Our seperate ways . . .

Early Monday morning we said our final farewells to our dear friends in Brisbane and boarded a plan headed south to Sydney.  Michael, Megan, and Nicole continued the journey to Kansas City, while I (Alison) stay a few extra days in Sydney before heading on to New Zealand this weekend. 
We have heaps of photos from our time in Logan and thought you might enjoy a few more:

Youth Camp in Pottsville-

Talofa!

      23 of us just returned from a truly memorable time with the teens from Logan and Capalaba at youth camp down in Pottsville, NSW.  I still kick myself every time I find myself at the beach in the sunshine in the middle of what they like to call "winter".  It was sunny and 70s everyday with cool clear nights sleeping under a canopy of stars.  Spectacular!

    The only thing better than the weather and the scenery is the fellowship of the saints.  We all had a fantastic time with the teens working together, cooking together, playing together and even getting sick together.  There was a lot of togetherness! 

    As I sat on the beach watching the kids paddling together in their canoes or giggling as they splashed in the salty sea, I knew I was getting a glimpse of heaven.  Enjoy some pics below. . .

Team Member Nicole

Hey All,

It's Nicole here just wanting to introduce myself to those who dont know me. Even tho I don't attend school at MNU, I work there and was able to get to go. And it has been such a blessing. It's my first time overseas and in a different country. I love getting to see God's creation and all that he's made, whether it's the different landscape or animals and I love getting to interact with the people. It's been quite an adventure.

It's been great here so far. I'm loving it. The first week is over now. I've had a great time getting to know all the children at Wild Wacky Week and our billets as well. Everyone here is really nice. We were able to go see the ocean today and I will  never get used to that view. It's breathtaking everytime I see it. We've gone shopping, to the zoo, the hospital and the doctors, eachother's billets, the city, and a few other places as well. We've had some funny moments as well as some serious moments. All in all a really good experience so far. I'm really blessed to be here. I really like our team.

Monday we leave for camp for the week and I have to admit, I have mixed feelings for the idea of sleeping in tents all week. I do love camping but at the same time, I like my bed. But I'm excited to get to hang out with all the teens and get to know them. We're cooking an American dinner on Monday night for everyone for the 4th of July. And wouldn't you know I forgot to pack something red, white and blue. But I think I'll just make the best of what I have. Till next week,

Have a blessed day.

Nicole

In the Land of Oz. . .

It's now been over a week since we landed in Brisbane and how time flies! Below you will see photos from:

-- Wild Wacky Week Kids' Ministry in Logan: June 27-30
-- Visit to NTC (Nazarene Theological College) July 1

Enjoy!

G'Day!

Talofa from Logan!
 This is Megan and I just thought I would drop a note. It's 5pm on Wednesday night and we just got done with our third night of Wild Wacky Week. Tomorrow is our last day. This trip so far has been an awesome expericence full of many new experiences. My first new experience was Saturday night when I began having an ear ache and as many of you know it turned into something worse. After spending all Sunday morning going to the doctor and the ER(my first time ever being in one of those!) we learned that I have an ear infection and a burst ear drum...! which isn't too big of a deal, just have to take some antibiotics and hearing should be back in about six weeks. Another great experience was getting to go to the Australia Zoo and seeing the Irwin family and being up-close with some awesome animals! Wild Wacky Week(VBS) has been a lot of fun too. We are using the 2009 theme Museum 12627. The kids seem to enjoy it---we play games, learn bible verses, hear stories and sing songs together. I can't wait to see what they have instore for us! The weather is perfect... high 60's and at night high 50's so we just bundle up to stay warm at night! hopefully I can write more later. For now Tofa and have a good night. -Megan

Wild Wacky Week: Day 1

Today we launched our Wild Wacky Week with the children at the Logan Community Church of the Nazarene, and surrounding neighborhood.  What a wonderful day with the kids, teaching them of God's love and care, and unlocking the mystery of God's great plan for his creation.  We will continue this each day this week.  Enjoy the photos:

Some more pics for you!

Before the journey began. . .

Kangaroo with joey in tow at the Australia zoo . . .

 Megan and Alison face painting at the zoo  . . .

Nicole feeding the kangaroos at the zoo . . .

Michael with Mabel, Tia, and Jadase at church this morning . . .



God is already in tomorrow, literally!

For those of you stateside, you should know that Brisbane is 15 hours ahead of Central Standard Time Zone in Kansas City. As I write you now, it is 5:06AM Saturday, but only 2:06PM Friday afternoon for you.  Incredible when you think about it!
 The very fact I am now experiencing Saturday, nearly a day ahead of you all, gives new meaning to the principle that God is already in our tomorrows.  He knows what lies ahead and invites us to lean on him with the uncertainty of our tomorrows.

So, if you are a bit anxious today. . .
 "Cast the full weight of your anxiety on him, for he cares for you." 
1 Peter 5:7

The past two days our team has been getting acclamated with our wonderful billets (host families) and preparing for ministry through Wild Wacky Week with the kids that will begin full-on on  Monday- Thursday.  Last night we enjoyed a sport/game night with the youth here in Logan and look forward to spending more time with them at "TOA" youth camp July 4-8. "TOA" is a Maori word loosely translated "warrior". Our youth leader, Reg, has invested much time and energy into preparing the program and curriculum for this camp that will focus on being a warrior for the Lord Jesus Christ and developing strength and resilience from within. Looking forward to it!

Today our team will have a bit of a holiday and head to the Australia Zoo. Yes, this is Steve Irwin's famous zoo!  Should be a great day.  I hope to post some pics when we return.  Love to you all!

Alison

We're Here!

G'day Mates!
 
   We're here safe and sound in the lovely city of Brisbane, Australia!  Other than being a little jet-lagged, we are all doing well and are feeling so welcomed by our "billets"!  Gotta get some 'tucker'; will write more later.

One more day!

One more day and these Midwestern American folk are headed "Down Under"!  Our trip will take us to Logan, a suburb of Brisbane, on the eastern coast of Australia, where we will live, learn, and minister with some truly amazing people!  Though ministry is more about being with people than just doing things or accomplishing a task, we do have a plan of action.  Our tentative schedule is below in case you would like to pray for the team.  (Which, by the way, makes ALL the difference!)

June 21-23: En route to Brisbane via KC, Dallas and L.A
June 24: Ministry prep;  Friday "Youth in Action"
June 26: Team sharing in worship with church; Alison preaching
June 27- 30: 'Wild and Wacky Week' with the neighborhood kiddos;
July 4-8: "TOA"  Youth Camp in Pottsville
July 11: Team departs for KC; Alison heads for Sydney and then Auckland, NZ

As we have such gracious host families (aka "billets" in Aussie lingo), there will be ample opportunity to be immersed in Polynesian culture, learn from some true servants, and offer encouragement and service to the families in return.
Our goal is to love God and love people with everything within us!  Our prayer is that our team be a breath of fresh air and truly hold out the hope of Christ to the lost and broken with whom we come in contact.

Please leave us a message and check back often, as each of the team members will have an opportunity to blog throughout the trip.

Not again! Tornadoes hit too close to home. . . .

It's been another chaotic weather weekend with tornaodes hitting just west of Olathe, as well as demolishing large portion of Joplin, Missouri to our south. Over 89 are confirmed dead in Joplin and the death toll is expected to rise. Things are bit unsettling, but we do not live as ones without hope. God is on our side and will enable to us to reach out to the hurting around us:


Please consider joining the relief effort:

1) PRAY: This DOES make a difference! The Lord acts on behalf of those for whom we pray. "Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer." Psalm 4:1

2) CARE KITS: Heart to Heart International is already on site in Joplin with the mobile medical unit and is requesting care kits. Please follow specific instructions below on preparing a Heart to Heart Care Kit. You may drop these off at the ServiceCorps office over the next two weeks.

One new hand towel
One new washcloth
One wide-tooth comb
One 10-15 oz. bottle of shampoo
One new individually wrapped toothbrush
One 4-6 oz. tube of toothpaste
One individually wrapped bath-size bar of soap
Ten (10) adhesive bandages
Two (2) one-gallon-size, zipper-seal plastic bags

** Place all items in one zipper-seal bag, seal it, place the top of the filled bag into the bottom of the second bag and seal the second bag. Please include at least $1.00 donation/kit to cover cost of shipping.

3) VOLUNTEER: Our Kansas City District will be heavily involved in the relief efforts in Joplin. We will keep you posted on the efforts to partner with the Nazarene Disaster Response in mobilizing teams of volunteers to work with local pastors and leaders to distribute aid, offer comfort and begin clean-up.

4) GIVE: You may donate directly to either of these organizations on the web:

-- Nazarene Compassionate Ministries: http://www.ncm.org/give/disasterresponse/ndr
-- Heart to Heart International: http://www.hearttoheart.org/

Thank you for reaching out to our neighbors in the name of Christ.

Go Global: http://www.mnu.edu/global-opportunities.html
MNU ServiceCorps: http://www.mnu.edu/mnu-service-corps.html

And now your God is my God. . .

I just have to share with you a story that will send goosebumps up your arms (the good kind) and set your heart on fire.

This week a friend of mine headed to India to be with his ailing 83 y.o. father, in hopes to convince him to get a life-saving surgery.  More importantly, he traveled all the way to India to share with his Hindu father the new life had had found in Jesus Christ.  He and his wife had been praying scripture over the aged man for weeks, asking for God's help in sharing the good news of Christ with him.

Upon arrival in India, my friend found that this father not only refused to have the surgery done, but was also entirely negative toward any comments about Christ or prayers that my friend offered on his behalf.  He wanted nothing to do with his God.

My friend was distraught at his father's refusal to do the surgery and his blatant opposition to the gospel, so he called home to have his wife, our pastor, and the church pray. .. and pray we did.

Just this weekend my friend's wife received another phone call from India, but this time instead of words spoken from a heavy heart, his words were ones of  deep rejoicing!  He reported that his dad went through the surgery after all, that it was successful, and that when asked what made him change his mind (after all, he was not at all fond of the idea) he said. . . . . "Your God appeared to me last night and told me to have surgery! Now your God is my God. too."

Incredible!  Incredible is all I can say!  Isn't it just like the LORD to reveal himself in creative ways and make himself known!  God IS real and He is all about changing reality for those who are open to his love.  God just changed reality for my friend's dad.  Praise Him!

Please pray for my friend's dad, that he would completely choose Christ and pledge his heart to him, and be freed to live victoriously, unbound by the gods of this world that the Hindu religion has set up for him.

Tornadoes Across the Southeast US- Please Pray!

Tornadoes ripped through the southeast USA this week, hitting 8 states, wiping out entire towns and killing over 250 people.  See links below  for more information and how you can help the relief efforts in Misssouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia:

Nazarene Communications Network:
http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000023&id=10010236

Heart to Heart Intl.:
https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:40252.9311004221/rid:c53e799aad4de82a30f0f233c2db431f

What is more important?

For those interested in thinking a little deeper about God's mission and why in the world a team of young adults is traveling half-way across the planet on a 'mission trip', I offer you an excerpt from a recent paper I wrote on the priority of mission. Basically, the question at hand is, "What is more important, social justice and bringing physical relief from suffering, or proclaiming the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ and the salvation from sin and death that He offers us?

"The priority in mission is to fulfill the purpose of mission, namely the glory of God among the nations. If the priority of mission were as a marriage, I submit that gospel proclamation and the pursuit of justice submit to one another as spouses, with gospel proclamation acting as the ‘head of household’, ultimately holding authority in the relationship and responsibility for decisions. Both collaborate to join God on his mission to reconcile the world to Himself in order to make Revelation 7:9-10 a reality,
 “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb [. . .] They called out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.”

This is referred to as a “doxological orientation” to mission. Both evangelism and justice are essential in mission, yet are not identical, and neither can be substituted for the other. After all, there can be no true justice without Jesus, nor can philanthropy or the betterment of society provide any remedy for the plague of deep-rooted unrighteousness from which Christ came to rescue humanity. Until creation is completely restored and the full glory of God achieved, we live in a kingdom that is now but not yet; a kingdom that has begun, yet is not complete.

Upon sending out the seventy-two as recorded in Luke 10, Jesus gives them instructions to speak peace, heal the sick, and proclaim, “The kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10:9). It seems as though there are times when actions of peace and healing serve as a platform from which to proclaim that the kingdom of God is in fact here; then “they will see your good works and praise your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5: 16). Again it is evident that marriage between gospel proclamation and justice brings about the glory of God.

 In his response to Christopher Little’s essay, “What Makes Mission Christian?”, Ron Sider says it well, “Again and again throughout history, Christians have profoundly transformed societal injustice—whether poverty, slavery, or neglect of the dignity of women—precisely because they believed that accepting Jesus as Savior also required them to accept Jesus as Lord of every part of their life.” I suggest that disciples are not made by relieving human suffering, but relieving suffering is commanded of those who are disciples.

We cannot ignore that there is a real enemy among us, seeking to devour whom he may. Satan cannot be defeated by mere acts of human generosity or kindness, noble as they be, but only by the blood the Christ as the pure and blameless sacrifice. This is the heart of the gospel. In his defense before King Agrippa, the Apostle Paul recalls Christ’s words to him,
“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

In the final analysis, the purpose of mission is to glorify God. The devil will be defeated, God glorified and creation restored to wholeness. The pursuit of justice and gospel proclamation are essential in achieving that mission, with the weightier being the latter."

Headed 'Down Under'!

It's official, our 4th MNU Team Australia is headed to Logan, Australia June 21-July 11, 2011! Flights are finalized, funds are being raised, training is happening. In short. .. it's official! We're going! Thank the Lord we were able to get discounted flights for those under age 25 (that means everyone except yours trly. :-) As we near our departure, we will be posting more often, including photos and stories, and sharing life with you. In the meantime, please check out some FANTASTIC articles from Engage Magazine, a global mission magazine from the Church of the Nazarene. http://www.engagemagazine.com/Magazine-Content/Videos/October-2010/A-night-in-Kudjip-Hospital.aspx

EARTHQUAKE IN NEW ZEALAND!

Friends,

I'm sorry that each post seems to revolve around a natural disaster, but it seems there is no shortage of them these days, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. You've all heard about the massive earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand this week, and chances are you've heard that the death toll has risen well above 200 people, that there is chaos and mass devastation, and that thousands have been gravely impacted. These are all sobering facts.

But chances are you have not heard that this is a prime opportunity for the Church, for Christ-followers in New Zealand and around the globe to be a beacon of hope to those who are hurting and seeking help that only God can provide. Please check out the latest update from NCN news at the link below and consider giving to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries to help with this relief effort.

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000006&id=10010015

Peace to you all,
Alison

Queensland is hit again!

Queensland has been hammered once again by natural disaster; this time Cyclone Yasi is the culprit. Please check the link below for an article and photos on the effects of the storm on our Nazarenes in Northeastern Australia.

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000006&id=10009942

Please continue to pray for those still recovering from the massive flooding 3 weeks ago and now dealing with this cyclone.

WHITE-OUT IN KANSAS CITY!

To my Aussie friends enjoying the summer sunshine:

I used to think shoveling snow was fun. You know, a great way to burn calories, clear the lungs, and go frolicking about in a winter wonderland. Now, after the third major snowstorm in four weeks, it is merely a necessary evil that keeps us from getting trapped in the house and going insane.

Shoveling in a blizzard is really nothing more than a futile attempt to move massive amounts of snow around and look busy, only to find that minutes later all evidence of your efforts are buried once again.

Today Kansas City is again getting slammed with snow, the worst in years. Schools are closed for the 4th time since the New Year; banks are actually closing early, and believe it or not, MNU cancelled ALL classes and offices. We are in the middle of a true blizzard right now and as I peer through the window the visibility is minimal; all I see is white. The snow is falling at a rate of 2.5 inches per hour (that's 6.35 cm of snow every hour for you metric folks) and it has been snowing non-stop for over 8 hours now; you do the math. This isn't even good sledding weather, because the wind is roaring and the windchills are far below 0'F (-20'C).

Well, hoping this makes for a green spring! In the meantime; it's time to bundle up and be thankful for central heating, warm clothing, hot showers, and good food.

See you all in a few months!

Urgent! Widespread Flooding in Brisbane

The news has been full of images and stories of the destructive flooding taking place in eastern Australia right now. The severe flooding is covering an area larger than the state of Texas and is directly affecting our churches and friends in Brisbane. Please check out this link for the newest article from NCN news:

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10009873

Our own Logan Community Church of the Nazarene, with whom our team partners, is registered as an evacuation site and has been serving as a local council depot for supplies, and food. Please pray for all affected by this emergency and that the Lord would equip the churches to be a resource and source of hope to the communities around them.

A New Team for a New Year!

G'day and welcome to our blog!
Team Australia 2011 is preparing for a summer of learning and ministry with fellow Christ-followers in Brisbane Australia, June 21-July 11, 2011. We are: Michael, Mario, Nicole, Megan, Beth, and Alison. Please check this blog for updates as we prepare, raise funds, and learn about serving alongside our brothers and sisters in the land 'Down Under'.