2 Weeks of Insanity

Well... Where to start?

I guess you could say that my first 2 weeks on the Sunshine Coast here in the OZ have been quite the roller coaster ride. It's hard to put into words what's going on but what better place to begin than the beginning I guess.

Being home for a few weeks to see my family and friends was absolutely amazing but to be honest I was ready to flee to country once again after about 48 hours. It was unbelievably hard to get back into the flow of things after being away for a while and deep in my heart I knew it wasn't time for me to be home for good quite yet. There's just been something brewing up inside me for quite a while.

Honestly, I arrived in Australia with a couple main goals - Relax and have some fun. Done and done. I thought I had grown quite a bit during my 3 months in Austria but I show up here to YWAM and BAM... Week one and God rocks my world. Scary, but in the end I just had to trust God that what he was asking me to do was going to be the best in the long run. Thinking back over the past five months is absolutely mind blowing to me. Leaving the dark place that I had put myself in back home and trusting God has taken a lot for me but has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. As I go over all the things that had to happen, the doors that had to open, and the luck I had to have I can't help but know that it's God. And let me tell you it's amazing how He blesses you when you step into His path and let Him take you for a ride. For the first time in my life I am completely content with what I am doing and where I am at. I have the opportunity to make a difference in this community that I've already fallen absolutely in love with here in Australia, what more could I ask for?

One huge thing that has been a struggle in my life is consistently dwelling on the past or looking to the future but in that I'm forgetting about today. I am finally learning what it truly means to live in today and I've honestly never been happier.

So, what does daily life look like for me here? Well, Monday-Friday we have lectures 8AM-Noon. I've gotten up a few times with some of the guys to go (try) surfing at 6AM which has been super rad. There's nothing like starting your morning out in the water while the sun is coming up. 75 degrees, sunny, and the water is unbelievably warm. We have lunch after lectures and then our afternoons are free to do whatever we want. They usually consist of going out and trying to "surf" some more or spending time in the pool at our house here. Then we have dinner at 6ish and after that our nights are free. There's 10 guy students (Even one from Portland who is super rad) and 2 guy staff living in our house. I won't lie, it's pretty epic. All the guys are absolutely amazing and seeing where we are 3 weeks in I can't even imagine how close we'll all be in 8 more weeks. I love my new family. Well, in 8 more weeks 10 of us will be leaving the Sunshine Coast and heading towards Papua New Guinea for 4 weeks and then The Philippines for 4 more weeks to do outreach and volunteer work. More info to come on this.

Well, I just wanted to update everyone and let you all know how my life is changing on a day to day basis. There's still up and downs but I'm growing so much and feel like I'm being called to step up and be a leader which is so exciting to me. People have always told me that I'm a natural born leader but I guess I've always blown it off. I've been mature and stable on the outside but still very young on the inside both spiritually and mentally. There's a lot of things that I never dealt with in my past that I'm learning to deal with now. It hasn't been easy but I know that it's for the best. This blog is just to help me deal with that.

I could use a lot of prayer for guidance as I go through these next 17 weeks. I feel like God is starting to show me what He wants for me in the future and I just cannot wait to see what's in store but I won't lie it's scary as hell. Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement, it's been amazing to have. I love you guys. God is making crazy things happen here and it's amazing. I promise that I'll update this every couple weeks to let you know what's happening!

-Der

If you've spent time overseas you know that getting mail is the most exciting thing ever so if you have any inkling to send me some mail or presents I would love you forever. Here's my address...

77 Yakola Parade
Alexandra Headland, QLD 4572
Australia

Me and some of the guys at Noosa...