I can't believe it has already been 5 weeks since I left for an adventure of a lifetime (<--great new Coldplay song by the way). I've been able to explore Brisbane a lot more too. A week ago I was able to see/hear one of my favourite artists of all time, Chet Faker, at the outdoor river stage in the city. It's awesome because you don't have to buy tickets, you can just stand outside the fences and listen to the amazing music Chet Faker graces us with. ;) This past Saturday I also spent in the city going to the manmade beach, enjoying fish & chips in the rain, and watching the beautiful explosions of clouds our Creator showed off at the top of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs.
Earlier that morning I went to a fellow DTS student's art show. She is an incredible artist [Tori Heavenor] so check out her work!
We ended that wonderful day with some Mumford & Sons at the same river stage. Ah! So good.
Aside from all of the fun activities we've had, God has been doing AMAZING things here. Week 3 our lectures were on Relationships taught on video by a YWAM legend, Dean Sherman. His teaching was very easy to understand and he had a very goofy personality which is always a bonus! God taught me a lot that week and I've been able to process it all really well so I can get as much out of it as I can. He would always start each video with, "What's the biggest problem in the world?" then everyone would say "relationships!" It's so true! Every war, conflict, argument, divorce, etc. is caused by a relationship problem. If the people in the relationship love each other as they love themselves, then it will all work out wonderfully. There was so much more I learned that week, but I'm already at 335 words, so moving on!
The theme of Week 4 was Bible. We went through the timeline of everything that happened in the Bible chronologically! It was so cool to see when and why everything happened. I feel I have a way better knowledge and hunger about the Bible than ever before! It felt like a movie, I was so excited and anticipating Jesus to be born when we were going through the timeline!
We found out our outreach locations last Monday which was SO exciting. Everyone has been waiting to hear our locations and we finally got them! The 6 options were India, Japan, Australia (touring around Queensland), Berlin, Detroit, and Malaysia. We had one day to pray about where we were to go and then write it down and turn it in! I heard a clear word from the Lord for what country I was to go to which relieved a lot of stress. We haven't gotten our confirmation yet from the leaders, but as soon as I do, I will be posting where I will be going on outreach! God had this country on my heart since before I came to Australia, so it was super cool to see it be an option and then hear a clear confirmation from God! Now, the outreach isn't until the end of January or beginning of February, so I've got so much time to prepare. In the meantime, though, we have been doing local outreaches which are a blast! I've gone to churches to hang out with the kids and make them animal balloons, went to a festival on halloween and made more animal balloons and hung out with clowns, and the last one I did this past Friday was a rave for a youth group! I learned new Aussie games, worshipped, handed out food and desserts, and danced my heart out of course!
Overall, my experience here has just been getting better and better. There is so much happening and so much to say, so if you want to hear more about my experience, hit me up! This week we are learning about the Holy Spirit, and today was unreal. I'm so excited to see what else I'll learn this week and wonder how many times my mind will be blown.
I'll keep the updates coming as often as I can!
-RB