Christmas from Perth Australia : TWO

Fundraiser for Kevin and Tama in Island Breeze days before Christmas. Island Breeze is part of the last teams finishing up the year-long campaign in Mexico City, under the YWAM Perth ministry.

This is just a very small side project/fun time, by comparison to their regular performance. 

God can avail any nation, tribe, or tongue, and these guys are proof of that. 

Their heart, and passion is absolutely beautiful.

Hope your Christmas has been amazing. We have taken a moment to post some photos of our time away from our continuous schedule. It makes me think-- I should post more about our daily structure too. Although it may not look that interesting with desks, computers, etc etc... but look forward to that..

Christmas Eve Movie in the park: Perth has a (free to the public) big screen that'd showed "White Christmas". I was blown away by the way that God used this movie to speak to me about him being with us no matter where we are.. between the plot on screen and being surrounded by friends. (PS. yes that is a bad angle of us, but ya gotta see us sometime eh?)

Christmas Eve Midnight Mass: Yes we went to mass. Yes, just to experience it. I actually liked the serenity and focus of the most of the service. Moment of memory though - Matt and I couldn't keep straight faces when they had a doo-whop band singing Christmas Carols.  

Christmas Eve - day: Humid, humbled, and shiny-faced. When you realize that the most sincere

 hugs are the sweaty ones in 104' weather. (17% humidity).

Sitting with the Tout Family. (some of our Favorite Aussies)

Christmas lunch (above):  The auditorium was turned into the dining room. Eating great food is apart of Christmas all over the world hay? Most of it was donated locally -flowers included- and prepared by the hard working YWAMers (100% volenteer) in the Kitchen. Many just felt privileged to have napkins - a common joke here.

Christmas Stockings (below): If we put 300 people's gifts under a tree it may be a little chaotic. So here at YWAM Perth we have stockings. They are -I'm totally guessing- about 12 inches long by 6 inches wide and get filled progressively through out the month of December but are stuffed Christmas Eve. No one is left behind, and each person has one with their name on it. 

What makes me love this place is that 90% of the things in your stocking are a handmade gift and/or handwritten note. It has made me adopt the phrase "Lack of Money is not an excuse to not be generous". A decided favorite by many was a hand made buttons/pins, another one was personalized potted plants.

Why do we do this? Serve and honor one another. We may do ministry with these guys 12 hours a day in the office and on the street. . . BUT we become like a family to one another, being so far from our home cultures, families, and friends. United in the understanding of what we do and why we do it.. ya know?

Homemade Gifts: So Laura (a Canadian-Korean) and I were talking about idea's to make a last-minute gift that was unique and handmade.Origami ornaments -I thought. .... Without hesitation I said to her "do you know how to make cranes?"  Yes origami, stereotypically is widely understood by Asians.. but even as I laughed at myself about my impulsion to ask her, she laughed and said "Well its true most of us know origami". The guilty feeling was hammered with- immediately after, soon was washed away by her enthusiasm to make cranes ---that turned out fantastically may I add.

Christmas Eve: Heat, Humidity, and Homesickness. Though the festivities, food, and friendships that feel like family... nothing can replace our real family and subdue the fact that we are just not home for Christmas this year. This was one of those moments... right before we went to the City Christmas Eve.

SKYPING at 2:30am in the Laneway

This is Phillipe from Germany, talking to his parents over his laptop.

Skype is this wonderful -free- program that many of us use to communicate home. So on Christmas Eve and Christmas day people were up until all hours of the morning traversing the time zones and sucking up bandwidth.  YWAM memory.. sitting in the lounge where 10-20 people can all be talking out loud into their computer microphones to their families.  (Get Skype and we will call you or you can call us.. its great!)

Below:  Mike and Matt. One of Matts friends here at the base. Late night video games, and basketball games. Good times..

When in Australia - do as the Aussies do... snags on the beach. (nope no 'shrimp on the barbie' - just sausages, the Aussie cousin to the American hotdog.) Remember to wear sunscreen.

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Featured Christian Artist: Digital Artist, and great photographer Justin Matchu. I stumbled onto his site through a YWAMer here. After reading his concept below I was like  'hmmmm..'

See more of his stuff here: http://jalexanderphotography.blogspot.com/ 

"This year our Christmas Series is going to be called “Salvaged”. The Salvaged story is that of a tiny Jewish baby with which God used to crawl into the dumpster of humanity to salvage us all. This was a challenging concept. Relating something as “perfect” as Christmas with something as “messy” as a junkyard. I thought the contrast though lent itself to this idea pretty well. This is the card for the series."

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. 

John 1:14

Seasons greetings from the nations. ONE.

Ever think of what it looks like to have a Christmas with 300 family members from over 40 nations?. I have seen it... its a bit of work but the heaps of fun makes up for it. Below are just a few pictures of our pre-Christmas season... so far. Hopefully by the next post you can see more festivities and more people.. In the meantime - Merry Christmas!

Annual Carols by Candlelight, hosted in beautiful Hyde Park, by Youth With A Mission, Perth. All those cool kats (our friends and fellow missionaries)  in the choir put forth alot of late hours to bring our community together in songs that honored the Christ of Christmas. The locals (including some government officials) really enjoyed it. There was coffee, coke, and snacks for those that watched, clowns for the kids that played, and candles passed out for the singing time after the sun set.

Nations represented in the photo above: Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Peru, Pacific Islands....

Each person representing a different ministry or training school. 

Cookies made one night by "Hospitality Ministry" here at the base. They are the ministry that make YWAM feel like home in the practical sence. Holidays, Birthdays, and other events they always pull through to make it special for everyone here. I really really appreciate them.. (and so does my tummy).

MISSION BUILDERS, YWAM Perth 2010!

Dave- Australia, Ulav- Norway, Burdy- Maricias, Franz- The Netherlands, Pita- Tonga, Matt- Mars, Adrian- Lancaster Pennsylvania, Terry- California, Scott- Canada

These guys are regularly working on the building that YWAM will be moving into...

The AES.... uh, I think that has something to do with art.. haha

These guys are amazingly talented and its awesome to walk in their classroom to see what they are learning.. and how they are redeeming the arts for the nations.

Nations represented: Aussies, Canadian, Americanas, Korea, Finland....

'Euro-couples are the cutest'

Sitting at dinner with them in the dining room at the YWAM base.

Clean'n up the streets of Perth.

Pile up on Isle 5 (with an Islander on top.)

 This was a couple of months ago but I just wanted to show you all the dorky things we do here for times when newbies show up--- now we are spending Christmas with those guys... Discipleship-- its about relationship as well as 'fun investment' time.

Last but not least,...Americanos.

Thank you for your prayers during these holidays.. as it can be a struggle for us so far away from our families, trusting that God will make himself known to them and us in this season.

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Featured Christian Artist: Uh - Johnny Cash. One because this season (acknowledging Christs 1st and second coming in the future) was a good excuse to post this song, and  two... because although he was an amazing musician he was not a perfect man. His creativity and relentless vulnerability to his audience reminds me of pieces of Gods Character. Have a laugh with Dad, but when he comes in after being away for a long time... "yay-- Dads home" honor and respect stand guard through a listening ear.

PS. If you know anyone that has looked these lyrics up in the Bible let me know... One of these days I would like to go through and look them up line by line and find the quotes (many are word for word)

Advent Conspiracy & a lil' Homesickness

[ First: Why Advent?

Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. ( read more from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent )

Weird. Granted, I wouldn't consider myself fully to have grown up in a church and know and understand all the traditions... BUT Advent I actually miss celebrating in our home Church in the States.
For a month leading up to December 25.. we lit candles at the beginning of our Sunday service while explaining the symbolism with each a different reason we celebrate Christs birth. I dont know who it was that started the tradition forever ago, but I applaud the efforts that have been passed down in my quaint Methodist denomination.. because if we are going to choose a day to celebrate Christs first and second coming.. then why not make sure that we are prepared for it? Choosing this season to remember go over some of our core beliefs and foundations. Then let our actions speak for themselves...


[ Second: What Happened?


Interesting how this is grossly unrelated our Christmas preparation is now in our western culture today. Instead of preparing our hearts, schedules, and mindsets to make a point love and serve one another we have traded this over time for busy-ness, commercialism, and stress. By the way- when I say 'western culture' Im including Australia, but making the point that I am also part of the problem if Im not part of the solution. One level of this perpetual roller-coaster is that Christians have not only fallen into this but led the way in many instances...

                              
 - Robie Seay, Advent Conspiracy

CONCLUSION: I was happy to read as I was a little homesick and randomly reading my Churches website that they were now advocating the "Advent Conspiracy." 







... like a breath of fresh air... I am now just trying to sit back and really "take in" this Christmas a deeper understanding of Jesus, and the how and the why behind his coming. Dont get me wrong, trust in the faith of it all in 'face value' is nice but Im not a robot either. "God I have some questions for you"... is where Im starting.. I want to know you on a deeper level this coming year, and I want to start with 'this'.

"The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.  

What if Christmas became a more than just a 'holiday'?" 

Resources you may like for more info:
The Advent Conspiracy ~ Official Website

"Why we wait" Article written by Rob Bell ~ Nov/Dec Issue of Relevant pg76.

Reason for the Season: New life - Quick Post

"This is sweet Abigail. She was born last week in the ANC ward. She had a strong heartbeat but wasn't responding at birth so we rushed her to the Labor ward to do infant resuscitation. She started crying after about 15 minutes. Praise God!" -Lindsay


 Lindsay, the Birth Attendant (midwife) beside her, has been a part of teams serving in villages and understaffed hospitals in India and  Tanzania, Africa. While I was in Mexico she, and another work duty student, were carrying my position in Media, with the Chapter. 

• Work Duties: They give 2 hours a day voluntarily, and selflessly serving the specified ministries with their talents to keep us running and give us new vision. They do this on top of the 4-6 hours of lecture time they have a day. Matt and I did it when we were in training. I served in Hospitality making birthday ckes for the constant birthdays we have here, and he served in the Kitchen doing dishes of the massive amount of people that come rocking through our Cafeteria. 

I now have the privilege of working on her Chapter. Capturing the heart of what she does on a daily bases. I love my job! I get to hear stories like this and get to be inspired and Publish it all for the world to see. ('The Chapter' is a magazine and a wonderful resource for staff and students to see all the stories of what has happened during their time here in YWAM Perth and in the Nations!-- I have the privilege of putting together)


Life.
Life.
Life!


New Life!!!


Wonderful.


-- Just a quick update this time.. Next time-- more photos of the Christmas season here, and Matt and I. Thanks for tuning in to read our heart.


Thank you all again for all of your support and prayers this Holiday season. Loving and MISSING so many of you...