Follow our adventure!

Moving forward, but holding on tight to what's behind.

2010-05-14T12:54:00.002-06:00

With the encouragement of Matt and my Mom, I thought it would be appropriate to write one more blog here on the the adventures of two brothers.

It's hard to figure out where to even begin summing up such an incredible experience. Over the last month people have asked me often how my trip was. Every time I see a montage of images fly through my head, from Speaking at churches, to backpacking into villages in Papa New Guinea, to scrubbing rust off a ship, to making incredible friendships, to the sheer wisdom I gained. Not to mention the way the Lord seemed to gently and lovingly pull me close to His heart.

As Matt mentioned, if you haven't read his blog under mine, read it! I'll forever look back on the experience of my last six months, and smile knowing that it forever changed my life. I believe every person should take six months where they go and take time to grow in themselves!

I could go on and on about the stories and friendships I made. But I want to share the three areas that I grew in the most.

1. Restoration of a relationship with Jesus. It's hard to put to words how and when this happened. But I went to YWAM hungry for TRUTH, and feel like came home in more in love with Jesus. I know that sounds pretty hokie pokie, but it's the truth. I was reminded over and over again, by others, by reading the Bible, and through prayer, that I'm deeply loved. I needed this, I think we all need to know we are deeply loved, just the way we are.

2. Opened my eyes to the Beauty of the church. This was huge for me. I both know Christianity isn't perfect, and never will be. What I realized though, was the the church is made up of broken PEOPLE, it's not a building its people. People who believe in hope and love. People who are bound to mess up and make mistakes, but people who when operating the way God hopes, can be the most beautiful thing eyes will ever see. I spoke about this to a small gathering of believers, the church, in Sydney. I called out and said some of these words about the church:

It's the church who says, we can't sit back and let people in PNG, Africa, and elsewhere to die of preventable diseases. That's absurd.

It's you and I a church that rises up against child sex trafficking, racism, and poverty.

It's a people willing to mentor young teenagers struggling with depression and suicide, and they would do it for free, even if they were treated like crap the entire time.

It's a group of transformed individuals so in love with Christ that they would stand up on a platform and scream out at the top of their lungs to a room of young teenage girls that they are BEAUTIFUL and they do have to believe the lies of the media and world.

The church I'm talking about has the ability to take a criminal who is addicted to the craziest drugs, full of violence and hatred, and transform him into a humble, loving compassionate follower, willing to do anything for the sake of the gospel that saved his life.

(I've seen it with my own eyes.)

3. Believing in myself and the dreams within me! A few weeks into YWAM I discovered something in me. A dream. A life goal to run after with all my heart. That's to develop a youth movement, that helps young people discover who they are through creative strength-based leadership programs! Opening up Youth Centers where young people can go and have a safe place to be where they are invested in and valued, where relationships are restored, and kids walk away living a life with Passion and Purpose.

So that's what I'm running after. Life back home has been interesting, it's had its challenges. I'm so thankful and blessed by the people in my life. My friends, my family, those who continue to support me. The thing I feel like God is telling me more than ever is,

Be Free Jason, Be Confident, and Be Loved.

With that I will run into what life has for me. Thanks for supporting me and being a part of this adventure.

Like Matt I to have my my own blog. Check it out! Love you.

http://seewhatisay.wordpress.com/

And so life continues..

2010-05-13T12:42:00.000-06:00

I remember sitting at a Macca's (McDonald's) in Australia thinking to myself, "Will the day ever come? How much longer until I return home?" It seemed like an eternity away...

The decision to leave for 6 months was one of the best in my life. However, it was a difficult one, it felt like a "leap of faith", and I often doubted myself. "Will I have enough? Will my friends be there when I return? What if I can't find a job? What if my life is forever changed?" And those were the thoughts I had before I left! From the moment I decided "YWAM" in my heart, I should have know what kind of challenge would be in store. After all, how does vine yield a greater crop? The dead branches, and even the living ones must be pruned. And so this common analogy first explained by Jesus to his disciples might accurately describe my journey.

How so? I was challenged to give up my comforts of familiarity. I started over in many ways with new people, new traditions, and nobody knew me (except my sidekick Jason of course, but we spent half the time away in our respective teams traveling around Papua New Guinea and Australia). I lived in a dorm-style room crammed with 9 other guys from all around the world. Talk about a clash of the worlds, we had England, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and America represented in a 15'x20' box!

I wish that was the only challenge, but it was only the beginning. Long story (6 months long!) short, God used some circumstances in my life to pull me very close to him. I frequently asked about my future, and I felt his response was often a very simple, "I will be with you." I questioned a lot, I wrestled with pride that was deep in my soul, and I found myself in desperate need for my Father. One night I stayed late at the base and used a concrete grinder to attack some old tiles in the hallway. Nobody was around, Christmas was a week away, and it was miserably hot. I was sweating profusely and my mind was absolutely racing with thoughts. Finally, I broke down. To my knees I collapsed and tears came rushing down my face. And then I felt God near me. That's all.

Understand, the challenges that I refer to were "heart issues". It was, I believe, the natural pruning process I chose to go through. But the journey beginning to end was certainly the best of my whole life. Somehow I will pull from a common financial theory to elaborate: High risk, high reward. And yes, the reward is well worth it. I will spend my whole life referring back to the lessons I learned, the people I met (such as my school leader, Buddy, on the left), and some very special moments that I witnessed. With some things in life, you have to choose to do them, as few great adventures in life just happen. And the best part, no one can ever take this experience from me. It's mine forever.

I would like to take this moment to acknowledge everyone who helped support me financially. I raised over $10,000 to cover the school fees, the outreach fees, my Aussie visa, and my international plane tickets. Oddly (or maybe not that oddly), I raised exactly the amount that I needed, and not a dollar more. I am, through this journey, very humbled. Thank you supporters for believing in my dream. And for those of you who are considering an adventure like this... I challenge you to DO IT. Purpose Precedes Provision.

Well I made it home. That Macca's is a thing of the past. It turns out, my time away was only a season, and now I've entered a new one. If you desire to follow my "life journey" then check out my personal blog:

http://matthewdeanhoward.wordpress.com/

Oh life...

Here's my outreach report-Thought you might enjoy!

2010-03-02T17:32:00.002-07:00

Major (and Minor) Outreach Report

My outreach team went to two locations during the DTS. For the minor outreach, we traveled to the beautiful land of Papua New Guinea and experienced a culture that is entirely unique. The people are generous and hospitable, yet a large portion of the country lives in poverty. We had the opportunity to perform dramas and share our personal testimonies. For major outreach, our team spent the majority of our time in large Australian cities including Canberra and Geelong. These locations resembled what I’ve experienced my entire life living in a western culture. During this portion of outreach, our team had the opportunity to speak in schools and churches, and even share the gospel down on the streets. Both locations presented significant challenges. However, these outreaches helped contribute to one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life.

In Papua New Guinea, we met people that consistently blessed us and were enamored at our very presence. They treated us like royalty by always giving us fruits and bags at every place that we performed our dramas. One night, our team dressed like tribal warrior dancers and shared in their traditional “Prophet Dances” in the middle of the village. That night, I left with coconuts, several bags around my shoulders, bananas, the dress that I danced in, and one of the most bizarre memories of my whole life! During my time in Papua New Guinea, especially during experiences like these, I learned a valuable lesson. The way to reach the hearts of people in different cultures is by valuing their cultural norms and sharing in their traditions. This helps break down barriers and shows that that we appreciate who they really are. Granted there are also a lot of differences between our cultures as well. For example, the host villages that we spent time in rarely had running water or electricity, they live primarily off the land, and most of the people will likely live in their village for their entire life. They don’t have hope for the future like we do, and they certainly don’t have opportunities that we have. All in all, our team adapted well to their society. It’s important to be sensitive to their way of life so that there is no disrespect among us. We shared in their dances, we celebrated at their churches, we visited their homes, and we even practiced learning their language: Name belong me Matt! Visiting Papua New Guinea provided some fantastic memories, plus it built credibility to our testimony as we ventured down to southern Australia to speak about the Ship Tour.

After Papua New Guinea, it was time for our team to prepare for major outreach to our own backyard. Of course, the culture of cities like Canberra and Geelong is virtually identical to mine in America. This meant it was easier for me to adapt to the people and understand some of the struggles of the youth. Canberra is the capitol of Australia, and it has a typical political feel to the society. The people dress nicely, especially those that work in and around the parliament building, and the city is clean and uniform. During our outreach to Canberra, I got the opportunity to witness to a couple of guys down at the park on Australia day. Well, they were no ordinary guys. In fact, Grant and Guy are a homosexual couple, and both have tested positive HIV. I built a respectful relationship with them and began to share about my faith in Christ. They began to cry and became Christians on the spot… Okay, actually they mocked me and told me to put away my “blanket” (the Bible) and suggested that I grow up and consider other religions. I wasn’t offended though, as I could see past their defensive words to their abused childhoods. I apologized for the way the church had offended them in the past, but I also reminded them about the truth of Jesus. During my time with them, I realized that God never gave me more than I could handle. My faith was challenged, but by no means did I feel overwhelmed. Grant and Guy are just a couple of ordinary guys looking for satisfaction and fulfillment, and finding it in all the wrong places. I considered it a privilege to meet them.

Our team finally made it to our ultimate major outreach destination, Geelong. In this city, there are two kinds of people: the people who surf “2-3 times a week” and the people that surf “4-5 times a week”. This city reminded me of how I envisioned Australia to begin with. The beaches are beautiful, the people are laid back and everyone surfs! During our time in Geelong, our team spoke at many churches and schools. My favorite engagement was probably the Geelong Grammar School (GGS), which is a wealthy private school complete with a pristine chapel, fancy cafeteria and even a state-of-the-art “Wellness Center”. Meeting Father Hugh was one of my highlights from my time at GGS. He’s a former YWAMer and now serves as an Anglican Priest. He has a gentle heart and of course, because of our YWAM connection, he got to know Jess, Alfredo and me and even invited us to lunch at the school three different times after each of our speaking engagements. Speaking at GGS was a personal highlight because of how well behaved all of the students were. Each time we spoke, we had an attentive audience and an opportunity to speak about our testimonies and even encourage them to consider missions in their own lives. Once again, I was amazed at the way we were honored throughout our time in Geelong. Everyone we met seemed to take us under their wing, treat us to great experiences and just made our experience such a positive one.

As it’s pretty common with mission trips like these, sometimes you prepare to give, give and then give some more. But then you leave feeling like you received more than you ever could have possibly given. I suppose that’s the beauty of God’s economy. One of the most encouraging things that I take home from YWAM is the way I feel so encouraged about the state of the church. Somewhere in between meeting Pastor Ekupu, Stasia from the soup kitchen, Father Hugh at GGS, Loren and Darlene Cunningham and the countless others that have had an impact on me during the last six months, I’ve realized that God really works in all shapes and sizes! The church is really blooming and there are men and woman of God that are standing up to make a difference in the world. I feel grateful the journey that I’ve been, and it makes me look forward to what’s coming next, even though I have no idea what’s coming…HA! I suppose I’ll continue to take one step at a time. My last step seemed to work out pretty well.

The Fabulous Twelve Apostles

2010-02-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

They are on practically every postcard that you buy in Australia. These massive sandstone monuments jut out of the ocean about two hours west of where we are staying in Geelong. At one time, there actually were twelve of these monstrous rocks, but they keep crashing into the water. So now there are only about seven left! Better hurry and come see them before they are all gone!

A little over one month till I set foot back in beautiful Colorado. Love you family/friends.

Surfs Up From Geelong!

2010-02-14T21:26:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago my team began our formal outreach in Canberra, which is the capitol city of Australia. We spent time downtown in youth centers, soup kitchens, the mall, and even Parliament. I have two highlights from my time in Canberra. One was meeting Stasia at the soup kitchen, and spending two different Friday afternoons with her, serving the homeless and needy, and of course, hearing her remarkable stories. Those are two of my teammates on the right, Timmy (from California) and Alfredo (from Connecticut).

My other favorite story was meeting Grant & Guy, a homosexual couple that sold everything they owned to go on a trip around Australia. They are both HIV positive, and adamantly atheistic. We had a very honest and respectable two-hour discussion one morning at the park. Both admitted to being abused as children, and hurt by the church. I apologized for the way the church had failed them, but I also reminded them that just because people have failed them doesn’t mean God has too. When I get home, I’d love to tell you more about this story!

Since then, our team has made it to Geelong, which I now know is the “surfing capital” of Australia. Rip Curl and Quiksilver were supposedly started in this city! It seems to me that everyone surfs here. It’s just a matter of whether your in the “2-3” times a week club, or the “4-5” times a week club. Tough gig eh? On Tuesday, our contact is taking our whole team out surfing to his favorite place. Woo hoo!

Our team has been speaking at different churches and schools all over the city. Each day, we usually hit up two or three schools, and yesterday we split into teams and spoke at three different churches. When our team is given a chance to speak, we usually divide into groups of three. One person will talk about what YWAM is and what DTS is. The next person talks about our experience in Papua New Guinea and the medical needs there. The final person talks all about the details of the Ship Tour. This takes about 15 minutes and is perfect for school assemblies. Sometimes we even speak in classrooms for up to 45 minutes, and we usually play a game, get to know the students, and then speak for a little while. I really enjoy public speaking when I believe in what I’m talking about, so it’s been a lot of fun encouraging students to go out and do something epic with their life!

My favorite speaking engagement by far has been the Geelong Grammar School, which is a private boarding school out here. We’re talking big money! Rumor has it that one donor gave $12 million dollars to the school recently, and the school DIDN”T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT! So they built a brand new gym and now call it a “Wellness Center”! It is seriously nicer than my college gym, and this is only for middle and high school students.

Anyways, the school has a beautiful chapel, and Jess, Alfredo and I have spoken three different times: one time for the 10^th, one time for the 11^th, and one time for the 12^th grade assembly. Each assembly has about 200 students. It’s been so much fun, the people here treat us like royalty! Hope you enjoy some pictures from GGS. That's me on the right speaking in front of the 11th grade group from GGS. Oh by the way, I was asked to come on as the youth pastor for the Salvation Army church out here in Geelong...

Picture Time

2010-02-06T03:34:00.012-07:00

Some shutter release action over the past few weeks!

These are my boyz! Quality folk right here, we have Isack on the right and Seth on the left. There is a third one Gabe, he the eldest running around somewhere else. They have brought me tons of smiles! They get a lot of attention from everyone, so I try and soak up what I can get when I can get it. (My sunglasses are crooked because little Isack thought it was hilarious to step on my face with his feet! Kids are amazing and you can learn so much from them.

Maybe its cause I'm in the middle of a giant city, but I took this pic on Ken's farm. I love the simplicity of it. Reminds me that sometimes we can make our lives way to busy, and hectic and miss out on simple beautiful moments. So take time today to enjoy the simple things!

(Here we are at the dish with my outreach Crew) if you want more information about the dish... Read Matt's blog from earlier... turns out he's kinda a really big nerd and loves space stuff. That's ok though, cause my Dad's a big space nerd too!

This is our night at the farm, we had a house all to ourselves, and it had this trampoline, it was awesome! A beautiful sunset with two rainbows made it a night to remember! That's Carah getting her hops on!

Haha this is Matt and I's attempt to get a picture with Loren and Darlene! We were nice and let a few other people join the picture. It's a little blurry I'm not sure what happen... it looks like there 30 feet away but I asure you Darlene is actually about to wrap her arm around Matt

This is my Kite, my parents sent it to me for Christmas, its been my breathe time. I'll go out in a feild, pop in my ipod, and fly my kite. If there is enough wind that is. But it's a great time to process, and talk to God and think about life.

This is a picture of the War Memorial in Camberra. They had an incredible War Museum, turns out Australia played a huge role in WWII. And lost a ton of men and women in the war. They had a beautiful memorial for them. There was two giant walls full of names, I sat there and stared thinking every name on this wall was someone special who had a story, Reminded me that I have a lot to be thankful for I'm so blessed.

This is Mason and Katie Shrack, they just got married this past summer, their wedding was the most epic of the summer! Now they live down here in Australia and help out with the Youth at Hillsong. Anyhow they treated me to an amazing AMAZING dinner at their place, then we walked to a Chocolate bar (it's like a desert fondu) , that's where this pic was taken. It was such a special night! Thanks Katie and Mase!

(This is Joel high on life! I think it looks like he is falling out of heaven. Maybe he is. Joel might be working up at Camp Timberline where Matt worked this summer. He's a quality guy.)

So I didn't take this picture, but I found it online today, and I love it. The second I saw this I thought to myself, this is beautiful, and this is the perfect image of us and The Father. I love that she has her hands lifted high, reaching out, I love that he has his giant paw, bigger than her freaking head, right over hers, I love that instead of snarling teeth his head is bowed as if to get that much closer. If I had to put to words what has happened in my heart over the last 4 months when it comes to my relationship with God this just about sums it up. Powerful, yet simple, Innocent yet strong, Fearful yet so so so loving.

Thanks for checking out my pics. Now you have to do something! YOU HAVE TO READ MATT'S BlOG just below this, it will inspire you and probably change your life. haha and watch the link to the video, it's like 4 min long and its amazing!

Love you all!!

My Favorite Australian

2010-02-05T06:44:00.005-07:00

In the journey of life, you're bound to run into some interesting people. I remember in the book, "Irresistible Revolution", Shaine Claiborne talks about spending a summer working alongside Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta, India. In the book, Shane recalls that Mother Teresa had very disfigured feet. It was later explained to him that it's because she always chose the last pair of shoes from the donation box to ensure that the poor people in the village got first pick. So her feet became disfigured over the years from choosing the worst shoes. Momma T taught others how to do small things with great deliberation. She used to say, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love." I thought to myself recently how great it would be to meet someone like her. Someone who embodied that sacrificial love, and genuinely put others first. And then... I did!!

Our team learned about a soup kitchen that happens every Friday afternoon in downtown Canberra. I found a contact number and called to see how our team could be involved. An elderly woman answered, and after chatting for a few minutes, I knew we had stumbled upon someone special. Turns out, this lady has been running the outdoor soup kitchen in downtown Canberra for 28 straight years! For her incredible contribution to the poor and homeless people in the city, she's earned several awards: 1996 Canberra Citizen of the Year, 1999 Inaugural ACT Senior Citizen of the Year, winner of the "My Favorite Australian" award, and she even served as a torch bearer to the Beijing Olympic games in 2008. Coming in at a whopping 4' 6", I proudly introduce you to my favorite Australian, the Mother Teresa of Canberra, Stasia Dabrowski.

Make no mistake, Stasia is not the kind of sweet old lady that brags about her grandchildren or pinches your cheek. Stasia is all about the Father's work. There she is on the left, probably scolding me about answering a Bible question wrong or lecturing me about loving others. She has the thickest skin of anyone that I've ever met. One time I said, "Stasia, it's so good what you're doing down here, serving the poor people." She shot right back, "I'm not good! I'm just moving my hands and my feet." Then another time, I accidentally let the word awesome slip out of my mouth to describe her soup kitchen. Bad mistake. She shot back again, "This is not awesome, I'm not awesome, you're not awesome. I'm just a drop of water in the ocean." Clearly we had a few shaky moments, but I was shocked by her humility. Something about her made me stick around for more stories...

It took some time for Stasia and I to warm up to one another, but by the end of the day we had built a friendship and we were even laughing together. She understands her purpose in this world better than most people. She knows her calling is to love broken people, and to be a grandmother to the lost. It seemed that she was on a first name basis with every person that came for her homemade, all-natural, veggie soup (which was awesome! I mean...tasty), especially the drug addicts, alcoholics, and homeless people. I learned that behind her stern attitude is the most loving person that I've probably ever met. Early in our conversation, I thought she was stubborn. Later, I realized that she is determined, and I admire it about her! It's like Allen Reedall once told me, "We need to have thick skin, and a gracious heart." And I believe Stasia epitomizes that. At 83 years of age, she says that she will keep serving the homeless until she's lying under the ground. Who does that!?

Just like Mother Teresa, Stasia understands the importance of doing small things with great love. And I love that about her. She won't take a compliment to save her life, and I tried many times, believe me! But I realize that she gets something that most of our society doesn't. Stasia only wants the approval of God, and not anyone else. I asked her for one last favor before we left... to take a picture with me. Of course it took about five minutes of pleading and using my best persuasion skills, but I got it! Here's a picture of me and my favorite Australian.

Thank you, Stasia.

Click here to watch a video of Stasia in action

Checking in!

2010-02-02T18:24:00.017-07:00

So I first have to apologize, although I love the idea at blogging, turns out I’m not as good at keeping up. Matt on the other hand is a rockstar! But today was my first day off in a few weeks so I decided to head down to the city, and I’m currently sitting in a nice air conditioned Starbucks over looking Darling Harbor. Pretty sweet!

One cool story was I went up to a few teenagers at the beach and started telling them about the ship, after an hour I had like 18 teenagers surrounding me. We hit if off I guess. I had a great time just hanging out with them, before I left I spent time telling them they are all significant and challenged them to go change the world!It turns out that I’m not a city boy, now I already knew this about myself, but being here in the city has made me realize all over again, that huge buildings, busy traffic, and people everywhere isn’t necessarily what makes Jason come alive! Haha It makes me realize how much I love my home, Colorado, and the mountains, and single track trails where your not overwhelmed by people but pretty wildflowers and aspen trees. The other thing about cities is they are expensive, everything cost money! The toll road in, the parking, the trains, the shops, movie tickets ($28). It’s just crazy! I say all that to encourage go outside take a walk, breath in fresh air, stop and soak up the mountains! There really is no place like home!

Ok enough with that. I’ll be home soon enough. What have I been up to? A bit of everything, as you know our team is out to promo the ship tour. We orinanally thought that meant going into schools, however the kids have been on holiday, and were having a hard time getting a hold of administration to see if we can come in and talk. We have a few booked but in the mean time we have spent some of our time, going to major malls, beaches, shopping centers, handing out flyers and telling people about the ship. It’s been fun.

We got to check out Hillsong last Sunday, which was really cool. The church is huge, and quite trendy. I was impressed thoguh with how welcome they made our team feel. I got to see the newly married Mason and Katie Shrack, which was awesome. They are helping run the junior high ministry.

I’m doing really well, more than ever I’m so excited about life and what’s in store for me. I’m sure it will all look way different then I think, but over and over our base director Ken and people like Loren Cunningham have challenged us to dream big! I’ve been trying to do that a lot lately and it’s kinda fun! Another thing that I was challenged with from a guy who is the YWAM director here in Australia for Rescue Net, an ministry that goes in 24-48 hours after a disaster, and sets up immediate medical relief. The guy is a hero, he has been all over the world and in the brokenness of the worlds worst disasters, from Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, Katrina, and just recently Haiti. Our team had the amazing opportunity to hear from Mark, as he arrived back home to Ausie after his time in Haiti. He explained how broken and devastating Haiti really is. But with tears in his eyes he looked at a group of 11 young people and said these words, “Do what you are called to do and do it well, Do it bloody well cause the world needs you.”

His words have echoed in my head for the last few days as a reminder that life is short, and we don’t know what is in store, but that we all, yes even you reading this blog have the opportunity to make a difference. So to do well what your called to do. Whether that is a teacher, a Mother/Father, business man, bus driver, custodian. We all can impact this world. There is so much more to tell but that gives you a bit to chew on. I appreciate all of you! I miss each of you and hope your doing well!

Jason

Great Aussie Day!

2010-01-27T04:16:00.002-07:00

Our team was really fortunate to be in Australia's capitol city, Canberra, for Australia Day! It reminded me of my favorite memories from Monument's 4th of July parades followed up with fireworks at Jason's house in Palmer Lake. Classic!

Anyways, Australian's really have some strong nationalism. I love the way everyone takes the day off, and celebrates their country. I'm realizing that this is a very rare thing in the world, as not many countries take a whole day off to celebrate their independence, or even their culture. Go Australia! Go America!

I heard Jason's team went down to Sydney Harbor for fireworks and festivities, which I'm sure was epic. Our team went downtown to a park where about five thousand people gathered for the infamous & free Great Aussie Day Breakfast--sausage, coffee and fruit! There's my buddies, Timmy and Alfredo on the right...

Later in the evening, we returned to the downtown where about ten thousand gathered for live bands (singing American classics), food and fireworks! I live for these events! It felt like home. Our team has spent each day out on the streets (and grass) evangelizing. I have some really great stories so far, but it's also been very challenging! Please pray for our team. This weekend, we will be going to churches promoting the Ship Tour.

Loren and Darlene Cunningham

2010-01-22T03:24:00.002-07:00

Jason and I had the incredible privilege of hearing from both Loren and Darlene Cunningham this week. It's hard to describe in words the impact their lectures had on us! If you're not familiar with them, Loren started YWAM exactly 50 years ago, and is considered a father of the faith. He is good friends with Oral Roberts and Billy Graham and shared several stories of their time together in the past.

Their stories of ministry over the past 50 years are simply amazing. Loren is a great story teller. I felt like I was listening to a grandfather telling radical stories of God's work in and through their lives. Darlene has a smile that will melt your heart. I held back tears when she began to share stories of God's faithfulness in their family's lives over the years. One time the Lord provided $5 for their daughter to have school supplies, and another time the Lord provided $5,200,000 for certain YWAM need. Jason even confessed to shedding tears. Their is such a richness to Loren and Darlene. They have life to the full!

The Infamous Parkes Dish

2010-01-17T02:46:00.000-07:00

Our team stumbled upon a special site of American history the other day. Who would have thought anything significant could come out of middle-of-nowhere Parkes, Australia?

Parkes is a farming town in southern hemisphere of the continent. Its climate is much cooler than Townsville, and the dry air reminds me of home! This place is also the hometown of Ken Mulligan, our base director (picture below). For the last day and a half, our team of 43 has stayed with his family and friends in the community. It’s the first time in over 20 years the Ken has been able to bring any DTS students or staff to his home, so we celebrated on Sunday night with a great big family style barbeque. It was really special!

On Sunday afternoon, we drove past the farms in the area until we arrived at an enormous satellite dish. It turns out this dish is famous for broadcasting the moment when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on July 21^st, 1969. Apparently there were three satellite dishes that were initially picking up pictures of the moon’s broadcast, but after 8 minutes in, Houston control station switched to the Parkes dish which had the clearest shot of the moon for the two and a half hour broadcast. Remember the famous words, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind?” You can thank the Parkes dish in Australia for capturing that moment. Cool eh? And random…

Thoughts on road trips...

2010-01-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our team of 43 students and staff is currently driving down the Australian coast in four team vans pulling trailers. The vans were freshly detailed last week, and I even got to help with the classy, new sign job. We’re rollin’ in style

The destination for our road trip is Ywam’s 50^th Anniversary Jubilee in Canberra. This distance from Townsville to Canberra is comparable to driving from the middle of North Dakota to the middle of Texas, and Jason and I are driving a significant portion of the four-day trip. Without a doubt, this is the longest road trip of my 24 years of existence. It reminds me of a few other great ones in my life! Here is a list of my top 10 all time favorite road trips:

Delivering the PING Robot (2008). From Boulder, CO to Phoenix, AZ. After spending the entire school year construction the infamous PING golf putter pendulum, my team of five guys rented a van and trekked down to Ping’s facility in Arizona to set it up for testing. I consider that project one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

Black Hills Journey (2009). From Monument, CO to Deadwood, SD. Using Stefan’s Black Lightning, Stefan and I headed to South Dakota to spend a week with Jenna’s family. The whole trip could not have gone better; and we were treated like kings at the Jones’s home. Seeing Mt. Rushmore was nice.

Moving Jimmy to California…and then back home (2008/09). From: Boulder, CO to San Jose, CA and then Monument, CO. I’m glad Jimmy and his family came to their senses and moved back home to Colorado after spending a year in California. I feel honored to have accompanied him on both trips!

Ascent Conference with the Annex (2006). From: Boulder, CO to Seattle, WA. Major wars and epic pranks happened when we piled 66 Annex students into several 12-seater vans and traveled to Seattle. I particularly enjoyed having Bryon alongside to wreak havoc on opposing vans.

California Spring Break Trip (2006). From: Boulder, CO to Los Angeles, CA. Stefan, Justin and I took the Black Lightning (Stefan’s Honda Civic-although it was green at the time) to California to spend a week with Jared Lincoln and friends at Azusa Pacific.

Family Caravans to Table Rock Lake (2005/06/07). From: Monument, CO to Branson, MO. Jason joined my family three times in making this 2-day trek. We mastered making the backseat of my dad’s F-250 into a movie theater. One of my highlights is when the caravan of families stop for dinner at KC Masterpiece right outside Kansas City. It’s tradition!

New Orleans Missions Trips (2008/09). From Monument, CO to New Orleans, LA. I have done this trip two times and now consider Zach Weingartner a modern day hero for pulling off such long days of driving with virtually no sleep. Plus, I have a new appreciation of sunflower seeds from these trips.

Buffs Bowl Game (2008). From Denver, CO to Shreveport, LA. This has to go down as one of the most epic adventures in my life! Jason, Tom, Jon, Jeremy, Brooks, Kaylee, Tori and I drove 17 hours to Shreveport, stayed in a motel, woke up 6 hours later, spent the day in the town, watched the Buffs lose to Alabama, and then immediately got back in the cars and drove 18 hours back home. We left on a Saturday morning and returned by Monday night, spending a total of 35 hours on the road, and 23 hours on the ground. Did I mention I’m a diehard Buffs fan?

Medieval Times Trip (2008). From Monument, CO to Dallas, TX. Bryon, Stefan, Matt Stark and I got comfy in Stefan’s Black Lightning and cruised to Dallas for the sole purpose of going to Medieval Times, a sweet renaissance dinner show! My favorite part was buying awesomely lame cowboys shirt at Wal-Mart in Pueblo, wearing them all weekend, and then returning them for a full refund on our way home. Oh, and accidentally sneaking into a catered party at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth was pretty fun too!

The Amazing Australian Coast Tour (2010). From Townsville, AUS to Canberra, AUS. Just by the shear distance of this trip, it ranks top of my list at the moment. I’ll never forget this one. Ever.

Bringing in the New Year. Hooray 2010!

2009-12-31T19:20:00.005-07:00

I made it to 2010! My entrance into the new decade was wild... I spent several hours in a prayer room on base with some friends talking about theology, and other crazy ideas that we have learned as a team throughout our lectures. We were so engaged in conversation that we didn't even notice the clock hit midnight! Wild huh? Well to celebrate, I decided to go back to my flat, and wake Jason up (notice I had to "wake" Jason up? He's getting old...) Anyways, I walked into his dark room, found his bed, and in perfect unison... I yelled "Happy New Yeeeaaarrr" while raising my arm to slap him in the chest! Well, I did indeed slap him, but since it was dark, I may have missed. Let's just say that he curled into the fetal position and let out a moan. I'm sorry Jason. But that's what you get for not making it to midnight.

One year ago, I spent New Year's eve with Jimmy in San Jose. We sipped a fine beverage, and smoked a fine cigar. I knew I had a lot to look forward to in the year 2009. But I really never imaged that I would spend the next New Year's eve in a Ywam room in Australia! During 2009, I experienced some great things. I graduated from the University of Colorado with a Mechanical Engineering degree, which was a huge personal accomplishment. Also, I got to work at a fantastic summer camp in Estes Park, serving as a sports coordinator. I met incredible people had made great memories. Then, Jason and I embarked on the greatest adventure of our lives to date. We packed our bags in faith, and traveled here to Australia. Our time has been everything we could have ever hoped for; full of adventure, learning and experiences that will never be taken away! I'm so thankful to be here.

Now I look forward to 2010. I feel confident more great things are on the horizon! I'm really looking forward to the outreach phase of my DTS. Our team will travel down the coast of Australia to Canberra to listen to Loren Cunningham speak. Then, we will travel to Sydney, New Castle, and other larger cities to promote the Ship Tour (http://www.ywamships.org/), hang out with youth groups, speak at churches, and evangelize to the city. Should be epic! I'm also looking forward to returning to Colorado in March; this time with more passion and purpose than ever before. I'm especially looking forward to getting a rock climbing membership, playing indoor soccer, and possibly getting a few snowboarding trips in! Oh, and getting a job too.

I'm excited for the new year. I think Jason is too... despite the rude awakening that I gave him last night. Much Love

Song Recommendations from Matt

2009-12-28T02:41:00.004-07:00

Here are a couple of amazing worship songs that I suggest you purchase on iTunes, or watch on YouTube:

1. Your Love Never Changes by Jesus Culture
2. Let Heaven Shout by Kristene Mueller.

Both are so good, and if you knew what was good for you, you would download both of these immediately. Also, I just uploaded 90 pictures from my PNG trip onto Facebook. Check 'em out! Much Love.

Photos!!!

2009-12-25T05:19:00.006-07:00

Hey Everybody!!

I have a Christmas Gift for you!! If you want to see my favorite 82 Pictures from PNG!!

Click the Link below, and then click the button in the bottom left side that says slideshow and enjoy!

http://gallery.me.com/jason.phillips#100180

Enjoy and Merry Christmas to you all! Love you and miss you!

Jason

PNG, Stay Left Right Turns, and 90 degree White Xmas

2009-12-19T20:15:00.006-07:00

Hokay!

So gather around boys and girls for Jason's Story time. I have much to tell, and seeing that its five days until Christmas there is no better time to get a cup of Wassel (Shout out to Palmer Lake) and read some PNG, Ausie stories!

First things first. PNG. It's hard to put into words. But using the best word invented, and to make my Uncle Lars proud, it was AWESOME! Flying into Geroka, I was looking out the window of our tiny little plane, and my mouth dropped! Holy crap I thought to myself this place is so freaking pretty! We landed the plane, and after getting out and picking our bags up at baggage claim, which was a big table on the side of the run way, I looked around, the air was fresh, crisp, it was cool, everything was green, giant pine trees! Tears filled my eyes as I said, "God this is where I belong!" And that was just the first ten Minutes!

Our three weeks was really encouraging, we spent a lot of time in small little villages, that had no running water, or electricity, we would sleep in the typical, Highland Round hut, which are big circular huts, with a fire pit in the middle. Every village we went to went above and beyond with welcoming us. There was lots of dancing, and singing, and feasting. It was so special! The people of PNG are so beautiful, have such wonderful hearts! The message I found myself saying over and over again, was how special all of them were, and how much they have to offer not only the people around them but the entire world! Telling them there was something incredibly special about their country and them as a people!

There were so many moments throughout the three weeks, that I turned to my team and said, oh my gosh I feel like I'm in the middle of a movie right now! Haha one village we walked to had an actual real life tree house! How cool is that, we all kept saying, um are we in Never Never land! Where is Peter Pan? Or Froto from the Lord of the rings?

Because the Land is so fertile in PNG the people, aren't starving, which is great. However they are still incredibly poor. There is major needs for education and health care within the country, which made us excited about the efforts kicking off with the Australia PNG ship tour! Because thats a huge focus.

Overall the trip was extremely humbling, encouraging, and so special. My team did amazing and I really felt like I grew a ton during the time!

Being back in Australia has been good, Matt and I have really been missing Colorado for Christmas, we had a strange experience last weekend, when we went down to the beach. The city put on a huge Christmas Carol event, so here Matt and I are showering on the beach, the ocean on one side, Palm trees above, with 10,000 people singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" It was a bit strange.

As Matt mentioned the two of us got our sweet Australian Drivers License. My first drive was a bit terrifying, I was as Matt said, thrown to the wolves for my first right turn. Lets just say, with the shifting being with the opposite hand, turing the windshield whippers on full blast instead of the turn signal, and having to take a right turn while driving on the left side of the road, ended up with me, driving on the wrong side of the road!!! My driving instructor Whato calmly said, woah woah woah, and I veered back over into my lane. Haha but all is safe, and I am becoming much more comfortable driving on the opposite side. Just have to keep remembering to stay wide on the right turns!

Other than that, it's hot, like really hot, like 93 degrees with awful humidity hot. Born and raised in Colorado Jason Phillips is starting to get a bit kooky with no snow and cool weather, and Christmas stuff everywhere. All that to say keep soaking up the cold, drink some delicious chai or coffee for me!

I have so much more to say and tell, but that'll do for now! Hopefully everyone is doing great! I miss all of you! So much! Life is great, and as I said in previous blogs, my time here has been so good for me, Matt and I know we are suppose to be here and learning so much!

Oh and I'm working on pictures!! They should be up soon, and I'll let you all know ASAP!

Merry Merry Christmas!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE to you all!

Aussie Driver's License

2009-12-17T04:34:00.004-07:00

Here is a picture of my sweet Aussie driver's license. Jason and I both got our licenses so that we can help drive our team vans down the coast of Australia in just 1 month for the second part of our YWAM outreach. 2500 Km. 43 teammates. 4 team vans. 3 days of driving from Townsville to Canberra. Should be a blast! Now I just need to learn how to drive on the left side of the road and get used to the drivers seat being on the right. Ask Jason how is first Aussie "right turn" worked out... LOL!

Matt's PNG Recap!

2009-12-17T03:51:00.012-07:00

It's been just under a week since returning from Papua New Guinea (PNG). On one hand, I miss spending time with my teammates and experiencing some pretty crazy cultures. But then again, it sure is nice to return to our base at Reef to Outback for the Christmas season. It's not quite like being home for the Holidays, but it will do!

My team of 10 had a terrific time in PNG. We spent one week in a village called Bereina (a 5-hr truck drive from the nation's capital, Port Moresby) where we stayed at a Pastor's house and connected great with the community. The picture above is of me playing guitar with some friends in Bereina. Our typical day consisted of walking or driving to different areas within the village and developing relationships with the people. Sometimes we would visit schools, other times we would the local hospital. By the evening, our team would prepare a "program" and present it to the village. Each program usually had testimonies, funny skits, serious dramas, worship, and a gospel message tied together. Sometimes our programs were lighthearted, and other times they were very powerful. But regardless, the PNG people were always sooo thankful for our presence. They truly are beautiful people. Below is a picture of me and Jess leading worship at a Saturday morning market in Bereina.

After our time in Bereina, we traveled to Hisiu village, a nice coconut village located right on the ocean! At Hisiu, we had a never-ending supply of coconuts and seafood. Again, the people treated us like royalty. Every meal was provided, although my stomach couldn't handle seafood by the end of the trip. We even had a formal tribal dance with all the people in the village on the last night! The elders of the community sang "prophet songs" (honoring the prophets of the Old Testament) and the younger community dressed up in grass skirts, face-paint, and flower crowns and taught us some ceremonial dances. It was probably the craziest and most bizarre night of my entire life! At one point, a man came up to me and pulled out a a small bag filled with a white, powdery substance. I thought, "Oh No! We are about to take drugs together!" But to my relief, it was only baby powder, and he wiped it on my face for some reason that I never discovered... Anyways, I couldn't help but laugh out loud several times that night and think to myself, "What am I doing with my life!" Below is a picture of our team that night.

By the end of the trip, our team ministered to over 5,000 Papua New Guineans, and saw about 100 dedicate (or re-dedicate) their lives to Christ! But even more special was the connections we developed, and the people that we got to pray for. At the end of our time in both villages, lines of people would come shake our hands, and most woman would be crying. One lady even commended our team for doing our dishes after every meal! She said that a common stereotype among the PNG people is that white people don't know how to do dishes... Um you can insert your own funny comment here...

This missions trip was unlike any I had ever been on! But as I mentioned, it's wonderful to be back "home" to our Reef to Outback base. I have to hand it to the staff here, because they know how to celebrate Christmas. We have a party every other night it seems like! This is very good, because I'm starting to miss family/friends right now more than ever. Love you all!

-matt

PNG! Here we go...

2009-11-22T04:53:00.002-07:00

In just a couple minutes, our entire team will be headed on a Greyhound bus to Cairns, Australia. From there, we will fly to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Our individual teams will disperse to different locations within PNG. We will return on December 10th.

Pray for: Team Unity, Good Attitudes, Freedom

Love you family and friends. Can't wait to share stories.

Goroka! Goroka! Goroka!

2009-10-30T21:36:00.009-06:00

Good day Mates! Jason Here.

As Matt has informed you, We have our outreach locations! Hip Hip Horay! So I'll be heading to Goroka, Papa New Guniea in about 3 weeks, I'll then come back to Townsville for a few weeks and then head down the Australian coast promoting the YWAM ship tour. But let me tell you what I know so far about Goroka! Basically if there was a outreach location that was made for Jason Phillips it would be Goroka!

Goroka is located in the Eastern Highlands Providence. The above is a picture of it! Sounds a lot like Boulder, they were in the Guinness Book of world records for having the best climate in the world! The temperature doesn't reach above 78 degrees all year!! Sweet! An afternoon rain shower is pretty common. Goroka is known around the world for there coffee, and they host the annual PNG coffee festival every year.

So lets review... Perfect weather... Mountains... Coffee... and an awesome team! Sounds like a dream come true to me!

So were still figuring out what exactly we will be doing there. We will be working close with a YWAMer there who used to be a full time Doctor, but decided to retire from that and help people in PNG instead, he really wants to build a YWAM base in Goroka. Along with helping him we will be visiting hospitals, local churches, doing dramas, and visiting high schools, and much more.

So the team! There are 11 of us on this trip! Seriously quality people to the max.

Our fearless leaders: Amelia and Aiden (Amelia second row far right Aiden, far back center)

Bottom Row left to right (Hannah, Kena, Carah Vicki, Casen)

2nd Row ( Desiree, Joel, Abbie,Aiden, Me, Amelia)

If your reading this blog it probably means you care a lot about what Matt and I are doing! I would really appreciate you praying for our team! Here are some specifics! Pray that we would have unity, that we wouldn't show up with our agenda but instead for hearts ready to serve and love wherever the need, and that relationships would form with the local people in PMG!

In addition to that team, I get to be apart of another sweet opportunity, one of our DTS staff found out that I have a passion for photography, Matt and I get to actually be part of a team that will help capture and design a creative arts exhibit that will tour with the boat and will give people a glimpse into the lives and needs of people in PMG. Basically wherever the ship is there will be a cool interactive exhibit with cool pictures, and stories, to try and engage people into joining the cause! I'm way excited about this! It's always been a dream of mine to capture what God is doing around the world and do it in a way that will inspire people to make a difference. Looks like I get my chance at that!

Lastly, I to am raising support for this trip! Right now I need 1200 buckeroos! If you want to chip in to make this happen, that's awesome. If not, totally fine I still love you like crazy!

If you do want to donate its fast and easy, just click on the link below and it will take you to the school web page, or you can mail a check to my folks and they will get it in my account.

Click Here to Donate online. or Write a check to

Jason Phillips

P.O. Box 1085

Palmer Lake, CO 80133

Hope everyone is doing well! I keep telling Matt we need an 8th day so I can stay caught up on stuff, one of those being keeping in better contact with all my friends and family at home. Missing all you guys!

Love Love Love

Jason

Port Moresby...Here I come!

2009-10-29T01:26:00.000-06:00

Hey Wonderful Family & Friends,

I just want to give you a quick update on my outreach information. Recently, our entire school learned some exciting new news including our exact outreach destinations, and even our smaller teams that we will be traveling with!

In just one month, I will be headed to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG)! You've heard of it right!? Well let me give you a couple Port Moresby fun facts!

First of all, Port Moresby is the closest major city to Townsville, but you have to take a plane to cross the Torres Straight to get there. Port Moresby, also the capital of PNG, is one of the world's "least livable cities" (ranking 137 out of 140 cities). It has a population of over 250,000 people, and our team will be there in one month.

The picture above is my team. From left to right: Emma, Me, Alfredo, Katy, Britney, Timmy, Jess, Helen (team leader), Melinda & Amanda. We will be doing construction, speaking at churches, doing dramas and sharing the Gospel for three weeks. If you would like to be apart of sending our team out, then here are some specific prayer requests. Pray for: team unity, passion for the people of PNG & desire to serve.

I'm raising financial support to make this trip possible. I need $2500 to come in over the next month to cover the cost of outreach. It's taking a tremendous amount of faith to see how God will provide for me, but I'm completely trusting in his provisions. If you are willing and able to help, then please write a check to GREATCOM (tax-deductible) and send it to my family's address:

Matt Howard
19420 Aspenwood Dr.
Monument, CO 80132

If you aren't able to financially support me, that's okay! I would love it if you continued to check my blog and pray for my team. Your encouragement means the world to me.

Sincerely,
Matt

Grab some popcorn. Take a seat. Watch the Ship Tour video.

2009-10-29T01:01:00.002-06:00

Our crazy team!

2009-10-28T21:58:00.003-06:00

Here is a picture of our sweet-az team! P.S. Aussies usually add "-az" to the end of most emphatic statements because it's the cool thing to do! Try it.. you can be cool too! Isn't that tight-az?!! Jason is on the left, and I'm in the far back. We are awesome-az.

The moment we've all been waiting for!

2009-10-21T03:13:00.007-06:00

OUTREACH UPDATE

Reef to Outback (our YWAM base in Townsville) has a unique opportunity coming up in 2010! Using newly-acquired 110 ft. ship, YWAM will be working to provide medical services and inspire the youth of Australia to reach out and make a difference in Papau New Guinea, a country directly north of Australia. The YWAM Ship Tour will be unveiled soon, and our team will be apart of it!

Our team of 37 will leave in about 1 month for Papau New Guinea (PNG). It's supposed to be a truly indigenous country; some tribes have never seen a white boy in their life! We will serve in villages around PNG, perform dramas and share the value of Christ. After 3 weeks in PNG, we will return back to our base for another month of lectures. After celebrating Christmas with the staff at our base, we will prepare for the finale of our DTS.

Starting in January, the entire team will road trip down the entire east coast of Australia until we hit Canberra, which is down south near Sydney (also the capital of Australia). Why Canberra you ask? Well, YWAM is celebrating its 50th anniversary in late January, and we will be there to party with DTS's from all around Australia. Loren Cunningham will be there! HE ONLY FOUNDED YWAM! No big deal... At that point, our team will go port hopping, joining the Ship Tour at different ports on the coast of Australia to do medical missions and also to inspire the Aussie youth to make something of their lives.

What an outreach, right!? Our team could not be more excited about the news. God continues to blow our expectations out of the water. We are so pumped, for so many reasons. From day one we have seen and heard the heart beat of our base, led by Ken Mulligan, the director of our base. The Ship Tour is such an extraordinary opportunity to learn & grow in our faith, and to serve & love those around us. Check out this website for more information and a fantastic video found on the home page!

www.ywamships.org

We will be sending out more information at the end of the week with more details on the outreach, and for ways that YOU can be involved.

Love you all. M & J

Wanna see my Aussie Crib?

2009-10-20T03:10:00.005-06:00

Here is a picture of our "flat" that all the fellas sleep in. I took the picture yesterday afternoon during sunset. Not too shabby eh?

Please let me try to explain some of the great happenings out here in the DOWN UNDER. So far, I have learned that the base here in Townsville is remarkable. The staff here is grounded. I appreciate that. They are true leaders. Not whimpy spiritual people... real men and women of God. That is good. Our team leader, Buddy, is 26, and has the spiritual maturity of most elders in the church. Of course he is humble too, so he wouldn't admit that. But our team has responded great to his leadership. The team is growing in unity as well. We are being challenged deeply during our lectures. My journal is already 6 pages long, full of scribbled notes and Scripture. Essentially, we are being stretched, challenged, humbled, and mostly... SO EXCITED FOR WHAT'S NEXT!

Stay tuned, in the next few days we will announce all the details about our outreach locations! It will be unlike any other DTS that YWAM runs...

Interesting fact of the day: I have seen wild kangaroo in the outskirts of Townsville, and I have also eaten Kangaroo Kabobs. Cool!

Fresh Bread, Neon Vests, and A TIM TAM SLAM

2009-10-16T00:36:00.003-06:00

Hello my people!!! Oh how Matt and I miss you all. A few days ago I showed him a picture Alex emailed me of her and Matt's sister Brooke working together at the Dermatology clinic. Matt ripped the phone out of my hand and put it to his heart, made the saddest looking puppy face I have ever witnessed and then began to let out a whimper. That's right Matt Howard is a wimpererrrrr (sp?) I am too when it comes to missing all my friends and family back at home. Don't get me wrong, life is pretty swell down here, were not complaining, just know that you are all missed!! Ok that's enough sappy stuff. On to more deep spiritual things!

For instance, an interaction I had with a local Ausie in the Mall. It was Sunday evening, hot, we had escaped to the mall which is a ten minute walk down the road. Matt and I were on a search for various items, towels, shampoo, etc. Anyhow, I saw the local baker shop throwing all of his loaves of bread into a large trash bag. I ran across the mall, literally ran. And grabbed a few pieces of loaves off his shelf, and said. Why are you throwing these away! Its perfectly good bread! Turns out he wasn't throwing them away, and a lady popped her head up and asked if I would like to buy them. I said no thanks and walked away feeling like a doofus! Awkward!!

Some, turns out moments...

Turns out Scottish people sound exactly like the people in Braveheart... go figure.

... the people from England really do drink tea, all the time. Matt is slowly caving in. I on the other hand have officially made my way to the dark side. A straight up black cup of coffee no longer taste like dirt, its just pure goodness. And helps me stay awake after my olympic run and workouts at 6:00 in the morning.

... I learned you don't stare too long at Ausie men dressed in funny looking neon yellow vests while in their cars, or they will really angrily tell you to eff off and give you the middle finger. Yet another awkward interaction.

... They have this crazy contraption drink thing called a Tim Tam Slam. You bite off two corner ends of a piece of chocolate that is hollow inside, you then dip it in coffee and quickly drink through it, then drop the entire thing in your mouth and it melts. Its quite delicious. So I finally had the opportunity to try one during morning tea! I nailed it perfect. I was so pumped that I threw my hands in the air and yelled! Yes I just did a CAR BOMB!!! I quickly realized when everyone's eyes lit up, that I had yelled the wrong drink. Oh dear... haha

In all seriousness its been great. Being around people all the time is taking a little bit of getting used to. But it helps that everyone really are Rockstars. My team is awesome, and continue to be blown away by the leadership. I have been learning a lot. Mostly that God is faithful, that His love really can change lives, and go figure that the Bible has some pretty cool stuff in it!

Well... I'll do a TIM TAM SLAM for all ya all's back home! love love love

5:45am Wakeup calls and 10:30am Morning Tea

2009-10-15T02:54:00.003-06:00

This picture is take from inside our auditorium on base. Every Wednesday morning we have staff and student worship. This week the theme was to run the God with childlike faith as pointed out in Matthew 18:3-6. In these verses, Jesus says that "whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven." So we grabbed balloons and bubbles and worshiped as a team! At one point, I was kneeling on the ground when a little child from a family on staff ran up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder and said, "bubb-o?" Then he handed me some bubbles and I happily joined him in blowing bubbles! Cool experience. Try it sometime. Oh, and that's Justin Claypool leading worship in the background. He's a good man. It's great seeing him everyday around base!

Here is something that our team is working on adjusting to... 5:45am wake up calls! Yep, that's right. Everyday our team meets on the porch of the base at 6am for exercise. We can run, walk, play at the playground, do push ups, sit ups, or whatever we like, just as long as we're exercising for 30 minutes to start the day. Our team leader, Buddy, is a big believer in getting up early and creating a discipline of working out so that we can also make alone time with God in the morning. I'm proud to say that today (the first day of workouts) was quite easy considering Jason and I are coming from 7,000 ft elevation. In the mid-morning of each day, we do something much more enjoyable though. We have "tea-time" and drink tea/coffee, and eat biscuits/oranges every single morning for 15 minutes. It's a nice break each day.

So today I found myself missing my days (and friends) at Camp Timberline a lot. That happens occasionally! I volunteered for the maintenance team here on base since we are all required to do "work duties". Today, our maintenance team of four guys worked on detailing one of the camp vans. We scrubbed down the outside, cleaned the windows, mopped the floor, and armor-all'd the seats. It was hot, tiring, and very humbling. Sometime in the middle of mopping the floor inside the roasting van I thought about our maintenance team at camp this summer and remembered how much hard work they put into each day. People like Mike Lamb come to mind. He worked his butt off, served faithfully, and did it with the best attitude in the world. Note to self: Be like Mike! Anyways, everyday from 3-5pm our team will work around the base and put in some good hard work hours. We will be working on remodeling a room on base, cleaning and detailing our six camp vehicles, and all sorts of other daily tasks. Should be fun, eh? And humbling...

2009-10-12T04:10:00.002-06:00

Ah don't we look so nice? This is us right outside the Brisbane YWAM base (which is NOT our base). We only stayed there one night on our layover between California and Townsville. Each backpack is a solid 50 lbs., and our little bags are deceivingly heavy. Plus the guitars? Wow! We walked 6 blocks from the base to the Brisbane train station and then another 10 miles from the train to the Airport. That's an exaggeration. But we shed some tears of pain.

Crazy Indian Chanting

2009-10-12T03:14:00.003-06:00

So this morning, our DTS team was working on some team building exercises. One of the tasks was to break into groups of three and act out one of our YWAM core values. Jason's group selected the core value known as "Value the Individual". Picture this! Their skit started out with a girl playing guitar up front, and a very...well... jolly Kiwi named Selena singing a traditional praise song.

Then all of sudden, Jason came bursting into the room holding two glass bottles, one in each hand. He had long strands of toilet paper hanging from each one as if to mock those charasmatic people who dance with streamers in worship (c'mon, you know the ones!). He danced around for a moment, and then let out the most unbelievably outrageous shout I've ever heard in my life; a combination of yelping seal and Native American warcry! He pranced around for a while and continued to loudly worship and twirl his cute streamers, clearly annoying the simple worship song. It was hilarious, the whole team was laughing so hard. Then Selena delivered the punchline to the guitar player, "You mean I'm supposed to respect this individual?" Unbelievable. Jason at his finest!

The picture above is taken right outside our base. The facilities are clean and organized. They have the highest standards at our location. It's aparent that the organization pays attention to detail and expects the best from the staff and students alike. Our team leader is truly amazing. His name is Buddy, and he is originally from New Zealand. He has staffed 7 DTS's (ours is the 3rd he has led). He has a great feel for our team, he leads us effectively and is a great communicator. I appreciate all those qualities about him. Tonight, Jason and I ate dinner with Buddy, as well as Justin and Amanda Claypool. Justin works in the communication department here on base and went to Liberty High School in Colorado Springs. I met him WAY back in the day through a common friend. It's fun to see him now and see how God has impacted his life and even brought a baby his way!

Fun facts so far:
1. Australian currency is made of plastic. The bills are waterproof and virtually indestructable. Great for surfing.
2. New Zealanders refer to Titty Twisters as "Nipple Gripples". They had never heard of a "Titty Twisters" and got a good laugh out of it!
3. Shampoo is rediculously expensive. I refuse to buy a small bottle of shampoo for $5.99! I won't do it. Hair might not be washed in 6 months...

That's all for now. Love you all!

Made it to Townsville: Hanging out at our YWAM Base!

2009-10-10T19:59:00.003-06:00

So you might ask... What is the first thing that a couple of YWAMers do once they arrive on base? Well, Jason and I have downloaded the Buffs game and are watching it online! Typical right?

We arrived late last night into Townsville after a smooth flight from Brisbane. The temperature is warmer, and the town is nice. When we stepped off the plane, three members of our team staff were there to greet us. We headed to our base and realized right away, we made the right choice!

First of all, the July DTS group is still here on base. That means that their are nearly 70 students here at the same time (our team is approximately 37 students--a few are still waiting for Visa confirmations). The base is truly amazing and their is so much energy here right now. When we got to our base, we met DTS students, staff members, and a bunch of kids from all over the Townsville area. Every Saturday night, our base has Youth Street. They invite the youth from the town over for worship, games, food & just loads of fun. I'm getting the impression that our DTS is very focused on reaching youngsters. I'm stoked for that, considering I spent the last 4 months working at summer camp! The prototypical Aussie boy wears vans, skinny jeans (skinnies), a baggy shirt (tall tee), and a hat that covers a mop of hair. Oh, and he skate boards everywhere! I do not skate board and I will never wear skinnies. I need to find some way to fit in here. HA!

Currently, Jason and I are killing time while we wait around for our first team meeting. The beach is too far away to walk right now. Otherwise we'd certainly be there. We're sleeping in a flat right off base. I'm in a room with 9 other guys, and Jason is in a separate room with 1 other fella. Wonder how he pulled that off! In his words, "God likes him more." Oh well. Anyways, the picture at the top right is one of Jason, myself, and our friend Nate who is currently a student on the July DTS. We get to spend one week with him before he heads off on his outreach which is to other parts of Australia. He seems really happy that he is here. He clearly has had the best three months of his life so far! God is really teaching him some great things.

Bottom line. We're glad to finally be here. It's nice to finally unpack some clothes and meet people that we will be spending a lot of time with. Time for lunch and a quick run to the mall to buy toiletries, towels, etc.

Brisbane, Australia: We made it!

2009-10-08T19:14:00.007-06:00

After eating a great deal of In-N-Out, surfing in San Diego, watching sunsets, and being spoiled by our friend Mark Johnson, Matt and I hopped on a plane from LAX and headed down under!

We are officially safe and sound in Brisbane, Australia. Right now, Matt and I are sitting at a downtown Starbucks which is my safe place.

On the plane, Matt seemed thrilled about his new iPod. He spent some time with the big man and listened to worship music, read his bible and wrote in his journal. I, on the other hand, slipped away and drank a double Jack & Coke right before the flight and then laughed my butt off while watching The Proposal.

After an amazing sunrise, we landed like a feather in Brisbane. Since our ultimate destination is Townsville (a 2-hr plane ride North of Brisbane), we contemplated what to do in Brisbane to kill a full day layover. After customs, I immediately grabbed a Latte, while Matt read about deadly snakes. Our original plan was to stay in a hostel and bum around downtown, but all of sudden I spotted a guy holding a YWAM sign (YWAM is the discipleship school that Matt & I will be partnering with in Townsville). That's when things got interesting!

Matt was away grabbing money from an ATM, so I was left with a hefty decision: leave our luggage and track down the guy, or continue to supervise like Matt told me. I made the responsible decision. I jumped out of my chair and left the luggage behind! Of course I had my eye on it the whole time, but I made my way to the guy holding the sign and asked if we could stay at their base. Sure enough, we will be staying at the lovely Brisbane YWAM tonight and enjoying dinner with their team! How cool is that? This is a great reminder to us that God's got his hand on our trip!

Jason and Matt's Top Ten Miss list!

2009-10-01T14:04:00.011-06:00

Jason

Family
Girlfriend
All my peeps
Chipotle
Starbucks
Mountains with Snow
Comfy Bed and Teddy Bear
LOST parties
Room with Jeff Davenport
Pearl Street Mall

Matt

Mom & Dad. free rent, free love
Brooke Noel Howard a lot!
Stefan Hagen
In N Out's double double
Starbucks..... NOT
Bryon Stark
Jenna Jones
Boulder and Camp Timberline
Tommy Parrott
Jimmy and River Lakey

The down low on the down under

2009-09-24T13:36:00.004-06:00

WHY: A corner desk? A cup of coffee? A morning meeting? Maybe one day... but not today! Jason and I are stoked about our upcoming adventure. We are excited to experience new cultures, meet cool people from all over the world, and probably even run away from deadly snakes. Yikes!

WHAT: On October 12th, 2009, the journey officially begins. We'll depart for Townsville, Australia and link arms with a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. For three months, we'll grow in our faith, serve the youth in the community, and prepare for our outreach to neighboring countries.

PURPOSE: We're 24 years old and eager to learn. We're passionate about making a difference in the world. We're excited about the opportunities that the Lord has put in our life! The time is right now to encourage and love people around the world.