Passion and Prayers

Happy New Year to all of you (dedicated) readers! I hope that you are blessed with health, happiness, and love from our faithful Lord. So far 2008 has been an exciting year for me. I spent the first few days of ’08 on a vacation, which proved to be one of the most enjoyable and beneficial things I’ve done in Australia so far. I, along with 16 virtual strangers, left the day after Christmas for a holiday in Coral Bay and Karijini, two beautiful destinations about 14 hours north of Perth. My friend Taylor Smith went on this trip last year but could not commit to going this time around, so I took his spot. Initially, I was a little intimidated to venture on a holiday without knowing any of the crew, but a few hours into the car ride, I knew these people would be lasting friends.

I’ve always heard that people bond over traumatic experiences. I envision strangers becoming friends during the 9-11 catastrophe or passerbyers becoming companions as a result of the Katrina disaster. Now, nothing this drastic happened to me on this trip, but our road trip quickly turned sour only a few hours in. Let me explain: There was a group of 17 of us going up to Coral Bay. The original plans were to spend the night at our friend Simon’s house on Christmas night and wake up around 6 am on the 26th to start our journey. Well, the plans were quickly changed as people started to arrive to Simon’s around midnight after their own individual Christmas celebrations. Since everyone was wide-awake and geared up for the holiday, it was decided that we’d leave in the middle of the night to get a jump on the 14-hour trek. (Mind you, in hindsight, this was not the smartest or safest traveling agenda.) So, the car toting the trailer left around 12:30 and two more cars departed Simon’s around 1:30 am. I was in the second lot of vehicles. About an hour into the journey, our car noticed that the other vehicle was no longer following us. Upon suspicion, we turned around to find their car, complete with a crushed in hood, parked on the side of the road. Turns out, a kangaroo had jumped in front of the car and unfortunately met its doom on this dark Christmas night. I, at first, felt sorry for this cute little marsupial. But my attitude quickly shifted to frustration when Simon explained to me that kangaroos wander towards the heat of the road at night, jumping out in front of cars when they are startled, kind of like deer do in the states. Luckily, the roo was on the down-jump and collided with the hood of the car. Simon explained that if the roo is on the up-jump, it can smash through the windshield, possibly hurting or killing the car’s passengers. There are instances where kangaroos, in a state of panic, have kicked people to death once they are stuck inside of the car. So, no longer do I view these creatures as the friendly Aussie mascots, but annoying and dangerous animals. (okay, okay, I know I am biased after this encounter.) Turns out, the car was undrivable and needed to be towed. So, that left 8 people and a four-passenger car stuck in the middle of the Australian desert, an hour away from Simon’s. We decided that we’d haul one group of people back to Simon’s house and then return to pick up the other 4 people. I was in the first carload, which didn’t include Simon. Upon arriving to his house completely exhausted, we realized that Simon never gave us his house keys. So, from 4 am- 6 am, I sat outside of Simon’s incitingly comfortable house with two strangers, who were no longer strangers by the end of the night. The second crew of people arrived around 6 am as the sun was rising. We decided to get some rest after our eventful night and ended up officially heading out for Coral Bay at noon on the 26th. So much for trying to be time-efficient! This time around, we were all vigilantly watching the road and shouting out whenever we saw any object that remotely resembled an animal. Round two proved to be safe and successful, having us arrive to Coral Bay at 2 am the next morning.

Although the start of the trip was quite bumpy, both literally and metaphorically, the rest of the vacation was blissful. We stayed at a caravan park across from the beach in tents on the sand. There was a community bathhouse and supermarket. We cooked all our meals, wore bathers the entire day, rarely wore shoes, never had a strict agenda to follow: The week’s theme was simplicity, and how refreshing that idea was. This trip made me realize how busy and complicated I let my life get to where it tends to stifle true joy and spontaneity.

One highlight of the trip was learning how to snorkel, which has quickly become my new passion. I was constantly amazed by the sea life: blue starfish bigger than my hands, neon yellow, blue, and orange fish straight out of ‘Finding Nemo’, 200-pound sea turtles and their babies, a harmless (?) reef shark, sting rays 5 feet long, schools of 100s of tuna fish that formed a glittery permeable wall to swim through.

The most enjoyable part of the trip was making 16 new friends: playing beach volleyball, creating inside jokes, playing simple water sports, going four-wheeling through the sand and around the dunes, lying on the beach with the sea breeze blowing in our hair, cooking dinners together, ending the night with the intriguing and suspenseful card game, Mafia. The list goes on and on. I felt so grateful that these people invited me so warmly into their circle of friends.

After a week in Coral Bay, several people went back to Perth but a group of seven of us traveled 6 hours inland to Karijini National Park. We hiked the red-rock gorges and swam in the fresh water pools, where the massive waterfalls turned into full body massagers when sitting underneath. I got my adrenaline fix from jumping off the cliffs into the refreshing water below. The scenery was totally different from the sun and sand in Coral Bay, but just as breathtakingly beautiful. The only downfall was the intense heat: 115 degrees! At least it was dry rather than humid heat, but still, 115 degrees is quite miserable. It was a delight to reach the water’s edge after hiking down the rocky trail. We only camped out one night in Karijini due to the rough camping conditions: no running water or proper toilets and heaps of annoying flies and critters, not to mention the wild Australian dog, the Dingo. I felt totally out of my element falling asleep under the stars in my sleeping bag covered by a mosquito net. But, oh, what an experience!

This trip reinforced the value of friendship, the need to laugh and be flexible, the desire for adventure, and the greatness of my Lord. So many times throughout my time in Coral Bay and Karijini, I was in awe of God’s beauty that surrounded me. It was almost surreal, leaving me wondering, “can it get much better than this?” This trip definitely goes down as one of the best memories from my Australia experience.

On another note, I am back in Perth getting back into the swing of things with Westchurch and the community. Networking with people has been a main focus the past few months and I am making a point to catch up and meet with several of the new faces and friends. Josh and Hayley are still in America until the end of the month, so Taylor has been preaching quite a bit at Westchurch, where as I have been in charge of organizing and directing the powerpoint for and on Sunday mornings.

In the upcoming weeks, I am going to need to make several important decisions for my future that I’m asking you to keep in your prayers. I fully trust that God’s Will will be done in my life and He will reveal the best possible path in His timing, yet, I will need to take some steps of faith as I continue to think about my life here in Perth, as well as back home in Nashville.

My ultimate desire is to stay longer in Perth, as I truly believe that God has a purpose for me out here. Plus, the fact that I am learning so much about life, spirituality, and myself causes me to enjoy and cherish this experience. Yet my fundraising money is quickly dwindling given the fact that I only raised enough for about 5-6 months worth of living. So, that means getting a job will most likely be the answer to providing myself with a steady income. Which then means that I need to obtain a different visa since I cannot work on the tourist visa I now hold. I have a flight booked to Nashville for mid-March and my wish is to come home for a couple weeks, visits with friend and family, and apply for the Working Holiday visa, which would allow me to work in Australia for one to two years maximum. If this is the case, the job hunt must start soon. I also need to re-evaluate my living situation here in Perth. The house I am currently living in has been such a blessing: safe, central location; Christian housemate; wonderful, friendly neighbors with young kids. Yet, in order to be financial savvy, I need to consider moving to a less expensive neighborhood with more than one roommate to dilute the cost of rent. A move would be quite unfortunate in my perspective, but I trust that God will provide me with alternate options if that is His Will.

All this to say, I am at a place in life where some important decisions need to be made. I have been prayerful and thoughtful the past several weeks and am reaching out and asking for your prayers, as well. Your support, encouragement, and advice are much appreciated!

-sk