Goodbyes

So I did pretty good saying my goodbyes and not crying until the moment I got to the curb at LAX and kissed my parents and sister goodbye. It was the moment I knew was coming, an exciting but scary one. It was the point of no return, whatever didn’t get done wasn’t getting done and I was leaving for three months. One thing that satan has been trying to do is make me afraid of being alone on this trip. I have a HUGE group of family and friends at home and I love being with people and rarely have a moment of loneliness. I don’t mind being alone but it lasts for a few minutes and then I call Jamie to talk or see what she’s doing. The panic set in about a week before I left (I think the after math of that is all over my face….7 cold sores and counting!! Uggg). I kept thinking about giant spiders and being alone for three months. And who would kill the giant spiders if I was alone?! I just got the chills all over! (Doesn’t help when my friends in Austrailia keep telling me about their spiders that shoot up from the ground and how their normal house spiders are the size of tarantulas! Google “huntsman spider”..that’s their house spider! I refuse to look until Im out of the country!) I kept my eye on the goal, knew this was a God thing and trusted Him to take care of everything. Like I said, I lost it at the airport and cried, as soon as I walked into the terminal I looked back one last time to see my dad’s truck drive off and cried even harder. This was it. Besides the fact that everyone in the airport was looking at me like I was crazy, I knew I had to pull it together. I had three months ahead of me! Then I get to the ticket booth and it seemed like everything was going wrong. I literally had to empty my carry on bag at the ticket booth and found out I needed a visa to get into Australia which I didn’t have. I instantly started sweating as the line behind me was growing impatient and as I was not clearly thinking, asked the man helping me to hold my tampons, spare underwear (incase my luggage got lost enroute to another country) and my midol. It all worked out but of course I was thinking, “5 minutes into it and it’s already hard.” But then something crazy happened. I literally felt every prayer that was ever prayed over me come to life. I felt freshness and a confidence as I walked up to the security check and I’ve never once doubted or feared since. I literally felt God’s authority rise inside of me and had a revelation of God’s power on me, a force field surrounding me. Not only physically but emotionally. Even in the moments where I literally have/had no clue where I am or how to get home, I just knew that God was going to do something. It’s almost exciting when those moments approach bc it’s fun to see what God is going to do next.

So far my trip has been absolutely amazing! I’ve been so amazingly blessed in every way possible! I’m staying with my friend Linds who is so ridiculously similar to me it’s insane. We sit and talk over tea and laugh for hours. I think it’s become a tradition that every night we get blankets, a cup of tea and sit on the coach and chat. I want to take her home in my suitcase with me, I don’t know what I’m going to do every night without her talks and laughs. I’ve also been hanging out with Christy and Ock on the weekend who have been an absolute blast! Love getting to know all of these people better.

God has been teaching me so much and BLESSING my socks off on this relaxing part of my trip. Even in the vacation part of my trip, I’m staying alert and open to what God wants me to do and He’s definitely brought opportunities my way. From meeting backslidden Christians at the zoo and encouraging them, to just making people laugh, I know that God is being spread in Australia. I love what Trina prayed over me before I left, “may every step she takes be claiming territory for you.” I pray that every step I take, every ½ smile (bc of cold sores) I give, every person I meet will feel/see something different in me. We all leave the fragrance of God wherever we go.

I keep thinking that even when I don’t ask for help or even know that I need help, God sends people to do so. From a stranger walking on a train to hand me a phone with Linds on it to tell me how to get home (how does that even happen?!!?), to a mother and daughter walking with me and waiting with me to make sure I get on the correct bus home. God has definitely answered the prayer Joey Beason prayed over me for, “friendly strangers to help wherever she goes.” Or how about me feeling the urge to go ask a question to the ticket master and missing the train I thought was mine but would have actually taken me the wrong way! The list goes on and on, God definitely has His hand on me, like a parent who has their hand on the head of their small child directing them through a large crowd, yanking them back and pushing them in the right direction. It’s an amazing thing to be so in tune with God and know you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. I love you all! MUAH!

Meeting Kaitlyn who thought I smelt delish...no really, the trainers told me so. She was rescued from Indonesia along with her sister.

Falling head over heels in love with Siam who is a movie star. She just starred in "Water for Elephants" and walked the red carpet with Reese Witherspoon.

Hiking "Gorilla Mountain" Aka: Mount Tibrogargan with Christy and Ock

My amazing friend Linds and I on the City Cat boat ride on the Brisbane River.