I'm Back :)

Yep, back from Bundy yesterday. It's a long drive, even when you have others in the car, although i have to say that i've done fantastically in buying my car, becuase it made it up to bundy on a half a tank of petrol! :) weee!!

I guess i'm not really here to say much important, but i'd like to reflect on something that i've started recently (before the new year :D hehehe).

Journaling. I've wanted to get into it for a while - probabaly since the start of the year - or in april or something, but i was sorta never able to get into the habbit of writing, or reading or having time with God. I think in that respect Project really helped, beucase every day we had time for it. There was a whole hour and a half for us to do a quiet time in. Doing it every day, and then seeing how i could fit it in, how much it helped and how much it got me into God's word really made the difference. Now i do it every day.

I will probably fail at some point (espcially when uni starts and life is busy again), and i'm not braging that i've done 27 days in a row (almost a month!!), but it is something that has made a difference to God's part of my life. Brining him in every day is so important, and when i make a point to do it in one part - journalling - he is usually so much more present in the other parts - as he should be. (look at my new addiction to dashes!! --- :P)

If you do nothing in the new year - be committed to God.

This is my fantastic big country Sista Sarah looking so cute as Fiona takes her photo at mt Cootha. (woah this is a great song!! long time no... hear... :D) Fiona and Sarah did a bit of a day trip while my parents picked up steve, they went to Mt Cootha and then over to a servo to by chocolates. Then they went to the local fire station and gave the chocolate to the fire guys. The Firemen were fairly shocked (as i imagine i would have been :P) but overall, it was a great guesture done by fiona and sarah and i'm proud of both of my sisters. :D (i think they have plans to do the ambulance people next Christmas... or is that next public holiday??)



I still can't believe Fiona wanted to take this, but this is the start of Christmas day at my house. :) Big moment in history for the life of Paula, but how pretty does she look while it's happeneing!! :D







The classic: everyone try to squeese in and smile :D My sisters are so beautiful. :)

For Melissa :D

Back in the New Testament
Parody of "Back in the U.S.S.R." performed by the Beatles and written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney (Matthew 5:17, Galatians 3:24-25, 2 Timothy 3:16)

Ooh I finally finished readin' the O-L-D Hebrew Testament last night
All the way I prayed that God would have mercy
Man, I'm glad that we've got Christ
I'm back in the New Testament
You don't know what you got till it's gone, boy
Back in the New Testament

Genesis was long -- I hardly noticed it
Gee, it didn't seem that long
Three weeks later on I'm stuck in Exodus
Wonderin' what the heck went wrong
I'm back in the New Testament
With Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John, boy
Acts of the Apostles, next the Epistles
Last the Apocalypse of John

Well, the Jewish laws came from God's own mouth
Please don't get me wrong
But God's own Son came to live 'em out
He told us that in Ma-ma-matthew 5 verse 17 all along

I'm back in the New Testament
We're only half done with this song, boy
Back in the New Testament

Well, you can't have Jesus Christ without
The Old Testament
The Law was given to point sin out
And lead us all to Christ - Galatians 3:24-25, my oh my

Moses' laws, the Psalms and Prophets they all count
Take them as your Daddy's word
Genesis through Malachi - I read them all
But admit that I prefer
To be back in the New Testament
You don't know what you got till it's gone, boy
Back in the New Testament

*NOTE: To get this song to rhyme correctly, whenever the word "Testament" appears in the chorus, you should pronounce it like this: "Test-a-MONT," so it sounds kind of French. Try it; it works! When the word appears in the verse, just pronounce it the regular way.

Matthew 5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

RAHH!!!

I spent this morning cleaning up. Cleaning my room and the bathroom and toilet. Now (unlike when i returned from my 3 week absense) it is all very clean.

And then my dad comes in to my room and suggests i clean something... I'm not sure he understands. I cleaned all the things he asked me to clean already!! RAHH!!! and why were they messy - becuase i'd been gone!!! Honestly!! Go tell my sistes to clean something. I'm not looking for recignition but i'd like some respect - I'm 20 years old and i know when to clean stuff. When it's dirty. If anyone needs telling, it's my sisters becuase for over 3 weeks, they have been using a dirty bathroom and toilet.

RAHH!! don't tell me what to do - i'm old enough.

Rant rant rant :P and you know, i don't know what to do with this new blogger beter. What is the point?? it wasn't confusing before - why did it need to change. :P

Hello People

Project is going wonderfully well, forming the best realationships with the people in my group, espcially the girls who i'm living with, Pauliene, Erina, Anna and Steph. It's be awesome to get to knwo these people and see how God is using them :D

One of the coolest things about Erina and Pauline is that they both hear me sleep talk at night and then tell me about it in the morning :D So i just wanted to share some of this fantastic dream i had the other night with you :D:D

I was going to an opear or something at southbank and i was at garden city to catch a bus but for some reason i was wondering aroudn the car park. so i say to myself "come on paula! a car will never get you there in time! quick go to the busses so you won't be late" so i start to go back into garden city (using the fire, exit near woollies) when these 2 guys come up behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, i see they have a shot gun!!

So i say to them "what are you doing!" and they said to me "we are giogn to shoot people!" and i said "you can't do that! i won't let you in!" and they said "yes we can! let us in or we will shoot you" and i said "no i'm not goign to let you in! i'm going to pray for you!"

so i start pryaing for these guys and then they SHOOT ME - with a shot gun in the knee!!!! so i'm falling on the floor, being shot, the guys with guns are walking through garden city, people are screaming, security are running and i'm thinking... i'm goign to be late to catch the bus!!

Thankfully though this story merged with another story in dream land like dreams do and i was on my way to somethign with steve which was half his formal and half his 10 year reunion and half a big celebration for the broncos (who steve was apart of - during the night they kept coming up to him and saying "great game steve" and "nice save there in the second half!") and it was being held at this big old house with these strange goasthy looking people. And there was this girl who looked suspiciosly like liza minelli from caberet who kept teling me she was goign to steal steve and i said, "you can't do that, he's with me" and anyway she sat next to him and he didn't do anythign so i said, enough of this i'm going and the girl threw sequins in my hair (as opposed to the usual food or water or somethign) and instead of having an effect where my outfit was ruined, i looked quite good :D

so i'm walking out with these pretty sequins in my (strangly long straight and black) hair, and i see my sisters, but then steve comes up to me and tells me he's really sorry about the girl but his mum may or may not be addicted to alchole and he would really like my help beacuse she likse me but he dones't want me leaving to send her over the edge...

It was all very strange adn i woke up soon after. :)

As you know I've been on my mission trip for the last week and a bit and i just wanted to give you an update on how we are going. :D

There are 11 of us all up, 3 missionaries and 8 students, staying at the Bible Collage in Towoong. Every day we have been "bussing" out in Jim's van to QUT Kelivin Grove campus. The international collage here is full of students and even more come in every day to take any of the English classes offered over the summer. Many of the students intend to continue studying in Australia next year by beginning bachelors degrees. It has been really good to get to know the students though things like conversation classes, soccer games, inviting them back to "base" (the Bible Collage) for movies and dinner and other fun outings that we have organised.

Many of the students share similar problems or troubles in coming to Australia; homesickness, English difficulties, finances etc. But a lot of them also have a common factor: They don't know Jesus. Many students we have talked to have said that they believe there is something bigger out there but they don't know what. How great is the opportunity God has given us to share with them that knowledge!!

The members of our team have had the chance to share the gospel with a student which has been a challenging experience for all. I met a lady named Alison last week. She is a TAFE teacher from China and was studying English teaching methods. She has a 10 year old son. I was privileged enough to talk to her about Jesus and God. She had many questions for me, like what God is like and why he tells us to do what he does. I spent nearly 2 hours talking to her about how God loved her like a father, just like she loves her son, and how he tells us to do things for our own good, so we don't get hurt. It was amazing to be able to share with her how God feels for her!

Over the next week and a half as we continue with our mission it would be great if you could carry on praying for us.
Praise God for the amazing opportunities that he has given us to share his word.
Ask him to continually renew us with the Holy Spirit, so we can show God's love in our actions.
Pray for the Christianity Explained courses that are being conducted to further explain the Gospel to students.
Thank God for those opportunities and ask him to open the hearts of the students on this campus, that they might hunger to know him more.

-- In ChristPaula