The Road Trip my Dad would NOT have let me take…

  Funny story.

After a 9-hour delay in the Brisbane Airport, we finally got on the plane and arrived in Darwin early Tuesday morning. We got to crash for the night at the COC and then have a briefing on aboriginal culture the next day. After we learned a little about that, we started preparing our vehicle for the next month… a legit Aussie Land Crusier, aka a Troopi.

Now, the Troopi would be the very first thing my father would not have let me voyage in. Carl, our very gracious vehicle contact informed us right away that it wasn’t in the best shape. For instance, the only way to turn the thing off is by putting it in 5^th gear and stalling it (which, by the way, was HILARIOUS the first time Noe turned ‘er off). The speedometer doesn’t work at all, but a good tip from Carl was that in 5^th gear, if you were at 2 and a half RPM’s, you’d be going 100 (which is maybe 70ish…I haven’t gotten the conversion thing down yet…). So anyway, we get this beauty for the whole month, which REALLY is a HUGE blessing in need of heaps of prayer. We load all our bags on top of the Troopi and eventually tarp and bungee it down (Evin and Dad, you’d be proud of me…I help a lot and I didn’t do too bad). After a stop at Woolworth’s for groceries, we finally head off on our excursion to Woolaning Homeland Christian College.

The Second thing my dad would have been opposed to was the fact that we left the store as the sun was setting. There were also HUGE storm clouds in the direction we were going.

I think it’s appropriate to tell you all about a very huge part of this story now, lest I give you readers any more unwanted agony. Before we left the COC, Team GLO prayed over us and one of their members said that we were going to have Divine Appointments. We were going to be in places all through out our trip and wonder what we were really doing there. Those Divine Appointments were for God to move.

So we’re driving along Leitchfield Park Road and Noe asks me to pray that God would keep pushing the clouds back as long as possible. So I did. And He did what we prayed for for a while. We were getting really close to our destination (so we thought) when God started to let the rain fall. Eventually what was a slight drizzle became a torrential downpour. At last we made it to Wangi Falls…except we did not see Woolaning. We did see, however, a white traveling bus parked at the toilets. Come to find out, the bus belonged to three young Germans traveling across Australia (appointment?). Noe jumped out to see if they had a map. They did, but it didn’t have the school on it. So, he decided that we would stay there because he couldn’t see 3 feet in front of him in the rain. The toilets (or restrooms as we say in America) were very spacious and they had benches. Personally, I was all about sleeping on the benches in the bathroom whether my team was on board or not. Thankfully, though, Lauren and David were trackin’ with me. Cat, Glenalyn, Leyna, and Noe slept in the Troopi. We unloaded our bags from the Troopi in the rain and put them in the toilets. Then Lauren, David, and I pitched two tents on the toilet floor.

Quick poll: Who out there has ever slept on a bathroom floor in a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia…with a kangaroo at the door? Just asking…

Anyway, the next morning, Noe was able to pray over Ben (one of the Germans) and they exchanged emails and blog addresses. Please pray that God will use that encounter for His Kingdom! Then we all piled into the Troopi and set out to try and find Woolaning. We drove around and miraculously found a woman near Wangi Falls at 7 in the morning, and she told us that Woolaning was only 10ks down the road. Needless to say, we rolled onto the school grounds and had time to put away our things and head into the assembly before school started.

A truly bizarre trip that would have had my dad going crazy (and perhaps maybe He is now) but I’m sure that God had a plan. For one thing, I don’t know if I’ve ever prayed that much in my life. It was surly a test of faith and patience at the very least. Another thing, I believe that God wanted us to stay at Wangi Falls and I’m praying that Noe’s encounter with Ben his two friends was more than email exchanges and a simple prayer.

Lord, I praise you for doing things in ways that seem absolutely nuts to me. Thank you that you are going to move so powerfully through team Komboa. I pray that the encounter with Ben and his friends sparks a greater love for You and Your Kingdom! I believe that you have put these Divine Appointments in my life to teach me great things. I pray for Your eyes and Your Heart in each one. I praise You that You would choose to work through me, despite me. In Christ’s precious name, Amen.

P.S. The Troopi died earlier today. It has a duel battery system (apparently. I don’t say this as if I know what I’m talking about…it’s just what I remember from the conversation) and one was dead and the other was flat (?). The mechanic (that only comes on Fridays…blessing? Yes. ) said that he had no idea how we actually drove it here…

Yay God…You work in crazy ways and it’s ROCKIN’ my world!!!