note to self

Note to self:  exams and assignments really are good for me despite the stress, because they motivate me to learn lots!

Equip conference

I had a lovely time at Equip with ladies from church and Sarah and just a few others ;-)

The Bible talks were from 2 Peter 1 & 2.

In the first talk, Dani showed us that we are to remember the gospel.  This is preventative medicine to stop us from forgetting.

In the second talk Carmelina showed us that the gospel is under threat.  False teachers are around and they pose a threat to people.  Therefore, we are to guard the gospel by knowing it really well and being willing to stand against false teaching.

So speaking of knowing the gospel really well, I'd better get my head and heart in the Bible now... :-)

so much to be thankful for!

I had such a great day today!

• Beautiful sunshine-lit clouds in the crisp autumn air
• Lovely red and yellow leaves
• Not feeling "pummelled" by language classes
• Grabbing bargain clothes and shoes
• Fruitful lunch conversation
• Lovely study buddy and chai times
• Reflecting on the loveliness of today

:-)

missionary life isn't always rosy

I went to a Wycliffe coffee and dessert night on Friday.  It was really great to meet other people who are interested in being bible translators themselves or supporting that work in another way.

But what struck me most was the candid sharing from a couple who are serving the Lord in Cameroon on a Bible translation project.  They are here on furlough after having been over there for 3 years.  It's been a tough slog for them.  They are still in the language learning phase, which is proving frustratingly difficult.  The guy was finding it a particular challenge to his pride.  For most of his life he has been well-educated and well thought of, but now he's at the bottom of the pile so to speak, and can't communicate very deeply with people.  As I think about myself, I think I would struggle with that too.  Another thing which I hadn't thought of stemming from that communication problem is loneliness.  Thankfully as a married couple they have each other, but there is a single girl working about 5 hours away who must get incredibly lonely if she can't communicate well with people there or have another person speaking her native language.

The lady shared how she's been struggling with contentment.  She fully believes in living like the people they're ministering to, but is struggling to live that out.  For her, the biggest struggle is the food.  They have a lady who cooks food for them (it seems like they've been kind of adopted into a family area there, and the head woman is responsible for cooking for everyone in that area).  But C doesn't like the food.  And she hates the monotony of the same food all the time.

I think sometimes I romanticise the idea of mission work overseas, so it was refreshing and sobering to hear them speak about their real life experiences. Through it all God has been sustaining them; teaching them persevere and grow in contentment.

thank you Lord for Skype

Living away from my friends and family in Brisbane, I'm especially thankful for the technology we have to still be able to communicate.

We don't have to wait for mail to be delivered (though that is still a nice treat), but can see each other and talk "face to face"ish :-)  It makes a huge difference to feeling connected still!

ups and downs

It's so easy to go up and down in life, in a day, even in an hour.

Yesterday and today were quite like that for me.

Cruising.  Grieving.  Laughing.  Anxiety.  Joviality. 

I'm so thankful that God is faithful and constant, dependable and trustworthy.  That is not to say that He is unfeeling or uncaring, but rather that He is infinitely reliable.  Though my emotions go up and down, though my faith is not unflappable, He remains faithful.

And in His kindness He has also given us precious brothers and sisters in Christ to share these ups and downs as we journey in life, looking forward to Christ's return.

Renovating and redecorating...

Inspired by the girls around me (and because of my newly acquired chair) I decided to move things around in my room. What do you think?

I've also dealt with the bare wall in front and finally put up my world map! :-)

A new chair!

Check out my new chair!  And best thing is that it was free!! :-)

Reflecting on reflecting

I find it amusing that I reflect lots and lot and some things, but not on others. For example, I think lots and lots about negative thoughts about myself that I generate or perceive. Yet I don't have the same level of reflection about lectures at College. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving being here at College and there's lots of things to reflect on, but I don't seem to naturally dwell on these things to process them.


 
When I write prayer letters / newsletters I actually find that really helpful to reflect on events that have happened. So often that then leads me to thanksgiving. Indeed God has been faithful and gracious in answering prayer! It just took me a while to realise and acknowledge that.


 
So these past couple of weeks I've been thinking that it would be good to try and do something to reflect on my classes at College. I don't want to just have info come in one ear and out the other. Similarly, I don't just want to only learn stuff in my head and not be impacted by it in my heart.


 
Thus I am pondering entering the blog world again...


 
The trouble is that I don't want it to become another burden in an already busy College workload. Sigh. So perhaps I will blog some more. Perhaps I won't. We'll see...