Answered Prayers

I have officially been in Australia for one month, and it is so incredible how the time has flown by, despite the stress and homesickness and huge adjustment period (which, I think, will continue on for a few weeks more). I feel like I just got here, but I also feel like I have been here a very long time, especially when I think about home. However, I am still meeting wonderful people every week and having a great time getting to know them!
This post already feels different to me. It seems more deep than the previous ones. And I am doing that on purpose. It's a good thing to be deep and contemplative some of the time, even though I am not good at talking about it in the least. Thus the blog!
I've been thinking a lot this week about just how amazing God is about answering our prayers. Over the last few months, I have seen this again and again, and it wasn't until recently that I actually sat down and realized what was happening.
It started a few months ago. I had the typical 20-year-old wanderlust going on. I prayed and prayed that God would send me on a trip or and adventure of some kind, so I could grow in myself and Him, and see some of His marvelous world before I had to settle into some unknown career. It took a little bit of time, but suddenly I was preparing for a journey to Australia! But it didn't stop there...
I prayed that, somehow, God would provide the finances for the trip. It was relatively expensive, what with the plane ticket and the visa and the insurance. But suddenly, my cinnamon roll business (which I expected to be very small) boomed and I made heaps of money selling cinnamon rolls! (Lol, I said heaps. How very Aussie of me.) But it didn't stop there...
I prayed for a safe flight, and God delivered.
I prayed that I wouldn't be overly emotional and crying the whole flight (It was a legitimate fear), and God delivered.
I prayed that I wouldn't lose my luggage or any of my belongings, and God delivered.
Once I arrived, I found that I was a bit overwhelmed by the change in culture and lifestyles. I prayed many times a day that God would help me do my job to the best of my abilities, and be able to connect with my host family. Now, even though we are different in how we do things, I feel much more adept at communicating with them than I was when I first arrived, and I have learned to do my job in a way that they accept and I am proud of. But it didn't stop there...
My first time going to church, I prayed God would show me whether or not this was the one I was supposed to be at. I had initially planned to search around to find the one that suited me. First time there, arriving an hour late, I connected with several people who knew my church from Modesto, knew a few of my pastors, and knew my friends. The connection was instantaneous, and I never felt the need to search for another church. This was the one. But it didn't stop there...
For the first few weeks, every time I went to church, or to a church-related event, I prayed to God that I would meet new friends, connect with people, and generally have a good time. Which seems a funny thing to pray, but it's really not when you're going in blind. Every single time I went to one of these events, I left with several new phone numbers and invitations to come back! The welcoming nature of everyone was a little overwhelming.
Now, that's about all I can say for now, but I am completely positive that it won't stop here... God's answer to prayer is incredible! I can't wait to see what else He does while I am here!


On another, less deep note...
It was a relatively slow week. I did go to a birthday party yesterday (Saturday), which was very fun, and gorgeous!

Our view from the park that the party was at! Right next to the Swan River, overlooking the city!

 The sky was absolutely amazing! It was a wonderful night to be out, enjoying God creation!

Hope you all are having a good week, and to be in contact with you soon!

Happy Sunday

G'day, my bloggies!
Someone actually said "g'day" to me this week! (It was the guy working at Subway) That was pretty exciting. I think that was one of the first times I actually heard an Australian say "g'day." Only took three weeks, no big deal.
Also, I was asked if I had ever met Katy Perry. Or if I had ever seen her. I said no, and graciously explained that I lived in central California, and quite a ways away from anyone famous.

I went back to Lifestreams church today, and can I just say, I am falling in love with these people! Honestly, these are some of the most wonderful, welcoming folks I have ever met! I got to know several of them during the week, and got invited to go along with them to activities and meals (in Aussie, they are called feeds; i.e. would you like to stay for a feed?). This morning I met a few more people and attended a lunch put on by the church, just for us new people. There is actually quite a large group. I'm getting a lot of free meals from them lately. :) I am blown away by the love and acceptance that is radiating from these people. So many people have come up and either want to get to know me, or already know me and want to say hi, or to introduce me to someone else!
I think it is definitely an act of God that I ended up at this church.

Looking foreward to seeing more of my siblings in Christ later on this week! It really makes the days fly by when you're waiting with anticipation for the weekend!

Making the Most

Wow, what a weekend! This could probably be considered my first actual 'weekend' since coming to Perth. Last week was nice, don't get me wrong... but today and yesterday I explored more and met more people, thus making this weekend officially awesome!
Starting off, yesterday (Saturday) I rode the train into the city centre of Perth. It was a gorgeous ride, and the weather was beautiful, and I could see the interestingly shaped buildings of the city rising up into the sky from my window, and the Swan River to my right. Needless to say, it was pretty great! God has made some beautiful scenery in this world, and he's made beautiful, creative minds to design impressive architecture for us to enjoy!

The view from my train window seat! (Not from the car! I don't take pictures while driving, people!) :)

 

Once in the city, I found myself greatly enjoying the atmosphere. It reminded me in some ways of San Francisco, but with a much smaller feel... of course, I only explored one tiny section. Literally, I stayed in one place the whole two and a half hours I was there. But I wasn't bored, so it was all good!

 

The city centre was dotted with several street performers and musicians, which was why I could spend two hours there, easily. There probably were about 7-8 individuals performing that afternoon, all on that small two-three block-sized area.

 

One young man was dancing to music with a softball-sized glass ball and four red plastic hoops. Which I realize doesn't sound very exciting at all, but when you saw it, it was pretty darn amazing! He made whatever he was dancing with, the ball or the hoops, look like they were floating! I thought he was an illusionist for a second.

Another man (the best performer, in my opinion) was a comedian/trick performer! He had the largest crowd. Honestly, I don't think hardly anybody just walked by him. He ended up riding on a unicycle that was 9 feet tall, juggling knives!

And I took pictures of all these things, but for some reason, my blog website isn't letting my upload them! Sad day! They are on facebook, if anyone really wants to see.

There was some incredibly creative people operating a 'Human Arcade,' another trick performer, and several guitarists sitting out on benches with their instrument cases open for donations. One of them actually looked a bit like an unknown Hemsworth brother. I don't think he was, but I got a little excited for a second.

 

And wow! Something pretty awesome just happened, so I am going to take a brief intermission to tell you about it! Sarah, the little girl I am nannying for, is sick right now, and has a fever. She was meant to go to bed over two hours ago and was laying there crying, not feeling well at all. A minute ago, I prayed that God would soothe her body and let her have some much needed rest. And before I had even finished the prayer, she stopped crying, and now I'm assuming she's asleep. That's the power of prayer at work. Our Lord is so good!

 

Anyways, back to the story... I did a little shopping in the city centre, got a sandwich and some frozen yogurt (yum!) and had a nice, relaxing time just cruising around listening to the music, then took the train back to the suburb.

 

Today, I went back to Lifestreams church, where I visited last week. And this Sunday, guess what? I actually got there before the service started! It was a very nice, encouraging sermon, communion time, and worship. And, can I just say how happy I was that I already knew all the songs! We sang How He Loves and a few others that made me very cheerful and encouraged. Afterward, I re-connected with a few of the people I had met last week, then got to know a couple of people from the young adults ministry, and eventually ended up going out to eat lunch with them, then hung out at various peoples houses until later that day! It was so refreshing to be spending time with my own age group! I knew I missed it, but I hadn't realized how much! 

 

So, that's my relaxing, eventful weekend! I never really have needed to appreciate weekends before... now that that has changed, I have discovered they are definitely worth making the most of! Yay for weekends!

 





In Which I Finally Got To Church

So, as I'm sure some of you know from my facebook posts, I was very excited to attend a new church this Sunday morning. I felt like I hadn't been in several months, and was getting a little desperate for some fellowship time of some sort or another. However, my first visit to this new church was a little different than I had expected...

Because I only started driving on Thursday, I had only really had a day and a half of practice. I am still not completely confident driving on the opposite side of the road, especially driving alone. My host mom asked if I would mind taking public transportation to church, until I was a more adept aussie driver. And that's where the adventure begins!

I had never taken public transport before, so I was a little excited and did a lot of looking at maps and everything. I took a train from the station, which was very close to the house (I was dropped off there by my host family). After getting off the train, I hopped on a bus, and missed my stop. (Of course) I was only meant to be on the bus for 2 minutes or so, but it ended up being more like 10. I then consulted the bus driver, and he gave me directions on how to get back to the stop I was supposed to get off at. So that took about 25 more minutes. I finally arrived at the proper stop!

From there, I walked quite a ways down a street called Henley... until I realized that I was walking the wrong way. So I turned around and walked back, crossed the street, and asked some very nice people doing yard work for directions. They ran and got their iphone to it up on GPS. (I was wishing I had an iphone at this point. Or something with wifi.) Also, may I mention that it was getting pretty warm out, probably between 85-90 degrees Farenheit. Im not sure exactly; everything's in Celcius here, but that's what it felt like. Luckily, I had a full water bottle and sunglasses and everything. I felt pretty darn prepared, actually.

Anyways, I finally saw the church in the distance! I was about 45 minutes late to the service, taking into account the bus fiasco and the extra long walk. The air conditioner was wonderful!!! Oh my, I love air conditioners! So I sat in the service for about 15 minutes, then it was over. I then went over to the guest table (they had free soda and cookies!) and met several very nice people, including a few couples who knew Modesto, First Baptist (back when it was called First Baptist) and several of the pastors there! I was pretty excited about that. Also, the person in charge of the young adult ministries was there. Her name was also Emily and she was from Tennesee! Needless to say, we were both pretty happy that we had met fellow Americans. It's funny how comforting that is, when living abroad.

I stayed and talk to people for about an hour after the service was over, having a grand old time. Then one of the ladies working the guest table (the one who had actually been to FBC) offered to drive me to the train stop so I wouldn't have to walk in the heat or deal with the buses! I happily accepted.

So, now I am back at the house! We just finished up a lovely BBQ with my host families friends, who were all very nice. I have met so many people today! It's great!

That's the story of my first trip to my new church. I think it is definitely a good one, and seemed very focused on Christ, and was absolutely very welcoming. Already excited to go back next week, when I hopefully can drive and actually arrive in time for the service!

This was definitely the most adventure-ful thing that has happened to me thus far!

Cheers, everyone!
(wow, that was Aussie sounding, wasn't it!)