Hi everyone,
So... it's been a long time since our last post... sorry to keep you all waiting. Well, we're finally here. Australia is beautiful, hot and windy, and getting hotter each day. YWAM has put us up in a small house or 'cottage.' It's great, there's two bedrooms, the kids all share a room like at home and there's a small backyard to play in. We have about a five minute walk to the base, where we have our classes, our dinner and lunches. The staff at YWAM Perth have a lot of kids about the same age as Kamryn, Mikayla and Levi. They've made friends quite easily and enjoy playing in the audiorium and the laneway. Some of the staff are similar ages as Robin and I so we have fit in quite nicely. I've passed the stage of getting the question everyday, "are you Dustin's cousin?" (Dustin Little was on staff here as well as his wife Susanna.)
It was a bit strange for both of us to be back sitting in a class for lectures. We've gotten used to it now though and are both enjoying the teaching. So far we've had two subjects, Hearing God's Voice and The Character of God. Both have been great and are easy to listen to as they are really easy to apply to our lives right away.
The kids have gotten used to eating only what is served at dinner and lunch. As a family we've had fun at the beaches, have gone to a normal zoo as well as a petting zoo and we've gone to the museum. It's really rewarding having that family time, as now with classes, we are so busy.
We've had our first chat about the outreach portion of our course. It runs from Dec. 27 for twelve weeks. Chances are that the first six weeks will be in Mexico City, and from there we'll split the class and travel to somewhere else for the remainder. The figures for us as a family will be about $18000. Yeah, we said 'WOW' as well. However we've been hinted to by God that this figure won't be that hard to reach. The testimony I have for this is really awesome:
A friend was sharing with the class that he has not much, or no money, but God still calls him to give and he does so cheerfully. Robin and I were quite inspired by this and decided that we would secretly give him $50 in an envelope. I delayed doing this in order to ask our leader's opinion as to the best way to go about this. Two days later the same friend came up and gave me a note in an envelope. I didn't open it until hours later when I was with Robin. As I opened it I realized that it was money inside! I didn't need to count it as I knew how much it already was. To us this really showed God's humour. It also seemed to be a message from God saying: 'Trust me with your finances, I will provide.'
So keep thinking of us and praying for our safety and finances. We miss you all and do think of Salt Spring everyday while we sit in the sun!
So... it's been a long time since our last post... sorry to keep you all waiting. Well, we're finally here. Australia is beautiful, hot and windy, and getting hotter each day. YWAM has put us up in a small house or 'cottage.' It's great, there's two bedrooms, the kids all share a room like at home and there's a small backyard to play in. We have about a five minute walk to the base, where we have our classes, our dinner and lunches. The staff at YWAM Perth have a lot of kids about the same age as Kamryn, Mikayla and Levi. They've made friends quite easily and enjoy playing in the audiorium and the laneway. Some of the staff are similar ages as Robin and I so we have fit in quite nicely. I've passed the stage of getting the question everyday, "are you Dustin's cousin?" (Dustin Little was on staff here as well as his wife Susanna.)
It was a bit strange for both of us to be back sitting in a class for lectures. We've gotten used to it now though and are both enjoying the teaching. So far we've had two subjects, Hearing God's Voice and The Character of God. Both have been great and are easy to listen to as they are really easy to apply to our lives right away.
The kids have gotten used to eating only what is served at dinner and lunch. As a family we've had fun at the beaches, have gone to a normal zoo as well as a petting zoo and we've gone to the museum. It's really rewarding having that family time, as now with classes, we are so busy.
We've had our first chat about the outreach portion of our course. It runs from Dec. 27 for twelve weeks. Chances are that the first six weeks will be in Mexico City, and from there we'll split the class and travel to somewhere else for the remainder. The figures for us as a family will be about $18000. Yeah, we said 'WOW' as well. However we've been hinted to by God that this figure won't be that hard to reach. The testimony I have for this is really awesome:
A friend was sharing with the class that he has not much, or no money, but God still calls him to give and he does so cheerfully. Robin and I were quite inspired by this and decided that we would secretly give him $50 in an envelope. I delayed doing this in order to ask our leader's opinion as to the best way to go about this. Two days later the same friend came up and gave me a note in an envelope. I didn't open it until hours later when I was with Robin. As I opened it I realized that it was money inside! I didn't need to count it as I knew how much it already was. To us this really showed God's humour. It also seemed to be a message from God saying: 'Trust me with your finances, I will provide.'
So keep thinking of us and praying for our safety and finances. We miss you all and do think of Salt Spring everyday while we sit in the sun!
For those of you who feel like you're being prompted to help us come up with our outreach costs, you can do so directly at the YWAM website, http://www.ywamperth.org.au Once there, scroll down to the bottom of the homepage to donate/pay and it will walk you through how to donate. Just be sure to add our names in the recipient section and mark it as a gift. Blessings to you!
Aaron, Robin, Kamryn, Mikayla and Levi
