just waking up as I write this so good morning! Ill talk to you again soon!

Love and Light,

J.

I wanna go to 5DE . . .Oh Wait I am!

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I am back from Palm Island safe and sound . . . It was so much fun I loved it wore me out, but loved it none the less! I will be posting pictures and writing a much more detailed blog when I get back from the Gold Coast. We leave tomorrow (my Sunday) and will be getting back sometime around Saturday (Oct. 3rd) don't really know when for sure but I promise once I do you will all know ASAP!

I really appreciate all of your prayers while I've been busy, I can tell so have faith and know that they are working . . . Mission Adventures was so GREAT and your prayers and support were a part of seeing people go deeper with God and seeing parts of the Aboriginal communities changed for the better!

Ok I love you guys and please keep praying for me I am about to take a 15 hour bus ride with 44 12-17 year olds so that should be fun! I love you all and you have all been in my prayers as well cant wait to talk to you all more soon!

Love and Light,

J.

Last Post Until the 24th

Hello over there! So I just wanted to let you guys know this is my last entry until the 25th (Thats when we get back from Palm Island) I thought that we would be able to have a bit more Internet Access than what I will. I will be able to on occasion check my email and facebook and send small responses if your keen on that but major communication is temporarily suspended! Please do keep my team and me in your prayers and I will definitely be praying for all of you as well.

Love You all and talk to you in 11 days!!!!

Love and Light,

J.

An update from the Last week and The Mission Adventures Adventure is Beginning!

Hey Guys! Whats up in the land of free and the home of the brave? It has been all good down here in the land down under! I have had a great last week and a half since I last updated you all on my happenings!

Not much has been going on here outside of the usual but, it has still been pretty good none the less. Lectures this week went quite well. Our guest lecture was Dean Sherman and man was it good. His main topic was spiritual warfare but really he talked a lot about just the basics of being the church and where we have screwed up and where we can make a difference. One night outside of normal lecture time he also spoke on relationships to the whole base and it was even better than his lectures during class. He talked about how as christians we have just messed relationships up and that the world has messed them up but, it dosnt have to be like this. It was good. . . Relationships is my favorite subject so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

As far as fun down here this week I got to do some skating around town on a long board one night and that was fun. . . . I discover mylifeisaverage.com Umm yeah its funny! . . . Spent some time down at the beach saw some art work that was sweet as. Yeah sums that up I guess . . .

YouthStreet last saturday was good I am loving being a part of it! It is funny I wasnt exactly the most excited person in the world about working with 14-15 year olds but my heart has just continued to grow more and more for these kids and I cant wait to come back to the states and get to implement some of the things I have learned here and to get to minister to the kids back home, this age group is so important!

Speaking of kiddies! We moved out of our house this morning to get ready for mission adventures that starts tomorrow! We are now allliving in this really nice house about five minutes off of base ( Dont worry pictures will be posted . . . I will post a whole album at the end of our minor outreach) But yeah so thats been exciting . . . With mission adventures like I said before we will be training and holding some stuff for the Youth Group the first four days. I am personally helping with outreach prep, and leading some intercession times. I also am playing Jesus in a thing they called the passion play (Its about the crucifixion) I am really excited about all of this . . .Then for the outreach part I will be cooking for the week with one other person for the youth group as well as my team while we are staying over on Palm Island . . . While we are at Palm Island we are staying at what they call the PCYC its a youth rec center. We mainly will just be holding a few activities on the Island hanging out with the youth there and just building relationships and witnessing though those opportunities so it should be good, not super structured but thats more my style anyway.

So yeah this will be my last post for about 10 or 12 days . . .Ill get a day off when we get back from Palm Island where I can throw a quick update up about how Mission Adventures and Palm went and Ill let you know more details about 5DE! . . .

I hope everyone is doing well, please keep me and my team in your prayers a little extra these next 3 weeks as we will be really having a lot of opportunities to share the Love of God with a lot of people and as we all know thats when we seem to come under the most attack so your prayers are not only appreciated but needed! Much Love to all!

Love and Light,

J.

Two Weeks in the Bush!

SO, where to begin? What a two weeks I had . . . Camping at hidden valley was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was so much fun to be out in nature for two weeks straight, sleeping on the ground, living in a tent, not really showering HaHa!!! So here lets break down a bit of the basics . . .

I lived in a 9 person tent with 6 guys for two weeks, slept in a sleeping bag on 1 inch piece of foam that was not so properly titled a bed mat, I shared one shower and two toilets with 10 guys for the first week (Like 50 guys the second week . . . the staff came up and joined us for the second week so there was about 12o people plus children for five days, the staff normally dosnt join in on camping but it was their staff retreat so it was a great opportunity to serve), we had hot water that got pumped up from the creek and then warmed by a fire, drinking water was pumped through the creek then filtered, we had one giant urn that boiled water to clean dishes and to have coffee of course, we ate quite well there was three gas burners, and two gas grills ( we went through a lot of propane needless to say), a generator gave us a bit of electricity for a few hours a day, we drank powdered milk (which actually isnt all that bad), I cleaned myself in a creek (aka Man Bathing) and spent a lot of time in the sun, I am now quite tan, I was brekky prep so I got up by 5:45 am everyday (well almost somedays were later than others and the second week I only had brekky prep once but I was still up by 7 everyday) I loved it! Getting up early was so nice watching the sun come up, being by the fire . . .

So a few more of the details might interest you as well, the weather was perfect!!!!!! It was warm and sunny during the day ( I rocked shorts ad a cut off most of the time) it was warm enough to go swimming, but then at night in jeans and a hoody you were freezing ( well not freezing but quite chilly) if you werent by the fire and we drank lots of hot chocolate!

Our schedule was quite similar in that we had lectures every morning and work duties and what not but we also had a little extra free time, and we also had extra time in the morning for some great quiet times . . .If you have never sat out in nature on a cool morning and listened to some good music and prayed and read your bible I suggest you try it its such an amazing way to grow and hear God!

The nights were Epic! The stars were everywhere and I saw at least 5 shooting stars every night even if a few of the nights we had to pray for them or at least pray for the clouds to go away for just a bit Haha . . .

We also did a fair bit of star tripping which is one of the funniest things I have ever seen . . .EVER!!!! It is when you stand out in an open field with no lights stare up at the stars spin as fast you possibly can for as long as you possibly can then stop and someone shines a light in your face and your body just freaks out. You dont know whats up and what down and it is HILARIOUS!!!! Brain cells were probably killed but what the heck you know it was fun! HAHA!!!

And then of course the highlight might be the Gorge! It was about a fifteen minute drive from camp and it was beautiful and I hope everyone get the chance to see something that pretty one day in their life and that they can get a chance to play in a waterfall! NUTS!!!

So yeah in a lot of words that dont do it justice that was camping in no real special order! I am glad to be back though and I hope I get to talk to all of you soon! You will all continue to be in my prayers and I hope I am in yours!

Love and Light,

J.

New Blog Post and Pictures Soon!

So I am feeling really lazy! And after two weeks of not having computers and communications I dont really find it all that intriguing its not to get away and not have all the distractions of life and really let God talk to you in lots of ways!

But I love all of you guys and I just wanted to let you know that I had an amazing time camping, it was way epic and I will be posting pictures and writing a much more detailed blog about what fun activities that happened? I just dont quite feel like it today just being honest here! We got back Friday evening and I had an amazing day of YouthStreet yesterday, took the day off today with some beach time but I promise Ill get back with you all soon!

I miss all of you lots no lies cant wait to have some one on one convos to talk to you all! Oh yeah speaking of which, I was thinking about doing maybe a once a week teaching type blog a little more focused on what I am learning about God and how it can change your everyday life as well? Anyone interested? Let me know and Ill do that!

Love and Light,

J.

Camping in the Bush!

So I just wanted to get on here and let everyone know that I will be camping in the Bush for the next two weeks we are at a place called Hidden Valley approx. 2 and 1/2 hours way from base . . .

I am leaving today the 16th and will be back on Friday the 28th, while we are there we will have no access to phones or internet so Ill take lots of pictures to document it all and I will let you all know as soon as I am back how it was . . .

I hope you all take care of yourselves, and please continue to pray for me as I am on this journey and to pray for me as we prepare for outreach! I will be keeping all of you back home in my prayers as well!

Outreach Destinations are Official, details still lacking.

SO yeah thats right I know where I am going on outreach . . . FINALLY!

In almost exactly 5 weeks from today I will be starting my minor outreach. This will be with the missions adventures . . . A youth group will be coming in and for 4 Days my team and I will be training and preparing these youth to go out and minister to people, then after there short period of training we will head off with the youth group to Palm Island for around 10 days . . . Side note here Palm Island is an Island off the coast of NorthEast Australia, it will be about a two and a half hour boat ride for us. Palm Island is the largest grouping of indigenous people in the Australia left, it is also known as one of the most violent places in the world. We have been told that it is quite the cross culture difference and that it is rather similar to the conditions of a third world country even though it is still considered Australia . . . After we return from that we will then begin 5 Day Escape, If you dont remember 5 day escape is a week long youth camp that we here run and I will be a part of the staff, there will be about 60 kids that are from Townsville and are a part of youthstreet. We will load these lads up on a double decker bus and drive all the way down to the Gold Coast (thats about 12 hours, Gold Coast is an hour south of Brisbane and one of the biggest surfing areas in the world). While we are in Gold Coast we will be staying in a camp with cabins and meeting halls. This week is more about relationship ship building with the kids than anything else but at night we will have devotions and worship. As well I will be a leader of a small group of young fellas that we will have discussions in each day. As for the activities we will be going surfing one day (YES!!! SURFING) and we will be going into the city just to hang out and shop and we will also be taking the kids to a couple of amusement parks.

For my Major Outreach I dont really know many details just that we are going to first be flying from here to New Zealand, then from New Zealand to Southern Australia (possibilities are Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and others but it will mostly be in the states of Victoria and New South Wales . . . If you dont know your Aussie geography I am in Queensland as is Brisbane we are located above New South Wales this is where Sydney is and Victoria is the next state over to NSW and that is where Melbourne is) other than that all I know is that we will be going to help at other YWAM bases, working in and for churches, and going into schools as well as just the general communities that we are going in. Most of what we will be doing will be focused on getting things ready for the ship tour that is going on as well as focusing on youth in these areas and trying to help them see the Love of the Lord.

I am super excited and cant wait, as I find out more details I will let you know. I feel kind of silly being a missionary from America and coming half way around the world and never leaving a first world nation but I know that there are lots of people everywhere that need to see the Love of God and I know that exciting things will take place and I know God will move.

Please keep me in your prayers and I thank you for your continuing support, I thank you all!

Love and Light,

J.

A Reoccurring Theme and for that I Apologize!

So I have noticed that it consistently seems to be about a week in between every time I write a little update on here! I sometimes forget that I have been here as long as I have been already and that you all like to know what is going on . . .

The reason that I have not really been posting on here is because we have just been on the base but that doesn't mean nothing is happening . . .We still do not know where we are going to go for outreach yet but hopefully this will happen soon! And when it does I will let everyone know as soon as possible, Ill post it on here and tell all about it, Ill make it my facebook status, and Ill even email some of you Immediately . . .

For what I do know though I will tell you, God has been moving in amazing ways in my life. Through lectures, life, and culture I have learned so much in my time here already. We have talked about Clear Conscience, Relationships, and Currently The Father Heart of God in lectures. I have learned heaps about Australian culture (so much so that I used the term heaps right there without even thinking!) and I have just learned a lot about life! About how it is more about the attitudes you choose everyday that make the difference. As well as just living in each day and learning in each day and how not take the day given to you for granted but to enjoy each day and try your hardest about not worrying about tomorrow!

I also want to talk a little about the outreach we are getting to do each week while we are right here on base! Every week we have a family night BBQ that is open to the community and it is fun to get to watch all the different kids and families come in and just get to talk to them and watch them open up! And the same with YouthStreet, for 9 hours every saturday we get the opportunity to speak love into kids lives . . .It is amazing at just remembering a kids name the next time you see him how it can light up their face and how each week they open up more and more as you just create a relationship with them! And these are kids that dont come from the greatest homes and we are the only gospel a lot of these kids ever get the chance to read!!! Thats pretty heavy . . .It is a little sad to me that I had to travel half way around the world to learn these simple concepts of life and how to just be a better person but you know things work out in silly ways!!!

I thank all of you for your prayers and your support and please feel free to get a hold of me personally through email (johnboyd9@gmail.com) or through Facebook if you want to chat about anything or have any questions!

Cheers mates and I will be posting some new pics either sunday or monday to show a little more of the town, some friends, more of the base, footy at the beach, and pictures from youthstreet. You want to see them? Well be my facebook friend then! But I will still post one or two rads here as well!

Love and Light,

J.

Long Time No See Good Friends!

Hello!

So I havnt posted on here in awhile so I just wanted to let you know Im doing great! Learning a lot stretching a lot and really gaining a lot of perspective on life!

I had been waiting to post because I wanted to wait until we got where we were going on outreach finalized, but that was told to us today that it probably wont be until Friday! So I just thought I would let you know the 3 choices we had 1.) New Zealand and Southern Australia . . .This is one is in support of a new mission they are working on here called Mercy Ships, so as the outreach goes over the five weeks they will be going to Schools, Churches, and other YWAM bases preaching and talking a little about the ships some as well as doing things that are needed to be done in preparation for the ship to come into those towns. 2.) Is Papua New Guinea this is where the ship will actually go in 2010 and so this outreach too will be doing some prep for the ship as well as jungle trekking and preaching of the gospel to the tribes. . . .

I guess I will explain real quick what the ship is . . .Its a small ship that is basically a floating hospital that will be docked in Townsville and this ship starting next year is going to travel around the coast of Australia and helping a few that need it but mainly preaching and trying to find people to Volunteer on it, then after three separate tours around the coast it will go to PNG (Papua New Guinea) and provide health care where it is desperately needed. . .

3.) The third option here is just in Northern Australia working with the Aboriginal peoples as well as doing school ministry, and one week doing ministry during what they call schoolies basically senior week and a week of partying in beach towns!

That is for our major outreach (the five week one), for out minor outreach We will help run what they call mission adventures, they are these 10 - 15 day mission trips for local youth groups. The youth groups come in to our base and we train them and prep them for their outreach and then they go to their outreach destination and we go with them as leaders. Here again we will be going into schools and working with churches and doing different types of ministry including things with the Aboriginals and youth detention centers! The other half of minor outreach will possibly be going and staffing a christian camp for high school kids on the Gold Coast we will get to learn to surf and go to a couple of theme parks as well as lead devotions and worship every night and this is all about relationship building. If you dont go on 5DE (the name of the camp and short for 5 Day Escape) you then will be doing something else, but we yet dont know exactly what that something is.

So yeah like I said we should know what these will be by Friday, and then I will let you all know what I am doing and more details of what that is will be provided as I get it!

Ok then! Talk to you soon!

Love and Light,
J.

Pics of My Flat and of Base

So here is just a few random pics of the front of my flat, the auditorium, my bed, my view from breakfast, and the sweet spot! I know there are no people and I know thats not exciting but I posted a big album on my facebook and what not for everyone to get a more detailed look . . .

I tired to order the album as the you are taking a walk with me into the downstairs and into my room and then upstairs around the house and then over to the base and into it and the out to the front . . .

Once you see my album you will understand . . .If you read this and you dont have me on facebook I will post on my Mom's wall so you can find me and add me if you would like . . .

Also dont worry I will be posting more pictures on here 1 or 2 at a time with blogs, as well as heaps more on facebook from the beach and top of castle hill and other things from around town and pictures of peoople that I actually hang out with so you guys can start to get an idea of what the people here are like!

Just wanted to give a few basics and let you all know that I am doing good and I hope you are all too!!!!

Love and Light,
J.

Important Dates and Daily Schedule

So I just wanted to throw up the dates of when I will be at the base and doing lectures and when I will be camping and on my Outreaches . . .

July 13th - Aug 15th: On Base Doing Lectures and Working with Youth Street (5 Weeks)

Aug 16th- Aug 29th: Camping (2 Weeks)

Aug 30th - Sept 12th: Lectures and Youth Street (2 Weeks)

Sept 13th - Oct 4th: Minor Out Reach (3 Weeks)

Oct 5th - Oct 17th: Lectures and Youth Street (2 Weeks)

Oct 18th - Nov 27th: Major Outreach

Nov 28th - Dec 6th: Debrief, Youth Street, & Graduation

Dec 7th: Fly HOME!

These Dates are tentative and subject to change ( I would say at most Plus or Minus one day when dealing with the Outreaches) The Outreach Dates and destinations are still currently unknown and once I am aware of these I will post those up ASAP Leaving on Dec 7th is official though. . .

As for my Daily schedule while I am doing lectures it looks a little like this pretty much everyday...

Monday:
6:00 am Wake UP!
6:15 - 6:45 Exercise
6:45 - 7:30 Brekkie
8:00 - 9:00 Worship
9:00 - 10:00 Bible Study Workshop
10:00 - 12:30 Lectures (in this time we also have 15-20 min for morning tea)
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 4:30 Free Time
5:30 - 6:00 Dinner
6:00 - 7:30(approx.) Work Duties (Dinner Clean UP)
Free Time Until Sleep!

Tuesday:
6:00 am Wake UP!
6:15 - 6:45 Exercise
6:45 - 7:30 Brekkie
8:00 - 9:00 Nations Presentation and Prayer
9:00 - 9:30 Faith and Finances
9:30 - 12:30 Lectures (in this time we also have 15-20 min for morning tea)
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 4:30 Free Time
5:30 - 6:00 Dinner
6:00 - 7:30(approx.) Work Duties (Dinner Clean UP)
7:30 - 9:00 Outreach Prep
Free Time Until Sleep!

Wednesday:
6:00 am Wake UP!
6:15 - 6:45 Exercise
6:45 - 7:30 Brekkie
8:00 - 9:30 Base Worship and Prayer
9:30 - 10:30 Communications (Time to call and write home)
10:30 - 12:30 Lectures
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 4:30 Free Time
5:30 - 7:00 Family Night BBQ
6:00 - 7:30(approx.) Work Duties (Dinner Clean UP)
7:30 - ??? Footy on the Beach
Free Time Until Sleep!

Thursday:
6:00 am Wake UP!
6:15 - 6:45 Exercise
6:45 - 7:30 Brekkie
8:00 - 9:00 Base Intercession
9:00 - 12:30 Lectures (in this time we also have 15-20 min for morning tea)
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 4:30 Free Time
5:30 - 6:00 Dinner
6:00 - 7:30(approx.) Work Duties (Dinner Clean UP)
7:30 - 10:00 Study Time and Communications
Free Time Until Sleep!

Friday:
6:00 am Wake UP!
6:15 - 6:45 Exercise
6:45 - 7:30 Brekkie
8:00 - 8:30 Base Clean UP
8:30- 9:30 Worship
9:30- 12:30 Lectures (in this time we also have 15-20 min for morning tea)
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 4:30 Free Time
5:30 - 6:00 Dinner
6:00 - 7:30(approx.) Work Duties (Dinner Clean UP)
Free Time Until Sleep!

Saturday:
8:45 - 9:45 Brekkie
9:45 - 1:00 Free Time
1:00 - 5:30 Youth Street
5:30 - 10:00 Youth Street Live
Free Time until Sleep!

Sunday:
Free DAY!!! . . .Mainly going to be spent at the beach!!!!

So in my free time once a week I will also have one on ones with my leader, and then we also have small groups at night once a week but that hasnt been yet decided when!

Also during my chunk of free time others have free time then and others have work duties then as well . . .We all have different work duties my duties are just dinner clean up! So during my work duties most people just have free time!

So yeah thats that . . . If you want to know more about what we are studying during lectures I can post that as well, and just for all you that are wondering I promise I will be taking some pictures of the base, my flat, the beach, castle hill, and the town soon and post them up ASAP!!! Well ok not ASAP but when I get around to it! So you can all see where I live, eat, work, and play!!!!

Love and Light,
J.

Youth Street and Youth Street Live

Hello out there!!!!!

So yesterday was our first day of youth street and youth street live so here is the dealio on what that means . . .

Every Saturday at 2 we have a bunch of different kids from around the Townsville community that come and hang out and we take them to do diffrent things based off of what they like, there are five teams they can choose from . . . Two Skate Teams, A sports team, The Artedia Team (Art and Media = Artedia), and A music Team. I am a leader on one of the skate teams. So at two they show up and then we meet with the kids talk to them and on my team we head off in a van to one of the local skate parks. Then we just hang out with them skate with them we bring snack and what not and its all just a chance to love these kids a build relationsips let them know that people care about them and that there is a lot out there in life for them. We then come back to base and have dinner with the kids. Last night it was Dominos!

Then it transitions into Youtsteet Live this consist of about an hour of just paying sport and hanging out . . .Then 180 Hour, just an Hour of Praise and Worship and devotion and then after that we run a full cafe until ten and just give the kids a positive environment to hang out in and play games and stuff last night it was extreme musical chairs (It was pretty fun!!!). I am on the security team for this part of the day which basically just means I walk around and talk to kids and make sure they arent running of and making out in the dark corners, its pretty fun because I dont really have to do anything particualr and I just get to hang out with th kids. So that sums up what my saturdays are and what Youth Street is all about!!!!

J.

Aussie Appreciation Night and State of Origin!

G'Day Mates!!!

So just wanted to get on her and so hello and let you know about whats been going on and whats about to happen!

Last night (Tuesday the 14th) we had Aussie Appreciation Night . . . It consisted of singing Australian songs such as We Our Australian and The National Anthem (Youtube the first one its pretty good). We also had the privilege of eating Veggiemite (or maybe not so much of a privilege depending on how you look at it) it is different to say the least I didnt hate it but a lot of people did and the Aussies LOVE it. Its a spread you put on toast with a bit of better or a lot of butter and a bit of Veggiemite I should say. If you go with the first way your bound to throw up! We also did a bit of bush dancing(this is the exact same thing as barn dancing pretty much), learned about the outback, and drank Cordial (we actually drink Cordial on the regular but last night we learned how much of a staple it is in Australia. If you dont know what it is it is a highly concentrated fruit syrup basically and you mix just a little bit of it with a glass of water it is basically like Kool-Aid just with less sugar and its liquid to start instead of powder. And most importantly we got have a Tim Tam Slam. So this is the deal on that Tim Tams are these Australian cookies they are Chocolate Cookies dipped in Chocolate Icing. Then they have this drink here that is much like Hot Chocolate that the Aussies call Milo (Its better than standard Hot Chocolate!) So to complete the Tim Tam Slam you bite just a small piece off of one corner of your Tim Tam (they are rectangular shape so you know) and then on the opposite corner of your Tim Tam you nibble off the corner again! Then you put one of the corners you bit off in your mouth (NO HANDS!!!!) and put the other corner in your Milo and suck until you can feel the Milo coming through the Tim Tam and that moment just as the cookie is melting you suck the whole Tim Tam into your mouth all at Once and if done correct it will be completely full of Hot MILO and it just melts in your mouth in a beautiful way. It is almost magical!!!!

Now as for tonight! This is something I am beyond excited for! It is state of Orgin . . . This is what in North America we would call an All Star game. State of Origin is for the Rugby League (In Australia there is Rugby Leaugue, Rugby Union, and Aussie Rules Football . . .Which one is better is a never endning debate among the Australians and there are different rules and stuff but if you want to know more just ask) So yeah this is for Rugby League. Townsville has a team here that is in the NRL or Natianal Rugby League. NRL is the biggest pro sport in the northern part of Australia and in the southern part it is AFL or Australian Football League(Aussie Rules Football). And among all these different version and all the debates all Australians will agree on one thing State of Origin is the biggest three games in the Aussie Sport all year! And Tonight at 730 is the third and final game!

Here is the breakdown . . .Its a three game series, each game is three weeks apart. And the two teams are not comprised of the best players from the two conferences or leagues but rather the State that you first played Footy in . . .Thus STATE OF ORGIN. Its the same two states every year Queensland (the state I am in and also called the Maroons) and New South Wales (The Blues and for those of you privey on geography is the state where Sydney is located) and this rivalry is beyond on Epic . . .Duke v. North Carolina, IU v. Purdue, Cubs v. Cardinals, Yankees v. Red Sox, Lakers v. Celtics all great rivalries and NOT ONE!!! Can hold a candle to the rivalary that exist between these two states when it comes to the State of Orgin match. For 80 min you have teamates playing against each other friends and family not sitting near each other and even an entire missions base taunting each other for the last week all for this game and we all watch it together on a giant projector and I CANT WAIT you all know my affection for sport (and no that is not a typo it is sport in Aus not Sports) it is going to be beyond belief of the excitment that is around this country for this game . . .Even if you do not belong to one of these states you dont stand in the middle everyone has a side! So I will let you know all about it after the game goes down!!!! Just so you can get an idea here is a video for a little taste! Its pretty long but you will get the ideea pretty quickly!

Hope you all is well!

Love and Light

Official Day 2!

Check 1, 2 Check Check 1,2 Check . . .Is this thing on? Ok good! As you know I made it, the town is pretty chill it is definitely a little tropical beach like town, very small very relaxed. I am truly enjoying myself and it quite different to be living out of the States quite the enjoyment, yet still very different. I am enjoying learning all about the Aussie culture and picking up some pretty rad words like brekky (breakfast) and Mozzie (mosquito) and countless others. Thanks to a special little spiral book of notecards I already knew what many of these words meant. The bsae is fun, and the living conditions are a little less that what you would call nice HAHA I will be spending the next 8 weeks living in a basement with 6 other boys with no closets or drawers, two toilets, and one shower. Its going to be interesting, challenging, and above all fun!

Yesterday was our first day of YWAM, we had a meet and greet BBQ, today is day two, we began lectures and I found out that while I am here on base I will be responsible for cleaning after dinner with 4 other people.

I hoping to get lots of pictures in the next week or two of the town, beach, and base to post for all of your viewing pleasures so you can have a little better undertanding of the owrld and surroundings I am in.

Most exciting thing we have done so far last night we hiked up a very large hill (the hike was about 2KM long) and waiting at top for us was a beautiful view of the city and ocean! I will be making this journey again shortly next time with camera in hand both at night and day to show how beautiful it was.

Hope everything is going well in everyone elses lives and will be contuing to update here as often as needed and what not.

Love and Light

30 Hours, 4 Planes, 3 movies, and an Entire Book Later

So I made it to Townsville succesfully and without harm, Ill update shortly to let you know more just wanted to say I made it safe and that Ill be on here in a couple of daysto let you all know more!