New Beginnings

Well here it is, the first entry of the Blog John so graciously announced to you all that I was creating (thanks for checking with me first John!). Luckily for him I love to write and this really is the easiest way to keep everyone who cares about me informed about all the crazy adventures I encounter during this Australia chapter of my Never-Ending Journey. And wow have they been crazy adventures, filled with all sorts of new beginnings!

You will all be happy to know that I arrived in Perth basically unscathed by my 37 hour long journey from Victoria (that's right, I said 37 hour long!). I will admit though that I spent the first day of my time in Perth basically deaf as my ears did not pop during the descent of the airplane. There were all sorts of various mix ups with my housing and getting keys to give me access to my house, so I spent my first afternoon with out any of my stuff wandering the streets of Perth alone, praying I would be able to find my way back to the base since I had no idea where I was or where I was going. It was kind of a harsh introduction to life in Perth, but also a good chance for me to see fully what I was made of and if I was cut out for this 6 month adventure. After travelling across the world on my own and successfully navigating a strange new city on my own after having only 6 hours of sleep and operating as though it were 3 o'clock in the morning (which it was in Victoria), I decided that I could do this! I could live in a new place by myself and I could take whatever it was God was planning to throw at me in the coming months.

The first week of my time proved that there were still many things that could be thrown at me and there were times I was ready to jump back on a plane headed for Victoria if for nothing more than some snuggles from my favorite kids, but again I came out none the worse for wear. Although I did not see it as a blessing at the time, God has blessed me with a beautiful house to live in which offers lots of peace and quiet as it is apart from the dorm where the majority of people on my DTS live all crammed together. It has been an interesting journey trying to adjust to the time difference, so I was happy to be able to do that apart from 40 other people all trying to over come different time differences all at the same time!

It has been quite the big adventure to just meet new people and find out where they are from. There are currently 150 students and who knows how many staff on base, and we figured out on our orientation day that we represent 28 different nations of the world, which is pretty spectacular! In my school alone we have people from Switzerland, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Canada, USA, Britain, and Germany! It is fun to hear all the different accents and just learn about life in another culture. It is also fun to be able to share about my culture and dispell all the misbeliefs the Americans in particular hold about us Canadians. I must also admit that everyone on staff is getting a kick out of having me around since there is another woman on staff named Leah who is also from Victoria. Oh and here is how crazy small our world can be at times . . . this Leah from Victoria is getting married in April to one of the leaders on my DTS, and guess who is performing the ceremony??? Well none other than our very own John Thwaites!

In class this past week we were mostly just getting used to the schedule so we didn't have as many lectures as we would other weeks, but we did get to hear some fantastic teaching on "Hearing the Voice of God." Our speaker was Peter Brownhill who is actually one of the founders of the Perth YWAM base, and the father of my head DTS leader Caleb. All the staff on our DTS are very nice, welcoming, and encouraging, and I think I am going to really enjoy getting to know them in the coming months.

We have a lot on our plate right now just getting used to everything and getting into the busy schedule and routine they have established on base. So if you are looking for specific prayer pointers for while I am away I will be needing prayer that I settle in well and get used to my new life here in Australia. It would also be great for people to pray for bonding within our school. For what is to happen in the coming weeks to be successful it is important that we become a family that is bonded together and not continue to be the isolated cells of people we currently are right now. We need unity to be maintained in our group quickly and we are just not there yet. A final note of prayer is for finances. I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to absorb the cost of this DTS until I have the finances to pay them back, but there are a lot of finances I did not count on and my debt is growing larger and larger. I do not yet know where God is calling me for when this is all over, but I would hate to be restricted to returning home to get a job to pay off my debt if that is not where God is taking me.

So there is a relatively brief introduction to my life here in Perth. I plan to update it frequently, so if you are wondering what I am up to or even just how you can be praying for me, feel free to access this blog any time and hopefully you will find the answers you are looking for! Thanks for reading and walking with me during this chapter of my Never-Ending Journey!