Week 2
Hello, from Australia! It feels like just yesterday I sat down to write my first blog post because this week has been crazy busy!
As the days go on, I'm starting to feel more and more at home. It feels as if I've known all these people for my whole life. I can't imagine not knowing the amazing friends that I've made. It's like an alternate reality here, because everyone is focused on God, and only Him.
Joanne Blaik was our speaker for this week, and she was a huge inspiration. She had so much knowledge to share, we even had two extra lectures during the evenings. She spoke on identity and how important it is to know God before ourselves. She explained how we can't believe that we are good until we believe that God is good. We also spent a lot of time on the differences between what the world wants of us compared to how God sees us. He created us all so uniquely, even though the world tries to tell us differently. There are so many more amazing things that she taught us that I can't fit into this single blog post.
On Wednesday, we did a very interesting exercise. We were to get into two lines, stand arms length apart from each other, and stare into the eyes of the person across from us for two to three minutes. As you can imagine, it was extremely awkward at first. As we became more comfortable with it, we began to ask God how He sees this person. It was amazing to see the different words or images God gave people just by looking into their eyes. I was surprised by a lot of the things people got from my eyes, and others were spot-on and just what I needed. I realized that people are such amazing creations, because we are all so different yet all made in God's image.
We experienced one of the coolest things ever on Friday. We were told to write down the lies we believed about ourselves, tear them up, and write the truths about how God created us. We were then put into groups of about 15 people, and took turns sharing our testimonies, proclaiming our truths, and being prayed for by our group members. For most people, the leaders of the group would get a sense from God of something else we should do for the person sharing, such as being hosed down, washing their feet, or being lifted into the air by your group members. It was hard to open up to everyone and be so vulnerable, but it was amazing to know that it was such a safe place with no judgment. My heart broke to hear about the pain some people went through, but it was so inspiring to see them encouraged by our prayers, words, and actions from God. After I shared, they played "No Longer Slaves" by Jonathan David, and I rededicated my life to the Lord. Since then, I've found that I am more at peace with myself, and that I really am a child of God. Everyone in my group went, so we basically prayed for people for eight hours, but they were some of the best hours I've ever experienced. It was like my heart was shaking with excitement for people being so open, and trusting us to lift them up. I wish everyone at home could have a chance to experience something like this, because I can't even begin to describe how spectacular it was.
And to finish off a great week, we all went to Billabong Sanctuary on Saturday. We were shown dingoes, koalas, wallabies, kangarooes, wombats, and the feeding of a crocodile. I even held a python and a baby crocodile (which I told myself I would never do)! We ended the day with some beach volleyball and delicious spaghetti bolognese.
After an amazing and emotional week, a day of rest today was much needed. I'm super excited to head into another week of lectures focused on "Clear Conscience." I look forward to sharing more about my experiences next week! I hope all is well at home, and know that I am missing all of you!
As the days go on, I'm starting to feel more and more at home. It feels as if I've known all these people for my whole life. I can't imagine not knowing the amazing friends that I've made. It's like an alternate reality here, because everyone is focused on God, and only Him.
Joanne Blaik was our speaker for this week, and she was a huge inspiration. She had so much knowledge to share, we even had two extra lectures during the evenings. She spoke on identity and how important it is to know God before ourselves. She explained how we can't believe that we are good until we believe that God is good. We also spent a lot of time on the differences between what the world wants of us compared to how God sees us. He created us all so uniquely, even though the world tries to tell us differently. There are so many more amazing things that she taught us that I can't fit into this single blog post.
On Wednesday, we did a very interesting exercise. We were to get into two lines, stand arms length apart from each other, and stare into the eyes of the person across from us for two to three minutes. As you can imagine, it was extremely awkward at first. As we became more comfortable with it, we began to ask God how He sees this person. It was amazing to see the different words or images God gave people just by looking into their eyes. I was surprised by a lot of the things people got from my eyes, and others were spot-on and just what I needed. I realized that people are such amazing creations, because we are all so different yet all made in God's image.
We experienced one of the coolest things ever on Friday. We were told to write down the lies we believed about ourselves, tear them up, and write the truths about how God created us. We were then put into groups of about 15 people, and took turns sharing our testimonies, proclaiming our truths, and being prayed for by our group members. For most people, the leaders of the group would get a sense from God of something else we should do for the person sharing, such as being hosed down, washing their feet, or being lifted into the air by your group members. It was hard to open up to everyone and be so vulnerable, but it was amazing to know that it was such a safe place with no judgment. My heart broke to hear about the pain some people went through, but it was so inspiring to see them encouraged by our prayers, words, and actions from God. After I shared, they played "No Longer Slaves" by Jonathan David, and I rededicated my life to the Lord. Since then, I've found that I am more at peace with myself, and that I really am a child of God. Everyone in my group went, so we basically prayed for people for eight hours, but they were some of the best hours I've ever experienced. It was like my heart was shaking with excitement for people being so open, and trusting us to lift them up. I wish everyone at home could have a chance to experience something like this, because I can't even begin to describe how spectacular it was.
And to finish off a great week, we all went to Billabong Sanctuary on Saturday. We were shown dingoes, koalas, wallabies, kangarooes, wombats, and the feeding of a crocodile. I even held a python and a baby crocodile (which I told myself I would never do)! We ended the day with some beach volleyball and delicious spaghetti bolognese.
After an amazing and emotional week, a day of rest today was much needed. I'm super excited to head into another week of lectures focused on "Clear Conscience." I look forward to sharing more about my experiences next week! I hope all is well at home, and know that I am missing all of you!
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| Banjo the sleepy koala. |
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Wanda the wombat
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