Note to self: sunburn and second-degree burns should not be mixed.

What the majority of my days look like

Watch "Impromptu base tour!" on YouTube

More rambles in Perth

Watch "Windy city and the sun" on YouTube

A ramble in Perth

Watch "Hello, hello" on YouTube

Thoughts from atop the stove

Over my past almost-two-weeks here in Australia, I've noticed quite a few things. I figured I'd share the joy.

Cross the road at your own peril. Pedestrians don't have the right-of-way, and cars take a sadistic delight in accelerating toward unsuspecting teenage girls.

When living, breathing, sleeping, eating, and hanging out with 22 girls, one definitely starts to collect some ... Interesting dance moves.

I didn't expect to end up clambering on top of two industrial gas stoves to cerulean the ceiling and vents, but it is surprisingly fun. Especially when there is music playing.

New dance moves and stove climbing should never be combined.

All the Australian stereotypes are true. Don't ask me how, but they manage to be very nice and also very not at the same time.

If an Australian offers you a spoonful of what looks to be thick molasses, I hope you have a strong stomach. Alternatively, find a waste basket before eating. But definitely eat it.

Late night waffle runs are an opportunity not to be missed, as are early morning exercises, Saturday and Sunday dinners, and bubble tea.

Lake Leschenualtia (pronounced with a sneeze)

I write this from the shore of a lake an hour outside of Perth. Two soulful Christian guitarists are serenading each other behind me, an Australian is threatening, in a cheerful and nigh-unintelligible mumble to up-end a bucket of water over me if I don't get in the lake, and I am eating bacon-flavored crisps. Since the Aussie -I think his name is Johnny- has already emptied two water guns at me, I'm inclined to take him at his word.

This week we've been working on hearing God's voice. Lessons involved long quiet times with specific questions to ask God, and during this extra quiet time, I've become certain of some things.

This past week I've been hit with a lot of homesickness. I remember one day when I got back to the house, I had it all to myself. Seizing the opportunity, I had a nice long cry until my housemates returned. See, YWAM operates under the belief that all work should be done in community, all meals should be taken in community, all down time should be spent in community, and that it is in the shelter of other people we live.

Honestly, these are great truths to live by. But imagine for a second that you're an introvert who had recently uprooted herself and has now jumped headlong into a community of over 300 strangers. After a few days of trying to remember all those names of the totally groovy people, you'd be worn out as well.

But even as I deal with the fading effects of jet-lag and try to carve out a niche for myself on base, God keeps reminding me that He called me here for a reason. The funny thing about God's callings is that while they are meant for our ultimate good, following them is rarely comfortable.

I'm reminded of a passage from Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton. You'll have to bear with me, as I didn't bring my copy with me - a choice I am already regretting. Essentially, Chesterton compares Christianity to a balancing rock held in place by its many extremities.

I think it's the same here. God has some perfect good planned for me, but in the process He needed to challenge me. Yes, I miss my family. I miss the people who love me as I am, my friends and compatriots, the ones never satisfied with the now. But it seems that God is calling me further up the mountain pass, and in order to follow Him, I must set aside my comforts for a time. That this challenge is mine to carry, that in the fullness of time, I will return but not before then.

If anything, the thing I've heard overwhelmingly is that for now, God's presence is enough, that He wants to teach me how to be still in His presence alone. It has been such a comfort during my homesickness.

Anyways, I just wanted to pop in with a quick update. In other news, despite my almost religious application of Australian sunscreen, I have stared to brown like a roasting turkey. Ah, sunshine. It's good to feel you on my skin once again.

Home

Strange as it may sound, it seems that I have found a little bit of home here on the other side of the world. The people here on the base are truly incredible!

Every Monday morning the entire base gathers for worship, so yesterday we all filled into a hot, humid, brightly lit concrete room for a couple hours just to seek out God's face. It was a noisy, sweaty, definitely chaotic time. Over in one corner were some people dancing in response to the worship. They had to be careful not to trip over people kneeling and laying face down on the floor, though, and it became hard to hear the worship music over the sounds of people yelling out prayers in multiple languages. If I understand correctly, all these diverse responses are planned on when the worship leaders prepare a set.

I begin to understand Paul's injunction to the Corinthians about having orderly services.

Not that this was unruly in a distracting manner. Rather, the heat and the sweat and the nose and the movement and the humidity and the shear enthusiasm was one of the most tangible examples of joy I've ever seen. Oh. The music itself was also spot on.

Given that the service was a couple hours long, you'll understand why I had time to observe all this. As I stood listening to one I was unfamiliar with, I stared looking at the other people in the room.

For better or worse, these siblings-in-Christ will be my community through the upcoming months. They may not be what I expected or wanted, but for whatever reason, God has assembled more than 300 people from every continent and religious background for some purpose.

There truly is nothing quite like standing in the assembly to see Koreans rubbing shoulders with Brazilians, Irish, Mongolians, Egyptians, and many others, all united by the desire to serve God.

I'm excited to see what's going to happen while I'm here!