I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years.
I got to go home for Christmas. It was the first time in 3 years that my whole family was home on Christmas day. It was really nice and relaxing to just hang out with my family and catch up with some friends.
Impact Summer - Byron Bay
Over New Years I went to Byron Bay with most of my family and met up with a Kings Kids team, and a group from YWAM Adelaide. YWAM Byron Bay runs an outreach over New Years every year, and this year there were over 100 YWAMers there. Because Byron is a popular back-packing location, you run into people from all over the world, and most of them are very open to talking about spiritual things.
This year we ran BBQs in the park most nights, giving out free Chai tea and pancakes, and people performed dances and dramas and played music. We also ran two volleyball tournaments and a sand-castle competition on the beach. It was a really great time. The Kings Kids team were amazing and there were so many awesome conversations with people about God. After Byron Bay I headed home with Caitlin (from YWAM Adelaide) for another week, and then we headed back to the base.
Back at the Base
On returning to the base, we had a bit of a surprise. Our base directors, Pablo and Fernanda, and their baby Isabella, had a bit of a problem with their visa renewal which resulted in them being illegally in the country for a few days. Fortunately, after explaining the situation to immigration, they were given 28 days to leave the country. So they are now taking an unexpected trip home to Brazil and Uruguay, were they will stay for a few months, and reapply for their visas.
Since I’ve been back in Adelaide, there have been a few people that have announced that they are leaving the base. It’s kinda sad, but at the same time it’s good because God is calling them all onto the next thing he has for them. He has done what he needed to do with them here. But we will miss them, and it is leaving some gaps in things that need to be done on the base. That just means more work for the rest of us , and the opportunity for more people to be called to join us :).
This week a new DTS (Discipleship Training School) started. We have 7 students, 2 from the US, 2 from Canada, 2 Aussies, and 1 Brazilian. As always it has been good to have new faces around the base, and to have the chance to get to know new people.
The past few weeks since I’ve been back have been pretty crazy. Mostly I have been working on all the visas, paperwork, and various other things for the DTS. I have also had to learn more about the computer system on the base as I have had to deal with new issues that come up.
I am back on the cooking roster with Caitlin, which I actually quite enjo
y. It’s a good break from being in the office all week to be able to spend a few hours in the kitchen. Even if it seems like there are a lot of people missing on the nights we cook:).I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to be doing this year. For now I am continuing working in the office, and with the student enquiries and applications. We are aiming to do a lot of church visits, and camps, and school seminars and the like in the next few months, so I will most likely get involved with that. And we’ll see what else comes up.
Love,
Nat
