We are all back in Newcastle!

The rest of my school is back now.
Over the next week or so we are going to be debriefing and sharing stories. It is so awesome to have everyone back together again!

Back Down Under

I am on my way back to Australia for two weeks.

--I will be back in the US March 26th!

The Golden Triangle

Hey everybody!

Sorry I haven't emailed lately, this week has been crazy. So last week on Sunday we got a call from the pastor of a church that we go to next to the University. He had a mix-up planning an english camp, and the people running the camp scheduled it a month early. Well, he needed some quick help, so he asked our team if we could leave the next morning at 6:00am and head back up to Chang Rai for the camp. We were already streched kinda tight with the universtiy students and teaching part time at a boarding school in Chang Mai. Anyway, God got Jesse, Marina and I out of our responsilibities to be able to go. It's a week long, and we finished the first part yesterday. Its a camp kinda up in the mountains and we teach english workshops for about 4hours a day. it's awesome, we have so much fun with the kids, we play games, learn some english practice speaking with confidence and the best part I get to share my testimony to over 200 kids. The last two days were great and a lot of fun, and by the end of the week over 20 students wanted to know more about God and what Jesus had done. oh, yesterday we made a border run to re-new our visas, so I can say I've been to Myanmar(Burma). Today was our day off and you won't believe what we got to do, we went to the "golden triangle" which is the middle of Laos, Burma and Thailand. We crossed over into Loas and did some shopping, so now I've been to Laos. Only 250km up the river and I would have been in China. Today Has been a long, long day. I'm doing great, God has kept my body working great this whole time, even though theres heaps of pollution. Can you pray for continued unity in our team, and also for thoughs who are sick.

Thanks for all your prayers and support,

I love you guys.

Austin

Update and Thailand

Hey guys,

Shoot me back some info about things happening back home. Well things are going great down here, these last two weeks we have covered the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Warefare, and next week is Relationships with Dean Sherman via video presentaions. This God really hit me hard with the challenge of making my realtionship with Him into a lifestyle. I feel God is calling me to spend more time, in prayer and intercession and also to just seek him on a daily basis out side a rutine quiet time. Spending time just talking and investing in a friendship with God, and not just a father figure, that I go to when I'm in need. Can you pray for a continued passion to seek God and his voice for my life. thanks you're a legend. Also, I'm going to be leaving for Thailand in the first week of January. We really need prayer support for plane tickets and visas. Twelve of us on the DTS are going and we only have six plane tickets. As of now we don't know where we'll be going in Thailand, but we'll be teaching English and doing pratical mercy ministries. Prayer and intercession for our teams, going to Mexico and Thailand would be a huge blessing. Thanks again for all your love. I'm learning a lot and I'm excited to return home a apply all the new things I've learned. God hasn't given me a word of what I'm supposed to after DTS, so I'll inform you when he lets me know. Thanks again.

Blessings and love,

Austin

It's Dumbo, in Thialand

Schoolies and beyond

G'day mates,
well, from Hannah's previous post you know that I went to Schoolies last week. Imagine spring break for the entire east coast in one city, 20,000 teens each week. It was chaos. Our YWAM team joined up with a organization of hotel chaplens geared to serving the teens. We became known as the Red Frog People, because we handed out red frogs(a candy similar to sweedish fish) to everyone. Our team was on the day-time shift, so we were called to teens hotels to make them pancakes, help clean thier rooms, talk, or just hang out. I led a team of five others in Ywam and we made some great relationships with the kids. Most often the teens were either hung over from the night before or still drinking. The just graduated teens would drink as much as they could and party as hard as they could for the first three days. This is when God really began to work in conversation with kids searching for something that is lasting. Our team really stepped up and followed God's call to share him and how He's cahnged our lives. God really challenged me not to care what other people think of me when I bring God into the conversation. He wanted me to be bold and say whatever He had for me to say. Praise God, at the end of the week three guys we were talking to during the week accepeted Christ into their lives. It was awesome. Can you guys pray for Mark, Chris and Alex that they would continue to seek Christ. So many seeds were planted that week and so many lives were changed. God is Awesome. Also, this week we're going over the Holy spirit and Spiritual gifts and God is calling me to find His vision and purpose for my life. So can you pray for a open heart to hear what God has for me. Thanks, I miss you guys
Austino

This is Hannah with updating news on Austin...

Next week he is going to "Schoolies" (outreaches), which are in Surfer's Paradise, Gold Coast about twelve hour road trip up north. His small group leader Jesse and him are going to be be driving one of the vans. His roomates are according to him are, "awesome, they're some really cool guys, but since there are only six guys, two rooms, we have sleep-overs, good times".
He also sounds like he is really being challenged by the speaker this week so that is awesome! Please continue praying that he will be open to hearing what God wants him to learn during this time.
~Also he is taking up spear fishing, longboarding, and bass guitar!

Prayer Requests

Hey Everyone!
We are just about to start the third week of lectres. So far we've gone through the father heart of God(with Dave Stevenson) and the fear of the Lord(with Joy Dawson via VHS, Matt Dawson's grandmother). This past week has been great, awesome lectres, the Lord called me to not spend any money on myself without his permission, and on Thursday at Charlestown I talked with a local guy named Shannon for about 45min and shared my life and my purpose for being here with him. It was good times. Can you be praying for my upcoming outreach to the Gold Coast, called schoolies. I will be evangelizing to just graduated or drop out teens all night long for a week and a half. Also, will you be praying about my outreach, I have the choice to go to either Mazitlan, Mexico or to Thailand, and I need to clearly hear the voice of God. Thank you all so much.
AustinAust