Inner-city development

It's everywhere! A few photos of King George Square and the church across the road...

PROJECTION UPDATE #4

I can't believe how God is providing... today a friend sent me an e-mail, offering to make a contribution to the project.... the amount he mentioned is the exact balance I have owing!

The thing is, he had no idea how much I had owing!

Is that a coincidence or what? I think not. How good is God?!

I am bowled over...

PROJECTION UPDATE #3

God is praiseworthy

The Watoto Children's Choir sang in church this morning. They were spectacular. For those of you who don't know who they are, check them out at www.watoto.com. The children were so cute and their stories about the difference that God has made in their lives was so touching. The Choir is the highly visible part of a ministry to their parentless children of Uganda.

More contact

Got an e-mail from someone from the project. She wrote that as the only female student on Projection, the three female members of staff would be doting on me.

"So brace yourself for a whole lot of quality D&Ms, chocolate, ice-cream and
giggles!"

Hurrah!!! I can't wait!!!

Accommodation

I have found out where I'm staying... with one of the staff members, Trish. Hurrah!

Support raising

I am humbled by the way God is providing... three people from church gave me finance this morning... I am literally blown away... I am speechless...

I was told by one giver, a woman who just returned from a missions trip to Uganda, that I need to learn to receive, as well as give, and that it's sometimes so much more humbling to receive than give.

In the face of my gratitude, another giver said, "We're family, aren't we?" He had just come back from the same missions trip on Uganda. I like how he defines family. It's so... Christ-like!

Another giver (well, I'll mention your name if you're cool about it! I know you read my posts) is also support raising for her outreach project. I am overwhelmed that she supported me too.

I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess. It seems so inadequate!

PROJECTION UPDATE #2

I am not worthy

I've been e-mailing friends to ask for prayer and financial support for Projection and I have been so overwhelmed by the replies. I still have a long way to go before I raise all the money (the first financial deadline is November 3 - gulp!) but I am staggered by the e-mails from well-wishers, offering to pray and wanting to stay updated.

Some people have offered financial support... I don't know how much for yet, they have just told me they will support me. A couple of those people could probably ill-afford to give financially, because they've just come back from an overseas missions trip. Their generosity is utterly humbling. A part of me has this lingering feeling of not being worthy... I mean, they are not just supporting me, they are supporting to me to do God's work and I just hope, hope, hope that I am equal to the task. I hope that I prove that their faith in me is justified.

I know I don't have to prove anything. I know that I have to come ready to work, willing to be challenged and fully trusting God. I guess I have a tendency, whenever I feel "unworthy", to work doubly as hard, to compensate. I know God isn't calling me to do that. He doesn't want me relying on my own strength. He wants me to believe that through Him and Him alone, I can accomplish things for His glory. So the focus is off me, and it's on Him. And I am being supported because those people believe that God's work can be carried out by utterly ordinary, seemingly insignificant people - like me.

Ode to my dog

I am seriously thinking of renaming my blog "Ode to my dog" because I keep referring to him.

We renovated recently, ripping up the carpet in the living area to expose some gorgeous polished timber floorboards underneath. Mum insisted we cut a square of carpet and place it back in the corner of the room where my dog likes to take afternoon naps, so he'd be comfortable.

Inner-city renovations

Still working out what I think about what the council has done to the expanse in front of the casino...

... it might take a while for the metallic "public art" sculptures to grow on me...

The Jacarandas are in bloom!

Hurrah! Well, they've been out for weeks, but I haven't taken a photograph until now... yes, exam season is in the air!!!

PROJECTION UPDATE

For those of you who bother reading this page and are wondering about my summer project, here's some info...

Brief blurb

It's called Projection (like, duh). It's a multimedia missions project; Dec 2-15 in the "Garden City". We're using our collective IT, graphic design, video-making and journalism skills to create content that projects the Gospel message.

The team

There's 11 of us - 5 students and 6 missos. I'm the only student who is not from Sydney's Macquarie Uni.

Making contact

Have spoken once on the phone to the guy spearheading the project. Plus I've realised that I've actually met another one of the missos last year on MYC. Borrowed a schoolies "tradition" and asked if a "getting to know you" e-mail quiz could be circulated, and so far more than half the team has participated. I've added three of them as friends to myspace.

Accommodation

4 of the missos involved (two married couples) live in Toowoomba, so they don't have to source their accommodation. I think I heard that everyone else is crashing at Peter Brook's place, except me of course, because I'm a girl. I'm not sure where I'm staying yet.

Transport

The Sydneysiders are flying in to Brisbane, and then I'm meeting them to catch a bus.

Support raising

So far I've raised a grand total of $40... the project costs $700 and I have to pay a $50 bus fare on top of that. So if anyone wants to support me, it would be sooooooooooo appreciated.

Expectations

Have no idea what to expect, so I have no expectations. I'll go with the flow. I'm sure it will be fun, though.

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose? By any other name would smell as sweet."

- Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene ii

Have you ever wondered if your parents called you the wrong name?

This week, I was called Christine... yet again!

It brought back memories of high school, when I had a friend called Christine. Teachers would occasionally get us mixed up.

At a newspaper where I used to work, a staff member was still calling me Christine after almost four years. Weird. My byline was in the paper just about everyday and he read the paper from cover to cover... everyday.

Funnier still, the guy who got my name wrong this week, had booked my bus ticket for a trip to a multimedia project I'm doing in December. I can just imagine trying to board the bus and claiming the passenger list is actually wrong...