Hey!?

Statement or question?

I realize that I have failed the Facebook world with updates on how things are going in Australia other than pictures, so here is my July update, plus a little extra.

---

I never imagined that the word “hey” could be used in so many different ways. Obviously, “hello” or getting someone’s attention but also, “what did you say?” or “don’t you agree?” For example, hearing a phrase like, “that’s a good idea hey” would mean “that’s a good idea don’t you agree?” It initially seemed so out of place.

Who knew hey?

Unfortunately, I have not successfully adapted the Australian accent. I don’t think it’s going to happen. BUT I have picked up some phrases that I say all of the time now, which are going to sounds out of place back in the US.

I’m keen to – I want to

I can’t be bothered – I don’t care/want to

I’m happy to – I don’t mind

They have good value – They are awesome

I reckon – I guess/think (this one cracks me up because it sounds so southern and a friend the other day with English as his second language asked, “why do you always say, ‘I raccoon?’” I lost it.).

I’m getting used to driving a manual, which is still weird changing gears with my left hand, the mass of the car being to my left, and backing up when you’re used to looking over your right shoulder.

I have learned to appreciate heated blankets and sleeping with socks on because of the lack of central heating, but I love that it never gets too cold to wear shorts at soccer training. I miss summer. It’s been 11 months since I last had summer and I still have 10 more months to go till we meet again. This is the worst.

---

 

On the ministry side of things, God is crushing it.

My main ministry areas at Trinity Bay Church are the young adults evening service (TBE), co-leading a young adults growth group (OWN), co-leading a women’s growth group (WaGG), doing 1-on-1 Bible reading catch ups with 3 young ladies, and doing a good bit of design work. (I’ll break all these down in another update to come.)

Outside of the physical church, I have training once a week, do walk up evangelism, play for a soccer club, and am excited to have just started a social ultimate frisbee league.

And continuing to explore this great country!

My latest adventure: I was able to road trip into the outback with 6 friends from church. Exploring God’s creation never gets old.

Also, we were at Ayer’s Rock the same time as Hugh Jackman. Stayed in the same place he did. Did we see him!? NO. That’s what happens when you don’t have phone reception.

Still bitter about that.

Anyways,

Enjoy the video!

Love y’all!

Let’s Talk About Bacon

Food here in Australia isn’t that different. It’s the same type of food and maybe even the same style, but everything tastes just a little different (unless it’s made and shipped from the U.S. Thank you, Betty Crocker, for keeping your brownies true to its natural goodness here.). I mean, it makes since. Food grown and processed in one country is going to taste different than food grown and processed in another country.

It’s great for the most part, but some things are just not right.

Like bacon.

This is Australian bacon.

Why is there an extra mass attached to it?? You don’t need that. I wouldn’t be against the shape if it actually tasted like bacon instead of fried ham. Nope. My mouth is watering as I talk about this.

I was so excited when my host family said we were going to have bacon and eggs one morning until I tasted it.

But God is good and so is Costco.

An American couple here showed me the light and took me to Costco just for some American style bacon. They understood. Yes, it’s still made in Australia, but they did it right.

Anywho, other than bacon, Mexican food is sort of a struggle. It’s just not right. I guess that’s a blessing of bordering with another country…you get some variety delicious food!

Australia crushes it when comes to ice cream, pastries, curry, and allowing Krispy Kreme in the country.

Next food adventure on the list:

Hungry Jack’s is Burger King. Evidently someone copyrighted the name “Burger King” before they made it here, so they had to come up with a different name. Funny enough, whoever copyrighted it never actually used it.

---

Craving:

Honey Nut Cheerios
Chick-fil-A
Mellow Mushroom
a good ol’ American hamburger
yellow cheddar cheese
any and all of my mom’s cooking

Ahh, Celsius.

The month of April has been jam packed with learning, working, and having some great adventures on the side. The Bay started the month off with a handful of Easter events from handing out hot crossed buns to the Easter services to the Garden of Sinners’ Delight (a concert night of telling the death and resurrection of Jesus through song). I feel that my time here has already been well worth it due to how I am learning to use the gifts that God has given me to further His kingdom in the context of a church plant.

I used to question why I felt that God was calling me to work in a church overseas when there are plenty of opportunities to do the same at home, but I soon realized that being in a new church, a new city, a new country makes me lean and abide in Christ more than I ever would have in the comfort of my own country. Sometimes, God has to push me way outside my limits before I learn what He is trying to teach me.

On the adventure side of things, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to hold a koala, feed and pet some kangaroos, do water sports on the nearby river, hiking, and spending some time with the young adult women. God is so good.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

SPOTLIGHT: WaGG

WaGG is the Women’s Growth Group. This is a picture of an Easter event that we hosted where we created a welcoming environment for newcomers to hear the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection while spending quality time making grass crosses and chocolate eggs.

Praises and Prayer Points:

– Thankful that I have these wise women in my life.
– That we challenge each other to grow in our faith and understanding of God.
– Others will come to WaGG and will help know God through us.
– I will be leading one of the lessons in our Job series so pray for guidance (praise that the Holy Spirit cleans up my mess when I speak).

Side Note:

Not knowing the metric system and Celsius is killing me! I found a lovely converter app that is now my friend thing because if not, I have no idea what temperature it is if I ask someone or how much butter to put in some homemade cookies. I know, life is hard.

Waking up to R2-D2

Week one and done.

I have officially been in Adelaide for a week. God has been so good to me the whole time I have been here.

Starting Sunday, I was introduced to Trinity Bay Church (where I’ll be doing my apprenticeship/internship for the rest of the year). So far this week, I have been trying to learn about the Bay and all that it entails. I’ve been to things like their Sunday morning service and the young adults evening service to the women’s growth group and a nearby campus ministry. It’s helping me get a grasp for all that Trinity Bay does and will help me see in what areas I can get involved in and grow in my ministry abilities, but also how I may be able to use the gifts that he was given me to further his kingdom.

Fun facts that I’ve learned in the past week.

1. Fish and chips. Really delicious.

2. “Morning tea” and “afternoon tea” are just referencing the drink.

“Tea” that is going to happen after 4:00pm is actually supper (dinner).

And “supper” after 8:00pm is a snack.

So until I get that nailed down, I have just decided to say yes every time tea is mentioned, so I don’t miss out on food.

3. Even with an adapter, using an American hairdryer in as experience. I now put it on Low ad Cool because if not, it will blow and maybe burn my hair off. I felt like I had a mini leaf blower in my hand the first time I turned it on.

4. Their bill are plastic and colorful.

5. I love the weather. And the lack of humidity is awesome. Not only when I run the water actually evaporates off my body and keeps me cool like it’s supposed to, but I haven’t needed to use my straightener yet since I got here. Girls, you get it.

Also, getting to leave the window open all day is such a blessing, especially since it sounds like I wake up to R2-D2 from Star Wars every morning. Thank you, magpies. This is real life.

This has been an amazing experience. Everyone has been warm and welcoming. I am staying with the pastor and his family for the time being and I love them and where I am staying. I’m learning what it’s like to have younger siblings and I love it so far!

Please keep me in your prayers as I learn how to adjust and try to figure out what the Lord is wanting me to do while I’m here.

The Start

After about 30ish hours of flying, layovers, everything I owned being scanned, running in airports, naps, lunges, movies, and one very cold KitKat bar, I made it to Adelaide, Australia with a few new learned facts.

1. If you’re on a really long flight, give everyone a little giggle by doing lunges down the aisles. Your body will love you.
2. Train your brain to wake yourself up when you hear the distinct sound of the flight attendants walking by and whispering and take whatever they are handing out. It might be a moderately delicious piece of fruit or it might be a cold KitKat bar that you never knew you were craving (I can’t tell you how much I needed it).
3. Don’t get excited when a short Qantas flight is handing out brownies. The brownies in their purest form are tainted. Mine had raisins.
4. I will never complain about being small.
5. LAX is the worst, but you will find at least one angel that will help you out tremendously (like give you the correct plane ticket that you were supposed to get in NC).
6. God takes care of me.

All in all, it was a surprisingly pleasant trip. The 16 hour flight was really nice! I was given plenty of food and it was the first time in a while that I was able to sit and think and not go 100mph. God knew I needed that.

When I entered Australia, the first thing that stuck out to me was Krispy Kreme. I would like to apologize on behalf of the USofA for letting that leave the country. Also, you’re welcome.

I am 14.5 hours ahead. Unfortunately, that does not mean that I can tell you the future. I wish.

What little time I’ve had in Australia, the culture differences are not as evident to me, but I’m excited to learn them. I love humbly learning about other cultures! I love how unique God has made his creation.

I am staying with the TEAM missionaries here, Ray and Marti Williams, for the first few days. The name of the game for yesterday and today has been Keep Kristen Awake, which is a lot harder than you think. Jet lag has been kind to me thus far, but it does hit me ever once in while that my body shouldn’t be awake (as I’m writing this it’s Thursday 3:26pm and it’s Wednesday 12:57am in the US).

There is a big tree outside my window with a bunch of little green parrots that are so hard to see because they match the leaves, but so sweet to hear. I saw a koala my first night! I want one.

Fun facts:
Australia uses the word “fortnight” on a daily basis. That makes me so happy.
Stay classy, Adelaide.
And succulents are really easy to grow in such a dry, warm climate.

100% Pledged | Departure Date: March 9th

100% Pledged! Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying for my goal of 100%. Every contribution was essential. Praise the Lord for providing! Please pray that all of the pledged donations will come in as well as some cushion if the Lord deems that necessary. Departure date: March 9th

---

Predeparture Training | Chicago, Illinois

This past week was an amazing time of encouragement, planning, and confirmation. We learned what it looks like to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, which is essential for your relationship with Christ in order to be full to pour into the lives of others. We went over what overseas missions looks like logistically and how we can best prepare whilst fully trusting in the Lord’s plans. It was an overall time of encouragement being surrounded by others who are going through the same journey and experiences that I am.

I hope everyone is staying warm and please feel free to watch my video below of an overview of the very cold, but encouraging week of training.

Thanks!

Training Days 1 & 2 | Loving God With All Your Soul

Yesterday, I took the lovely flight from Charlotte to Chicago with an empty seat next to me on the plane, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and with the knowledge that I’m about to be welcomed with a 20º drop in temperature. Bring it.

On the bright side, I found out that the cheapest mode of transportation from the airport to the training center is by limo. Don’t mind if I do. I tried out every pocket, button, and seat until I started making myself car sick. Tehe.

The snow has actually been really nice. Other than the dirty snow that has been pushed to the side of the road, it looks clean. New. Beautiful. It’s a nice change.

Anyways, last night consisted of us getting to know those we didn’t know and getting introduced to the topics for the next few days. We’re focusing on the first commandment.

Matthew 22:37
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

So today (Tuesday), we went through what it looks like to love God with all of your soul. It was interesting to see how others love God and take care of their soul differently. For me, it can be reading through a commentary on a book of the Bible, but for others, it could be learning and playing some new worship songs.

I love being reminded of how the body of Christ is fully whole and yet so blatantly different. What a blessing.

Also, tonight we were treated with a lovely coffee tasting. One of the couples is opening up a coffee shop in the Philippines and they wanted us to participate in a coffee tasting that they usually would set up for potential supporters. It was a great way to see what their ministry will potentially look like while also having a great time of fellowship, even though I don’t enjoy coffee.

82% Funded | It’s Getting Real

This is actually happening.

It always has been, but I’m starting to feel it. Every once in a while, my stomach turns with excitement for about 20 seconds, I get a good kind of nervous and excited, and then I realize that there is still a good bit to do before I can go, which tends to level me back out.

As you can see, the overall amount has decreased and in combination with more donations that came in, I am up to 82%.

Side note: there were some real tender donations that came in the past couple weeks. It’s not the actual money that makes it so sweet, but everything the money represents. Faith. Sacrifice. Support. Encouragement. Fellowship. Etc. I, admittedly, teared up a little. 

Moving on. There is good and bad in having to wait.

Negative: The longer it takes me to get there, the less time I will have in Australia. (Obviously, God knows what He’s doing.)

Positive: God know’s what He’s doing. The longer it takes for me to get there, the less money I have to raise because of the less overall time I’ll be in Australia. Eventually, as the overall amount decreases over time and the amount raised increases over time, those lovely lines will intersect.

---

 What’s next??

• My training in Chicago is ever approaching. I’m getting less excited about how cold it might be, but more excited about what I will learn.
• I am looking to talk to people about partnering with me finically. That looks like 4 families at $100/month and 5 at $50/month, but every contribution is huge.

---

Please pray that God will continue to work through me and through everyone who is directly involved in making all of this happen. May He be glorified in everything we do.

Break it Down | Eat Muffins

I had a really funny dream the other night. I guess this shows how much fundraising is on my mind lately. Anyways, it might not be humorous to you, but it makes me giggle.

Picture this. Every time a donation is made online, someone on the receiving end in some form sees it come in and might have to process it a little if it’s not a fully automated system. I imagined that a bunch of donations come pouring in all at once. Like maybe 100 donations or so. Each no more than $3, which in my dream was annoying for the computer to process.
The computer begins to get overheated from all of the donations.

Too. Much. Giving.

BOOM!

Mini-muffins.

Yes, muffins.

(I made this little guy today, just in case you needed a visual.)

They covered everything! Including the woman who was sitting at the computer ‒ Joan (She had a nameplate in my dream. It, like everything else, was covered in muffins.)

No one was upset that the computer broke because who doesn’t love an explosion of muffins?? I don’t know.

I woke up smiling because of all the happy employees in my dream eating muffins. The end.

For some reason in my dreams when something is about to go wrong or when someone gets so excited that they can’t even, something or someone explodes into mini-muffins. I never know when it’s coming. And it’s always awesome.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a ploy to get you to donate. Hence, no “donate” link anywhere to be found. I know you are craving a muffin (because they’re just cupcakes without icing), please eat responsibly. Do not eat and drive. No running with muffins. Don’t touch the muffins right when they come out of the oven. Stop. Drop. And mini-muffin.

---

Now let me break it down.

But no really. Things have been progressing along nicely and I can see the end in site!

$11,434 to go! That means just $1,143/month.

I’m looking for 10 families at $100/month and 3 families at $50/month to partner with me financially for 10 months.

OR however much anyone feels led to give is an AMAZING addition. Every bit makes a dent!

If it can be helped, it would be good for me to leave no later than February.

Urgency in the Wait | 71%

Christmas time was hectic.
Things seem to have called down. And, as expected, so has the support.

God will provide when he deems necessary. He still is. He has already done so much!

But there is a certain urgency that I feel while I wait. While God is working.

The internship that I’ll be participating in while in Australia starts this February and goes until December. That’s in less than 3 weeks. I, obviously, won’t be making it at the start. Pastor John and Trinity Bay have been really kind and gracious by not putting any pressure or guilt on me for not being there in the beginning. They know that God is in control and His timing is perfect.

But that doesn’t take away from the urgency and necessity for me to get to Australia as soon as I can. It’s been interesting trying to find the balance for putting everything in God’s hands, but, also, being an active participant. We are not called to sit back and wait for God to lay everything we want or need in our laps (though He is more than capable of doing that).

Would you pray that I will be actively participating in contacting people to ask to partner with this mission financially, that God will work in the hearts of those I am contacting, and that I will fully trust in Him?

---

If you feel led to partner with me, I would love to tell you more about what God is doing in my life.

Also, I’m creating a list of emails to send out newsletter updates while I’m gone. If you’d like to be added to this list, send me your email address.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Donate.