Yellowstone

When I first let everyone know that I was going to Australia for the semester, the first thing 90% of people said to me was, "are you going to the Hillsong school?" Sorry to disappoint. However, I do want to let you all know about my very interesting experience with Hillsong so far.

There is a misconception of Hillsong in the states. It seems so glamorous, and honestly it kind of is. There are tons of different campuses, and they have cutting edge equipment and the cream-of-the-crop in every single ministry you can think of- children's and youth ministry, worship, audio/visual, outreach, etc. The main Sydney campuses are the City church (the one I attend), and the Hills, which is a long train ride outside of town. The latter is the biggest, and it is where most of the recording for the worship albums takes place. Hillsong City Church, however, is in the middle of the ghetto of Sydney, where mostly Aboriginals live in utter poverty. Their kids are often neglected and likely malnourished, as alcoholism is such a problem in modern Aborigine culture.

With the Australia Studies Centre, we are required to complete 35 hours of volunteer work at our service placement; mine is a ministry of Hillsong, called Impact Kids. The program goes around to the poorest neighborhood in Sydney on Saturday mornings and picks up children with whom Impact Kids has been networking already, and takes them to nearby parks. There we play with them, feed them, and have a short Bible lesson with them before we take them back home around noon. My job is to help pick up kids on the weekly routes, play with them, and, if the opportunity arises, talk to them about Jesus. The apartments where we pick up the kids are so run down. One woman, a child's grandmother, inquired as to when Hillsong would be supplying their groceries again. I had a great time playing with the kids and getting to know them. They are wonderful kids, but they do come with all sorts of issues usually related to neglect and other family problems. There actually aren't very many kids at the parks on Saturday: maybe 15 or so at each park where we minister (Impact Kids ministers at about 3 any given Saturday). However, what we do makes a huge difference. You see, the ministry of Impact Kids is based completely on consistency; this is a point that the Hillsong leadership mentions a lot. The fact that these volunteers are there EVERY Saturday, and come to the kids' home to pick them up when they say they were going to, is what ministers to these kids because they are often made empty promises; as the hands and feet of Christ, we must represent He who never breaks a promise.

This type of real ministry was not what I expected from Hillsong, an internationally renown school of ministry. Perhaps I was wrong to expect anything less. I realize that most churches don't have the sheer man power of Hillsong, but I have seen many a church turn a blind eye to huge problems that exist in their own backyard, or worse, in their own congregation. Hillsong is one of the most well-known Protestant churches in the world, yet they are not too good to do whatever it takes to reach out to the poor and hurting right at their doorstep. If you think about it, a congregation of Redfern residents would not be convenient for Hillsong. To begin with, the children at Impact Kids are not your average church kids: they smell bad, hit each other, and curse like sailors. Furthermore, residents of Hillsong could not give the church money even if they wanted to. The fact that Hillsong would rather have a church full of the poor and hurting rather than the glamorous and clean is, to me, a testimony in itself. This is what I mean when I say that it was not what I expected.

Sunday was my first time actually attending Hillsong Church. It was the kick-off to a month of creative arts services that will be taking place Sunday nights through the month of August. This part was about what I expected: it was larger than life. It was perfect. The music was incredible, and the message, depicted through visual art, illustrated sermon, film, and awesome visual effects, was a feast to my senses as well as my spirit. Worship was led by Brooke Fraser, a well-known singer/songwriter and worship leader. One might think (well, at least I thought) that Hillsong only does the newest, loudest, coolest songs all the time. If the song was written a week ago, it's too old. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I heard "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord" and "This Is My Desire", in the most simple arrangements. Now, you might think this is silly, but to me, this suggests that Hillsong's passion is less about impressing man, and more about pleasing God. Of course, I was impressed. I was impressed by the heart that they have for people.

On Fridays, the 33 American ASC students typically have class together in our "View from Australia" class. Today was no different, and began with my 3 roommates and I catching the L03 bus at 7:50 to go to school. But today, there was a great "excursion" planned for us that was supposed to last all day, into the evening. Unfortunately, the day was cold, windy, and rainy. As our herd of Americans walked a few blocks in the rain from school to catch our bus downtown, we were not optimistic that the weather would let up, despite the mostly sunny forecast. We were right.

Our eventful day began with a tour of the New South Wales Library downtown. It was completely gorgeous. It looked like the library in Beauty and the Beast (haha). The library has 7 or 8 floors, and interestingly does not loan books out for patrons to take home. After breaking for lunch, we resumed in our meeting place at Sydney Harbour and found out that our next "adventure" was a scavenger hunt. There were probably a dozen landmarks for us to walk to, and take a picture with. Now, don't get me wrong, we had a lot of fun on our scavenger hunt, and we ended up winning! (yay, team 3!) But it was SOO cold and wet. By this time, all of us had had wet, frozen feet for hours. The temperature certainly didn't exceed 55 or 60 degrees (Fahrenheit, haha) all day long, plus the cold rain and wind made it feel even colder. But here's the thing: not only were we outside all day doing our 1.5 hour scavenger hunt, but there is literally no place to go to get warm and dry. It is very rare to find a public place with central heating. Most stores and restaurants do not have it. I don't even have it at my homestay. I don't mean to go on and on about this, but I just have to add a funny exchange I had with my roommate, Marygrace at our homestay the other night.

Marygrace: Mmm, these Resee's pieces are so good when they're cold! Did you put them in the fridge?

Me: ...no.

So there you have it.

Perhaps one of the best parts of the day, though, was that for some reason a popular gelato chain here, Gelatissimo, was giving out free chocolate gelato between 2 and 4 in Sydney Harbour. Actually, I didn't need to know why they were doing this. All that matters is that we all got amazing gelato for free. For those of you who have never had it, it kind of tastes like...heaven. Even though we were cold, the gelato made us so happy, that we forgot how cold we were. It probably put a few warm pounds on us, too. It was then that we boarded our cruise ship for a beautiful (did I mention it was cold?) cruise around Sydney Harbour. What an amazing time! We got some of the best views of the harbour, the opera house, and the Harbour Bridge. I tried to take a ton of pictures, but I was never able to get the camera to capture exactly what I was looking at so that I could show you all. Instead, you'll have you imagine it, and promise to plan a trip to Sydney sometime very soon to see it yourself. You won't be sorry.

We finished the night with one more bus ride to Darling Harbour, another harbour with tons of restaurants, bars, and a shopping center. It was so alive at night. At least 2 or 3 times a day, I still think, 'wow, I cannot believe I'm here!' Tonight I probably said that a dozen times. We had dinner at a Mongolian barbecue restaurant on the harbour. There is so much incredible Asian food in Australia, because Australia is comprised of about 40% of Asians. The food was great, and the company was even better. I love all of the American students, and I can't wait to get to know them all better. After dinner, we were tired, cold, and soggy, but at least we were stuffed and happy. Despite the rain, the day was so bright with friends and all the exciting potential that this new city holds for all of us.

This is going to be one amazing semester.

Yesterday, I began my first day of school at 11am with choir class. I don't know what I was expecting. I knew that the school was very small, and I guess I didn't want to be disappointed when I walked into a room of 15 or 20 people for choir. Also, I knew that Wesley focused primarily on contemporary Christian music rather than classical, so I thought we might sing something that a church choir might sing, like...I don't know, Chris Tomlin or something. I was pleasantly mistaken and surprised when I walked into the choir room. There was a choir of about 50 people, and I cannot even explain the wonderful chaos that was taking place. It was like a big party, because everyone was very excited to see each other again after their break, and to meet all of the new students. However, it was unlike anything I have experienced in the states. ASC students attend Wesley every semester, so no one was surprised that I was American. However, one of the Australians I met did mention that I had a "really thick" American accent. I found this amusing. I was pleased when I received my first piece of music, the Mozart Requiem, and even more relieved when I heard the choir's great sound. In fact, I found out that the Wesley Institute choir traveled to Vienna a couple of years ago to participate in a young musicians' choral competitions against schools from all over the world, and won! I'm honored to be a part of such a group, and I'm looking forward to our Mozart performance later in the semester.

Today was my first "View from Australia" class, which is that Tuesday-Friday class that all the ASC students take, and it is taught by our director, Kimberly Spragg. If you are like me, you judged the class by it's name and nature, and figured it would be an easy class, but it's not. Part of me is disappointed that I'll have to work hard, but another part of me is excited to learn as much as I can about Australia and get the most out of my semester. After all, it IS a SEMESTER, not "holiday", as they call it here. After receiving our first assignment, I and some others from the class decided to mentally prepare for it by taking a bus downtown and exploring all of the great shops all afternoon (haha). We were able to visit the Queen Victoria Building, a shopping center with about 200 shops. Built in 1898, the building accommodates beautiful stained glass, detailed architecture, and royal paintings. It has been described as "the most beautiful shopping center in the world."

Now, I'm at my homestay about to eat dinner. I just have to note something though: my homestays are AMAZING cooks. Dinner is such an event around here, and I can totally see why they never eat out. Every night, dinner is prepared from scratch, and always includes freshly cut vegetables. I have also tried some new authentically Australian foods here, including this merengue and sugar desert topped with fruit, and vegemite (which I don't recommend). Also, I should mention that I haven't yet met an Australian who enjoys Starbucks. This is because Australians drink their coffee much stronger than Americans, and although there are Starbucks here, I think they're pretty much for tourists. Personally, I'm trying not to go to Starbucks, and instead have enjoyed a couple of Australian lattes. A latte is kind of cheating: it doesn't taste much different than an American latte, but I think it's a start.

WOW.

So, even though it is 4am in America, it is 7pm here in Sydney. Today (Friday) was our first full day in the city and I feel like my life has totally changed in such a short amount of time! I can't believe I'm here! I'll give you guys the rundown:

Our group left LA on Tuesday night at about 10:30pm pacific time. The group has taken to one another so quickly, and I knew from just the airport that we would all get along very well. I know that God this particular group together for a purpose and I can't wait to find out what it is. After a comfortable but grueling flight for 12.5 hours, we finally arrived in New Zealand to watch the sun rising over the beautiful hills (we were a little too jet lagged to enjoy this). Four hours later, we arrived in Sydney, greeted of course by Australia customs, and then by the much friendlier ASC staff. Kimberly, Melanie, and Bethany are so great! They were patient with all our questions, and very glad that we were here. As we drove for the first time through Sydney to Wesley Institute, we saw many of the sites briefly, and pinched ourselves making sure that we were actually here! I was surprised at how close my school is to the downtown area of Sydney. I can't wait to go into the city!! One of the first things we did at Wesley was take a tour of the school. It is very small: I usually tell people that Evangel is "very small", but this was probably a quarter of the size of Evangel! Wesley reminds me a lot of Classen, where I went to highschool. For those who don't know, Classen is an eclectic performing and visual arts school. Wesley was similar because it was covered in art by students past and present; also, there are dance studios like at Classen, and it just has the overall feel of being really relaxed. Then again, all of Australia is pretty laid back. actually, that's sort of an understatement.

Finally, after more information sessions (also, having not slept or showered for...a really long time haha), our host father, John, picked us up to take us "home." Our homestay is just WONDERFUL. We are staying with the Pilatos' family, and even though they have lived in Sydney their whole lives, they are Greek, and they make wonderful fresh Greek food for us every evening. The 4 of us girls who are living here (me, Marygrace, Laura Lynne, and Vanessa) have the whole upstairs to ourselves, and our own rooms. The are much like small dorm rooms with twin beds, and a common area (with TV and couch) and a bathroom in the middle. The Pilatos' family has hosted international students for many years, and they have thought of EVERYTHING that we might possibly need, some of which was left by the other ASC students they kept only a couple of months ago: a hairdryer (with the correct aussie voltage), travel converters, and other odds and ends. Our rooms had towels, a laundry hamper, an alarm clock, and some cute Australian souvenirs, including Tim Tams, a chocolate wafer cracker that is very popular here. Of course since they have hosted students before, they already had everything figured out to tell us. They thought of everything! The Pilatos, John and Lisa, have 2 daughters and 1 son: Dannielle, Jasmin, and Jason. The girls were at a friends house, and are again tonight, so we have yet to meet them, but we did get to meet Jason briefly last night. He is 11 and plays soccer, and we just think he's so cute! haha We cannot wait to meet the girls tomorrow.

There are a lot of differences between the US and Australia. Maybe one of the biggest is that Australians like to bring the outdoors indoors. In other words, the windows are always open (even though it is 40 degrees right now!), and there is no central air or heat. We have one miniature radiator in the common area upstairs, and fans for later in the semester in each of our rooms. It's pretty cold even indoors. Australia is very energy conscious; they don't use electricity unless they need it. They are also conscious of their water supply and we try to take shorter showers and such. They even have "half flush" and "full flush" buttons on toilets (invented in Australia) to conserve water. Australia is also in a drought. The other more apparent difference is that Australians drive on the left side of the street. It gets a little confusing with catching a bus and walking across streets, but don't worry, mom, I'm looking both ways!

This morning, John took the bus with us to walk us through the route we would be taking to school daily. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get to school by bus. I'm definitely still getting used to the area and bus routes. We arrived at the school early, so we went to the coffee shop across the street to get something warm to drink (it is cold in the morning and gets to about 55-65 in the afternoon). We must have looked clueless staring at the menu (Aussies order their coffee a bit differently: "flat white", or "long black" for example), because a business man who seemed to be a regular at that coffee shop told the barista, "Get these girls anything they want! It's an Aussie treat!" What a great way to start our first morning in Sydney! The rest of the day was just orientation. I am very pleased with my service placement: I will be completing my 35 hours of volunteer work at Impact Kids, a ministry of Hillsong Church that ministers to young, neglected Aboriginal children in the city. I and 9 or 10 other girls will work there on Saturday mornings from 8:30 to about 12:30.

Well, like I said, it's the weekend and we have it all to ourselves. Since it is winter here, it is already dark outside, so we decided that we would stay in tonight and eat dinner a little later with our host parents. This weekend is World Youth Day, which is the biggest Catholic annual youth meeting in the world. There are literally hundreds of thousands of extra people in Sydney because of it, not to mention the pope is in town for it. Yeah, the POPE! So because of all the extra people and hype in the city this weekend, many of the bus schedules will be different than usual, and me and my roommates opted to stay out of the greater Sydney area for this weekend. Instead, we will probably spend the day exploring around our neighborhood. Nearby is a beautiful lake, a beautiful park, and a great little shopping/eating area in a very nearby town called Westfield.

Ok, well dinner's ready! I'll update soon,

No worries.

Hello, friends! Welcome to my new travel blog. It is here that I will try to keep everyone back home posted on what I'm doing in Australia. I thought today would be an appropriate day to start this, since I will be leaving for Sydney in 7 days exactly.

For those of you that don't know, I'll give a little bit of information about my semester and try to answer some FAQs. I'm leaving on July 15 from Oklahoma, then meeting with my group of 33 American students in LA. We will fly from there to Australia. I will be returning to Oklahoma on November 15, and will return to Springfield for the Spring semester in January. My program is with a study abroad group for the Christian Coalition of Colleges and Universities: the Australia Studies Centre. Frequently in blog posts I will use "ASC" to refer to this program. I will be attending the Wesley Institute, which is located in a suburb of Sydney called Drummoyne, which is in New South Wales, Australia. I encourage you to visit their awesome website here: http://www.wesleyinstitute.edu.au/wi/
I will be staying in a different suburb of Sydney called Concord in a homestay with 3 other American girls from the program. The couple that I'm staying with also has 3 kids: 2 girls and a boy, ages 14, 12, and 10, respectively. I can't wait to meet them! I'm also looking forward to lots of cool trips, including trips to the Australian bush, the outback, Canberra (the capital city: no, Sydney is not the capital!), and New Zealand.

Throughout the duration of my semester, I will post as many pictures and videos as I can. You can get in touch with me through this blog, which I hope to check and update very regularly, or through e mail at: wickham4520@evangel.edu. I will also still be on facebook. So if you have facebook, that may be the best way to contact me. Also, I will be connected to my parents and the rest of the US via Skype, so if you have it, add me!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Please keep me in your prayers, and I'll see you in November!