Speaking at Rotary, with my Rotary host counselor John and wife Anna, with Laura overlooking Canberra, on graduation with BF and Laotian classmates

Friends in Newcastle from church, Brendan and I, swim instructor party, Thanksgiving at Kim's & Laura Lee

Brooke's Australia Adventures Update #8

Brooke’s Australia Adventure Update # 8 – December 6, 2007

Dear friends,

Greetings from Down Under as I trust you are all in the midst of holiday preparations and celebrations that accompany this time of the year. I was able to celebrate not only one – but three Thanksgiving dinners this year and it reminded me triply of how blessed I am that although I am far from home during this season, I am not far from a new family that has received me with open arms and loves me, regardless of nationality or accent. Thanksgiving away from the US and Canada is an interesting phenomenon. The first two Thanksgivings I celebrated were with ex-pat hosts who had a variety of American and Australian guests. The first was held at my friend Kimberly Spragg’s apartment that looks over the Sydney Harbor from her view in Drummoyne. Her sister was in town from DC (where Kimberly and I had first met at Kairos) and had brought along with her the American fare we couldn’t buy here – canned pumpkin, those dried onion rings to put on top of the green bean casserole and real American marshmallows to top the candied yams with. It was a diverse arrangement of people that attended, as Kimberly works for an American study abroad program at an Australian Christian institute. It was Brendan’s first time having this amazing spread and he loved it – especially the cranberry sauce. The second feast was no less amazing in that the wonderful American/Australian women Karen who prepared it all had made pumpkin pie from scratch, without having the option of canned pumpkin. It was a very fun dinner in which my first American guest, Laura Lee was able to join me from San Francisco and we enjoyed once again a diverse variety of people from all ages and citizenships. The third dinner was held in the very home I am now living in – at the Saxton’s in Hornsby. This dinner allowed me the chance to introduce those American favorites I had been sampling at the other two dinners – and this time to prepare them myself from scratch – pumpkin pie (made from fresh butternut squash) and candied yams (made with sweet potatoes and Australian “vanilla” marshmallows). This feast included South Africans and Australians and my friend Kristi from International House that flew back to the US the next day. There goes all the hard work I’ve accomplished with the Around the Waist program – but it has been wonderful to be thankful for what God has done this year.

Ecclesiastes 8:15
“So, I command the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.”

I am in a season of transition and as I write this update I am sitting in my new tree-house style studio apartment, affectionately referred to by the family as the “shed.” I am all moved out of Newcastle, finished with my work there, completed my master’s and as of Monday – graduated from my program… Well, sort of that is. You see, for international students the university holds a special program called an International Student Farewell. This is due to the fact that all of our visas run out in March of next year but the graduation is not held until April – so none of us would be able to attend. So, they give us the opportunity to be recognized separately and on Monday I was one of 100 international students that were invited to attend. So, I rented the cap, gown and hood (green for the faculty of Arts and Education) and donned them with students from 28 different nations who had completed studies ranging from doctorates to bachelors and mainly coming from Asia or the Middle East. I was the only American student that completed with this class and I think due to this, I was singled out to be interviewed and photographed. The day began with a radio interview on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) – the local version of the national radio station, then an interview in the Newcastle Herald, then for the university’s own publications and the next day with the university’s own radio station… it was truly amazing! In each and every interview I was able to reflect on my time and appreciate it, as well as the amazing opportunity the Rotary awarded me to be able to come and study here this year. I was grateful for the chance to share, but even more grateful for the love I felt from Brendan and his family celebrating with me on that day. The day was a very busy one and in addition to the interviews and ceremony, I was also speaking at the Rotary Club of Newcastle and it was the first time Brendan has heard me give my speech to a Rotary Club. I was in a flurry and rushing out the door to head to the ceremony immediately following and Brendan had had delivered half a dozen beautiful red roses. It was wonderful! Following the ceremony which was punctuated by a terrific lightning storm and the lights flickering on and off and intense rain, we went back to Brendan’s family’s house and there were more flowers awaiting me from his parents and brother and a beautiful picture frame they had engraved for me to remember the day. That wasn’t all, as they hosted a fantastic Aussie BBQ that all of the family – uncle, cousin, grandparents, sister, brother, brother-in-law, niece, nephew and parents attended. I was overwhelmed… to think that just a short 10 months ago I didn’t know this family, to have them celebrating my achievements was incredible. I have not grown up with family living close – as my parents raised my brother and I in Florida, while the rest of our family was in Canada, and I have been very glad to be included in Brendan’s family and seeing what a blessing it is to have lots of people around you.

Ecclesiastes 3:1
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

My transition from Newcastle to Sydney, although marked with wonderful memories, like those I have just shared, has not been without its emotions also. It was hard leaving the Rotary Club I had become close with and they too were amazing in saying goodbye and giving me gifts and celebrating my time with them. It was also sad to leave International House and the friends made there – but a little easier since we are all scattering over the globe and many of them returned to America – so there is a good chance I’ll see some of them again. And it was difficult leaving the Viking Center – again great people who really blessed me when I left with chocolates, wine, flowers, bath products and a picture frame with a photo taken at a goodbye cocktail party the swim instructors had thrown. Truly, it was a bit much for me to take in how much I had been so generously welcomed into this culture, society and group of people in less than a year and been able to give and receive so much in return. But, I knew I had exciting things to look forward to in Sydney, so I pressed on. The first great thing that happened was that a friend I’ve known for a few years, Laura, came to visit. She is an incredibly generous woman who has invested in my life spiritually and in many ways since I first met her. We were able to explore Sydney together and appreciate the beauty of the place and people and also dig into our friendship further and some things that the Lord is doing in my heart. It was great to have someone with me that have known me longer than a year, from my own culture, to be able to debrief with, and to talk about what my hopes and anxieties are for the future. And to be able to introduce her to Brendan, who has become such an important person for me this year. We were also able to take a memorable trip to Canberra on the day after the election here when Kevin Rudd was elected Prime Minister. It was a historic day of turn over for the nation, as the Liberal Party had been in power under John Howard’s leadership for 11 years. We attended church at Brendan’s old church from his university days (he studied at Australian National University in Canberra for 5 years) and the sermon was well balanced politically and encouraged the congregation to pray for its leaders. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed living in Washington, DC and the prayer group for the city I was a part of and feeling like I was involved in the spiritual shaping of what was happening. I am interested to see how things will change during the next few months as the new leadership begins to take over and I am reminded once again of how important it is for citizens to pray for their leaders.

Romans 13:1
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

During Laura’s visit, and since she left, I have been trying to look for casual jobs and it has been a faith journey of seeking to rest in God and believe He is the provider and has all that I need. I notice a tension within myself where I desire to be productive and although I don’t desire this to be a part of my identity, I do find it easier to share with people what I am doing, rather than how I am doing. I am sure many of you have heard this said before, but it truly does resonate with me that God has created us to be human beings, not human doings, but what we are is much of the times the human doings. I also find a tension in the receiving I am doing rather than the giving I am used to doing in this season and my pride and independence challenged by this… In this season through different conversations, some areas in my heart that still need healing have been surfacing and I have been surprised how easily I can cry, recognizing perhaps I need to cry. There have been some gentle and challenging conversations with people in this community in Sydney that I have shared and also the timing was good for Laura and I to share some good prayers. I have been thinking perhaps this is why I have not began a job yet – to allow me the space to do the hard work perhaps required to heal and grow… but I find it is much easier for me to get busy, distracted and not do the work – even when the time is available. Please pray with me in this season for God to take away crutches I rely upon and rest solely in Him and for His work to be accomplished in my heart, even if it takes tears to do it.

Song of Songs 2:11 & 12
“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”

I do believe there are exciting things on the horizon and the stillness of this season compared to the busyness of the previous ones may indeed amplify what comes. I have began to work as Volunteer Program Manager at Opportunity International and I am very glad to be working in a Christian organization where I truly sense peace and passion in the work that is being done on behalf of the poor. I will be there two days a week for the next three months and look forward to learning and growing through my time there, and to putting to good use the skills and knowledge I have acquired through my master’s. I will be with Brendan and his family for Christmas in Newcastle and in Sydney with friends for New Year’s and then on a holiday with Brendan’s family to Queensland in January for a week and up to the Great Barrier Reef to share a holiday with a former International House friend from America after that, so indeed many fun things to come.

Psalm 37:7
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

I am wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (this year I’ll be celebrating first!) from far away – yet I pray not too far from your hearts, as you are not far from mine. I pray that you, like me would be able to find some stillness in your hearts this season and that we would be able to reflect on the goodness of the Lord and His love in our lives and share that with those around us.

As always, please go to my blog to see photos of the places I’ve mentioned: www.brookesintladventures.blogspot.com