Retreat

We had Mid-Project Retreat this weekend and it did not come a minute too soon. Part of me is absolutely amazed at how fast the time has gone by this trip. We have been in Australia for over three weeks. I feel like we just landed! Yet, I can tell we have been here for a while based on how tired I have become. Waking up and going through the daily routine got a lot harder after that first week. So, this retreat was great for everyone. Oh, and the LORD provided so well for us on this time. We had a house for the guys and one for the girls, both about a ten minute walk from the beach. You have no idea how nice just hanging out in a house can be when you spend an extended time living in a hostel with very little privacy. Our group had not been able to just hang out as themselves for quite a while, because it is very hard to find a place where you are all alone in the hostel. We watched a couple of movies, relaxed, ate fish and chips, and just hung around the beach. Such a blessing for our team!

Some of the cool stuff that happened while we were there. We had a team time that went over our expectations of team behavior. It was amazing to see how many people on the team felt like we had adhered to our norms. We have a very rare group on this project, one who truly loves one another and seeks for others benefits! That was Friday night. Saturday night was really really cool. We split up into gender times. Obviously, I was with the guys. So many of the guys were just worn down and a couple were even pretty sick! I had this whole idea of what I wanted the time to look like, most of it came from the book Wild at Heart. I wanted these guys to feel like they could jump in the foxhole with one another and be a band of brothers. Struggles were shared and prayer was had. While the physical may not have been healed, I felt a comfort over our spiritual lives. Then we all came together for prayer and worship. The worship was so great because we could yell as loud as we wanted without having to worry about waking up the people in the next room over! It is so great to meet with Jesus like that when you feel like you have had to hold back a little. We prayed over all the people we have initiated with, had spiritual conversations with, shared the gospel with, and brought to Christ! My particular group prayed really hard for those who we had shared the gospel with, because they are now held accountable for hearing it. It was so crazy to read off all the names that were in the jar and lift up each of them to the LORD. We also took some time to pray for our hearts and over the empty jar, that the LORD would overflow it with the work of His kingdom in Australia. I feel so blessed to be here, it is incredible!

I did a little reflecting this weekend. This trip is so different than the last time I was here. We live in the city, the school we reach is much larger, our evangelism looks different this time, and my role is completely different. I have responsibilities besides outreach that take up my time. I have leadership duties, shepherd over the group, and disciple the guys. Each one of these things takes up quite a bit of time. I rarely get free time, which is partly why this weekend was so great! But as I reflected and am continuing on, I realized I am learning so many lessons through my time here that are different from last time. First and foremost, I am learning how to be a biblical leader. I am really starting to feel like this is one of my spiritual gifts. It is incredibly hard, but I love it! There is so much that this entails. It starts with learning how to plan time and do all of the administrative things. I'm also learning and growing in how to truly disciple men. This has been my favorite part of the job. I have never poured into guys as intentionally as I am pouring into this group and I know God is doing work in them. I am also growing in preparing lessons and speaking God's truth in front of others. This is a lesson I am truly valuing while I am here. Besides all of these things, I am learning how to be humble, keep short accounts, and forgive others. I make mistakes. I am learning how to admit them in a humble way that continues to grow myself and the team. Sometimes people don't act exactly how I would want them to. My orientation is to not forgive them and be bitter for some time towards them. This trip is teaching me slowly how to grow out of that, and believe the best in people. God has been growing me in so many ways and I don't even know how to put them all down.

Please continue to pray for our team. Prayer is such a vital part to our ministry. Right now, you can pray for healing. Three of our team members (Blake, Trevor, Jared) are quite sick. I am afraid that this could spread to even more of the team. So please pray for the LORD's healing hand over our team. Also, pray for our last two weeks of campus ministry. Pray that big things would happen, people would understand the gospel! Pray for urgency in our mindsets, and that our weariness would not slow us down. Also, pray for me. I have been reflecting a lot, but I am also looking forward to the next chapter. I will be done with classes after fall, and I would really love for God to show me a vision for what's next. I have many great ideas, but I want my path to be of Him. Last time I was here, God helped me a lot in this area, so I would love for prayer here. And as always, pray for my leadership. Thanks and much love!