Adventure is Just a Bonus

And its something that has really hit me over the last few weeks... But I'll come back to that later.

     This week we actually started school! Do remember I'm doing DTS which stands for Discipleship Training SCHOOL.  Yyyyeeeaaaa... I forgot about that whole school part.  We got a workbook at the start of this week, and its LONG.  There's a lot of parts to it.  Each week I have to fill out work sheets that require you to read the bible, funny how that works. ;) And then there's a required Journal part.  Which is funny.  Some people say its really hard to do, but if you know me, you know I'm a pro at journaling.  Having some direction in my journal might be a good idea and could be helpful.  I'm pretty excited for it to be honest, and the only person that reads it is my 1on1...
     I got my One on One a few days ago.  This is basically a mentor that will meet with me pretty regularly for the next 6 months.  It thought it was going to be really awkward at first because he's only 20... but honestly, this guy 'David' is one of the most honest, caring, God fearing, mature men I've known.  One of the first things he said was "I just want to be your brother in Christ and I'm excited to learn from you and I'm sure you'll learn some things from me." Honestly, that changed my attitude instantly.  Another cool part of it... Ronnie (my Bromance here) has the same mentor. ;)

Adventure is Just a Bonus.
      I can't remember who said it, or when, or why, but its something that I have to follow.  That being said, David told me "when you're making a decision ask yourself; What's going to make a better story?" This is something I'm going to hold on to also.  It'll be so crazy the things we will get to do.  Already we've had a few random adventures.  Like last night, played basketball at a local gym, kind of like YMCA, against some locals.  Met a guy who was in the NBA back in the 80's.  (can't remember his name) but man, how cool is that! Or went to downtown Brisbane the other night and salsa danced in the middle of the street until about 1 am! Party!
    I really had a hard time taking the teaching seriously at first, but its really just because of my American culture thinking.  The speaker was teaching just on experience he's had with Christ, where I'm use to getting teaching from guys who have been to seminary or some professional studies.

Here are some things that I've been pondering over the past few days.
- Key to ministry is Capture People's Hearts
- God will often tell you to do something, but Without explanation
- "Do you want to be an expert in Maps and books? or do you want to be in the journey" - Gandalf, Lord Of The Rings
- When we mess up, What does the Lord do? ----- Makes us Breakfast.  (John 21)


I truly miss you all though, and love hearing from some of you in many ways (facebook, e-mail, FaceTime, Google Voice) If you want to send me something ;) Here's the address...

Jeremy Robinson
671 Samford RoadMitchelton 4053Australia






                               

Went to the beach the other day. ;)   duh I played Volleyball.  

Step into the Challenge...

*I'll have pictures tomorrow, the internet here is terrible*


    These were the first and last words that were said to me by my mentor when we talked about YWAM.  And boy... was he right. I didn't realize that this would be as intense as it has already been. This is the first weekend and we already went for a weekend away.  Sleeping on the hard ground, 40 of us sharing one bathroom, stuffing into a tiny bus for a 5 hour bus ride on bumpy roads, making snow-cones for a festival for hours in the hot sun. What a ride.  It's already been very busy and deep.

For future reference, I'll be talking about what we're doing in the first bit, then what I think/feel in the second half.

We went to something called a Watermelon Festival, they just do things with watermelons I guess? Like... who thinks of this stuff? They try to ski while strapping watermelon to their feet, they give out free watermelons, they dress up like watermelons... I mean really... Awesome.
Played a lot of sports with all these new friends, talked to some of the locals, played games, just hung out... YWAM style! ;)

Anyway, Here's the truth of it all, Step into the challenge is kind of a big thing and might just be something that I'll have to stick to over the next 6 months.  For example, one of my DTS leaders asked at a meeting "Who wants to help with the Hot Dog stand?" Normally I wouldn't for whatever reason, but I thought to myself, I want to do everything I can out here, and instantly raised my hand. I know this seems small, and it really is, but its a step to where things might come.

Theology here starts tomorrow, I'm interested to see what God has in store for me.  Here, everyone believes in Baptism of the Holy Spirit, something I've never really been apart of.  I'm just trying to be open to everything, just using my filter from what Christ Honoring people have told me in the past.

I'm bonding with everyone here pretty well, even though I'm the oldest here, well, there's one other girl (Jessica) that's 24, but for the most part I'm the oldest here.  We seem to all have a pretty good connection. Its hard trying to be social for 15 hours a day but I've been making it work, there are a few guys (Ronnie) that I've been getting close to, its really cool.  I'm excited to create lasting relationships that are Christ honoring.

Missing you guys. Lots.



P.S. Its funny because while I'm writing this, guys behind me are watching a little gecko run around after a cockroach.

First Thoughts (basic update)

I'm here now.  And wow.  First, I want to say, the flight was no big deal at all.  I had my own personal touch screen with 100's of movies and TV shows and games on it and I slept for a few hours.  But getting into Brisbane was... Awesome.
I had a smile on my face that I didn't even realize and couldn't get rid of for a few minutes when I first saw the land flying in.  I am so ready to be here and just go out and see what God has for me.
First thing first, I'm easily the oldest student here, I'm also older then most of the 'staffers'.  To be honest, it's a little awkward, I'm sure it won't matter in the long run, but most of the other students are 18-20.  I know that doesn't seem like much, but I'm the only person that has graduated college, which actually means a lot.  One of the leaders, who is a local, said in her beautiful accent "It just means you have more wisdom to share."  Which is cool to hear, but a little bit of me goes into leader mode like when I help to run camps and it makes it hard to participate in some of the games that we've played.  Again I'm sure that this will blow over, but its still on me head.
In the shower this evening, I had about a 3 second freak out thinking... "Why am I here? What am I doing here? How can I do this?!" It was awesome to feel Christ say 'Son, you are here for a reason, trust me.'

Now, as far as the base.  Its pretty cool.  Pretty far from the beach (about an hour train ride) and 20 minutes from downtown Brisbane.  Its a little bit like a very small camp, there's a dinning hall, a student hang out place (just a bunch of couches), bunk beds, grassy areas.  The Base is in the middle of a neighborhood and today we played basketball at the school down the street.  Orientation is tomorrow and all the students will be here finally! A lot of people are from Canada for some reason, a few from the states, then spread out else where.  There is a bunch of people here from Aussie which is cool to hear from the locals.

At this point, I just want to take it all in, meeting new people is awkward and hard for me but once we break the barrier, these are all great people all wanting to be closer to Christ.


In Him,
Jeremy

I will post pictures next time. For now, I must sleep.  We have breakfast at 7am every morning! Oh and Mom, my new friend is a runner... he wants to go running every morning.

"I am with you..."

       This week was rough to say the least, I had to say good-bye to so many people and it was not easy.  I was blessed enough to have a party at my house, a commissioning if you will where I got to talk to a lot of people, answer questions, and pray. It was amazing to be around so many people that cared about me and a few times I cried, not because I'm leaving, but more from the beautiful words people said and knowing that they cared about me. It was hard to leave these people that I have known for years... but by far the hardest, has been my Jr. High students.

       You really don't know what effect you make on someones life, until they have to tell you.  For whatever reason it may be, it comes out at some point.  This situation presented many of those people to come forward.  I lost it.  Multiple times. Kids, that I felt like I never even connected with other then the basic: "Hey man!" came up to me in tears, sad that I'm leaving, thanking me for what position I have played in their lives... I had no idea.  Thank you.  Thank you Lord for letting me play a role in students lives, I only hope it was honoring to you.  And thank you students, you have given me a massive amount of encouragement, something that I'll never forget, and it only makes it harder to leave.

      I could tell you many stories about how the last few days has played out with the kids, text messages I've gotten, notes, phone calls, hugs that seem to always be cut short, moments of silence, times of prayer, but there is one in particular that I want to mention, without using names. I've known this guy since he was a awkward 6th grader, all I did was come up to him, say hello, punch him a few times, and move on.  Apparently that stuck.  I took him home last night after group and we got to talk in my truck in front of his house.  He said "I want to thank you, you got me to love Christ, I look up to you, and forever you will be my big brother..."  Tears.  All I could do was pray.  Thank God for that moment and bless this young man that truly fears the Lord.

I can't say thank you enough to the people around me.  I am truly so blessed.  I Love you all. God is good. I am nothing, Christ is everything.

Now to packing.

In Him,
Jeremy



Feel free to comment.

This Is Getting Real...

         Closer and closer the date is coming, 12 days actually, and I will depart.  Its a weird feeling, one that I've never actually experienced before.  I'll actually assume that most of you reading this understand this feeling better then I do.  You have probably moved once or twice in your life, I mean, I did once, when I was 10, but I was just like a little dog, following around my parents around, helpless.  Currently I just have a lot to be done.  Trying to figure out and anticipate what could happen or change over the next 6 months is a weird feeling. Its things we don't think about, like my Car, God made it very obvious and easy for someone who needs my car to borrow it! Amen! But, what about the registration? That will be due in July while I'm still gone... How will I pay for it and get the sticker to my car when I'm 8,000 miles away? Also making sure I haven't left anyone untouched.  For me, its simple really, I want to go around to the people that have supported me and the people I care about and just say 'I care about you, and I will miss you.'  I only hope that's enough...

      The truth is, I'm scared.  I'm scared about what its going to be like out there.  If people are going to like me, If I have the right gear, If I'm physically and emotionally up to the task, If I am going to be home sick, If I will miss the freedom I have of being able to just hop in my car and drive.  These are probably all normal fears for the average student first heading off into college, but I never really did this.  And its not like I'm going an Hour north to Fort Collins, or even a 3 hour plane ride to California, I'll be on the other side of the world with new people, new places, new... everything!

And then God said "There will be snow, and it will
be a gift to those who are in Colorado and love snow." :)

    I just want to get out there, I just want to go, I want these next 12 days to go by smoothly and quickly so that all of a sudden I'm standing in the middle of the Brisbane International Airport and trying to understand the locals as they speak with really cool accents.

   I have this really great man in my life, Bryan Smith, he's been a spiritual leader, a counselor, a mentor, and a friend over the past 3 years and he said to me "Its us here who are going to suffer, you'll be out there doing amazing things while we here are all of a sudden missing something out of our normal lives."  It took me a while to realize what he really said, and it wasn't till I was alone that I realized just how true and deep and beautiful that was. So here's to you Bryan, for always keeping a level mind and seeing things the way I just can't see them.  On that note, I'd love to make the next few days about You guys.  Please, tell me how you are.  That's probably what I'll miss the most anyway. I have amazing friends and community here, its hard to leave it.

Last thing; I loved hearing back from some of you who read this.  Please continue to give me comments or feedback.  If you can't comment on this page, E-mail is fine too.

In Brotherly Love,
Jeremy

jcrob33@gmail.com

A simple paper and pen can change your life.

First Time Bloggin'...

And I'll tell you what, I'm probably not very good at it, that being said, I've been journal-ing for years now.  You'll find out quickly that I don't know how to spell, I don't use proper grammar  and I often make typo's and won't return to them to fix the problem, even when that scary little red wavy line is under the word.  But, I started at an early age Journaling, and now people actually look to me for it, which is pretty cool.  In middle school, I had this teacher, named Mrs. Loomis.  She made us 'free-write' on a regular basis, at that age I didn't quite understand what it meant but I think it still worked.  I would write about problems, or friends, or happy moments and I can honestly say that it changed my life, because now, if I go more then a week without journaling, I'm angry and ticked off, and anxious.  So thank you, Mrs. Loomis, for doing something in my life that ending up being so good.
This is where I will stop for today, I can't imagine anyone is actually going to be reading these entries, but I thought I would start off with something simple, mostly so that I can get my formatting simple, well, that is, if I can figure out how to format.
Hopefully I can use this as a type of journal, but more then anything else, I want to encourage others through the things I say and post.  I always tell my students, "I'm an open book, I'll read you my journal if you'd like."  There has been a few times where students actually sit down with me and I just read to them about my life.  I don't understand the significance in it, but if it helps them to grow in Christ, then so be it.
On that note, Signing off.
Jeremy.