G'day!

We just finished up our second week in Sydney! Time is just flying so quickly. This week God really opened doors to meet both believers and non-believers on and off campus. Sydney uni culture is just very different from the states. Most students live at home and so this makes getting around students more difficult. We were fortunate to meet students in a few of the colleges so we hope to meet up with them next week. Sorry this is so long. I feel like everyday there is so much to recap that I just don’t even know where to start….

We met a girl the very first day who Ramsey has really built a great relationship with. She spent the day with Ramsey last Tuesday, and it looks like we're going to be playing volleyball out at Manley Beach this weekend!

Last week I met a girl involved with SOW whose dad passed away in August. She has been struggling with opening up to her friends about it, as they’re just not able to relate. I was able to talk to her last week a bit after the SOW meeting. This is such a GOD thing! I am always encouraged and comforted to speak with girls who have gone through what I’ve gone through. I just pray that I can be vulnerable with her and that we would both be comforted by God's love (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

On Monday we spent a majority of the day at an EU staff meeting The EU is the Evangelical Union. They are the largest ministry on campus with nearly 700 students involved. Apparently, Christians face a lot of persecution from students and professors and so the EU focuses largely on building up the Christians already on campus.
It is encouraging to see that nearly 700 students are involved in this ministry, I just pray that their would be more of a balance in seeking the lost and building up the already believers.

From our meeting on Monday, a few of us got connected to a church bible study in the dorms the next night! We had been wanting to get into the colleges since we got here so we were very excited to get to go. (Btw, in case you’re confused, colleges and dorms are interchangeable).

We met some great girls at the bible study who really have a heart to see their non-Christian friends turn to Christ. The bible study is run by one of the nearby churches, but it is the only study the church has on campus. Infact, there is not a ministry at USyd that targets students at the colleges. It would be so great to see a Campus Outreach on this campus, as this is one of our major focuses back in the states.

We have been told by a number of Aussies that since most students live at home, it is difficult for Christians to hang out with non-Christians. It’s really difficult to hang out with friends in general. Out of 45,000 students that go to USyd only about 3,000 live in the dorms. On average, most commute an hour to school everyday, but we have met several students who commute nearly two to three hours!

Wednesday night we went over to Pastor Jim’s house for some food and fellowship. I have been so encouraged by the warmth and generosity of the body of Christ at Harbour City Church Plant. And just to add to the already amazing experience, I noticed on Sunday as we were singing worship that I can see the Sydney Opera House from the church window! Just unreal. I’m seeing God's hand in so much of where we go and what we do. I honestly don't want to leave.

Thursday we did some cold turkey evangelism with Student Life (it's like Campus Crusade for Christ in Australia). I partnered with Esther (one of the fourth year students from SOW), and we sat down and talked with two girls, Cathy and Victoria, for nearly 45 minutes! Aussies love to discuss and debate. We had some great conversation about whether they believe in God and what misconceptions they might have. They had loads of questions. It was so great! God really opened the door to share the gospel with them and I really think He had prepared Victoria's heart to hear it.

Unfortunately, neither Cathy or Victoria wanted to meet back up next week but Victoria said she was interested in reading about Christ in the book of John, and so I left my number with her. Please pray that God would convict her in her sin and she would turn to Christ. I am praying that I would run into her next week or that God would put someone in her path to share with her and help her investigate.

Friday is our Sabbath and then next week starts STUVAC (student vacation). USyd and UNSW give their students a week off before exams, so we really don't know what next week is going to look like. We are planning to have the SOW girls over Tuesday evening for some tacos and Tim Tams, and we hope to set up one-on-one appointments with some of the girls we’ve met over the last week.

Lastly (really, I promise this is the last thing). I had my mom check my messages last week and I had a message from Olan offering me a job to go on staff with Campus Outreach! Everyday I go to campus and I absolutely love sharing and learning and encouraging from the Word of God. There are definitely times where I feel like I’m not doing anything or Satan's lies keep me from sharing, but I can't imagine doing anything else. I love it! When I get discouraged because it seems like we don't have enough time to truly build relationships, I thank God that He has opened the door for me to do this in the States.

G’day!