The hope of the nations!

     I guess I've been in Australia for nearly nine months now, and I'm starting to really miss home. I have missed home to an extent while here in Australia, but the last couple months I've begun to really miss home. It has become more difficult to be here serving in Australia. I realize how much I appreciate everyone and everything back home. Missing home has even gotten me a little bit down lately. But, God did call me to Australia, and that is why I'm here. I don't know how long God wants me to be hear, but I know right now He does want me here, and so, I stay here.
     Its good serving God, but not always easy. Sometimes it feels easier just to be obedient and go through the motions, but not have my heart in it. But I don't simply want to go through the motions and not have my heart in it. God is so good, and whether His blessing means me getting to live in Australia or Canada, in the country or in a suburb, He is still good. Its my desire to obey God, and I want to have my heart in it, all in. I want to keep falling deeper in love with God, keep building relationship with God. I want to keep running down the path He has laid out for me, shouting out how amazing He is! I want to be all I can possibly be in God.
     1 Corinthians 13 says, without love, nothing we do means anything. I don't want to spend my life doing things for God, and being empty of love. There is no point for me to be here in Australia if I am not loving, because nothing I do will then matter. I want to be full of God's love, full of love for the people around me, full of love for those I have the opportunity to reach out to. I want what I do to have eternal effect! Its God's plan for me to be here right now, and I want to be obedient. But I don't want to simply be obedient in my location, I want to be all I can be in God and do all I can do in God's love! I want to live in joy and serve in love!
     Its definitely not easy, but its possible.   :)    It means asking God daily for joy and love in my life, because God can fill me with true joy and love, and only God can do that. Sometime it comes down to a a choice. A choice to be joyful. A choice to look at the blessings God has placed in my life. A choice to look at the good around me. A choice to be positive and glad that God is working both in me and through me. It might not look like I expected, but God knows best, and since I am in the hands of the One who knows best, I can be glad!
     After all, Jesus life wasn't an easy one either. He lived to die for us, and every moment He spent on earth was dedicated to us! He never had a house or a family and beautiful comfortable things. He lived a servant life. But the amazing thing is, Jesus lived a life full of joy and intense burning love for the people around Him! Jesus not only gave His life on the cross to save us from our sin, but also gave his life up as he lived as an example to us! Jesus had so little, but was still so full of love and joy and all good things from God our Father. I know God is willing to give me the same, and He does! And I know He is willing to give to all who chase after Him and ask for good pure things! 

Easter Fest!

The Chai Tent

Morning Worship

     So I just got home from Easter Fest in Toowoomba a couple days ago. Easter Fest is the biggest Christian music festival in all of Australia: about twenty to thirty thousands people come to Toowoomba for it. And, every year pretty much the whole YWAM base here, as well as a few of the surrounding bases go and volunteer. There were a little over 1,000 volunteers at easter fest, of which 150 were YWAMers. We also brought our big ol' marquee tent there and set it up to do ministry. We built a couple temporary walls with a projector screen in one of them and a stage in front. We laid down carpets and arranged low tables and cushions for people to relax at. Every day during the festival we had various bands perform on stage and the DTS students from our base also performed music and dances. We played a movie on the projector every night, as well as a slideshow of all our outreach locations that I put together and some other YWAM promo videos. We also promoted the "pass it on tour" that we just kicked off, and a couple of the other YWAM bases promoted their bases/DTSes under a couple small tents around ours. We had a lot of time to mix with people, just having conversations and listening to people, encouraging people, and hopefully inspiring them too. And of course there are lots of nonbelievers at easter fest, so we had a chance to witness to them as well. 

     There were also a lot of smaller Christian bands playing at various locations around the city of Toowoomba. They played in small cafes, shopping malls and out on the streets. Every day a couple teams of us would hit the streets to help steer people to the different locations and do some street evangelism. Throughout the weekend we heard stories of people being led to Christ, a lot of praying for people on the streets, and even some healing! Its pretty dang cool! There were also teams that went through the youth camping sections to talk, stop fights and witness as well, and they also got to pray for a lot of people. 

Serving Chai

Various Performers

    So, we were basically at easter fest from last monday through this monday helping to prepare, put up tents, help with generally everything going on, eventually do ministry, and in the end pack it all up. Twas pretty sweet! None of us really got too much sleep, especially Stephanie. Angel was coordinating all of the YWAM volunteers and Stephanie was her right hand, so neither of them got much sleep at all. They usually worked till 1 or 2 in the morning, and were up between 5 and 6:30 the next morning all week. Crazy. It was a really cool experience, and encouraging to a lot of people. God was definitely at work and doing a lot. There were a lot of other Christian help organizations at easter fest promoting what they are doing, including Compassion child sponsorships, and a lot of children got sponsored through them! It was really cool! They also had a few organizations helping children out of child slavery and child soldiers and so on. It was really amazing to see so much good in one place, people dedicating their lives to the work God has given them. People doing things out of love rather than for money.   :)