December, 25, 2010
I have been back in Australia for almost three months and, even though my room does not show it, I have settled to the fact that Australia is now my second home. I can't believe that my second home is going to be without snow and cold weather on Christmas day. I also can't believe that my Christmas will be spent enjoying a BBQ, slip-n-slide, and day at the beach; but it will and I am excited. I'm going to miss everything about Christmas in North Carolina and I have to admit, I have shed a few tears over that fact.
The past few weeks have been such a whirl wind. After I finished my Staff Training School I spent a week getting back into working in the kitchen in the mornings and working in the Registrar Team at the office in the afternoons. With time I became more comfortable with the jobs I was placed in and for that week I was able to walk out in confidence in my roles. At the end of that week, me and four other staff members from my base left for Sydney to do a Phase 1. Phase 1 is a two week training program that equips you to staff a DTS in YWAM. So, for two weeks I lived at a different base in a room with nine other girls. I went to class every morning and afternoon and each evening my time was filled with homework for the next day. I was able to get to know people from four other YWAM bases and become better acquainted with the staff from mine. The lectures were stretching and full of information I had never heard before. I have learned so much about how a DTS functions and the purposes behind everything we did on my school. I learned the importance of being intentional, how to teach a skill and assess a student on that skill, and how to properly do a one-on-one. I learned the importance of learning styles and ways to helps each person preform their best by simply providing snacks or short breaks and setting the room up right. So, while all of this was being mentally processed God was also speaking to me a lot. He was speaking about my value and His heart for me here in Newcastle. He was speaking to me about honoring leaders and being qualified for a task simply because He has chosen me. He spoke to me about sacrifice and becoming settled where He has me. Between God and Judith Knight, our teacher, I was barely able to keep up.
When those amazing and hard two weeks came to an end we went back to a house full of excited DTSers who had just come back from outreach. The next day I was apart of a Christmas concert put on by our youth ministry, Youth Street. I am still apart of the Dance Team and our team preformed two dances during the evening. That whole day was spent getting ready, having rehearsals, making food, working in the Cafe and preforming. It was an incredibly rewarding day but beyond exhausting. I am so proud of the Crew or teens that really stepped up and preformed to the best of their ability no matter how silly they might have felt. I love seeing Crew given an opportunity to show off their amazing skills and going for it.
The day after the Christmas Concert was Base Retreat. Base Retreat is a four day camping trip that our entire base goes on. We all pack ourselves into vans and head to the same beautiful camping grounds I camped at on my DTS. For fours days we live together in tents and eat our meals out of tin plates and listen to amazing lectures and cool off in the refreshing lake. For four days we are given the opportunity to relate to one another and God in a unique way. Away from the distractions of the world we are able to value one another and intimately hang out with our creator and Dad. We had a speaker from the Townsville base named Ken Mulligan who spoke every morning and a few of the evenings. He spoke on being a servant and following God through anything and not becoming and remaining offended easily and much more. Everything that Ken spoke on was exactly what I needed and it caused me to become so uncomfortable that I had to act on what I heard. I love that kind of teaching, the kind that not only inspires me but also motivates me into action. During those four day God once again began to speak to me about things I didn't really want to address. He continued to poke me until he gained my attention and I allowed Him to work on me.
I have been home for a week now and it has been one of the hardest weeks of my YWAM career. This week has been filled with inward struggles and the taking on of new task. The fact that I will not be home for Christmas began to sink in and I had no intention of missing the holiday season so much. Everything, from hearing Christmas music to smelling a pine tree make me tear up and miss being home even more. More then anything I want to be in my house with the Christmas tree lit up getting ready to bundle up and go pick out a Christmas tree to bring home and decorate. The beautiful thing about living life with Jesus is that He becomes everything you need, even holiday spirit. Even though I miss everything so much I have such a peace in the fact that I am exactly where I need to be and that God is right along side me.
I pray that your Christmas will be filled with joy and laughter and family and blessings. Choose to cherish every moment , even through the stress. Thank you so much for being apart of my life. It is such a blessing to have you as apart of my extended family making me feel so loved and supported from the other side of the world.
Merry Christmas,
Hannah
Prayer Request:
My Working Holiday Visa expires on the 11th of January. I have made a mad dash to get everything done and sent off. If you could please pray that my application ends up in the right hands and gains a swift approval that would be great .
That I will hear God clearly on what His vision is for me in this next season.
My roommate, Ashley Swinney, is still in the States due to lack of funds. Please pray for breakthrough in finances so she can come join me in our room.
Financial needs:
$100 for a small air cooler to lessen the unbarable heat this summer.
Monthly Support for:
Laundry-$16 a month
Food-$40 a month
Clothing-$40 a month
I now have a pay pal account. It is a quick and easy way to donate right to my personal account. www.paypal.com
1. Go to the web site
2. Click on Send Money
3. Click Send Money Online
4. There are directions from there
Feel free to ask me any questions you have about this and anything else.
