Awhile back, a movie called "The Princess Diaries" was released. I, among the vast majority of young girls who saw the film, dreamed of the day I would come home from school to have my mom tell me that I was actually royalty and I had a country in some far away place awaiting me to take my rightful place on the throne. Of course, that sadly never happened. But in the closing scene of the movie, as Princess Mia is flying into Genovia, a song is playing in the background called 'Miracles Happen.' I always hoped so much that a miracle would come my way, that I would some day be a real princess! All this is to say guess what?? Miracles do happen!!!!! I witnessed a few just yesterday :)
Our base is pioneering a flying car. Yeah, a flying car. The first ever in Australia!! When in service, it will be able to fly to different islands in the south Pacific and then drive to remote areas to provide health care. Yesterday morning during base worship, two of the guys who are working on the car were called to the front. They are heading back to the U.S. on Sunday to finalize everything and work on bringing it back here. We were told that together, they needed $5,200 to provide for airfare and accommodations in their journey back to the states. We were then invited, if we felt led, to the front to make a pledge or donation for them. After about ten minutes of donations coming in and prayer, we held our breath and waited for the final number. $5,230!!! Hahaha what the heck!!! God provides. It was so awesome to witness! I've always heard stories of stuff like that happening but I've never actually been a part of it, so it was just incredible!!
Later that night, we gathered with just our Not For Sale school for a night of generosity. The people who were still in need of funds for lectures and/or outreach wrote it on the white board and prayed it would come through. We spent the night singing, laughing, and giving, not just with our money but with words and gifts as well. Altogether, over the course of about an hour in a room filled with people who barely have money for themselves, we raised over $7,000!!! We saw some peoples fees paid off completely and were just so encouraged by the generosity. It was so cool to see everyone's selflessness and willingness to help their fellow peers. I can't even explain the presence of God in the room that night. He undeniably works miracles.
Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, our school got to join in with the Reef to Outback in a full on rave dance party that was going on in the auditorium. I seriously love this.
God is so awesome!!!!! And always faithful!!!!! Woohooooo!!!!
On another note, we are going camping on Sunday!!! I will be away for two weeks without any means of communication, so have a great time in the meantime!! Much love, friends.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Did you know....?
Did you know that...
-There are around 27 million people enslaved in the world today. That's more than the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade and more than ever before in human history.
-The global slave trade generates around $32 billion a year. That's more than Nike, Starbucks, and Google combined.
-There are nearly 2 million children caught in the commercial sex trade. According to the FBI, the average age of child sexually exploited is 11.
-Approximately 80% of trafficking victims are women and girls and nearly 50% are children.
-Human trafficking includes and is not limited to: forced prostitution, domestic servitude, and bonded labor.
-There is anywhere between 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children trafficked across international borders every year.
"Human trafficking only exists because we choose to ignore it."
How can you help??
Become more aware and see if there is human trafficking and slavery happening right in your backyard:
http://www.slaverymap.org/
Download an app on your phone that gives information about companies you may be buying from and the part they are playing to either support or abolish the slave trade. Take that information and change your buying habits to purchasing items with the fair trade label. Did you know that if just 1 in 5 consumers change their buying habits, the company will be forced to make a change to satisfy the public and keep up their revenue?:
http://www.free2work.org/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/free2work-for-iphone/id406044086?mt=8
Learn more, take part, or give to organization that is on the front lines of fighting this!:
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.ijm.org/
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
http://sherescuehome.org/
and many, many more!
-There are around 27 million people enslaved in the world today. That's more than the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade and more than ever before in human history.
-The global slave trade generates around $32 billion a year. That's more than Nike, Starbucks, and Google combined.
-There are nearly 2 million children caught in the commercial sex trade. According to the FBI, the average age of child sexually exploited is 11.
-Approximately 80% of trafficking victims are women and girls and nearly 50% are children.
-Human trafficking includes and is not limited to: forced prostitution, domestic servitude, and bonded labor.
-There is anywhere between 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children trafficked across international borders every year.
"Human trafficking only exists because we choose to ignore it."
How can you help??
Become more aware and see if there is human trafficking and slavery happening right in your backyard:
http://www.slaverymap.org/
Download an app on your phone that gives information about companies you may be buying from and the part they are playing to either support or abolish the slave trade. Take that information and change your buying habits to purchasing items with the fair trade label. Did you know that if just 1 in 5 consumers change their buying habits, the company will be forced to make a change to satisfy the public and keep up their revenue?:
http://www.free2work.org/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/free2work-for-iphone/id406044086?mt=8
Learn more, take part, or give to organization that is on the front lines of fighting this!:
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.ijm.org/
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
http://sherescuehome.org/
and many, many more!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Hiii!!! Sorry it's been awhile, time seriously flies around here. I guess the biggest thing that has happened is that I found our where I'm going on outreach. Papua New Guinea!! I'm super, super excited :) We're leaving towards the end of April and will be there for 6 weeks. Where we will be staying and where we will be going is still unknown, but it will be an adventure for sure. Please be praying for our team to do God's work while we are there! Leading up to that time, we have about 3 or 4 more full weeks left on base, and the rest of the time will be spent camping and going on a mini outreach around Australia.
Last week in lectures, we learned about the nature and character of God. Our speaker was very engaging and had a lot of good things to say. He spoke a lot about topics that I have always wrestled with or thought a lot about and it was great because he gave a ton of new perspective. This week, the topic is relationships woohoooo haha. But it's good stuff and I think most of us here really need to hear it. God has been challenging me a lot this week to make changes in my life, but it's exciting at the same time.
A couple days ago was Valentine's Day and it was the best Valentine's Day I've ever had by a long shot!!! So much fun!! Our leaders announced to meet in our lecture room at 5:20, no need to dress up. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door that said to come back at 6 dressed in our nicest attire. So we did, and were led into the room by the few guys on our team to a totally transformed lecture room that resembled a nice restaurant. We proceeded to have live entertainment and the guys served us a home cooked meal they had worked on that afternoon. After, a video was shown that was a compilation of parents, siblings, significant others, etc. and what we meant to them. It was so sweet! It was awesome to see everyone's family and get a feel of their personal world. At the very end, the guys unveiled the white board that had the words "YOU ARE" written really big across with all the girls' names and adjectives filling in the spaces. It was so beautiful. Haha I'm seriously blown away everyday by what God does in this place and how His love is shown through so many people. It's amazing. My excitement and love for this place has not diminished since I've been here. Yay!! Life is good.
Last week in lectures, we learned about the nature and character of God. Our speaker was very engaging and had a lot of good things to say. He spoke a lot about topics that I have always wrestled with or thought a lot about and it was great because he gave a ton of new perspective. This week, the topic is relationships woohoooo haha. But it's good stuff and I think most of us here really need to hear it. God has been challenging me a lot this week to make changes in my life, but it's exciting at the same time.
A couple days ago was Valentine's Day and it was the best Valentine's Day I've ever had by a long shot!!! So much fun!! Our leaders announced to meet in our lecture room at 5:20, no need to dress up. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door that said to come back at 6 dressed in our nicest attire. So we did, and were led into the room by the few guys on our team to a totally transformed lecture room that resembled a nice restaurant. We proceeded to have live entertainment and the guys served us a home cooked meal they had worked on that afternoon. After, a video was shown that was a compilation of parents, siblings, significant others, etc. and what we meant to them. It was so sweet! It was awesome to see everyone's family and get a feel of their personal world. At the very end, the guys unveiled the white board that had the words "YOU ARE" written really big across with all the girls' names and adjectives filling in the spaces. It was so beautiful. Haha I'm seriously blown away everyday by what God does in this place and how His love is shown through so many people. It's amazing. My excitement and love for this place has not diminished since I've been here. Yay!! Life is good.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
February!
I can't believe how quickly time flies around here. I feel like every time I go to write these things, way too much has happened and I can't fit it all into one post!! Everything has been going really well though. Last week, our base director spoke on the topic of clear consciences and how vital that is to maintaining healthy and lasting relationships with the people around us and with God. It brought up a lot of stuff from peoples' pasts and it was humbling to hear them share about their struggles. It was another week of crying, which hopefully will be easing up soon hahaha. But I learned a lot about myself and it brought all of us here that much closer after sharing that week together. I celebrated my 19th birthday a few days ago and it was a blast!! It was a long day of lectures, but it was a great day. Some of the girls and I did a celebratory Tim Tam Slam (a fantastically genius Australian tradition) and then most of us from the Not For Sale DTS came along for a surprise outing of ice cream from McDonald's and bowling!! It was so great. I'm so happy to be here. God blesses me anew every single day and it's just incredible. Thank you to everyone at home who is supporting me and praying for me, I miss you guys and love you lots!!
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