Breaking through the barriers...

As we walked on the campus of the University of Sydney on May 24th it seemed that every building and group of people had an impenetrable surrounding them. We were walking onto one of the top 3 schools in Australia attracting the elite students from the eastern coastline. As we talked to students we could see these walls slowly breaking down. In Australia, people want the same things that all humans do. They want happiness, purpose, joy in something; they see deep down that life does not end at the mediocrity of an 8-5 job. I carry with me news that will turn their worlds upside down should they choose to listen. This is my motivation. This gospel is changing my life. It's changing my world views. It's changing my philosophy of the way life should look. My life is drastically different because of the work of Jesus Christ. This is changing ever more from something I do to who I am.

As we try to labor to meet students and try to get an opportunity to earnestly and lovingly share the prism we derive our perceptions through with them, we have seen God work in ways that only he can. In Australia, people have been burned by the church. This is a post-christian culture. If you don't know what that means, google it. You're online already, might as well learn something. So, in this post-christian culture evangelism takes time. Very rarely is cold-turkey evangelism even accepted much less successful. We've been going on campus to meet students with the intention of hanging out with them again; we do this with the hope that through prolonged relationships we can either share Christ with them, plug them into an existing campus ministry, or preferably both.

I'll share two highlights from this week:

In Australia they refer to dormitories or on-campus housing as "colleges." Students don't go to college and live in the dorms, they go to university or "uni" and live in the colleges, or at least a very small percentage do. U-Syd is a commuter school so very few students actually live in the colleges. They are generally populated by the elite students and are very similar to a fraternity or sorority in the US. Out of about 45,000 students at U-Syd about 2,000 live on campus. Campus Outreach has historically worked in on-campus housing because of the huge potential to start a movement in them. Students live in close quarters so if Jimbo was smoking weed in his room yesterday and is reading his bible today, people notice! Close quarters just work great when you're trying to invest deeply in a few people. Now that you have the background information I'll make my point. Yesterday we were able to attend a student-run Bible study in one of the colleges. It was started about two years ago and now has about 12-15 people who regularly attend. This was a God-given opportunity to get into the colleges and see what the spiritual condition is. We've been praying for that opportunity since we got here. That seems like a very small victory from the outside looking in, but it is actually a huge one. This is exactly where I would want to get started with full-time ministry if that's what we were doing and that could be the case one day. A large portion of our purpose in coming here was to investigate the campus, and this was a HUGE stride in that direction.

The next huge bit of progress I've seen personally was a friendship I was able to make today with a student at another campus, UTS. His parents immigrated to Australia from Vietnam and he has become relatively faithful in attending the SOW meetings over the last semester or so. (SOW is the main ministry we're partnering with since arriving). He is also an atheist. In the states we have many people who don't have to guts to admit that they may not buy the whole God thing and instead claim to follow a god that they do not know or understand; this is not the case with my friend. He didn't grow up around Christianity, and right now he's just checking it out. Today we were able to talk for a long time about his spiritual journey and the problems he has with Christianity. They are legitimate concerns that we should all understand about our faith and I was happy to try to talk him through them. I told him that I didn't have all the answers but he's reading a book that should help him reason some things out. Please pray for my friend. I believe that faith in Christ is a gift from God by his grace, and because of that am asking God to give him faith to believe. It's an unusually strong burden that God has given me for this guy and I don't believe it's for naught. I really want to see him get to know Christ. I know God can save him and have no reason to believe that he won't. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers

The good shepherd (Psalm 23)

Today was our day off, our sabbath. If you've ever tried to do any sort of ministry you know that it's hard work, and without a day to rest and reflect it's nearly impossible. As a team we've been looking at Psalm 23 for the past two days as a means to reflect on God and what he's doing in our lives.

As part of my day off, I decided to go for a run through the botanical gardens (yes, I said run. You might say I'm turning over a new leaf). It's a beautiful park in downtown Sydney about two blocks from where we live. On the way there I was contemplating life and its intricacies when I started to think about application for our scripture passage. Many times in life, I think that if I do God's will, it will be the harder way. I think that giving up on my plans and doing God's will would wreck any sort of enjoyment in life that I could've otherwise had in my current situation so I don't want to listen. I want to do my own thing. While running today, I noticed quite the opposite: here I am in Sydney, one of the busiest global cities in the world and God can still lead me by the still waters. He restores my soul. I was running through the park and began to think about how badly God wants to shepherd me. He wants to prepare a table before me, and fill my cup until it runs over. When I'm not "feeling" close to God or when my relationship with him isn't what I would like it to be, it's not because of him. God wants to be there. It's only my sin that keeps me away. We're so content with leading ourselves down what we perceive as the "best" path that we forget that there could be so much more to life out there. This truth of God's word, that he has the best plan and that he's working all things together for our good is so hard to truly live by, but we should.

It took a few sacrifices for me to Australia, but I know that God is using my time for my best, and for the furtherance of his kingdom to which I am an heir. I'm absolutely loving this trip and I can see that it was so worth the price I paid to get here. It doesn't take much on our end to do God's will. He provides a way to do it. And I'm convinced, if we stay in his will, we won't regret it. This is how a missionary in a foreign land, one much more dangerous than where I'm at, can stay and be happy, because they're in the center of their good shepherd's will. No matter how bad the territory, the safest place we can be is in the shepherds fold, and it's a beautiful place to be.

Global proportions...

Yesterday we all went to the market to get groceries. In Sydney, you can shop at grocery stores and pay theme park prices, or you can go to the market. In Alabama terms, it's similar to a farmer's market. They have fresh fruit, vegetables, and meats; and some knock-off purses and jewelry. It's a really cool shopping experience that I've never experienced before. Some people are pressing through the crowd fighting to find the cheapest price on gala apples, or fresh trout while others are yelling "bananas one dolla!" You don't see that sort of thing in Florence, AL. If I could think of one word to describe the city it would be "fast." Most people don't live in Sydney, they live in the suburbs so when they're here they're working or shopping and don't want to play around. Very different from the deep Southern comfort we're accustomed to.

In this place we're surrounded by people who are so different from us. Mostly of Asian descent. All of these people need to gospel. They need to know Christ.

Today we're going to work with a college student ministry called SOW. It's made up primarily of Korean Australians. We're going to a cookout that they're having and trying to get to know the people we'll be working with for most of the summer. It really gets me excited to get in and start working. Please pray that God would use our time this summer with SOW to further his kingdom and lay a foundation that will stand long after we leave.

Who is Jesus?

(v.15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (v.16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. (v.17) And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (v.18) And his is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (v.19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (v.20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. --Colossians 1

Jesus is the protagonist in our story. He's the one who rescued us when his bride was in distress. He is the one that defeated the enemy so that his relationship with his people might be restored. He is our High Priest and King after the order of Melchizedek. He is the prism God looks through to see his people. All things (including humanity) were created by him, through him, and for him. We are not our own. He is our worthy master. He truly deserves our love and respect in the truest form.

We have arrived...

We arrived in Sydney around 10 am this morning. (May 19th in Australia, May 18th in the US). I had initiation with my fraternity on Sunday night and didn't get home until around 4:00 am. Then my parents drove my down to Atlanta to catch our 4 pm flight. On the first leg, we flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles. It takes about 4-5 hours, I think; then we had about a 6 hour layover. The flight from LA to Brisbane was about 14 hours, but the plane was awesome. We flew V-Australia. I would recommend it strongly. Then we jumped on a smaller plane for the 2 hour ride to Sydney. We were almost late because our team leader got randomly searched in customs and we literally had to sprint through the airport to keep from missing our flight; but it makes for a good story now!

We met Jim, Dan and his wife Teresa at the airport. The three of them are missionaries from southern California. I'm really looking forward to working with them as we partner together to labor for the kingdom.

Things to know if you ever go to Sydney:

When people in the airport yell for you to get in "Q", they mean get in the line.

Cars drive on the opposite side of the road from the US, so look to your right before crossing the street.

Milk is about $6 for a 3 liter, so just get ready for sticker shock.

Sorry I don't have much information yet, but I'll continue to keep things updated. Thanks for keeping up with me.

Cheers

This is how they will know...

"(v.34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (v.35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13

Jesus himself said that the way the world will know who we are, and ultimately who he is, is by the way that we love each other. The task we have at hand as Christians is very simple: love God and love people. We lose this raw truth in our church services and youth rallies and songs and righteous lives. We're more concerned with keeping our nose clean that getting into the trenches and riding out the hard times with people.

In preparing to go to Australia, I've looked at how sharing my faith will be different in Australia's culture. I've thought about different paradigms that I will encounter. BUT, this message of love is cross-cultural. I'm not sure, but maybe this is why Jesus CHOSE to use it! He knew that love looked the same in every tribe, tongue and nation; and that it was HIS love that would unite all of them. Why can't we just tell people how much Jesus loves them?

The day is fast approaching...

Wow. It's Saturday night (May 8th) and I leave next Monday (17th). I would be lying if I said I was completely ready and at peace. I remember feeling this way last summer right before I went to Summer Beach Project. Everyone always asks: "so are you scared or excited?" I'd say I'm 100% excited and 100% scared! It's that really weird feeling you have when you know that something great is about to happen, a new chapter of life is about to unfold. It's that last day of High School/first day of college feeling. I know that it will be amazing and I'm so thankful that I've been given this great opportunity. I just don't know exactly what to expect.

The following is a letter that I plan to send to my support team before I leave. For all of my faithful blog-watchers, I'll give you a sneak peak..

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Matt 28:18-20

Dear Support Team,

First of all, I would like to say thank you for your prayer and financial support of my trip to Australia this summer. The preparation for this trip has taught me more, and caused me to draw closer to the Lord than almost anything I can remember. I’ve seen God’s power and providence in ways that I never imagined. More than anything, I’ve seen how small my faith is standing next to the huge power and holiness of God. I can relate to the disciples when Jesus filled their nets to the breaking point as I see what it’s like to ask and receive.

Financially, I’m in great shape for the trip. God has provided me with $6,200 in support at the time of writing this letter so not only will my trip be paid for, through your support I’ve been able to help the rest of my team as we labor to raise support together. Thanks again for allowing God to use you to make this happen!

As we prepare for departure, my team has compiled a set of prayer requests to pass on to our support teams. In Australia, Americans are generally disliked. Aussie’s think that we talk too much and are generally fake. This leads to a common insult used to describe Americans: Sepos (short for septic tanks). In good humor, as always, we created an acronym using this insult to ask God to provide for our needs. It goes like this:

-Servant Hearted: That we will be quick to serve Aussie believers and non-believers- Mark 10:45

-Evangelism: That God will bless us with many relationships and open doors for the gospel-Colossians 4:3

-Passion: We would gain a deeper sense of awe and passion for Christ as we pursue intimacy with Him- Psalms 27:4

-Others-Centered: Our team would be others-centered and unified in the Spirit- Philippians 2:3-4

-Security: That we will grow in our grasp of our position in Christ as find security in Him when facing rejection-Galatians 1:10

Thank you so much for your faithfulness and continuous encouragement through this process of preparation. Without your help I wouldn’t be going to Australia. My team and I will be leaving on May 17^th and returning on June 29^th. Please continue to pray during this time. Also, feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all, or would like to discuss the trip further.

For His Kingdom,

-Brandon

brandonwhite224@gmail.com