YWAM

I know I promised a little while ago to dedicate a post to my adventures in YWAM, which would explain how I met Izzie. Well, here it is!

I apologise for the bad quality photos.. I really need to re-photograph them at some stage.

As my US trip is in full swing and Iz and I are in the process of booking flights for our adventure to New York, my memories of my time with Izzie and with YWAM have been at the forefront of my mind.

The Family... me, Kristen, Iz & Tara.

The four of us ended up sharing the same room. Kristen and I on the bottom bunks, Iz and Tara 'upstairs' on the top bunks. Kristen is Canadian, Iz and Tara American and me the Perthian :P It didn't take us long to form a bond so strong that years will never change our special memories and life we shared for those 6 months.

YWAM.. short for Youth With A Mission. To sum up, young Christians who wanted the opportunity to learn, grow and experience a life as a missionary. I have 32 years of life up my sleeve so far .. and to this day I still feel like those 6 months spent at YWAM was one of the best times of my life.

So back to the story.. We met in Melbourne. A group of us from all over the world. We spent 3 months at the base in Melbourne, and the next 3 months assigned to our chosen 'outreach group'.

I realised as I started this post, I had wanted to describe my experience. But I just don't think there are words that will ever do it justice.

Try to imagine this if you can... you are away from home, young, hungry to learn and build a strong relationship with God, surround yourself with people who have the same heart... you go to Melbourne and meet your room mates and the rest of your group for the next 6 months.

The bond you build, the spiritual development and friendships you build with each other is priceless. A bond so strong that after over 10 years, you can email your friend and blurt out your deepest darkest secrets and are met with nothing but love and support. That's the kind of friendship Izzie and I built through our time at YWAM.

And that's not it. The FUN we had! Oh the fun! Trips to Melbourne city, outings all over the country side, nights of staying up for hours and doing nothing but acting silly and laughing the night away and writing notes through our classes.

One night, I remember a food fight that me, Izzie, Kristen and Tara started that ended up progressing throughout the whole place. How much fun was that Iz?! Days spent in the swimming pool, eating the mocha buns and yummy bread that was given to the base, hanging out at the park bench, catching the train into the city, Tuesday night meetings, late night chats, early morning chats, sharing the bathroom trying to blow dry our hair ready for class, sitting on the washing machines waiting for our clothes to be clean, work duties, visiting the Units where the cool people hung out, Tim Tam slams, our 'goodnight' saying.. I could go on forever..... it was fun. So.much.fun.

Izzie - do you remember this photo? It was your birthday and best we could, we tried to spoilt you :)



And then. We all had to decide where we felt led to go on outreach for 3 months. We could choose between Fiji and Country Victoria OR KL, Malaysia etc.

I remember so clearly, like it was yesterday, the realisation that my girls were all going to KL and I had chosen to go to Fiji. So we went out separate ways for 3 months. My experience in Fiji for 6 weeks ... and not the resort kind - the poverty, the rawness, the islands with no electricity kind, where I spent Christmas Day 1999 riding bareback on a horse through the forest, meeting Fijians who had never seen white people before, bathing in a river due to no running water, and having a traditional Fijian Christmas Feast on straw mats outside.. unforgettable memories, once in a lifetime memories... Then 6 weeks travelling through country Victoria. I'll dedicate a whole post just to those 3 months of travelling one day.

The sun in Fiji turned my already blonde hair white... natural colouring, great! :P P.S See that young man kneeling down on the bottom left hand side of the photo? He is now the lead singer of The Temper Trap.. he was also a part of a our special group at YWAM :)

Just in case you aren't sure who Temper Trap are...

So .. then after another 6 weeks travelling through out country Victoria, we arrived back at YWAM Melbourne. I remember Izzie running and jumping into a hug when we finally were reunited... it was the kind of reunion you see in the movies :) That's my Iz. Me, Iz, Kristen and Tara then sat in our lecture room, desks all squished up together, talking endlessly about our last 3 months. And.. well... that conversation is our secret. A special, surprising, funny conversation rejoining us together.

I don't think this post has done justice to my time with YWAM. Maybe words will just never be able to describe it. However, it's a memory I will hold dear to my heart forever. The friendships I formed, will last forever.

I am dearly hoping to also see Tara while I'm in the US, as well as another gorgeous friend Betsi who was in our YWAM group. It will be a dream come true to reunite with these beautiful people who I shared this time with.

Think of this as Part 1 of my YWAM experience. One day I'll share Part 2 of my time in Fiji and Country Victoria. :)

Happy Days.