Youth Street and The value of Family

Good morning!
It's wednesday morning and I'm enjoying some cooler weather.... still warm enough for shorts, but a nice change.
Last week was a busy week with lectures, but thankfully no special events on base, like the last 2 weeks. On Friday, we organized a volleyball game for our school and it was "heaps" of fun! We actually had a spirit award for the player who had the most spirit. :)
Every Saturday we are involved in something called "Youth Street" which is the youth outreach here. It runs from 1pm to 10 pm every Saturday. Approximately 150 kids are here every week and our school (Ship DTS) helps out. Not everyone is on a team, like I am that runs from 2-5:30. "Teams" are similar to small groups and they have the Art Team, Hip Hop Team, Dance Team, Skate Team, Sports Team, Music Team. I am on "Saving Grace" which is the worship band here. It's been amazing to work with the "crew" (kids that attend) and interact with them. I've had the opportunity to teach some piano and develop stage presence. The first couple weeks I was adjusting to so many things, but I'm really enjoying it now.
The rest of our school, if not assigned to a team is involved in the evening with games, sports, music, hanging out with kids. Youth Street has been so interesting to watch as they have something different every week (last week it was native island wear so there were lots of grass skirts and sarongs) and have a value to emphasize, like inclusiveness. Thankfully my commitment is done at 5:30, but I admire all the staff that are involved from start to finish. I recently learned that the Staff who are here are all full-time volunteers! I didn't realize they are here because they are passionate about inspiring youth and sending    young people to outreach, and they actually pay their own way here, getting support from churches, family and friends. I have more and more respect and admiration for them.

 Christina and Kylie( from Australia)

 Janina (Swtizerland) and Angelica (Canada) in lectures

Sven (Switzerland) and Sonia (Australia)in class

One other thing I'm really learning about is the value of family. We have 20 people on our team, but we've become so close in the last month. We've learned to honor each other and work as a team, and resist gossiping or slandering (which completely destroys trust). We are fighting to maintain unity, which is something new for me. I didn't realize before what it meant to fight for someone else that wasn't my family by flesh and blood, but I've come to a place where I am ready and willing to stand up, fight and advocate for someone else and their needs.

Friday we head to Billabong, an animal refuge/sanctuary. Not sure if I will be able to hold a koala, but I'm sure gonna try.  And maybe a kangaroo! We've had a possum so far to visit us at the base, and a few geckos, including the white ones that sneak into my bedroom!

Thank you all for your love, support and encouragement! God bless all of you this week!
Christina


If you are interested in supporting me or ways to be involved, please contact me for more info. Email: christyp20@gmail.com

Weeks 2 & 3

Hi Again!
It's Saturday here and I'm sitting in the cafe at the base enjoying a cup of tea. That's been a change for me to drink more tea than coffee :)
Last week we had a couple of exciting events including ANZAC day. This is similar to Veterans Day in the US honoring the Austrailian New Zealand Army Corps, those who fought in WWII. We as an entire base went to the Sunrise Service at 5am. At least 1/3 of the entire community showed up for the event. It was incredible to see all the pride and honor the Australians take in their military. That was last Wednesday.
On Thursday we had a huge fundraiser for the "I want to live" medical ship that we will be sailing on. It was amazing, and we (the Ship DTS) got to take part in it by serving for the event. Sir Rabbi Namiliu , who is the former Prime Minister of PNG was the speaker at the event. Here is a link to to see his speech:
http://vimeo.com/41123626

 The Ship DTS serves for the fundraiser

 Breakfast after the sunrise service on ANZAC day

The fundraiser was a big success with not only financial support but in telling people about the Ship and our mission to serve PNG with medical Ships


Another big event was sending the Ship off on Monday. We will be flying up to PNG and meeting the crew at the end of May to set up the medical clinics, but from talking to different people it was a challenge to anticipate the needs of the Ship for 6 months. But we got it done and it set sail!
It was incredible to see it off, as it was quite a celebration with multiple flags of different countries. There was also news media recording the event YWAM Medical Ships Media . But I can't even begin to describe what it's like to be surrounded by so many people from different nations with flags waving high and seeing the American flag in the in the mix. I guess it just made me realize where I come from: that I represent America.

 The I Want to Live Ship....

 The Media before the ship sails

 The Flags...

 Erin, Christina and Aly- The Americans!

 My friend Jade with the Australian.

 The 5 canadians in our DTS...

 Christina and the American Flag...

Christina and Kevin acting as excited sailors... In the background the red and black flag is from PNG.

Will write more soon, but stay tuned for more AUSTRALIA ADVENTURES!!!!!!!!

The beginning...

Hi Everyone!
Thanks for checking in with me on my Australia Adventure! I'm currently in Townsville, Australia with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I am attending a DTS (Discipleship Training School) and specifically my DTS is involved with the MV Pacific Link, a medical ship that is sailing to Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the end of May. We will be there for 3 months both in the local villages as well on the ship setting up medical clinics. We will also be involved with optometry and opthamology (eye surgery). I'm really excited about this amazing opportunity.

On the "Ship DTS" we have 20 students represented from 8 different countries including: Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Scotland, Germany, Faroe Islands, and the United States.  Everyone has been really friendly and incredibly welcoming. I know I'm going to be making some life-long friends.

This is my first experience blogging, so you'll have to bear with me as I figure this out :) A big hello to all my family and friends! Miss you all!
Unfortunately, I'm a little behind in posting as this is the start of the 3rd week here. Time is flying by so quickly, but we also have a very busy schedule. We have class lectures every morning from 8-12:30 (with breaks) then lunch, a bit of free time, and work assignments in the afternoon. I'm assigned to dinner prep which is awesome! Some fortunate others are cleaning the base :) I'm with 2 other nurses so we are covered in case of injuries. Oh, that's something else I should mention: We have 5 nurses (3 from Canada, 1 from Switzerland and me) and 1 doctor from New Zealand on our team. So far the first aid kit I packed and the medical experience has been utilized as our team has encountered colds, cuts, blisters and sunburns. But everyone (the guys especially) appreciate having medical personnel on the team to be well-taken care of :) Below is a photos of the Ship DTS welcome breakfast in which we didn't intend to, but wore purple; the one below is some of our team on work assignments.

We're currently in "winter" which is crazy to me since I am still sweating in shorts and t-shirts, but the students from the January school says that December and January were unbearably humid and this is perfect. I will agree with them as far as humidity- I feel sticky all the time. But thankfully we have showers (2 for 15 girls) but I'm grateful.

I'll have to elaborate more later, but the spiritual environment here is all about YWAM's mandate, "to know God and make Him known." All of us felt called to be here in this school, at this time, in this part of the world. It's been an incredible experience to worship with people of a different country , different tongue, and different culture: yet we all come together in the name of Jesus. There's nothing quite like it.