So this past week I got the opportunity to experience my first ever cyclone! Category 5 and apparently the size of Texas, cyclone Yasi hit the Queensland coast on Wednesday night of this week. I must be honest, I was quite nervous but unsure of what to expect as we had a cyclone warning (Cyclone Anthony) a few days before and hardly got any rain. Some people were scared and some were not too concerned so I had no idea what to expect. On Wednesday, we began preparing for the storm, bringing loose objects from outside (like lawn chairs) indoors, taping windows to keep help stop the wind from shattering them, and stocking up on water in big jugs. We moved out of our house and spent the night in the mission base because we didn't trust the stability of the house (it's kinda old and the walls are paper thin). So we all gathered indoors for the night at about 3 p.m. on wednesday as the storm approached. It started out with rain and strong wind and stayed that way for several hours. We lost power at about 9 p.m. and as the night progressed the winds got intensely strong. It's hard to explain the sound of the wind but it was almost like a deep, far away thunder. I went to bed at midnight curious as to what I would wake up to the next morning. That morning we were allowed outside by about 10 a.m. It was still windy and rainy but nothing compared to the night before. As we explored around town to see the extent of the damage, it looked like what you see on t.v. on a news report, almost surreal. The building across the street lost a wall, trees were down everywhere, signs blown off, trees that hadn't been blown over were still tilting in the direction of the wind as if they were frozen in time. Sand had blown off the beach covering the streets. Huge trees blocked off roads and power lines were strewn across lawns and streets. Yet in the midst of this, there was minimal structural damage to the buildings and houses around town, and for all of the trees that blew over it had to be a miracle that they didn't blow into houses and smash cars. God truly protected us during this massive storm, when the worst was expected. There has been worse damage up north, so please continue to pray for the families that have been more greatly affected by this cyclone. Also pray that as we help others clean up their yards in the community that it would be an opportunity to share God's love and salvation with them.
A quick update on the Discipleship Training School I am staffing, we are entering week 4 of lectures, and preparing to go on outreach in 6 weeks. The lecture topics so far have been Hearing God's Voice, Clear Conscience, and Identity in Christ. God has been moving amongst the students hearts, bringing freedom and healing in incredible ways. We have split up the 17 students into 2 outreach teams, one will be going to Papua New Guinea and one will be going to Thailand. I am co-leading the team to Thailand with my friend Stephanie. We have a team of 12 awesome people who I am so excited to be go to Thailand with. Please pray for me and Steph as we begin to plan what the outreach will look like. We have many opportunities offered to us and want to make the most out of the 7 weeks we are in Thailand. We are going to be planning the budget this week for our stay and ministry in Thailand. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we do this and also for a release of funds specifically for myself and Steph as we are leading the team. We both need approximately 3-4 thousand dollars for this outreach to cover travel expenses, food, transportation, accomodation, and whatever else comes along the journey. Thank you all so much for your prayers!!!
