THE Story

Well... you asked for it, so here it is!

THE Story…

They say it happens once in a life time, and so all my life I’ve been waiting for my turn to see it come true. The day a prince appeared, the day I was swept off my feet, the day I knew I had fallen in love. Well, like most people my own story is a little more complicated than the fairy tale bliss. However, it’s not far off.

I was 18 years old. Not even a year out of high school and I had already traveled to the opposite side of the world to participate in the YWAM Townsville 6 month discipleship training school. Life changing experience is an understatement. It shattered everything I thought I knew about God, myself, and the world… in a good (and much needed) way.

After two full on, very intense weeks of lectures up in the Aussie bush, my school and I received an emergency warning to evacuate our location as soon as possible due to an incoming tropical storm. Needless to say, no one was very thrilled at the forced reality of returning from such a wonderful experience to the busy, familiar world. On top of that, our return crashed the joyous graduation of the October 2008 training school and no one was very pleased about the intrusion. Frustrated and grumpy, I stayed back while all my friends went off to “Maccas.” It was that decision that set me up for a chance encounter. While waiting for my friends to return, I noticed a young man sitting on a couch telling his friends about his recent return from East Timor. Intrigued, I moved closer and asked if I could look at his pictures and there you have it – an instant connection.

For the following day and a half we were inseparable. We shared all about our families and thoughts on God, Australia, youth, our training schools, outreaches, hopes and fears. He played and sang songs for me and I remember that we laughed a lot. We spent so much time together that one of my friends asked us if we were going to get married which actually became the only reason we became friends on facebook so we could changed our statuses to read “married” as a joke!! [Super funny NOW].

Fast forward three years of being best friends. Emotions, attractions, confusions… still separated by a vast ocean and still both in fulltime youth work. Both of us decided something’s got to give. In vulnerable conversation we both agreed to pray and ask God what was going on and if there was something there from him. For Ryan, the answer came clear and easy, but he waited patiently for me to feel like I had heard from God. I on the other hand went through months of being impatient and a whole lordship process. God took me through completely laying down and surrendering my rights in every area of my life… especially Ryan. God revealed all these secret fears and insecurities I didn’t even realize I had. It wasn’t until 6 months later when I finally got to the place of being OK if nothing ever became more than friendship with my relationship with Ryan that I felt like God spoke. It was unexpected and almost caught me off guard. I was praying in my room late one night and I felt to ask God one last time if he had anything to say about Ryan. It was then I felt like he gave a green light to pursue a relationship with Ryan. Processing carefully with trusted leadership, I started to unpack what a green light to proceed might mean. When it came time to have a deep conversation with Ryan about this development, it made sense that I picked a logical time to do it…. Not the case. Ry was really sick with a fever and it was after midnight… I didn’t plan to have the talk then, but after a few years of close friendship, he could read me like a book and knew I wasn’t telling him something. That skype conversation may have started with Ry looking like a sick puppy dog, but it ended with him as hyper as a 5 year old kid on a sugar rush! It also ended with him asking me to be his girl friend… Awww 

After spending some time together in California over Christmas, and dating strong for several months,  it was time for Ryan to make his way over to my home (and the place where it all began) in Townsville, Australia. At first it was a bit of an adjustment as our two worlds combined, but both of us knew that our two short weeks together would be significant.

Part way through our time together we celebrated our 7 month anniversary. It was a perfectly beautiful day as we sailed to a tropical island just off the coast of Townsville. Exploring our way along the coastline of perfect white sand beaches, we found my favorite beach and settled there. Playing in the waves and drinking in the sun, it was paradise. We went to a cute Italian café for a late lunch and then decided to go hiking. Part way up a mountain path we found a secluded waterfall flowing into a lagoon. Although it was shallow we played in the water for a while and then sat along the edge to admire its beauty. It was there in those peaceful moments along the side of the waterfall that Ryan grew very quiet. Finally he turned to me and said; “Liz, you know I love you. And today is our 7^th month anniversary. And I want to continue to love you, and cherish you, and protect you, and provide for you, and share life with you.” Then he asked me if he could ask me a question, so I said yes. Then he asked me if I trusted him – I said yes. Then he reached down and pulled out a purple ring box and opened it in my lap as I sat there speechless. Then he said that one question I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear: “Liz, will you marry me?” and I smiled back my response with glistening eyes and then answered yes!

There are many chapters in between those events, but that is the summary of my fairy tale thus far. At the moment we are back to being long distance as I am still with YWAM Townsville in Australia and Ryan is back as a youth pastor in California. We aren't planning to get married until spring 2014, but I'm sure that time will fly by. 

Thank you for your friendship and celebrating with us during this exciting time.

xx Liz

Blinking and PAINT!

Well... I blinked and a month has gone by!

How to describe the weeks that have passed? Well I'll give you three words: sick, productive, and home.

...I'll explain...

Every few months, my body decides to get sick. Its usually right when I get on a role with work stuff, and the month of May was no exception. We'd been having  record numbers of youth attend our weekly youth program Youth Street and my days were full of writing seminars, calling schools, grants, and finally getting on top of lots of projects. Out of NO WHERE I got a sinus infection which I confess is still hanging on three weeks later! (But don't worry... I finally bit the bullet and went to the doctors so I'm on the mend).

However, in the midst of being home and sick, my flatmates and I had planned to take a working holiday and paint our entire flat. Now for anyone who has ever seen or heard me talk of my flat, it was clear that it needed a bit of loving. Giant cracks in the lounge wall, part of the drywall missing from the hallway from a pipe inspection, and dirty white colour everywhere. No don't get me wrong... I am grateful for my house every day. BUT, after three days of washing and taping walls, and painting some colour everywhere, my house of three years finally became a home!

Me with my new bedroom bright blue accent wall
(It looks so good with the matching art work in there)

Here are some more pics from that week:

Guess what side is painted... we had our work cut out for us!

Lounge room walls, trim, and windows all done

You can see the colour we chose for the kitchen - nice and warm beige.

In the main bathroom we painted the walls a soft grey with a purple accent wall

And the same in the hallway: grey with purple accent and fresh trim

There was a lot more done, but I hope that gives you a snapshot of what I was up to beginning of June.

Since then I have been trying to catch up on all my work from being sick and painting. Apart from that, things are tracking on.

If you think to pray, I would appreciate prayer for wisdom and strength for my mind and body as I'm still recovering. Also, please pray for more youth workers as the 100+ weekly young people who attend our program are currently being looked after by 10 staff!! (Compared to appx 40 staff we usually have). 

Thanks for checking in and being a part of the journey!

~Liz 

April Event MaNiA

Hey friends!

What an adventure this past month has been! In the last 3 weeks we have held: the YWAM YS Dessert Fundraiser, DEEPER camp, weekly Youth Streets, my 22nd Birthday, AND the NYW I Wanna Live Event.

My actual birthday (April 12^th) was quite an eventful day: 

It started with my two wonderful housemates getting up early and making me a wonderful brekkie (complete with a whole bowl of melted chocolate!)

Then, in preparation for the I Wanna Live Event, a local TV station came in to promo the event. Since I am apart of M3 Dance, I got to be apart of them taking some dance footage for the story. Here is a link of the clip that previewed on the 6pm news on my birthday night! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v1Ee5zwRW8 (Note the sketchy quality and my roommate yelling at the TV :P)

Directly after watching the news, my extremely busy housemates had arranged for a few of my close friends to come over and surprise me, and then we all went out for a nice dinner together. We had a great time and I truly felt celebrated!

The evening ended with Gelato on the beach :) Can't really top that!

Saturday held the much anticipated I Wanna Live event. The overall aim was to celebrate local young people and instilling in them to have a sense of purpose. With over 400 people attending, here is a snap shot of some of the happenings:

Art Exhibition and Photo Comp.

Acoustic sets in the Cafe

6ft Half Pipe!

Awesome Live Band Performances

I also got the chance to perform twice during the evening: once with M3 Dance - if you want to see the clip, check it out on my facebook wall (M3 - Snitch - 2012), and once with my YS Dance team. The two dances were at opposite ends of the scales; fast, fun hip hop; slow, confronting contemporary. However, both pieces served the same purpose to connect, relate, and inspire the young people attending to have purpose beyond themselves. 
All in all, it was an amazing end to some crazy past weeks!

Coming up, I have a few more projects on the go. I would appreciate your prayers as we finalize 3 seminars I have been writing to take into schools starting NEXT WEEK! I also would love prayer for two grant opportunities which I am writing applications for – wisdom and the right articulation.

More updates to come soon! Thanks for following and being a part of the journey!

Xo

Liz

Shalom... Fighting to Keep It

Hey friends,

Sorry its been a while since I've updated, but I wanted to catch you up on some excited happenings from this past week.
As many of you may know, last weekend I boarded a plane and headed down south to attend the YWAM National Leaders Conference in a little place called Tahlee. It is a beautiful camp and ministry center located right on the ocean. With over 200 people in attendance, it was a great opportunity to network and hear what is going on in all of our operating locations both around the nation and internationally.

Tahlee Heritage House

With so many people gathered to hear what God has been doing, it didn't take long for the fresh words and messages to start pouring!

I would say that one of the key themes throughout the conference/ week was that of Shalom - Peace.

Beautiful surroundings reinforcing the message of shalom

But it wasn't focusing on a passive/ resting peace, but a deep peace that comes as you press more into God. For me, the week leading up to this conference I was sick and felt attacked and run down in so many areas. This message really stirred my heart and brought an encouragement to fight and claim that deep peace in my heart. Since returning to Townsville this past week, I have already seen evidence of this message playing out. The more I fight for things both personally and ministry related in prayer, the more peace I have experienced.

Of course there is much more that occurred during that time, but just ask me questions if you want to know more.

Outside the conference I was able to participate in YWAM Newcastle's Youth Street program. It was so fun to see the exact same thing that I run in action in a different location and hear how it is impacting the crew there. Saturday afternoon when we had our team prayer meeting, I prayed for divine conversations. Well little did I know how valid that was: During the band/ talk to session of the evening, we were ending the time with staff praying with crew. As I was standing at the back looking for someone to pray for, I had a crew come up to me and ask if they could pray for me! I was dumbfounded and deeply touched. After we prayed together, we ended up talking for over an hour until it was time for the crew to go home! It was such a good reminder to me of how God really does hear our prayers and move in the lives of young people - he is not limited by our own belief or understanding :)

Exciting side note: The thing the crew and I prayed for was for more of a heart and culture of worship to rise up among the crew in Townsville. Well since returning, yesterday a crew hunted me down and poured out his heart about having a crew led worship band to play Saturday nights - Is God up to something? I think so. Needless to say I am all for it and we are processing how to make it happen for the start of next year :)

I'll end on that encouraging note.
Thank you for your prayers and support of me during that time - really made a difference.
I hope your doing well!

Blessings,
Liz

Learning to Balance

So about a month has gone by already! I can’t believe how fast this "winter" is going by here in Aus. I'm not gonna lie, I am very thankful for the consistent warm weather all year round here - I find it a constant source of joy in my life.

Dancing with my friend Debs on the beach

Since my last update, there have been a few developments and some encouraging stories which have occurred.

Here are a few things that have happened over the past few weeks:

First off, my role in Youth Ministries has been going really well. I still love working in the office and so closely with youth. God given passion really is the best motivator for doing anything in this life!

With that said, since my last update my role within Youth Ministries has expanded already. When our new quarter started, two of the main staff in Youth Ministries transitioned to staffing a youth focused training school we are running from our center and so I now also oversee Youth Street – the weekly youth program we run every Saturday for local kids in the community. It is quite the task and a privilege which I have accepted. Needless to say, the past few weeks have been spent trying to figure out how to balance my new work loads and personal life along with starting to go back to church. However, I am happy to say that even though I still have lots to learn and figure out, God has been so gracious to me and I haven’t felt overwhelmed at all! Its all about taking things one step at a time.

Sharing Inspiration

On another note, on the Dance Team things have been falling into place as we reform a family atmosphere again. Last week Sat we took the crew for a day of inspiration down to a nearby beach (see Facebook for Pics). I have to say, it was the most relaxed and encouraging time I’ve had at Youth Street maybe ever! We had everyone share what or who inspires them in their lives, and I was blown away by how personal and honestly the girls shared with each other. I was especially touched when two of the crew chose me! Not that it’s all about me, but its good reminder just how impacting spending time with these crew really is. I may not always see direct results, but I can know that the ministry I’m apart of really does make a difference in seeing lives change – and that’s encouraging!

Life changing dancing obviously :)

Just something to keep in mind, I would appreciate your prayers for my finances. I have a few big expenses at the moment that I am really needing to see God’s provision and breakthrough in by the end of the month. One is my visa – I just got granted my Religious Workers Australian visa which will allow me to continue working with Youth Ministries over here for the next two years. The other is going on outreach for two weeks in September. I will be going into schools to do all-day AusLife Seminars which teach kids more about God and the value of their lives and then helping run an amazing youth camp down the Aussie coast. The cost of these two things totals $1000Aus. I am so thankful for the financial support I already receive from many of you, but I really need help with this. If you feel able to give, wonderful! But regardless, could you please join me in praying for this!

Thanks so much for your partnership with me in all of this.

Many Blessings as you enjoy your summers!
xox Liz

Time for a Change... Name Change?

This is my new desk... up close. I got a warm welcome

So as you know from my last update, I am all finished my Bible Core Course here in Australia and I have been spending the past few weeks debriefing and preparing for the next season... Well, its HERE! 
I started Youth Ministries on Wednesday (It was supposed to be Tuesday, but I caught a stomach bug :S All better now though) and I am SOOO excited to be at work doing what I am passionate about. I work in the FUNNEST office EVER! I love being surrounded by people who are just as committed to serving and making a difference in the lives of young people as I am - I can tell its going to be a great next few months :) 


I guess to go with this new season, I need a new name to describe who I am and what I am doing... So just call me AusLife! Just kidding, but as it turns out, my new ministry (within Youth Ministries) will be coordinating and facilitating AusLife's. 
Now I am sure many of you are asking the question, WHAT am I talking about?!
Well fair enough, here is some insight for you:
Auslife is a full day interactive and fast-paced seminar designed for senior high school students aged between 15 and 18. Auslife seminars engage the students in compelling ways, and focus on values, relationships and challenges they face in everyday life.


I am just learning the ropes on it for these first few weeks but I'm already helping to book seminars in schools and write a new seminar which will tie into our Ship ministry. Soon I will be helping train and run  the seminars with our Discipleship Training Schools all over Australia - my first one will be in September.


I really appreciate your prayers and continued support as I get more into this. One day seminars may sound simple, but I am learning quickly that they're not!


OH, and an exciting thing for me... I am joining the Youth Street Dance Team again as part of our weekly Saturday youth program we run for the kids in the community - I start this Sat :)


Anyways, thats all for now.
Bless you heaps!
xo Liz

Story Time!

Every time I travel, there is always so much experienced that its hard to communicate it all once I return! 

I've spent the past 6 weeks on outreach in Papua New Guinea and have created a newsletter overview of my time there. However, there were many details that just wouldn't fit, so here are just some fun stories of my journey to the land of PNG.

So the first thing I encountered was actually while in transit to our first location. We arrived safely with all our luggage in Port Moresby (the nation’s capital) and were greeted by our host family, The Moses’, who we would be staying with our first night (and then again the last few weeks of our outreach). The transportation provided was equipped with lots of spacious room for everyone, a tremendous amount of airflow, and even live music! That’s right, my first taste of PNG transport was in the back of a big flatbed truck. Similar to experiences in Mexico, seatbelts are not required and there are no restrictions to the number of people you can fit in a vehicle! It made for fun (and loud) rides together which I began to really enjoy as a time to relax and connect with others.

My first morning in PNG was another learning experience: Due to the high chances of getting malaria (which is transmitted by mosquitoes), my team and I were on medication to help prevent our chances of getting it. The Doxy is to be taken with food, but due to the early hour we traveled from the village to get back to the airport to fly to Mt Hagen, I had forgotten to take it at breakfast. While waiting for our plane, I suddenly remembered and decided to take the small tablet right then and there in case I forgot again… bad idea! Exactly 20 mins later I was hit with extreme nausea, light headedness and couldn’t move due to pain! It was a horrible first taste of the consequences of not following instructions closely – a lesson I’m glad to say I didn’t repeat for the rest of my trip. I was lucky that the side effects were short lived and cleared by the time I boarded the plane, but man I did not enjoy that experience!

The Village Ute

Arriving in Mt Hagen (the very center of PNG), the scenery was absolutely beautiful! The YWAM base where we were staying was a bit of a drive from the airport as it is literally situated halfway up a mountain and you need a 4 x 4 to even get to it! Quickly I learned that when children see white people, they just scream at the top of their lungs at you, but I think it’s their own way of saying hello J. There aren’t many white people in the highlands and so our presence was apparently a shock to some. You learned to get used to the screaming, but sometimes it definitely made us jump!

1 of the school programs where we got to inspire the youth
 in missions through teaching on the life of Esther

During our 2 weeks in Mt Hagen, we intended to teach Bible seminars to a group of local pastors. Due to a death in the community and miscommunication, when we went to meet with some key leaders about when to start, they asked us to wait a week. At first we were all unsure what to do, but quickly new plans fell into place. A missionary family that was located in the neighboring province heard about our Bible teaching team and asked if we could come and share at their local schools and hospitals. It worked out that we were able to spend 3 days with the family and we were blessed by their hospitality. Instead of just sharing with 8-10 pastors like we intended, we did 2 school programs where we got to teach over 1000 youth! There was a local hospital there, and we got to visit every patient, pray for them, do some skits, and I shared part of my story along with a message of truth and hope to the people there. We also helped sort out books as a school was trying to establish a local library (See video below)

So our original plans didn’t work out, but it definitely was for the better as we were able to affect and influence much more people than we could have planned – totally God.

A similar thing occurred when our team split and half of us went on the YWAM Medical Ship. We had intended to sail to the Gulf province (about a 24hr sail), but the ship didn’t have a chief engineer, and we couldn’t find one available anywhere!! We prayed and made calls and waited and then prayed more, but it seemed like we were stuck in a waiting period. Since we had medical professionals onboard who had volunteered their time, we wanted to utilize their services, with or without a chief engineer. It worked out that we could travel to a huge village just 2 hours out from Port Moresby, and we were able to provide health care there. Even though the people there are so close to all the resources and hospital Port Moresby has, many can’t afford to ever see a doctor, let alone dentist or optometrist! The village had over 10,000 people in it, and we were all non-stop busy the entire two days we were there. Although we couldn’t see everyone, it was God who directed us to minister to this village that would otherwise have been overlooked. After those two days of providing medical services, we DID get a Chief Engineer and were able to travel to the Gulf province as intended, but I am just so thankful for how it worked out. 

Me sailing... before it got bad

Sailing is an experience in itself. I have gotten sea sick a few times and so I was very hesitant to venture into open waters. To help distract me from my fears, my friend Brooke and I came up with a song about sailing. When the day finally came and we were able to actually sail, I didn't get sick at all. The best advice I took  was to find a spot where you can lie down and not move for the entire sail! It worked for me!

The sail back from the Gulf was a bit different. The sea was much rougher and I was a bit more ambitious. I decided to sit outside on the deck for as long as possible, enjoying the fresh air before being cooped up for 24hrs. After a few hours, my friend joined me and we decided to go visit the captain in the bridge. The front of the boat was diving and rocking like a roller coaster. At first I was giddy and having a great time, literally waving my hands in the air. However, the fun was short lived as we started experiencing 4m swells.Nausea hit me and I knew I was in trouble! I ran to find my "safe spot" - where I was intending to lie the entire time - but I was too late. I felt dizzy and weak and knew I could throw up any min. So without loosing any time, I grabbed my stuff, including a bucket, and "ran" downstairs to my bunk cubby. Lying down I quickly learned that if you breath in time with the waves, it helps soothe your body. I laid in my bunk, flat on my back, for over 12hrs straight. I have to admit, I did throw up, but only once, and it was due to the smell of food at dinner time. Lucky for me, I had a very gracious friend who came and took care of cleaning my bucket. It was definitely an adventure!

Well I think I'll leave it there for now... more stories to come!

Thanks for reading :) 

~Liz

Hello Goodbye

Well I can't believe its time to say this, but  Goodbye Lectures Phase and Hello Outreach Phase!

Has its really been 3 months already?

Well apparently, yes it has!

I have now completed studying 12 books of the Bible which have definitely given me a much deeper understanding of  a) the Bible as a whole, but b) understanding of how it plays out throughout history!

It as been so refreshing to gain understanding of both the head and heart, and I am excited for more revelations to surface as I now transition into teaching.

Picture Illustration: I feel like I'm a sponge that has been absorbing everything the past 3 months and now it is time for me to be "wrung out" lol

Filled with the purpose to pour out and be filled again

Although it is exciting to be finally able to communicate and teach the Bible to both youth and the people of Papua New Guinea, it's a bit intimidating with all the things we have to prepare this coming week (sermons, lessons, etc). As I've been transitioning from student to teacher role/ mindset, here is the encouragement God gave me in the midst of it:

"Then I said "Ah, Lord, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a [girl]." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say I am only a [girl] for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth." - Jer 1:6-9

I find great confidence in this: it is God speaking through me, not me trying to do this on my own and hoping I sound smart, etc. With that said, would you please continue to pray for me this coming week as my school and I will be seeking God for inspiration and insight how to communicate his message of truth of the places we are about to go next weekend on outreach?!

So appreciate you love and support :)

xo Liz

Going to Make a Difference

Some exciting news for you all this week...

I am going to... Make A DIFFERENCE!
Where, you ask? Well as part of the Bible Core Course, we spend 2 months sharing what we learn through teaching the Bible and bringing hope to people in a variety of ways.

Half way through April, I will start my outreach off by going on a Youth Street camp called DEEPER. The camp literally is all about what the name says: getting youth to go deeper with God. It runs for a week and we will be taking youth down to Brisbane to assist with the flood relief (still a lot to do) and doing community service before ending the week with a bang by taking them to a BIG Christian music festival. During the week, I get the opportunity to speak, teach, and disciple these youth! As many of you know, this is completely where my heart is at and I am so excited for a chance to really embrace and walk out in it while using all the skills and knowledge that I'm gaining through studying God's word in the Bible Core Course.

THEN....

Once I return from DEEPER, I will be going to.... wait for it... Papua New Guinea!

My whole school will be going there for 6 weeks to make a difference in significant and practical ways:

The first 3 weeks will be spent at a YWAM base in Mt. Hagan, where we will put our teaching skills to good use and run Bible seminars for people in various positions of influence and spheres of their society (aka their villages): pastors. One of the things that we have been talking about is the importance for people to have a Biblical world-view, as it really does change how communities operate. Although Papua New Guinea has been called a Christian nation, there is still much need for discipleship (as in every nation), and so it is a joy and privilege to go and bring truth and further clarity in order to see this nation radically strengthened in a spiritual sense.

The following 3 weeks in PNG  I will be working on the YWAM Medical Ship!!
This is super awesome as last year I did a lot of work pertaining to the ship, but I never actually was a part of it physically. The Medical Ship is an effective tool to really have lives restored in real terms. My team and I will be apart of the 3rd outreach (of 8 that the ship is doing this year in the Gulf and maybe western provinces of PNG). There will be dentists, optometrists, nurses, health care workers, and many willing hearts that just want to help however they can (like ME). Although we will be working with and living on the ship, we will see how we can tie in our Biblical teachings still (whether thats running short seminars for people waiting on-board the ship or going into villages), as we have a firm belief that meeting needs spiritually should be partnered with meeting needs practically for holistic discipleship.

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily good. If one of you says to him, "Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." - James 2:14-17

This is exactly what I am going to be apart of.
I would like to ask you to consider being apart of this too!
In addition to your prayers and encouragement, I need to see another $2000 raised in order to go on outreach and make this happen.

If you have any question as to what this may look like, check out this video which shows very clearly how we were able to make a big difference in a short period of time, in real terms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHlI6xw2OPk

Please pray and consider what your part could be in making a difference through this opportunity!
Greatly appreciate it.

Be blessed!
Love Liz

Encouragement When Things Get Tough...

This past week was AmAzInG!!

We started studying the book of Hebrews while camping in the Aussie bush.
During the time up there, we also had our center staff retreat, and so there was well over 200 of us representing 26 nations!!

Hidden Valley Staff Retreat

I found it very refreshing to have a change of learning environment, even if for only a few days.


Hebrews was written to a Jewish-Christian group of believers who were undergoing persecution and on the verge of returning to Judaism to avoid the suffering. This was because they didn't understand the true/ full nature of Christ Jesus and how he is superior to everything in every way - there is just no comparison! 

Through studying this book, I was very challenged on a personal level.
In class, Jonathan (my school leader) talked about applying this book to us today: “We all have gentile backgrounds, so even though the desire to turn back to Judaism isn’t applicable, we need to ask ourselves what we turn to when things get tough?” 

Being a Christian, there are definitely times where I feel tempted to turn back to what I know is easy, especially while living a life in missions. I want to go home to MY country and be with MY family, MY friends, make MY own money, etc. Life without Christ can be so deceiving and look appealing temporarily, but it is no comparison to the life one can inherit through faith in Christ.

“Sometimes life IS really tough – that’s just a fact, but we need to understand that Jesus is worth it and so turn to him rather than what we know is easy.”

Jesus is superior and far more worthy than ANY personal sacrifice I could EVER make.

Just like the original readers, I took great encouragement from studying this book and I know its message will be a key foundation for my life as a whole, but especially so while in missions. 


I hope you feel encouraged to do the same :)


Love and blessings,
Liz

Romans... the Truths Never End!

A fully colour-coded Romans - A book brought to life

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous will live by faith'"

-Key verse for Romans: 1:16-17

ROMANS... a book that clearly and simply spells out the gospel and our means of salvation. Although this may be true in some senses (the clarity more than simplicity), I definitely did not feel like this was the case this past week! The amount of detail Paul goes into to describe each aspect is amazing, but most of the time it was like "information overload," but in the best possible way! With so much good stuff to learn, I felt like I couldn't absorb and process fast enough and it was definitely a week of teaching that I didn't want to miss a detail of!!:) I was very impressed with the way Tom broke down and explained the reasons WHY Paul addresses so many specific topics in such detail (answer being because Paul was directly answering questions that were relevant to both the Jews and Gentiles in the church). 

To help me with processing everything throughout the week, I wrote out a lot of the timeless truths (revelations/ things that are always true about God,etc) that I was discovering on an A3 sheet of paper.

My Final Application

Endless truths, for you and me

In case you can't read it clearly, some of the main ones are:

-There is nothing I can do to earn or deserve God's salvation - it is a gift of grace
-God loves me AND likes me, and thats never going to change!
-There can never be true unity if we don't view each other as equals (in any context)
-When God sees me, he sees the infinite righteousness that was deposited there through faith in Jesus, not all my yucky sins
-Told to live out in love, not to earn or keep one’s salvation, but as an out flowing of one’s heart because of their salvation. God is love - love is the fulfillment of the law.

I could honestly go on forever with listing truths I am taking away from this week!
On a personal note, Romans has given me more understanding of God's heart of overflowing love for me (even though I'm still anything but perfect) and has really strengthen my security in his opinion of me :)

There is so much more I wish to share, but this week is hard to put into words.

 I know this hardly does it justice,but if you walk away with anything, know this: God has much he wants to reveal to each of us through this book. I am glad we took the time to study it on the BCC and I hope you feel encouraged to do the same!

Be blessed!

Things to do during a cyclone..

Hey everyone,

So as you already know, I experienced one of the worst natural disasters to hit Australia in over a century (and thats saying a lot), but we all came out safe and sound. With minor damage to infrastructure in my area, the main priority has been re-landscaping.

I feel very blessed to be apart of YWAM, for they have an excellent emergency plan and they executed it perfectly. We had plenty of water and food, plus they made sure everyone was in the most safest place possible for when we "locked down."

I'll just give you a quick summary of what happened:
We had warning of the cyclone possibility for over a week in advance, but it wasn't until Wednesday morning (Feb 2) that the reality that it was a certainty set in.
Everyone had jobs/ houses divided up so we could make sure all areas were completely secure.
During that time my flatmates and I cleared off our entire deck. The plants moved inside, along with 2 BBQs and all our patio furniture.
During Wednesday morning I moved locations 3 times as the conditions worsened and my flat became included in the "red zone" which meant subject to being flooded.
In the end, my flatmates and I all moved into our base director's house (Ken and Robyns), which was a BIG blessing as their house is only a few years old and was actually built cyclone proof (unlike mine that has cracks all over and could easily fall apart)

After lunch when everything was secure, we all headed off to our perspective lodgings and waited for the storm to hit. It wasn't until late afternoon that the wind really picked up, and the power lasted until 10pm. The eye of the cyclone crossed the coast about 2hours north of us at midnight. Although the storm was a category 5, the strength of the wind/ storm that hit us in Townsville was a category 3. During the afternoon while we waited, I decided to be productive and smash out 5 hours of homework (since there wasn't much else to do anyways lol). Once the power went off, I went to bed and actually slept right through the storm until 9 the next morning!! (Not bad - 11hr sleep and I actually only woke up the next day because I got shot with a nerf gun).
Thursday afternoon, we got the OK to leave our houses and so we went to survey the damage. To my pleasant surprise, my house survived and was in great condition minus 2 big trees that just missed the house. (The pics are on facebook if you haven't seen them already). Also, no structural damage happened to any of the other YWAM properties (only a bit of water leakage)
The power stayed off until late Friday morning, so during the time without power, here is some of the stuff that I did:

Made up a Bible Study lesson

Did LOTS of homework

Made cards :)

Hung out with Karly

Relaxed

Listened to Fiona playing live music

So that is the end of my cyclone adventure. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your prayers. We really appreciated them and honestly, you can see the impact they had as so many things should have been destroyed and somehow they were just missed by trees, etc. Absolute miracles everywhere.

All my love,
Liz

They Say 2 is Better Than 1...

Reading the Bible out loud in class

This past week was really good, but also a lot harder for me. This was due to person sickness, as well as the workload increasing from doing two books instead of one this week. The books we studied were Philemon and Titus.


If you have never read either of those books (which I strongly recommend) heres a brief overview:
 Philemon is a letter that Paul wrote in the hopes of bringing reconciliation between a slave owner (Philemon) and a runaway slave (Onesimus). In that, its themes are repentance and forgiveness. 
Titus, which I have renamed to "Living Life for Dummies, the Manual," is a detailed letter from Paul to Titus about how to instruct the church and rise up more leaders (elders) in Crete. This was a big task in light of the rowdy society that Titus was trying to disciple and so the boundaries and actions for believers to live out are very clearly outlined in the text so that they could be noticeably set apart from the rest of their Pegan society. 


This week, especially while doing interpretation on Titus, God was giving me continual revelations!! The book of Titus holds the keys to several practical tools for living out good doctrine, leading, and equipping others. 
The biggest revelation I am taking away from this week is that "the reality of God's grace causes responses of humility. I was bewildered and horrified at the realization that I have been taking the amazing gift and reality of God’s saving grace so lightly in my heart and mind. I now want to spend time just meditating on the meaning and being in awe of God’s grace, so that the true meaning of it would be embedded in my heart and cause me to operate and live my life out of a place of utter humility and gratitude towards/ for God. 
Overall I am loving this course more and more as God's word is becoming alive to me.


Blessings xo
Liz

My "ACTS" of reflection

Have you ever walked by something a hundred times, aware of it and yet not really seeing it, and then SUDDENLY one day it catches your eye? Well I feel like this past week has been one of those experiences for me.

Growing up in a Christian home, attending church weekly, and even going to a Christian school, I have heard a LOT on the Bible. For the first week of my Bible Core Course, we set out studying the book of ACTS. In all honesty, this week was the first time I had ever read the entire book of ACTS, and throughout the course of the week we did so multiple times. However, I didn’t realize how much I had underestimated the contents of the book through my past assumptions of what it was about.

ACTS, if you have not read it for yourself, is a book of much relevance and importance. It holds the history of the first Christians and traces the journey of the expansion of the Gospel through focusing its narrative mainly on Peter, Paul and the workings of the Holy Spirit. If you have not read it, do so!!

This week in class focused on establishing a lot of good foundations for Biblical observation and interpretation. Through those procedures, which required multiple assignments, I began to start understanding God’s heart for all people, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the sacrifice of the apostles and first Christians to share the Gospel, a little more. What amazed me most, while studying ACTS, was the willingness and obedience of Paul. He went and did whatever the Spirit said. He had no fear of persecution and he continued to praise God even when he was put in prison multiple times, so much was his hope in God and dedication to share the Gospel with both Jews and Gentiles. Through Paul’s submission, God was able to use his life and affect countless people through literally fulfilling Acts 1:8 bearing witness to Christ “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It’s pretty amazing what God was able to do through just one person!

From this past week of study, I am more determined to be open and available to be used by God – live a life fully submitted. I want my life to count for something BIG (maybe not quite as big as Paul’s, but who knows!) I’m not going to limit God. Instead, I feel even more inspired now as I look into my future of endless possibility. I can’t wait to see what God will shape it as J  

Map of Paul's Missionary Journeys - I used this a lot this week.