Visa

Hey everyone,

So as many of you know, I am planning on heading back to Australia for full time missionary work with YWAM. Well, I am having some difficulties with obtaining a visa and not sure if I will be able to get it on time for the internship starting april 11. Will you please pray that God would provide my visa A.S.A.P if He wants me to go back in april and for patience for myself if He wants me to wait till July to return to the mission field. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support!! Love you all!!

Wrap up of PNG

Hey all,

So this is my last wrap up blog about PNG. I just wanted to summarize all that we did and learned. We visited about 5 different villages over the 5 1/2 weeks. We did home visits where we prayed for different people and families in their homes. We visited a hospital to pray for people and visited an elementary school to do health care checks on the kids. We did many programs which involved dramas, songs, and preaching. We each preached at least 2 times on our trip. I taught on identity in Christ as that is a passionate subject for me. We also did several kids programs which involved HUGE games of duck duck goose, goofy songs, and short teachings. We trekked throu

gh the jungle for hours, got stuck in mud almost to our knees, made sago (it's the stable food of PNG, it's basically tree bark), went fishing, spent many hours in prayer and worship, baptized about 31 individuals 27 of whom were new converts, and befriended many of God's beautiful children young and old. It was an extremely challenging experience in ways of stepping out of my comfort zone, giving up common luxuries at home that are so often taken for granted, speaking in front of people, keeping peace within our group, sweating constantly, and missing my family, however the fruit of the ministry we did was so evident through the new converts, baptisms, and just our relationships with so many dear and close friends halfway across the world. God really emphasized the importance of discipleship to me on this trip and how missions is not simply converting people but the discipleship is just as important. God also showed me how we are all equal in his eyes and I have something in common with my brothers and sisters in PNG, we both worship the same God. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity to travel to PNG and want to thank you all for your prayers and support. Keep reading my blog cuz my missionary work is just starting.

I am planning on heading out back to Australia in April to do the Staff Leadership Internship at Reef to Outback YWAM. Thanks!!

Hey Everyone!!

So this is one of my favorite stories from Papua New Guinea. My team was planning on heading out to a nearby village for 2 weeks and while we were walking to the beach our dingy (boat) driver stopped us and told us that we weren't going because the village wasn't ready for us. We were confused because our main contact was already over in the village. So we turned around and went back to our host house discouraged as this was the second time we had planned to leave for a village but something stopped us. We went back to our house, set up our mosquito nets again and brainstormed as to what we could do that day. We decided that we would go to the hospital down the road and pray for people. There were 3 pregnant women we prayed for, one had walked a very long distance to give birth at that hospital, one was having complications because the baby was turned the wrong way, and one was 5 weeks over due. We prayed for each woman individually and then went back to our host home. The next morning we found out that ALL 3 babies were born that evening!! They were all healthy and we even got to go visit 2 of them. I had been praying for a miracle before coming to PNG and God blessed me by letting me witness and be a part of this amazing story.  One of my favorite things about this story is how God took our discouragement of not getting to go to a village and turned it into good.

Papua New Guinea Week 1

Hey everyone!

I am now safely back home with my family preparing for Christmas. Thanks you for all of your prayers and support while I was in Australia and Papua New Guinea. I spent a total of 5 and 1/2 weeks in Papua New Guinea with my team from my Discipleship Training School. The first week we did several different things in a city called Kerema. We split up into 3 different groups and did house visits where we went around to different families houses and prayed for them. One of the woman we prayed for is named Maggie and she was home alone with her baby boy Shalom. We prayed for her husband who is a Christian but has been backsliding lately. She was so grateful and appreciative that we came to pray for her that she anointed our feet with oil. She wanted to give us something and that was all she had so she went around individually to each one of us and anointed our feet with the little oil she had. This is just one example of the extreme hospitality and generosity of the people in Papua New Guinea. 

That week we also did several children programs in a beach village called Karieta. We did games, dramas, songs, and short messages. I got the opportunity to speak on identity in Christ to a large group of kids. We played the biggest game of duck duck goose i have ever played. There were probably about 50 or more kids playing plus my mission team. The kids absolutely loved the songs and games and asked us to come back the next day to do another program.  We did probably about 2 or 3 programs in Karieta. The last day we were there the kids organized a volleyball game and the girls prepared refreshments for us. They had gone to the market earlier that morning and bought fruit and refreshments with their own money just for us! This is yet another example of the loving generosity of the people of PNG. 

YWAM News Update

Posted on November 2, 2009 at 11:00am •YWAM News's blog

Hi everyone! Our DTS has been on outreach for two weeks now and we have already heard back from them some simply amazing stories! “Greetings from Team PNG! We’ve been doing lots of children’s programs in a village called Karta this week. Every day, around 70 kids have been showing up and we’ve been so well received. Many of the villagers are Christian here, but there’s always a cry for discipleship. We’re having a great time encouraging the kids and their families to go deeper in their faith.The team is getting along well and enjoying outreach so far. We have a nice place to stay here and we’ve all been excited to have showers everyday and clean laundry . . . Oh, the little blessings that we don’t take for granted here!One of the highlights from this last weekend was getting to visit the family of a 16-year-old boy that was accidentally killed in a drunken brawl last week. There’s been some unrest recently between the mountain clan and the coastal clan and the death of this boy is a very tender subject among the villagers. It’s the talk of the town right now, so to be able to go and minister to, and pray for, this boy’s family was a huge privilege.Later this week we hope to go to another nearby village called Mei. It should be a great adventure considering they have yet to send a YWAM team there until now. Please pray for continued health, ministry opportunities, and our trip to Mei.”

Missions Update - October

Dear Friends and Family,

So my first 3 week outreach went great. We had a group of local teens come for their own discipleship training course that we led. The first week the kids went through lectures, outreach preparation, games, and other activities that we set up for them. They were a great group of kids. Most of them were from 12-15 years of age. Tuesday night we performed a "Passion Play" for the kids which is a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. It was really powerful and resulted in a time of brokenness and surrender among the kids. I prayed for many of the kids but one that stuck out to me in particular was a young man named Daniel. He was struggling with the divorce of his parents and i believe God really used me to speak into his life. I saw him grow so much throughout the course of the week from hearing God's voice to being more willing to share what God was speaking to him. Wednesday night, I was in charge of setting up a Commitment service where we had 3 different stations. The first station was a time of worship, the second the teachers washed the kid's feet and prayed for them, and the third was a reflection and commitment time alone before God. I've always been a follower and just help where I am needed but setting this service up challenged me to step into my role as a leader. God revealed the awesome potential I have to serve his kingdom and that he really does want to use me. The service came together so much better than I had planned and the fact that God used me to play such an important role in these kid's lives really humbled me and encouraged me.


The second week we took the kids to a small mining town called Mt. Isa. to lead a Vacation Bible School at an aboriginal church. It was amazing to see these young kids step up and lead a VBS!!! I was so impressed by the maturity and servants hearts these kids had. The aboriginal kids were such a blessing as well. Their culture is very similar to the American Indian culture in that drinking, abuse, and apathy are major strongholds here. The kids were dying for attention and love. They constantly wanted to be carried and given piggy back rides and were hanging on you all the time. I connected especially well with a little girl named Tianna. She is a beautiful little girl and i was so blessed to be able to spend time with her.


The 3rd week of outreach was the 5 Day Escape for the Youthstreet kids that we see every Saturday night. We took an 18 hour bus ride to the Gold Coast and stayed at a camp in the woods. We did all kinds of fun things from team games, to a water park, to surfing, to an amusement park. We did team devotions in the morning to provoke questions and curiosity as many of these kids are not Christians. Thursday night we had a time of worship and testimonies where 4 kids gave their lives to the Lord. God really worked in all 3 weeks of outreach. Thanks for all of your prayers.

I have had lectures again for the past week and then I leave for Papua New Guinea next week for 6 weeks with the Primary Healthcare Team. Please pray as we complete our final preparations.

God Bless,
Lexi

Mission Adventures

With the mission adventures high school groups coming on site for outreach training, we moved into our new house near the base yesterday. Im sharing a room with Callie. Its a cute house, big, just old and in need of repair but were close to this awesome little park that callie derek and i went to last night. Today were getting stuff ready for mission adventures. the first team comes tonight and the second team tomorrow night. We are decorating, making nametags, welcome packets, welcome cards and lots more. im getting excited i just cant wait until the kids get here!!! After the lecture phase which is about 4 days, we will be taking the kids on a week long mission trip to Mt. Isa. It is a small mining town with many different types of people who go there seeking to work in the mines. It is quite an apathetic and fatalistic place as most children grow up with their only plan to work in the mines for the rest of their lives. Please pray that this spirit of hopelessness and apathy would be lifted and that our team would be able to bring a freshness in the hope of Christ.

Bula!!!!! (thats hi in fijian)

Hey everyone!!

Wow, God has been working on my heart today. Outreach fees are due this friday and i started freaking out today because i didnt know where the heck i was going to get $3360 from by friday. Well, I have learned to have faith that God will provide. I know that God is generous and wants to bless his children but that was more head knowledge than something i actually believed in my heart. God has really challenged me today to give up control and anxiety and trust completely in him to provide. I have no idea how God will do it, but I have laid it down at his feet and i KNOW in my heart that every cent will come in. I've heard so many stories about how God has provided for people but I never really believed that He would do that for me. My question now is WHY NOT???? I know it is his will for me to spread the gospel therefore i know that he will provide the means to do so. I am excited to see the ways in which He will provide and bless all of the students on dts. Thanks for reading!!! 

youth street outreach

i get to be photographer for the youth street outreach as the kids like to show off their tricks

and me doin some of my own stunts....lol

Training in the outback

hi, here are some highlights of our time out in the Paluma State Forest in the wet tropics area of Queensland

1. i saw a platypus in the wild it was so cool!!

2. we did this thing called star tripping where u stare at a star and spin around and then you stop and they shine a flash light in your face and you fall to the ground it is HILARIOUS!!!! i laughed sooo hard.

3. worship and quiet times were awesome!! I've really been practicing hearing God more and beginning to understand more about his character.

4. it was hot during the day and pretty cold at night

5. we had breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper (which is like dessert) haha it was great

6. we had two toilets and one shower in a metal shed type thing ( at night there were HUGE ants in the toilets at night, like the biggest ants ive ever seen)

i got to know lotsa people better and i got to know some people from the IPHC (health care group) better too. oooo and they had these little things called potaroos which are like mini kangaroo like rat like things lol