"we can't do great things, only little things with great love."

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Emily here :)

After two weeks of flood relief, Team Australia is back on the Gold Coast. Our plan is to stay here for two days and transition from one trip to another.  Many things are happening and going through our minds as we reflect the disaster, pack for Alice, say good-bye to a team member, prepare sermons and leave from the GC one last time. As one person put it: "It will be great to come home with two outreach experiences."

This past week we went back to the place we were staying.  Can't say this place felt like home.  There was chickens, roosters and pigs everywhere. Literally.  Most times we couldn't take two steps without almost stepping on a rooster.  To escape high waters rats fled to the attic; we heard them running around all the time. Mice were all around the house.  I got to the point where I didn't think anything of them. The owner of the house was quite eccentric to say the least.  None of us figured him out completely, but his generosity was inspiring.  Staying there will always be a memory.

We spent our days doing different things to relieve the floods. Sorting through endless donations, helping farmers in the fields, picking up trash, digging out mud, cutting falling trees for firewood and raising fences. Our team had the opportunity to go to Granthom.  The town was deserted with the exception of the Army and other clean-up volunteers.   Granthom was blocked off and we couldn't get in without wristbands.  These were difficult to obtain, but we befriended some Scientologists who helped us get what we needed to go in there.  We worked alongside the Scientologists all week, and got to share them Christianity, which was awesome. They were nice and it was a good chance to learn more about their beliefs, because to be quite honest I always associated Scientology with Tom Cruise and that's it.  Anyway, we would always come back exhausted but satisfied with what we accomplished.  YWAM has hourly requirements for those on outreach to ensure that we're making efficient use of our time. With the circumstances we were in, we were actually doing double the amount required.  Our leader, Sara gave us an extra day off.  This day has been great to relax and prepare for what's ahead.

I still can't believe some of the sites I saw.  Granthom looked like a war zone.  Houses were wiped out, cars were upside down, fields were destroyed, (the floods hit a large majority of small farming towns.  Many crops were destroyed, meaning months of work gone.) small mom and pop businesses were vacant, and people's personal mementos were sprawled out all over the place. While cleaning up trash, Sara found a metal pen that  was dented, showing the impact of the water.  It breaks my heart because I left that place with those memories, yet those people are stuck there left to live with their life like that.  I'm continuing to pray for these people. It's inspiring to see communities come together and help in whatever way they can.  We still have our wrist bands on to remember the people of Granthom.

Mother Teresa said the quote above.  It's so true. The flood destruction was  huge. You can't go in with the attitude that your going to conquer the world with mighty strength, and impact change in the blink of an eye. You'll end up getting burnt out.  Reliance on God and teamwork is essential. Most of the change happens with the acts of genuine love put into them. Big machines can do big things, but I believe the biggest impact that can be made is the personal connections with people.  We dropped off supplies to a house and this lady had lost everything.  Through the rubble in her front yard, I was able to see she had a fetish with porclin dolls.  As we left I mentioned it to someone and they remembered there were two porclin dolls donated!  Her eyes watered when she received them. We listened to her as she talked about how she painted them as a hobby.  It meant a lot to her that people noticed the things in her life that she cared about. We got to show her Christ's love and how he's looking out for the little details in our lives and cares about the unique things that make us who we are.  We couldn't get her the money or the machinery she needed to fix her house, but through a small act of kindness we could make a difference.

Please continue to pray for our journey to Alice Springs.  It will be an over thirty hour drive. (the equivalence of going from my home in Pennsylvania to Kansas.)  I love road trips and looking forward to seeing the real Australian outback. Bring on the kangaroos, wallabys, koalas, dingos and drop bears. When we get there is when the work begins. Already spiritual warfare is happening.  The enemy does not want us there. This means we can do some damage in the kingdom, so we are armed (with the bible :)) and ready for what awaits us.  Please be in prayer for this. Here is what has and is trying to stop us.

• Two weeks ago, Sara got an email saying our team may not be able to get in to the one aboriginal community.  There is a specific heirachy of structure and that influences the churches.  The head church didn't want us because they don't want the Holy Spirit. (which we believe in and we'll bring)  We prayed that we could get in and God would change their minds, and yesterday we heard we got the permission to get in!
• Our one contact, Mimma who will follow us around is experiencing chest pains.
• Some governmental v. tribal issues are occurring, and white people aren't particularly favored at the moment.

I'm so glad I serve a God who is bigger than all these things.  In him I can rest in the fact that he will keep me safe and provide for me.  I'm not fearful or nervous, because I know that I'm walking in the will of what God wants me to be doing.  And I believe there is no better place to be.  I pray that as I'm among these people, I will see them as Jesus did and love them as he loved them.  God has done SO much in my life the least I can do is tell others.

Thank you for your prayers.  They are powerful and make such a difference. I love you all!   

Dear Friends & Family, 

Around 8:00 am Tuesday morning, Team Australia headed out to go towards Helidon, Australia to serve the victims of the Queensland flood. Helidon is just a short distance from the worst hit city, Granthom. This house that we are going to be staying at for this past week and next week is surrounded by chickens, pigs, and other interesting insects and creatures. But in a way, staying here is an honor. We were supposed to be in a little shack but last minute a generous man, Mark, gave up his home to let us stay here. This house has been through the flood so we had a clean up day but it has become quiet the little home for us. Mark, our very generous homeowner, will not let us call it “Mark’s House” but the new “YWAM Base.” He has made it a distribution center for us to give out materials like food, clothing, furniture, and other necessities to give to the flood victims. 

Throughout this last week, we have done various services for the homes that have gotten damaged. The first day we wiped down the walls, cleaned out some rooms, and sorted endless amount of donations at the house we are staying at. All through the week, we did some exploring of all the damage and the scenes were pretty intense. We drove to a place called Murphy’s Creek and looked out to a bridge, that well, was no longer a bridge but a river with metal and road pieces in it. As for working, we have picked up rubbish from different fields that got wiped out from the flood. To give you an idea of what we have seen, in one of our fields we were working at there is a creek next to it that had at least 4 or 5 cars flipped in and around it. When we walked near the cars there were police tape on it just to mark that there weren’t people still in the car. Pretty harsh to see and think about. However, we have helped clean out a plant nursery with a bunch of different volunteers. Here we would be picking up potted plants spread around the field, clean up mud that slid everywhere from the water, and basically rebuild this plant nursery. We have gotten the privledge to have an Aussie style barbecue every lunch time at this plant nursery. Working, helping, and connecting with these residents and volunteers has been truly amazing. 

Looking forward to next week, we will be going into Granthom to check out what is going on there and seeing if we can help there along with still helping out with the plant nursery. We are pumped to see where and who God will connect us with. 

Prayer Requests: To keep on connecting with people we come in contact with, to have God place us with residents that we can really connect with and not just help them with their home and material life but what is going on emotionally. Be praying that each one of us is stable emotionally, spiritually, and physically after seeing and working through all of this devastation. Also, be praying for a consistent team unity! Thank you so much for being apart of our team by praying. We appreciate it greatly! 

Sincerely with love & blessings,

Team Australia

Cassandra, Amanda, Sara, Sarah, Emily, Mathias, and Dave

^"1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,  because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy  instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. " Isaiah 61:1-3

outreach begins!

Tomorrow at 7:00 AM outreach for Team Australia officially begins.  Our van is here, and we're all packed up and ready to go. We will travel two hours to work on the floods for the day, and then travel to another town to stay for a week or two or three.  From there, depending on the water levels, we may come back to the base before heading out to Alice Springs.  These plans can change at any time, but so far this is what it's looking like.

I may be without a computer for awhile.  Cassie, our team publisher will post updates on my blog site so you can  remain updated on what's going on.  She will be writing on behalf of the group.

If you read this blog, please keep my team in your prayers.  Prayer is so powerful and the most effective weapon. Can't wait to share stories of the great things God did.

cake in a cup

One particular week, our house hosted a speaker, Lael.  She stayed up late with us and we spent many nights drinking tea and talking.  She gave us this recipe and we thought it was brilliant.  It went into our notebook we have have at the tile house that has recipes, advice and encouragement for DTS students who come after us.  Hopefully they'll enjoy this as much as we did.

Great if you're hungry, poor, need something sweet, or a combination of all three of these things.  Oven broke like ours? No worries, the microwave does the trick.

cake in a cup

4 Tablespoons sugar

4 Tablespoons flour 

1 egg

2-3 Tablespoons milk and oil

Put contents in mug.  mix throughly with fork.  put in microwave for two minutes.

Tastes better with: nutella, frosting, powdered sugar, chocolate, peanut butter, etc...

For the full missionary affect, enjoy with a glass of home brand long life shelf milk; room temperature, of course. :)

quotes I like

Here's some quotes I hope you find as meaningful as I did.

"You don't have to do anything sensational in order to love or to be loved.  The real drama of life (that which matters most) is rarely center stage."

"Transitions can be times of growth, but they can bring feelings of loss.  To get somewhere new, we may have to leave somewhere else behind."

"There never has been...and there never will be-in the history of earth-another person exactly like you."

"The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings.  Some people have many blessings and hoard them.  Some people have few and generously share them."

"Caring comes from the Gothic word kara, which means 'to lament.' So caring is not what a powerful person gives to a weaker one. Caring is a matter of being there...lamenting right along with the one who hurts."

"Whether we're a preschooler, or a young teen, a graduating senior or a retired person, we human beings want to know that we're acceptable,  that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others."

"The thing I remember best about 'successful people' I've met is their obvious delight in what they do.  And their delight seems to have very little to do with the trappings of worldly success."

"You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices.  Hopefully those choices come from a deep sense of who you are and who you want to become."

"There is one thing that evil cannot stand, and that is forgiveness."

"When we love a person we accept all of that person:  the strong with the fearful, the true mixed with the facade. And the only way we do that is by accepting ourselves that way."

"There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."

"Love and trust in the space between what's said and what's heard in our life can make all the difference in the world."

"Human beings are so much alike...yet all so different.  How comforting to see the endless variety of people:  comforting because one person's differences from another show us that it's all right for us to be different in many ways, too."

Hebrews 12:1-4 "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful man, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

This is one of my favorite verses.  The part that mentions perseverance reminds me to keep relying on God, even when situations get rough.  Jesus is the perfect example of this, enduring the cross.  I also like the last part (v. 4) that we humans all struggle with sin, but we haven't resisted it to the point of shedding blood like Jesus did.  God can help us with resisting temptations.  Not only can he, but he wants to!  We just have to be willing to let him.

I was having a rough day yesterday.  It was one of those days where nothing was going right.  The weight of outreach on my mind and it was affecting everything. Hebrews twelve popped into my mind.  I vaguely knew it, but only the words.  Reading it in desperation totally opened my eyes and gave me new revelations.  After this I felt much more peace.  The challenges are still present, but I know God is there too and he's helping me handle the situations.

Earlier in lectures we where given an illustration.  Two sponges were in different bowls of liquid that looked the same. When they were squeezed, one came out pure water, and another was gross looking dirty water.  This represented two different people.  "Joe and Jennie"  Both looked the same on the outside; representing the stereotypical perfect Christian. People who went to church, said and did the right things. But when they were "squeezed" or put into pressure situations, what came out of Joe was goodness, love and kind words.  What came out of Jennie was the gross water which represents anger, bitterness and hatred. It's easy to put on a facade and act perfect, but the time  spent in the word and pressing into God will come out in our actions in life.  No one is perfect. We all say and do things we shouldn't..  They told us to deal with this stuff during lectures, so when we're on outreach we'll respond in love.

Team Papua New Guinea left this morning.  We're praying for safety as they head off on their missions trip.  Waking up this morning, I looked at Tara from across the room and we both had the same reaction.  We're excited for what awaits us, but we'll miss each other greatly after being together for the past three months. Saying goodbye to everyone was not fun today. I walked back into my house and everything felt hallow and empty.  It's just our team now.  Getting started and occupied with outreach will be great.

changes

I'm sure many have heard the news of the flooding in Australia.  Especially  in Queensland the high waters have left towns under water, destroyed houses and separated families.  Although I'm living in Queensland, the Gold Coast hasn't had any flooding.  If I traveled and hour or two away, it would be a different story.  The people impacted are on everyone's mind as we lift them up in prayer and support.

My outreach team was supposed to leave next Monday.  The place where the van's at is currently under water. The new plan is we're staying on the Gold Coast for an extra week to do local evangelism.  The week after we will be working with flood relief in Toowoomba. After about two or three weeks of flood relief, the water should recede enough to get the van to the Gold Coast.  Once the van and trailer are here, we will pack up and head west to Alice Springs.  We will stay in there until March 10.

I'm excited for these new plans.  I mentioned before that Dave wouldn't be joining us. Now he's able to come for the flood relief portion.  A girl on my outreach team came to salvation through doing flood relief for Hurricane Katrina, so this type of outreach has a special place in her heart.  This week has been a lot of unexpected changes, but we're grateful for the opportunity  to help those in the flood.

All this week we'll be preparing for outreach.  Lots of sermons, shopping and preparing need to be done.  This morning our base director came and gave us a cultural briefing on the aboriginal people.  It was good to learn more about their culture and way of life.  Understanding their ways will help us develop relationships and further the gospel better.  Between an average English speaking person and an Aboriginal, eighty to ninety percent of a conversation would be misinterpreted.  They have their own tribal language and they perceive the world very different from us westerners.  We have to prepare according to their culture.

Please keep the prayers coming.  To be honest, this week has been challenging for me.  There's been a lot of changes, but I know God has us where he wants us.  

Funny story: My team went to the outdoor shop to purchase supplies for the flood.  We found these ridiculous water shoes for half price.  The guy at the store said they'd be good for what we're doing.  We all bought a pair and walked around the mall with them on. I wish you could see these shoes and the faces of the people who saw us wearing them.. They make me laugh just thinking of them.  We figure our feet will be covered with mud anyway.  I love this outreach spirit of not caring. :)

Love you all!

making an impact

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."

Mark 16:15 "He said to them,'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'"

I love when the unexpected in life turns out for the good.  That's what happened when our speaker cancelled a few weeks ago.  Still needing a someone to teach us on evangelism, my leader John called Kevin Stickle.  Although Kevin was having an extremely busy week leading Impact Summer, he agreed to be our speaker.  He invited us to be apart of Impact Summer.  Impact Summer is part of the Byron Bay outreach that gives hundreds of YWAMers the opportunity to come to Byron Bay and evangelize to the "new age mecca" of Australia. How perfect; learn about evangelism, apply what was taught in real life situations, meet new people and see new places.  Our base met people from all over Australia and even New Zealand.  To say the past five days were life changing is not an overstatement.  God really moved through Byron this week and to him be the glory.

Allow me the opportunity to talk about our speaker. If anyone has peace written all over them, it's Kevin.  With his peripheral vision fading with a chance of going blind at any moment, he has amazing peace.  His voice was always so calm and he always put his trust in God, even with obstacles against him.  I heard that  before he goes surfing he'll watch the waves for a half and hour and say "aye, I reckon that's a good one." as they pass and crash on the shore.  It's as if he knows one day he may never be able to see it again. It reminds me not to take things like vision for granted. Best of all is his heart for evangelism.  It was great to have a laid back speaker on this topic because it's one that a lot of people get anxious about.

The biggest thing I took from what Kevin said was not to worry and let God do the work.  If we're willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus, he'll use us in ways bigger than we think we are.  Insecurities, blemishes and all.  God doesn't have us attain a certain level of perfection, memorize the bible, or graduate "God college" to evangelize.  He likes us just how we are.  I like that, because in no way will I ever be that way.  Yes, it's nesecary to have a relationship with God and it's great to know the Bible.  Sometimes it's good to feel like we don't have it all together because it makes us trust in God more.  When we don't have the words to say, He will give them to us. I think that is very cool.  Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of many nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

During the week, we used a local church for everything. In the morning our DTS would separate from the rest of the group to have lectures.  After lectures, we would reunite with everyone for corporate worship and a message to get us inspired for the upcoming afternoon.  These times were Spirit led and it was hard not to feel the enthusiasm, love and desire for the people we would come in contact with.  There is something powerful with a roomful of people excited about something.  I can't think of anything more appropriate than to be excited for Jesus. After lunch, we would go out and evangelize.  Then it was back at the church for another meal and then more evangelism in the evening. The girls slept at the church.  An onlooker would think it was a refugee camp from the sixty girls cramped in one room. There was also one shower for all the girls, so claim your place in line.  Good thing Australia has good water pressure and plumbing.  Despite it's heavy use, I had a good, hot shower every night.  (even if it was five minutes)  There was absolutely no time to be alone at all.  I didn't mind it though. I got to meet lots of new people who are going through the same DTS journey as I am.

The first day was kind of crazy.  Our group got there two days late and everyone already was familiar with how this worked.  On this particular afternoon we got into groups of four and the leaders set out a bunch of random objects. We played a game to see which group would get what.  My group got a bag of m&ms and we were told to pray about how God could use the item to evangelize.  Some groups had to be creative.  There was toilet paper, giant beach ball, hula hoops, cups, napkins, paw paw, face paint, post it notes and other randoms.  My group prayed about what to do and we felt led to give it to someone on the beach.  When we got to town, we went to the beach and gave it to a woman.  We told her what we were doing and gave her the bag of candy.  She said "Oh my gosh, this confirms so much for me. I was praying today for a sign and you showed up, and well, this is just so neat."  Tara asked her what she believed and it was obvious she was new age.  We told her about Jesus being the only way and she seemed open to it. The only thing is, she was open to every belief and philosophy out there.  I find it hard to tell people like this about Jesus.  They are super nice and spiritual, but it's hard to breakthrough that believing in Jesus is the only way.  This little creative activity turned out pretty good.  Some girls from my base had the star shaped post it notes.  They wrote messages of truth and bible verses over each one.  They placed them all over the public places of Byron, and they're still there.  It was cool to pass by them all week.  This day was good, but they kept getting better.

That evening Amanda, Dave and I were the only ones from our school to join the rest for evening evangelism. The set up was free pancakes, chai tea and music in the park.  I was having some good conversations and was feeling pretty good about things.  After a conversation with a woman, Dave called me over.  This is when he broke the news to me that he'll not be joining us on outreach.  My heart sank.  With such a small outreach team, each person plays such a big role.  I was really sad, so I went over to a tree to be alone. As I was praying, this amazing peace and comfort came over me. God was comforting me and I felt the sense that everything would be okay.  Dave needs to be hear still, and God will take care of us in Alice Springs.  It will be different but I have no doubt that if this is the will of God, he will hold us in the palm of his hand the whole time.  Continue to pray for my team.  We are down to one guy and five girls , including our leader.

The next couple days are a blur of amazing events that happened.  In a place like Byron Bay where the spiritual atmosphere is highly saturated, God does some pretty neat things to reveal himself. People are seeking the truth.  When we share the gospel, it resonates something in their soul because it is the truth.  Over the next few days people found salvation, were healed, came to a worship event for the first time and heard the gospel. One day we hosted a beach volleyball tournament.  Seventy people joined and we had a blast.  During a break a guy asked "What's different about you guys?  You're respectful and value each other." and many asked why we were this.  Afterwards we had a free BBQ for the hungry volleyball players and anyone else who wanted a burger.  It was a lot of fun.

One day it poured the whole day.  We had the day off but were still all together in Eastgate Church. What was the opportunity to get bored, God turned into something amazing.  After lunch, everyone cleared the tables.  We spent the whole afternoon up until dinner in worship and ministry.  Toward the end, we got in a circle and prayed for each other.  People were healed, and many other neat things were happening.  A dancer who had a foot problem was walking on her tip toes for the first time in a year. A boy who broke his arm the day before could move his fingers and felt no more pain in his arm.  He will soon go back to the doctor to see if the break was healed.  A girl with asthma went for a run the day after to find she had to trouble breathing.  God was in the house. An afternoon flies by when things like that are happening. After dinner,just our base went to the Byron Bay base to have a pool party.  All in all, it was probably the best rainy day I've ever had.

My favorite day was the last evening.  Everything we learned and prayed came together.  We had another free pancake and chai tea night.  There was also worship, testimonies and dances (the Brisbane DTS is catered to artistic people who are skilled in music, art and dance so they were a big asset to these evenings)  I talked to about five people about the gospel.  I was glad I brought my bible, because I could show them scriptures about how to come to salvation. I was personally praying for more boldness and confidence during the week and I really felt God helped me with this.  I talked to a lady from Thailand.  She is from the Gold Coast too.  Although she didn't come to salvation, I believe seeds were planted and God stirred something in her heart.  I gave her a bible and we read some passages together.  When I get back from outreach in March,  she invited me over for a Thai meal so I can "tell her more about this Jesus."  This other guy I talked to was a "committed heathen" and thought that without saten, we couldn't have any fun. He never heard Christianity before, and I think in his heart he wanted to know more, because he kept asking questions.  We talked for about an hour on Jesus and the fall of man. That evening, some people came up to the park and tried to destroy the peace.  A couple teenagers went up to the front, mocked and mooned the crowed.  A few girls came up to the microphone and said "don't believe this, it's stupid !@#$%" We didn't react to this, rather we let it happen.  I think it showed God more and more.  If that was saten's attempt to stop something great God was doing, then that's pathetic. You didn't have to be a Christian to see that.  It was all the more a testimony to how good God is.

I was so glad for the chance to do Impact Summer.  I will never forget the friendships I made, people I met and the encounters with God.  I will take what I learned and apply it for when I leave for outreach to Alice Springs. I know God is going to do awesome things there as well.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  Please pray for my team as outreach is rapidly approaching and there's a lot to get done.

I like snail mail.  If you feel so inclined:

YWAM Gold Coast, Emily Sadler
P.O. Box 1560
Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
Australia

It's back to Byron

Time goes by fast.  I've been thinking about that all day as I pack my bags for a week at Byron Bay.  We'll be working alongside hundreds of other YWAMers during Impact Summer.  Our base will have lectures on evangelism and then we will apply what we learned by going out into the community and sharing God's love. Then it's back home for outreach prep week.   It won't be long until I will be packing everything up again for a two month outreach trip to western Australia.  I'm excited about what's to come.  I was looking through my journal today and it's amazing how much God has done in my life from the time I got here.  What was once anxiety about my outreach trip is replaced with anticipation. Just how God has worked in my own life significantly, I know he will do he same in Alice Springs.

It will be a busy next couple weeks! Pray for strength and perseverance through these next couple weeks.  It's going to be a lot of fun; full of learning, growth and being a light for Jesus.

Luke 8:16-18 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come to it can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.  Therefore, consider carefully how you  listen.  Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."