about a girl

I would like to introduce you to someone.

Her name is Corey. Corey is 23 years old and hails from our great northern neighboring country of Canada. Corey currently lives at the YWAM base in Townsville, Australia (which happens to be the same base I live at...) and she started in YWAM in 2005. She has an amazing heart for missions and is currently a staff member of our base's Primary Health Care school and will soon be heading to Papua New Guinea for over 2 months to deliver medical aid as well as the good news about Jesus. As I said she has an amazing heart.

Corey also just happens to be a really cool girl. She loves sports (rugby is her favorite and she happened to captain her hometown team) as well as any other type of adventure that involves being outside and a hint of excitement. Skydiving, snowmobiling, rock jumping, jet skiing...she loves it. She doesn't like to be bored. If you want her to do something, just tell her she can't do it...and she will prove you wrong. She is strong and not afraid to stand up for who she is and what she believes in.

Corey is also sweet. She carries herself confidently and she is very well spoken. She is quick to smile, loves to laugh, and there is a serenity about her that she takes wherever she goes. Everyone loves having her around no matter what the occasion. I include myself in that. She is sweet, innocent, thoughtful and kind. She is a girl to be admired.

Corey...is also my girlfriend.

Woohoo!! As of December 7, 2008, this amazing and incredible girl is MY girlfriend!

I met her this past July and our friendship quickly formed and grew steadily. My attraction was immediate (as you will see when you see her pic!) and it was amazing how well that we not only got along, but have similar interests and personalities. We spent the first 3 months here at the base and then cultivated our friendship over the phone and through email over the 9 weeks that I was leading my outreach team. Upon my return home it was evident that we have something special. And by evident, I not only mean between the two of us....but also to all of our friends who would constantly give me no small hard time about it! Haha!

So we decided to make it official! We are officially dating!

So now we enter this new stage of our lives. I would love your prayers and support as we walk this path that we have began to travel. I'm so excited! She is an incredible girl and it is an honor and priviledge to be such a part of her life. It's awesome and fairly unbelievable! But unbeliveable in the best possible and most believable way! I think my eyes are a bit starry even as I write this...you can't tell can you?

Just wanted to fill all of you in...I'm also coming home soon! Hopefully I will see you then!

Love you guys.

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Back from Outreach

I'm back on aussie soil! We just arrived back in Darwin a few hours ago and will leave tomorrow morning for our 3 day drive/trek back to Townsville. Outreach has been amazing, but after 9 weeks it will be great to be home.

Our 22 days in Indonesia was fantastic! My team was involved with many different ministries and many different people during our time there and I saw and did many things that I have NEVER done before. We were able to go an orphanage, do prostitute/transgender evangelism, speak in churches, speak at schools, hang out with street kids, but our main focus ended up really being slum ministry. We would usually be in a slum at least 5 days a week. The city where we went has such a dichotomy between rich and poor that at often times it felt like you would step from one world into another within a moment. One day we spent the afternoon hanging out in a huge slum with people who lived in plywood "homes" literally built in a graveyard (literally on top of the graves) and who pulled the labels off of plastic water bottles to make a living next to open sewage...got in a taxi and went to an evening service at a church that has a multi multi million dollar structure, a sound system with acoustics that rival any concert hall (their sanctuary is actually called a concert hall!), immaculate state of the art musical instruments, and our team even got to use electronic ear pieces so the service could be translated into english as the pastor was speaking!

Our time spent in Indo really was amazing and there are so many stories and experiences to share. We saw people come to know the Lord, prayed for and received a healing, discipled local christians, helped meet people's physical needs, and so much more.

We also as a team got to experience a little thing called outreach stomach. We all did pretty well health wise until about the last 3 days...and then things started happening....literally. Let's just say that yesterday, our last day and the day we flew out, my team of 7 visited the throne room over 40 times combined. Go ahead....do the math. We have one member who has visited that room 34 times over the last 3 days! Woohoo! Oh yeah, and there is very rarely toilet paper....it's just this funny looking hose that looks like something you would wash your dishes with at the kitchen sink. We visited some facilities that have neither TP or hoses....just a bucket of water with large ladle like spoon. Let's just say you do not shake with your left hand under any circumstance. Sometimes there aren't even toilets themselves....just squatty potties.

But like battle weary soldiers limping home...we come back victorious.

God has done so much in the City where we were over the last year and it was an AMAZING experience to play a part in something so much bigger. There are lives that are literally not the same as they were 3 weeks ago. Not only that, but there eternities have changed as well. I'm still trying to understand the magnitude of that.

Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts over the last few weeks. You all are amazing.

Aaron

P.S. I shall be returning to the States at the end of december and am currently scheduled to speak on Sunday December 28 at my church...so mark your calendars! Hope to see you there!

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Back from Camping

Greetings my friends,

Camping was incredible and such an amazing experience. We traveled about 2 hours north into the rainforest and experienced God in an awesome way while having some fun as well. There were definitely a fair few ticks up there and many had to be rotated out with tweezers after they had buried half their bodies into our skin (as ticks do...). I woke up and had one feasting away in my shoulder. The key is to turn counterclockwise because they bury themselves in clockwise. It's like loosening a screw or something. One of the girls (who isn't exactly the "camping" type) told me she was praying that she wouldn't get one...I told that's funny cuz I'm praying that you DO get one. She didn't like that very much. She ended up getting 3. The most out of anyone. I laughed more than once.

We also saw an 8 foot python, a spider the size of a dinner plate, wallabies, enormous bush rats (that I caught in a trap), and a yellow bellied black snake. We only saw the snake after I ran over it...iIt was still alive and wasn't super stoked about just having a van crush part of it's body. It was cool to see though...ha! Our camping experience also consisted of drop toilets (lovingly referred to as thunder boxes over here...a name I loved and used at every opportunity), not showering for the entire two weeks but instead bathing in the creek, and a rope swing at a water hole we found. We definitely enjoyed the camping experience.

While camping was fun....that really isn't the reason that we do it. Camping is a time where we can take two full weeks and rid ourselves of so many of the distractions of life and just concentrate solely on God. It's amazing what He can do when we actually give Him that much time to speak to us and move through us. Lectures continue as well and I spoke to the school for about 2 1/2 hours on the first day and talked a bit about the Bible and how the Old Testament ties together with the New Testament as well as what it looks like to live a life of radical obedience. We had different topics during the first week and then during the last week we had our DTS leader speak on "Lordship" and what it looks like to not just be a Christian but to have Christ as the "Lord" of your life. So often we love God and say we want Him to be first in everything....but there are many things where we still do not allow Him to have any say over what we do/desire/pursue. I was challenged to look at my own life and found there are some things that I am guilty of doing just that. Relying on myself and not giving God any room to move. So God spoke to many of us as He continues to refine us and bring some of this stuff to light. A great time of ministry for the entire DTS and myself as well.

Other than that we are just preparing for outreach. We leave for Darwin in only 2 weeks and then are off to Southeast Asia after that. It's getting close and should be incredible.

Love you guys and will write again soon. I'd love some emails!

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DTS has begun!

I'll be honest...the picture is irrelevant. I just think it is funny.

Well the July 2008 DTS (Discipleship Training School) is now in full swing! As most of you know, I changed roles at the base from "accounts" to "DTS Staff" at the beginning of July. Our school has 12 students, 4 staff, and 1 leader and we have people represented from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, England, and Papua New Guinea. We have all been together for 3 weeks now and our really getting along well. God has already began to move in their lives as they begun to learn more about His character and nature as well as what it means to find their personal identity in Christ and not in the world. We have a very young school as all 12 students are between the ages of 18 and 20 but along with that comes a real hunger to know more of who God really is. It's so exciting to think what God is going to do in their personal lives as well as how He is going to work through them. I'll keep you all updated on what happens!

I had a great birthday on July 9th over here and I am now writing to you as a 25 year old. I haven't let my parents forget that they have now had me over a quarter of a century! The base made me a big cake and of course some of it ended up smashed all over my face...as welll as we all played rugby in the evening which made for an all in all great celebration. My parents sent me a box of goodies which was great and it also had quite a few bday cards from a few of you which was just great and a real encouragement. Thank you! I plan on my 25th year being the best year yet!

Youthstreet continues to go really well and so many of the kids are growing so much. Just last night one of the kids on my sports team came up to one of my staff and was so excited because he had just given his life to God! He had been going to a church youth group for awhile as well as Youthstreet and he finally made the decision to take the plunge! What an amazing thing. Awesome. The Youthstreet team that went to thailand (7 staff & 13 kids) have returned and have so many stories of how God used them. The highlight for most of them was all the girls were able to shut an entire bar down by "purchasing" four prostitutes and then taking them out to dinner and just showering them with love. So much happened that night that can't all fit in these words but needless to say it was incredible night of love and joy but also heartache and tears. A bit of God's heart was expressed that night and both the YS team as well as the prostitutes were exposed to a bit of how far God's love reaches. It's so good...yet absolutely heartwrenching.

The last things is that we have a whole new Reef to Outback website. I'd love to have you check it all out. You can find my personal profile on there as well as the July DTS profile as well that has a weekly blog about everything that we have experienced together. Check it out and have some fun!

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Changing roles

The transition has begun! I am transitioning out of my role in our accounting department and into July 08 Discipleship Training School Staff! As school staff we have spent last week as well as this coming week preparing for the school both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Along with getting the houses ready and all the curriculum sorted out etc. (physical), we have also spent a lot of time in the classroom being taught some of the finer points of discipling as well as diving a bit deeper into what we want to accomplish as DTS staff by setting realistic attainable goals (mental). Some of our “goals” are seeing our students grow in spiritual gifts, maturing in worship and prayer, integrating God into every aspect of their lives, as well as developing a heart for the lost...just to name a few. We have also been praying (spiritual) for our students travels, families, finances, and that God is already preparing their hearts for what he wants to accomplish over the next 5 months. Right now we have 16 students who are planning on coming but a couple still need to see finances come in and we have been partnering with them in prayer to see that happen so they can make it here! The school starts this coming Sunday and our first student arrived today…from New Jersey no less!

It has been an incredibly busy time as I have been preparing for the school, as well as moving into the DTS house, as well as continuing to work in accounts in the afternoons, as well as planning and leading the YouthStreet sports team…(we did archery this week by the way which was awesome!) But God is good and while things have been busy and sometimes close to overwhelming, I have a real excitement about everything that is going and can’t wait to dive all the way in. This is definitely a new experience for me and I feel that both personally as well as corporately we are being ushered into a new season and we are going to see big things happen! It’s going to be so good.

In other news, my back is doing very well and recovery seems to progressing well. I have no pain and it feels stronger and stronger as time goes by. My left calf still doesn’t work but I am going to physical therapy to hopefully regain what movement I have and train my brain to fire up what nerves are still working! I would love it if you could continue to keep a full recovery of my leg in your prayers.

We also have our first YouthStreet outreach team (made up of 13 YS teenagers + 7 staff) currently in Thailand for 2 ½ weeks…things have been going really well according to their reports and I will give you a full report when they return. It’s so cool to see these young guys and girl getting a taste of missions and getting out there and doing it! It’s so great.

Thanks again for all your continued thoughts and prayers. Keep the faith and I will be talking to you again soon. Send me an email and let me know what’s new in your lives too!

Love you guys and miss you.

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Recovery and School Staff

Hello my friends.

It has been a little while so I thought I would give everyone a quick update of what is happening.

1. The "Aaron Wright Night" that my church put on seemed to be a great success. From what I have heard everyone had a great time listening to the band, hearing a bit about what is going on over here, and watching an update video where I conducted my own interview from my recovery bed as well as a slideshow of pictures of youthstreet. They also raised some financial support for me as well which is a huge blessing for me. Big thanks go to everyone who coordinated the night as well as everyone who attended. Glad you had fun and I wish I could've been there!

2. My back continues to improve and I am just about back to normal. I spent a total of 3 weeks in bed (mostly) and am now back to work full time and even started physical therapy last week. It feels really good and I am totally pain free. My calf still does not work and the neurosurgeon says that at this point is might work again but it might not. It has been so long now that we will do what we can to regain the function but chances are I won't get full use back. But we will see how it goes (I am not one to give up easily) and I will do what I can and let God do the rest. Thanks again for all your prayers throughout the last couple of months....and no I am still not playing rugby yet.

3. The big news for me here at Reef to Outback is that I have been asked to staff the July Discipleship Training School (DTS). That is the same school that I originally came to Australia to attend back in July last year. But now I have gone from a lowly student to a big bad staff member which means that I run small groups, do heaps of one-on-one discipleship, speak and teach often, and much much more all with the aim of taking the students deeper with God and give them a heart for the lost and for missions. It also means that I will be leading a team on a two month outreach starting in October to a destination that is still yet to be decided officially at this moment. Staffing a school means that my role around the base will change dramatically (I will be leaving my beloved accounts department) and I am very excited for all the opportunities that this entails. My DTS had a major impact on my life and it will be a privilege to staff a school that can really change someone's entire outlook on who God is, who they are, and what they will do with the life God has given them. It's gonna be good and I look forward to relaying many stories of what God does during this time. The school begins on the 14th of July and runs till December 5th. I can't wait.


Everything else hear is great. Youthstreet continues to cruise right along and the ministry here is thriving. Thanks again for all the prayers and support. I love you all!

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surgery number two

Now most of you know that I am the type of guy who likes to "go big or go home." I don't usually like to do things small. So I guess when it comes to my back (and all the problems it loves to give me) I shouldn't be surprised when it follows that same line of thinking. A few weeks ago, if you remember, I had really bad pain and could neither stand up straight or walk normally. During that time I made a doctor's appointment with a neurosurgeon which was scheduled for this last Thursday. Even though my back has been feeling better I decided to go ahead and go through with the appointment just to check on things and see how my calf (and the fact that it doesn't work) are coming along. I had another MRI last week (3rd in nine months) and on Thursday at the neurosurgeon's he took one look at the results and basically said that I need another surgery and probably sooner than later. Apparently one of the two discs that were operated on last December has either totally ruptured or prolapsed (those were the words he used) and the only way to fix it is surgery. He showed me the MRI results and sure enough...there was a pretty decent size explosion of black stuff where there should be white stuff. He said that particular disc appears to be worse than it was before the original procedure. So as of right now, I am scheduled for another back surgery on Tuesday (Monday U.S. time) where the doctor will basically perform the same surgery I had done in December again. He also said that it wasn't that my first surgery went wrong or anything....there is just a 1 in 10 chance of this happening with type of surgery. I asked him if I have this second surgery is it still those type of odds after this one and he said that there is still a risk of it happening again but that he can also do a few more "preventative measures" since it has already happened once.

The good news in all of this is that in December I had two discs operated on and this time only one of them is giving me trouble. The lowest one is healing great and that the doctor said that is the one that affects the nerves which affect my left calf. He said that I "probably" would regain full use of my leg and that the nerves are still in the process of healing. He has also prescribed physical therapy after my surgery for both my back as well as my leg which will hopefully speed along that process.

So yes, it is all very exciting over here. The current plan is for me to be in the hospital for at least a couple days and then probably another two weeks of laying in a bed. Our base is hosting a huge National Leaders Meeting in one week and everyone on base is having to shuffle living arrangements to make room for almost 150 more people to stay here for about 9 days. Many of us will even be living in tents for the week! So my little surgery comes at a fairly inconvenient time and we are still trying to figure out where I will be staying and how I am going to be taken care of with all the added responsibilities that come with a event of this size. But it will work out and I have plenty of friends who have already volunteered to cater to my every need (those are more my words than theirs) and there are incredible people here so I know I will be well cared for and in the very best of hands.

The big issue I am facing today and tomorrow is trying to get all the insurance stuff squared away. I have a type of medical insurance over here as well as insurance back in the states but trying to coordinate them is no small task. Especially in basically three days. If you could keep that whole situation in your prayers..that would be great. Pray especially that there is no difficulties, that they accept my claim, and that I am covered!

Through all of this, God continues to be faithful. Although it is not super fun to go through... there are many bright sides to this story. One is that I am no longer covered by my primary insurance when I turn 25 which happens in July. It is good that I can get all this over with (hopefully) before then. That is pretty big. I have also been chosen to staff the same school (DTS) that I did last year which also starts in July. I will tell all of you more about that soon but it is also really good I can get this done before then as well. Staffing a DTS is a pretty major thing and it is so good that I can get this done before that begins. And I'm surrounded by so many people who are just begging to take care of me! haha! So even through the tough times, God continues to use His timing and I know He is faithful to get me through this. I am certain he has called me here and even though I do not always understand how things work....that's ok. He's got it covered. That makes my life a whole lot less stressful.

I will keep you all posted on how everything goes. Thank you so much for your prayers!

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DEEPER!

I have returned!

"Deeper" (that's the name of the camp I was just on) was incredible! We had a lot of fun and God really moved in pretty big ways. Let me share a bit....We took 10 kids (6 boys & 4 girls), 4 staff, and one bronze medallion (an aussie lifeguard) about five hours north into the Atherton tablelands which are mainly rolling green hills filled with dairy farms and reminding me a lot of Switzerland. We stayed at a huge dairy farm in which a big section has been turned into a camp for kids. There was a large pond with a 50 foot slide and two diving boards, covered wagons that were our "cabins," a good size lake for canoeing, and a nice cooking hall. Evey day we had a at least one major activity planned and also time devoted to learning more about God, spending time with Him, and really just going "deeper" with Him as the camp name implies.

I'll just give you the quick list of the fun that was had: waterfall tour, waterskiing/tubing, milking cows, late-night canoe tour, birds of prey show, cheese and chocolate factory, 300 foot mudslide, and horseback riding. Good times were had by all.

In the middle of all that fun though, God really made His presence known to the kids in a big way. I want to tell you about the kids in general and then tell you a story about one of them. We had 10 kids from Youthsteet go on this camp. Out of the ten, nine profess to be Christians. The longest tenured Christian was one year. The shortest was 3 weeks. Two kids (brother and sister) come from a Christian family. The rest do not. In fact most of the families are actively discouraging their faith. With the exception of the two, all of the the other kids have only become a Christian through Youthstreet. Youthstreet is the only way they have learned about God, there only source of information about him, and the only reason they have decided to follow Him. For most of the kids on the camp, Youthstreet is the only place they are shown love in any form.

I was blown away by these kids' testimonies. None of these kids were from my Youthstreet team, and so I had the opportunity to really get to know these guys for the first time and was just amazed at not only where they come from...but also who they have decided to be in the midst of where they are. Two of the kids showed me the scars on their arms and legs where they used to cut themselves. Several had been drinking since the age of 13. But now they are in the middle of a radical life change. They have all stopped cutting and stopped drinking and have decided to follow this God who loves them and has been their only source of love that their life has ever known. And as we taught them more about who God is, as we told them who they are as children of the King, as we showed them how loved they are and how much God cares each one of them....I was again blown away that as these kids soaked it in, their hearts ached...for their families. For the very ones who have not shown them love and often hurt them more than any one else. What a testament to who these kids were...and to how God can transform someone from the inside out.

Let me tell you about Dylan. Dylan is 13 years old and his parents didn't want him anymore so they kicked him out of the house several years ago. He bounced from place to place and now lives with a friend and his parents along with another friend. Dylan wears black eye makeup. He routinely wears Marilyn Manson shirts. He often likes wearing girls clothes. He has already been drunk many times. He showed me the scars up and down his arms where he has cut himself time and time again. Safety pins, broken glass, razor blades. But Dylan has come to Youthstreet for a few months now and a few weeks ago he was listening to a speaker talk all about God and acceptance and love and when the speaker asked if anyone wanted to know this God better...Dylan stood up. He was in sitting in the middle of his group of friends...all wearing makeup and dressed completely in black. Dylan was the only one standing. You see Dylan is strong. He is willing to do things on his own and not follow his friends blindly. He knew that his decision to stand would cost him. It might cost him friends, he might be made fun of and teased, his world might come to an end as he knew it. But Dylan wanted to be loved. At that moment he was giving it all to be loved. He considers this moment the moment he became a Christian. I think I agree with him.

Dylan came on Deeper with much to learn. He didn't know how to look up a Bible verse or pray out loud. And day two of the camp...Dylan got sick. Tonsillitis. His throat hurt, his glands were swollen, and he felt horrible. He couldn't talk and he did not participate in a lot of the activities. He slept everywhere we went. We took him to the doctor and he got a couple of shots and ended up feeling better the day before we left. But even though Dylan couldn't talk at all, he was always listening when we were discussing God and was always writing. When he finally regained his voice he came to one of us and told us that he had written something. He had written his first worship song. The entire camp sang it together the night before we left. Ivan (YS staff) was talking about where God is when it hurts and how even though don't always understand why things happen...is always there and always working. Dylan said that at first he didn't understand why God didn't heal him of his sickness first thing since God can do anything. But then he said if he hadn't have been sick then he wouldn't have had to listen to God so much. Dylan said that now if he had the choice, he would rather have been sick on this camp and written the worship song then have been healed right away and not written it. He was basically saying that he understood that even though he was miserable, he grew more in his suffering than he would have if he was content.

Dylan is thirteen and has been a Christian for 3 weeks.

Dylan still has a ways to go. He still wears makeup and I saw the Manson shirt again yesterday. But the lesson he learned on this camp transcends any of that. God's plans are so much bigger than what we see. I told Dylan later that God is a good God and I don't believe that God made him sick. But I do believe that although God 98% of the time does not cause our suffering...He always want to use our suffering to draw us closer to Him. As much as he cares about our comfort he cares about our heart so much more. Dylan experienced this on a small level. God used Dylan's sickness to draw him closer to Himself and Dylan recognized this...and wouldn't have traded it for all the comfort in the world.

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2 Things

Just wanted to let you know about 2 quick things:

1. I have an awesome praise report about my back...for about 2 weeks it was hurting so bad that i was barely able to function. Even last Saturday as i was leading my youthstreet team i had to bring a little chair to sit in because i couldn't be upright for more than a few minutes at a time. Sunday it was a bit better and when i woke up Monday morning....it was pretty much fine! i can still feel something isn't quite right in there but i can move and function without pain and am relatively pain free! i am still going to the doctor and have an MRI scheduled in about 10 days, but i am definitely way better. it's crazy how much it coincided with the prayers of the people here at the base as well as with all of you back home. I really believe God was in this. He has really used this whole thing in my life and my faith has grown because of it.

2. I am also leaving on sunday morning for a week long camp with 11 youthstreet kids. Reef to Outback is running this camp and we are calling it "Deeper" because the whole point of the camp is to bring these kids to a "deeper" level of who God is and their relationship with Him. I am one of four staff who will be leading this camp and I will be teaching and running small groups and discussions. some of the kids are Christians and then we have a couple kids who have no idea who God is...so it's a great opportunity to be able to speak into these kids lives and build relationships as well as really being able to teach about God and how he loves them and has a plan for their lives. should be a good time. I will fill all of you in on what happens when we get back.

Specific prayer request:

That God really move in these kids lives at camp and they are forever changed. Pray that God speaks through us and uses in such a way that these kids get a glimpse of who God is and who each one of them are in God's eyes. Pray that God pierces their soul with truth.

Talk to ya soon!

Aaron


I'll put this on my blog but it's no different than what you see here.....;).

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improvement

G'day!

Well my back continues to give me problems. For a solid week it was really bad...couldn't stand up straight, I walked all bent funny, and i had to sleep on the couch for about 8 days because it hurt to much to lay flat on a bed. I went to the doctor and he gave me a a drug cocktail to help with the pain and muscle spasming and they did a bit but not nearly enough to make things ok. So he has referred me to the only neurosurgeon here in town who is really good but who is backed up till September 2008. He is currently looking at my referral and hopefully will deem me important enough to see on an emergency basis. One bright spot though was right after i found out that getting into the neurosurgeon would be a struggle, we had a pretty hardcore prayer session for my back and the whole situation. The next day I was noticeably better. I didn't have to bend over so much when I walked and i was able to sleep in my bed for the first time in over a week. It has been 4 days since then and every day seems a bit better. I still cannot stand up for more than a few minutes without having a fair amount of pain but when i'm laying down or sitting I do not feel any pain at all. I am not even taking my pain medication anymore.

I'll be honest and tell you that prayer is still not an easy thing in my life and i doubt the effectiveness more than my fair share. It is something that does not come easy for me. But on the other hand i am quite certain that this is where God has called me to be and that I am where he wants me . He did so much to get me through the back surgery before and he got me here in an incredible fashion. I knew that he would not do all that just for me to turn around and go back home to deal with more back stuff. So we prayed for physical healing as well as just a breaking off of anything spiritual that was trying to interfere with God's plan in my life. About 5 people prayed for me and it was really good and fairly intense. Afterwards, I did not feel anything suddenly shifting back in place or anything else miraculous but as I was going to bed that night i decided to try laying down on my bed. I ended up sleeping in my bed for the first time in over a week. the next day suddenly i could stand up almost straight. while i am still not pain free i have seen improvement everyday and can point to the day of improvement being wednesday. the day i was prayed for.

While I am convinced that God is good and does not cause anything bad to happen...I am also convinced that God can take the bad (that he does not cause) and use it to find good. for instance, I do not believe that God has caused my back to hurt, in fact i believe it is not his will at all, but is it not possible that he could strengthen my faith through it anyways? could he not use this opportunity to show aspects of his goodness that i might not otherwise be aware of? if we went through our entire life without pain, without struggles, without seemingly hopeless situations, and without confusion....how could we ever tell anyone else of what God has done in our lives? I am learning that God allows us to go through certain things not only so we can learn about the love of God on a personal level but also so that we can use our knowledge of who God is to tell other people. aren't the "best" testimonies of God's provision always found in the testimonies of those who have suffered the most? i read last year of a missionary who had both legs from the knee down pulverized with a sledgehammer so he could not escape the prison he was in....only to hear God tell him a few days later to walk out anyways and so he just got up and walked from the middle of the prison all the way out through the open gates of the prison and got into a taxi! when he tells someone about God do you think he means it when he tells of God's provision, his strength, his faithfulness, and his love? How much stronger is his faith now?

I am learning that God loves us. I am learning that he cares what happens to us. I am also learning that his ways are often so much higher than what i can see. I am learning that the harder things get the more i need to run to God and not away from him. Because with Him i cannot lose. I might have pain and suffering and confusion...but i will not lose.


wow...that just kinda came spilling out. maybe that was for me to get out. maybe someone else needs to hear that too.... I don't know. but there it is.

in other news, even though i am not at a hundred percent somehow the base manages to keep on rollin! haha! a team just left to go back to Thailand to work with the prostitutes and in the slums for a few weeks. we have another two more teams leaving this week...one to travel around queensland (Australia) and the other heads to the island of Vanuatu. each team will be in their locations for 2 months and the Vanuatu team will be taking youthstreet out of Australia for the first time! the goal is get youthstreet set up internationally and this is the first time it's leaving our borders! it's very exciting. so the ministry is rolling along and things are getting done. God continues to do his thing and use us in the process!

Talk to you all soon!

Aaron

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hitch in my git'along

Guess who is back? Yep you guessed it...old mr. back problems.

Most of you are fully aware that I had back surgery two and a half months ago now and have been doing reasonably well since then. Unfortunately over this last weekend something happened and I am not in the best condition now. Something inside has moved or slipped or bulged or something and it has been causing me a decent amount of pain. I currently cannot stand up straight and have a lot of trouble walking. Sleeping through the night is also not happening. I was hoping that it would just go away but it has been getting worse and not better so after 2 days of this i went to the doctor yesterday. he checked me out and could definitely tell my back was spasming for some reason and decided to give me several prescriptions (i lovingly refer to them as my drug cocktail) with hopes that they will calm my back down and hopefully alleviate the problem. If this doesn't work then it gets a little hairier...cat scan's or mri's checking for structural damage or other disc problems and maybe even another surgery. but we can cross that bridge if we get there..and we are not there yet.

if you are wondering how what happened to bring this on...so am i. i was just sitting at my desk on thursday and could feel something happening in my back but couldn't do anything about it. It really hurt that evening but by sunday morning it had become much better so i thought i was out of the woods. but as i sat on the couch sunday night it came back with a vengeance and has just gotten progressively worse since then. i've been much more active in the prior weeks but for two weeks now i have done nothing active in nature which makes this a bit confusing. no real explanation for it. all i know is that this is the worst my back has ever been...even before the surgery.

i just wanted to keep you updated and i will continue to do so as this plays out. i also know i could ask for your prayers but i'm sure that at this point i barely need to ask. you all do it automatically it seems! i really do appreciate all your prayers and am confident that this will turn out ok. God has done so much to get me here and has conquered my back problems in big ways on more than one occasion....this will be no different. so let's fight this together.

on a side note...there is a bit of me that wonders if this is a less of a physical thing and more spiritual in nature. I was supposed to be a part of a team this week that was traveling out and taking part in a ministry opportunity. because of my back though i am not able to attend. I am usually one who tends to play off everything as "just the way things happen" but i really am learning that there is an enemy out there who does not want to see the will of God be done. there is a real battle going on. so the fact that there is absolutely no reason for my back to be hurt and it just happens to be right before a great ministry opportunity...coincidence maybe. but maybe not.

although this whole situation is not the greatest news, I remain in good spirits and am not frustrated at all. it takes more than this to bring me down. and if this is an attack... that would mean that i am suffering for the sake of Christ. i don't feel worthy to be in that position. i would consider that an honor.

I'll keep you all posted on the latest. Thanks for caring!

Aaron

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both the soul and the body".... Matthew 10:28

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a bit of leadership

Let's get this blog think crackin' again huh?! things are in full swing around here and much has happened since the last update. the biggest change in my life is that i have now started my trek of leadership and responsibility by taking over the youthstreet sports team! i have been a part of that team since i have been here (july '07) and the former leader decided to move on from that position and youthstreet leadership asked me if i would be willing to take over. it was an honor to be asked and now that means that I am in charge of the planning, facilitating, staffing, and making sure that a group of about 20 people have an incredible sporting experience every saturday. good times....i'll keep you posted on all of those happenings asit looks to be a fun and challenging time. gotta love responsibility!

another fun youthstreet story is that a couple weeks ago we did a big talent show with all the kids that we modeled after the "american idol." it was a huge production that involved 15-20 different acts (mostly music), live feed cameras, back stage interviews, many stage lights, and otherwise keeping about 100 kids engaged and entertained. they asked me if i would be willing to be one of the 3 judges. we do this show about every 3-4 months and it is usually the same judges but they had a spot to fill this time and for some reason they came to me. i ended up agreeing to do it and soon became "fletcher",,,,,the ultra american/jock/intense/know nothing about music character. it was a real stretch for me....:). after each performance i had to critique the act and simultaneously be funny and witty on the spot so that the audience will entertained. at one point i mentioned something about interpretive dancing and my buddy (who was also involved) called me out and so i had to go up to the front and do a dance for everyone as they chanted "fletch ER fletch ER." i hate dancing but apparently for some reason it was funny. i'm not sure why.....:). the night was a lot of fun and it went really well. they even asked me to come back and be a permanent judge. great. maybe i can dance more next time.

on another note, me and a group of about 20 staff our base went to a high school in town this last friday and did an "auslife" program. auslife is basically a program where we go and do a high intensity, action packed program designed to talk to the kids about a certain issue...this time we talked about self-esteem. we watched video clips, played games, had small groups, and just overall talked about self-esteem, what it is, how it affects us, how we can help others etc. It is also cool to because we are allowed to talk about God and as much as we want....even in public schools here. so up front we pretty much keep it to the topic but in small groups God comes up quite a bit. my group was actually way more into talking about God than anything else. my group of 8 were all in 11th grade and all told me at the beginning when i asked what they liked to do for fun, all mentioned drinking, partying, getting smashed, vodka, or some other form of drinking as their main source of entertainment. but they all ended up being really interested in God and who he was etc. it was a good day. at the end i was on a panel where the kids could write down questions about anything....self-esteem, God, life, or whatever. I was the one who started the answers off and so i was handed the microphone and then read my first question...."if God is there, why doesn't he answer our prayers?".... nothing like starting it off with a bang huh? my other questions ended up being "does God care about me?" "why do bad things happen if God cares" and "why doesn't God just show him/herself if he/she's really there?" so in front of 120 kids or so i did my best to tackle these questions. if you wanna know what i said.....ask me. i don't have enough room here but i would love to chat about it.

other than that life is chuggin away. still working in accounts where i will be for the next few months most likely. haven't lost any money yet! haha! i have a new roommate just move last night as well. he's from tonga. a lot more base news goin on....we just had 5 teams return from all over the region....indonesia, thailand, papua new guinea, torres straight islands, and mt. isa. they have amazing strories of working with prostitutes in thailand, goin to incredibly remote villages to put on healthcare clinics, working with youth programs and so much more. more on that later as well...

i'd love to hear from you guys. talk to ya soon!

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my arrival story

I just wanted to share a story that i meant to share earlier but never did. it is the story of the miracle of me getting back here to townsville. when i was home in december i was supposed to be home for 6 weeks and then be back to the base in the first week of january to start my internship. during this time i had two major things that i needed to do before i could get back. in fact, two things i needed to do before i could even buy my plane ticket. the first was get a visa...the second was fix my back.

the visa: i knew i would need a visa to get back but i could not do an application for it until i was back home in america...this was because if it was granted, my current one would have been expired which means i would've been in the country illegally. so that was no surprise. but it so happens that with this visa i need a certain medical exam by one certain doctor for the australian government. when i got home and tried to make an appointment with her, i found that she had no openings for about 3 weeks. that was just to get in....then she had to do the exam, send the results by mail to washington d.c. so they could send it to sydney, so they could process it whenever it came around. in 3 weeks. but there was nothing i could do to get in fast so it just had to be that way. i went in on a friday for the exam. although we were able to cut out D.C. and go straight to sydney, they said it still usually take about 5-6 weeks at least to get processed and approved. great. that was friday. the following wednesday i got an email from my YWAM base...the visa had been processed and i had it! 5 days. somehow that was all it took. i didn't believe them at first...but it was true. the people on base said it was one of the fastest visa's they had ever seen. i still don't know how it worked. but it did and i got it. now problem #2:

my back. as most of you know i hurt it back in october when i was on outreach in mt. isa. i had bulging discs already and i hurt them worse to the point where my left calf did not work at all. so we set up an appointment for my doctor back in salem 2 months in advance so i could get right in and get the process going because the likelihood was i needed surgery. i was only home for 6 weeks which isn't much time to do something like that. my doctor even said that she would get my referral to the neurosurgeon so she could've already seen my prior MRI's and have the appointment set up because of the time constrictions. so i went and saw my doctor and she said that yep i needed surgery but she had never called the neurosurgeon. when i went to make the appointment i couldn't get in until january 3rd! and that was just for the initial consulation...after that they would schedule the surgery (which they couldn't do until that first appt) and then at least 2 weeks of bedrest after that! i tried every other neurosurgeon in town and no one could get me in any sooner. there was no other options. i talked to my base and they weren't stoked on me coming super late cuz i would miss all the initial intern lectures, orientation, and other things that were important when first joining staff. but they said if it has to be than ok. there was no way i was gonna be back on time. just no way. i remember praying to God and just saying "look, i realize that i am not gonna be back on time. it just can't happen. but ya know, if you wanna get me back there that would be cool. i'll give you all the credit cuz there is no possible way that it is gonna happen. it just can't." one or two days later i get a call from the doctor's saying that they had a cancellation and i could get in on the 26th of december. that's cool. sure i'll do that. i go in and they need a new MRI which i was able to get in later that same day. the next day the doctor calls me and says i need surgery and she went ahead and scheduled it for the the next day. wow ok...something is happening here. I go in, have it done and it went great. the doctor said i can't sit for two weeks though. she said after that i should be fine.....

by getting it done at that time....two things happened. i got the surgery done in december instead of january which meant my insurance covered it without a huge deductible. and....i was able to fly back to australia and arrive on the day before the lectures and everything began. i made it on time. that was exactly one day before my two weeks of no sitting was up.

so when people ask if I am sure this is where i'm supposed to be...I just smile.

thanks God. and yeah....i give Him all the credit.

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townsville award

some exciting news from reef to outback.... every year the mayor and city council here give out awards to people and businesses in townsville who have made a positive impact in the community. this year our base director, ken mulligan, was awarded the cities top honor of "townsville citizen of the year!" i put the link on here so you guys can check out his award presentation. it's only 3 minutes long. i thought it would be cool too because it talks about us as a ministry and what types of things we do. the mayor even gets up after ken's acceptance speech and gives us a little plug which is cool. hope you enjoy!

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swing of things

G'day everyone!

Well i am here and i am just about settled. I have now been here for two weeks and while I am at the same place as before, this time around things are already shaping up quite differently. And it's good. My living arrangements have improved although most of you will be sad to hear that i am only sharing a toilet with 3 other boys instead of my customary 13. I am living in "the flats" which are basically apartments on the base property itself. two of my three roommates were the staff on my dts and one of them was my mt. isa outreach leader (the one who hurt his back), so i know them well and we get along good. something else that is pretty cool is that i can also get wireless internet inside the flat which is a new thing base-wide. i have also begun cooking my own food which is different, albeit not always as tasty as the food cooked on base. however i am able to do it my own way a bit cheaper and i have been able to introduce my friends here to my eating habits that my friends back home knew so well. their favorite concoction of mine is my tuna, rice, corn, and cottage cheese recipe. just mix it up. don't worry...i only do that twice a day. everyday. i love it....for some reason they think it's odd.

having been here two weeks now my staff internship is in full swing. the main difference from my time here before is that last time i was a student and this time i am staff. so instead of lectures with guest speakers and outreaches and going to "school"...we are learning more of how the base operates on a behind the scenes basis as well as leadership training. The first two weeks have been mainly one big meeting where we have learned more base history, got our food handlers license (for kitchen work), done personality tests, done emergency fire training (which the guy was nervous to teach because of my background in that particular area..haha) and learning more of the different areas of base operation. but now that is over and this week i will start my full time normal schedule. My first rotation is in our accounting department. so my job will be just that....basically deal with reef to outback's finances, budget, paying bills, receiving donations etc. I am a money man now. haha! so pretty much 8 to 5 M-F that is what i will be doing. so if you thought emails about rock jumping, and preaching sermons, and running with kangaroos, and sleeping in tents were exciting....just wait till you hear my stories about accounts! when i did my calculation wrong, or ran a credit card payment for the first time, or those crazy days when our account actually balanced! the stories will be endless and i'm sure more exciting than ever.....haha! i really am looking forward to it and as in life...there is a time and season for everything and this will be a great opportunity to serve and learn and grow in different ways. I know my time will come to lead in other parts of the ministry and in order to be trusted with the "big" you have to be faithful in the small right? so for now...i plan on being the best darn accountant reef to outback has ever seen!...(or at least try not to mess things up).

Aside from work everything else has been good as well. seven of us are back on base from my DTS with two others living in the area. that means half of my graduating class is in townsville, so that is really fun to see them again and get back in the swing of things. they are great friends and it's great to be around them again. on the past two monday mornings, i have woken up at 4am and 6am respectively to watch the NFL playoffs live. out of a base of over one hundred people, i was one of only five people to get up and take part in this. the games that you in america have the privilege of watching on sunday afternoons are on quite early on monday over here...but i am not defeated by a little thing like a 4am wake up call. i will press on with determination and get to a tv so i can watch my football. and it's playoffs no less! is there any other option than to watch it? of course now i have to approach the subject of getting next monday off so i can watch the super bowl. i'll let you know how that turns out. haha!

this weekend is actually "australia day" which i believe is similar to our 4th of july...although i am not totally sure what they are celebrating (and funnily enough, not a lot of them know either apparently!). to celebrate, yesterday some friends and I went to "big crystal creek" which is a water hole about 40 minutes away. we were there for about 5 hours and we got pretty fried. did i ever tell you that supposedly the hole in the ozone is over queensland and so the U.V. rays are way more intense here? that is the claim anyways. it is true that it is not only hot but the sun really does feel like it is hitting you a whole lot harder. in any case...i am sunburned. but it was fun. hot sun, cold water....it was fun.

i think that does it for now. things are good here and i look forward to hearing from you!

Aaron

p.s. the support me link was not working correctly and so i am in the process of fixing that currently. also i noticed this morning that my temperature and clock were not working either so i will look into that as well. so it's not you.....it's me.

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i'm back!

isn't this fun! i thought a blog might be a bit more interesting than my normal emails. hope you enjoy!

Well I hurt my back a bit more on the plane ride. haha, just kidding! I know for all of you who have been worried about me that probably wasn’t very funny! I am back in Australia however, and that is not a lie! I flew out on Thursday the 10th and arrived back in Townsville about 24 hours later. Thursday was one day before the 2 week mark of my surgery but all the flying and traveling went well. I know many of you were praying for me and my back and my flights and let me tell you what happened.

I received my boarding pass like normal in Portland for my flight to San Francisco but I didn’t think I was given the one from frisco to Sydney. So when I made it to SF I was just gonna take my e-ticket up to the counter and get my boarding pass there. No big deal. But when I arrived, I had about an hour before the flight left and no one was at the counter. Finally someone got there after about 15 minutes and a ton of people got up to get in line because apparently a lot of people had their boarding pass but it didn’t say what seat they were on. So the employees made an announcement to sit down and they were working to try and figure everything out. All this chaos seemed to be happening behind the counter and people were being called up for all sorts of reasons and it seemed like a big mess. Finally I get up to the desk and the lady starts working on my ticket but she keeps getting distracted by other employees asking her things amidst the chaos swirling around us. So I start joking with her and tell her that if all this fuss was about me that I would gladly sacrifice my seat to be put in first class. I figured that would just be the noble thing to do. Well she didn’t put me in first class….but she did put in me in business class!

Woohoo! For 14 hours from SF to Sydney I was lounging in a chair that laid ALL the way back, putting my feet up on a foot rest, getting fed off a menu, viewing my personal tv screen, and sleeping like a baby! People were boarding and heading back to the economy section and as they passed I heard several times “must be nice…” I wanted to reach out and grab them by the hand, look them in the eye and say “no, no, you don’t understand, I’m just like you….but yes it is nice, thanks!” haha! As fun as it was (and by the way, even though it was probably the last time I’ll ever be there….I loved every second) it really was a blessing because of my back and it made traveling a whole lot easier for me. God was taking care of me that’s for sure. So yes I made it, my back is doing great, and it’s exciting to get the ball rolling again. Seven of my fellow prior DTS mates are back with me as well and two more are not on base but living here in Townsville. So nine of the 18 of us who went through the July DTS are back which is really cool. A lot of familiar faces and a real easy transition back into everything so far.

We start up tomorrow morning and so I will write more when I know more of what’s going on. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers during my trip and be sure to keep in touch!

Aaron

p.s. as a side note, when I got all the way here and was in my room at the base, I was unpacking my bag and found the original boarding pass to Sydney from SF in the stuff I was handed at Portland in the first place! I had my economy ticket the entire time! But you know what….I have no regrets….:) :)

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