While In The Rainy City of Sydney PART 1...

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10

Since I have discovered I cannot update the length that I want to every time, I am going to have to post in segments. There is just not enough time in a day to write very descriptive posts... and that's what I want to do for you guys so please bear with me as I try to spill EVERYTHING that's gone on since the last update. I can't believe that we have been here for over a week already! All us girls were talking about it a couple mornings ago how it feels as if we've been here for over a month or something. Starting last week into this week, we have been doing ministry with the SOW students as well as some campus investigation for a possible Campus Outreach ministry-plant in the near future. We as a CCP team have been split into two teams so that we can cover more than just one campus. The first team, which is USYD (University of Sydney), is me, Erin, Kandice, Hunter, Caleb, and Brandon White, and the second team (UNWS, University of New South Wales) is Haley, Beth, Rachel, Kyle, and Brandon Land. Each Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, we travel to our Uni's to walk around, meet random strangers as well as meet up with the SOW students to hang out and such. If I didn't clarify before, SOW is called Student Outreach to the World. It's a Korean-based ministry as of now but their vision is to have a diverse group of members to resemble the kingdom of God, so they are looking for it to grow in such a way that it's not just koreans or asians joining... They are such a fun group of people to hang out with and have been such a joy to get to know this past week.

Saturday we rode the train to Rhodes to meet up with SOW for the first time. We tried to get there for the girls' volleyball practice but instead we got lost and didn't get there until 2 hours later than we hoped. Of course, that would happen considering this is all of our first trips to the wonderful land of Australia... BUT we finally found the park and made the last 30 minutes of practice. Slowly, people started to show up and we began to meet all the different SOW students that participated in the different uni ministries.We had a time of worship, lunch, and games to follow, and all i can say is that we had such a blast. One thing I think is hilarious is that all the SOW girls and guys talked about how athletic us girls seemed.. We had to fill out this 'get-to-know-you' info sheet and most of us put outdoor activities that we enjoyed- apparently that's not normal haha. ANYWAYS, we had a blast spending the afternoon with them.
Every Sunday, we go to Jim Jung's church-plant which has been such an amazing experience for us as a team. For me, it reminds me of how the church used to meet back in Bible days. The church community is small, but the fellowship is great. We meet in a small upstairs room in a community center in North Sydney. The room has a small piano in the corner along with stone walls (just trying to give you the feel...) and after every service, we gather in the back for traditional TEA TIME! Nothing is better than tea time. I feel like my consumption numbers of tea and coffee have sky-rocked since arriving here... and I'm sure everyone can back me up on that.

Last week, we started campus time ( like i stated previously) and through doing that, we have been able to get a feel for the campuses where we are serving. The first Monday (which was last Monday) was the very first day stepping onto campus. What a rude awakening. I felt like i heard an imaginary voice in my head saying, "Let the games begin." For me personally, I felt very insecure. I am the type of person that likes to KNOW what's going on, and look like I have it all together. Being here, the Lord has completely stripped me of that identity, and has given me some pretty humble experiences. I'll give you an example that is quite embarrassing that I'm sure I will get over later... Haha BUT SERIOUSLY. It's still fresh. So, Subway is the only place that looks familiar on campus after walking around, trying to find a decent place to eat or that doesn't look difficult to order from the counter. Erin gets in line, but Kandice and I are like, "Nah, let's eat something else that doesn't make us look so AMERICAN"... Well, we didn't find anything else so we just get back in line at Subway. We were hoping to get into a great conversation with someone in line and hopefully sit with them, but that technically didn't happen because most of the people around us were pure Asian, and when I say pure, I mean most likely with broken English... (this will begin to make sense later). Since this is Subway, I'm like "Oh, I've got this."... but apparently not. Without really realizing it, I get my sandwich confused with the guys in front of me. Oh yes. I completely fixed his footlong up with all my toppings... Okay, so I realized that it was a footlong, but I just assumed the Subway woman heard me wrong and gave me the wrong size. Ohhhh no. I didn't understand why the asian in front of me kept looking at me weird. I just thought he was looking at me funny because I was American. Well, I finally figured it out and that was embarrassing. When I tried to apologize, he just stared at me. AWKWARD. Let's just say God used great humor sometimes to bring us down a level. Praise Him for that, huh?

Here are some pictures from the Blues and Jazz festival that we went to. ABSOLUTELY incredible. They have it once a year and it lasts for about a week. RIght now they have this thing called Vivid Lights where they shine these very high tech, artsy lights on old buildings such as St. Mary's cathedral. I'll have pictures up soon. Here are, also, some other pictures that you might enjoy...!

This is what the currency looks like... Odd. They have dollar and two dollar coins... NO ONE DOLLAR BILLS. It's hard sometimes, and sometimes, I get called an ignorant American (not really, but I know that some of the cashiers hate me when I give them big bills instead of easy coins... Oops!??)


Keep looking out for another update. I have realized that I need to just blog short little clips instead of Long narratives... So I'm working on that. Hope you enjoy the pictures! They are courtesy of Linden White.

"In regards to Christ, I feel as if those who have fallen away have never truly fallen in love." Erin Duncan, my teammate as well as roommate

Chasing Daylight...

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might same some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

After traveling for 36+ hours, I am glad to finally announce my team's arrival in Sydney, Australia! The trip over was quite eventful for us in many different ways. We flew from ATL to LAX, only to have a 6 hour layover in the smallest terminal ever. There were two restaurants, a Burger King and some seafood restaurant. While waiting around, we got to talking to an Aussie named Will who was coming back from visiting his sister in NYC. He informed me that I dressed "bogan" which means bum or redneck in Aussie language... I would have taken offense to that, but I really couldn't argue because I was in fact wearing my brother's flannel shirt. Haha. The 14 hour flight was super awesome. The TV's on our seats had some chatroom function where you could chat seat-to-seat... NEVER have I ever experienced something so innovative! You could even play Battleship versus another seat. I do have an interesting fact... I did not watch one movie while traveling. I slept the first 7 hours of that flight, took a couple laps around the plane cabin, and then slept some more. It was epic. While exercising around the plane, one of my teammates and I got to talking with a Aussie native named Chris who was very entertaining. She informed us that everything in Australia can indeed kill you. What a relief, huh? It feels so surreal to finally be in the city that I've been talking about for so long. I mean, I am located halfway across the world right now from everything familiar. Our view from the apartment is likely the most incredible view ever of Hyde Park... if you click the link, it is the exact view. To our surprise, everything is much more expensive here. We went into a grocery store near our apartment and i think a half gallon was priced at $6... but then again, the minimum wage here is much higher than in the states. We discovered that a waitress working here earns more than a teacher back in the states. If you didn't know, the roads are backwards than in the states so instead of looking from left to right, you look right to left... if you do the first, you will most likely turn into roadkill. Let's just say the past two days have been quite eventful for us!


The time here is 13 hours ahead of American time so as I'm writing this post, it is 4:03 AM there and 7:03 PM here. I was so tired yesterday... jet lag hits hard when you travel this far; I am quite certain of it. Upon arriving and pulling our bags in our 11th story apartment room, we hit the town for a quick sightseeing adventure. We drove to one part of the Botanical Gardens that gave us a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. We, then, continued on over to the actual Sydney Opera House steps and walked around the harbor a little bit. My camera happened to break (as in not keeping any of the pictures I took) so that's kind of a buzz kill, but I decided to mooch off of other people's photog opportunities like these pictures you see now. We ended up going on a food shopping trip, finding out everything costs a leg and an arm, so we didn't purchase much except for peanut butter and jelly. Haha. I am not kidding. The peanut butter tastes much different here. The kind we got was a little lighter than usual with a weird aftertaste, BUT we looked at the ingredients and it's much healthier than we're used to (probably describes the weird taste). ATTENTION ALL: if you want to lose weight, travel to Australia! That will be the case for me upon returning to the states. Get excited, Mom! (I'm kidding of course...).

Our first little orientation meeting was last night but lasted no longer than 20 minutes, reason being everyone not being used to the time change. We couldn't go back to sleep because it was like only 5 PM here and we needed to try and work ourselves into the Sydney time. It was so hard for me to stay awake for those 4 hours . To pass the time, people played Spades... since there was not room for me at the table, I tried making coffee to keep myself awake, but pretty much I was doomed. I would sit down and almost fall over due to the overwhelming drowsy feeling that was taking over my body. Thanks to my team members, they kept me awake and I lasted to 9 PM (this was after our late night venture to the hot tub located on top of our apartment building). Two sleeping aid pills did the trick and I was in bed before I knew what hit me. Most of us, girls, woke up around 7 AM and went running around Hyde Park which was quite refreshing. Tomorrow we plan on running down to the harbor and through the Botanical Gardens. How weird is it that I'm going for a run in downtown Sydney... I mean, first off, I don't really run, and secondly, I can't believe I will be able to say, "Ah, no big deal, I just ran by the Sydney Opera House." I feel like I'm living a dream!

Today we had more orientation to help up learn a little more about the Aussie culture compared to our culture. The verse above was what Rich, our Aussie Campus Outreach orientation leader from Brisbane, considered the vision for what we are to do here. We have come to win souls for Christ, to break ourselves of what is comfortable and give our lives away to absolute strangers. I am so excited to see how the Lord uses each one of us... We were all placed on our specific teams for a reason, being called to specific people located here. I hope to be able to write to you all soon about our time on the campuses here... so far we have only really done orientation. Please be praying for revival here in Australia. There is a need for the Lord here because it is considered a very secular country, with the church culture falling apart. When the Spirit of the Lord is present, nothing can really stop His work or the plan that's to be carried out...

Stay tuned for more pictures as well as more updates on what's happening here in Sydney, Australia!

Interesting Australian Fact:
Tim Tam Slam: (definition) This is the act of using a tim tam biscuit to drink coffee, by biting off the opposite corners and then using it as a straw to suck up the coffee in your mug.

Counting Down the Days...

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."
-Philippians 2:1-3-

UPDATE:
Since the Lord met my financial goal a couple weeks ago, He has yet ceased to stop bringing in more support. I have been utterly amazed at his hand of provision these days, and I give him all the glory. Thank you all who played a part in the Lord's work if meeting my goal... I know I tell you guys every post that same thing, but I really want you to know that I am SO THANKFUL. Without you guys, I wouldn't be going or even writing in this blog of mine (which I've kind of been obsessed with lately). If you still want to give and haven't, I know for a fact that there are still members on my team who are in need of financial support. Raising $6,000 isn't as easy as we all thought =). If you would ALSO like to follow my teammates this summer as well, go check out the blogs I follow and they are the one's labeled "So-and-So's MISSION TO AUSTRALIA"... catchy huh? I am still keeping up correspondence with two women from Australia and they have given me a ton of great feedback.. Also, I was trying to find options for internships next summer and stumbled upon one in Australia connected with Student Life. I emailed the guy and he might hook me and my team up with some contacts on our campuses. How cool is that? Woo. Well, time is dwindling down... My team leaves in 13 days!

It's sad when school comes to an end and everyone leaves town... especially when things are going to be changing the next year. This is actually my last semester in the Cornerhouse with all my lovely ADPI roomies. I have had such an amazing time with them and I will definitely miss them along with my room with the sink (yes, I have a sink in my room and a pantry to put my clothes in- very lovely). Anyways, with school coming to a close (that is for us students who are NOT attending any form of summer school), everyone is finding themselves stressed for time. Trying to squeeze in studying for finals and hanging out with friends is a pretty difficult task... for me, all of that as WELL as finishing up thank you notes and preparing to pack is beginning to be a ton. I was talking to my roommate, Blakely, in the car one day and she was like, "It's weird to think you are ACTUALLY going to Australia. It's like I know you're going one of these days, but it's almost here! I guess because I've known ever since you found out which was last semester.. and that was forever ago." Tis true, Blakely, I am about to leave in 13 days. That even hits me a little.

Recently, I have felt the devil attacking parts of my life that have always been intact. I mentioned in a previous post that I knew Satan would try and get under my skin in one form or another due to the big trip coming up. Well, he has managed to get his foot in the door because I recently have become quite discouraged and started to believe some of the lies he was telling me. I was beginning to find myself in arguments with siblings, finding myself fighting patience with my mother, and feeling quick-tempered all of the sudden. Through those situations, I was questioning myself, wondering why I was having such issues with those areas since they've never been a problem before. I realized later that all along I was suffering from a serious pride issue. I was too proud to admit I was wrong or shouldn't have said what I did... and so when someone, most likely a family member, would say something, my pride wouldn't let me hear the constructive criticism. It's probably a God-thing I'm working throughout this summer on a "Humility" personal development plan... 5 weeks of good truth targeting humility. Ironic, huh? Well, God has his way of getting our attention one way or another. Also, this past Friday I made it up to Brook Hills for David Platt's Secret Church "The Gospel, Prosperity, and Possession." I highly encourage anyone to purchase his book "Radical" or listen to the podcasts from Friday Night. He preached solid truth that was really humbling to hear. If you are not familiar with Secret Church, basically its a 6 hour session of David Platt preaching on whatever the topic is of the night. He goes through the entire Bible, picking out all the scriptures that reflect or touch upon the topic, and its ROCK solid stuff.

Remember to let me know if you want to receive a personal postcard from Australia! I'm taking addresses via FB if you are interested. I wanted to show you guys this picture... I worked at a camp two summers ago and one of my sweet sweet campers, after leaving camp, made a "Miss Ramsey" doll. She has been dressing it up like me since camp and this is the latest outfit. Her mom sent me a message and said, "Hope says that the Miss Ramsey doll is packed and ready to go to Australia! We hope you have a great trip!" haha I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Good luck on finals everyone! (that is, if you are not BLAKELY BARNETT and already home) haha sorry. Had to.

Interesting Australian Fact:
The number one mistake an American can make is pronounce "Aussie" like "Oss-ee. It's pronounced "Oz-ee"... with a "z". Good to know this tip because I've been pronouncing it wrong all up until this post. Eh. Good thing I do this little interesting fact.

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for."
-Charles Spurgeon-