First 2 weeks of Class

Just finished week 2 of my new schedule so I'll give you an idea of what it's like. Sunday mornings I serve at the Southwest campus, which just opened earlier this year. I'm helping out with kids aged 5-8. It's been a lot of fun so far. Hillsong is pretty organized so the team leaders have a plan, which is definitely helpful. Last Sunday was movie day so we watched movies and ate popcorn. The kids also learned about fruits of the Spirit. Oh and it's like a 40 min drive to Southwest so I carpool. It seriously has to be the most diverse car. Diego is our driver, he's from Brazil. Ricky is from New Zealand, Beena is from Kuwait, and Ida is from Norway. Yep...very diverse! But we really enjoy the ride together. I have church back at the hills campus in the evening. This whole month they've had "Sunday Night Live" going on, which is just church services where they use media, drama and music. It's been great! The Sunday before last I cried 3 times. It was that good! My day off is Monday. A lot of my housemates have Monday off too so we usually just chill and watch movies. Today was one of the best Mondays for sure. My housemate Raquel and I went for a run. Man, I'm out of shape... but it was good. Then we came home and ate healthy food. But...it was followed by a Mexican party where we ate loads of yummy Mexican food (haha...). It was delightful :) Tuesdays I have 2 classes World Religions and Christian Doctrine. World Religions is so interesting. We're covering Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, New Age, Scientology, Confuscism, Taoism and more. I have a role play assignment coming up in October where a group of us will be acting out a conversation between a Christian and a Buddhist. Should be intersting! Christian Doctrine sounds boring but it's far from it. We're really getting down to what we believe and why we believe it in that class. Wednesdays are my longest day. I start at 9 and go till 5:30. I have Church History tutorial, New Testament Introduction, and Church History. New Testament and Church History are loaded with facts and dates, but so interesting. And if you ask a really good question, the N.T. instructor gives you chocolate :) Later on I have powerhouse, which is why my day is so long...but I LOVE powerhouse! Last week was our focus night and the worship was just insanely good! Thursdays I have no class. Sisterhood meetings are in the morning and I arrive at 8am to set up. I help out with the 2year olds...they're adorable and I really like my team as well. after that I have my fieldwork, which is the Hillsong Leadership Network. Basically, you or your church can become a member and receive resources, ministry advice, the latest cds, reserved seating for conferences, etc. It's really awesome! I feel so blessed to join the network team. I'm mostly going to be doing different administrative type job assignments. Last week I had to go get old brochures from one of Christine Caine's offices and throw them away. I had to carry a few boxes up to the office where I serve and when I got upstairs there was a guy holding the door open for me. It was Reuben Morgan! (haha...) Anyway, it's a fun area to serve in and I feel so blessed! Fridays are from 8:30-4. I have all the rest of my tutorials and my Personal Evangelism class, which might be my favorite class. Our instructor is really cool. . His testimony is amazing! Everything I hear in that class is just so encouraging. I love it! Saturdays are cool. I have the day off and attend Saturday night church...love it! Yep...that's what my week is like. And there's no way I could fully convey how amazing it is! God is working in me and I'm so thankful for this time of harvest!!

Intensives

The last 2 weeks here have been very busy. Last week we finished up "intensives." They are classes that basically build a foundation. They help us all start on the same page as well as introduce our chosen pathway. They span from 8:30-5:00pm Tuesday-Thursday. During the week we also have powerhouse and creative night/elevate...so it's been a super busy couple of weeks. But I've absolutely loved them! The information given to us was life changing!! My thinking has changed a lot and I feel prepared to start my regular classes this week.

Just to give you an idea...we start classes with prayer. You might have guessed that...but I was so amazed by it. I've always been in public schools so this is a new thing for me and I like it! They taught us heaps about leadership. If you're thinking about coming here and don't want to be a leader...uh you may want to reconsider. Well...I truly believe all Christians are called to be leaders but if you aren't prepared to be stretched in that...you may not like it here at all. After all the school is called Hillsong International "Leadership" College. So it's not like we should be suprised, but to be honest I was. They also let us know that they will not compensate for our weaknesses here and will set the bar high for everyone to help us become the leader God desires us to be. We will be criticized often, but shouldn't take it personally. If we want to understand our mistakes, we have to humble ourselves and ask. We were also warned that God will do such a fast work in us that we will have to grieve our old selves quickly. Yeah this sounds pretty intense I know...but their desire is to pull out the leader in us. So I'm actually going to be stretched...and that excites me.

I guess I'll touch on a few things we learned. Here are some of the main ideas covered:

The healthiest place to be is in a place where you say "God I don't have it. Please give me your strength to do this."

Keep your senior pastor healthy. Encourage them. If they aren't healthy, the rest of the church won't be healthy.

FAITH.HOPE.LOVE:
Faith- connecting people with God
Hope- equipping people for life
Love- serving and helping others

If you don't have character and integrity, your gifting won't sustain you.

Giving your life to others is the greatest God encounter.

You might think you're going to college to receive but you're actually there to give.

Everything about the word "teamwork" is bigger than yourself.

Love binds us relationally, but empowering grows us ultimately.

The team reflects the leader.

Leaders make leaders.

Don't cater to all the cultures in church, build on kingdom culture.

Promotion doesn't come from man. It comes from God.

A servant serves where they choose. A steward serves where best for the church.

Build God's house and he'll build yours.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Okay that's a lot and there's SO much more but it was an awesome 2 weeks!

Last Thursday we had Elevate, which is a special night where all the hillsong campuses come together for worship and teaching at the hills convention centre. Unbelievable night of worship! Like Heaven on Earth I reckon. Darlene Zschech spoke as well. I love her! She has such a beautiful heart for God and people. She just reminded us of the importance of taking the time to listen to what God is saying to us. Don't get caught up in doing the good work more than listening to what God is telling you to do. Anyway it was FANTASTIC!!!

Saturday night church was also fantastic. Robert Fergusson preached. Wow I love his teaching!! He preached on "the value of an individual." If we understand the value of an individual, we understand the value of ourselves and others. Our value is the price that Christ paid. Think about it...it cost Him everything! How loved are we?! Thank you Jesus! Seriously was such a good message!

Sunday morning I got to see the Watoto Children's Choir. They are so inspiring and it was an unforgettable church service. Then last night was the beginning of "Sunday Night Live" which is where they use media, music, and drama to declare the gospel in a fresh and new way. So many people chose to accept Christ as their Lord last night. Praise God!! Wow I can't believe how blessed i am to be here!!!!

Today I've just been relaxing and taking it easy. I have a cold and thought I should rest b/c classes start tomorrow! Yes, I will be going pretty hard starting tomorrow. So please pray for me. Thanks!!