Finally!! I know, I know…

I first want to apologize to all my family and friends who have subscribed to my blog to find out everything that we are doing on a regular basis.  I know, I’m kinda terrible at updating my blog…but, I’m going to promise that I will make a better effort to keep ya’ll posted.

So, what has Australia been like so far?  Ummmmmm, it all started in Brisbane at the end of January.  The month in New Zealand was a very difficult one for me and included a lot of trying to find my identity and leadership style.  For those of you who know me best, these things have NEVER been an issue for me.  In our five days in Brisbane, God opened my eyes to see what He was trying to teach me.  He made me exactly the way He wants me and I don’t need to change anything for anyone.  The first church service we went to since beginning the race was the last Sunday of January and as I sat there trying to focus, the Holy Spirit came over me and God spoke scripture over me and my team.  I began reading through Philippians and every issue I had been going through the whole first month was laid out for me within that hour long service.  I was blown away!   Those five days in Brisbane were a much needed refresher for my mind and spirit…because I have definitely needed that for this month.  Oh, and we also got to see wild kangaroos EVERY day!!!

Our official ministry site this month is in Mareeba, Australia…about an hour inland from Cairns (very close to The Great Barrier Reef).  We have been working with IMLA (Indiginous Ministries Links Australia) and have mostly been helping out with the Mareeba Community Church.  The church owns a house that we have been doing some work on (I’m now thanking God that He gave me the experience of my Colcord house…I actually know how to do some extreme home makeover stuff).  We have all been getting in on the action of fixing this place up…Scary!

We have also gotten to do a lot with the youth of the church and are involved in daily activities such as band practice, bible study, youth group, and we have even gotten to hold some dance practices where the youth in the church teach us all their sweet moves.

I’ve had a couple of these kids on my heart since the day we met them and God has really been speaking to me about them.  In this place there are a lot of issues with alcohol, drugs, criminal activities, prostitution, the list goes on and on.  It completely breaks me to see what these kids have to deal with on a day to day basis.  There is so much temptation and so little care for what they do.  It’s almost as if they have no hope for bigger and better things than growing up to get drunk and high.  I want to scream most days when we see so many kids walking down the streets and you just know exactly what they are doing and where they are going.  One kid, Shaqelle Banjo, is probably one of the most talented kids I’ve ever met in my life.  He can dance (I’m working on uploading a video of his moves, seriously sick!), he can play any instrument well just by sound, he’s an artist, and he has the sweetest spirit.  I asked him the other day what he wanted to do when he gets older…he quietly said “I don’t know, but I like to draw, maybe I could do some of that” and I knew at that moment that he didn’t see all the potential there is for him in this world.  He’s one of those kids who doesn’t have to get pulled into drugs and alcohol…he’s got so much more to him than that.  I pray that God will continue to strengthen him, to give him the courage to be the leader that he already is, to let his talent spread God’s word all over the place.   This photo is of Shaqelle and I breakin’ it down…he showed me a lot of moves that I MUST practice…

I used to be able to dance…I don’t know what happened…I guess you really do have to practice things or you lose them.  Anyways, there is so much more to the time that we have been here and is quickly coming to an end.  I will post again before we leave this great country because there are quite a few things God is doing with my heart…I just don’t want to hit ya’ll with everything all at once. 

I would love it if ya’ll could be praying for these kids here…it’s really difficult to imagine some of the things that go on here when we usually think of Australia as cute kangaroos and koala’s, great beaches, beautiful scenery…that’s all here, but there is an underlying pain and heartbreaking culture of people who can’t be forgotten and lost.