Maybe no rain...

Hello friends!! It's been a while since I blogged! You'll be sad to hear that all my excitement about the rain has come to nothing-there hasn't been a drop for weeks!! It seems the weather is teasing us up here!

Here are some of the things that have been happening in Darwin-

-On Saturday night, myself and Kathi were having a competition to see who ould do the most arm culrs with a 5kg weight. I thought we would go for a few seconds, but it quickly turned into a full 5 minute effort. I must have put too much energy into it though, because even today I still can't stretch my right arm straight-all my muscles in my arm have cramped up! I've learnt something new about myslef, that I can be a little competetive! So can Kathi (we decided to finish together in the end because we were both in so much pain!!!!)

-Yesterday one of the younger girls who is boarding here got taken away due to constant bad behaviour. Pretty much neither the school or the dorms could control her anymore. I got really upset about the whole thing last night, because she is a FACS (Family and Children Services) kid, and has had a pretty hard life of being moved around a lot from place to place. I don't think she's had a lot of stability in her life in terms of family and relationships, which I think has probably efefcted her deeply (and who wouldn't be effected by something like that?). I was in the dorm when the FACS people came to take her away, and I could hear her crying and screaming in what I thought sounded a lot like fear and anger. I can only imagine that she would have been feeling very betrayed about the school kicking her out. I later found out that she is only on a two weeks suspension, so I am really thankful that the school is giving her another chance. I hope that if you have the time to think about it, you might be able to say a little prayer for her. I'm really worried about her.

-Lately I've been thinking a lot about how amazing God's love is for us, how the Creator of the universe, so perfect and Holy and HUGE, could possibly take the time to care about me and who actually wants to be involved in my life. Even though I hurt Him and sin all the time (I'll never learn will I??) He still keeps coming back and forgiving and loving me. And then, we're caleld to respond to this by passing it on EVERYONE around us, no conditions, no exceptions. We should be showing God's love to those around us, and there's no room for judgemetn against each other anymore, becuase Jesus dealt with all of that stuff on the Cross. It can be hard loving some people, but the point is God doesn't jsut put up with us, he loves us. So we can do the same for others.

Please comment and email and write to me and txt me! I miss you all and I think about you guys everyday! I'll see you all soon!

Rain!

Yes, it has actually started raining up here in NT!! It is an amazing time of year right now, the build up to the wet season is starting to break, and last night was a true downpour! Within 5 minutes the weather had changed from one extreme to another. One second it was hot, humid and sticky with the sun blaring down, and the next minute there were dark, grey swirling clouds covering the sky and sheets of rain pouring down. There was awesome lightning and thunder! Up here, the storms are so much more electric due to the heat. The power of the weather is incredible! Locals have told me that when the true wet season begins, you can get 20cm of rain in 10 minutes!

But something else really cool and exciting happened yesterday. See, there's this one girl in year 11 who I get along with really well who hadn't returned to school yet, whereas most of the other boarders had flown into Darwin the week earlier. When I asked after her whereabouts one of the Houseparents told me quietly that they suspected that she wasn't coming back. So I was pretty upset about it; I hadn't had the chance to say goodbye to her, and it sounded as though I might not see her again. I didn't even have a contact number. A few nights ago I prayed that she would come back, or at least go to another school. Because often when the students don't come back it means that they won't go to school and they'll get lost in the welfare system. And my friend was so close to finishing high school.

Then, as I'm standing outside the dining room, I see this bright, smiling face before me; it took me a few seconds to register that it was my long lost friend! All in the same moment it was a great surprise and relief, and I felt so overjoyed, ecstatic even, to see this person whom I had believed I would not see again! I literally jumped on her in my happiness to give her the biggest hug!

Unexpected surprises are definitely the best kind, especially when they involve seeing someone who you thought wasn't coming back! And I am really thankful to God for all that He's done!

Baptism

As some of you may have already heard, a few weeks ago i got baptised! It was definitely a bit out of the blue, so it may come as a bit of a shock or surprise! It was quite a spontaneous, in the moment decision for me, but it was one that I think I had been putting off for a long time. I think it was last year that I did the whole baptism course thing, but then at the end pulled out and decided not to go through with it. My main reason for holding back was that I really felt that I didn't have a grasp on what it meant to baptised. Or more to the point, I didn't see why I had to. I just couldn't' see why I needed to do it; if I've been a Christian my whole life, then how is getting baptised going to change me? Pretty much I thought I could do without it.

But part of my journey as a Christian has been coming to understand that I don't need to understand that mysteries of baptism before getting baptised! In fact, the less I know, the more i can trust in God! And I remember talking to Helen last year after I decided not to get baptised, and I asked her about her experience of baptism, and she said that part it for her was the not knowing, and the trusting that she will continue to learn more about her baptism even years afterwards. So I'm looking forward to getting deeper with God.

So back to what happened..well it all just came on me really all of sudden that I wanted to get baptised for God. And it was really strong and heavy on me that it was something that I had to do. My conviction was so strong that I couldn't imagine not doing it; not getting baptised just felt like a betray to God, a holding back of something, of being too scared to take a risk. And for me, I didn't need to understand why, I only needed to know that it was something that I was doing out of love for Jesus and nothing else. Not to learn more, not to tick a box, not to make a fuss, but just because I have a relationship with Jesus and that was what made me want to do it for Him.

And so I got baptised that very night, at the minister's house in her spa, with just her and her husband. No one else around. It was nice to do it then and there, with no ceremony or fuss, just between me and God. it really just felt like I was saying a big YES to God, I'm not quite sure what that will come to mean, but I'm just trying to open my heart up to God and let Him in, but I will admit that it is a hard thing to do!

And funnily enough, I guess I do feel a little different now. More, well, mature as a Christian. More responsible, more accountable to my faith. More accountable o God. Hopefully, I'm praying that this will grow and not just last for a Little while.

I was upset that I couldn't have done this at home with all of you guys, but I hope you know that you are a part of me in many ways, and in a way, I think that I needed to be away from home to finally realise that I could do this for God. It's almost like, by moving away from all that is familiar, and losing alot of things that I thought I needed, I discovered that in the midst of losing a lot, I found God even closer then i had ever known Him to be. The less of me, the more of God there is. I think that comes from the bible.....??

Miracle!

In M15 (the class that new students to the school are placed in), there was one particular boy who was terribly misbehaved; he would would swear, refuse to do his work, come to class late and disrupt the lessons! To tell the truth, I never thought that I would see him move up to the next class. I thought that in the short time that I'm here, he would still be in M15 when I leave in December. But lo and behold, I walk into one of the other classes that I help out with, only to find that my dear old friend has been moved up!! YAY!!! I was so excited for him, and really proud of what he's managed to achieve so quickly. He has been absolutely desperate to get to a new class, and would get really frustrated whenever a new student to M15 would get moved up before he did. So to see him get to where he wanted to be, it makes all of it worth it.

And it is amazing the difference that it makes when he's in this new class. The group of students that he's with now are all really keen to learn and they are, on the whole, a really great class. I think that by putting him in a new environment where everyone is working hard, it's brought the best out in him. He came in, really quiet and serious, sat down, and did his work without making even one noise. Usually, he would sit in his seat and drum his pens on the table really loudly so that no one could focus, or he would lie on the floor or walk around the room. But there has been a real transformation in him, literally overnight! When we had our computer lesson, he was asking me non-stop questions - "what's and angle miss? What's a grid miss?" ect ect! He was filled with such curiosity about absolutely everything!

And for his first period in the new class, he learnt how to do fractions, yay! This is a boy who doesn't know how to do division...yet. He really was amazing! I guess that it kind of showed me that I shouldn't believe that something is impossible...especially with God! But I really didn't think that I would be here to see him move out of M15, so I got proved wrong yet again! I love being proved wrong! I love seeing things like this happen though, it really is true that little miracles are happening everyday!

There is a small amount of regret involved on my behalf, because I really enjoy being in class with this student, but now that he's not in M15 I won't be working with him even half as much. But for him, this is the best thing that could possibly happen and it's going to be really good for him, so I'm just really happy for him!

My address!

Hello everyone! How are you all? I'd love to hear from you and find out what you've all been up to! My postal address (if anyone is inspired to write to me!) is -

Kormilda College
Berrimah rd
Berrimah
0828
NT

I've been quite busy this week-yesterday I worked from 7.30am to 7pm!! I was only meant to stay in the dorm until 5pm, but I was enjoying hanging out with the kids, plus I had to clean up all the paint that we'd left behind after our activity (that took a while to do!!!) I've had about 3 extra hours added to my timetable, which included shifts that I work in the residences. That pretty much involves laundry, hanging out with the kids and running activities and homework help. So all really exciting stuff!!!!

Today we took the middle school indigenous classes to the national wildlife park, as a bit of a day off from school. It was a great day, although it was very hot and tiring to walk around in the glaring sun all day, whilst looking after a group of boys! I bought my video camera, which they very much enjoyed using, although they weren't too good at keeping it steady so the video is quite hilarious to watch!!! :)

My new residential shifts are in the senior dorms, which I haven't ever really had anything to do with yet. So far, I help out in middle school classes and at the girls middle school dorm, so hopefully this will give me a chance to get to know the older kids whoa re closer to my age! It's so funny, whenever a student asks me how old I am, they always seem really surprised that im 18-they reckon im 19 or 20! (thats the first time anyone has overestimated my age!!)

I'm loving hanging out with these kids and building relationships with them. It's been fascinating to learn about their culture, things like what their Dreamings are, and what kinds of foods they eat when they're at home!

Anyway, I've gotta go now, I'm off to see a circus performance and I'm meant to be meeting the other gappies right now! I hope you're all well, and that life is abundant and challenging! Please feel free to txt me, or email me, and I'll try and email as many of you as I can soon!!!

Songman

One of the teachers who lives at the school recently lent me an autobiography called "Songman", which is the story of an Aboriginal Elder's life. At the age of seven, Bob Randall was stolen away from his mother as part of the scheme to assimilate mixed-race children into mainstream white society, which was achieved by cutting them away from their traditional homes and everything that was ever familiar and safe to them.

I've only read a few chapters into the book, but already the pain and trauma that this man has had to endure at the hands of the white missionaries who were "called by God" to "save" these children is evident and shocking to read. How these people could have preached a Jesus of love and compassion to the Indigenous people, and then treated them with cruelty and hatred, I will never understand. Perhaps I don't want to be able to understand.

But the amazing thing is, that despite the fact that Bob was degraded and treated as inferior, and even though the missionaries and teachers never demonstrated simple love towards the children, it seems that Bob began to recognise God's face in the natural world around him:

"I began to realise that the God that was being talked about was everywhere and in everything. Life was God in all things and it was only humans who were in the position of denying that, through our confused minds. Everything was already completely perfect, a dance of creation, a celebration of life itself in the land, in absolutely everything."

Pretty cool hey! Instead of discovering God in the people around him, he found it in the natural environment. How sad it is that we treated the Aboriginal people so abhorrently. Sometimes I wonder if there couldn't have been another way to do things. How could we have come to this land in peace? I wonder what alternatives there could have been, and if those alternatives aren't too far gone to reclaim?

Christ himself is our peace. He made both Jewish people and those who are not Jews one people. They were separated as if there were a wall between them, but Christ broke down that wall of hate by giving His own body.
Ephesians 2:14

Good days and bad days

As with anything in life, at Kormilda College you have your good days and you have your bad days. Yesterday was definitely one of the days that I probably could have done without!

The entire day was spent with class M15-the naughtiest kids who are all plonked together in the same class to stop them from disrupting the learning of the other Indigenous students. So as you can imagine, this classroom is a riot most of the time. Despite this, this class is one of my favourites, probably because they are all the misfits!

However, yesterday they took 'misbehaving' to a whole new extreme level. Firstly, it was Friday, which meant that they were tired and ready for the weekend, and their concentration was totally out the window.One of the boys decided that he didn't feel like working, so he proceeded to kick chairs around, piff textas at the wall as hard as he could and yell obscenities at the top of his voice in protest to the teacher who was only trying to help him. (On a positive note, he did agree to pick up the mess of textas after he stopped his rage)

Next was music class with M15. Absolute chaos for an hour and a half. The teacher was trying to get the class to play some music together as a band, but three of the boys decided that they preferred to make as much noise as possible on the drum kits and with the electric guitars. Very selfishly they ruined the whole lesson for the rest of the kids, who were being very cooperative.

Yesterday was the first day that I actually felt drained and tired, and even frustrated. I have never felt angry towards the kids when they mess up, but yesterday I was quite exasperated and at my wits end. It was quite a challenging day. Sometimes it feels like you waste a whole day and don't get anywhere, and it can be a bit disillusioning. But I think that at the end of it, I come to the conclusion that the more I struggle and come up against obstacles, the stronger my conviction grows that I need to be where I am, that I'm called to be in this specific place at this particular time. I'll be truthful, I'm not really sure what it is that God is calling me to do, but I am sure that He's using me even when I don't know how or when. Sometimes you don't need to know the answers or the way to go, you've just got a song in your heart and a prayer that you're living out, and the rest is up to the big guy. It's hard, but I have to hold onto the faith that compassion and love and joy can overcome even the darkest parts of our world, and I have to believe that God will work through me to bring these things into the lives of those around me.

So these times of weakness and heartache are important, because it keeps me focused on God and it reminds me that I have God to guide me every step of the way. In the end there is nothing to big for God to handle, and even when there is no conceivable way out or it seems that there is no answer, God is always calling us forward to imagine a new reality where all of our needs are taken care of. Where love is the most important factor.

Photos

And now for some more photos...





Dylan, after he stole my glasses! The Indigenous kids LOVED to take our sunnies, hats, and cameras and take millions of photos of themselves! My camera kept on getting filled to capacity with photos, and I had to keep on deleting stuff so that I could take more. About half of the photos that i had on my camera were slef potraits from Stevo and Dylan!

The gorge again!

Glenda and Anthony! Such awesome campers! Glenda was from another group that stayed with us for a little while. She is one of the few Indigenous students at Kormilda who takes classes with the mainstream, whereas most Indigenous students are placed in seperate classes to give them an extra help.

Anthony and I (note Anthony's wonderful bunny ears!) He thought that it was hilarious to give me bunny ears whenever we took photos, but what he didn't realise was that I was getting my revenge!!! mwahahaa!

Ok, now Stevo is one of those guys that never acts surprised or happy or sad. he's pretty calm most of the time. So I spent the entire day trying to get him to make faces for the camera-we had surprised faces, angry faces (which actually look quite scary!!), happy faces and thoughtful faces. This, in case you're wondering, is our thoughtful face. It's quite similar to surprised and happy faces. Good times!

This is one of the magical water holes that we swam in. The whole place was so beautiful and perfect! I actually felt like I was intruding just by being there. It was so isolated and clearly untouched by humans, and so it felt like we were trespassing somewhere forbidden. It gave me a slightly uncomfortable feeling, but at the same time it was deeply peaceful and serene.

This is the bank of the river where we were camping. A few of the campers spotted small fresh water crocs in these waters, but apart from that this was my main source of getting clean. And boy did i need it!!

Tomorrow I think I'll tell you about some of the Dreamtime dancing that the three boys did for our group around the fire one night! I hope you liked the photos!

Hunter!

Hello! Well, as promised, I'll now share with you one of the exciting things that happened whilst we were living out in the bush...

On the third day of camp, the third group of campers arrived at the campsite where myself and Lotte (the other gappie who came on camp with me) were staying at. Now, not that I had my favourites or anything, but I really connected with this beautiful group of young people. This probably occurred for several reasons, including the fact that we had a day and a half together as opposed to only one day. This particular group was 15 large, and within this there were three boys-Dylan (who is in one of the classes I assist with and was mentioned in a previous blog), Stevo (who is in the same class) and Anthony-who were the only Indigenous students. Even though they were boisterous, loud and attention seeking most of the time, they were very quiet and reserved around the white kids. Easy to understand if you're outnumbered like that though.

On the forth day, in the morning, we all went for an explore down the gorge that we were camped near. I know right now that I am going to fail terribly at attempting to describe the mysterious and overwhelming beauty of this place. Totally ancient, yet with an atmosphere of something just being created the day before, this place is entrancing. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't a significant place for the Aborigines when they lived here. Apparently there was some Aboriginal art on one of the gorge walls, but the area was too massive and we couldn't find it. The gorge was littered with gigantic boulders that looked as though they'd been tumbled there by a giant, the river was fresh and cool, there were several swimming holes, sandy banks, jagged rocks, little frogs, goannas, massive fishes in the water, spiders, and I even found a crab shell! The walls of the gorge were sheer, the sky was opened up above us and we were totally isolated.

In the photo above, i was trying to capture the clear, perfectly blue, hot sky. Never a cloud in the sky out in the bush! I don't think I saw one all week!

So anyway, I'll put up some more photos of the gorge another time, and now I'll get on with the story...

So as I said before, the Indigenous kids seemed a little shy. But by the forth day, they had gained a lot more confidence and were mucking around with the others. In comparison to the three boys, the rest of us white fellas looked totally incompetent in the natural environment. We would gingerly climb over the rocks whilst Dylan would leap like a wild cat from boulder to boulder, and never did his feet fail him. He then showed us how to catch the little frogs by trapping them in his hand on the rocks, and would entertain us by throwing them in the water for the fish to gobble (although I put on a casual face, I was internally horrified-I love frogs!). So already I was really impressed by the boys' ability and knowledge about how to survive in the bush, and yet the real fun hadn't even begun!

As I was on my way down one of the rocks, I came across Dylan and Anthony under an overhang, and beside them lying on the ground was a dead goanna!! I was like "Dylan, did you kill that goanna?" and he said very matter of factly "yeah miss!" I found out that he had spotted the lizard, carved his own spear from a stick and thrown it, only to aim true right through its throat! I asked him if he was going to eat it, and he replied "I only kill what I'm going to eat miss!"

Thus the group clambered over the rocks back to the camp, where Dylan proceeded to cut out the organs of the goanna (if you want to be grossed out, read this sentence, if you don't, skip to the next paragraph...the heart was still beating 20 minutes after it had died)

Dylan new exactly what to do-he cooked and cut the goanna for us all and shared it with everyone (gonna tastes like tough chicken!). He knew how to remove the yucky tasting bits, he new how to stitch it up, he new how to place it in the coals, he new how to cut up the cooked meat. Such knowledge!

Check out the photos! I love the fact that Dylan the hunter has his frowning, serious face on!

It was a very special occasion for all of the group. it was very special that Dylan shared the meat with all of us, but that's the Aboriginal way. What belongs to one person belongs to the whole family.

It was also special because it gave us a chance to reflect on where our food comes from. The group leader, Nick, took the opportunity to remind us that we must always respect the life that is sacrificed for us to live (remind you of something else?) In our culture, it's so convenient to grab some meat out of the fridge, and we often don't think about the process behind where our food comes from, and we don't acknowledge the animal that had life. It's easier to only think of the end product, and probably more comfortable.

So that was an account of one of the things that really inspired me out in the bush. We often forget how intelligent Aboriginal people are, and we think that our way is somehow more superior. Silly us, I couldn't even catch a baby frog!!!

I'll share some more of the camp adventures next time, there are a lot of thoughts and experiences that I want to write about for you!

I hope you're all going really well, wherever you are and whatever things you are doing!

Home again

Yes, I'm home again...well I actually got back on Friday arvo, but have not had time to sit down and blog until now!

What can I say about camp...it was incredible and exciting and i learnt a bit more about life and faith and people. I think for a little while I was really out of my depth with a few things and I was feeling really challenged and a bit confused, but I got through it and things are better now!

Just to summarise what I was doing-
-50 kids, split into four camping groups. I spent about a day with each group.
-Most of the kids were white, and about one third of them were Indigenous
-We were camping on a block of privately owned land that is closed to the public, and Kormilda's year 9 camp is the only time that humans enter the area! So totally untouched and wild as you can get! God's garden with as little interferance as possible!
-I was there as a support to the outdoor ed teachers, so pretty much I helped out with the rock climbing, did odd jobs and spent most of my time getting to know the kids and being a big kid myself!

Over the next few days I'll write more about the things that happened over the camp and how I felt, but for now I think I'll have to call it a night!

And thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has been keeping in touch! I'd love to hear about all the news from down south, and about what all of you guys are up to in your busy lives!! :)

Prayer Point

Hello everyone!

Very exciting news; tomorrow I shall be leaving to embark on a year 9 camp for the week! :) We'll be heading out bush to a private block of land that is normally closed to the public, so it shall be untouched and as wild as you can get! I'm sure there will be a lot of nature on display!

The kids are divided up into several groups, and each day they travel to a new campsite. I will be situated at a particular camp location, and will be there to greet each group as they come along and then hang out with them for the day. I'm looking forward to it, because it will be a great opportunity to get to know the whole year level.

I am feeling very excited and a little apprehensive, and I thought that this might be something good to pray about for me if you want to. I hope that this next week will be a time when myself and the students can learn to trust each other, get to know one another and share stories. I'm sure it will be a great time of learning and growth for me, but I really want to commit this next five days to God and to serve Him in all that I do. So pray that I'll stay committed and focused on God's work, and that he would do things through me.

So I won't be blogging this week, and I won't be able to email or call anyone. But as soon as I get back I will be able to write all about the week!

Teaching

Today was my first day of real work at the school! :) I helped out with several classes, but in particular I want to tell you about my double maths lesson with the Indigenous kids. It was a very small group of just 7 students, all of them in the middle school and all with extremely low literacy levels. Out of the group, only two were girls.

I'm finding that the Indigenous girls are very shy and closed-this is because of a few things, like culture and simply because of the fact that they are in a completely new situation which must be overwhelming and scary at times. One minute they'll be chatting to me just fine, and then the next day they'll completely shut off from me.

The boys in this particular maths class, however, were a totally different story! I particularly got along well with one boy, I would guess he would be about 14 years old, and oh my goodness is he a misfit! Wandering around the class as the teacher tried to take the lesson, picking up things, putting things in his pocket, swearing, hiding in the cupboard, you name it! But deep down he's a beautiful kid, really genuine and quite polite (would you believe)-as soon as I walked into the class he boldly approached me straight away, shook my hand and introduced himself to me!!

I think that from today's maths lesson, I've learnt a lot about classroom management! Instead of getting frustrated at kids when they muck up, you've gotta let them be kids, play the game and just get on with it without letting them get you worked up. The Indigenous kids won't respect you if all you do is yell at them.

I will now be working with this class almost everyday this week, which I am very excited about! I've fallen in love with the kids, they make me laugh and they're so affectionate! I think it'll be hard not to kidnap Dylan!! (I'm sure you'll hear more about his exploits in coming weeks!)

So that was my first day of classroom assisting, it was a very positive experience, and it has also really showed me just how important education is in empowering Indigenous people to lead the way for their people.

Ten Canoes

Yesterday the German gappies and myself sat down to watch an Australian movie called "Ten Canoes." To summarise it, it's a story that is set in Australia during pre-invasion times, and follows a particular tribe as they try to work out who has kidnapped one of their warrior's wives. It is a very beautiful film, both in story line and visually.

For me it was a real eye opener into the way that life was for Indigenous people before white man stepped onto this land. It actually really surprised me, because after watching the movie I realised that I'd had a misconception of the Aboriginal culture stuck in my head all my life. And I thought that I was doing ok! However, after watching the film, my touristy and stereotypical idea of Indigenous people was exposed. I had no idea of what it was really like.

I think the issue is that in Australia, there aren't enough opportunities for us to learn about how things were. So much of what is Aboriginal has been used for tourism and commercial use that we have somehow diminished their great culture. Put this together with the lack of Indigenous studies in high schools and in some unis, and you can understand why white people are ignorant. If all we have is a pretty, tame, attractive, watered down version of Aboriginal culture, then how are we to ever know or understand the tragic loss and sadness that is still going on within this land?

Maybe people have some comments on this? Is there anyone else who, like me, feels like they've missed out on learning about and understanding the past? Ignorance shouldn't be an excuse anymore!

I definitely recommend Ten Canoes to all Australians! It does make you quite sad and maybe even a little disepowered when you start to consider just how much of their way of life was stolen from them, but I would prefer to face these sorts of things rather then pretend not to care.

Sunset encounters

Just the other night, myself, the other gappies and a few of the teachers travelled down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was magnificent, the beach was crowded with tourists, the sounds of the market drifted over us and watching the sun sink into the ocean was definitely worth the drive.

As we were standing on the sand watching the sun disappear, I happened to glance over to my left, only to see a familiar face from Melbourne. I did a bit of a double take, not really believing my eyes, and sure enough it was a friend from one of my old congregations, who is now a minister. It was such a coincidence! Him being a minister and all, we had a really good, inspiring conversation :) It was a really affirming and encouraging moment for me, to know that even in a city on the other side of the country, where I feel like my whole world is completely upside down, home can still reach me! It actually made me realise that no matter how lost I might feel (although I certainly don't feel lost), God always has a way of moving people and giving you little signs that He's got things under control. From my point of view, Darwin seems a long way from home, but from God's point of view, the world's quite small. It's pretty good knowing that I've got God taking care of me. He's so much bigger then I can comprehend, and there are patterns and rhythms that He has that I can't even see. But small instances like the other day really show me that I don't have to worry or stress about where I'm going or what I'm doing. I suppose there are probably a lot of times where I miss these signs or ignore them, but once you acknowledge things like that, you start to sense God being present in the things around you in a very tangible way.

Arrival!!

Hi guys! I'm so sorry that I have been so slack with my blogging-sorting out the Internet has been a bit of an issue, and I've been feeling very frustrated at my inability to write emails!

So, I've arrived safe and sound in Darwin! What can I tell you about Darwin...the vegetation is exceptionally green, because Darwin astonishingly has no water restrictions, and they spend all night sprinkling their gardens and trees! There are a lot of Indigenous people walking around, which at first was very strange to me, but I've become accustomed to it now. There are lots of Indigenous paintings around as well. When we went for a drive down to the wharf, there was a giant cylinder covered in a beautiful design. I hope it was painted by an Indigenous person, and not a white person. Also, I feel as though this place is more honest then other cities. It's kind of weird, I'll try and explain. Here, you can't get away from nature, unlike in Melbourne where I think we supress the natural world a bit with our fancy buildings. Darwin has a definite country/tropical atmosphere to it, and the people don't bother dressing up fancy, because it's too hot! You also can't swim in the beaches because of the crocs and jellyfish. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but this place has a more real feeling to it; the people seem to embrace nature a bit more, rather then trying to fight it.

About my room...I'm sleeping in a room in the boarding quarters with another Aussie from Brisbane, the floor is made from orange tiles, there's a tiny fridge that we manage to squeeze our food into (although we discovered that the ants can get in if they're really hungry!!!), the window next to the door is broken so that if you lock your keys inside the room, you can open the door from the outside (which makes me a bit dubious about leaving my laptop inside!!) there are two fans...and that's about it! Very simple, but I am loving my new life! It's kind of fun living out of my bag and being independent, it's forced me to keep my bag neat and tidy, because otherwise I can't find what I need! We share a bathroom and shower room with another guy from the uk, and we find geckos and frogs jumping around the walls in the night time! :) The showers are prison style-the doors only just reach above my head and anyone taller then me has to bend over to get the water on their hair!!

About the school...term doesn't start until Tuesday, and so far I haven't worked out my timetable. This is what I am most excited about, and I can't wait to get started! I am really looking forward to meeting the kids, hanging out with them and getting to know them! At night times it's fun to walk around the school in my bare feet and just think and pray about things, and I'm really thankful for these quiet times for reflection and challenge.

About the people...apart from the gappies from Brisbane and the uk, there are also two girls from Germany, who are simply gorgeous. They're sitting beside me on the other computers right now talking to their friends on skype in German! The five of us chill out together, plus there's two student teachers form Ballarat here and another new teacher called Nick who is in the next room from from me. All together we're a pretty cool gang! It's like having my own family over here, we've really clicked!

So that's the description of Darwin for you! I'm not sure if you're bored of reading, congratulations if you've reached this far! And THANK YOU to those of you who have txted or sent emails or rung or left comments, I've really appreciated the contact, and knowing that I have a community and home of people who love me and who I love back is really keeping me going!

Life has a different rhythm over here, although I expect things will get busier next week! I promise I'll blog really soon!

Love you all and miss you all heaps!

THE FIRST BLOG

I've never blogged before!

Firstly, can I just say thank you very much for coming to visit my blog! I appreciate it! I hope that over the next few months, this space would be a place where you can read about what I'm up to in the sunny spot of Darwin!

Yes, the date of departure is 2 days away, and yes I am excited, scared, enthusiastic, apprehensive and just about any other emotion that you can think of! For those of you who may not know what I'm heading off to do, I'll be spending the next 5 and a half months in a school called Kormilda College, which is 16km out of Darwin, working as a volunteer with the Indigenous students.

Why am I going? Well sometimes I ask myself the same question-I think I'm a little bit mad actually! I've got no idea where this is going to take me in life, but I'm really excited about trying to work it out and I'm sure I'll learn more along the way as I go! I'm just praying that I'm going in the right direction!

I hope you'll comment heaps while I'm away, it'll make me feel closer to home! I've decided that I won't actually be that far from home, as technology will enable me to communicate with you all at ease! I look forward to hearing from you!

Who will have the honour of holding the title of the first commenter on my blog??? I have my suspicions about who it will be!