First, let me say that I wrote this yesterday (I'll probably write about today tonight or something but this is just the journey part of it and what life is like here):

Where to start… it’s been a long journey and so much has happened! The trip all together was like 28-30 hours (I kind of lost track after a while). At first, it was so hard. I was way emotional and Satan was just attacking me with a ton of fear of the unknown- I text a couple of people and finally on the way from Chicago to San Francisco spent some real time with God and begged Him for an overwhelming peace and comfort. After a while, I begin to feel less afraid and more calm. Then from San Francisco to Sydney, I slept maybe 10 hours total! (Which was such an answer to prayer!) Everything went so smoothly from there…. I was kind of delirious when I got there, but I made it through customs and found everyone there waiting at the airport. I was immediately so welcomed and a one girl in my DTS was actually on 2 of my flights!!

Ok so here’s the mix…( I told most of you there were going to be 8 of us). its me, Kali from Texas (a registered nurse who graduated in May), Thea from Canada (18), Micah and Joseph from Canada (18), Mark from UK (18) and a married couple Lorenna and Ian from right here in Wollongong with 4 boys!

From the airport, we drove to Wollongong (like an hour) and got to the base finally around 1 PM… One of the coolest things so far, as soon as I walked on the base I felt the most overwhelming peace and spirit of God here in this place, like in an unreal way. I’m still learning every one’s names and who’s who right now, but there’s like 4 or so families here. The base leader and his wife have 2 kids, and then there’s another couple with 2 kids and another with 3 kids and there's more I am still meeting! … so I feel right at home like the Downtown Church (haha Kylie and DTC folks). It’s literally the greatest sense of community I’ve ever experienced already. This is such a family and just unity in this place… it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. God is already blowing me away and exceeding my imagination.

There is so much to say. Bear with me if this first post is super long (and kind of rambling because I am still slightly jet-lagged). Ok, so after we are lunch yesterday, we showered (amazing). And settled in. Our room is HUGE because its just us 3 girls in a room made for like 20… tons of storage space.. like 4 showers and 4 toilets… such a blessing!! Then after showering, we all walked to the beach—only like a 20 minute walk! Yall, it’s so beautiful.here words are not sufficient. The weather is perfect, the ocean is magnificent… just amazing to be there and see the splendor of what our God has made!

Last night we all just kind of got to know each other and hung out. The base is huge… there’s a common room with a kitchen and couches and all that where everyone just spends time together. There’s a porch with kind of an awning thing and vines growing up it and a beautiful garden. There’s all kinds of tropical birds and it’s just beautiful. There’s a huge lawn where the kids and everyone really plays cricket (something I don’t quite understand). This morning I just sat on the porch in perfect 70 degree temp. in awe of the Lord’s grace in bringing me to such a beautiful place and flooding over me with such perfect peace . (Isaiah 26:3—“he will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts you.”

Ok this morning was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. We worshipped together (the entire base) which was so cool and so free- just able to experience the spirit of God like never before which was so refreshing and so exciting!! The staff just prayed amazing prayers over our DTS group and what they had envisioned for us and there was such a sense of unity and the power of God and what he is going to bring and do through this group. I was overwhelmed with his goodness and just the presence of the Lord I haven’t felt that way in so long.

This is already more of an experience than I dreamed. I knew I was signing up for something so much bigger than me and the Lord was doing a mighty work, but I think I forgot that somewhere along the way. So now my mind is just being blown wide with what this experience is going to be!! More to come later… thank you so much for your prayers. They def. are being felt and the Lord is really working and moving and so calling me to himself in intimacy and really I guess, just doing a new thing! Praise him who is able to do incredibly more than we could ever ask or imagine!!