It’s been 4 days since our church group landed back in Australia after our short, 2 week, mission to South East Asia. We learnt lots of things, had lots of fun and came back exhausted.
Some highlights were:
- Preaching in a church on a Sunday through a translator. I felt very privileged because I don’t think many Christians will ever have the chance to do what I did.
- The team of Christians we worked with while over there. They were really encouraging and passionate about seeing their country transformed. Their dependancy on God and contentment was very exciting to see.
- Our team from Church! They did a great job, even when really tired. There were no fights or serious conflict and everyone pulled their weight. It was really encouraging to be serving with them.
- Teaching English and getting to know some of the students
- Visiting orphanages and seeing the faces of the children light up in big smiles
- Visiting a bible college. It was exciting seeing just how different it is to Australian bible colleges and how much God has blessed us in Australia. It was also great hearing the testimonies of some of the students and how they came to be studying at the college
- Playing a 40 minute soccer match in the hottest, most humid weather I’ve ever played sport. Marty’s goal was a cracker and I’ve never been so happy to lose a game ever!
- The traffic. It was crazy random. But lots of fun. Especially when crossing the roads.
- Seeing God answer prayer and provide for us over and over again.
I was particularly challenged, after seeing how little the Christians had, at how content they were. It was also confronting to seeing how much I wanted to complain about things as I got tired, and how I had no reason to because the locals lived with it every day.
So that is a brief summary of my first trip. I could probably fill up a couple of posts with detailed stories, but I wont. If you want to hear more or see some photos, I guess you’ll just have to contact me.
But that is not all my adventures for the year. In a week and 4 days I will be jetting off to South America for 11 weeks!!!
While over there I will be travelling to Ecuador, Peru and Chile. I will be using the time to hone my Spanish skills, do some holiday and travel (Inca Trail FTW!) and work with some missionaries.
To keep you informed of what I’m doing while away I’ll be regularly updating this blog. For those of you who’d rather be notified by email, I’ve created a google group you can sign upto to receive updates in your mailbox. Simply use the box at the end of this post to sign up. Easy.
It’d be great to hear from you while I’m away too, but please be aware that I won’t be able to respond immediately to your email.