If I could describe in one word what I have felt like since I arrived back in Redding it is momentum. From the way I felt when I landed to how quickly everything got going with my internship to the increase I feel spiritually, it feels like someone stomped on the accelerator of my life. I find myself having something to give away, people ask questions and they really listen, I have a confidence and freedom I didn’t have last year and I am more aware of my need of God than ever!

Two days after I landed in Melbourne I was back on a plane to Alice Springs. I think every Aussie should make it to the Red Centre at least once in their life. This time however my purpose was to spend some time with my great aunt Marg. She has been a friend and missionary to the Aboriginal people for over 60 years. She has written a few groundbreaking books and articles on her experiences and discoveries and I could go on about how amazing her life is. She has taught me a lot about what it takes to be a missionary but also a lot about God too. I was able to ask her about her love for Australia and the Aboriginal people. I asked her to pray for me since she is a pioneer and a spiritual powerhouse in Australia. She said she would love to and prayed a most wonderful prayer. We also spent some time outside appreciating the beauty of the red centre. It was an absolute highlight of my year.

After that I went back to Melbourne and got stuck into working as much as possible. God answered our prayers and I had exactly the right amount of work, not run off my feet but not quiet by any means.

I had a few really fun gigs and a lot of mind numbingly boring ones but a highlight for me was being part of the team who installed a new FOH system for my Aussie church, Stairway. The system had been donated to the church and because of my skill set I was asked to be part of a team of awesome guys to pull out the old system and get the new one in. We had only a few days to get everything working and it was a monumental effort. Tech stuff aside it was awesome to work along side these guys from the church and it made me feel less like someone who floated in every 9 months for a few weeks and then was gone again and more like a friend.

Below is a fun little graphic I made showing the before and after. You have to click it.

After working until the last possible day I headed back to Redding to begin my internship. To quickly explain, the course I am attending has an optional third year option for those wishing to come back and serve a mentor and learn directly from them about their particular aspect of ministry. I’m stoked to announce that I will be interning for the amazing Theresa Dedmon!! Theresa is the Creative Arts director for Bethel and has pioneered many things including painting during worship as a visual expression of worship instead of a musical one amongst many others. She also has a heart for the nations and evangelism. She has seen many incredible miracles released through her art as well as seeing thousands come to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

My role with her this year looks like a few different things. I am helping out in BSSM teaching photography as well as assisting running a program designed to serve local businesses in practical ways.

I am also seeking to develop tools that will make the amazing breakthroughs we have had at Bethel available to as many people as possible. It is not always financially feasible for every church to fly a speaker out from the other side of the world but my heart is that we can make some tools and resources available that will see the freedom, joy and miracles that are released here, released all over the world. I am also working with the leaders of the churches Theresa travels to in an effort to make sure they feel supported year round, enquiring about what they actually need to move forward and not just to have the yearly cycle of ‘wow’ for a weekend followed by 11 months of not being quite sure how to apply the teaching that their church has received. I am also helping out with social media and a few other things.

This means that I am hoping to travel as much as necessary with Theresa to accomplish these goals. I do have some money but I will be raising funds for some of these trips. So please, if you feel like you would like to contribute either through keeping me in prayer or financially that would be so appreciated.

As you can imagine my life is rather crazy busy at the moment. Other parts of my life here include being on the Third Year worship team which has been a wonderful opportunity to both serve my class and lead them in worship but also to connect with dear friends who have been on teams with me every year and who understand me on a level that is hard to explain. I have also been seeking to build great community this year and am discovering many amazing truths about relationship and vulnerability. It is so important to have people in your life that believe in you more than you believe in yourself. People who want your dream as much as you want them and who will champion and call you to the standard they see you at, even when you’re down.

Well I promised to keep this short and sweet. Next time I will tell you about two amazing ministry trips, one to Santa Cruz and another to Oregon City so stay tuned! If you would like to support me financially as I begin ministry this year you can click this. As always, I would love to hear from you so please comment below!

PRAYER – for if you’re the praying type…

Answered Prayer

• For work during my time in Melbourne. I had the perfect amount of work! Amazing!
• For an amazing mentor!

Prayer Points

• For my 2016 that God would continue to mould me into who He created me to be!
• For funds to be able to do my internship to the best of my ability.
• For wisdom to be able to create tools and resources that are bigger than my ability and that truly bless people all over the world.
• For continued wisdom both in building community and in general as I spend time with God.

God Bless You!