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