Writing to you for the first time from Armidale, Australia :)

I am HERE! How crazy is that. The moment I had anxiously been waiting for(which has now come and gone since this is day 6) has finally happened. We are here in Mary White College, and have been here since Friday, which would be Thursday for you Americans ;)

Wednesday morning we arrived in Brisbane, Queensland and debriefed for a few days. We flew V Australia over here which was the most amazing plan I have ever been on. Think about a party bus... Turn it into a plane, and there you go! They had fun colorful lights bordering the walls, as well as music playing as we stepped on the plane. Each seat had a little mini TV- you could listen to almost any CD you wanted, radio stations, TV series, and even play wicked awesome games like Battleship (Holla, Brandon! Both of the Brandon's that is). You could even start instant messaging any seat on the plane. It was pretty nice. A 14 hour flight though. I didn't sleep much... I had a hard time getting comfy. When we got to Brisbane, it was only 8 in the morning, which meant I had a very long day ahead of me. Luckily the excitement of being in Australia gave me some adrenaline to keep going. Brisbane (or Brisvegas) reminded me of a... uh, let's see. Maybe a mix between Greece and Florida. I don't really know how to explain it but I like it a lot. It was nice and warm there. We even got to lay out in the sun by the pool for a little bit where we stayed (not in our swimsuits of course, but still.) My first night of sleep I got 12 hours- and slept like a rock. Now my body seems to think that I need to get 12 hours of sleep every night... That is going to need to change.
Friday, we headed by bus to Armidale- about an 8 hour drive. It wasn't too bad... Just a lot of traveling in a short amount of time. I got to talk to a woman by the name of Toni. She was very open with me and talkative. We got to talking about Christianity and more of what she believes. She told me that she worships nature, and there is one spirit that every one has a part of- Pantheism I suppose is what its called. As I talked to her and learned more about her life, I just kept thinking to myself how much God loved her. Many things in her life had turned her off to Christianity, with good reason, but it still broke my heart that she was turning to false idols. I don't know how there could be any satisfaction in a belief that is derived by feeling. Be praying for Toni, with me, that she would see Christ in a new way and that the Lord would reveal Himself to her.
We arrived in Armidale, and the people on staff with that Anglican Church (Evangelical) we will be serving picked us up from the bus stop. They took us to Stephen's house, and his wife had made us spaghetti and garlic bread. It was so delicious. They even made us take our shoes off when we got there- I loved that. It really was so welcoming and made me feel at home. Their enthusiasm for having us there just really showed me the Body of Christ. How we act as one body for one purpose- being faithful to share the love of Christ with others. They were excited we were there to labor beside them, and they really were just pumped to see what God could do through it. To see their excitement for us really just got me so ecstatic to work with them, and to see what God has already been doing through them here on campus.

As soon as dinner was over, they took us to Mary White College, where we are staying, and we got assigned to our rooms. We are SO fortunate to have gotten to live here. We each have our own rooms- bed, desk, and wardrobe- and we all live on the same hall. We spend a lot of time together, so it has been great to have that place for myself to retreat to (this is the introvert in me talking). However... There is one thing that is a bit different. The bathrooms AND showers here are... Unisex. It is a tad bit interesting, but we have been working with it. The showers don't bother me as much- no worries (Australians say this a lot), there are separate cubicles. It is not just a room full of showerheads...KENDALL.
The next morning we went to the church (It is right down the road from Mary White, in the middle of the Uni) and they provided some brekky for us (if you don't know the meaning of brekky, see below). I tried vegemite for the first time... According to the Australians, I didn't do it the right way, but I would rather not try it again. We split up into two groups and toured around the Uni. It is absolutely exquisite here. The sky is so big- reminds me of a huge dome. The trees are beautiful, and just this campus. Ah, I love it. The animals are so interesting too. They have these birds called... uh, a lorakeet? It basically looks like a small parrot. They are so neat. They also have these things called Magpies. During mating season(September), if you walk anywhere close to a tree where they have a nest, they will swoop down and attack your head. Sounds fun, eh?
We also got to see some 'roos. Maybe I will get some pictures up soon. Haven't seen a Koala yet, but we are definitely on a mission to find them... Sarah, especially.


After walking around a bit, and going to town to get groceries, we went to the Robb College vs. St. Albie's rugby game. It was our first rugby experience and it was pretty intense! I don't know how they do it... Good luck guys. Josh and Yergs are actually going today to practice with some of the Robb College guys- say a little prayer they will stay in one piece :) Oh, colleges are what we call dorms. Although they are very competitive between each other and you have to apply to get in. They eat dinner at their colleges, and spend most of their time there.
For ministry purposes, we split our team into 3. The church here already has some bible studies, and a few Christians (if not more than a few) in at least 3 of the dorms, so we thought it would be best to make our groups smaller to meet more people in the colleges. I got assigned to Robb college with Gabe, Yergs, and Josh. Mel, one of the few Christian girls in the college, helped us to get acclimated. We met her for dinner in the Robb College dining hall and ended up meeting a bunch of girls. They all received us really well which was encouraging, because I thought they would write us off pretty quickly. They invited us to a few things this week to come hang out at which was great, so hopefully well be able to meet a lot of girls that way... Robb isn't really a place where you can be straightforward with the gospel. Mel told us that if we were to even say the name Jesus they would check out and completely shut us off. That's a really hard environment for me to be in. But the Lord is going to do work there no matter what. And all I need to do is love them and serve them in whatever way I can. This battle is the Lord's and in this scenario, I think it would serve me best just to be silent. They go to the pubs in town a lot- so that is what we will do with them. The culture here is different, and really all we need to focus on is meeting them where THEY are, and loving them... Spending time with them when we can, and being around them often. There is such a need for Jesus there... Most people here in Australia are just submersed in the world's pleasures, and they want to have nothing to do with God. Pray that there hearts would be softened, and that Gabe and I would have opportuinities to share. Maybe not today, not next week, but at least before we leave. The girls ministry here (in Robb) is basically non-existent, so pray that we would have some sort of impact, even if we don't see it while we are here.
Aside from that, God is CLEARLY doing big things here. This church is strong, and although the amount of Christians are few, they have been winning people for Christ over the past few years and the ministry is growing. It is such an encouragement to see the laborers over here... They have the same vision of multiplication that we do- even across the world! Uni church (for the students) was Sunday night, and we got to meet a ton of uni students. They were hilarious and SO fun to be around. After church, we played American/Australian trivia, and each table had to have an American at it. I played with these two guys named Eli and Josh (SO funny). At the end, they were announcing winners so they had my team (the awesome threesome) stand up! But only to find out that we were an embarrassing amount behind everyone else, and lost. Oh well, we someones leftover Kit Kat bar out of it :) We headed to Maccas after that- which is so much better quality than the states.
Things are very expensive over here. Everything is upped a few dollars from what it is in America. Oh, and they drive on the opposite side of the road... I am pretty sure I will be hit by a car before I leave... Bah, anyway, I think this is enough for one post. Sorry to unload so much on you at once but I had so much to say!



One verse I am praying through for myself at the moment Ephesians 6:13-20... It's too long to type, but look at it- it's great :)

Some fun language differences you may want to try out:
Brekky- Breakfast
Maccas- Mcdonalds (This is one of my favorite things to say)
Biscuits- cookies
Paying you out- pretty much when someone is making fun of you.
Bloke- guy (they really use this :)
Uni- University
College- dorm

Interesting fact: AUSTRALIA holds the CUTEST BABIES you will ever see in your life!