In The Land Down Under

After months of planning the craziest adventure of my life I am finally settled in the great land of Australia. I arrived in Sydney on January 24th at 10 in the morning. It was a 15 hour flight from Vancouver to Sydney. Just a little fun fact for you- I didn’t get up once, not to stretch and not to pee. Ew is right. I was by the window and there was a boy beside me I couldn’t seem to get around. Anyways, too much information. I stayed in a great hotel right by the circular quay which is where there are shops, restaurants, tours and of course all the water. It was absolutely beautiful. I spent a whole day just hanging around there. The next day I went shopping and met some really sweet people. I could not believe how friendly people were. It was really reassuring for me. January 26th was the day. The day I had to leave for school. Trying to get around the train station was a mess and I really wondered what I had gotten myself into. Once I was settled on the train things started to feel a bit better. There was a transfer of trains and getting on the second train it became very evident that I wasn’t the only student on their way to a new place. I can pretty much guarantee that I looked like a deer in headlights. After I sat down with my two massive bags of luggage, a backpack and my lulu bag (which my roommate later made fun of me for!) a girl sat across from me. I felt like I wanted to say something to her, but she beat me to it. “Hey, Where are you going?” she said and I shyly responded “Moss Vale”. “To the Bible College!?” she asked me excitedly, and that is where it began. Turns out that this very girl turned out to be my roommate! Definitely a God thing. So my roommates name is Kim. She is seriously amazing. She is beautiful inside and out and she does the coolest things. I don’t think that I could have asked for a better roommate. We get along so well.
I’ve been here now for just over three weeks and I have to say I know that I am meant to be here. The lectures have been awesome. I feel like the teachers have bugged our rooms or something to know exactly what to say to us. The things some of the girls and I have talked about are some of the things that they have been talking about. I know that it is the Holy Spirit, but wow, that has been really cool. Everything that we have been learning has been so relevant to my life. I can already feel a change occurring, at least my brain is ticking and my heart beating. God has also blessed me with a friend that can really relate to some of the things that have happened over the past year and I know that is something that is very needed.
Alright, let me enlighten you on what I’ve gotten myself into. Oh, I tried kangaroo. It was actually pretty good, but the thought of eating a kangaroo felt slightly disturbing! I have hit up the beach twice, neither day was too nice but I got a chance to do some boogie boarding which is always a good time! March 1st we get to have a surf day and get actual lessons on how to surf- so stoked! I’ve also been bowling twice. The first time I went with my family group and we dressed 80’s (you can imagine the looks we got). The second time it was three of my friends birthdays! Crazy. I got a really nice sunburn on our first workday which occurs every Wednesday, but now my back is really dark. I’ve been taking a lot of time to get to know people and what they are about. That is something that seems extremely important about being here. Everyone has a story and a past and is now here for a reason and I want to know all of that. God has been teaching me a lot of patience. He has also given me a lot of strength. I have had that feeling where you feel like you have nothing left to give, but then someone needs you. I really didn’t think I could do this, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. For now I will leave with that thought...