So much going on, so little time to share . . .

So here it is, the second entry of my clearly amazing blog. I wish I had the time to share every detail of what goes on here as it has been so exciting and so much fun, but there is so little time to actually sit down at the computer and process all that goes on. However, I will highlight the important parts and you can count on an update about once a week now that I know more what my time and scheduling contraints look like.

So now that that is all out of the way, it's time for the ultimate question . . . what all has been going on since I last shared with you? Well first of all I just feel the need to share with you all that it was beautifully sunny and about 35 degrees Celsius today. I thought you'd enjoy knowing that since it was probably raining in Victoria ;-) But on to more important things. We had a crazy, busy, exciting week here in Perth. We received teaching on the character and nature of God from the base director Shirley Brownhill, and it was amazing! One thing we were taught in the first week is that how we relate to God often depends on how we view Him. If we view Him as distant and indifferent that is how we will react to Him, if we view Him as mean and unjust we will probably react meanly and unjustly towards Him, etc. It was very enlightening because so many people have such an misunderstood view of who God is and react out of this misunderstanding. It can end up being quite the paradygm because one of the best (and sometimes only) ways to develop an accurate view of who God is is through spending time walking with Him and listening to Him, but if we already have an incorrect view of who He is we don't want to spend time with Him because we think He is mean or distant or whatever. So that is one thing that has stood out most to me: the importance of an accurate view of who God is.

We learned many many many other things about God's nature and character, many of which I had heard already but believed only in my head not in my heart, and some of which were new and exciting! So as a whole the teaching this week was phenomenal! At times it was difficult to focus completely because we started morning exercises this week so are now having to get up at 5:45, so I was completely exhausted, but what we were learning was so interesting that for the most part I was rapt to attention.

Apart from morning exercises, other new things we were introduced to this week were our weekly small groups and Thursday night evangelism. My small group was fantastic! Our leader set up a table in the dining room really nicely and we had hot chocolate and did Tim Tam Slams! It was yummy! It was great too, because as I was walking to small group that night I was thinking that I would love a hot chocoloate because it was quite cold out. Amidst all the fun we also got to hear everyone's stories of their walk with God and how they ended up at YWAM. It was really interesting because I hadn't heard anyone's stories before and it helped us all to understand and get to know one another better.

Thursday night evangelism was the other new event for us this week. Every Thursday night every person on the YWAM base (staff, students, families, everyone!) goes out in teams and meets people in various locations around Perth offering them prayer and letting them know about God's love for them. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my entire life and I am told it will get easier as the months go on since we will be going out every Thursday which is good because I found it incredibly awkward! It was good though. Nothing spectacular happened with my partner and me, but other groups had people come to know Jesus and a few people were even healed as groups prayed for them! It was definitely an interesting night.

So it was a crazy week this week, but it was so good. Relationships are being forged and cemented and right now everyone gets along really well. I'm sure eventually the honeymoon period will be over and there will be more disagreements, so that is something that can be upheld in prayer, but right now things are going well. As always prayer for safety is appreciated; the drivers here are crazy! Pedestrians do not have the right of way at all and the other night a bunch of us saw a girl almost die as a car missed hitting her at just the last second. Also be in prayer even for the city of Perth, that hearts here would be opened and that we would be able to reach the people who are desperate to feel a little touch of love. As I elluded to before, our schedule is busy and jam-packed and we get up early so prayer for energy and stamina would also be greatly appreciated :-)

I do not know what to expect of next week as it has a notorious reputation in YWAM, but as a whole I am learning not to have expectations at all, because things never go as expected. God has me on a crazy journey here, but I am trying to remain open to where he is leading me. So until next time, thanks for joining me for a session of my Never-Ending Journey.