Queensland Student Leadership Forum - Group 9 with PM Chris Foley, ASGF Emily and I, photos from lovely Brisbane, Brendan and I at Newcastle Jets game

Newcastle Photos - coal ship, Nobby's, kids at the creche at work, Melissa and I - a fellow American at IH, Brendan and I

Brooke's Australia Adventures Update #6

Brooke’s Australia Adventures Update #6 – Sunday, September 2, 2007

My dear friends,

Today is Australia’s Father’s Day so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all the father’s reading this update a congratulations for choosing to play such an important role in so many children’s lives. I recently was doing something called a Unique Self evaluation to learn more about myself: parts of my personality, some things in the past that have shaped me, how I’ve coped with pain, etc. In that evaluation it came out that my dad spoke much into who I was as a young child and beyond and the woman helping me with this said that for girls, 85% of what shapes them is their father’s and how their father’s treat them and speak about them. Know dad’s what a huge role you play and that you are valuable and your words have power and influence and even more your lived out example. Continue to be the dad you always wanted to be and talk to your children.

Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son ask for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Many, many people unfortunately have a very hard time believing in a loving heavenly Father because of the broken example of their earthly father. We all have suffered pain of one sort or another from people we’ve trusted, and often by parents. For me, coming to the realization that there is a loving and eternal Father has freed me up to walk so much more in my true identity and who I’ve been created to be.

Psalm 139:13 &14; 17 &18
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. How precious to me (concerning me) are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

I have been reflecting much on life recently and the importance of family. Since returning for this semester from Thailand, Brendan’s family has taken me in as one of their own. I have been going over to his parents’ house for dinner regularly, going to hear special speakers at their church, and experiencing the joys of celebrating baby christenings and birthdays. I am also walking through an illness with them – that of cancer in Brendan’s aunt’s body that is taking her to the end of her life. I have never had to be this close to death before… those that have died in my family all lived far away and I was young enough not to be very involved. I am reminded how precious life is and how wonderful it is to live close (in your heart) to your family. Even though my family lives far from me right now in geographic terms, I feel close in my heart and through Brendan’s family living close geographically, I am able to feel intimate in the here and now as well.

Psalm 103:13 & 14
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Sorry friends to begin on such a somber note, but this is where I am and I felt it was important to share with you these reflections even as I have much joyful and fun reflections as well. For example, the eternal gorgeous sunshine that is Australia is finally getting warmer. The winter’s harsh wind is starting to subside and the glory that is the sunshine here is beginning to warm up my skin, the air and water that all make this nation so glorious. Truly it is part of why I came here! It is wonderful smelling the scent of flowers in the air and observing flowering trees – not so much different from some in Washington, DC – although the cockatoos and kookaburras would look a little out of place in that landscape.

In this past month and a half I have walked through some difficult times, including one in which I was not sure if Brendan and I would continue to walk forward in this relationship. This season of uncertainty caused me to again reflect on the fact that I (and truly none of us) are in control of our lives completely. We must enjoy life and at the same time hold loosely those gifts given to us. I have always said that Brendan is an amazing gift to me and I realized that if he was being taken away I had to freely give him up in my heart. It was a time of re-centering and being reminded who I am and where I am going. It also did lead us back into taking back the relationship and reminding ourselves of why we are in it. We don’t know the future, but are walking together hand in hand seeking to follow God and see if His horizon for us both is the same…

It has also been a time where I have been quite busy with some Rotary talks as well as traveling up to Queensland to participate in the Queensland Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values. I was very excited to have the opportunity to make the trip up to Queensland because as long as I have been in Australia I have found out that this state – situated north of New South Wales where I live is called “the Sunshine state” and is where Australians go to vacation. I hail from the US version of the “Sunshine State” of Florida and in similar fashion many come to our state for holidays, so needless to say through this winter I was looking forward to a trip to a warmer climate. Well, as it would pan out, the week I went for the Forum – August 22-26 Brisbane (Queensland’s capitol) experienced a deluge of rain, like they haven’t seen for decades. The state has been in a severe drought and the farmers have definitely been suffering for quite a while. But, the heavens decided to open just as I made the trip up and thus the warm temperatures eluded us. Don’t worry, all was not lost, the Forum was a great success and I felt honored to again be able to help facilitate a phenomenal group of young students and professionals into evaluating their leadership and where it stems from. Group 9 was made up of people with amazing stories of overcoming significant odds: beating cancer, amazing family strengths and challenges, business success and failures and the list goes on, yet every person was 27 years old or younger… The weekend was honestly some of the best fun I have had in a very long time. Yes, we did meet in Parliament and were able to listen to the state’s leaders, hear from Peter Cosgrove – the former head of the Australian Defense Force, listen to leaders of non-profits and from the health and business world… but what I will remember most is the fun. From an indoor soccer tournament that left many bruised and bloody, to a bush dance (think barn dance) with many dosey doers, to late night laughs and hiccups, it was a weekend to remember. I felt again, as I have felt many times during my last seven months here in Australia that this is an amazing nation and that there are many here I desire to know better and have as life long friends. I know that will not be my only time spent in Queensland and indeed already have invitations to come and stay with some of the facilitators and speaker’s families I met, as well as a reunion is already planned for the Forum and my small group is angling to get me to fly up for it. In Bill Bryson’s book on Australia, In a Sun burnt Country, he describes Queenslanders as “crazier than cut snakes” but I found that I enjoy that type of crazy…

These opportunities to speak and share around this great country, sometimes coming through the Rotary (next weekend I will be able to facilitate at a Rotary Youth Conference for children with educational learning disabilities) and sometimes coming from other sources, continue to allow me to use my gifts and passions while also getting to know in deeper ways the culture and strengths and deficiencies of this nation. Please pray for me as I continue to serve in this way: especially the youth of this country, many of whom I am finding struggle with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. One speaker from the National Forum and Queensland Forum, Brian Egan, who began the non-profit Aussie Helpers, was one such man that was a farmer who lost everything in the severe drought in this nation. He attempted suicide and was in hospital for a year seeking to overcome what he calls “The Beast” of depression. What allowed him to move forward was a doctor telling him he needed to get out and find someone worse off than him and help him or her… He didn’t know if it was possible, but with his wife, some food from their pantry and a little creativity they went to the local pub and raffled off this food basket to raise their first money that served another bush family struggling. Since they began this non-profit literally millions of dollars have come through from individuals and corporations to serve those isolated and depressed. It is a wonderful story and a reminder from my own life, often the pains we experience can help us bring hope and healing or even companionship in another’s pain. I know from experience adolescence is not an easy time and so I find it enriching and rewarding to be able to befriend students not so far behind me in the journey called life and encourage them with my stories of struggle and joy.

In terms of my classes this semester I am really enjoying the learning process and have written papers on voluntary simplicity and why more people don’t choose this lifestyle even though environmentally it may be the most just option and on how ecosystem health affects human health. I have also been able to interview two women from Newcastle SWOP (Sex Worker Outreach Program), one a current and one a former sex worker and be honored for them to tell me their stories a little bit and share what they feel are the most important needs for sex workers in Newcastle. I also have some big projects on the horizon and while each is challenging, I feel that I am learning so much about myself in each one.

As the time gets closer to the end of my season in Newcastle I am also feeling so grateful for the chance I have had to work here with the team at the Viking Center. We are currently doing a program at the gym titled, “Around the Waist in 80 Days.” I am always keen to try and keep my waist trim and with bikini season on the way in, it has been nice to team up with other staff and gym patrons to do classes together, have to write down all that I eat and get weighed weekly (even if it is all in kilograms and measured in centimeters). I always enjoy working on all parts of myself: spiritually, mentally and physically and truly this is the latest challenge. Brendan and I ran the Sydney City to Surf – a very large 14 km road race together last month along with 65,000 others and that too was a fun fitness challenge. For Brendan, who hadn’t run a race since a 5 km fun run as a kid, it was a special goal. He got so excited about it that he has already signed up for a 9 km bridge run in a few weeks, so I was persuaded to do the Half Marathon, so on the 23rd of September we’ll both participate in these events – part of the Sydney Marathon.

Life continues to be full here and I am very grateful to all of you friends and family who from afar continue to support me and keep me up to date on your lives. Believe me when I say, I am missing you dearly… I have been more homesick for many of you in the past month and a half perhaps due to all the weddings I have missed and babies born to friends. I know the tension of love I feel in my heart for where I am and where I am not will always continue to be present as I continue to be able to travel and get the incredible opportunity to meet so many amazing people and as we can all only live in one place at one time… In honor of all of you, I say some congratulations: to John and April on the birth of Dante, to Anita and Jerald as you unite, to Laura and Tommy, to Cary and Ben, to Allison and Joel, to Kara and Hunter and the list goes on and on…

Psalm 139:16
“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

All my love,
Brooke

PS – as always please see photos on my blog: www.brookesintladventures.blogspot.com