Moving to Coogee

February 24, 2008

I went to Hillsong really early. It's hilarious - when I tell them I'm from Houston they FREAK OUT about Joel Osteen. "We watch him on our big screen all the time!" They are a mega church much like Lakeway, but they know that they are smaller and are so impressed with what Lakeway is doing. The worship band was very emotional and contemporary. I didn't mind it, but being Presbyterian I'm not all that comfortable waving my hands in the air and closing my eyes for 10 songs straight. Then the sermon was WONDERFUL. The guy was from the UK and very straightforward. I loved it. The end of the service was not anything I was used to - the pastor did some healing for people in the crowd that he felt had pain. He'd yell out "there are 4 people in this room with a pain in their head right here, who is it?" and then we'd pray for them. I believe in healing, it was just hard to swallow the way it was presented.

At the church I met a couple - Nikki and Ben. They both had wonderful stories and it sounds like God is really moving in their lives. They were quite enthusiastic about Hillsong, but I still don't know if it's really my place here in Sydney. After church, Hillsong sets up a coffee shop. We all chatted with some other South Africans and a guy named Tux from Zimbabwe. It's nice to see so much culture in such a small setting.

I had an exchange picnic in a local park after, and Ben and Nikki were nice enough to drop me off. My group was running a bit late, so I started talking to the park ranger. Ironically, she ALSO goes to Hillsong and had a lot of interesting opinions on being a Christian in Sydney and how the town is doing spiritually. She had seen a lot and was very concerned with drug abuse in young people. She also explained her heart for missions and how hard it was to be involved at Hillsong. I encouraged her to talk to a pastor about it. I was a little troubled that there was not anyone at Hillsong in charge of missions; instead, when the pastors decide to travel somewhere they pick out who they think is called (through their prayers) and take them with. That really bothers me growing up in a church where we are all encouraged to do missions as frequently as possible and in every possible way. Hopefully I will get to meet up with her again and hear about the progress she has made with the church.

At the picnic we walked around the most beautiful park. It was very nice in the shade, and I got to know a few other exchange students. I took a long afternoon nap and met at the Texans' house in Maroubra. We started talking about our mid-semester break (spring break) and planned almost an entire trip! It'll be from March 19 through the 30th, and we are going to Fraser Island, Brisbane, Surfer's Paradise in the Gold Coast, and Byron Bay. I'll go into more detail after it happens.

While we were chatting we decided to take a random trip to Melbourne before school starts. We're leaving the 28th and getting back around the 4th. My friend Max Mudge who lived in Kingwood 3rd through 9th grade lives there, and I'm very excited to hang out with him! It's his birthday on the 28th, so I'm sure it'll be a great time.

After planning we did a few sprints on the beach, and I got ready to move into my NEW PLACE!!!

February 25, 2008

I woke up early to move into my new place first (so I could pick the best room). No one was there!! It is SUCH a great apartment. My bed is right next to the window and I feel like I'm sleeping outside.. it's wonderful. The balcony is huge, the kitchen is really nice, and the living room has great space. Heather came in and kept me company until my roommates showed up. Two girls from Tufts are living in the other bedroom - Jennifer and Sarah. Both are Alpha Phis and psychology majors. Jennifer is from LA and Sarah is from NYC, and you can tell that they are city girls. I'm really excited because Sarah loves to cook and wants to make meals for us! How lucky am I! Sarah reminds me so much of my cousin Kari - they have the same voice and some of the same mannerisms. And she cracks me up!

Heather and I took the 2 minute walk to the beach (be very jealous!) and spent a little time there before yoga. Yoga was again, very wonderful and felt amazing. That night we came back and watched the Oscars on TV, even though a few knew all the winners and made it a bit less exciting. Our living room was packed with about 10 people, and it felt so good to have guests in my apartment!