Details of my up-and-coming missions trip into Australia next summer keep coming in (I've been doing lots of talking with our host, a wonderful girl named Natalie). We will be in Brisbane, Australia, twenty minutes from the city, twenty minutes from the beach, twenty minutes from the mountains, and twenty minutes from "the bush." The city is in the tropics; there are palm trees and palm fronds everywhere, which I love.
We will be spending most of our time doing missions-work in Brisbane with an organization caleld ccarewerx. The "scope" of what we'll be doing is huge: working with the poor, those who are enslaved to substances such as drugs and alcohol, and befriending and spending time with the men, women and children of the Muslim and Somali migrant communities. These communities have grown from people trying to escape the dangers of the Middle East; many of them have stories about their families being murdered and tortured in their homelands (it is sad that these broken-heared refugees are called terrorists by those who are obscenely ignorant). The poverty levels in Brisbane are not that extreme, however; most of our time will be working with substance abuse. I am excited about getting to know the people that are hosting us and the people we'll be working with; Natalie says that the people where she lives are really friendly and down-to-earth, not stuck-up and snobby like here in the United States.
We will spend lots of our down-time sight-seeing, hanging out, and going into "the bush." Since I'm a big wildlife guru, I kept asking Natalie all kinds of questions about "the bush." Apparently, the city dead-ends right into "the bush," and we'll be going for walks through "the bush." She says there are lots and lots of kangaroos in "the bush" (yes, I will put quotations around it everytime), so many that there are always dead kangaroos on the road after being hit by cars (I guess they're kind of like the Australian deer, in a sense). She said that birds will eat right out of your hand, and we can hold koala bears (which I'm stoked about). She showed me several pictures, and on the beach, dolphins will come right up to you as you wade into the water (when we're there, it's dolphin migration season, so there will be even more of them). Lets not forget about the sharks (such as the hammerhead and Great White) and the six most poisonous snakes in the world!
What will be doing for fun when we're not working or in "the bush"? Hanging out with the Aussies! Going to restaurants and coffee shops and bookstores, going sea-fishing on Natalie's family's boats, camping, and 4-wheeling out on the white sand beaches, maybe take the boat over to an island and have a picnic. Next summer should be overwhelmingly fun.
We will be spending most of our time doing missions-work in Brisbane with an organization caleld ccarewerx. The "scope" of what we'll be doing is huge: working with the poor, those who are enslaved to substances such as drugs and alcohol, and befriending and spending time with the men, women and children of the Muslim and Somali migrant communities. These communities have grown from people trying to escape the dangers of the Middle East; many of them have stories about their families being murdered and tortured in their homelands (it is sad that these broken-heared refugees are called terrorists by those who are obscenely ignorant). The poverty levels in Brisbane are not that extreme, however; most of our time will be working with substance abuse. I am excited about getting to know the people that are hosting us and the people we'll be working with; Natalie says that the people where she lives are really friendly and down-to-earth, not stuck-up and snobby like here in the United States.
We will spend lots of our down-time sight-seeing, hanging out, and going into "the bush." Since I'm a big wildlife guru, I kept asking Natalie all kinds of questions about "the bush." Apparently, the city dead-ends right into "the bush," and we'll be going for walks through "the bush." She says there are lots and lots of kangaroos in "the bush" (yes, I will put quotations around it everytime), so many that there are always dead kangaroos on the road after being hit by cars (I guess they're kind of like the Australian deer, in a sense). She said that birds will eat right out of your hand, and we can hold koala bears (which I'm stoked about). She showed me several pictures, and on the beach, dolphins will come right up to you as you wade into the water (when we're there, it's dolphin migration season, so there will be even more of them). Lets not forget about the sharks (such as the hammerhead and Great White) and the six most poisonous snakes in the world!
What will be doing for fun when we're not working or in "the bush"? Hanging out with the Aussies! Going to restaurants and coffee shops and bookstores, going sea-fishing on Natalie's family's boats, camping, and 4-wheeling out on the white sand beaches, maybe take the boat over to an island and have a picnic. Next summer should be overwhelmingly fun.
4 comments:
Wow Australia sounds amazing! Wish I could go there too someday.
I guess you're right about Europe. Well espescially the Netherlands, I'm from Belgium and the schools there are a lot more strict than they are in the Netherlands. But all countries are different. You'll notice when you're in Australia :)
By the way the Aussies have the best field hockey team I have ever seen play. I know this information is completly useless, but I thought I'll share it with you :P
Anthony, I am happy for you. It is important to me that "missions" work not just be about evangelizing. People have physical needs too. I really support your trip and the efforts there. I have one question? how are you funding it? I know that the airfare alone is going to be quite a shot to the wallet. Let me know if there is anyway that we can help out in that area?
See - a change of pace will do ya good! :0)
They're not a lot alike, but it's really fun too.
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