Clase de español!

Hey all. I had a really fun night on Thursday - my friend and I went down to Tres Culturas Spanish class and did a Spanish lesson! It was super-cool to practice my Spanish again in a class and get some more help and tuition. I was able to understand pretty much everything that was going on and also knew some extra bits which was cool. We talked about lots of things in our area like public services (police, townhall, swimming pool, library etc. etc.) which was handy.

I'm really looking forward to getting into even more Spanish when I get to Mexico. I was thinking of doing this class for the last five weeks up to Christmas, but I have realised that things are just a little too busy and I already have things booked up on Thursday nights. Anyway, it was exciting to get back into learning Spanish and I came away very pumped up to speak and learn more.

Vamos!

Sharing the vision

Over the next couple of months I am seeking to share some of the vision and passion God has put in my heart to share his love and message with Mexican young people. I will be organising to speak at some churches, events and small groups.



On Sunday 28 October at 5pm I will be sharing at the Missionary Advisory Council missions event. This will be held at Eastleigh Gospel Chapel.




I would love to connect with you on the night if you are able to make it.

This is great!

For those of you who are interested in learning a bit of Spanish, a friend sent me a link to the Mariachi Wiggles!!! Enjoy!! Es bonito y muy divertido!

Bad blogger

Ok, so I've been a bad blogger and not updated this blog for a little while. I'm putting up a couple of posts in a row now to get back on top of things. I'll try and update a little more regularly as the time is fast approaching that I'll be heading off to Mexico.

It's starting to really hit home that my planned departure is less than five months away! I've got so much to do! But at the same time, I'm trying really hard to spend time out and enjoy life - particularly enjoying the company of my friends and taking time to do the important things like watching sunsets, hanging with the family, drinking coffee with friends and going out to the country (with the Wild Brumbies... see to the right).

I've been really challenged lately about God's kingdom - the central message of Jesus. I've been challenged about how it looks when God is in charge of everything and also what it looks like when you come to Christ, becoming part of God's kingdom and aligning yourself to a new way of life. I actually preached at my home church, Balwyn, just over a week ago about the kingdom of God. It challenged me to continue to study, to grapple and to challenge how I understand God as he reveals Himself in his word - the Bible. God is a loving king, a king who is above everything and is mighty and powerful, yet humbled himself to come to earth in Jesus and offer us relationship, forgiveness, freedom and connection with the king.

Wow!

Accepted!

On 25 September I received my formal acceptance letter from International Teams to serve God in Queretaro, Mexico for two years.

I'm very excited to finally have this confirmed. I have felt God's encouragement to keep moving forward and depending on Him.

I'm still working full-time (until Christmas) but I'm moving into an important time in my preparation where I need to form my partnership team. I believe that God has this under control and he will touch people's hearts to pray, encourage and give financially. I'm feeling quite comfortable that God will provide all my needs, but I am struggling to make the time to do the organisation and preparation required to get out there and catch up with people and churches.

If you're a praying person, I would love it if you would pray that God would help me to balance and prioritise over the next few weeks to get these things organised.

Brooke Fraser

Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Brooke Fraser in concert. I went to the Atheneum Theatre in Melbourne with some friends and had a fantastic night. It was really refreshing to see an artist who is very real and candid on stage!

Brooke sings an amazing song called Albertine which she wrote after spending time in Rwanda. I find this song really moving as it tells the story of a person she met in Rwanda and how this has changed her.

Now that I have seen, I am responsible, faith without deeds is dead...

This song always brings me back to the compassionate and loving heart of Jesus - the one who loves me and calls me to love others...without limit...

Oh...and I want to marry Brooke Fraser. Brooke, if you read this... call me!

Encouraging and challenging words

I am taking on a bit of a challenge to read through the bible in roughly a year (I say roughly because I'm using an online reading plan which means that when I'm away from internet connectivity, I have to go back to my offline copy of the Bible... i.e. the book version hehe).

Anyway, I was reading through 1 Corinthians 4 this morning and was both encouraged and challenged by these words:
Verse 20 - For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power.

These words challenged me... do I talk lots about the Kingdom of God, about Jesus, about the Bible, whilst failing to live day-by-day by God's power? Sometimes the answer is yes. It's much easier to have lots of fancy talk, but to really rest in Christ and live by God's power is more challenging. It involves letting go of myself and my own desires and choosing to let God take the drivers seat. I think that when we are following Jesus, we constantly need to remember this - to daily let go of our own desires and live by God's power.

I was also reminded of the verse in James where it says "Do not merely listen to the word [of God], and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Thankfully God is full of grace and promises to give us his Spirit to help us. So if you catch me speaking lots of fancy talk and not living by God's power... tell me to be quiet and take a minute to seek God to get things back in balance ;-)