pictures are worth a thousand words.

I figured I could just post some good pictures representing my time so far in Australia. :)

Me, Lauren, Brittany, Rebekka, Emma, Ali, and Kezi on our first day in Australia

[late Oct.]

First city adventure [late Oct.]

Student Retreat in Toowoomba :) [late Oct.]

SDF Graduation [early Nov.]

Hervey Bay sunrise [mid Nov.]

Australia [late Nov.]

Chelsie, Brittany, Bec, Katrina, Emily, Lauren, me, Kezi [early Dec.]

Anna and I at school Christmas party

Chris, me, Kezi, Emma, Erica, Rebekka, and Katrina on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Our laundry-filled room due to the rain [late Dec.]

Sunrise at the lighthouse in Byron Bay [early Jan.]

Brisbane [late Jan.]

Katrina, me and Kezi [late Jan.]

The beauty of being at a music, art and dance school is you get a lot of creative friends. All of these pictures are the beautiful work of Erica Engle and Keziah Clayfield. Thank you friends. :)

yes, i live in the sunshine state.

Getting back onto base was really nice, but a little chaotic. Since we got back our base has been completely full. We have had my school (55 people), Frontiers DTS (25), Beach 2 Bush who just got back from outreach (25), regular staff (15), new staff for the upcoming schools (10). That's up to 130 relatively. haha Our base was not made for this many people, but it's ok, we made due. The rain seemed to have taken it's toll on our room. Due to the humidity and constant moisture our walls started to grow mold, so we bleached them and tried to clean it out. Ants have also taken a liking to the base. It seems that everywhere you go you can find a line of ants. After 3-4 girls in my room finding piles of them under their mattresses, we had a deep cleaning of our room. It seems to have helped.

Tuesday, after we got back from the outreach weeks, were when the floods really started to hit and effect Queensland (the state that I live in). There was a lot of tragedy from all the water. Quite a few people died, so many houses destroyed and an enormous amount of lives are now frantically being rearranged. Brisbane was hit relatively badly. I live in a suburb of Brisbane, called Mitchelton, which is up on a hill and we were not flooded luckily. A lot of the city was though. The sharks got out of the Brisbane river and were literally just swimming along on the streets of the city. It was very difficult to see all the devastation. The following Saturday we were able to do some flood relief work. I went to a house where the water reached the door handle of the second story. Needless to say, almost everything was absolutely destroyed. We helped him haul all of his belongings to the curb and then cleaned a lot of the debris out of the yard. We even found a small fish in his backyard! haha It was extremely muddy and very smelly, but it's ok, clothes wash. :) It was so cool to see how the community came together. When we were working there were people walking all over the streets giving people who were cleaning up food and drinks. Everyone was wanting and offering to help one another. 15,000 volunteers showed up at the Brisbane City Council doors on Saturday offering their services. They had to turn some away because they simply didn't know where to send them.

That first week back we had lectures on destiny by our school leader, Jason. God has spoken a lot into my future since being here. I struggled so much with my decision to come here, but God has been SO faithful in directing me where I should go after this season of my life is over. Jason did an excellent job and really challenged me. Last week's lectures were on worship. One of our staff members, Hannah Lenz, taught us. One thing that really stuck with me from her is learning to be aware of the power that words have. It's interesting to think about what you are saying and realizing whether or not you are speaking life or death over someone. Thursday into Friday we had a 24 hour worship session. It was so cool. I feel like I am always asking for stuff from God. I loved being able to just GIVE BACK to Him for those 24 hours. This week Joy Allen is speaking on fear of the Lord. I'm so excited to see what I learn from this topic.

I have been thinking a lot about how much I have been complicating my relationship with God. I've been spending the last few days just allowing the simplicity of my relationship with Him to truly soak in. It's been a very peaceful couple of days. :) I love that knowing God never truly ends. God is a mystery that we cannot comprehend. I love that about Him.

Beach to Bush graduated last Friday, so it's been sad to say bye to all of my friends from that school. Hopefully, I will be able to see some of them again this summer. My friend, Emily's, birthday was on Saturday so we went to this place in Brisbane called the Pancake Cafe. It was delicious. It was nice to be able to just go out with a couple of friends to dinner too. I love her a lot and can't wait to go to India with her. India feels so close... a little less than 3 weeks now! I cannot wait!! :) :)

I miss home a lot, but am still so happy here. I guess I just appreciate my family and friends more now. It will be such a bittersweet day when I do leave Australia. But, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I have so much to look forward to.... I mean, India! Come on!!! :)

The smashing of the rubix cube.

Christmas went rather well. :) It was such a fun time around our base. On Christmas Eve, I went into the city with some friends and saw the new Narnia movie. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. The whole train ride was spent singing Christmas carols! That night we all snuggled up and listened to a recording of my grandpa reading the story of the birth of Jesus. It made me a little sad, but more so joyful that I was able to share that tradition with my dear friends from all over the world. Christmas was a blast! I woke up early and skyped the family. I felt SO blessed from all the cards and Christmas greetings from back home. It was so helpful and encouraging. :) The whole day the school felt so giddy. haha We had a big Christmas brunch and then opened up stockings. The rest of the day was spent watching Christmas movies and playing games. I got to partake in this British Christmas tradition called Christmas crackers. haha It was ridiculous.

Our school was split in half for the following two weeks with about 25 people in each group. The other group has actually yet to get back. I didn't realize how much I love these people and being apart from them has been a heart wrencher. I know the reunion will be sweet. The first week I spent in Hervey Bay. It is still a very beautiful place. The small group made for a very homey feel. We had lectures on Biblical Worldview. I learned a lot about the gospel of the Kingdom, not just the gospel of Salvation. I learned heaps and loads. New Years was amazing. We spent the night worshipping on the beach. Reflecting on the past year, God has worked and done SO much. I can't even begin to explain.

The second week was spent in Byron Bay doing outreach. We were involved in this thing called Impact Summer. Byron Bay is a big backpacking, tourist town with a huge hippy influence. It was a beautiful place. The best beach I have to by far. I learned a lot about what it means to live like Jesus did. As a follower of Christ, I'm called to love and give of myself to the sick and the broken. That's what this week was. We brought the body of Christ to the people. We had huge free bbq's and pancake/chai nights. It was all about just listening and sharing with the people that showed up. We had people dancing, singing, performing dramas, and giving testimonies during these times in the park. I thought for sure that people didn't want to listen or watch any of it, but I don't think I could have been more wrong. People crave fulfillment and purpose. People want to have someone to listen, someone to love and accept them. It was amazing how many people we were able to share the love of Christ with. We had one day where we set up a huge volleyball tournament and then had a free bbq after. The thing was, we weren't trying to force anything, we were simply providing opportunity for God to work and move. Boy howdy, did he. During that week, my outreach team for India also grew a lot closer. It was amazing how much we have learned to rely on and love on one another. Through this whole experience God has taught me so much about His character and how my life can be a reflection of that.

I am so excited for the year 2011. Seriously, I feel like God is going to do some awesome things in and through me. I'm so passionate and ready to be open to all that He has in store. I read the book Blue Like Jazz over the two weeks as well. It's excellent read, very down to earth and authentic. Read it if you get the chance. :) All of a sudden my time in Australia seems very short. A lot is going on within our base this next month with different people and schools coming and going. I know I'm going to blink and I'll be in India. Eek! I can't wait. I am SO very thankful for my friends here. It is blowing my mind how much I love the people here. In a DTS, being friends with a person for a month is the equivalent to a year because we live in community 24/7. Therefore, I've known these people here for years! :) haha I'm absolutely exhausted. We woke up this morning in Byron and went and watched the sunrise at the lighthouse, which is the most eastern point in Australia.

"No matter how the wind may blow, it cannot shake the sun." - JJ Heller, Back Home