hello again..

last night, i stumbled across this page again and began reminiscing on the days where i could fluently translate my thoughts into words. i decided it would be a good plan to start blogging again, not for anyone to read it, but for me to document the exciting journey that God is taking me on. i decided that if im really serious about being a writer, this would be a good place to start.
so ill start small...with bullet points cause they are always a good time.
here is a list of things that have changed in my life since i last posted anything:

• i graduated high school
• god called me to leave arise
• i am legitimately 6ft tall now
• i have a funny shaved patch on my forehead cause of an osteopath appointment.
• we moved out of my most favourite house on the planet
• my brothers both moved to melbourne
• i finally got my learners, yeah roy
• i have made a whole bunch of cranking new friends
• ive turned into quite the hipster
• my dreams have gotten bigger
• i am passionately in love with jennifer lawrence...and matt corby.
• i live in an 1816 cob cottage
• i got a car
• and i work full time

all those things aside, my spiritual growth has set the past two years aside significantly. up until about three months ago, my commitment to God was what i like to call 'weather dependant' hahaha, somehow i fell into the trap of loving him when it suited me...but then he started speaking to me, he asked me if i was willing to take his hand and trust him through some big changes. and i made a decision one night at the beach that i was going to follow him to the ends of the earth. literally, wherever he wants me to go, thats where ill go. i can honestly say it was the best decision ive ever made. that doesnt mean it hasnt been hard, it definitely has, but i have never been more blessed in my life. he has taken me from strength to strength. and the exciting thing is..this is only the beginning.

surrounded by quality.

Can I just say that I am so blessed to have the greatest friends ever.
Life would not be the joy thar it is without them...

Mmmmm.

This morning I woke up and freaked out because I didnt know where I was...ahaha. Last night I tidied my room properly for the first time since I got back from London...so about three months. And when I say properly I mean nothing under the beds, item categorized wardrobe, dusted etc etc. Ahhh! Such a good feeling.
I've always thought that you could just take a look at my bedroom and get a pretty accurate indication of how my life is going. The times when it's out of hand usually line up with the times when life is cray cray busy and I'm falling behind with things.
So I decided that in order to get on topof everything, I'd tidy my room. Logic.



....it even smells nice.

a long time coming.

to say that life has been busy over the last term would be a total understatement. I'd say that right now probably has to be one of the busiest and most crucial seasons of my life to date. and i have been on and off sick for most of it which is lame. but God has had my back the whole way through, and countless times he has taken me to a point where i find myself with no words to describe his goodness.
right now, i am sitting in the comfiest armchair, next to a roaring fire, in my onesie with my 'faves'playlist blasting and i have no intention of moving anywhere fast. so beware, this could me a long one.

cambodia.
honestly the amount of times i have gone to write a post-cambo blog since returning has been a little bit ridiculous. i usually get all pumped up to put my experiences into writing but then i end up just sitting here staring at the screen with no idea how to put it into words. i have over 20 drafts on my dashboard all with the title 'cambodia.' i guess in a  nutshell my first missions trip was exactly what i expected it to be but at the same time exactly the opposite. the first couple of days i was in phnom penh (the capital), i have to admit, i was overwhelmed. i looked around and said to myself  "how on earth will i see hope restored to the khmer people?" but just like God said to Lot in Genesis 13v10, he spoke to me clearly and said "look up." and from that moment on, i saw everything differently. God loves Cambodia, and everyone in it.

"he will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." -isaiah 61v3

everyone we met there inspired me immensly. God has entrusted cambodia into good hands. we had the privilege of working with some incredible people that are doing incredible things.
while we were there, there was a couple of studnets from alaska who were making a short documentary on one of the projects we spent time at. if you would like to watch it, click here. 

there were so many amazing moments in that trip where i saw little glimmers of hope amongst God's precious children, but to be honest when I left I was really frustrated because I felt like I personally didn't do that much to impact people in the long run kinda thing. then I realised that that trip had sewn a seed into Cambodia and into my own life as well. I'm already saving for whenever God decides it'd be a good time for me to go back. Whether that will be next year or 20 years from now, who knows?

project.
in other news, school has been great. i have the privilege of leading the most amazing group of young people who are dedicated to seeing our high school meet their saviour and father. God's hand is totally over burnside high and the doors that he has opened for project over the last term have been incredible. our planning is underway for term 3 and I know that we'll hit it with a bang. watch this space.


the other day, nicola's friend gave her a whole lot of christian movies to watch. most of them are really lame. but this morning i got up and watched this one called Couragious and oh my lanter it was so so good. it tackled the whole issue of the fatherless generation. bro.

so ages ago, i decided that i wanted to go to uni instead of do year 13. i had been pumped about it ever since. part of the reason was because i wanted to grew up, another part was that i didnt really have any quality friends at high school. i hung all my expectations up on that fact. but then i started thinking about the disciples and if jesus came up to me and told me to give up everything to follow him whether i would or not. and sure enough the other night jesus asked me if id be willing to give up the one thing ive been most looking forward to in order to spend one more year dedicated to saving my high school. and i said yes.

ps. photos to come but i dont have them on this computer atm.

Jaffa.

Its amazing how God can take you on a complete 180 turnaround. Last week so many exiting things were going on that going overseas was the very last thing I want to do. As well as expecting a lot out of this trip, I was worried about the kind of environment I was being submerged in and worried that I'd get really homesick. But I love Cambodia. Absolutely every bit of it. From the squat toilets to the ants that eat you to the free wifi and tuk tuks everywhere. From the lol chinglish to the life risking lack of road rules and even to the beggars. I love every part of it. There is no place I'd rather be. I have shocked myself and everyone around me at how quickly I have picked up the language. In just two days I have learnt how to say so many things and I can communicate a bit with the locals. I'm pretty much Asian. And I thought I'd given up on my dream of ever being bilingual! Words cannot describe how much ive fallen on love with this place. As soon as I arrived I knew that I was exactly where I needed to be, maybe not forever but this will undoubtedly be my second home. My heart is for cambodia and its people. The 39 degree hear and constant drip of sweat down my back doesnt even bother me anymore. I'm not even going to start on how precious the children are....my gosh. I never want to leave this place. Ever. Li hao wi!!

Seriously, my God is faithful.

He never leaves me hanging but continues to overwhelm me with his goodness. Haha that was such a "I'm so enthralled by the beauty of Gods creation" moment. But it is soo true.

Passionate changed my life. There was no fat encounter or extreme visions of my future or anything like that. But something inside my spirit was being stirred and I know it will never settle. I am intent on living life in the fullest possible measure, and help others to as well.

I came to what I would easily say was the most amazing Sunday in church I have experienced yet. Aurora centre was packed, the atmosphere was incredible and the revelations were flowing!

How good is our God? Haha, but seriously.