Last Wednesday the team had our second interview, this time for two of the local television stations in Abilene. Jenica and Gary did the interview, and they did a great job. The finished product on television showed Jenica only. The stories were really good, and we appreciate that the local stations decided to talk about us.
Yesterday I met with Jenica for our weekly Tuesday night meeting. We had a great time, our get-togethers have been a little sporadic lately. We talked about all sorts of things; sacrifice, relationships, working out, jobs, etc. It was really nice talking about big things and little things, we have moments when we break through and really get honest with each other. We have a long way to go, but we've made a lot of headway!
I also came to a realization last night. I haven't stared at the stars in a long time. I used to know all about the constellations; where they are, the stories behind them, what they look like, all sorts of stuff. However, I've lost the desire to keep up with all of that. When you work out until 9pm, have to empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, take a shower, and still get to bed at a decent time, you lose interest in the little things that used to bring you great joy. I am crazy about getting things done around the house...but where does that get me? The clothes will still be waiting to be folded tomorrow night, and it's not going to hurt anyone to see them. I've said in the past that I want to be better at not getting worked up about things that are not done, but I've really been doing a better job of it lately. Matt might not say so, but he can't read my mind to see how it's stopped going a million miles an hour! Anyway, I'm going to lay a blanket out in the backyard and watch the stars more, even if it means that I leave the dishes until tomorrow. What have you been leaving undone that you used to enjoy? Can anything else wait until tomorrow so you can enjoy that one thing now?
22 July 2009
13 July 2009
One article leads to another
About a month ago I received an email from a journalist in Australia. He does freelance writing for the Ipswich Queensland Times, the local newspaper in the town we're moving to. I read the paper online almost everyday to get an idea of what's going on in Ipswich. In his email he said that he'd been reading my blog and wanted to know if he could interview our team for an article in the paper. We were totally excited about the possibility, but nervous at the same time. What would he ask? After us submitting our questions, would he twist our words? No offense, but with us moving over there to share the Gospel and being so physically far removed from Australia at this point, he could really bash us and we wouldn't have much opportunity to do anything about it! However, the more we thought and prayed about it the more we thought it would be a good idea. The way we saw it, if even one person read our story and got excited about us coming and sharing the love of God with them, the article would be worth it. Even if everyone hated it, we were pretty confident that people would forget about us and the article by the time we got there!
The article posted last week, here's the link: http://www.qt.com.au/story/2009/07/09/americans-team-god-church/
Overall, we think it was a good article. He kept most of our comments true to what we said and the context, so we can't complain! As of today there is only one negative comment on the article, so we can't complain about that either! I joke, but this really was a big deal to us. We're well aware of what a lot of people will think when we go to Australia. Many will think that we are self righteous, proud, or think we are better than those around us because we are Christians. What's sad is that Christians have done some things to make a really bad name for ourselves, so when people hear the word "Christian" they no longer think about what's important about it--Christ. We're not going to Ipswich because we have it all together and are going to stick it to everyone. We're going because God loves the people of Ipswich (just like Abilene, Africa, Alaska...you get my point). Just like so many people throughout the history of the Bible, God has called us to embark on a journey that we don't fully understand. All we're trying to do is be faithful to what He's asking us to do, and that leads us four to Ipswich. Personally, I think He's going to do some awesome stuff in people's lives, and I'm excited about being able to be a part of it.
Wow, that's enough of that! I could go all night, but I have to get on with my story. The day our article came out in the Australian paper, someone in Abilene read it. I have no idea how all of that happened! Either way, one of the local television stations wants to do a story on our team and what we'll be doing in Australia, so we will be doing that interview on Wednesday. As if those two things weren't enough, there is a person from ACU who wants to put our story on the school's website. Wow! God has connected all of these things in a matter of days! We don't know where it will all lead, but here are a few things I'm praying about regarding all of this craziness:
-I'm praying that this is one of the ways our supporters find us. We have had a tough time raising funds, and I really believe that someone is going to see our story or read our article and hear the call of God to help us out.
-The more important thing I'm praying about is this, that people will hear about us and find hope. These stories are not about us and all the stuff we're doing. There are plenty of people around the world doing the same exact thing right now, and we just happened to get noticed. These stories are about what God is doing, and about Him calling out to the people of this world to turn to Him and find a new life in Jesus. We want people who don't know God to get excited about the thought of who He is. We want them to imagine the possibilities of what life looks like when they follow after Him. We want people to pray for us to get to Ipswich so we can share this message of eternal hope with them.
It seems like I want a lot...and I guess I do. I just know that God is capable of all these things and more, so I'm not going to stop asking because I know He is not going to stop listening!
The article posted last week, here's the link: http://www.qt.com.au/story/2009/07/09/americans-team-god-church/
Overall, we think it was a good article. He kept most of our comments true to what we said and the context, so we can't complain! As of today there is only one negative comment on the article, so we can't complain about that either! I joke, but this really was a big deal to us. We're well aware of what a lot of people will think when we go to Australia. Many will think that we are self righteous, proud, or think we are better than those around us because we are Christians. What's sad is that Christians have done some things to make a really bad name for ourselves, so when people hear the word "Christian" they no longer think about what's important about it--Christ. We're not going to Ipswich because we have it all together and are going to stick it to everyone. We're going because God loves the people of Ipswich (just like Abilene, Africa, Alaska...you get my point). Just like so many people throughout the history of the Bible, God has called us to embark on a journey that we don't fully understand. All we're trying to do is be faithful to what He's asking us to do, and that leads us four to Ipswich. Personally, I think He's going to do some awesome stuff in people's lives, and I'm excited about being able to be a part of it.
Wow, that's enough of that! I could go all night, but I have to get on with my story. The day our article came out in the Australian paper, someone in Abilene read it. I have no idea how all of that happened! Either way, one of the local television stations wants to do a story on our team and what we'll be doing in Australia, so we will be doing that interview on Wednesday. As if those two things weren't enough, there is a person from ACU who wants to put our story on the school's website. Wow! God has connected all of these things in a matter of days! We don't know where it will all lead, but here are a few things I'm praying about regarding all of this craziness:
-I'm praying that this is one of the ways our supporters find us. We have had a tough time raising funds, and I really believe that someone is going to see our story or read our article and hear the call of God to help us out.
-The more important thing I'm praying about is this, that people will hear about us and find hope. These stories are not about us and all the stuff we're doing. There are plenty of people around the world doing the same exact thing right now, and we just happened to get noticed. These stories are about what God is doing, and about Him calling out to the people of this world to turn to Him and find a new life in Jesus. We want people who don't know God to get excited about the thought of who He is. We want them to imagine the possibilities of what life looks like when they follow after Him. We want people to pray for us to get to Ipswich so we can share this message of eternal hope with them.
It seems like I want a lot...and I guess I do. I just know that God is capable of all these things and more, so I'm not going to stop asking because I know He is not going to stop listening!
27 June 2009
Thank you Kelly family
Last week our team hosted a garage sale...but none of the stuff was ours. Husband and wife CT and Carol Kelly said that if our team was willing to set up and man their garage sale, they would give us all of the money for our move. I had last Friday off, so it seemed like the perfect weekend to do it. Wednesday night our team (minus Gregory who is doing an internship in Colorado) plus a few other brave, kind friends went to their house to start getting things ready. We took four large sized tables, but they were not near enough! The Kelly's said they had never done a garage sale, and they had plenty of things to get rid of. There was furniture, clothing, sheets, kitchenware, toys, stuffed animals galore, trinkets, crafts, a grill, books, audio tapes, the list goes on and on. Wednesday night and Thursday night were spent trying to organize boxes and set up tables. Friday morning Matt and I got up at 4:45am to get ready and get to their house for the first day's sale at 6am. We had a pretty good turn out, and stayed for nine hours that day. It was overcast and sprinkled every once in a while, so the heat did not seem so bad. However there seems to be a big difference between working outside and just sitting outside for nine hours, because we were exhausted by the end of the day! We definitely took a nap after getting home that afternoon. Saturday was the same thing, getting up early and working the garage sale. There was a great turnout Saturday, but this time the wind was about twenty miles an hour all day. A few small glass items flew off tables and broke, and the sheet sets were constantly gaining air and floating away like kites. Our lawn chairs would fly away when we weren't sitting in them, no joke! I'm just glad we didn't lose any money. After it was all said and done on Saturday afternoon, we had sold half the stuff and made just over one thousand dollars. We were so tired, but it was worth the time and effort. We were very grateful to the Kelly family for offering us the opportunity to do the garage sale, and the money will be very helpful to our team as we make our move.
Perhaps the coolest thing about the garage sale was the fact that we didn't really know the Kelly family. We've been to their home once, but it was in a large crowd and I don't think they'd remember that. They offered us this opportunity not because we were great friends, but because we are all believers in Jesus and they wanted to help us with what we are going to do in Australia. That's the cool thing about the body of Christ, we work together in all sorts of different ways so that God's love can be spread around the world.
Perhaps the coolest thing about the garage sale was the fact that we didn't really know the Kelly family. We've been to their home once, but it was in a large crowd and I don't think they'd remember that. They offered us this opportunity not because we were great friends, but because we are all believers in Jesus and they wanted to help us with what we are going to do in Australia. That's the cool thing about the body of Christ, we work together in all sorts of different ways so that God's love can be spread around the world.
15 June 2009
Chremily's wedding
So Matt and I have this thing, you know a couple will make it if you can put their names together and the combined name sounds good. Our friends Chris and Emily got married this weekend, and Chremily is a great name! Matt was the best man, and I was a maid of honor. I have to share the journey of this weekend, because it's just too good not to.
Matt and I were taking care of my in-laws' dog, and our plan was to have someone come and let the dogs out a few times over the weekend. We had it all worked out, and then late Friday morning Matt called me and said that our air conditioner was out (keep in mind that the temp the past week has broken 100 probably every day). First plan foiled, the dogs had to go to the kennel. I got off work at 12, took the dogs to the kennel, and then finished getting ready in a 93 degree house. Matt, Jenica, and I left the house a little after 3pm, and had to be at the rehearsal at 5pm. We made it there about 5:10pm, but we wouldn't be Harrises if we weren't late. The rehearsal was fun, and the rehearsal dinner (feast really) was amazing. It was at this beautiful house, and the food was homecooked and amazing!
That night a storm started to roll in, and it looked amazing. Little did we know that it was bringing with it horrible hail. Both Chris and Emily's car windows were broken out (along with about five other people's windows), everyone got huge dents on their cars, and it looked like someone shot at the church that Chris and Emily were to get married in. I have to say though, they both took the evening's events like a couple of champs!
The wedding was beautiful (and not too long). Emily looked absolutely beautiful, and Chris looked at her all day like she was the only person on earth. Matt was surprisingly weepy all day...it was kind of cute! I don't think we realize how much people mean to us until they experience something life altering and we get to participate in it with them. There's just something about it that is important and meaningful.
Matt and I are now staying with my in-laws for the week, because it will be at least Thursday until our air conditioner gets replaced. I'm sitting on the couch watching tv with the family, life is good!
Matt and I were taking care of my in-laws' dog, and our plan was to have someone come and let the dogs out a few times over the weekend. We had it all worked out, and then late Friday morning Matt called me and said that our air conditioner was out (keep in mind that the temp the past week has broken 100 probably every day). First plan foiled, the dogs had to go to the kennel. I got off work at 12, took the dogs to the kennel, and then finished getting ready in a 93 degree house. Matt, Jenica, and I left the house a little after 3pm, and had to be at the rehearsal at 5pm. We made it there about 5:10pm, but we wouldn't be Harrises if we weren't late. The rehearsal was fun, and the rehearsal dinner (feast really) was amazing. It was at this beautiful house, and the food was homecooked and amazing!
That night a storm started to roll in, and it looked amazing. Little did we know that it was bringing with it horrible hail. Both Chris and Emily's car windows were broken out (along with about five other people's windows), everyone got huge dents on their cars, and it looked like someone shot at the church that Chris and Emily were to get married in. I have to say though, they both took the evening's events like a couple of champs!
The wedding was beautiful (and not too long). Emily looked absolutely beautiful, and Chris looked at her all day like she was the only person on earth. Matt was surprisingly weepy all day...it was kind of cute! I don't think we realize how much people mean to us until they experience something life altering and we get to participate in it with them. There's just something about it that is important and meaningful.
Matt and I are now staying with my in-laws for the week, because it will be at least Thursday until our air conditioner gets replaced. I'm sitting on the couch watching tv with the family, life is good!
07 June 2009
Visas, life in Ipswich, and my family
I have much faith in the things that God can and will do, but for some reason the thought of applying for visas to live in Australia brings a great wave of tension and fear over me. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it freaks me out pretty bad! There are a few reasons I get worried about visas; one is that they take a long time to get passed and we haven't applied for them yet (because we don't have all our financial support), another is that they're super expensive and if you mess up and have to reapply you don't get your money back (we're talking over a thousand bucks for mine alone), and the last is that I feel like nothing else can really move forward until we have visas. It wouldn't make much sense to sell our house and all our stuff without visas...what if they don't go through for a while and we don't have a place to live? Okay, so the homeless thing is a bit extreme, but I'm the kind of person who looks about sixty steps ahead and imagines the possibilities as reality. I guess there's nothing wrong with that, as long as I imagine the possibilities in God's world. Anything could happen for our team, the rest of our money could come in in two weeks and our visas could go through in six months with no flaws. We could not have our money by January and be here for six more extra months (which I'm not really hoping for!) Either way, as long as it's the schedule and journey God wants us on I guess I can't complain. To be in His will is the best place to be, even though it might really stink at the time.
This weekend my dad and stepmom visited us from Corpus Christi. On Saturday we did a little shopping (I got a pair of Levi's for $4.40!), saw Star Trek, and ate dinner with my parents and my in-laws. We had a blast! Star Trek was pretty cool, and I'm not even a Trekkie. This morning Jenica ate breakfast with us, so she got to meet and get to know my parents a little. It was a great weekend.
If you've never checked out the links to the right of my blog, I really encourage you to go to the Ipswich Queensland Times website. I was reading the day's new on Friday, and I found something out that really troubled me. Fighting among students in schools is becoming a really big problem there. Last week I read about a student who was knocked unconscious by some kid in a fight, and then on Friday I read about a video of a bunch of girls fighting in a school that got posted to youtube for a few days before it was removed. These kids are getting in really intense fights, and are proud of it! It breaks my heart, and makes me want to show kids and teens in Ipswich that there's more to live for than the hate, judgement, and anger that goes along with fighting. I think God has much healing in store for the families of Ipswich, and while I don't think it's all going to come by my hand I do think He wants our team to be a small part of what He is now and will do through us there.
This weekend my dad and stepmom visited us from Corpus Christi. On Saturday we did a little shopping (I got a pair of Levi's for $4.40!), saw Star Trek, and ate dinner with my parents and my in-laws. We had a blast! Star Trek was pretty cool, and I'm not even a Trekkie. This morning Jenica ate breakfast with us, so she got to meet and get to know my parents a little. It was a great weekend.
If you've never checked out the links to the right of my blog, I really encourage you to go to the Ipswich Queensland Times website. I was reading the day's new on Friday, and I found something out that really troubled me. Fighting among students in schools is becoming a really big problem there. Last week I read about a student who was knocked unconscious by some kid in a fight, and then on Friday I read about a video of a bunch of girls fighting in a school that got posted to youtube for a few days before it was removed. These kids are getting in really intense fights, and are proud of it! It breaks my heart, and makes me want to show kids and teens in Ipswich that there's more to live for than the hate, judgement, and anger that goes along with fighting. I think God has much healing in store for the families of Ipswich, and while I don't think it's all going to come by my hand I do think He wants our team to be a small part of what He is now and will do through us there.
21 May 2009
An out of the ordinary week
The last two weeks were really fun and out of the ordinary. Thursday and Friday I attended a missions focus seminar from 8am to 3pm. We learned a lot from John White, a pioneer in simple churches. Did I just call someone a pioneer?!? Anyway, he's learning a lot about doing church in homes, and is teaching people about it. We talked a lot about listening to God, which was pretty awesome. I've also decided that working only two hours a day is pretty wonderful...I think I'll do it everyday (just kidding Lana). Seriously though, being able to take off time pretty much whenever I want (as long as I have the unused time) is a huge blessing. I work with very understaning people who really appreciate me.
On Saturday Jenica, Gregory, and I hit the road for Conroe, Texas (near Houston). Matt met up with us later that night. The drive to Houston was really beautiful, and the long road trip gave us the opportunity to listen to music that each of us likes. I think you can learn a lot about a person by listening to the music they listen to on a regular basis. We were visiting the Houston area to share our team's presentation with a church there. Jenica did an internship at the church a few summers ago, and she just loved it. After our visit with them, we loved them too! Everyone we met on Sunday morning and Sunday evening encouraged us so much, it blew our minds. We'll hear back from them in about two weeks to see how God wants them to help us.
Fast forward a week to this past weekend. Matt and I had our three year anniversary last week, so we went to Lake Brownwood State Park last weekend to celebrate. Sounds romantic, huh? It really was fun though...I better have liked it since I was the one who planned it! We stayed at a cabin at the state park. It was nice, but bugs ate us alive. Matt also got a tick that he had to burn off his thigh. We were really roughing it! We took the boat with us and fished everyday, and the weather could not have been better. I've fished most of my life, but I must admit that I've never unhooked my own fish. Matt's a wonderful teacher and encourager, and he managed to get me to unhook my own fish (all but the ones where the hook managed to get in their eyes, I made him do those). It was a wonderful trip. We'll see if I get around to posting some pictures from it.
On Saturday Jenica, Gregory, and I hit the road for Conroe, Texas (near Houston). Matt met up with us later that night. The drive to Houston was really beautiful, and the long road trip gave us the opportunity to listen to music that each of us likes. I think you can learn a lot about a person by listening to the music they listen to on a regular basis. We were visiting the Houston area to share our team's presentation with a church there. Jenica did an internship at the church a few summers ago, and she just loved it. After our visit with them, we loved them too! Everyone we met on Sunday morning and Sunday evening encouraged us so much, it blew our minds. We'll hear back from them in about two weeks to see how God wants them to help us.
Fast forward a week to this past weekend. Matt and I had our three year anniversary last week, so we went to Lake Brownwood State Park last weekend to celebrate. Sounds romantic, huh? It really was fun though...I better have liked it since I was the one who planned it! We stayed at a cabin at the state park. It was nice, but bugs ate us alive. Matt also got a tick that he had to burn off his thigh. We were really roughing it! We took the boat with us and fished everyday, and the weather could not have been better. I've fished most of my life, but I must admit that I've never unhooked my own fish. Matt's a wonderful teacher and encourager, and he managed to get me to unhook my own fish (all but the ones where the hook managed to get in their eyes, I made him do those). It was a wonderful trip. We'll see if I get around to posting some pictures from it.
09 May 2009
The past two (yikes!) weeks
A lot has happened since my last posting, but I've found lately that the last thing I want to do at night is get back on the computer after being on it all day. I'm pretty sure I've said that before...which shows how adamant I am about it. However, a lot of cool things have happened so I need to catch up on them.
The rest of my teammates got a little fire lit under them at our module, and Jenica has been doing an awesome job of contacting churches to help support us. She got a visit set up with a church in Houston and one in San Antonio, so May is traveling month for the team! We're really excited, because one of the things we realized at our module is that God has not only called us to share the Gospel with the people of Australia, but also to tell North Americans that God loves and cares about the people of Australia. Sometimes we feel like people don't think Australians need to know God, because Australia is not an underdeveloped country. However, so little people there know Him, and they're trying to fill their lives with other things that won't last. God has big plans for Australia, and we are excited to tell people about that.
One of the other cool things that happened was our mentor Gary contacted another church on our behalf, and we sent them a few of our fundraising packets this week. We got together twice last week to polish up the packet, and those two nights were really fun. We're opening up so much as a team, just having fun and being crazy around one another. One thing I found out about Gregory is that he's a pretty great dancer! He was not afraid to show off his moves as we listened to music....
I've also had some really good conversations with a man from the church my sister attends in Idaho. Their church just did a fundraising weekend for missions, and he was talking about the possibility of helping Matt and me a little out of that contribution. As is the case with almost every church we've talked to this year, he said unfortunately people are not giving as much as they did a few years ago (which is understandable, but still frustrating!) What has really struck me though is this, he has been amazing about keeping in touch with me to let me know the status of the church. He has also been really encouraging as to what we'll be doing in Australia. Most churches we contacted never even returned our emails...pretty crazy right? It's much better to get a no than nothing at all! As I told my sister last week, even if the church is not able to help us monetarily, the fact that they are praying for us and he has been so encouraging has been a huge blessing.
On a different note, another thing that has kept me really busy since last Saturday is painting our kitchen cabinets. We're doing this for two reasons, one being that they're really ugly and need to be painted white to help freshen up our kitchen, and the other is that we think painting them will help us sell this house. It's been a great first house, but there have been a lot of things that we've gotten used to being here everyday that are really quite ugly! It's little things really, like grungy looking light switches and a poor quality paint job on the walls. Needless to say, our Saturdays are going to be busy with little remodels here and there for quite a few months!
The rest of my teammates got a little fire lit under them at our module, and Jenica has been doing an awesome job of contacting churches to help support us. She got a visit set up with a church in Houston and one in San Antonio, so May is traveling month for the team! We're really excited, because one of the things we realized at our module is that God has not only called us to share the Gospel with the people of Australia, but also to tell North Americans that God loves and cares about the people of Australia. Sometimes we feel like people don't think Australians need to know God, because Australia is not an underdeveloped country. However, so little people there know Him, and they're trying to fill their lives with other things that won't last. God has big plans for Australia, and we are excited to tell people about that.
One of the other cool things that happened was our mentor Gary contacted another church on our behalf, and we sent them a few of our fundraising packets this week. We got together twice last week to polish up the packet, and those two nights were really fun. We're opening up so much as a team, just having fun and being crazy around one another. One thing I found out about Gregory is that he's a pretty great dancer! He was not afraid to show off his moves as we listened to music....
I've also had some really good conversations with a man from the church my sister attends in Idaho. Their church just did a fundraising weekend for missions, and he was talking about the possibility of helping Matt and me a little out of that contribution. As is the case with almost every church we've talked to this year, he said unfortunately people are not giving as much as they did a few years ago (which is understandable, but still frustrating!) What has really struck me though is this, he has been amazing about keeping in touch with me to let me know the status of the church. He has also been really encouraging as to what we'll be doing in Australia. Most churches we contacted never even returned our emails...pretty crazy right? It's much better to get a no than nothing at all! As I told my sister last week, even if the church is not able to help us monetarily, the fact that they are praying for us and he has been so encouraging has been a huge blessing.
On a different note, another thing that has kept me really busy since last Saturday is painting our kitchen cabinets. We're doing this for two reasons, one being that they're really ugly and need to be painted white to help freshen up our kitchen, and the other is that we think painting them will help us sell this house. It's been a great first house, but there have been a lot of things that we've gotten used to being here everyday that are really quite ugly! It's little things really, like grungy looking light switches and a poor quality paint job on the walls. Needless to say, our Saturdays are going to be busy with little remodels here and there for quite a few months!
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