Wow, so much to catch you guys up on. Things have been hectic with school kicking off and being suddenly pounded with thousands of assignments. We are just starting to feel like we can actually find our classes on campus without getting lost. The campus is really large, looks like a jungle or rainforest, is literally filled with mosquitoes (mossies), and they don't space your classes out, so you have to run from one to the next. Hopefully you aren't a little dumb like me and have 4 classes back to back on opposite sides of campus. I guess it's a good workout, leaving 5 minutes early from class and arriving 10 minutes late to the next one simply because you just can't run fast enough. That and the fact that sometimes trains get delayed for 40 minutes while you are sitting on them is about all the cool stuff I can think about when it comes to classes.
So, on to the fun/important/interesting stuff! (I just knew that moms love hearing about school, so YES, we do actually go.) We just got back from Sydney and Hillsong's Colour Conference. For all you out there who are interested in seeing what it was kind of like, you can check out the website here. It's not really fair to try to describe it in a short post, but I'll see what my limited vocabulary can do...
Day 1: Lindsey, Caitlin, Cameron, and I pack up the car and set off for an adventurous drive to Sydney. I'm driving, Caitlin is navigating, and all is well with the world. It is 2:30 PM and we are driving to the house we are staying at, all timed to arrive around 4:45. Our first session is at 6:00, so we think we have plenty of time...
OK, let's be realistic. With me driving? Of course we would get lost...so, 6 or 7 u-turns, many frustrated stops for directions, and 4 hungry stomachs later, we just decide to park the car and get some food. Hopefully we will make it to tomorrow's session, since we give up on today's. Jesus wanted us at that session though, so it just happened that we had parked across the street from the Sydney Entertainment Centre (where the conference was being held) and we had the time wrong and it actually started at 7:30. Amazing. The rest of the night went well, if you call "well" getting lost again and not getting to the house until midnight, declaring our idea of hell to be driving in Sydney, and switching drivers as each one got more and more discouraged. But hey, we made it, had a place to stay, and were so thankful just to have made it.
Day 2: 3 sessions throughout the day, and it started with a bang! Priscilla Shirer was our first speaker of the day, and man did she bring it! I have never been so engrossed with what a speaker had to say. She was passionate, fiery, inspiring, anointed, and the Lord just had things to share through her. I think I learned more in that first session than I ever have in my life. I mean, I came looking for God, but He didn't just meet us there...He overwhelmed us there.
Elyse and I got to meet Bobbie Houston, which was a special treat. She hosted the conference and is the wife of Brian, head pastor of Hillsong.
We had a few breaks throughout the day where we got the chance to explore Sydney. There is a mall called Market City where it feels like you have been dropped directly into Asia. It's great unless you want anything to eat besides Asian. No joke, the entire food court was Asian. That's all I have to say about that.
Day 3: I'm getting my days confused, but I'm going to pretend like I'm not and just keep talking like this is 100% accurate. We had more sessions today, which were still indescribably tailored to me. :) Just kidding, everybody felt like that. But seriously, God wanted us there. He told us some pretty awesome stuff. After the sessions, we headed to Darling Harbour for dinner and just to chill. We were enthralled with some unexpected fireworks, dazzled by the lights across the harbour, entertained by the interesting clothes some people were wearing, sustained by some yummy food :), and rejuvenated by just getting to be with each other.
P.S. Elyse did come the day after us on the train due to her class schedule, so she was with us this entire time.
Day 4: We went to Hillsong for church, which was a continuation of our wonderful conference, since Priscilla spoke again. I could still listen to her all day...
Caitlin and Cameron learned from some Finland girls that Kelly Slater was to be at Bondi Beach that day, so we hastily rearranged our schedule so they could get a little glimpse of him. I'm glad we made it though, because it was such an experience. Bondi was packed, the surfers were out, and it was a beautiful day. We spent a few hours there, we all got to see the Kelly Slater, and we drove home happy. This time, I didn't get us lost and we played games the whole way home. You should ask to hear our awesome Australian accents that we perfected int he car. Guaranteed to confuse even the most native Australian of our actual origin. Exhausted but refueled, we are excited about this week, although it's a busy one.
If you want to read another really funny account of the weekend, click here to check out Elyse's blog. She's pretty funny, you might just laugh the whole time. Plus, she likes to make fun of me, which is always entertaining :)
To wrap it up, all I can say is that the Lord revealed Himself to us this weekend. We are so thankful for the opportunities we have had, we still like each other, and we have many more memories of Australia to add to our already-bursting brains.
Thanks for the prayers, we love them and we are praying for our friends and family back at home too! Praising Jesus for another fine day in Newcastle...
Love,
The Sheilas
No comments:
Post a Comment