Sweet Home Alabama

I did not know that I could sleep for 16 hours straight-but I sure just did! I am back in America and back home in Dothan. Our flight got in Tuesday morning and I made myself stay up all day so I could get back into the right pattern of sleeping. I guess since I hadn’t slept more than a few hours on a plane from Sunday until Tuesday, I had a lot of catching up to do. I also have a lot of catching up to do as far as what’s gone on the past few days. I found a place to get on the internet in the Sydney airport and started blogging about everything we’d done but all of the sudden the internet timed out and I lost everything! We had to board before I could restart, so now that I’m back I’m ready to try again.

Thursday night two of the missionary kids we’d met offered to take us out to eat while Dr T led a Bible Study at the Japanese church. That sounded like a good plan to us so we went and had pizza and ice cream. The ice cream was pretty exciting because they took us to Cold Rock-their equivalent to our Cold Stone or Marble Slab. I decided to try Milo ice cream with crushed up Tim Tams-an Auzzie favorite. All I knew was that it had a lot of chocolate-so it sounded good to me. They were right-it was delicious. Once we finished our ice cream, they guys drove us to 4 different lookout points around Sydney. We got to see the city all lit up at night and each of the different beaches we’d visited, all from the top of cliffs (which, by the way, we had to hike up-but this time we were prepared with tennis shoes). The views were all amazing, but at one spot, while we were looking around a huge star fell right in front of us. It was the biggest, brightest, shooting star I’ve ever seen and was a breath taking experience. Once again God was reminding us-Here I am! It was awesome!

Friday morning we went back to the old people’s home. This time Brian led the service and what an adventure he had. He spoke about heaven and in the middle of his message one gentleman started asking questions about having a new body and a new heaven and earth. Brain would answer the questions and the guy would say ok and then ask the same one again. Finally a nurse stepped in and told the man they could talk about it later. That appeased him for awhile but then he asked another question. The old lady behind him kicked his chair and told him to hush, and that finally quieted him down. Another man yelled out in the middle that cigarettes are poisonous and that we shouldn’t smoke. Brian agreed and carried on with the message. He did a really good job handling the situations.

We came back to the church and did a little more cleaning and work around the church. Then we headed out to the beach to do our mimes and paint faces while Greg sang. I had so much fun! It was neat to talk to all of the little kids that came by to get their faces painted. We handed out tracts to the parents and invited them to church. That night, we had scheduled another youth meeting, but once again nobody showed up. We were somewhat expecting that to happen, but it was still disappointing. I know God had a purpose for it though.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went down to the beach to see a beautiful sunrise. We grabbed some coffee and headed out on a 2 hour drive to the Blue Mountains. On the way, we drove by the Olympic Stadium which was pretty neat. At the state park we walked to a place called Echo Point and looked out over the Blue Mountains. It’s kind of like a mini Grand Canyon, but there’s vegetation on the floor, not just rocks and dirt. It was really pretty. We got to ride the world’s steepest railway down into the rainforest below and hiked (which we’re becoming quite good at) to a waterfall. Then, we rode huge cable car back to the top. The views were amazing and it was so neat to see how a short drive led to completely different scenery. We could see big city, beaches, rainforests, and canyons in less than 2 hours. Our next stop was back in downtown Sydney to Chinatown. We did some shopping and came home worn out.

Sunday morning we went down to the beach first thing in the morning and did pretty much the same thing we’d done on Friday. We shared the love of Christ through face painting and mimes. God gave us a beautiful, sunny day, so there were lots of people at the beach and we had a great time! After lunch we went to the Japanese service at Bob and Gail’s church. We got to see a lot of the people we’d met at the fellowship and Bible study. We did a mime and listened to the service in Japanese with the English translation on powerpoint on the wall. Each us were given a bag of goodies, including our own box of Tim Tam cookies. We each ate some and decided that we needed more to take home, so Dr T took us to the grocery store and we all stocked up on Tim Tams. When we got back to the church we packed as much as we could and then went to the night service at New Life. We said our good-byes and went to bed since we knew it’d be a long time until we slept again.

Monday morning we left the church at 6:45 and headed to the airport. We flew from Sydney to Ackland and then from there to San Fransisco. When we got to San Fran it was only noon on Monday which was really weird. Our flight didn’t leave until 11:50 that night so we spent all day hanging out and playing cards in the airport. Finally we headed to Atlanta and then on to Mobile. Boy were we glad to get home after 48 hours of traveling and no shower.

My trip was an amazing experience that words can’t begin to describe! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go to Australia. God taught me so much about what missions really is all about and how He shows Himself in many different ways. I don’t have to lead people to the Lord or build a church from the ground up; I can serve God in little things. This experience is one I will never forget and one that has definitely helped me grow in my walk with the Lord.

Pictures!

I thought you might like to see some photos from the Australia trip!

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Another day down under!

Tuesday afternoon we had a great “team time” and were able to share about why we came on this trip and what God has been teaching us since we’ve been here.  We had an awesome time of prayer together.  That night we attended a healing service at the church where we’re staying.  We just observed and spent the time in prayer. 

Wednesday morning we cleaned around the church and did some yard work.  I use that term loosely, since the church is in the middle of a city block and only has about 10 sq feet of grass.  We did tie branches in bundles so that they could be picked up by the city.  We had the opportunity to drive up to Palm Beach-the richest beach in Sydney where several celebrities have houses.  After lunch there we decided that it would be neat to walk up to the lighthouse on the top a cliff.  Again, Stephanie and I had on flip flops for our rocky hike-you think we’d learn.  It was a beautiful view overlooking the beach on one side and a lagoon on the other.  Wednesday night we had a neat opportunity to go to a Japanese fellowship.  The missionaries we are working with lead the Japanese ministy at their church and they have a group of college students that meet for Bible study.  We ate with their group and got to ask each other questions about Japan and America.  Two people from their group gave testimonies and Zach and I gave ours.  It’s neat to see that although we come from totally different places and speak different languages, we are one in Christ.  It’s awesome to have that common bond.

This morning we led the scripture class at the elementary school we went to last week.  It was fun to see the same children and pick up where we left off talking to them.  Next was playgroup, and again there were familiar faces.  There’s just something cute about a 3 year old with an Australian accent.   We went back to the high school to sing and do our skits, but the setup wasn’t what Greg was expecting so we didn’t get to do everything we had planned.  Dr T had some WWJD bracelets so we were able to give those out.  The kids were grabbing them faster than we could hand them out.  Hopefully God will use something that they saw as play jewelry to change lives.

I am so thankful for this opportunity and for all of your prayers!

Greetings from the future

Wow!  The past few days have been incredible!  This time change is weird because when I’m half way through one day you guys are going to bed the night before.  I guess I’m living in the future.  Sunday was a very busy day.  We went to 4 different services and gave testimonies, did mimes, sang, or Dr T preached.  The first service was a Chinese service and we had to use a translator.  I was planning to give my testimony so Dr T gave me instructions about how to speak with an interpreter.  He had me pretty nervous, but as soon as I stood up all I thought about was talking to the people, and everything went smoothly.  God gave me the words to say and it was incredible.  It was so neat to hear what I said repeated in Chinese.  The next service was a Korean service and again we used translators.  There is just something about listening to believers worship in another language that is awesome.  One of the hymns was one that we recognized the tune, so we sang in English while the congregation sang in Korean.  All I could think about was how it was a pleasing aroma to the Lord, and he understood what all of us were saying.   The following 2 services were English, so they were a piece of cake.  It was pretty neat that even though we’re in an English speaking country, we had the opportunity to worship and fellowship with people of various cultures.

Yesterday (Monday) was our day off so we took a ferry to Circular Quay where the Sydney Opera House is.  None of us could believe that we were actually there.  This could be a once in a lifetime things for a lot of us.  After about 1000 pictures from every angle we walked through the city and on to Darling Harbor.  We got to go to Sydney Wildlife World and see animals that are native to Australia.  I stood about 2 feet from a koala!  Too cool!  Even in all of the fun and relaxation, we saw God work.  When we got back to Manly Beach to shop and head home, Zach realized he had left his wallet with about $300 in it back outside the wildlife park.  We made some phone calls and got in touch with people who were going to look for it.  We all prayed and prayed that somehow it was still sitting right where he’d left it.  Sure enough, we got a call back that it had been found with all of the money still in it!  Praise the Lord!  We were so thankful!  Zach and Dr T had to go back to pick it up, but the rest of us managed to use those 3 hours wisely-shopping and eating icecream.

This morning we met Greg, the pastor we’re working with, at a park/reserve for a BBQ breaky.  It was a part of the Australian bush outside of town.  We practiced our skits, planned for the rest of the week, and learned the play the didgeridoo.  Greg took us on a hike through the bush, which was fun, except Stephanie and I had worn flip flops expecting a picnic-not a hike.  It was worth the scuffed up feet though.  The views were beautiful and again we were able to enjoy God’s beautiful creation.

I can’t believe our trip is half way over.  The Lord has been so good to us so far and I can’t wait to see what He has planned for the last few days. 

No worries…

The bad thing about blogging is that as soon as I walk away from the computer I think of things I should have said, but when the whole team is giving input over your shoulder it’s hard to know what to say.  Plus, I want to tell you about the work we’re doing and about Australia in general, all in 2 paragraphs.  Let me tell you a few things I’ve learned since I’ve been here:

1. The water does not go the opposite direction when you flush the toilet-at least as far as we can tell, because there’s not enough water in the bowl.  The little bit that is in there just goes straight down-trust us, we’ve researched it.

2. Spring water and mineral water are 2 TOTALLY different things.  Stephanie and I only made that mistake once.  Mineral water is carbonated and nasty!  Now we get bottled spring water.

3.Vegomite is not all it’s cracked up to be.  It looks like tar and tastes gross!  We all had to chug a glass of juice after we tasted it.

4. We are here from a Bappo Unie…that’s Auzzie for Baptist University.  They shorten everything, but we’re catching on.

I guess those are the main things you need to know for now.  One more thing Dr. T wanted me to clear up, he has perfected the art of signaling and no longer turns on the wipers…he now uses his bright lights instead…oh well, maybe he’ll figure it out before we leave.

Now for the reason we’re here, the mission work.  God is showing us that you don’t have to share the gospel and lead people to the Lord to be a missionary. Yesterday we went to a home for the elderly and sang hymns with the people and Dr. T gave a short message.  Then, we came back to the church where we’re staying and did some much needed cleaning.  We came in contact with no people, but were still demonstrating the love of God.  We went to bus stops that afternoon to find youth to invite to a service that night and had everything prepared and no kids showed up.  We were slightly disappointed, but we know that God is in control and has a purpose for everything that happens.  Instead we were able to go prayer walking in the community around the church.  This morning we served at a prayer breakfast for all of the area churches.  We had the afternoon off, so we just finished hiking a few miles up onto a cliff overlooking the beach.  It was beautiful and an awesome reminder of the majesty of the Lord.  His creation is amazing and it was wonderful to take the time to enjoy it.  Our team enjoyed walking together and getting to know each other.  It’s amazing how God works in the small things like the unity of our team.  Some of us just met at the airport 6 days ago, but you’d have thought we’d know each other forever.  We all get along and have a great time goofing off together.  Tomorrow will be a full day.  We’re attending and helping with 4 different services.  We’re praying that God will use us no matter what language the service is in. 

Continue to pray.  Thank you so much for all of the encouraging messages, it means a lot!

First day of work

Today is Thursday and we got up after a wonderful night of sleep and set up for playgroup.  The church allows moms to bring their children and visit while the kids play.  We pulled out all of the toys and set out snacks for the kids.  Then, we went to a local elementary school with Greg and got to visit with  some 5th graders-which they call year 5.  Greg leads about 6 kids in a small Bible study each Thursday morning so we sat in on that and then talked one-on-one with a student.  I spoke with a sweet girl that told me all about school in Australia and wanted to know what America was like.  Seeing the school was very interesting, because we’re learning that Auzzies are very-I mean very-laid back.  They just go with the flow.  The school was like that because when we got there kids were just kind of running all over the place.  When we left the school we came back to the church and about 15 kids and their moms came for playgroup.  We held babies, sang songs, and painted faces.  It was a lot of fun.  After cleaning up playgroup we went a high school and invited kids to come  hear a Christian band that will be playing in a few weeks.  We really spent the day building relationships and visiting with people.  It was fun to learn about Australian culture and answer their questions about the US.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers.  We know God is at work and I’m excited to see everything He has in store!  I’ll write more as soon as we can get back to another internet cafe!  Keep praying!

G’day Mate!!

Where to begin?  Well, God is good and got all of us here safely and with all of our luggage!  We had very uneventful-but long flights.  We arrived on Wednesday morning, Australia time, which means it would have been Tuesday night at home.  I think we figured our total travel time was about 32 hours!  We tried to help the jetlag by staying up all day, so by last night we were exhausted!  We were met at the airport by Bob and Gail Gierhart, missionaries here, and they helped us get our rental car and then led us to the church where we are staying.  Dr. Taylor was the lucky one who got to drive on the “wrong” side of the car and road.  He did a pretty good job, but the blinker is still giving him problems.  He reaches up on the wrong side and hits the windshield wipers instead.  So, every time we turn we signal with the wipers, which is especially amusing when you haven’t slept in 2 days.  One turn he even managed to get the back wiper going and squirting wiper fluid!  After we unloaded, Greg, the pastor of the church, took us down to the beach.  It was about a 20 minute walk and gave us a chance to see Dee Why, the suburb of Sydney where we are staying.  Dee Why is very multi-cultural.  You will find as many people from other countries as you will Auzzies.  The beach was beautiful, but very cold.  We went back to the church and finally got to take showers.  It was wonderful!  Once we were clean we went to Bob and Gail’s for dinner and then to a different church for a young people’s service.  By then we were fighting sleep and I think all nodding off during Bible study.  We came back to the church and crashed for the night.  We slept on mattresses on the floor, but I don’t think anyone noticed.

I’m Heading to Australia!

Hi! I’m Blair and I’m heading to Australia two days after I graduate! Yep, if the stress of graduation isn’t enough, I get to prepare for my first missions trip. I’ve always been fascinated with Australia and dreamed about the chance to visit. When I heard that University Missions was taking a group this summer I was so excited! What better way to see Australia than while serving the Lord! I was the first one in Dr. Taylor’s office to sign up.

There are seven of us going on the trip: Dr. Taylor, his wife, and five UM students. We leave on Monday, May14th and won’t arrive in Sydney until Wednesday! Over the next two weeks we get to do beach outreach, help with services at the church, and visit a home for the elderly. I’m most excited about visiting schools and helping with playgroups. I’m graduating with an elementary education degree and hoping to find a teaching job, so hanging out with kids in schools is right up my alley and the thought of playing with babies for a few days sounds like lots of fun!

I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. I’m excited about sharing our experiences as we see God work.