Is anyone feeling in a charitable mood? My iPhone was killed last week when I was literally caught in a flood in Queensland over Easter + it’s gonna cost more than it’s worth to repair it. So, I mean + I’m just saying, but would anyone be interested in giving or buying me a new iPhone?

Hello again!

So, where to start..I feel like so much has happened in the couple of weeks since my last post!

Most recently, I suppose, is that I finished my STS (Staff Training Seminar) on the 19th. It was an amazing 3 weeks of lectures that was centered around living in community and training for our various areas we would be working in.

You know, that reminds me actually—some of you may be wondering what I mean when I say “living in community”. I guess as a base we sometimes have some lingo and I forget that not everyone necessarily knows what I means, sorry! So I’ll define that for you really quickly here. When I say “living in community” I am referring to the mm..lifestyle we have here on base. See, for those of you who don’t know, there are about 100 people (staff and students) all living on the base at the moment. This is obviously not exactly a normal living situation. One of the values we have as a YWAM base is being in community—we all do life together. We have all our meals together (for the most part), we clean the house together every morning, we worship together a few times a week on base. Since we are all away from home we really make it an important point to strive for a family feeling on base.

I guess I’ll quickly wrap it up here with some highlights..

The October DTS returned from outreach at the beginning of the month and we got to have one last awesome week with them before they headed back home to carry out the great commission in their home towns and wherever else God may send them. I miss them heaps!

I got to go to Sydney with the YouthStreet dance team and we had an amazing day wandering around the city. We filmed the dance routine they’ve been working on for the past 2 months while I was home on holidays, and are in the process of putting that together into a music video to play in the background of our next performance which just so happens to be this coming Saturday night!

On that note, Saturday night is the first YouthStreet Parent Concert of the year. I’m heaps stoked on it—if not a little bit frazzled. See, I’m sort of organizing/hosting/coordinating it as part of my job here in the YouthStreet department. It’s so much work, but it is going to pay off! We are stoked to be building relationships with the parents of our crew.

And speaking of our crew, here’s a pretty sweet story about one of them. On my first Saturday back at YouthStreet Live I got the privilege of building a new relationship with a new crew (youth/student) attending that day. The message that night was called “The Truth Hurts, Lying Sucks”. It really hit her hard and she opened up to me a lot afterwards, telling me her story. God totally gave me the words to say to speak life over her wounded heart. And as He showed me His heart for her I found myself crying tears of love and compassion for her. She couldn’t understand such love or comprehend God as a loving father, but she fully got the revelation of His love and before long she was crying too and asked me to pray with her to accept Christ!!!!

So it’s stories like these that you guys are all making possible with your prayers and financial support! I am sooo so immensely thankful! You are all amazing and I am so grateful for you all. 

Be in touch soon,

Christy<3

Well I just wrote that it’s 2010. It’s not. I’m a little out of it still, as you can possibly tell. I’m a wee bit jet-lagged from my 34+ hours of travel that it took to get here to Newcastle. But I am here! And that is what this post is meant to inform you of! 

I arrived into Sydney at 6:30am on the 1st and got to Newcastle (via cab/bus) by 11:30am (due to dropping off several other passengers before me). After arriving at Lewis House and dropping my bags off, I quickly changed out of my winter garb and into shorts and a singlet to be better prepared for the warmth of the day (107 degrees fahrenheit!!). Afterwards I went right down to the warehouse for STS (Staff Training Seminar) lectures for the morning. I spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting my room set up with my roommate, Hannah. Here is where I will segue briefly to tell you a bit about my lovely roommate. Hannah is a great friend of mine I met while I was here doing my DTS. She is from Sweden, and is pretty much one of the coolest peeps I know. I’m pretty stoked to be rooming with her!

I’ve found that the best way to get used to the time difference is just to try and not sleep at all until bedtime. So that’s exactly what Hannah has been forcing me to do—stay up til at least 10:30pm every night watching Gilmore Girls and chatting til my eyelids feel like they’re being crushed down by entire elephants sitting on them. I guess it’s working..but I still feel like I’m walking around in a dream mostly. (;

For the next 3 weeks my mornings are filled up with STS lectures, getting me prepared for my time on staff. The other people on my STS are Susy (a returning staff member), Talea (from my DTS), and Brooke (also from my DTS and my old roomie). My afternoons have me working in the YouthStreet department for the next few weeks. I am working with some of my awesome friends, which is such a great privilege! Sam, Jaso, Sez, Stevie, Brooke, and a group of 4 college kids from Washington here on a mission trip for 2 months are among my co-workers in the department. My job is mostly focusing on the logistical/planning side of things right now, and on evangelism. I get to go into a lot of schools where we have lunch programs and that during the week. So excited! A bit nervous, to be honest, but mostly excited!

Another thing I want to fill you in on is a thing called provisional staffing. This is what I will be considered to be doing for the next 3 months. Basically provisional staffing means that I will be in a position where I can kind of bounce around from department to department to sort of get a taste of what they are all like. It doesn’t make me any less of a staff member than I already am, it just means I get a little more freedom to roam. (: While I am on provisional staff (and once I am done with STS in 2 1/2 more weeks) I will be spending my mornings working in the Creative Department, and my afternoons in YouthStreet.

Right now I am sitting here in the warehouse offices working in the YouthStreet Department on some logistics and helping Sam plan out our next month or so of events and school ministry. It’s a nice toasty afternoon so I have a fan blowing on me full blast here by my desk. And I am writing on tumblr and trying to hurry and finish before it’s time to leave the office and, with it, the good internet. 

Also, here’s something you guys could keep in your prayers if you think of it. My computer has started acting up once again. My speakers aren’t working and neither is my camera. Also, it sometimes won’t turn on..all of these things are quite frustrating if I want to ever uh, you know, use the laptop. Sooooo..yes. Hopefully I can head to the Mac Store this weekend at Charlestown Square and see if they can help me out. Eep. /:

Anyhow, it’s time for me to head off and I’m sure this is going to be much longer already than anyone really will want to read. (: Really quickly, though, I’d just like to say thank you again to my supporters! It’s so crazy that I am actually here right now, and that is thanks to you!! I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it wasn’t for all of you. I’m so excited to see what all God will continue to do here in Newcastle!

Lots of love to you all,
Christy(: 

Alright, so I have only about 2 minutes to spare right now, so this will just be a short post to be updated later this afternoon. But I just needed to share with everyone some HEAPS exciting news! Yesterday afternoon, after blogging that previous (and quite lengthy) post, there was AMAZING financial breakthrough! I can’t give specifics on the amount as I don’t yet have a final number (going to the bank later, to clear things up, though!), but I CAN tell you that I now have all of my initial amount needed to be able to head off to Newie for certain!!!! I will still, obviously, need my monthly support, but this is a HUGE stride in the right direction! God continues to blow my mind with His provision and timing.

So, all that being said, I am leaving for Newcastle again on Saturday, February 26th. That’s 10 days..! So if you are here in Boise, let’s make sure we get to hang out before then, aye? And if you are in Aus, then I shall see you in 11 DAYS, my friends! (:

Thank you all again for your continued support (both financial and prayer supporters)!
Much love,
Christy xoxo 

Well, we’re about 11 days out from my intended departure date. Sometimes it seems like I still have so much to do.

I woke up this morning feeling absolutely exhausted. I worked a 14 hour shift yesterday. 14 hours. 14 HOURS. And I couldn’t help but feel discouraged at the thought that even after that incredibly long shift and one of the worst nights of work in my entire life, I still would have only made $49 in salary and $130 in tips. That seems like so little when I think about the fact that I still need to raise about $1,150 more before I leave in under two weeks, and after that, still another $5,000 or so by the end of the year. What is $179 in comparison the the $6,150 I know? …Right?

But you know what? I have NO BUSINESS being a bummer like that! God is a miracle-working God and He WILL provide where He has given a calling! I believe that 100%. He has always come through for me and I believe He will this time, also.

So I’m sitting here in my room right now, crunching numbers, watching a video given to me by the mission board at my church on building Partnerships and Support Raising, when I get the idea to check my savings account. Right as I did, my mum texted me to tell me that a family friend she bumped into had just given her a check to give me. With this added amount I now have my first two months of support raised! A little while after that I got 3 emails from friends saying they want to be monthly supporters! 

So although, in my eyes, it might still seem like I have a long way to go, it is so obvious to me that God is MOVING! Throughout this time of waiting on His timing and provision He is showing me so many cool things and building my trust and faith. I can’t wait to see how God’s provision will continue to appear as I seek to continue after His calling in my life!

One more thing I wanted to share. On the video I’m watching, Henry Janowski, the speaker, brought up a really interesting point. By supporting a missionary you are not so much supporting the person themselves as you are the actual ministry of that person. By supporting me, I am being enabled to continue on in an amazing ministry that God has laid upon my heart as a calling. I think I need to re-watch that episode again so that I can write up a more filled-out post with my thoughts and the main points!

And to all of you who are already or have previously been supporters of my work in Australia, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your gifts of faith are making my ministry possible.

Lots of love!
Christy<3 

(Source: facebook.com)