Maz in Melbs

A ton has happened since I came to Australia.
Since it's been hard to sit down and think through each event, here is a glimpse of what has been
 going on:

CONNEXIONS
A conference where a ton of uni students involved in Student Life (Cru) come together and worship, pray for their campus, listen to a speaker, go to training and cast vision of future ministry.

Connexions Conference

Students at Connexions worshiping 

Reflecting on God's Word

Campus Time 

Campus Time: Casting Vision

Maz (me) and Kaz-matazz (my housemate) + some of the funnest students! 

I was welcomed by the sweetest aussies who voiced that they had been praying for me and were glad that I made it to Connexions :D

ROUGH DAY
I had a bad day.
Just bad PT (public transport) experiences of being stuffed in a train, I mean sardine style super smashed together. Then problems with setting up a phone account and taking the wrong tram late at night which led to missing a key church event called Newcomers Night that I was looking forward to. It was just real messy and it made me miss my fam and friends even more...

REDECORATED
My room has been redecorated, photos to come within the week for sure!
It's a big deal because I feel much more like I'm living here long term and not for a short period of time.

CAMPUS
Went on campus started going to Bible Studies and Prayer and such. It's been great to get to know the students on each campus. Going to Connexions was the most efficient way I could have met students; I was able to meet a ton of students from various campus' in a short period of time and have a blast while doing so.
I'm really psyched to see what God does as the year progresses. Each campus is beautiful and the students are so great to be around!

SICK
I got sick with some kinda flu and it broke me down. I just felt HoRrid and it hit me at its worse when it was Team Day and we had everything at my house so it was a huge bummer not only to have to miss but to have to lay still in my room as I could hear everyone in the other room. Big time boooo to that! It made me feel discouraged and disconnected.



MOMENTS

- I have had several moments where I swear I'm speaking another language because there is a serious disconnect haha!!
 ~There was a moment when I asked for a pitcher of juice at Connexions but after motioning and a long round about conversation, I was informed that it was called a jug of cordial. It was pretty outrageous.
 ~I asked for Lemonade but idk according to the cashier Lemonade includes; Fanta, Coke, Sprite, and Lift. But according to other aussies lemonade is just Sprite. Either way I ended up with no lemonade. ;P
 ~Sometimes I catch myself saying words that have completely different connotations then what they do in America.

PHOTOS

My Housemate Kaz

Top right is a Soy Dandelion :) 

Drinking a soy dandelion...it's an acquired taste ;/

"Share a Coke with your Mate"

Yarra River

Bringing color to the city of Melbs

Flinders Street Station

Pizza with a boundary of meat and veggies! haha

Vietnamese Spring Rolls 

The Plantation (my new home)

Vegan Banana Bread with a boundary line >__<

All of Melb Central (mall and train station) is built around this tower 

A bit of home :D

Thanks for the Prayers! 

AUSTRALIA AT LAST!

I've made it to Australia!!! It was a long flight but I had three seats to myself and it was Qantas which is always amazing! I had this delish dessert that was somehow dairy free but had whip cream which I haven't eaten in ages so I ate two and licked the spoon clean.  haha!

I met a girl who is a vegan when I was in line for customs, it was pretty hilarious because a couple sentences in I realized she was hardcore vegan and then probably 15 minutes later I realized I was wearing my UGGs ( not the ugly staple ones but some super chic unique ones) and I thought " I have no idea what their policies are or how animal loving they could be...oopps" So I was kinda hiding my shoes while she was talking, praying that she didn't look at my feet! ;p
After customs I looked for my housemate and realized we didn't really say a meet up point and I ended up circling the area twice before I used the vegan girls phone.
It was a long time before I got back to the house, we took PT (public transportation) and it was fun! I loved it, but had a bit of trouble lugging around my one suitcase that I jam packed with space bags and what not (meaning it became very heavy).

Once at home I unpacked everything took a shower and we went to get some groceries. I got some tofu and snacks knowing that in two days I'd be off to a conference.

Easter was AMAZING! Probably my favorite of all Easters I've experienced because in short, I got to Skype with my whole fam in a three way chat and also I felt excited to celebrate Christ's resurrection, His victory, in the country God called me to be a missionary in. It was empowering and I like my new church. :D

Monday me and Katherine (my housemate) left to Connexions Conference with Sarah! (Love her!) It was raining out and I felt the peace of God comforting me in the emotional trauma of transition. We stopped to get coffee and I realized I LOVE AUSTRALIA! ahaha I just love how many cafes are around, it's absolutely brilliant! I couldn't decide which one to go to, so I walked in the closest one. Since I was first introduced to cappuccinos in Oz I ordered one and immediately the staff turned to me and started chatting with me about America and me being the attention lover I am, ate up every moment. ;)

At Connexions I experienced a sweet sweet welcoming from a ton of aussie students who said they have been praying for me and were excited to finally meet me! It made me feel so blessed to be there, I also had some of the best camp food ever imagined! I was thoroughly impressed that the cook not only made me vegan meals but made some of the most delicious vegan meals I've ever had. I'm pretty sure every meal I thanked the cook at least 3 times for making such good food.
The worship at Connexions was good, I was grateful that almost all the songs were familiar to me. I met my team mates and am looking forward to getting to know them. We had a prayer night where we prayed for other countries and for the local campus'.
That night there was a passage read from a book Bill Bright (the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) wrote and it said that God gave him a vision; a divine glimpse of a wave coming out of Australia.
What's crazy is that I kept hearing about this vision of a spiritual movement rising out of Australia, from other people and I googled it and couldn't figure out what they were talking about. When Jane read this excerpt I got chills and thought maybe I'll be apart of this wave as I get involved in ministry down under! It was incredible to hear the Lord working and casting vision from the staff and then to hear the prayers of aussie students desiring the Lord to work on campus!All in all I had a blast getting to know the students, leading a discussion group and resting when I needed to.

Now I'm back home and I'm still dealing with jet lag but I'm thrilled to be able to finally be in the country! Please pray for me, since I am the only STINTer I  feel clueless one hundred percent of the time and I don't want to end up feeling as though I have to prove myself. I know who I am in Christ and that I've been called to be here, so pray that I would be operating in the Holy Spirit each day with this truth at the core.

Quick Little Update

Hello!

I'm just going to be short and to the point.
My Background check has been cleared!!! I was ecstatic when the man on the phone stated that it would be sent to D.C. friday!  (that was this past friday)
I didn't send out an email in hopes that my visa would be approved soon, I have plane tickets on hold for this friday but I really don't want to be too excited just yet.  The last time I thought everything was going to be approved and done it all kinda backfired and I was pretty disappointed.
I emailed the man working on my visa case and communicated the progress. Right after however, I received an automatic email saying that he wouldn't be in the office till April 3rd. Which is today.
I'm praying that I hear back from him today with some kind of communication as to where I'm at.

I've been praying daily that God would be glorified in the waiting, in His timing.  I trust the Lord's sovereignty as I said in my last email/ post.
There's a conference starting April 9th and the Australian staff has emailed me that they are praying I make it to Australia in time to attend. Of course, I've been hoping to get there asap from the get-go! Haha.
Honestly, I know there are things God has revealed to me about myself and my heart that needed to change before leaving. I know that there is a lot of unseen transformation as I wait and let Him strip all my natural securities away, and in that I feel affirmed that this waiting is not with out purpose.

Continue to pray for me,  that God would be glorified in the small day to day things. That the Lord's will would be done, and that my will would follow His.  Also please pray for my sanity,  in the midst of the spiritual I'm exhausted physically. I'm sick as I type this up actually, I've come down with some kinda flu. Then there's the emotional exhaustion of a slow transition out.

Romans 10:14-15

Sitting. Watching. Waiting.

  I'm sitting on my couch listening to the rain and I thought to myself "I really need to send an email out, despite my lack of words" So here I am typing up an email. (yes I copied and pasted this email to my blog...hehehe) Lack of words because not too much has changed since the last email (or post?)  and I've come to a point where not talking about it is much easier than talking about it. I know that's not a good excuse for lack of communication, but that's the truth. 

I hope you're all doing well, let me start with saying what a blessing you've been to me! I appreciate every email of encouragement, every moment you stop and pray for me and the Aus campus ministry, every joke about how you too want me to get outa here! Haha. I truly do and I LOVE that you have taken Romans 10:14-15 seriously by asking me questions. 

Ok what I've been doing lately. Before the first part of my visa was approved a wonderful staff lady suggested I get involved with a local campus ministry here. Then when the first part of my visa was approved we waited in hopes of a quick departure. After I found out I had to resend my FBI background check for the second part of my visa we decided to move forward with getting me involved in CalState Fullerton's Cru. (which is campus ministry like what I'll be doing in Oz) 

I started campus ministry two weeks ago for three days a week. In a nut shell, I partnered with the intern at CSUF and sat in on her mentoring sessions, talked to RA's and went to prayer meetings. The first day I went on campus I was excited to be involved in campus ministry. It's been encouraging to be around the staff and talk about the frustration of still being here while being sensitive to the Spirit's daily leading. Honestly, it's been tough knowing that it's not permanent and being completely sure that God has called me to Australia yet this is where He has me. I continue to hold on to Jeremiah 29:11, as cliché as it sounds, because it is God's truth and completely relevant. I thought it would be a breath of fresh air to be doing campus ministry but the combination of explaining to people over and over again about why I'm still here and being partially involved at a campus has been draining emotionally and physically. I'm still heart broken and I imagine that I'll experience this when I get to Australia as well, because it's normal to experience during a transition. 

In the midst of frustration, heart break, and exhaustion God is faithful to teach me,though. God is faithful to bless me with the wise words of Melanie (a missionary whose been a huge encouragement) with the always true always alive words of the Bible and with His Spirit. I'm waiting on Him with a new understanding of how needy I truly am and it's amazing to continue to see the depths of God's grace in a new light. I love the Lord more and more each day as I'm reminded of why I'm going to Australia. 

As far as logistics, I've called the FBI to check the progress of my background check I do not know when it'll be finished processing so I don't know when I'll be leaving. The plan is to continue to call them every couple days in hopes of speeding things up or at the very least being in the know about what's going on. In the mean time if any of you want to know more about either the ministry I'll be joining or more details about what's going on currently with me please feel free to email, or call me with questions. I know a lot of times I jump around trying to cover everything with out sending a long email so let me know how I can clarify or if they're too long haha ;D 

"I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Psalm 27:13-14

Blegghhhhhhh... Right Out and Said It

Dear Friends,

I'm thrilled to say my visa nomination has been approved! I've been praying about it for sometime now and it's uber exciting to finally hear that there's progress. My visa has been a bit of a nightmare, I mean it's not horrid but truth be told God is using this time to strip me yet again of my pride, stubbornness, confidence, and security. Which is difficult... I just don't seem to get it heart wise. I'm struggling with this paradigm of having everything familiar being flipped upside down. I wish I could say "yet it's getting better" or something on a lighter note, but honestly I'm just turning to God and spewing out all these emotions, broken and bare before His throne. It's frustrating and exhausting to continually battle it out.

The next step in the process of getting to Oz is to send paperwork to D.C. to get approved to leave, which  can take anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks. I sent the paperwork via express mail yesterday, and today I called to confirm that it arrived in D.C. only to find that due to an error in labeling the address it's been sent back to me. As you can imagine I was not pleased to hear this, I called the embassy to find out what the actual address should be, only to find I wrote it flawlessly correct.... Not OK.. I then made a bunch of calls only to get No where. The perfectly horrid thing is I just knew deep down that God was saying it's not time to leave just yet. ........Geeeeezzz!!!....
which left me in tears telling my mom "I just don't know what to do, I don't know what I'm not getting." Looks like I'm going to be saying good byes for a bit longer and apparently being much more of a teary eyed sap. Fan-freakin-tastic! >___<

 Annnnyyywwwaayyyy that's where I'm at, and there's days where I'm surrendering everything and rejoicing in the fact that the battle is won, no matter how challenging this struggle is or how stupid I am to fight for control, God has won the battle, you know?
But there's also times like today where I'm beautifully broken  and have a lack of words slash energy.

I know I'm all over the grid but wth why not just be straight forward and lay it all out there. What God is teaching me during this time is that grace is grace and no matter what I'm going through "He is pleased with me" I love that! I mean I really Love that, it's like my mantra right now. It comforts me to know God is delighted in who He's created me to be, and despite EVERYTHING.  That truth remains...
YES!!! It's just amazing! . Pure and simple! .
My Bible Study leader added to that by saying in Matthew 3:17  (" This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.") we forget that God makes this statement before Christ has started His ministry. Also, God says this about us  (read it again with this in mind) addressing our identity, need for love, and affirmation in purpose. PERIOD! Done!  Before we do ministry... Pretty incredible huh?
I'm learning to embrace that on a deeper level and with that, my complete failure as a being, completely reliant on God. ... Again, it's not particularly easy to live out when everything is a mess and you feel like your just levitating in the dark stuck in limbo. It makes me uncomfortable, nervous that I'm going to get to Australia and just continue in this state of confusion and inverted reality, the unknown doesn't scare me, but the strange reality of being in limbo scares me to pieces.

Prayer would be nice and praise for the nomination being approved, I have not forgotten what God has done (Psalm 143:5) Please rejoice with me in the good news of prayer answered and pray with me as God molds me to be a woman empty of myself and overflowing with the fruits of the Spirit.

Love You All!!!

Close to Departure and ever So Close to Arrival

HELLO,


I know it's been awhile since I've posted an update! By God's grace I have in fact raised 100% of my support for Australia!!! I'm leaving soon, but I am currently waiting on my visa to be processed! It's amazing how God is working, how He has quickly and faithfully provided. I'm extremely blessed to have a church family supporting me every step of the way, along with friends and ministry partners!


This next monday, I'm inviting my friends and ministry partners to pray for the staff I will be joining and the ministry in Australia that is already established. I'd love to see a massive amount of people pray for the Lord to work, so through out the day please say a prayer for me and Oz! :D


Until next time ;D