Dear Reader, you may proceed to read this entire blog with an Aussie accent. Please and thank you.
What a journey it has been already! After 65 hours of travel, we arrived in Byron Bay, Australia! Today is the fifth day we’ve been here, and I think it is just now sinking in that this journey has actually begun! This month we are partnering with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) and staying just outside of the city at Eastgate Church. For the first week, our whole squad will be together doing ministry in Byron. On Friday, my team, along with two other teams, will leave and go to the YWAM base a couple of hours from here. We will stay there for a week while our other three teams stay here. Then on the third week we will flip flop and come back to Byron.
So what are you doing there? I’m glad you asked! In Byron, YWAM hosts several community events each week. We will have Pancakes in the Park, Barbecues on the Beach, and pickup games of beach volleyball (extra sunscreen is on my grocery list, Mom). In between those times, we will go into the town and just love on people. We’ll get to know the culture and share with people the hope we have in Jesus. We’ll invite them to the YWAM events where, surprise, we’ll have more conversations about Jesus!
Life Church! Ministry this month reminds me so much of church at home! Going out and inviting the public to events and serving our community right where they are. Having conversations with people and finding out where they come from and what events in their lives have lead them to where they are now. Byron Bay is a beautiful small town full of life and tourists. But no matter how simple and easy-going life may be here, they still need to experience the love of Christ. Just like America, there are churches here, but there are still people who are searching for more and don’t know where to turn. In our three weeks here, we will be extended hands and feet of the local church and missions base.
Update on Fundraising! I am at $11,050. My next goal is $13,000 due on February 28th! If you feel lead to give, click the orange “donate” button in the top corner of this blog. Thank you for each and every donation!
Prayer Requests: One of our team leaders was not able to get his visa to Australia. He and one of our Squad Leaders are still in Singapore right now. They are still meeting with the Australian Embassy to try and work things out. Please pray that they can join us again soon! Also, even though Australia is absolutely beautiful, ministry life isn’t easy. Sleeping on the floor each night (on sleeping pads), no air conditioning in the middle of summer, and walking almost everywhere can get pretty exhausting. Please pray that our squad can stay hydrated, sunburn free, and refreshed so that we can be available for everything that God has for us this month.
P.S. My squad mate bought me a COLD Mountain Dew that I’ve been drinking while writing this blog. It. Was. Amazing. It might have gotten hot 30 minutes ago, but – Amazing!
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