tim tam slamas!

[The Australia Video Journal]

the dog days are over

[The Australia Video Journal]

hey guys! so much stuff has happened in the past 4 days, i'm feeling overwhelmed trying to document it all! So first off, on Thursday I got to meet all the girls from Brisbane, they are so awesome and cool. Sara, the one you saw is hi-larious, you should have seen us laughing our heads off for hours haha. Thursday night all the teens were watching HARRY POTTA and there was an extra ticket so Sara and I got to go! It was a great time (even though i was still super jetlagged and....slept through like half of the movie.....) And then Friday was when the Bliley's came who are leading the internship and we all met at Deakin University to have our first meeting. I was so nervous, feeling like I'm so inexperienced, younger, less spiritual, not knowing what to do or how to study the Bible and all that. Right after we met all the Sydney disciples - I always expected people to be cliquey or to not pay me any attention, but everyone had such great hearts and were so genuinely encouraging and warm! It was so refreshing! That's when us 6 interns split up into 3 girl/guy pairs to go sharing for the first time. At first, I was really nervous, but after the first one it was actually fun! Everyone says how hard it is to share with Australians, but God was so great, we got almost a full page of numbers. It's easy for me to be prideful and think "I'm so good at sharing my faith!" But it was totally God. After that, we all hung out and then boarded a coach bus for the campus retreat!!! There was a gorgeous beach 5 mins down the road with the most beautiful view. We had really inspiring lessons about faith and love, and I learned that it doesn't matter how small I may feel but that God wants to use those who are weak and humble. We also played fun games like tennis and bump, Sara and I belted out Florence and the Machine, and we had a dance partay the last night. I met a guy named Kapil who's from CANADA! woo! He moved to Melbourne 2 years ago and was reached out to by Aaron, a teen here and got baptized this year! We played Canada vs. Australia tennis and..lost. It's all good. Oh my gosh, there are a lot of Filipino's here, they would love Canada! It was sad saying bye to the Sydney people like Ashley, Brooke, Tia, Tash, Evan, Rob, James, etc etc etc etc. After the retreat, we went to the York's for a party and to celebrate Olivia's 21st bday! It was a lot of fun. Right now I'm pooped and trying to make sense while writing all this, and I think we're all going to drink some champagne for Olivia's sake ;) haha I won't have too much..

alright apparently i write HEAPS, so I should stop. I'm in love with these Aussies but I still love Canada! haha okay.

gday!

meg.

land down unda

[The Australia Video Journal]

This is Olivia Mains from LA, we're saaaaoooo kewwwwllll

- meg.

departures and arrivals

[The Australia Video Journal]

Hey guys! I made it safely, thank the Lord! I still can't believe I'm actually here haha. I know I'm going to learn so much and be forced to grow, the whole idea of the internship part is sinking in and I'm anxious about studying the Bible with students and sharing my faith in a new country, but we're starting officially Monday. God is definitely teaching me to trust in Him! Until then, He has really encouraged me with the people I've met  en route to Melbourne, and the amazing people here. We're a cool motley crew you could say lol. Anthony York has 3 little girls aged 2-5, they are like the daughters in "The Holiday" - so adorable! Especially with an aussie accent! This Friday is the Australia/New Zealand campus retreat, so it will be good meeting even more people and growing in my faith more. I'll definitely need it!

Love, Meg.

good life

:)


2 Timothy 2:22
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."


It's really cool cause I was reading 2 Timothy last night and this was Paul's last letter he ever wrote. He was in jail, practically alone, and sentenced to death because he followed Jesus, and so these were his last words to Timothy to stay strong as he was leading a church. It's easy to be bored reading the Bible or to not fully connect, but this showed me that it's not just "the Bible" but a collection of letters filled with zeal, passion, hope, love, sadness, and much more. It's so real! Hard to find in any old book, movie, or tv show where everything seems 'too good to be true' and unrealistic. This was a normal human being who was writing to his friend that he would never get to see again. I can kind of sorta relate because I've had to say a fair share of goodbyes the last couple days as I leave for the summer and won't be seeing a lot of old friends once we all start our separate university lives. 


I hope you all have a wonderful summer and promise me that you won't just let it pass by but show your friends and family how much you love and appreciate them! You won't always have that chance.


- meg.


:)

encourage my soul to the maximum

hey guys,
so yeah the video says it all - wow it cut out early haha you didn't get to see my bungalow dance move! Today was one of the best days of my life, just seeing firsthand how God works and how trusting in Him paid off so well with today's events. He's teaching me how essential prayer is, and I can feel Him strengthening my faith - I believe a lot more now the extent of God's power and how limitless it is.
It's starting to set in that I'm really not going to see these people for a long time, and I'm becoming extremely sentimental and ponder-ful (?) about the whole thing. There are so many lasts to come, but also so many firsts :) This whole bittersweet thing is interesting, it's like my emotions are playing Pong. :P


I better get some rest for a long day of..sleeping in and packing and cheelin :D tomorrow haha I haven't had a chill day since last friday! woot woot! Let's hope people don't schedule a showing for my house (since it's for sale) and i don't have to clean up and leave for hours at end. Crossing my fingers!


much love,


- meg


Psalm 1:1-3
 "¹ Blessed is the man
   who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
   or sit in the seat of mockers. ² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
   Whatever he does prospers."

our home and native land

hey yall, i'm super cool with my intense video effects aren't i?! :P i forgot to post this last week, but yeah time's just flyin by. The fireworks were a-maaazing, it felt like a 3-D movie when things pop out at you - only it was 3D..because it was real life...

ANYWAYSS ciao for noww :)

- meg

lol.