Leaving :(

We leave Armidale tonight. We leave Brisbane on Friday morning. I'm so sad. I do not want to leave. I love Australia.

The Coast

The students are busy with exams and starting to head home for their midyear break, so our team took a little trip down to the coast. We stayed in Valla Beach which is near Coffs Harbor. One of our Aussie friends, Ben, had a couple of friends who had houses next door to each other that we could stay in. We went down on tuesday and stopped to see some sights along the way. The first place we went to was the Dorrigo Rain Forest! It was beautiful, but a bit rainy.



Once we got to Valla Beach we decided to walk down and see the water, about half way there it started to sprinkle and then poured and we got completely soaked. The next day it was sunny and warm and we went into Coffs Harbor. We stopped at the tourist sight..."The Big Banana" for a few photos and then went down to the jetty (which is basically a long pier) and some of the team members did as the locals do, and jumped off the jetty into the water.

The next morning we drove down to the beach and hung out for a little while before we had to head back to wintery Armidale. It was a great trip and a great chance to hang out as a team, plus 3 Aussies (Ben, Tim and Jess).

We only have a few more days left in Armidale, and tuesday night we take a greyhound bus back to Brisbane. Then we fly back to the states on Friday. Its hard to believe that its almost time to leave. I can't imagine leaving this place and all the amazing people we have met.

Lately

We are starting our last full week in Armidale today. We leave Armidale for Brisbane on the 22nd and then fly home on the 25th. This week we will be making a trip to the coast for a couple of days and get to see some sights. Last week started exams for the students at UNE. They have 3 weeks worth of exams and they are all busy and studying. They are about to start leaving on their winter break.

This last week or so we've been hanging out with students and enjoying time as a team. Some of us finally got to see a koala. Some people saw one down by the dorms one day, and then one was up in a tree outside our dorm a couple days ago, he was way up there and curled up asleep.

This past week I got to watch some netball, which is a sport a lot of girls play here. Its similar to basketball, but with way more rules, and really not all that similar. The picture below is of my friend Jess at one of her netball games we attended. Ive also gotten to see some of the girls from Mary White play netball as well.


Other than watching netball, this week in Mary White, we hosted a Block Supper...which is basically a study break with desserts and coffee. It was a great chance to get to spend some more time with the students we've met here, and get to meet more of the students in Mary White.

This past sunday evening our team led the UNE Church service at St. Mark's which was a great way to get to serve the church as many of their staff are on holiday right now. Joseph got to preach on Luke 15, and how it should be the parable of the loving father instead of the prodigal son. It was great and several of our friends from Mary White came to church with us.
We also provide the snacks for after the service and made everyone try apples and peanut butter...something most of our team loves, but most aussie think sounds discusting until we make them try it. We've only found one who hasn't liked it.

This past weekend a bunch of us girls all dressed up and went out to have a little girls time, while the guys went and had a cook out at someone's house...they ate some kangaroo.

Please pray that we can make the most of what time we have left here. Several of us, myself included have had colds, please pray that we will get better quickly. Pray for safe travels to the coast this week and next we as we head back to Brisbane and the U.S.

She'll Be Right

Australia is great. Everything is so relaxed and low key. We are having a great time getting to know people and getting to know each other better as a team. We just finished our second week on campus and it was phenominal. We are getting to hang out with students a lot and its so cool just getting to know them.

(Our team on our first day in Brisbane)

So much has happened since I last updated, so I won't try to go into it all. But everything is going so well. Our team is having a great time together.

This week, a few of us went to Trivia with some students from Mary White, and we won! It was so much fun, and I think we are going to go back next week and try to win again.

We also got to go out last night for two girls in Mary White's birthdays. It was a great chance to hang out with more students in Mary White and get to be around them and know them better.

This morning I went to watch Netball which is a sport that girls play here. Its similar to basketball, but with way more rules. Mary White played against Drummond Smith and won!

This week a couple of the colleges had coffee and dessert nights as a chance to get to meet some of us Americans. I went to the one at Earle Page, which also had students from Austin and Albies. Gabe and Kendall got to share their testamonies, and I was a great chance to get to meet some of the students outside of the colleges were we have been going.

I have gotten to know a girl named Jess really well. She lives in town with her family and its just been great to get to know her. She is super great and lets us come over a bake in her kitchen, and is so willing to drive us around so we don't have to take the bus to town. We are trying to talk her into coming to visit us in Alabama after she graduates in November.

(Jess and Me)

We are having a great time, and we really appreciate your prayers. Just keep praying for opportunites to hang out with students. And especially for ways that we can serve and encourage the Christians here. The church, St. Mark's Chapel, has been so unbelievably welcoming to us, and we want to be able to serve them as well.

.(Some of the Kangas that live on campus near our dorm)