Oct. 30th '07

Things still keep getting better and better all the time...Sunday Pastor Tim was speaking at a men's retreat so the associate Pastor spoke and at first it was a bit difficult to follow him but I caught on after a bit. He spoke on Psalm 119...well not all of it cuz that would take a while but anyways it was good and Samantha (Sam) came over afterwards and had lunch with us and we watched movies and then went to another girl's birthday party (Hannah) that lives down a couple of houses, then we came back to watch Australian Idol. That was all alot of fun. Me and Melody had young adults study last night which was great. The leader guy (Rodney) is actually from the U.S. but married an Aussie woman and moved here. Then today, Sam ditched school (her mom's suggestion, lol) and had her mom drop us off at High Point Plaza which is a nicer and bigger mall than the one that is closer to the Loftis house. We had an absolute blast shopping and chatting, you know, what girls do best hehe. Then we went back to her house and had a really good dinner (her mom is a really good cook). Erin is coming over tonight so that we can talk more about the Sydney plans....And umm in case you didn't get the memo, I am REALLY excited!!!!!!! Anyways, not much else to report, it is weird not celebrating Halloween but I actually really don't mind. No one is really huge on it over here and that is ok with me....the family is all goin away this weekend to a holiday house in Belbrae, a cute town fairly close to where we stayed last time. That will be really awesome and really relaxing! Please continue to pray that I will stay strong and grow even more in my desire to deepen my relationship with Christ, my Savior. Thanks! Much love to all!

Having a Blast

I have been having an absolutely amazing time lately. Let's see....well today was church and it was actually a really hot day but that's besides the point...the message was good and after church there was a luncheon and I had a blast with all of the youth that stayed. It also just amazes me, daily, at how much of a serving spirit God has given me throughout this whole trip. So also today I was able to serve some at the church with some of the older ladies and that was really cool. After the luncheon a bunch of the youth went over to Sam's house (she is really really awesome) to go swimming cuz it was so hot. We all had a blast and the guys are absolutely hilarious and reminded me so much of some people back home :). After that we came back to the Loftis house and had some more fun.....it was awesome. Last night the teens that went on a Thailand trip came over and we had a dinner for them and that was awesome as well, we spent the day cooking and preparing; it felt a bit like thanksgiving time, haha. We have also semi-finalized details of the Sydney trip...we will be staying 6 days in a youth hostel (which is like a place that a lot of backpackers stay at when traveling). One of the days we are going to this nice restaurant that towers over all of Sydney and slowing rotates around so you get a full view of Sydney from the sky :) it is going to be so flippin amazing!!! And we are going to visit the Opera House and Hillsong church (hopefully) and some gorgeous botanical gardens that are there....ugh I can't wait!!!! And don't worry I will take LOTS of pictures! Anyways that isn't till mid november, I just can't seem to take my mind off of it, lol.
On a more serious note...when Joylee and I had our awesome talk, she gave me this book that she thought I would like and appreciate and stuff. I've been reading it and today I read a chapter that was just SO moving and SO, I don't even know how to describe it, it just left me with such a Joyful feeling about how much God LOVES me. I don't really want to go into more detail over internet but it was just so unbelievably amazing and I am so thankful that God set up that whole thing so that I could read the book.
I don't think that I go into the office tomorrow but some of my friends are still here so I better go and not be rude. *hugs and kisses to all*

Lovin' Aussie

Things have been awesome lately. Mel and I took the train to a really cute place called Williamstown and then to the city. Williamstown was really cute and we walked along the waterfront that looks out to the big city. It was fun walking around all of the cute homes and neighborhoods. It was GORGEOUS here so it was an absolutely perfect day to do all of this! The city was really cool as well. We walked along the little river that runs through the city Oh and we went into this Cathedral that was really really beautiful. It was called St. Paul's Cathedral. I guess thanks to Andy and all of those year of choir tours...visiting all of the different cathedrals in San Fran and other places made me appreciate them and their beauty so much :). So it is official....me, Melody and two of our friends (Erin and Amy) are road tripping it to Sydney!!! I am SO excited!! We are planning to go about mid-November and hopefully stay with some missionaries that live in the suburbs for about 3 days and then stay right in Sydney in a youth house for about 4 days....hopefully. Nothing is for sure yet except for the fact that we are going! November is actually going to be a pretty busy month for us in the Loftis household. I'm stoked :)
God just continues to amaze me...I've been wanting and praying that I would be able to have a good conversation with JoyLee because she is the only sibling that I haven't really been able to talk to (that live in the house). So this morning I wasn't really sure if I was supposed to go to the office again but I assumed that I was supposed to and so I got up earlier than I normally would have. Well it turns out that Pastor Tim normally takes most of Monday off (at least most of the morning). I wasn't upset or anything but as I was waiting to leave JoyLee comes down and explains all of this to me and we end up having a cup of tea together and talking for quite a bit...it was really really great and our conversation was just awesome. So I've been thanking God for that. He is just awesome. Well I know that I have to go to the office tomorrow so I better go get ready for bed. Please pray that all of the Sydney details will fall into place fairly soon......Love and miss you all!!

There are a few new pics
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/jmktraveler/

Sorry it's been a couple of days. I started working at the church on Tuesday and I am really enjoying it. Cathy, the Administrative Assistant, is super nice and fun to talk to. The work, so far, hasn't been too difficult it just takes a while to accomplish and therefore makes it hard for anyone to have the time to do it. So that is where I come in handy :) I have just loved being able to help out. I also went to my first Good News Gang last night. That is what all of the younger youth have on Wednesday nights. I worked with the little little ones (ages 3-7). They were SO adorable with their little Aussie accents and everything!!!! There were about 9 in attendance last night but I am assuming that there are more that usually come it was just a bit lower last night because it was the first night back coming off of holiday. Anyways I loved it and it didn't take long for the kids to be comfortable with me. Pretty soon they were tickling me and sitting in my lap. Oh my goodness they were adorable. It made me miss my kids however from the pre-school. It was so hard to leave them (and the staff).
Well, the sleepover went REALLY well also. The girls and I had so much fun and they loved the Pazookies (I mean, who wouldnt?) We stayed up till like 4:30 in the morning and watched movies, talked about boys and different stories, ate pizza and the pazookies and felt really gross afterwards :) so basically a normal sleepover. It was a blast. So I know this wasn't a very long entry but I have to get up and work tomorrow :) so I gotta go. Love you all!

Oh by the way, if you have an AIM screen name I just made one for myself so here it is in case any of you do and wanna chat sometime: jenrbunyprincess

Laterz!

Ya I have no idea what days im on :)

Last night (my Saturday) we went to a wedding shower and it was actually really fun. I REALLY began to feel like I was fitting in and being myself with some the youth that are at the church. I am able to branch away from the family and be on my own with some of the other teens which is really cool. Things are going really well. I should be starting to work some at the church pretty soon so that will be nice. I met the Administrative Assistant who works there as well and she is so sweet and so nice. It will be great working with her.
Church today was really good. I enjoyed hearing Pastor Tim speak on Psalm 68 with Leviticus. Tonight the 2 younger sisters, me, and another friend (Erin) are having a little sleep over at another girl, Sam's house where we are going to be watching Australian Idol and chick flicks AND I am introducing them to Pazookies because, believe it or not, they have never heard of them!!!
We had a big family lunch today after church with EVERYONE in the family....to give you names: there is Chad the oldest and he is married to Erica (who is American) and they have a little boy named Leif (he is adorable and LOVES balls which totally reminded me of Jackson Haney)...then there is Todd who is married to Julie, Joylee, Melody (19), Chris (16), and lastly Saralisa (15)...plus Pastor Tim and Mrs. Loftis and then me :). It was pretty crazy but really fun.
I miss everyone; my church, my family, my youth group, my friends, my dogs :) but I am enjoying being stretched in areas where I wouldn't have normally been stretched and loving being in Australia. Continued prayers and thoughts are always welcomed and appreciated :). Love and miss you all!

http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/jmktraveler/

Pics!

ok so the internet isn't letting me put pics up, it's not just the blogger. The page always gets messed up. So, if you go to this website you can see some of the pics I have posted.

http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/jmktraveler/

Visit to the Aussie Coast

We just got back from Ayres Inlet today. That was the name of the little town that we stayed in. I had SO much fun and it was absolutely beautiful! The house that we stayed in was really great; it was 2 stories and you walk in and think "o wow this is a nice house" but then you go up the winding staircase (I love those) and it is even better! The living room window looked out towards the water and you could see the ocean and the plants in front and it was so beautiful. It reminded me of Crystal Cove...the house was across the way from a path that lead down the cliff and to the beach. The path was covered with plants and trees....it was called the "cliff walk" and it has points where you could look down at the beach and points that jutted out so that you could see the whole coastline in both directions! It was so pretty! O O O O AND there was a lighthouse!!! That made me very happy and instantly made me think of mommy and daddy and how they would have loved it. It's called Split Point Light Station and it was just about a 10-15 minute walk up the road from where we were. And right before you came to the lighthouse there was a cute little tea and coffee shop where you could go and have morning or afternoon tea. We went there on Wednesday afternoon and it was really cute! ( I was able to get a latte ;) ) Monday we didn't do too much but I was able to run along the cliff's paths and that was really cool. Tuesday was an absolutely gorgeous day and I was able to run and then actually go down to the beach and go in the water...It was freezing but that's not surprising considering that the next piece of land that you come too is the Antarctic. So that was really awesome; I was able to lay out some and the family came down and we just hung out down there for a bit. Tuesday night me and Melody were kinda hyper and the kids didn't want to go to bed so we all stayed up pretty late and just talked and had fun and that was really cool. Bonding more little by little :). Ummm lets see what else....well, I was able to read a lot and that was really cool....I don't know if many people have heard of the Mark of the Lion series but it is a 3 book series by Francine Rivers that is absolutely amazing. I have already read the books like 2 or 3 times and I meant to bring them with me but I forgot. Well when I got here I saw that they also had the books and loved them as well and so anyways, I was able to bring those with me and do a bunch of reading which was awesome because I love to read; especially Francine Rivers...she is amazing. So the trip went really well, sorry it's been so long since my last blog. There was no Internet there so I was forced to wait. O ya I saw my first Kangaroos!!!! They were awesome :) Love you all! Thanks for reading and posting! :)