Delayed Update!

I am so sorry that I haven't posted on my blog since arriving in Townsville! It has been crazy! There's no good excuse, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me!

If you haven't heard yet, I've arrived!

I'm currently on my fourth, and possibly most challenging, week of lectures. Each and every week I am being challenged more and more. It's as if I've spent the last four weeks in open heart surgery. I know that it's completely good and needed, but at times, it hurts and is super draining.

Ok, so open heart surgery is a bad analogy. Maybe a better analogy would be standing in one of those boxes that throw money at you and you're trying to catch it all. If you're in that box for four weeks, I'm sure it would get pretty tiring. Still a bad analogy, but you get the point. I seriously am learning something completely new and life changing every single day. It's awesome! However, now that it's the beginning of week four, I am so tired!

So... I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing while I'm here in lecture phase. Well, each morning from 8am-12:30 is lectures. We have a theme for each week and a different speaker. The themes thus far have been the following:

Week 1: Orientation and Hearing God
The orientation included laying out the expectations of us as students and learning about the vision and heart of YWAM. If you are curious, I highly encourage you to go to www.ywam.org for more information about their vision. Then Rebekah Hoover came in and talked talked a little about hearing God. What I absolutely loved about this talk was that it wasn't a magic formula to get God to talk to us. The main point was that God is always talking. We must learn how to discern His voice! I always was really upset that God didn't talke to me. Other times I thought that those who said that God told them something were crazy. Through these lectures, I realized that I've really heard God all of my life. I just didn't give Him credit!

Week 2: Identity
This week was all about realizing that God created us well. He has a purpose for those little quirks that we feel insecure about. We need to stop believing lies about ourselves and insulting God's creation and realize that it's not about us. It's completely about God and bringing Him glory with our lives.

Week 3: Clear Conscience
Week three talked about conviction, sin, and repentance. It was rough. It's not necessarily fun to be convicted of sins, but we need to learn how to appreciate it because it's going to bring us closer to our God-given purpose.

Week 4: Nature, Character, and Ways of God
Going into this week, I thought to myself, "Oh good. This week will be much more chill. I know all about the character of God."  Boy was I wrong! Yikes! Yes I know that God is good, loving, just, etc. However, it's a completely different thing to completely live out of that understanding. For instance, if I completely understand that God is good and loving, why do I feel the need to be in control of my life?

After class, some people have ministry placements, which are like chores. My ministry placement is dinner clean up, so I have the afternoon to do homework and have a quiet time. After supper, I help clean the kitchen. Some nights after I'm done cleaning, we have more lectures, learn about our upcoming outreach, have worship, or go down to the beach and meet people!

So... that was a long and possibly unnecessary description of what I'm doing here. All that to prove to you that I'm not just vacationing here in the sauna that is Australia. :P

If you would pray for me, that would be awesome. I have the following prayer requests:
1) For refreshment and rejuvenation.
2) On Sunday, we are leaving for two weeks of camping "in the bush." Today, we spent an hour talking about safety, which included what to do if you get bit by a snake or spider. Then they showed us pages and pages of snakes and spiders that can be found at our campground. They haven't had any problems before, but your prayers would be much appreciated. :P

Thank you all for being so loving and supportive. I am overwhelmed by how awesome my friends and family are.

Bird Puns are Hawkward

Random fact about me: I am terrified of birds.

They absolutely freak me out. I hate them, and they hate me. This is especially true for birds that make swooping motions, like barn swallows. I think it all started when I was younger (like 12?) while I was mowing the lawn. One time the barn swallows kept on swooping at my head so much that I wasn't able to focus on driving the lawn mower. I was mowing the ditch and almost flipped the mower because of how distracted I was. 

I'm also fiercely afraid of getting head lice (another stupid fear), so it also could have started the minute that I learned that birds can carry lice. I mean... ew. 

Random fact about the Giwojna house: Every year for Christmas, each sibling gets a new Christmas ornament that somehow represents their year. For instance, when I was four and obsessed with Barbie, I got a Barbie bulb for the tree. This bulb gets put on the back of the tree every single year, as I do not want people to know that I was at one point a "girly girl." When I was 16 and a new driver, my mom made me an ornament that incorporated an old car key. That is one of my favorite ornaments. 

I have a purpose to all of this seemingly useless information, I promise. 

This year, Mom, Cassi, and I were at Menards around the end of October looking at the Christmas stuff. I didn't really know what to get as an ornament for this year. At that time, there were so many unknowns. I knew that I was currently student teaching and would be graduating soon, but that was about all I knew. I was also hating student teaching at the time and was unsure if I really even wanted to be a teacher. I saw this one ornament that was of a blue bird (that to me looked like a barn swallow.) When I saw this, I knew that it was the perfect representation of my year. As cheesy as it sounds, it was like me facing my fear of growing up and of the unknown. 

It also reminded me of several verses from the Bible. The Bible actually uses the analogy of birds a lot. I never really understood them before, but now they take on new meaning. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Matthew 6:25-34 ESV

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31 ESV

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 ESV

"Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.'" Psalm 55:5-6 ESV

These verses serve as a reminder to me that God is faithful. I do not need to be afraid or anxious. He will provide for my every need. I simply need to wait on the Lord. His will is better than mine. 

With all that said, birds are kind of my theme for this trip. Whenever I see a bird (with this -40 degree weather, this probably won't happen until I go to Australia... yikes!), I want it to serve as a reminder to me that God is faithful. His love never fails. His will is perfect. 

     This is something that I painted when I was first entertaining 

     the idea of going with YWAM to Australia and Papua New Guinea. 

If you would like to join me in this, that would be awesome. Whenever you see a bird, say a prayer thanking God for his faithfulness. Maybe even say a prayer for me. :) 

Let the Countdown Begin

18 days.

18 days until I am officially completely done with student teaching and my undergraduate degree.

18 days left to do all the homework, lesson planning, and paperwork that goes along with finishing school and getting a teaching license.

18 days left of my normal American college student life.

18 days left to live with two of my best friends in the whole world.

18 days left until the first time that I fly all by myself (I mean, with the help of an airplane, of course).

18 days left of goodbyes and "see you later"s over coffee and dinner with great friends.

18 days left of being within two hours of my family and the majority of my friends.

18 days left of familiar.

18 days until unknown.

18 days until what I'm sure will be the most awesome, faith stretching, growing, and adventurous time of my life.

Oh... and 18 days to be overly dramatic about everything (I'm melodramatic... love it or leave it).

I have been overwhelmed by how loving and supportive everyone has been. I could not have asked for better friends and family. God has blessed me through you all in more ways than I can explain. THANK YOU!!!!

Prayer requests:
1. Pray against anxiety and fear, as I'm freaking out. This is honestly the most scary thing I think I've ever done in my entire life.

2. Pray that I would be able to find a subleaser for my house in Eau Claire.

3. Pray that the rest of my financial support would come in. Thanks so much to everyone that has supported me in this way.

4. Pray for my emotional state. That I would be able to properly process everything that is happening and yet be excited for what is to come. I go through these roller-coaster emotions right now, which is getting really tiring. One minute I'm mourning the things that I am leaving behind, and the next minute I'm so excited for my DTS that I want to scream.

5. Pray that I would manage my time well so that I can get everything done that is needed.