I went to Australia on a six-week missions trip the summer after my freshman year of college. It was an amazing time. And it was almost 16 years ago (yikes!). But I was thinking about it the other day, so here’s a snapshot of the that amazing trip:
- We often visited animal parks. At one, a bird pooped on Christina Jackson’s head. She left the park with toilet paper wrapped around her hair. She wasn’t happy with us for laughing, but it was hysterical.
- At a different animal park, an emu made a move on Jason Poling. The mating call of an emu is definitely not attractive!
- “Phones are Ringing All Over Town” played once an hour on the flight home. It is still one of my favorite Martina McBride songs. I also much enjoyed the almost empty flight where I got an entire row all to myself. Oh…the pre-9-11 days of easy flying!
- Tim Tams are one of the best cookies (or “bickies”) in the entire world. I would pay a lot of money to have a real Pavlova again. And Cherry Ripe candy (Cherry + coconut) and Vegemite were both gross.
- Getting there was a crazy adventure. Chicago thunderstorms sent us to LAX via Cleveland. We had to land on Fiji to avoid volcanic ash from an eruption nearby (we weren’t allowed off the plane). But because of that, we were late to New Zealand, so we had to RUN to our next gate (with like 5 minutes to spare). When we got to Australia, it was raining and they took us to a mall to see a big clock that played Waltzing Matilda before we met our hosts (called “billets”). Really, they were just keeping us up so our bodies would adjust to the time change. But either way…I still remember the clock.
- The sky in Australia is amazing. It bigger than in Ohio. I can’t explain it other than that. And they have amazing (often double) rainbows that happen all the time.
- For those six weeks, I actually knew how to correctly wind up an extension cord (for our sound equipment). I can’t do it anymore.
- Finding matching outfits for our team was a major hurdle, and mine were all too big. So I basically looked like a little kid trying to dress in big-kid clothes for the entire time we were there.
- I got to feed and pet kangaroos and hold a koala. Koalas smell horrible. Kangaroos really do look like big mice (think Sylvester Cat cartoons).
But while the events of those weeks were amazing, the people I got to know were even better. And God used my team to teach me things that I’ve never forgotten, even after 16 years.
- Together, Christina Jackson and I learned that “It’s not a race.” We discovered early our shared tendency to rush, especially when eating. We were always done first and on to the next thing. Since nothing in Australia is rushed (“No worries!” they say), we helped each other slow down. “This is not a race,” we’d say, and we’d pause, breathe and start again. It’s a reminder I still have to give myself regularly.
- One week, we stayed in one house for 4 nights (1-2 nights was typical). Carol Lee stayed by herself with an older couple. They were kind of crazy. After a couple of nights, someone asked Carol how she was doing. She said, “You know, I just decided not to wish away a fifth of my trip. God put me with them, and I need to enjoy these moments instead of wishing them away.” It was gracious and mature, and I was struck by her comment. On days when I’m tempted to wish my kids were older and could do more for themselves, Carol’s words come to mind. “I will not wish away today.”
- I had a self-appointed watchman/big brother in Mike Engle. I appreciated him a lot. Like on the last night of youth camp, for example. As a send-off, they wanted to give us a giant group hug. No big deal, I thought, until I realized the students were going to take a running start and jump on our group like a crazy mosh pit. I was suddenly afraid I’d get crushed, and I said so to Mike. “No, you won’t,” he said, and just as they started toward us, he put his arms around me in a loose hug. The campers hit us full steam, and we got jostled around a good bit. But I was safe. And it occurred to me later…that’s exactly what God’s protection is like. He doesn’t keep the world from touching us, but no matter how hard it barrels into us, we are safe in the circle of his arms.
But the most important lesson of the entire trip happened during our unusually long housing stay. Unlike Carol, I had great billets – a family with young children. She made me tacos (which are American – she called “tay-coes”) the first night, and they tasted just like my mom’s. That house made me horribly homesick. And one night, I was unintentionally excluded from their group. I ended up alone in my room, miserable. I wanted to go home. I was not getting along with one of the guys on the team. I was lonely. So I sat on the floor and prayed and cried. And after a few minutes, Jesus filled that room. I can’t really explain it. But a peace filled my heart, my frustrations with my teammate faded, and my loneliness got lost in the fact that, right then, Jesus was with me. I was not alone. He was there. As surely as if He had appeared physically in the room, He was there. I’ve never had that happen again. But I guess I haven’t ever been that alone again either. All I know is God took me all the way to Australia, pushed me way outside of myself, and then met me there. And I’m so glad He did.
Of course, I haven’t mentioned half of what I could say. I don’t have my pictures scanned (I have one of Christina with tp on her head!), so you can’t see what I saw. I haven’t told stories about Mandy or Josh or Travis or Chrissy and Tom or Jeff and Shelley or the lovely, lovely Australians we met there. But these are a few highlights. These are the stores I remember first, the stories that still resonate with me in the very, very different life I lead now.
But it’s good to go back, on occasion, and revisit those moments. They remind me that God is faithful. That 16 years is barely the blink of an eye for Him. That life happens, people come and go, events seem random and uncertain. But God…God is always the same.
Thank you, Jesus.
