Hello from the land down under!

Things I have learned my first two weeks in Sydney, Australia…

1.When crossing the street, look right instead of left because cars drive on the left side of the road.
2.Always be ready to run—in a moment’s notice you could be late for your plane, your train, or your bus.
3.Americans really are obnoxious.
4.Koala bears do not just run wild in the trees of downtown Sydney, but opossums do.
5.For an emergency, call 000, but 911 works too.
6.There are two types of flushes on the toilet, but they both look the same to me.
7.Mate here refers to your friend, not the person you are married to.


Our leader Matt gave a talk the other night at one of our campus meetings with the ministry we are working with. And as he was talking, I discovered something about myself. I am very turned away from obsessions. I can’t stand it when people are obsessed about things. I will not read Harry Potter, Twilight, or any of the sort because people are obsessed, and I don’t want to be that person. In fact, things that I do love (such as Alabama football) I hold back from unless I am with someone who also loves it. But I realized that because I am like this, it has also affected my walk with Christ. You see, because I have trained myself to run from obsessions and to not show emotion at all to things I love, I have retreated from talking about Christ with people other than Christians. And even at that it’s hard for me to talk about Christ with people I’m not completely comfortable around. As Matt pointed out, we will talk about what we worship. So it was definitely convicting for me.

I think the hardest part about doing ministry is feeling a complete and utter incompetence for ministry. Satan really feeds us lies. It has been really encouraging that through all of Satan’s lies, we can see God’s power displayed. We have seen several instances when it’s only through God’s hands that we would be in that situation. It’s mindblowing to think that before the foundation of the world, God chose each and every one of us to be in Australia in the summer of 2010. He wanted me here. And even though each day I continue to see my failures and my insecurities, he still chooses to use me for his Kingdom. Today me and Ramsey sat down to talk to a Muslim lady. I must confess that sometimes I feel numb to the gospel. But talking to this lady who kept saying that we worship a God who is just a normal person like you and me, when she doesn’t understand the security and freedom she can have in Christ, made me really appreciate the Gospel that much more. He has really been revealing himself to us in the little things and in the big things.
We have met a lot of Uni students. We only have one more week on campus. The thing is, it is their dead week. And since most people live off campus, not many people will be on campus for us to meet with. SO pray that the Lord would bless this week. I’m praying that he will really work this week, despite that. We so desperately want to see the fruit of our labor and come over here and change the world, but we are learning to be content and rest in the fact that God is working through everything. He is using us for his Kingdom exactly how he planned. So that’s exactly where we want to be—right in his will. I’m sending an even more detailed update in an email to those on the email list because I don’t want to just post everything for the whole world to see. SO if you aren’t on the email list and want to be added, send me an email at kpkelley@samford.edu.