Relief....

Oh my goodness! I really don't know what to say, but God is just so awesome! He is constantly amazing me about everything! It's so crazy! I am doing so good over here! I really do not want to come home, to be honest. I am enjoying living here so much! I am enjoying the people, the accents, the lingo....just everything!

YWAM Perth:
   Well, last week our lectures were about "Repentance and Forgiveness". I was dreading it so bad! I knew that that week would be the hardest week for me. Everyone else in my group thought it would be so hard too! I knew I had things I needed to lay down and give to God for good. I knew the only way I could be set free was to forgive and move on. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be! On the Friday, we had to stand up and repent and forgive in front of the whole class. The guy (Caleb Brownhill, the son of the people that run YWAM Perth) that taught the lectures that week told us that God doesn't only want us to confess our sins but He wants us to act in faith. I realized that was my problem. I wasn't really sorry by just confessing my sins in my head. I was going to do them again and again until I truly gave it up. I needed to confess and then repent in front of people. It was very hard for me to do that. I wanted to portray myself as a perfect little girl here. I was afraid I would lose my reputation here and not have any friends. I was so wrong. Not only did I lose my reputation, but I gained a reputation that was pleasing to the Lord and it was honest. These people really know who I am. They don't care about the past mistakes I have had in my life. We all gained a reputation that was pleasing to the Lord. We spent more than 11 hours confessing in a classroom. It has made us stronger as a group and we now have nothing to hide from each other. It feels so good. We cried, we laughed, we danced, we rapped...we are just one big happy family now! My relationship with God is so deep now. It is really unreal. I feel as though that wall is down and nothing can get in the way of me and my God. After the repentance and forgiveness was over, Caleb asked if any of us would like to share our experience now that our confession and forgiveness phase was out. I shared that I felt as if I was like Christian in "Pilgrim's Progress" and I kept carrying that burden on my back. I was so used to the burden that I got to the point to where I was okay with carrying it as long as I wasn't convicted. All I needed to do was lay it at the cross and just give it over to God. As soon as I was done confessing my sins, I felt that the burden was off of my back. I felt light and I felt the wall crumble down. I felt free. It was an amazing experience. I felt as if I just started my journey with Jesus. It's just so crazy!

  This week, we are talking about Intercession and Worship. It is so good. It's a bunch of information to take in, but I am learning so much. Our speaker is named Peter Warren. He runs the YWAM in Denver, Colorado. He has lived everywhere. His parents were missionaries. He is really good at teaching the information to us and giving us every detail and making sure that we walk away everyday with a clearer understanding of God.

Outings:
  Last Wednesday was Australia Day! It is like a Fourth of July back home. It was so fun. Several of the guys and gals at YWAM dressed up. I did too! We went down to the river and watched the fireworks. The fireworks were done to music. It was the best fireworks show I have ever seen! It was so neat to just sit and watch the fireworks by the river with a bunch of cool people. They had a rap concert or something going on while we were there.  I showed Aussie's how it's done on the dance floor. It was so funny! I got a shout out from the stage! It was so fun. I took lots of pictures! I would come back every year just for Aussie Day!

 Several of us went to the beach this past Saturday as well. We are trying to go every Saturday at some point during the day. I tried one of the best drinks I have ever had there!. It's from a place called Boost Juice. They have the best berry crush drink ever! I am obsessed! If you ever come to Australia, you need to try it!

Aussie lingo:
Ambo: an Ambulance
Cobber: what you call your friend
Brown-eyed mullet: a turd that's in the sea
Cactus: dead
Chewie: gum
They call themselves "fair dinkum Aussie's" which means "true Aussies"
Dunny: a port-a-potty

Well, That is all the news I have for now! If I have anything else to tell y'all I will let ya'll know! I miss you guys! Again, thanks for following my blog! You guys are so great!