It's About Time

How great is our God!  I think it will take me years to process all the information that has been poured into me since I've been here (and we've just barely passed the 1 month mark).  He has been teaching me what it means to hear and to listen, as well as what it means to just be still and give Him the control.  There has been revelation about people in my life I need to forgive and incredible clarity in some areas of the Trinity.  It has been a roller coaster, and I'm hanging on for the ride.  

Life here in Townsville has been busy. We're applying the lessons we learn in lectures into our ministry placement every day.  Scrubbing mold out of showers and mopping the floors has a way of pushing deeper the truths we've learned and God's love deeper into our souls.  

Last week I came down with cold like symptoms which turned into a nasty cough.  Coughing through two nights and days was uncomfortable.  Some antibiotics later I have leaps and bounds more energy, although I still have a pesky cough.  It's getting better though. 

I've been waiting to post until I knew for certain where my outreach team was going.  I have to tell you the truth.  When I left the States and headed to Australia I knew that if we had outreaches into the Pacific or Asia, I would be more than happy to go.  If I was called to stay in Australia I was fine with that as well.  The one place I did not want to go was Papua New Guinea (PNG).  I'm not sure why I felt strongly that I didn't want to go, but I did. 

Then I arrived in Townsville.  And everything was moved upside down.  From the very first day it was obvious that YWAM TSV has a huge heart for the nation of PNG.  Just 676 miles north of Townsville, Port Moresby (the capital of PNG) is also their sister city.  It seems like every day there was a new story about how YWAM TSV was working with the people of PNG.  It started softening my heart.  Living on the Medical Ship has also in a way made me more sensitive to PNG.  You can't help but feel the heart for this nation here.  

I found myself more and more open to the possibility of going to PNG.  We knew that some of our teams would be going there and that some would be staying in Australia, but that's all we knew until last Friday.  The other thing holding me back was a comment that my momma had made to me.  She said something about my dad not wanting me to go to PNG.  

I respect my parents, and I really wanted to honor them.  So we found out what our outreach locations were going to be on Friday.  Here were the major outreach options:

1. Darwin

2. Milne Bay, PNG

3. Port Moresby, PNG

4. Western Province, PNG

The fact of the matter was that 75% of us were going to PNG.  As Markus (our school leader) was reading out the options, there was one that immediately stuck out to me.  We were given the weekend to pray about it, and Monday morning we wrote our pick on a piece of paper and handed it to our small group leaders.  I believed the Lord was leading me to PNG, so Monday morning I called my parents to see what their reaction would be.  It was mixed, but they said they would talk about it.  I wrote down the option I felt led to.  

Tuesday evening we found out our outreach groups.  Our staff sent us all to different rooms and told us that they had to give last minute presentations.  I am so excited for my group!  There are 8 of us, and we have 1 staff member.  We are going to Gold Coast for our minor outreach, which is two weeks long.  Then we are going to Milne Bay (pronounced Mill-in Bay) for our major outreach, which is seven weeks long.  Here's a handy map. 

So the last week has been crazy with exciting news in addition to our Thanksgiving celebration.  While it wasn't like turkey day back in the States, it was still a great celebration with friends and family.  

This Sunday we leave to go camping in Hidden Valley for two weeks, which equals no internet for that time.  We're excited for some hang out time and a little bit of a break.  

It's about time to head back to the ship for the night.  I will talk to you all in two weeks! 

Until then,

Katie

The Midnight Girl

To the shock of all of my fellow DTS YWAMers I have been the girl burning the midnight oil the last two Sundays past to finish my homework.  I have to admit that being back in "school" is a little weird for me.  I guess it's only been 11 month since I was called out of college to Arizona, but still... It's amazing everything you can forget in 11 months, and honestly I wasn't doing so hot in college anyway.  

I'm committed to this though unlike anything else before.  College for me all those years held little purpose and almost nothing to look forward to.  There was no vision, just mind boggling facts and hard classes that made me feel less than worthy.  Now that I think about it, there were only a few classes I truly enjoyed.  

Group piano:  I don't know why, but this class was so much fun.  My teacher was this wirey old grandma who was the happiest person I've ever met in the mornings.  She was a joy to have at 8 am every other day for three terms!  

Marching Band:  I'm not sure if this really counts as a class?  I was paying for the credit to get a stipend?  I never realized how odd that kind of was.  MB was so much fun.  And I met the best people there.

Geography of the non-western world:  Maybe it shouldn't surprise me that I'm sitting in one of the easiest places to reach the South Pacific and Asia Minor.  I loved everything about that class, in fact I considered minoring in Geography for a while.  

I don't have an epifany of why all of this is important or what my life will necessarily be shaped like after the whole experience, but I do know a few things.  

1.  I would be happy to serve in missions for the rest of my life if that is what The Lord calls me to.

2.  My main goal while I'm here is to seek the Creator of heaven and earth and to hear His voice.  I don't want to glide through life.  I want a relationship with my Messiah, and I want to do the crazy for Him.  

3.  I realize the huge statements that numbers one and two are, and I am willing to live by them.

Saying all of this, I need to give God all of the praise for getting me here.  He is amazing and wonderful and I would not be across the world right now if it wasn't for the Great and Mighty God who has chosen me to be apart of His kingdom forever.  

Reflection over the last few weeks since I've been here about this last season of my life has been that of rejoicing and also of sorrow.  It's crazy how God calls the broken and those who aren't qualified to do His will.  I'm amazed at the opportunities both stateside and here Down Under that I have been given.  

This week in lectures our topic is Relationships.  We're talking about all different kinds of relationships, and I'm excited to see what our dynamic speaker has to bring and how The Lord will speak to us through him.  

Living on the ship is still great.  I'm learning different things about boats that I never thought I would know.  We're all starting to get comfortable in our routine here in Townsville.  I can hardly believe that we've been here so long already!  

For those who are wondering where my Outreaches are going to be, the short version is that we're not sure yet. 

Prayer Requests:

1.  That we would be open to what The Lord wants to teach us and tell us through lectures.

2.  That we would be successful in engaging the youth of Townsville for Christ through the Saturday program we run.

3.  That we would continue to show grace and love to one another on the ship.

4.  Lastly, would you be praying for my brothers and sisters who do not have all of their finances in yet for Outreach?  

Be blessed, and until next time,

Katie

Crunchy Peanut Butter

I apoligize it's been a while since I've updated everyone!  We have been busy and hard at work here in Townsville.  It's been extraordinary to see how The Lord is working through the lives of these precious people around me.  

This week was long.  This year before my coming here was absolutely mentally taxing.  I've found it interesting that my time here hasn't been difficult mentally, but rather physically.  We sweat so much, it's not even funny.  This is good though.  We still don't have temperatures like Phoenix, but it's getting closer.  Today it's supposed to be somewhere around 30* C, which is roughly 100* F (I think.. math is not my thing).  I'm also learning the joys of humidity again.  It's been nearly 11 years since I traipsed around the South with the Young Continentals for six weeks.

This week our lecture topic is "Clear Conscience" and it is being taught by the director of YWAM Townsville, Ken Mulligan.  It's been a challenging week for many people.  His teaching style reminds me of a professor in college.  His goal is that we would stop and truly consider and establish the foundations that we live our life on.  He doesn't want us to take things at face value - the things we've heard from the church for years for example - but he wants us to really ponder what we believe and why.  There is a lot of practical application for this.  How can we share the Gospel of Christ if we don't first truly understand and believe in our hearts what we say we believe?  How can we claim to be walking with The Lord in deep and intimate relationship if we don't know what His Word says?  Like I said, it's been a challenging and exciting week.  There have been questions raised that I didn't even consider worthy of questioning because I thought I knew the answer to them.  I'm excited to delve deeper and to discover for myself what I truly believe.  

It's not all work around here though!  Last Sunday we got to go as a group to the Billabong!  I had imagined it being mostly like a zoo.  Oh. My. Goodness. No.  It was one of the coolest experiences ever.  We walked into the park and immediately saw kangaroos hopping around.  They have free reign.  You can get up close and personal and even get a picture while you're petting a kangaroo.  A few of the other native Aussie animals we got to see were a wombat, cassuaries, a dingo, a larakeet (like a parrot), a baby crocidile, an olive python, kualas, ducks, turtles, and a huge crocidile.  It was quite the adventure.  We had tour guides around the Billabong, so we also got to hear information about the animals and their history in Australia.  It was a great day!

Straight after that we traveled to the Strand (the name of the beach here in Townsville) and go to go swimming in the ocean, and had a BBQ.  It was a little funny that we went and saw the cute kangaroos in the Billabong, and then ate roo shikabobs afterwards.  There was chicken as well though!  I thought the kangaroo was good (and no, it did not taste like chicken).  

Life on the ship is still going well.  We're experiencing what it truly means to live in community and to prefer one another and honor one another.  Especially since for two days this week the toilets weren't working and we had to go up on the warf to use the dock toilets.  All is well now and operational! 

On Wednesday we worked at the new city campus.  Every time I step onto the campus I am just amazed at the incredible blessing it is.  We were cleaning one of the blocks that is most likely going to be accomodation.  It was hard and sweaty, but it was so good to be able to pour into this place that will impact and change lives forever.  We also were honored to be the first DTS to have lectures on the new campus on Wednesday night!  That was quite the night!  It's amazing to see all that The Lord is doing here in Townsville.  

Last thing for today is the interesting fact that I have only seen crunchy peanut butter here.  And I've eaten it, which is quite the feat!  

Until next time,

Katie

When It's Not so Easy

Some days it's easy to push myself and do the hard things or the tough things for the Lord, but other days, it's just plain hard.  Wednesdays for us on base are long, hard days.  They start somewhere around 0500 and don't end until somewhere around 2200.  We start with breakfast and quiet time, then go into a time of corporate worship, which is always so sweet.  Following worship we head down to the new city campus and labor to get it ready for our coming move.

Instead of going to the city campus yesterday, my group stayed behind to help in the renovations of the last flat (apartment in the U.S) that needs to be completed before selling.  It was pretty amazing to see how much work 12 people can do in a small apartment.  I also learned how to grout yesterday!  Exciting stuff right there.  We had fun!  Following that we headed down to the city campus to have lunch with everyone else.  I ended up staying to help for the rest of the afternoon prepping offices.  My job was clear coating.  We don't have this in America (or at least I haven't ever seen it.. not even on HGTV or TLC), but it essentially makes it so you don't have to sand the existing paint off the walls, at least that's what I gathered.  It's potent.  We had to wear masks and everything, which only helped a little.

It was hard work and most of us spent more time outside the room than in it I think!  We got our rooms done though and I escaped to another room with some nice white paint.  (No masks required ;)  I finally felt like I was doing something useful when I realised that I could scrape the paint off the bottom of the chair rail all the way around the room.  So that was what I did.

When it was time to go back to the base, it was time for Family BBQ, which is a BBQ one night a week for anyone from the community to come and eat with us and hang out.  There are quite a few people that come!  So, we all had sausage sizzles (or hot dogs) in our sweaty, painty clothes.

At this point I was ready to fall asleep standing up.  So after a quick pretend nap in the corner of the cafe in one of the comfy chairs, I ordered a white mocha and prepared myself for lectures.  Which basically means sour gummies and coffee (which by the way are not that good of a combination).  This week in lectures we are learning about Identity.  Our speaker is amazing.  She is relevant and personable and she speaks with authority from God.

It is heart breaking to see all the lies that we believe that the enemy has convinced us are truth.  We have today and tomorrow of lectures and I pray that we will continue to learn and that our Creator would speak truth into our lives about who we are.

-Katie

Week One

I can hardly believe that we have already been in this beautiful country for a week!  The word I would use to describe this past week would be loved.  It has been a lot of information and new places and faces, but everywhere we go it's so obvious that we are being welcomed with open arms.  Already this group of 40 people that have been smashed together from all over the world is bonding and forming relationship and growing together in Christ.  It has been amazing to experience so far.  I am so excited to see where the Lord takes us and how He is going to grow us all on this journey.

Sundays are free days, and today I am staying on the ship to finish some homework.  We have a journal we write in every week and turn in to our one on one leader every week and also a workbook that goes along with what we're studying.  I have been so impressed with the speakers we've had so far.  They've done a great job, and I know we have more amazing men and women of God coming to share and speak with us.

Saturdays are youth day on the base.  The first three hours are group activities and then the last 5 are a mix of everything.  It's a great time for crew (what they call the kids) to come from all over the community and hang out in a safe environment.  They also get to do some pretty cool stuff.

I've been catching up on sleep this weekend and trying to let my body heal itself!  Quite a few of us are sharing a cold or something and have coughs and scratchy voices.  We're hopeful it'll pass quickly.

Have a great weekend!

-Katie