Back in Townsville...

It is so good to be back! It’s been great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. I am so excited to be back because I know I’m where I’m supposed to be! On Saturday night we had youth street (a ministry outreach here at the base for 12 to 17 year olds that live in the community) and it was great. It’s amazing to see how some of the kids have grown just over the seven months I’ve been away. I had some great talks with some of the youth; it’s so incredible to see the Lord working in their lives and in their hearts! I talked with one girl who became a Christian just this year and she already has so much wisdom in the Lord. (Please pray for her because she wants to come to a camp we have here the week before Christmas, but isn’t sure if her mom will let her; so pray that God will work it out for her to come). I also met a young boy who appears to have a rough home life and really struggling with who God is. He stated that God is angry with him and when I told him that the Lord loves him and thinks he’s something special, he said there’s no way. Please pray for him, that the Lord will really soften his heart and draw him to an intimate place of love.

I’m so excited about how the Lord is working here at the base. Throughout the year the base has four Discipleship Training Schools (DTS), starting in January, April, July and October. There is also an Introduction to Primary Health Care School (IPHC) that starts in October and a School of Music and Mission (SOMM) that starts in January. Students arrived last weekend to start the IPHC and DTS. I’ve been able to talk to a few of them so far and discovered that there are students from Holland, England, Canada, Germany, Australia, and all over the U.S.

The base has different housing they rent to the students and people on staff. Right now I’m living in a house with some of the DTS students. There are 28 students on the DTS and only 7 of them are guys, so there are a lot of girls. The house I’m staying in has an upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs has one room with 8 girls staying in it. There is also a toilet and sink downstairs. The upstairs has 3 bedrooms, a living area, kitchen and bathroom. One room has 4 DTS students, another has 2 staff, and then there’s my room. I am currently sharing my room with a mission builder. The base offers opportunities to people all over the world to do short term mission trips. Jobs include volunteering in the kitchen, maintenance, and other areas around the base . So I will be sharing my room with her for the next 3 weeks.

Since it’s my first time on staff I’ll be doing a year long internship called the Staff Leadership Internship (SLI). For the first two weeks I’ll be doing lectures in the morning, where I’ll be learning more about Reef to Outback (the name of the base) and how things operate here. In the afternoon I’ll work in my ministry area. Throughout the year I will meet with the other interns a couple times a month and for the first 3 months I’ll meet once a week with the leader of the SLI. The SLI is a great way to get settle back into life at the base.

The ministry area I’m working in is Accounts. My job in accounts is to oversee accounts payable. So I will be processing bills that come through the base such as electricity, food, housing, etc. I’m still learning how to do the job but I’m really excited about this opportunity and looking forward to serving in this way. Please pray for me in this transition, that with the Lord’s strength I will do a good job in this ministry area!

There are 4 quarters throughout the year, so 3 months represents a quarter. Some staff on base usually rotate to a new job each quarter, but since Accounts is a big job to learn I will be there for 2 quarters (6 months). I really sense God’s peace about starting in this area. On Monday when I met with my SLI leader he talked about the vision the Lord gave him about helping build skyscrapers. When building skyscrapers it takes time to build the foundation and often times when you marvel at a building you don’t think about the foundation and how it got there but that is the most important part because if the foundation isn’t deep enough then the building will fall over. Well for me, I sense that starting in accounts is a great way for the Lord to start digging a deep foundation. I believe that I will be here at Reef to Outback for more than just this year. I trust and believe that God has called me here to really build me up. Not in what I can do but in what the Lord can do through me. In saying that, I believe that this year is going to be challenging, there will be trials and testing of my faith, but I believe it will be for good, it will develop perseverance which will in turn develop my character.

I greatly appreciate your prayers and I am so thankful for your support because I know that you have helped make this journey possible! Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to impact my life. I pray blessings upon you as you take the time to be involved in what the Lord is doing in this season of my life! Forever His!