Outback: A Great Encounter...

“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

UPDATE:
It's been a couple weeks since my last support update and I apologize for not updating you guys sooner! My life has been nonstop and I still have a growing list of things to do, but let me just announce that God has provided all my support for the summer...!!! Wait, there's more. He not only has provided all my support, but He has also provided more than enough. Woo woo! BUT, it's still not over. I am still accepting support if anyone is still wanting to give because my team is still raising the funds they need so with whatever I have extra, I am giving it to the TEAM GOAL. Don't think that I'm going to spend it on a rockin' kangaroo skin jacket or something haha even though that would be super cool. In the amount raised, we have all the funds we need for the trip. If any of you are now wanting a kangaroo skin jacket, you can get in line behind my brothers who are requesting the ultimate safari guide suit. But on a SERIOUS note, if anyone wants to receive a postcard from Australia this summer, please send me your address via comment, FB, email, etc.. whatevs- as long as it gets to me, I will work my magic=). So far, I've received a couple addresses from you guys. OH and another thing. I have been blessed with some correspondence from two ladies who are currently living and serving in Australia right now. They have sent me a couple emails so far and, hopefully, we will continue to stay in touch. They have been so helpful with giving me helpful ways to be preparing for the trip as well as praying for the country, so please continue to pray for Australia! We leave the 17th of May and will be returning the end of June.

Thank so much for your support in following my blog. Without you guys, this experience wouldn't be as exciting because i wouldn't have your support- so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Y'all have made this journey such an encouraging one for me.

I was actually going to post last week but I knew I would have a ton to say about this past weekend, which was Outback America on the farm, so I just decided to wait a little longer (www.outbackamerica.org). Outback is a weekend adventure developed to give parents and youth a practical strategy for daily living. The strategy focuses on the participant's vertical relationship with Christ and their horizontal relationship with family, friends, church, and family. During the course of the 48-hour weekend, parents and youth find their lives transformed through inspirational talks that help them develop a daily strategy for life purpose, instill personal standards for moral purity, and begin cultivating a Christ honoring parent/child relationship. My family has been a part of this since my dad tag-teamed with Bruce Johnston, owner of JH Ranch in California, to see the vision of Outback America come alive. So far, Outback has reached many cities around Alabama and surrounding areas as well as countries, such as Kenya, and Israel. Who can say God ISN'T doing something big right now?

Outback America is most likely one of my most favorite weekends out of the whole year. No lie. If I had to choose, I would pick Outback America over the Iron Bowl. Yes, i would. These weekends are packed with miracles and you can clearly see the Lord's hand in the lives who attend and in the staff who volunteer of their time. Maybe the part I love the most is the community i feel when we all the staff comes together again or maybe it's the undistracted environment. Of course, you see new faces every Outback but you also see faces that have served ever since the first Outback was brought to the farm years ago... the days of when I had braces (DEFINITELY been awhile).

I helped coach the amazing PURPLE PIRATES this past weekend, a father/daughter team who rocked my world, with the lovely help of Frances Dove. My co and I, along with the adult coach Steve, had five amazing father/daughter couples in the group who i grew very close to during the span of the weekend. Upon them arriving with their nervous daughters, I tried to loosen up the anxiety of the weekend into trying to crack jokes here and there... If any of you know me really really well, I know you are shaking your head right now because you think I have lame jokes. WELL, for your information, they liked them! Uhuh, they sure did. Maybe it was to make me feel better about myself but I don't care. As long as they laughed, I'm good to go, even if it wasn't truly genuine or not. Haha but seriously, I did tell my girls to forget everything they had been working for, such as that smokin' hot bod for prom, because we had unlimited free food for them to eat. If they needed a buddy to go back over to the serving line with them for seconds, they could just signal across the table to me and I would not let them down. My girls made me proud to say the least. I had one girl text me after she left on Sunday that said, "Hey Ramsey its Mary Adeline, GO FOOD!".... For a second, I felt like a glutton but just for a second. God is good and so is food... free food.

I will say this Outback was very different from others we have experienced before. During Friday night's talk, i felt an uneven feeling in the air.. like something wasn't right or just different. On Sunday, I was talking to two other coaches and I mentioned it to them, the uneasy feeling I got the first night. Right as I told them, they both expressed to me that they felt the same thing and another lady who was over the prayer tent all weekend said she sensed the same thing, like a very strong sense of spiritual warfare over the farm. We all got on our knees right there and prayed over campers, praying against whatever the devil was trying to scheme up. You know when the devil is in the mix that he is trying very hard to resist against something big God is doing in the lives of God's people.

There were many breakthroughs this past weekend, but I am certain many more happened after the weekend ended. I encourage any of you to be apart of an Outback weekend if you ever have the time. It's an experience like no other and you will encounter God in such a real way. Look on the website to find a date that works with your schedule or just call me if you have any questions. I did think it was cool that I've worked about 15+ Outbacks in my life but never did i realize I would one day get to go to the REAL outback.

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:10-12

INTERESTING AUSTRALIA FACT:
Here are some unusual terms and thier meanings:

-barbie-barbecue grill
-clobber-clothes
-cozzie-swimsuit
-fairy floss-cotton candy
-Give it a burl!-means give it a try!
-mozzie-mosquito
-ripper-terrific

Blind-Sided...

UPDATE:
If you haven't noticed the new layout, i really enjoyed spicing it up for you guys! Anyways, let's get started on the Australia update! Woo! Okay, so what an interesting past couple of weeks. First off, I have raised about $800 in support so I only have about $600-ish to raise. Secondly, after writing my last post, I experienced one of the coolest God-things since this whole support raising process began. The night I posted, I received a really cool email from a girl named Alex Bufton whom I crossed paths with while on staff at JH RANCH in California three summers ago. She, somehow, stumbled upon my blog from Facebook and started to read about what I am going to be doing in Australia this summer (Lord willing!). After reading, she felt that the Lord was calling her to give towards my trip to Australia, even though she and I haven't been in contact since 2007. In her message to me, she explained a little about what the Lord has been teaching her such as giving Him everything, even her finances. She just moved to ATL for her new job and, like myself, considers herself a huge saver and not the one to splurge... Here is a little piece of her message to me:

"Anyways, So on a different note, i was paying bills tonight and writing checks and i had one check left in my book so i tore it out....I told my roommate to keep it because the water bill was going to come soon so she could just write it for me- well it just came so i didn't need it. Anyways that's when i came across your page etc. So Anyways, I just really want to help you financially -even though it's just a little bit- and I want to be praying for you. I can't wait to read more about it and get to hear stories about how the Lord is using you."

(ps: her blog is super cool.. you should check it out and be praying for her and her job in ATL! aabufton.blogspot.com)

How cool is it when the Lord works in miraculous ways? It blows my mind, literally. Sometimes, I think I know His next move and then out of no where, He comes at you from a different angle. Matthew 6:27-28 speaks to me on a completely new level now that I've experienced the Lord's provision:

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin."

That's so true... How am I accomplishing anything by worrying about how I am to raise this support for my trip? Like, really... I'm sure by reading my blog, you would probably think I'm stress and worry free, that I haven't experienced any kind of doubt through this process. OHHHH but i have. This can apply to so many areas in my life right now such as my future, internship, job, where the Lord is going to place me after college years are over, spouse (if I'm lucky), etc... the list goes on and on. BUT one thing I've seen and I'm SURE of since sending out my first wave of support letters is that the Lord is faithful in every area of my life and everywhere He choses to take me in this journey. I have been encouraged as well as humbled and that's all I could ask for. Yes, things have not completely gone my way, but I choose to stand here before you and PRAISE HIM. He has completely brought me to my knees and I pray He keeps me here. It's not exactly the most comfortable position to be in, but who said anything about the Christian walk being comfortable? It's not... If it was, I'm sure there would be more Christ followers.

So last week I had the privilege of approaching an Atheist/Agnostic table on campus last week (thanks to the gentle nudges of my friend, AJ). After the first minute in conversation, I was definitely brought back into reality and the urgency we should have concerning reaching the lost. They absolutely did not care about anything my friends and I had to say about God and who He is. To be honest, many of them grew up in the church. All they wanted to talk about was how Christianity doesn't make sense and pretty much laugh at anything we had to say. Basically, that conversation left me with a shaky voice and sweaty palms- I'm sure that was another reason they enjoyed laughing at me. But, the whole experience really gave me a taste of what I will experience this summer, that's for sure. I know a lot of times we surround ourselves with believers so we get caught up in our Christian bubbles (I plead guilty), but there are many lost people out there who have no idea who Christ is or have felt the capacity of His love. When leaving their table, i have never felt such a heaviness for the lost and pretty much broke down in front of the Student Union. Maybe it was the thought that the faces I looked into could possibly never come to know the Lord personally and would experience eternal separation from Him.. and I had a chance to make a difference. Of course, I know it's not my job to save them; its the Lord's job to change their hearts so all i could do was share the love of Christ with them, His story of salvation, and move on. If you get the chance, please send up a little prayer for them.. I tried to get their names before I left, but my short term memory stumped me again except for a guy named Garrett. All we can do is practice obedience when the Lord places an opportunity in our daily walk and pray that He grows that seed later on in that person's life. For example, just like the Israelites in the book of Joshua, they won based on obedience, not on sheer military talent. Praise God for His promises.

Alexander MacKay, a missionary to Africa, wrote this prayer in his journal while serving in Uganda. It was very convicting and put me in a state of prayer, praying that I would grow to have the same level of heart and passion as this man of God did... offering his whole being for the Lord's purpose for his life:

"Lord, enable us to search our hearts and humble ourselves before Thee. Oh, for a closer walk with God, more faith, more sincerity, more earnestness, and more love. I must study more the Word of God. 'If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' The Master said so, and His words are true."

I hope you were encouraged by these life events. Let's just say it was a very humbling past two weeks for me... If you have any prayer requests for me, please feel free to fill me in! I love hearing from my followers =). Remember, if you feel led to give, the link is on the side along with the address. Have an incredible day!

Interesting Australian fact:
Australia has about 1500 species of spiders. If you read about our spiders you might not like this: the average person swallows three spiders a year