Hi. I just want to give you some quick information about me before I go. These past few days have been really stressful for me and I'd appreciate some prayer. What's done is done so you can't pray now that it would have happened any better, but tonight I leave for my upcoming class: Adventure Based Camping.
The camp is from this Wed to Fri at Vision Valley Camp about an hour and a half north of Sydney. I'll be a camp leader in charge of 5 little boys and I'll be with them for 3 fun days. It is a Christian camp but not a lot of the kids that will go have heard about Jesus. So, I will have a great influence on them by the way I live and profess to live about Him. We will have some time to discuss important topics and I would really like to know I'm being supported with prayer.
Also, I have become ill over the last few days and I don't want that to distract me from being a great leader to these kids! I've been so busy with trying to work ahead with my other classes that I haven't had time to go out and buy cough medicine or see a doctor. Pray that I get through these days!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Outback!
Hey! So I'm finally getting to writing this entry. I know it's been a long time since my last blog and where I left off with what I was talking about. So here's the scoop on visiting the outback!!
First off, I want to clarify. There isn't "THE outback" like it may seem. It's a general term for the area of land that's beyond the busy and congested city/suberb life. It took a long bus ride out there--we stayed at a hotel on the way down, but we got to our destination. It took us about a day and a half to get there.
The whole ASC group went and stayed at Trillby Station, which is a sheep farm--they harvest the wool and/or the meat. The place is huge!! We're talking about tens of thousands of acres and about 800,000 sheep. They have 3 stations spread out across the land where they shear the sheep because it's so big. They use modern equipment to herd the sheep, such as helicopters/planes in the air and motorbikes on the ground. They also have chickens or "chooks" that lay eggs, goats for milk or meat (and along with chickens they eat food waste), and they have dogs (of a breed that I can't remember) to help with herding sheep. And, of course, they have native animals such as kangaroos.
The girls stayed in some shacks that they used for when they had workers, while the men stayed in a house. It was very well accomodated. However, there was always a group that slept outside for the night. I did that the first night but was very annoyed with how cold and wet it was in the morning...so I decided to sleep in a real bed the rest of the trip. We had heaps of time to venture around so we all did a good job of that. I brought my boomerangs that I bought at Vinnies and got to try them out. We figured out that it takes a little bit of wind to bring it back to you; if you have too much then it flies past you, and if you have too little it will keep flying ahead of you.
We had some great discussions around the campfire. It was like a central meeting place for someone who was stumped and didn't know where to go. It was going pretty much the whole time we were there. Each night we ended up there after the evening meal and shared "life storys." Kimberly had three rocks for us to take and share 3 events in our life that really shaped us or 3 things you want people to know about yourself, or a mixture of all that. People shared some really life changing things and we all got to know each other on a deeper level. It was a great highlight of the outback and certainly a highlight of our time in Australia.
The outback itself was pretty much like you would imagine: red and flat. However, this year it was very green. So much so that it is the greenest it has been in the last 40 years! I was partially disapointed to see life in the desert because it destroyed my visions of it. But I know now that this is a great season for the land because it is very fruitful. One thing to also note about this mysterious land is that this event may not happen for another 40 years or whatever: it's changing a lot and unpredictable.
First off, I want to clarify. There isn't "THE outback" like it may seem. It's a general term for the area of land that's beyond the busy and congested city/suberb life. It took a long bus ride out there--we stayed at a hotel on the way down, but we got to our destination. It took us about a day and a half to get there.
The whole ASC group went and stayed at Trillby Station, which is a sheep farm--they harvest the wool and/or the meat. The place is huge!! We're talking about tens of thousands of acres and about 800,000 sheep. They have 3 stations spread out across the land where they shear the sheep because it's so big. They use modern equipment to herd the sheep, such as helicopters/planes in the air and motorbikes on the ground. They also have chickens or "chooks" that lay eggs, goats for milk or meat (and along with chickens they eat food waste), and they have dogs (of a breed that I can't remember) to help with herding sheep. And, of course, they have native animals such as kangaroos.
The girls stayed in some shacks that they used for when they had workers, while the men stayed in a house. It was very well accomodated. However, there was always a group that slept outside for the night. I did that the first night but was very annoyed with how cold and wet it was in the morning...so I decided to sleep in a real bed the rest of the trip. We had heaps of time to venture around so we all did a good job of that. I brought my boomerangs that I bought at Vinnies and got to try them out. We figured out that it takes a little bit of wind to bring it back to you; if you have too much then it flies past you, and if you have too little it will keep flying ahead of you.
We had some great discussions around the campfire. It was like a central meeting place for someone who was stumped and didn't know where to go. It was going pretty much the whole time we were there. Each night we ended up there after the evening meal and shared "life storys." Kimberly had three rocks for us to take and share 3 events in our life that really shaped us or 3 things you want people to know about yourself, or a mixture of all that. People shared some really life changing things and we all got to know each other on a deeper level. It was a great highlight of the outback and certainly a highlight of our time in Australia.
The outback itself was pretty much like you would imagine: red and flat. However, this year it was very green. So much so that it is the greenest it has been in the last 40 years! I was partially disapointed to see life in the desert because it destroyed my visions of it. But I know now that this is a great season for the land because it is very fruitful. One thing to also note about this mysterious land is that this event may not happen for another 40 years or whatever: it's changing a lot and unpredictable.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Holiday
Hey! So here i'll try to explain where I went over my holiday.
First, I went to Cairns. The first day we did a tour of the rainforest. It's called the Daintree. It was a very fun tour! It was so green and later it rained...in the rainforest! :)
The second day we went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was so great! We couldn't go SCUBA diving because we had a flight the next day and there would be problems with the difference in atmospheric pressure for our bodies. So we just went snorkeling! It was very fun. We did two tours and had a lunch break inbetween. I got so close to the reef! I actually got so close that I clipped my flipper on the top of it. Our guides were really fun and talked to us a lot. Our favorite was a very experienced diver named Tazzy! He explained how all of the gear worked and how we were supposed to breathe correctly and all that.
The weather was really nice and warm. I would have liked to stay longer. We stayed at a party hostel! I got unlimited internet and a T-shirt for paying $10. The party group went bar hopping and got crazy. I just got free internet and a t-shirt that I want everyone (and I mean everyone) to sign!
The second trip we went to Melbourne. After a crazy couple of fun days in Cairns we just wanted to relax. No set plans. After we slept in and got our bearings, Tricia and I decided to go on a self-guided graffiti tour and around the marketplace. After that we toured the city at night and experienced the night life. It was very European and there were a lot of cafes. Fun times.
The next day we went to the beach and it was really nice. We laid down on a grassy hill and just watched the sun go down. We got some cheap food and got a few souveniers. We ate lunch at this neat Mexican place called Taco Bill's and after enjoying a fun conversation with out waitress she came out with sombrero hats for us! We wore them around the city. We also had a small bottle of bubbles so people probably thought we were weird. But we brought some smiles out of people!
The third and last stop was Hobart, Tasmania. It is a very overlooked state across the Tasman Sea. Once again we were exhausted and decided to sleep in. At this point I had spent all of my money and had to borrow some from Tricia...I apologize!! After we got all rested up we decided to go to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Bianca and Jen decided to go in the morning so we thought we'd go as well. It was late in the day, however, and we didn't get there in time. We actually missed our bus stop and then took a nice tour of the upper suberbs of Hobart in the hills. That was enough of an adventure. Anyway, we prepared our next and last day of Hobart and our holiday all together.
We started off by going to the Bonorong wildlife reserve park. It was a lot of fun! They have all sorts of animals like in a zoo but they have park rangers looking after them and giving guided tours around the park. Lots of them have been rescued and can no longer return to the wild. Some have been rescued from their mothers who were killed somehow and they are nurturing them back to health and then plan to send them out into the wild again. The animals we saw were: kangaroos, wallabies, different types of tropical birds, Tasmanian devils, a peacock, wombats, and geese.
Then we decided to go to Mt. Nelson and eat our pack lunches. Tricia felt like getting out of the wind so she stayed in the lookout point while I walked for a bit through the woods. We returned to the hostel to watch a movie: the Lion King. It was a classic for sure, but not a lot of the other guests liked it. Australia isn't Africa, but it definitely wasn't Kansas! Plus I haven't seen it in a long time so it was good to watch it again.
That was my week! The day after we got back to Sydney we headed out for the OUTBACK!! That will be my next blog...
First, I went to Cairns. The first day we did a tour of the rainforest. It's called the Daintree. It was a very fun tour! It was so green and later it rained...in the rainforest! :)
The second day we went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was so great! We couldn't go SCUBA diving because we had a flight the next day and there would be problems with the difference in atmospheric pressure for our bodies. So we just went snorkeling! It was very fun. We did two tours and had a lunch break inbetween. I got so close to the reef! I actually got so close that I clipped my flipper on the top of it. Our guides were really fun and talked to us a lot. Our favorite was a very experienced diver named Tazzy! He explained how all of the gear worked and how we were supposed to breathe correctly and all that.
The weather was really nice and warm. I would have liked to stay longer. We stayed at a party hostel! I got unlimited internet and a T-shirt for paying $10. The party group went bar hopping and got crazy. I just got free internet and a t-shirt that I want everyone (and I mean everyone) to sign!
The second trip we went to Melbourne. After a crazy couple of fun days in Cairns we just wanted to relax. No set plans. After we slept in and got our bearings, Tricia and I decided to go on a self-guided graffiti tour and around the marketplace. After that we toured the city at night and experienced the night life. It was very European and there were a lot of cafes. Fun times.
The next day we went to the beach and it was really nice. We laid down on a grassy hill and just watched the sun go down. We got some cheap food and got a few souveniers. We ate lunch at this neat Mexican place called Taco Bill's and after enjoying a fun conversation with out waitress she came out with sombrero hats for us! We wore them around the city. We also had a small bottle of bubbles so people probably thought we were weird. But we brought some smiles out of people!
The third and last stop was Hobart, Tasmania. It is a very overlooked state across the Tasman Sea. Once again we were exhausted and decided to sleep in. At this point I had spent all of my money and had to borrow some from Tricia...I apologize!! After we got all rested up we decided to go to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Bianca and Jen decided to go in the morning so we thought we'd go as well. It was late in the day, however, and we didn't get there in time. We actually missed our bus stop and then took a nice tour of the upper suberbs of Hobart in the hills. That was enough of an adventure. Anyway, we prepared our next and last day of Hobart and our holiday all together.
We started off by going to the Bonorong wildlife reserve park. It was a lot of fun! They have all sorts of animals like in a zoo but they have park rangers looking after them and giving guided tours around the park. Lots of them have been rescued and can no longer return to the wild. Some have been rescued from their mothers who were killed somehow and they are nurturing them back to health and then plan to send them out into the wild again. The animals we saw were: kangaroos, wallabies, different types of tropical birds, Tasmanian devils, a peacock, wombats, and geese.
Then we decided to go to Mt. Nelson and eat our pack lunches. Tricia felt like getting out of the wind so she stayed in the lookout point while I walked for a bit through the woods. We returned to the hostel to watch a movie: the Lion King. It was a classic for sure, but not a lot of the other guests liked it. Australia isn't Africa, but it definitely wasn't Kansas! Plus I haven't seen it in a long time so it was good to watch it again.
That was my week! The day after we got back to Sydney we headed out for the OUTBACK!! That will be my next blog...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Long Overdue (apologies)... Australia=heaps cool
Wow, I haven't written in a while! I'm sorry if you've been wondering where I've been. I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on the last few weeks.
Firstly, the ASCers went on a splendid tour of Sydney Harbor with some Aboriginals. The ferry we took was meant to look like some Aborigines made it. It was largely made of wood and had designs in the inside cabin. The tour guide explained that Aborigines had different names for the sites of some famous Australian landmarks, such as the Sydney Opera House. He spat of tons of names and I didn't understand and thus can't remember any of them. Honestly most of their language is understandable to me and sounds like random nonsense. We visited an island where the tour guide pointed out some plants and things and told us their Aboriginal name and how Aboriginals would use it for many different purposes. For example, he showed us a plant by the name of Nut Grass and explained that it could be used 5 ways: physical barrier for snakes, the grass could be gathered to make baskets, the liquid found at the base of the grass could be used as toothpaste, (it's been awhile now so I don't remember the other 2). Near the end of the tour he and his brother entertained us by showing us some Aboriginal dancing and didgeridoo playing.
One night we (Terry, Bee Hoon, Wei-Li, David and I) visited Yang-En and her husband Jeff in their apartment. We played a game (I have at home) called Killer Bunnies. It takes way too long to explain, has a secret objective, and of course, kills bunnies. Ridiculous. But that was one of the best nights of my life. I knew how to play and Jeff and everyone but Bee Hoon and Terry caught on pretty quick. For the most part, Terry kept in the background and got his bunnies killed in the first round and never got anymore. Bee Hoon was simply hilarious and her evil side came out. She warned us not to kill her bunnies or something would come after us. She always had something up her sleeve. Also, at one time, she wanted to didn't understand the rules of a card despite repeat objections by everyone else. She is feisty.
Another evening a bunch of students, both Australian and American, went to see the movie Inception in theaters. I liked it, and thought that even though it can be a very confusing and complex film genre, I was impressed.
One Thursday and Friday the Americans from ASC and some Australians from Wesley went to a spiritual emphasis camp, or SPIRO camp for short/Australian. They do this every year and some years it has been really fun, and others it has been not so fun. But camp is what you make it! This year we had a lot of fun and I heard from the ASC director, Kimberly, that the Australians thought this was a very good group of ASCers! The camp's focus was on "ensemble" meaning doing life with others instead of for yourself. I'm sure we all learned a lot and can take away some good life lessons. One of the highlights of the camp was Friday night. We were split up into groups and had to perform a skit to the theme of a certain ensemble. Some of the group's themes turned out to be: The Toy Maker, A Wedding Featuring Steve Irwin and Julia Gillard...and some others that I can't remember. Our group, a movie company that specializes in making sequels (named Second Best Film Studios) ended up winning and we each received a chocolate candy bar for our hugely impulsive and crazy skit.
One of the most recent things we've done is visit the Australian capital of Canberra. We packed in seeing some embassies, art galleries, and a WWI memorial in just 2 days. We visited the United States and Indonesian embassies and the New Zealand High Commission. Don't ask my why it wasn't an "embassy." We also toured the "neighborhood" and saw many other countries' embassies on the bus, such as Greece, Belgium, China, and the Philippines. We stayed Friday night in a youth hostel and had a lot of fun. For supper we had some good Domino's pizza and pop. They had a pool and a sauna and later we played card games and Settlers of Cataan.
I had some papers due this week. One had to be written on a significant Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander and the other of a deconstruction of a certain film and its genre. I picked Artie Beetson, one of Australia's best rugby league players ever, and my favorite film, Ocean's 11 (with George Clooney). I had barely written anything on the Aboriginal one and I was scraping the barrel for ideas on the film one. They had to be 1500 and 1000 words respectively. I finished them both on time by the great help of my gracious God with the prayers of friends and family.
In general, my home stay family is continuing to be amazing and a great family to come home to. I regret not spending heaps of time with them because I am too busy doing school or adventuring. Although, my "home mom" has recently caught my bad side. Sometimes I can let things slide and get disorganized or lazy. I was lightly scolded one time when I forgot to replace my towel in the bathroom and used my "home bro's" instead.
There's so much more that I can list picking from my brain. Some random stuff will probably come back at random times when I return...
Firstly, the ASCers went on a splendid tour of Sydney Harbor with some Aboriginals. The ferry we took was meant to look like some Aborigines made it. It was largely made of wood and had designs in the inside cabin. The tour guide explained that Aborigines had different names for the sites of some famous Australian landmarks, such as the Sydney Opera House. He spat of tons of names and I didn't understand and thus can't remember any of them. Honestly most of their language is understandable to me and sounds like random nonsense. We visited an island where the tour guide pointed out some plants and things and told us their Aboriginal name and how Aboriginals would use it for many different purposes. For example, he showed us a plant by the name of Nut Grass and explained that it could be used 5 ways: physical barrier for snakes, the grass could be gathered to make baskets, the liquid found at the base of the grass could be used as toothpaste, (it's been awhile now so I don't remember the other 2). Near the end of the tour he and his brother entertained us by showing us some Aboriginal dancing and didgeridoo playing.
One night we (Terry, Bee Hoon, Wei-Li, David and I) visited Yang-En and her husband Jeff in their apartment. We played a game (I have at home) called Killer Bunnies. It takes way too long to explain, has a secret objective, and of course, kills bunnies. Ridiculous. But that was one of the best nights of my life. I knew how to play and Jeff and everyone but Bee Hoon and Terry caught on pretty quick. For the most part, Terry kept in the background and got his bunnies killed in the first round and never got anymore. Bee Hoon was simply hilarious and her evil side came out. She warned us not to kill her bunnies or something would come after us. She always had something up her sleeve. Also, at one time, she wanted to didn't understand the rules of a card despite repeat objections by everyone else. She is feisty.
Another evening a bunch of students, both Australian and American, went to see the movie Inception in theaters. I liked it, and thought that even though it can be a very confusing and complex film genre, I was impressed.
One Thursday and Friday the Americans from ASC and some Australians from Wesley went to a spiritual emphasis camp, or SPIRO camp for short/Australian. They do this every year and some years it has been really fun, and others it has been not so fun. But camp is what you make it! This year we had a lot of fun and I heard from the ASC director, Kimberly, that the Australians thought this was a very good group of ASCers! The camp's focus was on "ensemble" meaning doing life with others instead of for yourself. I'm sure we all learned a lot and can take away some good life lessons. One of the highlights of the camp was Friday night. We were split up into groups and had to perform a skit to the theme of a certain ensemble. Some of the group's themes turned out to be: The Toy Maker, A Wedding Featuring Steve Irwin and Julia Gillard...and some others that I can't remember. Our group, a movie company that specializes in making sequels (named Second Best Film Studios) ended up winning and we each received a chocolate candy bar for our hugely impulsive and crazy skit.
One of the most recent things we've done is visit the Australian capital of Canberra. We packed in seeing some embassies, art galleries, and a WWI memorial in just 2 days. We visited the United States and Indonesian embassies and the New Zealand High Commission. Don't ask my why it wasn't an "embassy." We also toured the "neighborhood" and saw many other countries' embassies on the bus, such as Greece, Belgium, China, and the Philippines. We stayed Friday night in a youth hostel and had a lot of fun. For supper we had some good Domino's pizza and pop. They had a pool and a sauna and later we played card games and Settlers of Cataan.
I had some papers due this week. One had to be written on a significant Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander and the other of a deconstruction of a certain film and its genre. I picked Artie Beetson, one of Australia's best rugby league players ever, and my favorite film, Ocean's 11 (with George Clooney). I had barely written anything on the Aboriginal one and I was scraping the barrel for ideas on the film one. They had to be 1500 and 1000 words respectively. I finished them both on time by the great help of my gracious God with the prayers of friends and family.
In general, my home stay family is continuing to be amazing and a great family to come home to. I regret not spending heaps of time with them because I am too busy doing school or adventuring. Although, my "home mom" has recently caught my bad side. Sometimes I can let things slide and get disorganized or lazy. I was lightly scolded one time when I forgot to replace my towel in the bathroom and used my "home bro's" instead.
There's so much more that I can list picking from my brain. Some random stuff will probably come back at random times when I return...
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
First Week
I've been here 7 days so far. So much has gone by me it's amazing. I don't know how to write it all down! I guess I'll start where I'm living. I'm staying in a homestay with the Hume family with a student from New Hampshire, David. They have one son who lives at home and attends Sydney University. Terry, the dad, loves to educate and he knows a whole lot. Bee-hoon, the mum, is also a school teacher and loves to cook. She's very good! :) David and I get along well and we both enjoy living with our family.
I've been through orientation and also gone to Sydney Harbour (I like spelling it that way) for a scavenger hunt. I've ridden the bus every day and have gotten used to it somewhat. You just have to know where you are, but it's sometimes hard to see the street signs! By the way, there are tons of round-a-bouts and the bus rocks and rolls getting around them. It just squeezes by all the traffic!
The people are amazing. Just the sort that I imagined. I tend to think of myself fitting in with my laid-back attitude of life. I know most of the 33 people coming from America and I've learned a few Australians as well! It's so hard to keep track, but I smile and wave anyway. No doubt I will know a lot more by the semester's end. O, and I HAVE to learn the accent. I've tried it a few times but I'm not so confident anymore. There are a bunch of terms that are different, such as gas stations (Servo's), Salvation Army stores (Salvo's), and music students (muso's). It's pretty typical to add an o at the end of a word to sound Australian! "No worries" is common of course, as well as "mate." So, know that I'm not calling you my special someone when I greet you like that!
Something else that amazes me is the scenery. There are so many different trees (and some are even planted in the road way--people park next to them beside their house). In the parks there are palm trees among pines, just to give an example. We've heard rumors about a creature called the Drop Bear which lives in trees and drops on people's heads, and then scratches them ferociously. Another legend is to spread some Vegemite on your forehead to prevent this occurrence! And then, of course, there are the beaches. Sydney is loaded with them and you're always within a good distance of one. A few days ago I went out with a bunch of the ASC students to Manly beach. That was a good trip even though we didn't set foot in the water...too much.
I'm off to talk someone in the Theology department to iron out the details of my class, Adventure Based Camping Ministry Field Experience...so got to run! Ttyl, mate!
I've been through orientation and also gone to Sydney Harbour (I like spelling it that way) for a scavenger hunt. I've ridden the bus every day and have gotten used to it somewhat. You just have to know where you are, but it's sometimes hard to see the street signs! By the way, there are tons of round-a-bouts and the bus rocks and rolls getting around them. It just squeezes by all the traffic!
The people are amazing. Just the sort that I imagined. I tend to think of myself fitting in with my laid-back attitude of life. I know most of the 33 people coming from America and I've learned a few Australians as well! It's so hard to keep track, but I smile and wave anyway. No doubt I will know a lot more by the semester's end. O, and I HAVE to learn the accent. I've tried it a few times but I'm not so confident anymore. There are a bunch of terms that are different, such as gas stations (Servo's), Salvation Army stores (Salvo's), and music students (muso's). It's pretty typical to add an o at the end of a word to sound Australian! "No worries" is common of course, as well as "mate." So, know that I'm not calling you my special someone when I greet you like that!
Something else that amazes me is the scenery. There are so many different trees (and some are even planted in the road way--people park next to them beside their house). In the parks there are palm trees among pines, just to give an example. We've heard rumors about a creature called the Drop Bear which lives in trees and drops on people's heads, and then scratches them ferociously. Another legend is to spread some Vegemite on your forehead to prevent this occurrence! And then, of course, there are the beaches. Sydney is loaded with them and you're always within a good distance of one. A few days ago I went out with a bunch of the ASC students to Manly beach. That was a good trip even though we didn't set foot in the water...too much.
I'm off to talk someone in the Theology department to iron out the details of my class, Adventure Based Camping Ministry Field Experience...so got to run! Ttyl, mate!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Counting Down the Days
As time draws near to takeoff, I feel much stress has been added. And from what I hear, it is happening to lots of my fellow ASC-ers. We all need lots of prayer. For example, at least one of us had an issue with getting their visa accepted, another couple of people are barely able to pay for it. We are (all of us probably) very excited to leave and we still have lots to do until then. I'm trying to arrange getting together with friends before I go (some of them I haven't seen in a while) and also enjoy the summer and the freedom from homework. And errands and stuff.
I also notice some of us struggling to keep meeting with God. This is crucial! Nothing is worth while compared to time with Him, why can't we remember that! "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added onto you." I regret to say that I've put this off for a while. I sometimes have an excuse or i just don't feel like it. And this has probably got to do with recent struggles of lust I've had. When you really meet God in the face, nothing looks as pleasing. And I've lost that.
So, we've still got 11 or so days to work with to get stuff done. I don't know the extent of it, but I hope you will join me in praying that it all gets accomplished. Whatever is causing us to turn away from Him to enjoy something else I pray that it stops. We are His! :)
I also notice some of us struggling to keep meeting with God. This is crucial! Nothing is worth while compared to time with Him, why can't we remember that! "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added onto you." I regret to say that I've put this off for a while. I sometimes have an excuse or i just don't feel like it. And this has probably got to do with recent struggles of lust I've had. When you really meet God in the face, nothing looks as pleasing. And I've lost that.
So, we've still got 11 or so days to work with to get stuff done. I don't know the extent of it, but I hope you will join me in praying that it all gets accomplished. Whatever is causing us to turn away from Him to enjoy something else I pray that it stops. We are His! :)
Monday, June 21, 2010
What, what? (Why am I going to Australia?)
Hello. The name is Brian. Brian Connolly. I'm planning on going to Australia this fall for a study abroad program at a small arts Christian college called Wesley Institute in Drummoyne, NSW (suburb of Sydney). I am taking a few classes translating to my major (animation) back to my home college, Northwestern (St. Paul, MN) and also taking some fun classes. These include: Video Production, Faith and the Contemporary Artist, Visual Communication and the Designer, Adventure Based Ministy Field Experience (my favorite); and two required courses: Indigenous History, Cultures & Identity and The View from Australia.
The program is called the Australia Studies Centre through BestSemester. It consists of a team of about 33 American students joining some 300 other students from around the world. We all love Jesus and wish to know more about Him by studying His life, and how we can be like Him when we one day enter the working world. Although, some (possibly one day, myself) will abandon this pursuit of figuring one's way in the business world and drift towards being a full-time missionary. Either way, we can all make the world a better place through the work of Christ and His example of being a peace maker.
And this is my aim. Our aim. Not to make a vacation/"holiday," or even just to say I studied the arts in Australia. Although my curiosity of this adventurous country/continent led me to start filling out paperwork, God had always planned this for me--and to go with my friend Andrew (also from Northwestern, in animation). And He has planned each student to go. A lot of us have already met on Facebook (some ACTUALLY met in person, lucky Biola students...) and we can just tell this is going to be a fun group. (Especially for us guys...hehe, just kidding!)
From what I've read (in a required book to read before the semester abroad, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson) this country is in dire need of Christ. It is not a Christian book--I would automatically conclude that a travel book is--but the author/visitor of Australia really points out that there is tension between the Australians and the Aborigines. The only solution is the love that we can share from the One who first loved us. Australia has a bad history, as with a lot of countries, of hatred, prejudice, and other non-resolving attitudes of its peoples, especially between the surviving natives and the conquerers.
Pray for me, and for us, as students to learn more about the great world and the way that it works, that God has created and allowed us to ponder so endlessly. Pray for us to always be in awe of Him who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and to Him belong all things. Pray most importantly that what we learn does not just stay with us, but that through the encouraging power of His Spirit, He sends us out to continue our mission.
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