Almost Two Weeks In

 

Over Raleigh

I’ve been here for almost two weeks and just beginning to settle in. I’ve been to a party where all the guests performed Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. I rode a bicycle into the city without getting killed. So pretty much like Sydney.

I now have a cell phone with AT&T meaning unlimited calls to other AT&T customers. So apart from being needier than a teenage girl at a new high school, I now have a prerequisite for friendship. From the 16th Jan I will no longer have my Australian mobile number.

Yesterday I made my way up to Vintage 21 in Durham. There have been 4 weeks now of soft launch and next week will see the official launch. I’m looking to network faster than Paris Hilton does for a NYE gig. As quickly as possible I’m looking to connect with leaders, familiarise myself with the processes, and get involved where needed. 

To tell you the truth, I feel blessed to be here. To move and leave everything was a choice to believe that God is both sovereign and good. The leaders here have committed to invest in me as a man before the mission, and lead by example. I haven’t yet left a meeting feeling like Andy Millman which is a miracle from the Lord.

2008: A Year in Review #2

 

A Takeoff Year

Thanksgiving before Resolutions 

With a few spare days in LA and no spare friends here, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on 2008. And in doing so I realised there are more evidences of God’s grace than I am aware. Here are just a few of the graces that I am immensely thankful for as 2008 draws to a close.

The Trinitarian God

• The Holy Spirit’s conviction & personal calling
• God the Father teaching and showing me Fatherly love
• Jesus as Great High Priest who sympathises with our every weakness

People

• The mentoring of Ann McKay, Steve Woodworth and Mark Dawson
• The wisdom and example of Mark Driscoll
• The friendship and partnership of Lachlan Payne and Luke Woodhouse
• The teaching of Tim Keller on Galatians
• The friendship of Nath Lee and Chris Cipollone

Common Graces

• JCH guys on my row this year
• Serving at Newtown Mission Drop in
• GalatiOns home group
• The opportunity to learn from South African and North American culture and people 
• The music of Hillsong
• The comedy of Ricky Gervais
• Saturday morning kickarounds at the Village Green

Of course there are so many more. Tomorrow I arrive in Raleigh, North Carolina. Happy New Year from LA.

Touchdown in LA

I arrived in LA on Saturday afternoon, having left from Sydney via a 3 hour stop over in Auckland. I managed to catch the first half of Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory which saw Gan and Cole score two brilliant goals in the first 3 minutes. Unfortunately, Sydney FC have a defense which has more holes than a net and I later saw they lost 2-3.

The flight over from NZ to the US was perfect timing as we left late at night and arrived in the late morning. I devoured both the airline food and in flight movies and still got some decent shut eye. 

As the flight was nearing LA, I got talking to my next door neighbor. Arvind and his wife had just been on holiday in NZ. We talked about tennis, living in the US and religion. Interestingly, Arvind was keen for us to focus on what is common about Hinduism and Christianity rather than what is different. Each to his own, is the Hindu way I was told, and there is no such thing as idolatry in Hinduism as God is in everything and there are many gods. I learnt alot in our discussion and Arvind was very kind and offered me hospitality if I was ever to visit Phoenix, AZ. 

Once in LA, I went for a bite to eat at Terroni in West Hollywood. Unsuprisingly I saw Sacha Baron Cohen, who is better known as Ali G and Borat, with his fiance Isla Fisher, from Home and Away and star of the new blockbuster, Confessions of a Shopaholic. As I walked past I almost said hi to Isla before stopping myself and realising that we’re not friends because I watched Home and Away in the 90s.

Since I’ve been here I’ve had alot of time for reflection and solitude. Naturally I enjoy reflection but find solitude a difficult discipline. However, I am determined to have the next few days be an opportunity to learn and grow before arriving in Raleigh on the 1st Jan, 2009.

Goodbye to the Mirage

 

Goodbye Mirage, Hello Public Transport

After nearly 8 years, I have sold my car to Tim, in order to make my way to the United States. It was my first and only car, voted Small Car of the Year 3 years running, and never broke down. We started at a mere 33,00km and got to 185,000km!

I love this car. In my joy though, it belongs to a new owner.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”  

- Jesus in Matthew 13:44

2008: A Year in Review #1

Orton Plantation, North Carolina

 

As 2008 draws to its inevitable close, I thought I would draw on some of the highlights of the year. By  nature I’m not very sentimental, nor do I have a very good memory. What that means is that I’ve definitely forgotten someone or something. However that is for the next post. Also, unless I record it here for all time, I will likely forget if asked later what happened to me in 2008. And I will also be brilliantly surprised when I read this post in a year’s time. So, it’s a bit of a win-win really!

Here they are in no particular order:

• Travelled on a short term mission to South Africa
• Played for the all conquering Div. 7 St Ives FC 
• Saw two musical heroes live: Kanye West & Sufjan Stevens
• Appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Attended Text+Context Conference 2008 in Seattle, WA
• Groomsman for my friends Nath and Cippo at their respective weddings
• Finished a decade of Kiama Beach Mission: 1998-2008
• Transferred from Moore College to Sydney Missionary & Bible College
• Finished nearly 4 years of work at Elevate Education
• Launched ‘The Nehemiah Project’ for 2009
• Volunteered at Newtown Mission Drop In
• Started ‘GalatiOns’ – “The best home group ever”
• Attended Nathan’s Bequest in honour of Nathan Trepezanov

Coming to America

The Land of the Free, The Home of the Brave

I am moving to Raleigh, North Carolina for the next 12 months. I will be working as an intern with Vintage 21 Church.

You can follow my progress here.

Thank you for visiting. More to follow shortly.