#14 Australia- Trip #1

A few posts back I talked about my first international mission trip to Indonesia.  I loved that trip and it opened my eyes to so many things about other parts of the world and confirmed my desire to go to the "nations" and share the gospel.  However there were some frustrations for me on that trip that would shape where I would go for my next short term mission trip.  The hardest thing for me to deal with in Indonesia was the language barrier.   So I decided on my next trip I would like to go to an English speaking country.  I wasn't ruling out never doing missions in a foreign speaking country I just felt like if I wasn't going for a period of time that was long enough to allow me to develop a good grasp of the language then I wanted to go to an English speaking country.  I honestly thought it would be Wales but when I started searching for summer trips on the International Mission Board's website several opportunities from Australia came up. I read the descriptions but was still thinking I would apply for the Whales trip.  However I went to bed that night and the next morning I woke up and had an overwhelming desire to apply for the Australia trips.  I just knew in my heart that was where God wanted me to go, so I applied and was accepted to be a part of a group of college students working at various churches in Queensland, Australia.  In late winter/early spring I found out that I had been assigned to work at North Pine Baptist Church near Brisbane Australia.  Little did I know at the time that I was about to go on a trip that would forever change my life and that I would have the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

"Little" brother Wade and I

When I read the cultural handbook they sent us about Australia I was a little nervous. I remember it saying things like Australians were really stand offish, sarcastic people who didn't really care for Americans.  I'm sure it said good things about them as well but as that was 8 years ago I don't remember all of it.  I think in those books they want to prepare you for the worst case scenario but when I got to meet the people in the church I would have the pleasure of working in, those things couldn't be farther from the truth.  The church family at North Pine were so welcoming, caring, loving, warm and they seemed to have no problem with me being an American.  Now the sarcastic part... well... that may have been spot on in many cases (not to name names or anything, but ahem... Wade and Jared you know I'm talking about you.)  I remember riding in the car one time with Wade and Catherine and I asked them if the expression "Good On Ya" was only used when a person was being sarcastic.  It took them back for a minute and then they said well... no... why? I just said it seemed like whenever Wade used it he was being sarcastic and we all had a good laugh and then maybe Wade had a little moment of self reflection...  (love you brother!)

Farewell staff lunch Sue, Andrew, Jill, Dan and Alana

 During my first trip to Australia I worked as kind of a ministry intern at North Pine Baptist Church.  I had a wonderful supervisor, Andrew, who was very organized and planned a wonderful summer (well it was summer for me, it was actually Winter over there,) for myself and the girl I was assigned to work with, Alana.  We got to help out with youth group and religious education classes (in the public school!) We also helped with playgroup (my personal favorite), Sunday School and we got to be a part of the Young Ads group at the church.  We got to be a part of a wonderful staff. Besides Andrew, who was the Associate Pastor, there was Dan the senior pastor and Jill the secretary.  We had a lot of fun at staff meetings, lunch as well as morning tea. (I seriously could not get over the amount of tea and snacks that were scheduled into the day.) 

Dan and Kerrie

It was a really great staff to work with.  Dan and his wife Kerrie were actually the first host home I stayed in.  They are such wonderful caring people and there was no pretense with them. Who they seemed to be at church was who they were at home.  They welcomed me into their family for the three weeks we were with them and I came to think of them as my Australian mom and dad.  Dan was very protective and wanted us to have a great experience there.  He really wanted to make sure we got to experience the best of Australia as well as all the things that people expect you to experience in Australia. We went on drives to find kangaroos and koalas and I remember one night he was trying to decide what he would make for dinner and he said, let's have "shrimp on the barbie".  (That is not something they say, but he knew it was something Americans think they say).  So he barbequed some "prawns" and steak for us that night.  It was a good place for me to begin my stay because they had traveled in America quite a bit so they were aware of some of the cultural differences and it was a great place for us to spend our first weeks. I remember one night about an hour  or so after we had just eaten our big meal he asked if we wanted some supper. I thought why would I want another supper we just ate dinner, I'm full.  Well since he knew that many Americans use supper and dinner interchangeably he must have noticed my bewildered expression and he clarified to ask if I wanted a "bedtime snack".

The second home I stayed in was with my supervisor Andrew and his wife Susan. That could have been awkward as he was my supervisor but it wasn't.  They were great and I had a wonderful time with them.  It was also very important to Andrew that we had a good experience and felt included in the life of the church.  I can't say enough times what a great job he did in planning for our time there and making sure it benefited all of us. 

Foster Parents, Chris and Denniss

The third and last family I stayed with was Chris and Denniss Strong.  I was the most nervous about staying with them as I really had not gotten to be around them very much before I moved in with them.  They were my last home so I had been in Australia for about 6 weeks and I knew a lot of people by then but I hadn't had a lot of interaction with them, so I was apprehensive.  However I had no need to be. Chris and Denniss are some of the best people on the planet (in my humble, yet accurate opinion).  I did not know them well before I moved in but we bonded very quickly.  They were so easy to talk to, I have so many great memories of sitting around their table drinking tea and just talking with them. They are so wonderful and have so many great stories to tell.

Foster Sister Erica

One time we were having dinner and their daughter Erica had joined us that night.  While we were sitting around the table their son Matt called and when he was talking to Erica he asked her how the foster kid was doing. I remember she said (in a very Erica way) "Foster kid?? She's not a foster kid!"  We all had a good laugh and from that time on I have been affectionately known as their foster daughter.  Even today when I write them emails or messages on facebook I call Erica my foster sister and Chris and Denniss my foster "mum" and dad.  I had so much fun with them.  They had so many great stories and Chris taught me how to knit, which was something I had always wanted to learn.  It was one of the hardest things to do to say goodbye to them when I left, in fact even now I get teary thinking about the last time I got to see them at the airport in Brisbane.

Catherine, Anita and I at the Gold Coast

Besides all the parents I picked up during my stints in Australia, I also picked up a little brother.  I'm not exactly sure how it happened but sometime early on one of my friends, Wade, got designated as my little brother. It was actually pretty funny to me that I called him my little brother because while he was younger than me, he seemed a lot more mature. He already had a full time job and just seemed more like a grown up than I felt as a junior in college.  He became a great friend to me as did his girlfriend and now wife, Catherine.  I remember they were just starting to date when I arrived and I was one of the first to be in on their "little secret".  I got to go on a really fun trip to the Gold Coast with Catherine, Wade, and a few of our other friends from the Young Ads group, Liz, Anita, and Michelle.

Senior High Youth Group

 Liz and Anita also took me on my first trip to the Australian zoo.  That was definitely a highlight in my trip. I got to hold a Koala and what was possibly even more entertaining was that I got to watch Liz and Anita get a giant snake wrapped around them! Liz and Anita were very special friends, they really looked out for me and always were wanting to make sure I had something to do and didn't feel lonely.  I also got to work with Anita and two awesome senior high girls, Storm and Katherine.  We had a lot of fun doing a tacky touristy day where we visited...wait for it... The Big Pineapple! 

I'm so thankful for how the Young Ads embraced me and made me a part of their group when I was there. I had lots many fun outings with many of them and so many wonderful conversations.  They were just such a special group of people and I loved them dearly.  There are to many memories to share but I remember Beck was the first person over there to give me a hug and it forever endeared her to me as I love hugs and I'm the kind of person who needs to be hugged.  She also cooked kangaroo for me, (don't judge me, I was in Australia, it only seemed right that I pet one and eat one!) Dani and I had a really fun trip to some shops up in a place called Montville. We're both "girly" girls so we had a lot of fun shopping and talking about our favorite girly movies.  Dani and her husband Clint were so much fun, and have the sweetest hearts. Clint also taught me how to play cricket, which is a really fun memory.  Jared and I bonded over quoting Zoolander (one of our favorite movies) and working the week long winter extreme camp which was  a lot of fun.  If I remember one thing about Jared was that he had a great laugh.  Josh was also became a great friend during my times there.  He seems like a tough guy on the outside as he is really tall and maybe kind of intimidating if you don't know him but he's really a big softy with a huge heart.  Michelle was wonderful as well.  She had just come off of a two year mission trip on a ship and so even though her experience was much bigger we shared a little bit of common ground and she seemed to understand what we were going through.

Well I know this post has gotten very long, but I can't stop without talking about the amazing kids (and their parents) that I go to work with while I was there.  Those beautiful children absolutely stole my heart.  Its funny part of me really wants to go back to Australia and take my family so they can meet all these wonderful people but I also realize I would be really sad because all the cute little kids I worked with are all grown up now!  (Well at least teens or almost teens.)  It was so much fun getting to know the Isabelle, Sam, Jake, Kelsey, Mitch, Caleb, Thalia (spelling?), Lachlan and sweet little Gemma.  I got to know these kids and their awesome parents Ian, Rochelle, Janine, Fiona, Kylie, and Cynthia at church, playgroup and/or Sunday school.  Getting hugs from them every week and getting to know their parents was one of the things that really helped me when I was feeling homesick. They also taught me a great song about a "fearless" mouse who runs around the house.  I have gone on to teach many American children that song, I love it!   

Michelle, Liz and I

I know this is such a long post that I probably should have turned it into two as I'm sure I didn't do these wonderful people and my memories of them justice, however they will show up in the next one as it's about how I got to go BACK to Australia the very next summer, what I got to do and who I got to bring with me!

Dani and I

To close I just want any of my North Pine church family reading this to know how I much I love you and treasure my time I got to spend with you.  All of you hold such a special place in my heart.  Its awesome knowing that even if I can never afford to come back and introduce my family to you, I know I will see you again one day because even though we may be from different sides of this world, we all have the most important person in common, Jesus.  So it makes my heart happy to know we will meet again, but there are still some days (even 8 years later) that I miss you all terribly!