Down Time

I finally have some down time to write something a little more substantial. A quick health update, My cold is almost gone! BUT, during our scavenger hunt yesterday I felt something in my foot pop and now it hurts to walk. It really is just one big joke now. When I am finally 100% healthy we will know something is horribly wrong.

Yesterday we got a chance to walk all around the city of Melbourne and it was great. We did a photo scavenger hunt of all the cool places and its good to know most things are not out of walking distance from out hostel.

We had to get random Aussies in our pictures for more points. My team ended up tying for second place.
We had our first family dinner last night and it was great being able to sit down and relax while eating and just enjoy each other's fellowship. We also walked around the city looking for gellato together.

Our days are usually up around 8am, and in bed around 11pm. The days are long since we are still adjusting to being here but it has been great. We all can't wait to see what God is doing on the RMIT and Melbourne Uni campuses.

I have been reading through Isaiah while we are here and have found it very refreshing and enjoyable.
"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. 
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. 
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. 
They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:11-17)



“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18-20)

I split the verses up for a reason. We can work to please God all we want. We can send burnt offerings, feasts in his name, bring sacrifice animals among other things and God's response to this is that it is, "detestable", "meaningless", his "soul hates them" and he will hide his eyes and not listen. What a great few verses. What can I do to please God with that kind of response? He immediately makes a promise to us that our sins which stain our hands will be washed white as snow. As long as we are willing and obedient, we will be clean and be abel to spend time with God for eternity. Those who resist and rebel, 

"Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:15-16)

Those who are not obedient and who resist will be struck down. That is a fate no one should endure. Isaiah tells us that they will be devoured by the sword, and Jesus is the one wielding the sword. We won't have too much of an impact on students here since we will only be working with them for 3 weeks. Our hopes and prayers are that we can encourage the student life students on the campuses to really take initiative and reach out to their campuses even more than they already are. We want to be a light in a dark place, and we want to make their light shine even brighter than it already is. So please pray that we can have an impact on the students who know Christ and the ones who do not.

Austria!? Well, "G'day mate. Let's put another shrimp on the bar-b"

The movie just allows for great blog titles for this trip. We landed in Melbourne two days ago and its been an interesting ride for me. I got sick the last two days in New Zealand and it has continued on through Melbourne. In fact, I almost went to the hospital last night because me temperature was so low but i survived.

The city is incredible. I went for a prayer walk and walked by the RMIT campus that we will be working at, walked down the the main street that runs through the city and really saw some of the darkness. I walked by an adult store that was openly advertised on the street. Things like that blew my mind yesterday on my prayer walk. The team is very excited to start reaching out the the people in our hostel and on the RMIT and Melbourne Uni. campus.

The V20 conference was incredible. So many nations, so many stories and later this week I will post a video of me giving my testimony to over 400 people from 30 different countries. God really is awesome when you learn that there are people with stories just like yours. I will also post a few pictures later this week. As for today we have prayer, orientation, and a scavenger hunt which I may or may not be a part of depending on the weather and my health. Love you all

If you call could pray for our team that would be amazing. Pray that our unity continues to grow and that we would be intentional about working and hanging out with the student life students when we start working with them.

Headwear

So I am lying in my camper during a session because my glaucoma is acting up and decided this is a good of a time as ever to make a post.

We have been in Ngaruawhia (pronounced "narawahia") for 3 days now attending the V20 conference. The conference is Student Life's (what they call Cru down here) vision for the year 2020. It has been incredibly uplifting to see and hear all the things God has been doing around the world. From hearing stories about New Zealand and Australia to Hong Kong and East Asia, God has been working big around the world.

Roger Hershey has been giving his talk about the heaven and the reign of Christ and it has been very refreshing to hear. A great reminder he gave was in 1 Cor 3:13 where it says "the fire will test the quality of each man's work". Quality, not quantity. That is what our team needs to be reminded of. Australia is hard soil, but the quality of our work is more important than the quantity of work we do. This quality will lead to one of the promises that is made. We receive crowns for our work we do on Earth. We must work towards these crowns, not to say, "Look at how many crowns I have gathered in my lifetime", but to humbly walk up to Jesus in heaven and lay them at his feet. Our crowns are not to show what we have done in our life, they are to show what we have done for God during our lifetime because of what he did for us. If we are faithful to Him during our life, the quality of our work will be infinitely better then trying to work without Him. We will receive praises from Jesus when we get to heaven hearing "well done good and faithful servant". What more could we ask for from the creator of all things.