Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I last posted. We have had an incredibly busy summer down here and the blogging just slipped away from me.
I hope the new year finds everyone in good health and good hope- this year is still an open book, and anything can be written in it's pages. I remember the beginning of 2010; I had no idea what was in store for me! I can't believe that I have moved to a completely different country and actually feel like it's home. I just never would have thought that I would actually do it.
If you have dreams or big changes materializing in your new year, be encouraged that God is next to you on the journey and He will never leave you to navigate alone. That's something I have definitely come to trust in this past year.
As I begin 2011, I am sitting in the hottest known week in Sydney on record- period. And today is the hottest day on record in 5 years. The actual temperature is 42 C, but the "real feel" is 46 C (115 F!!!!) I don't ever remember Texas getting up to 115. For the past few weeks, all of which have been above 38 C, we've had the air conditioner on. This is a big deal, seeing as none of the houses here have insulation, which makes AC VERY expensive. We try to wait as long as possible before putting it on, but it's so hot that people are getting sick- so we really have no choice. Here's to hoping that our electricity bills aren't through the roof!
I think it's funny that my dad sent me pictures of snow at our house in Texas- and here I am melting. It's just another reminder of how physically far apart we are right now.
We had Christmas Spectacular, which turned out to be just that! It was so fun to participate. I feel so honored to get cast in that show- doing the math, we played for over 20,000 people during the course of 2 weekends- one of which was Hugh Jackman. Good thing I didn't know that before I went on or I would have freaked out. This show is such a great ministry because it's free and very accessible to the community. It's really well done, fun, and attracts a lot people- while ultimately presenting the message of Jesus at Christmastime.
Dad, Mom and Forrest came to visit from December 29th- January 10. We had New Years together watching the spectacular fireworks on the Harbour Bridge, and a wild escapade trying to get home on public transport (which included people throwing up on the train and getting stranded by the bus at 4:30 am)- we made it home around 5:30 am. But, it was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm glad we did it. We saw the sights of Sydney, including Manly Beach, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the Rocks, and then headed up to Cairns, where we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and rode a skyrail through a rainforest. We also spent some time at an Aboriginal cultural center, which was really interesting. Mom and I did some shopping for Opals and Pearls while Dad and Forrest went on a crocodile spotting cruise. We also bought Forrest a real Didgeridoo, and Dad and Mom bought aboriginal art. We really enjoyed the feel of Cairns- very tropical and friendly. After Cairns we went to Beerwah, near Brisbane, to go to the Australia Zoo. It was a fun day of feeding the elephants, watching all the different shows- including Terri Irwin feeding crocs- and spotting Kate Gosselin and her 8 kids filming an episode of Kate plus 8! After Beerwah, we spent a night in Brisbane in a really posh hotel. We went up to the pool and while we were there, a family did a baptism. Of course, Dad had to go take pictures for them and introduce himself. After Brisbane, we came back to Sydney for a night and saw a show in the famous Sydney Opera House. The next day I said goodbye and we parted ways.
I was so glad they came to visit, but I won't lie when I say I wish I could have gone home for the holidays. It was somewhat difficult to spend Christmas here alone. I did sing in choir on Christmas eve and Christmas day, which was nice. And on Christmas day one of our trainers had us over for a barbecue. But being apart from family is rough, and if I stay here another year I will save my money and fly home for Christmas. It's nice to go to the beach, but I miss sweaters and hot chocolate.
Anyway, I made it through Christmas, had a lovely visit with my family, and then sat around for a week doing basically nothing- I was so glad when new people started arriving and everyone came back from their home countries to start school again. We have three new housemates. One from New Zealand, one from Sweden, and one from the UK. Everyone is getting along well. Last week, we had Powerhouse Retreat (for 18-25 year olds) with Hillsong, and we went up to the Central Coast. It was handy to have a housemate that is from Central Coast- myself and three friends stayed with her instead of paying for housing. I enjoyed the retreat and the speakers and worships, but I really enjoyed reconnecting with my friends after the long summer break. We went to the beach, skinny dipped in her pool and stayed up talking. I needed that time, for sure.
We returned from retreat and started intensives for the new semester. So far everything's gone well. We're taking Church in Ministry and Communication in Ministry- two very useful, practical classes. I'm very happy to be back in class.
My birthday is Thursday and it's going to be interesting to have a summer birthday- usually my birthday falls in the middle of the icy-est, coldest part of the year- but I'm hoping for a beach birthday this year!
Work is still going well, but is not going to pay for a second year's tuition. So, I am going to apply for a grant from the United Methodist Church. If I get the grant I will stay; if I don't get the grant, I will have to go home. I'm very proud of making it through this year without major help from anyone, but the money is just not going to stretch much further. If anything, this year has been an exercise in trusting God's hands for provision. But I also trust that if he wants me to stay, He'll provide money. And if He doesn't want me to stay, He won't provide money. Simple as that! My desire is to stay, so that's what I'm praying for.
I'll sign off now- got to go put another frozen dish towel on my back.
What are YOU praying for in 2011?
Love
Aislinn
I am at the point where I truly feel planted in this church and in this city. Yesterday as I was coming home from work, I looked around me and really felt like I was part of the scene. I got off the bus by the Queen Victoria Building to catch my train home, and I looked like every other Sydney-ian (ite?) there. I had my headphones in, I had a coffee in hand and I was darting in front of buses before the walk signs were green in order to catch the train. I was even wearing all Australian-purchased clothing. And I thought, the great thing is, I actually know where I am and where I'm going. I never thought I would know where I was in the Sydney CBD- it's so big and there's so many people- but I finally feel like I could never get lost there.
It's sort of like that at church too. At first when I came I was overwhelmed with the amount of people in this church. A person could easily get lost there if they let themselves. I'm not saying that the Hillsong community doesn't reach out, because they certainly do. They do their best to connect everyone. I've never seen it work better than at Hillsong, despite the size. I'm simply saying that because of the sheer volume of people in the auditorium each week, it's easy to remain anonymous if you truly don't want to become planted. But fortunately for me, I'm in college and college students are who the church depends on to run (I'm only repeating what I hear from pastors. :) ) there was no way I was getting lost. I got planted into several different ministries really fast. But out of my connections here, I've gotten to do some really fun stuff in the last few weeks. Here is a condensed list:
- I'm in Christmas Spectacular. And just like Hillsong's church body, this production is HUGE. We have 10 performances in Sydney alone- it involves video, audio recordings, huge sets, full costumes, a cast of over 35 people AND sold out shows in both campuses every night already. I'm a character who has lines and solos in multiple scenes, so I was in the recording studio for 6 hours the other night (yes. Hillsong has multiple recording locations on campus.) recording not only chorus parts, but my solo bits as well. It's been really fun.
- I got to be in "choir" for the live album recording. Even though they overdub most of the sound in the studio and then layer it on top the live recording, my smiling face will still be on the DVD right behind Nigel, the guitarist's, feet. Look for it. Also, my voice is on the DVD extras section speaking over some footage talking about what worship means to me.
-I got asked to record album overdubs. My vocal trainer Sheila (who is on stage in the DVD by the way.) asked me if I'd like to do choral overdubs for album. I went the other night and there was a group of about 30 of us. We stood in a circle in the chapel around a huge microphone and sang through the songs together, recording all the harmonies as well. So if you're buying the new album and you hear a really lovely blended choir part with harmonies you're hearing the 30 of us! And yes, it took forever- about an hour per song.
- I went to Thanksgiving at Brian and Bobbie's house. All the Americans and Canadians were invited for a day at the river, and they made us a really lovely meal (hey. It wasn't the best Thanksgiving meal in the world, but they really tried to make traditional foods. It was sweet). There was music, hammocks, boats, a rope swing, volleyball, and even a game of American football. It was nice. I got sunburned and I actually didn't mind.
- The other day when I was walking home, the recording engineer from the studio saw me and gave me a ride to her house, where the family she lives with was having a real American Thanksgiving. There were all sorts of traditional homemade foods there- even cornbread dressing! And we learned about Joshua House in Ukraine. They took up a mission offering for it and I think they did really well.
- Grad dinner was Thursday night, and we went and had a ball. Great food, good music, and tons of pictures. Then afterwords, a bunch of us from Hills and City campuses decided to go salsa dancing. We walked to a club on Darling Harbour that had free admission on Thursday nights and danced until the late hours of the morning. After we left, we hit up a 24 hour Maccas on the way home and then fell asleep in our beds as the sun was rising. I never do anything like that, but I feel comfortable to do it here with these people and it was so much fun.
I've been praying for some provision over break, something extra on top of my normal work. After spending days sending out my resume, my current employer asked me yesterday if I wanted extra days. So it looks like I will be doing Mondays and Tuesdays in December, maybe January. If I start saving now, I could be able to pay tuition for a 3rd semester....
Well. I am leaving now to get ready for Christmas. Going to get decorations and small presents for people. Also going to find my cookie recipe for tomorrow's cookie making party at a friends' house. Robin's parents are here for 2 weeks, so I may meet up with them later.
I hope everyone else began their Christmas season with as much fun and joy as we're having around here!
Love,
Aislinn
It's sort of like that at church too. At first when I came I was overwhelmed with the amount of people in this church. A person could easily get lost there if they let themselves. I'm not saying that the Hillsong community doesn't reach out, because they certainly do. They do their best to connect everyone. I've never seen it work better than at Hillsong, despite the size. I'm simply saying that because of the sheer volume of people in the auditorium each week, it's easy to remain anonymous if you truly don't want to become planted. But fortunately for me, I'm in college and college students are who the church depends on to run (I'm only repeating what I hear from pastors. :) ) there was no way I was getting lost. I got planted into several different ministries really fast. But out of my connections here, I've gotten to do some really fun stuff in the last few weeks. Here is a condensed list:
- I'm in Christmas Spectacular. And just like Hillsong's church body, this production is HUGE. We have 10 performances in Sydney alone- it involves video, audio recordings, huge sets, full costumes, a cast of over 35 people AND sold out shows in both campuses every night already. I'm a character who has lines and solos in multiple scenes, so I was in the recording studio for 6 hours the other night (yes. Hillsong has multiple recording locations on campus.) recording not only chorus parts, but my solo bits as well. It's been really fun.
- I got to be in "choir" for the live album recording. Even though they overdub most of the sound in the studio and then layer it on top the live recording, my smiling face will still be on the DVD right behind Nigel, the guitarist's, feet. Look for it. Also, my voice is on the DVD extras section speaking over some footage talking about what worship means to me.
-I got asked to record album overdubs. My vocal trainer Sheila (who is on stage in the DVD by the way.) asked me if I'd like to do choral overdubs for album. I went the other night and there was a group of about 30 of us. We stood in a circle in the chapel around a huge microphone and sang through the songs together, recording all the harmonies as well. So if you're buying the new album and you hear a really lovely blended choir part with harmonies you're hearing the 30 of us! And yes, it took forever- about an hour per song.
- I went to Thanksgiving at Brian and Bobbie's house. All the Americans and Canadians were invited for a day at the river, and they made us a really lovely meal (hey. It wasn't the best Thanksgiving meal in the world, but they really tried to make traditional foods. It was sweet). There was music, hammocks, boats, a rope swing, volleyball, and even a game of American football. It was nice. I got sunburned and I actually didn't mind.
- The other day when I was walking home, the recording engineer from the studio saw me and gave me a ride to her house, where the family she lives with was having a real American Thanksgiving. There were all sorts of traditional homemade foods there- even cornbread dressing! And we learned about Joshua House in Ukraine. They took up a mission offering for it and I think they did really well.
- Grad dinner was Thursday night, and we went and had a ball. Great food, good music, and tons of pictures. Then afterwords, a bunch of us from Hills and City campuses decided to go salsa dancing. We walked to a club on Darling Harbour that had free admission on Thursday nights and danced until the late hours of the morning. After we left, we hit up a 24 hour Maccas on the way home and then fell asleep in our beds as the sun was rising. I never do anything like that, but I feel comfortable to do it here with these people and it was so much fun.
I've been praying for some provision over break, something extra on top of my normal work. After spending days sending out my resume, my current employer asked me yesterday if I wanted extra days. So it looks like I will be doing Mondays and Tuesdays in December, maybe January. If I start saving now, I could be able to pay tuition for a 3rd semester....
Well. I am leaving now to get ready for Christmas. Going to get decorations and small presents for people. Also going to find my cookie recipe for tomorrow's cookie making party at a friends' house. Robin's parents are here for 2 weeks, so I may meet up with them later.
I hope everyone else began their Christmas season with as much fun and joy as we're having around here!
Love,
Aislinn
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I remember living in Texas and thinking to myself every time I passed a bus downtown, "Damn, I'm so glad I'll never have to ride one of those!" Capitol Metro has a stigma of being the transport of choice for the homeless, dangerous, high or otherwise inebriated economically disadvantaged person- or UT students. None of which was me, so I never thought I'd have to learn to use the bus system. Plus, the buses at home only run in certain areas- definitely not into the more suburban neighborhoods. You might say the bus routes cater to the aforementioned crowd.
However, in Sydney, it's completely different. I have no car here. I can walk to school and the grocery store (if I'm not getting more than two or three bags worth of food) but if I want to go to the mall, post office, movies, or maybe even to a friend's house that doesn't live in Glenwood, then I need to take the bus. At first this was fine- I would maybe take the bus once or twice a month. However, since I started working in Balmain, which is across the Sydney Harbor on the inner west side and a good 40 Ks from my house- I need to take the bus once, sometimes twice, a week. Actually, I take a bus, then a train, then another bus. Both ways. Total each way? 1.5-2 hours on transport- depending on the day of the week (weekends are slower) and if the buses are on time.
My morning, when taking transportation, looks somewhat like this:
6:45 am- wake up, shower, pack lunch, dress, eat breakfast, make sure I have my wallet/ ipod and book, and run out the door.
7:52 am- catch the T65 to Parramatta at the T-Way station behind my house (thank god for a close bus stop!)
8:30 am- arrive at Parramatta, where I run down the stairs to my right into the train station.
8:35 am- board a train from platform 1 to Town Hall station (Downtown Sydney in the Queen Victoria Building)
9:08 am- arrive at the QVB; go up into the light and run across a MASSIVE intersection to the York St. Bus Stand B
9:17 am- catch the 442 to Balmain from York Stand B
9:28 am- get dropped at Balmain Town Hall; walk 3 minutes to work.
9:31 am- arrive at work.
And then when I leave at 6, I do it all over again. Now, there's a good chunk of time (especially at night) when I just sit around waiting for the bus. For example, if the train from Town Hall back to Parramatta runs slow, I'll miss the 7:10 bus back to Glenwood and have to wait for the 7:40 bus. Not good. So, I definitely run for my life to try to catch buses and trains.
Now the funny thing about Sydney's transport is that it seems like everyone uses it. I've seen men in business suits going to the City; old grandmas with their shopping, young moms with strollers, kids going to school in their uniforms (no school busses here- they just all get a free pass to ride the city buses). I'm not in the least bit intimidated to ride the buses here. They're generally clean. Sometimes they're old, but clean. Sometimes they're so full I have to stand. EVERYTIME I ride the train down into the City in the mornings, I stand the whole way.
I think my favorite part of the journey would be Chinese Santa. He drives the T65 in the mornings. Everytime someone gets on the bus, he shouts "Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!" in his Chinese accent. He plays Christmas music over the radio and yells out the doors as he passes stops, "You want my bus? Christmas Express here!" It's so funny to watch the way people on the bus react. Some people ignore it, some laugh, some look at everyone else to see what they're doing. When we get off the bus, he always yells, "Take valuables, take you bags, you papers, you umblellas- Or else I give away! Ho Ho Ho!" Man, it makes for a fun ride. :)
The trains are a little scarier than the bus because for some reason more people who are obviously drunk or high get on the trains. I think it's easier to get on and off a massive 8 car train than a small bus without being noticed. Plus you could potentially get one ticket for a train; and ride trains all day- as long as you didn't try to go back out through the stations you wouldn't have to present a ticket or buy another one to re-board. Let's just say I'd never take my laptop on the train, or sleep, like I see some people doing. On the other hand, if you don't know where you're going, the train is easier than the bus because it stops at every station and announces the station over an intercom- unlike the bus where you just have to know your stop and push the button.
Since I've been taking the same route for about 2 months now, I've got it down pretty well. I am sort of interested to see what my family thinks of our lovely public transport when they come visit at the end of next month. My mom's reaction to the trains should be fun.
Well, that's all for now.
Chow!
However, in Sydney, it's completely different. I have no car here. I can walk to school and the grocery store (if I'm not getting more than two or three bags worth of food) but if I want to go to the mall, post office, movies, or maybe even to a friend's house that doesn't live in Glenwood, then I need to take the bus. At first this was fine- I would maybe take the bus once or twice a month. However, since I started working in Balmain, which is across the Sydney Harbor on the inner west side and a good 40 Ks from my house- I need to take the bus once, sometimes twice, a week. Actually, I take a bus, then a train, then another bus. Both ways. Total each way? 1.5-2 hours on transport- depending on the day of the week (weekends are slower) and if the buses are on time.
My morning, when taking transportation, looks somewhat like this:
6:45 am- wake up, shower, pack lunch, dress, eat breakfast, make sure I have my wallet/ ipod and book, and run out the door.
7:52 am- catch the T65 to Parramatta at the T-Way station behind my house (thank god for a close bus stop!)
8:30 am- arrive at Parramatta, where I run down the stairs to my right into the train station.
8:35 am- board a train from platform 1 to Town Hall station (Downtown Sydney in the Queen Victoria Building)
9:08 am- arrive at the QVB; go up into the light and run across a MASSIVE intersection to the York St. Bus Stand B
9:17 am- catch the 442 to Balmain from York Stand B
9:28 am- get dropped at Balmain Town Hall; walk 3 minutes to work.
9:31 am- arrive at work.
And then when I leave at 6, I do it all over again. Now, there's a good chunk of time (especially at night) when I just sit around waiting for the bus. For example, if the train from Town Hall back to Parramatta runs slow, I'll miss the 7:10 bus back to Glenwood and have to wait for the 7:40 bus. Not good. So, I definitely run for my life to try to catch buses and trains.
Now the funny thing about Sydney's transport is that it seems like everyone uses it. I've seen men in business suits going to the City; old grandmas with their shopping, young moms with strollers, kids going to school in their uniforms (no school busses here- they just all get a free pass to ride the city buses). I'm not in the least bit intimidated to ride the buses here. They're generally clean. Sometimes they're old, but clean. Sometimes they're so full I have to stand. EVERYTIME I ride the train down into the City in the mornings, I stand the whole way.
I think my favorite part of the journey would be Chinese Santa. He drives the T65 in the mornings. Everytime someone gets on the bus, he shouts "Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!" in his Chinese accent. He plays Christmas music over the radio and yells out the doors as he passes stops, "You want my bus? Christmas Express here!" It's so funny to watch the way people on the bus react. Some people ignore it, some laugh, some look at everyone else to see what they're doing. When we get off the bus, he always yells, "Take valuables, take you bags, you papers, you umblellas- Or else I give away! Ho Ho Ho!" Man, it makes for a fun ride. :)
The trains are a little scarier than the bus because for some reason more people who are obviously drunk or high get on the trains. I think it's easier to get on and off a massive 8 car train than a small bus without being noticed. Plus you could potentially get one ticket for a train; and ride trains all day- as long as you didn't try to go back out through the stations you wouldn't have to present a ticket or buy another one to re-board. Let's just say I'd never take my laptop on the train, or sleep, like I see some people doing. On the other hand, if you don't know where you're going, the train is easier than the bus because it stops at every station and announces the station over an intercom- unlike the bus where you just have to know your stop and push the button.
Since I've been taking the same route for about 2 months now, I've got it down pretty well. I am sort of interested to see what my family thinks of our lovely public transport when they come visit at the end of next month. My mom's reaction to the trains should be fun.
Well, that's all for now.
Chow!
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How many of us would say we always truly believed in faith that God would respond to our prayers? I sure can't say that. How many times have I prayed for something only to wait on an answer that never seems to come?
I think because I am learning to pray in a way that is honoring to God, using the Word in my prayers, and staking my claim on faith, God is finally "proving" to me that He really does hear our prayers.
After all in 1 Peter 3:12 it says that "His eyes are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers."
Now...righteous simply means that you are in right standing with God. Not that you are perfect, or never make mistakes, or hold yourself above others. Simply that because you love and wish to honor God, you make right choices to please Him. That's all.
Once I figured out that for most of my life I haven't really been righteous, I decided to be open to a response from God in my prayer life now. It was like...click! "Oh...yeah. Um, I feel like I've only been 'righteous' for maybe a year. That may be why I seem to be noticing more leading from the Spirit and more tangible answers to prayers."
Since I've been in college here, my mind has been opened to the possibility that God really does tangibly move in everyday life- and a few of my nudges from the Spirit have even been validated by other people who have had the same nudge! Pretty cool stuff for a Methodist.
God is breaking down my dis-trust in Him. He's totally proving to me that He hears my prayers, and He wants me to know He's going to take care of me.
For example,two nights ago I decided, after prayer, that I should pay my tuition for January semester. I didn't have the money yet and wasn't planning on paying it until January after I saved up from my job. But unfortunately, the USD dropped in value and the AUS dollar will be worth more than the greenback soon (so say the experts). Because I'm paying tuition out of my American savings account, if I wait until January, I may be paying more in greenbacks than I had budgeted because $2600 AUS dollars will no longer equal $2200 USD but maybe up to $2800 USD. Right now they're about equal, so I just decided to go ahead and pay up.
I paid tuition on Tuesday. Monday night, after I made the decision, realizing that I'd only have a few hundred dollars to my name if I did it, I prayed to God, thanking Him that He was Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider) and that He had me in his hand (Isaiah 49:16) and that He would work all things for my Good (Romans 8:28) and left it at that.
The next day, I paid my tuition and went to Spirit Filled Living class. We talked about divine healing that day. After class, we laid hands on classmates who needed healing in any area of life: physical, emotional, relational, financial...I didn't raise my hand because I didn't feel a move to do so.
After we were done praying, a girl named Beth that I've only spent time with once here came up to me with a strange look on her face. She started asking me a bunch of questions like, did I have a job? How often was I working and was it enough? I was answering her, thinking..there's got to be something else going on here. I told her how I had just paid my tuition that day and was sort of nervous about finances.
She started to get teary eyed, saying she wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly, and since I hadn't raised my hand she hadn't known- but that after talking to me she was validated. Apparently God had put my name on her heart the night before (right when I'd been praying for provision!) and she reached into her wallet and handed me a $50 bill. That's a lot to give up for a student- I don't know if I would have done it!
$50 isn't going to pay my way here, but it will pay for me to get to and from work for 2 days using public transit. That typically comes out of my pay, so to be able to hang on to that money will be such a blessing. And if she hadn't been open to God's voice during her own prayer time, I would have never had the $50.
God basically answered a prayer the morning after I prayed it with reassurance that He was going to take care of me- bit by bit, giving me just what I needed at the moment, like when He sent manna from heaven to the Hebrews. Just enough for the day.
That's only one of the examples of things that have happened either to me or to a close friend here. I may be really low on funds, but I'm actually not worried about it anymore. I have taken it to God in prayer and petition, thanked Him for what He's done- and now I know He is going to take care of it.
Brothers and Sisters- I think that prayer and God's answers or lack thereof is one of the main reasons we fall away from God. We don't hear what we want to hear; or we miss the answer. OR we're not righteous perhaps. Maybe we're just not truly believing that God can and will hear and take care of us.
I want to encourage everyone that He will- simple as that. I am someone who never really believed it before I started making a conscious effort to trust, obey and align my life to God's values, which have become mine.
God will answer the prayers he chooses to answer- so am I saying that if you are in a place of mis-trust and uncertainty He won't help you? No. What I AM saying is that once you put forth the effort and gain the desire to live in honor of God, you'll see His blessings in a much more frequent and obvious way.
Be blessed!
~Aislinn
I think because I am learning to pray in a way that is honoring to God, using the Word in my prayers, and staking my claim on faith, God is finally "proving" to me that He really does hear our prayers.
After all in 1 Peter 3:12 it says that "His eyes are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers."
Now...righteous simply means that you are in right standing with God. Not that you are perfect, or never make mistakes, or hold yourself above others. Simply that because you love and wish to honor God, you make right choices to please Him. That's all.
Once I figured out that for most of my life I haven't really been righteous, I decided to be open to a response from God in my prayer life now. It was like...click! "Oh...yeah. Um, I feel like I've only been 'righteous' for maybe a year. That may be why I seem to be noticing more leading from the Spirit and more tangible answers to prayers."
Since I've been in college here, my mind has been opened to the possibility that God really does tangibly move in everyday life- and a few of my nudges from the Spirit have even been validated by other people who have had the same nudge! Pretty cool stuff for a Methodist.
God is breaking down my dis-trust in Him. He's totally proving to me that He hears my prayers, and He wants me to know He's going to take care of me.
For example,two nights ago I decided, after prayer, that I should pay my tuition for January semester. I didn't have the money yet and wasn't planning on paying it until January after I saved up from my job. But unfortunately, the USD dropped in value and the AUS dollar will be worth more than the greenback soon (so say the experts). Because I'm paying tuition out of my American savings account, if I wait until January, I may be paying more in greenbacks than I had budgeted because $2600 AUS dollars will no longer equal $2200 USD but maybe up to $2800 USD. Right now they're about equal, so I just decided to go ahead and pay up.
I paid tuition on Tuesday. Monday night, after I made the decision, realizing that I'd only have a few hundred dollars to my name if I did it, I prayed to God, thanking Him that He was Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider) and that He had me in his hand (Isaiah 49:16) and that He would work all things for my Good (Romans 8:28) and left it at that.
The next day, I paid my tuition and went to Spirit Filled Living class. We talked about divine healing that day. After class, we laid hands on classmates who needed healing in any area of life: physical, emotional, relational, financial...I didn't raise my hand because I didn't feel a move to do so.
After we were done praying, a girl named Beth that I've only spent time with once here came up to me with a strange look on her face. She started asking me a bunch of questions like, did I have a job? How often was I working and was it enough? I was answering her, thinking..there's got to be something else going on here. I told her how I had just paid my tuition that day and was sort of nervous about finances.
She started to get teary eyed, saying she wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly, and since I hadn't raised my hand she hadn't known- but that after talking to me she was validated. Apparently God had put my name on her heart the night before (right when I'd been praying for provision!) and she reached into her wallet and handed me a $50 bill. That's a lot to give up for a student- I don't know if I would have done it!
$50 isn't going to pay my way here, but it will pay for me to get to and from work for 2 days using public transit. That typically comes out of my pay, so to be able to hang on to that money will be such a blessing. And if she hadn't been open to God's voice during her own prayer time, I would have never had the $50.
God basically answered a prayer the morning after I prayed it with reassurance that He was going to take care of me- bit by bit, giving me just what I needed at the moment, like when He sent manna from heaven to the Hebrews. Just enough for the day.
That's only one of the examples of things that have happened either to me or to a close friend here. I may be really low on funds, but I'm actually not worried about it anymore. I have taken it to God in prayer and petition, thanked Him for what He's done- and now I know He is going to take care of it.
Brothers and Sisters- I think that prayer and God's answers or lack thereof is one of the main reasons we fall away from God. We don't hear what we want to hear; or we miss the answer. OR we're not righteous perhaps. Maybe we're just not truly believing that God can and will hear and take care of us.
I want to encourage everyone that He will- simple as that. I am someone who never really believed it before I started making a conscious effort to trust, obey and align my life to God's values, which have become mine.
God will answer the prayers he chooses to answer- so am I saying that if you are in a place of mis-trust and uncertainty He won't help you? No. What I AM saying is that once you put forth the effort and gain the desire to live in honor of God, you'll see His blessings in a much more frequent and obvious way.
Be blessed!
~Aislinn
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A few friends have told me I should start writing down a weekly recipe for good, cheap meals that are nutritious and can be made in bulk. I'm not saying I'm that great at cooking on a budget- but I definitely learned a few tricks when I got here and had a food budget of $150/ month ( and, for example, four chicken breasts will cost around $14.00 pre-packaged like we're used to in the States)!
First though, let me share the things I've learned while grocery shopping here.
#1: ALL the food is going to be 1.5-3 times more expensive than in the United States and it doesn't help to complain- so adjusting the grocery list and learning to use the local, cheaper items is the best option.
#2: Buying non-refrigerated eggs is less expensive ( at first it grossed me out, but apparently the USA is one of the few countries that only sells eggs in the refrigerated section).
#3: Long life milk. It's $1.00 per liter and yes, it's not cold. BUT before you drink it, just pop it in the fridge for a day and it tastes like the normal thing- especially when you consider that regular cold milk can be around $3/ liter.
#4: Canned veggies and huge packages of ground beef or chicken are your best friend. Get the meat that's on price cut- if you freeze it it will last for a long time; and if you mix some canned veggies, meat and rice w/ chicken stock, you have 3 days worth of stew/ soup for cheap.
#5: Speaking of rice, it's my best friend here. That and $0.59 spaghetti.
#6: Buy Coles/ Woolworths brand. Don't be too proud to buy the store brand. It will save your life.
#7: Bread is always on sale. So buy it in bulk and freeze it.
#8: SALE SALE SALE~ every day, the stores have things on sale- including staple items. I always buy things with the yellow price cut sticker on them. It takes some time to go through the store and plan a menu around what's on sale but it's worth it. You can also keep the coupons that come in the mail for the weekly sales and plan menus around those.
#9: Buy Aussie brands. I know we love Ritz and Oreo, but Jatz and TimTams are way cheaper because they don't have to be imported...so get over it and try a new product.
#10: Produce. Only buy what you can eat that week so it doesn't spoil; that's just wasted money.
10 Things that are always in my pantry:
Flour
Eggs
Oil
Rice
Spaghetti
Cans of 4 bean mix
Diced tomatoes
Sugar
Cereal
Peanut Butter
Essential/ versatile spices and other materials:
Baking powder and soda
Cinnamon
Italian Herbs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (powder's good but I buy a huge jar of minced- it's the size of Jelly jar and actually less expensive than minced in the US)
Ginger (root is cheap but dried is good too)
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
lemon juice
Of course at the beginning of the month there are other things in the pantry. But if I only had those things, I could survive until the next paycheck.
Here's the recipe. I made it tonight and have calculated the cost. It made 4 servings, so I think I'm getting a good deal.
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts $6.00 ( around $10/ kilo from the deli but tonight I had to buy pre-packed)
1 green pepper $0.80
2 ears of corn $2.00 ( the package of 4 was on sale the other day for around $4.00)
1 ginger root $1.00
Spoonful of minced garlic ...minimal
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
Bake the chicken breasts at 180 C (350 F) for 30 minutes. Put them in a shallow pan with a little water in the bottom; cover with foil
Dice the whole green pepper. Shuck the ears of corn; put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Slice the kernals of corn off the cobs.
Put the green pepper and the corn in a stir fry pan.
Peel the ginger root and grate about half of it over the pepper and corn. You can put the rest in the fridge and use it in other asian dishes or even in pancakes, tea, cookies or on sandwiches.
When the chicken is done, take the breasts out of the pan and use 2 forks to gently shred the meat. Then pour the chicken into the stir fry pan and turn the heat on medium high.
Once the veggies and chicken have started to cook, add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.
Let the chicken become golden, then remove from heat. Let cool.
Once cool, add lemon juice and salt to taste.
I also added a little Cayenne pepper because I like spicy.
This makes a really good lunch salad. I'll be eating it for a while because it makes about 3 cups of salad and I don't need that much at once.
I would also like to add that I still had 2 ears of corn and 2 chicken breasts after I made this, so you can easily make a whole mess more.
And for 4 meals the total cost would be: $9.80 (let's round it to $10 to include the spices)
So for each serving, the cost is $2.50.
Not bad!
It's really good with some fresh fruit too. It's also better to let it chill overnight and then eat it. It's kind of ucky warm. :)
Enjoy!
<3
First though, let me share the things I've learned while grocery shopping here.
#1: ALL the food is going to be 1.5-3 times more expensive than in the United States and it doesn't help to complain- so adjusting the grocery list and learning to use the local, cheaper items is the best option.
#2: Buying non-refrigerated eggs is less expensive ( at first it grossed me out, but apparently the USA is one of the few countries that only sells eggs in the refrigerated section).
#3: Long life milk. It's $1.00 per liter and yes, it's not cold. BUT before you drink it, just pop it in the fridge for a day and it tastes like the normal thing- especially when you consider that regular cold milk can be around $3/ liter.
#4: Canned veggies and huge packages of ground beef or chicken are your best friend. Get the meat that's on price cut- if you freeze it it will last for a long time; and if you mix some canned veggies, meat and rice w/ chicken stock, you have 3 days worth of stew/ soup for cheap.
#5: Speaking of rice, it's my best friend here. That and $0.59 spaghetti.
#6: Buy Coles/ Woolworths brand. Don't be too proud to buy the store brand. It will save your life.
#7: Bread is always on sale. So buy it in bulk and freeze it.
#8: SALE SALE SALE~ every day, the stores have things on sale- including staple items. I always buy things with the yellow price cut sticker on them. It takes some time to go through the store and plan a menu around what's on sale but it's worth it. You can also keep the coupons that come in the mail for the weekly sales and plan menus around those.
#9: Buy Aussie brands. I know we love Ritz and Oreo, but Jatz and TimTams are way cheaper because they don't have to be imported...so get over it and try a new product.
#10: Produce. Only buy what you can eat that week so it doesn't spoil; that's just wasted money.
10 Things that are always in my pantry:
Flour
Eggs
Oil
Rice
Spaghetti
Cans of 4 bean mix
Diced tomatoes
Sugar
Cereal
Peanut Butter
Essential/ versatile spices and other materials:
Baking powder and soda
Cinnamon
Italian Herbs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (powder's good but I buy a huge jar of minced- it's the size of Jelly jar and actually less expensive than minced in the US)
Ginger (root is cheap but dried is good too)
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
lemon juice
Of course at the beginning of the month there are other things in the pantry. But if I only had those things, I could survive until the next paycheck.
Here's the recipe. I made it tonight and have calculated the cost. It made 4 servings, so I think I'm getting a good deal.
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts $6.00 ( around $10/ kilo from the deli but tonight I had to buy pre-packed)
1 green pepper $0.80
2 ears of corn $2.00 ( the package of 4 was on sale the other day for around $4.00)
1 ginger root $1.00
Spoonful of minced garlic ...minimal
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
Bake the chicken breasts at 180 C (350 F) for 30 minutes. Put them in a shallow pan with a little water in the bottom; cover with foil
Dice the whole green pepper. Shuck the ears of corn; put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Slice the kernals of corn off the cobs.
Put the green pepper and the corn in a stir fry pan.
Peel the ginger root and grate about half of it over the pepper and corn. You can put the rest in the fridge and use it in other asian dishes or even in pancakes, tea, cookies or on sandwiches.
When the chicken is done, take the breasts out of the pan and use 2 forks to gently shred the meat. Then pour the chicken into the stir fry pan and turn the heat on medium high.
Once the veggies and chicken have started to cook, add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.
Let the chicken become golden, then remove from heat. Let cool.
Once cool, add lemon juice and salt to taste.
I also added a little Cayenne pepper because I like spicy.
This makes a really good lunch salad. I'll be eating it for a while because it makes about 3 cups of salad and I don't need that much at once.
I would also like to add that I still had 2 ears of corn and 2 chicken breasts after I made this, so you can easily make a whole mess more.
And for 4 meals the total cost would be: $9.80 (let's round it to $10 to include the spices)
So for each serving, the cost is $2.50.
Not bad!
It's really good with some fresh fruit too. It's also better to let it chill overnight and then eat it. It's kind of ucky warm. :)
Enjoy!
<3
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Alright folks. For the most part, it's been super easy to transition into life here. Most of that is because we moved to another English speaking country. However, just because we all speak English doesn't mean that every word or phrase is the same. Here are the things that Robin and I hear most often (I'm sure if we were in a less international area we would hear more):
Reckon=think. as in, "I reckon that's a good idea."
Heaps= a lot. as in, "I have heaps of laundry to do!"
Wog= a very bad word...usually meaning an immigrant from Greek or Italian descent.
Ranga= also a bad word...it's what they call gingers (red heads)..you know, like Orangatang.
Lift= elevator
Good onya= well done- usually said to a friend or peer
Shockin'= crappy. " That was such a shockin' restraunt."
Lollies= hard candy (not chocolate)
Ice Lolly= popsicle
Jelly= Gelatin
Jam= Jelly
Macca's= McDonalds
Bench= counter top. " Hey, can you wipe the bench for me?" ( When my boss asked me to do this I seriously stood in her kitchen looking for a bench and asked her where it was...she looked at me like I was nuts.)
Capsicum= pepper. " I think I'll cut up some green capsicums for the salad."
Meusli= granola.
Toilet= the whole restroom.
Grog= liquor
Arvo= afternoon
Beautiful= delicious, enjoyable. " That piece of steak was beautiful!"
Bogan= slob. " She probably didn't shower today~ she looks like a bogan!"
Mozzie= mosquito
I'm pissed= I'm drunk. (whoops...that's definitely one I've had to train myself not to say. :) )
Bush= country. Anywhere that's not in the city.
Crack onto someone= hit on someone.
Feral= wild or horribly misbehaving. " That little boy is being so feral, I just want to slap him!"
Uni= University (college can mean high school here)
Winge= whine/ complain
Footy= Australian Rules Football ( Rugby.)
With Love,
Aislinn Deviney
Reckon=think. as in, "I reckon that's a good idea."
Heaps= a lot. as in, "I have heaps of laundry to do!"
Wog= a very bad word...usually meaning an immigrant from Greek or Italian descent.
Ranga= also a bad word...it's what they call gingers (red heads)..you know, like Orangatang.
Lift= elevator
Good onya= well done- usually said to a friend or peer
Shockin'= crappy. " That was such a shockin' restraunt."
Lollies= hard candy (not chocolate)
Ice Lolly= popsicle
Jelly= Gelatin
Jam= Jelly
Macca's= McDonalds
Bench= counter top. " Hey, can you wipe the bench for me?" ( When my boss asked me to do this I seriously stood in her kitchen looking for a bench and asked her where it was...she looked at me like I was nuts.)
Capsicum= pepper. " I think I'll cut up some green capsicums for the salad."
Meusli= granola.
Toilet= the whole restroom.
Grog= liquor
Arvo= afternoon
Beautiful= delicious, enjoyable. " That piece of steak was beautiful!"
Bogan= slob. " She probably didn't shower today~ she looks like a bogan!"
Mozzie= mosquito
I'm pissed= I'm drunk. (whoops...that's definitely one I've had to train myself not to say. :) )
Bush= country. Anywhere that's not in the city.
Crack onto someone= hit on someone.
Feral= wild or horribly misbehaving. " That little boy is being so feral, I just want to slap him!"
Uni= University (college can mean high school here)
Winge= whine/ complain
Footy= Australian Rules Football ( Rugby.)
With Love,
Aislinn Deviney
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Hi everyone!
Just thought I'd share a little bit about fieldwork and church life. Hillsong mixes classes with practical experience. For example, I have a class in music excellence and woship band, AND a worship band workshop where we actually divide into bands and play together. Actually, right now we're working on our "culture group" assignment- we're split into groups of 4, and each group has a different culture to create a 20 minute worship set for. Next week we have to perform it. And this past week, we performed songs that were assigned by our trainers. So, since HILC is all about working in real ministry environments, every student is assigned two/ three ministries within the church to serve in throughout the school year. There is one ministry during the week, and on weekends, one ministry per church service, for two services. For some people, they serve in the same ministry for both services. For me, they're different.
Your fieldwork is a ministry that has something to do with your "field" of study. For me, and a lot of other vocal majors, that's choir. Many instrumentalists get placed in production for their fieldwork. Pastoral students get placed all over the place- people doing pastoral studies with an emphasis in events get placed in the events team, youth emphasis people serve in youth, etc. Some people's fieldwork happens during the week (like the youth services) and some happens on weekends (like choir for main services). My fieldwork is on Sunday nights. I get to church at 3:30 and we all warm up together, then we go into the auditorium and get up on stage, arrange ourselves and rehearse with the band/team. We are usually done rehearsing at 4:45, so we go upstairs to the green room and there's another team of students doing THEIR church life/ fieldwork making food for us. So we eat and then go down to start service at 5:30. We sing on stage behind the band and help engage the church in worship. Then, once the set is finished, we exit the stage to enjoy the service. Pretty easy field work! Your field work has to be signed off for each week in a little booklet they give you called a passport. Your "specialist" (a core church member in your ministry assigned to keep track of you, basically) signs the boxes for each week so you can get credit, then evaluates your performance at the end of the semester.
Church life is different- this ministry or ministries can be in any area of the church. I think each ministry that needs volunteers lets college office know, and they randomly divide people up. For example, even though Robin is a vocal music major here, her church life is college sales. She calls people all over the world who have expressed interest in HILC and talks to them about college life. On weekends, her church life is choir, and so is her fieldwork (she's a lucky one who got two services in the same ministry!).
For me, my weekend church life is Stage Managing. I help make sure everything going on on the platform happens smoothly each Saturday night service. I've carried things on and off, gotten water for people, etc. I get to wear a radio, so that's awesome. And it's a learning experience because I can hear everyone who is working behind the scenes to pull of the service talking to each other.
During the week, my church life is Youth Alive. Youth Alive puts on the biggest youth conference in Australia each year, right here in Sydney, called Big Exo Day. It's happening tomorrow in the Sydney Olympic Park, and everyone in the office has been working really hard to pull it together. They're expecting around 15,000 youth from all over the state! I'm in charge of the merchandise team, so I've been getting myself in gear to keep track of products and money and volunteers- I had my "training" last night and I feel pretty good about it. I've got my spreadsheets and price lists and I got to help choose some of the merchandise we're selling, so that's cool.
With church life, it's something you're placed in that you may not really have a heart for. So it's really important that we learn to have a servant mentality and humility about us, because we can all learn even if we're not in the place we think we want to be. I kind of freaked out when I got stage managing because I thought I couldn't do it, and now I'm actually really enjoying it.
No one signs off on your church life, so technically it's not graded like fieldwork is. But trust me- it's just as involved and people will keep tabs on you, their volunteer! It certainly makes for a busy week/ weekend. It's pretty awesome to look around on any given weekend and realize that Hillsong Church ministries really depend on college students. Half or even all of every team I'm on is comprised of students. It makes me feel very needed, and for me, need= value. So I feel valued here.
I hope everyone at home had a lovely week- in other news, I just got a job as a nanny! Pray for me! :)
Cheers everyone!
Aislinn
Just thought I'd share a little bit about fieldwork and church life. Hillsong mixes classes with practical experience. For example, I have a class in music excellence and woship band, AND a worship band workshop where we actually divide into bands and play together. Actually, right now we're working on our "culture group" assignment- we're split into groups of 4, and each group has a different culture to create a 20 minute worship set for. Next week we have to perform it. And this past week, we performed songs that were assigned by our trainers. So, since HILC is all about working in real ministry environments, every student is assigned two/ three ministries within the church to serve in throughout the school year. There is one ministry during the week, and on weekends, one ministry per church service, for two services. For some people, they serve in the same ministry for both services. For me, they're different.
Your fieldwork is a ministry that has something to do with your "field" of study. For me, and a lot of other vocal majors, that's choir. Many instrumentalists get placed in production for their fieldwork. Pastoral students get placed all over the place- people doing pastoral studies with an emphasis in events get placed in the events team, youth emphasis people serve in youth, etc. Some people's fieldwork happens during the week (like the youth services) and some happens on weekends (like choir for main services). My fieldwork is on Sunday nights. I get to church at 3:30 and we all warm up together, then we go into the auditorium and get up on stage, arrange ourselves and rehearse with the band/team. We are usually done rehearsing at 4:45, so we go upstairs to the green room and there's another team of students doing THEIR church life/ fieldwork making food for us. So we eat and then go down to start service at 5:30. We sing on stage behind the band and help engage the church in worship. Then, once the set is finished, we exit the stage to enjoy the service. Pretty easy field work! Your field work has to be signed off for each week in a little booklet they give you called a passport. Your "specialist" (a core church member in your ministry assigned to keep track of you, basically) signs the boxes for each week so you can get credit, then evaluates your performance at the end of the semester.
Church life is different- this ministry or ministries can be in any area of the church. I think each ministry that needs volunteers lets college office know, and they randomly divide people up. For example, even though Robin is a vocal music major here, her church life is college sales. She calls people all over the world who have expressed interest in HILC and talks to them about college life. On weekends, her church life is choir, and so is her fieldwork (she's a lucky one who got two services in the same ministry!).
For me, my weekend church life is Stage Managing. I help make sure everything going on on the platform happens smoothly each Saturday night service. I've carried things on and off, gotten water for people, etc. I get to wear a radio, so that's awesome. And it's a learning experience because I can hear everyone who is working behind the scenes to pull of the service talking to each other.
During the week, my church life is Youth Alive. Youth Alive puts on the biggest youth conference in Australia each year, right here in Sydney, called Big Exo Day. It's happening tomorrow in the Sydney Olympic Park, and everyone in the office has been working really hard to pull it together. They're expecting around 15,000 youth from all over the state! I'm in charge of the merchandise team, so I've been getting myself in gear to keep track of products and money and volunteers- I had my "training" last night and I feel pretty good about it. I've got my spreadsheets and price lists and I got to help choose some of the merchandise we're selling, so that's cool.
With church life, it's something you're placed in that you may not really have a heart for. So it's really important that we learn to have a servant mentality and humility about us, because we can all learn even if we're not in the place we think we want to be. I kind of freaked out when I got stage managing because I thought I couldn't do it, and now I'm actually really enjoying it.
No one signs off on your church life, so technically it's not graded like fieldwork is. But trust me- it's just as involved and people will keep tabs on you, their volunteer! It certainly makes for a busy week/ weekend. It's pretty awesome to look around on any given weekend and realize that Hillsong Church ministries really depend on college students. Half or even all of every team I'm on is comprised of students. It makes me feel very needed, and for me, need= value. So I feel valued here.
I hope everyone at home had a lovely week- in other news, I just got a job as a nanny! Pray for me! :)
Cheers everyone!
Aislinn
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