Bump In and Outreach

Hey Guys! So I have been learning lots and spending tons of time with my friends and I kind of neglected my blog a bit. Apologies.

Okay so Easterfest Bump In (set up) as started this week and it is flying by! The first couple of days were the guys doing a bunch of heavy lifting while the girls took care of work duties and such at the base. Wednesday was my first day on site and will be my last day on site next week. According to one of the tradies I worked with we are almost 4 days ahead of schedule for bump in because of how well everyone is working together.

Sara amidst the giant lanterns

   
          Examples of jobs we have been doing (my team at least):
   - putting up temporary fencing
   - installing flooring
   - separating thousands of wrist bands
   - setting up lanterns
   - helping spread out almost 5 tons of sand
   - setting up tables and chairs in various venues
   - securing truss structures

Other teams have been building stages, and cleaning out the storage units from past festivals. It has been a very fun, very exhausting couple of days. I can't wait to see how it all comes together, every time we show up it is looking more and more like a music festival! Vendors have started showing up to set up their tents and main stage is being assembled and cabling being run. It will be awesome! Since we are a music and worship school, we get to attend the festival so that we can observe the different artists and explore different music genres that we might not normally be drawn to.

Sharon tightening the clamps on a fence

Outreach is drawing closer as well which means we have been spending a lot of time with our outreach teams working on skits, dances, and the like. We have also been doing more work projects as teams and it's great to see how well we all work together and watching people just step up to get things done. After Easterfest we have about 2 or 3 weeks of lectures and then we head out to our outreach locations in mid April. I'm getting more and more excited as the day draws closer, and I know I'm not the only one. It will be difficult being away from all of these yahoos for 4 and a half weeks after living in such close quarters with them for the past 9-10 weeks. But I think it'll be a great experience and we will all have great stories to share when we get home again.

I just got a package from my family this week which has made me a bit home sick, but it was great to read all of the notes and letters, and I loved looking at all pictures they sent. But I have been communicating with them a lot which helps a bit, but it still sucks to realize all of the things I am missing at home. The reality that everything is going to be different when I get home is finally starting to set it and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it, let alone how I actually feel about it. I don't know. I've had a lot of time to think about things while I'm working which could be a bit dangerous since I tend to be an over-analyzer.

Team Fiji! (Sorry Tyler, half your face got "trimmed")

Anyway. While I'm on location for outreach I may not be blogging as much (if at all) because the culture of Fiji is very relationship oriented and I don't want to miss out on anything because I am busy planning my next blog update. Not that I don't love writing them or keeping you guys in the loop, I just want to be present for my team and for the people we are serving. I will be keeping a journal that I will use to write a big blog post when I get back on Australian soil. My family will be receiving updates that they can share with you guys, and I will be trying to stay in contact, but I want to be clear that blogging is not going to be a goal while I'm there. :) Our team is currently in the stage of writing sermons, testimonies, games, and songs to share with the people we meet. So be praying for creativity!





I don't currently have a giant list of prayer requests like I usually do, not because things are going so great there is nothing to pray for, but just because I want you guys to pray into what you feel lead to. As usual, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, contact me! I love you all and miss you muchly, but am enjoying myself immensely and growing so much! Thanks for your continual support and prayers, it means so much to me!

Much love from Toowoomba,
Kate