Memories

I was running some errands today, and I had a flashback of when I was in Australia four years ago. I honestly can't believe it's been that long ago. a) Because that was my sophomore year of college, and surely that couldn't have been four years ago :) and b) that trip to Australia is just still so vivid in my mind... So pardon me while I reminisce a bit. For those of you who either weren't there or haven't heard the stories this will give you a little bit of an idea on what has motivated me to go.

God did so many amazing things in me during the two months our team was there, and I am excited to see what He has in store this time around. I remember being somewhat apprehensive about the trip because I had never been overseas before and I barely knew anything about Australia. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with the country, the culture, etc. Wow. Australia was so beautiful, and the people were so welcoming towards us. Right from the start our church family there welcomed us into their homes and offered to do practically anything for us. They even had a birthday party for me when they barely knew me, and one family offered their car to us the entire time we were there! These are just a couple of examples of how they demonstrated themselves as the Body of Christ.

I could probably write pages and pages about how much I loved being there, but the main thing was just how the Lord developed in me a desire to share the gospel with people all over the world. My whole perspective changed. My ministry partner, Christy, could tell you that it was really hard at times, but it was so worth it because God taught us so much about persevering and how to share our faith with people outside of those who act and think just like us (i.e. Bible Belt). Plus, just to see that Christianity is not viewed the same in that part of the world as it is in the U.S., or even the South was very eye-opening and life-changing for me. I say life-changing because I knew after that summer that the Lord wanted me to be involved in overseas missions... I just wasn't sure how.

And now, here I am going to Perth. I can't believe it. I can, but it's hard to believe, still, that it's actually here in just a few days! I cannot wait to see what the Lord is going to do. I'm sure that the experiences God has in store in Perth will be much different from the experiences I had in Townsville, but I can only imagine what He is going to do!