Changed.

     Hello Family! Once again, I apologize for the time since my last blog. But now its time for an update!
     I am still loving it here and having a blast. I miss home especially because it's Christmas, but Christmas here on base is fun. We made gingerbread men yesterday during morning tea and we each have a stocking hanging in the community room. We had a Christmas party and we're doing a secret Santa. I'm spending Christmas with my second family this year in the heat and guess what? I have a tan. Yeah, thats cool. :)
     The reason I have a tan is well, the sun, of course, but our school went on a three week missions trip and we were outside sweating buckets for a lot of the time. We were on the Go Pass It On Tour and basically our base director had a vision of carrying the gospel across the western world and passing on the Wisdom of God to the next generation. That means that as an act of intersession we literally run from town to town relay style carrying a baton that says 'Passing on the Wisdom of God to the next generation.' We stayed in each town for a week doing evangelism and work projects. We set up a big tent in a park in each town and held after school activities for kids and had a different event in the tent every night of the week. We went into schools and did lunch time activities and Religious Education classes and generally hung out with the kids. We slept in churches in the first two towns of Beaudesert and Boonah and in the clubhouse of a rugby stadium in the last town of Warwick. It was really cool to see more of the beauty of the Australian countryside and I saw my first kangaroo!
     God taught me a lot while on tour. I learned that even when I'm at my most tired state of mind I can get up and keep going because He gives me strength. I can honestly say that I was the most tired I've ever been during tour BUT it was one of the most rewarding times. When you forget yourself and just hand over whatever you have to Dad, it makes the most difference because thats when you lay down your desires and choose to be His vehicle. He's showing me that when we yield our will to Him, change happens.
      I had multiple opportunities to share my testimony and got to see it make a difference in peoples lives. "...they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony." (Rev. 12:11) Its so COOL. I've been learning that my words of have worth and that the things I say either build people up or tear people down. God created with words - we can speak life into other people with the words that we say.
     God is also challenging me to rely on Him for my identity. I realized how much I depended on the people at home to define who I was and then there was something wrong when I came here without all those people. It took me a while to figure it out but I finally let God break down that wall. I was still trying to use people to tell me who I was, but because they were different people than at home, I was a different person. God was just like 'Hey Rachel, whachya doin? I'm all you need, you know.' Its a process, but I'm on my way to being only the person He says I am.
     I also learned that I can get a good nights sleep even when I know there are bugs running around on the floor and I can eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Who knew? Although I often got asked the question 'Would you like a little oatmeal with that brown sugar?'
     Outreach is coming up so fast! We leave for Russia on January 27. But before that, we're doing another week in missions here in Australia. It will be right after Christmas break and its called Impact Summer. Half of our DTS will be going to the beach town of Byron Bay and the other half to Airlee Beach. Our focus is evangelism and in Airlee they will set up the YWAM tent and play music and serve tea and share the gospel in that way. I'm not sure where I'm going yet, they're going to tell us this week, but I'm pretty sure we're leaving on my birthday. :)
     This week our lecture topic is Lordship. This morning's lecture was SO GOOD and I've physically felt the Holy Spirit's presence all day today. I can tell that God is going to do a lot of work in me this week and I'm so ready. A life lived for me is worthless and I'm running towards that place of complete surrender to Him. Its so great because when we run towards Him, He sprints toward us. God is good, folks.
     Thanks for your prayers and thanks for reading and caring about whats happening in Aussie Land!
     Merry Christmas!
               Rachel Meck