To say that I have been slack on blogging is a huge understatement, I know... but here we are. I have been very busy, but I think at times I felt like I didn't really know what to blog about or that it wouldn't be interesting enough. A lot of my time at work is spent doing office stuff, working in the kitchen baking for the cafe, and working in the cafe itself. My free time is spent with people, in person or on skype. But as busy as I might be it's not fair to assume that you wouldn't be interested in what's happening here down under. So here is a quick overview of what's happened so far.
The cafe has been going well. We have been getting more and more people from the community coming in to enjoy the atmosphere, coffee and great desserts ;) which is such an answer to prayer!
The open mic nights on Sundays have been the most popular for us. There are a lot of larger groups coming to listen to the music after church. We've also had a few more professional bands come and perform which is always so good.
One quick story. We have been getting people from the community coming and dropping off different things for us to use. We've had furniture left outside for us, and cute dishes to plate our desserts on. Today was pretty amazing. Today a man came in with 2 brand new blenders for us!! Because here at "The Meeting Place Cafe" we make thickshakes (milk shakes), and we make A LOT of them, and we make them in blenders. When I went over to the gentleman to thank him, I asked what they were for and he told me he had come on Sunday and wanted a chocolate thickshake but that our blender had broken, so he decided to generously give us new ones to replace the broken ones. This was such a blessing to us, because I was just looking that morning for the receipts to try and find the warranty for the others. God is so cool at providing for our needs!
The open mic nights on Sundays have been the most popular for us. There are a lot of larger groups coming to listen to the music after church. We've also had a few more professional bands come and perform which is always so good.
One quick story. We have been getting people from the community coming and dropping off different things for us to use. We've had furniture left outside for us, and cute dishes to plate our desserts on. Today was pretty amazing. Today a man came in with 2 brand new blenders for us!! Because here at "The Meeting Place Cafe" we make thickshakes (milk shakes), and we make A LOT of them, and we make them in blenders. When I went over to the gentleman to thank him, I asked what they were for and he told me he had come on Sunday and wanted a chocolate thickshake but that our blender had broken, so he decided to generously give us new ones to replace the broken ones. This was such a blessing to us, because I was just looking that morning for the receipts to try and find the warranty for the others. God is so cool at providing for our needs!
Benny came to visit me!!! My brother Ben came all the way to Australia for a vacation and to visit with me here at YWAM. First, I met him in Sydney for the weekend. We toured around town and saw all the sights including the Sydney Opera House, an art museum, botanical gardens, a cricket match, and a really messy hostel. Then after staying in Sydney for the week he came to Brisbane to spend time with me here. He lived everything YWAM for the week. He met all my friends and saw my life here.
It was so nice to see him. As close as I am to the people here, nothing beats family. It was so surreal seeing him in this place that is so removed from home. Such a familiar soul in a sea of unfamiliar. I love him.
It was so nice to see him. As close as I am to the people here, nothing beats family. It was so surreal seeing him in this place that is so removed from home. Such a familiar soul in a sea of unfamiliar. I love him.
And then he happened...
This is Mikhail Laxton. My boyfriend. He loves the Lord, makes me laugh, he's an amazing musician, he's very smart and he is a gentleman. He makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. He thinks I'm funny, and we're best buddies.
We started spending lots of time together when we were renovating the cafe over Christmas break. He thought I hated him because I was so quiet, and then he made it his mission to make me crack. He thought I would either be really mean or I would be cool and then we could be friends. So everyday he would joke around and tease me, but because I have two older brothers I have had lots of practice not reacting to being teased. I would just go along with his jokes and fling some back at him, and eventually he thought I was pretty cool. We spent the next little while secretly liking each other, until he bravely stepped up and told me he liked me. We took our time talking about dating and what it meant to both of us. We had a lot of long conversations about hard issues, and finally came to the decision that we both wanted to start a relationship. He wrote my parents asking for their blessing on us dating and they gladly gave it to us. So now it's been about 3 months and everyday I'm amazed more and more at how God has brought us together so gently and sweet. I'm so excited to see where this adventure will go.
This is Mikhail Laxton. My boyfriend. He loves the Lord, makes me laugh, he's an amazing musician, he's very smart and he is a gentleman. He makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. He thinks I'm funny, and we're best buddies.
We started spending lots of time together when we were renovating the cafe over Christmas break. He thought I hated him because I was so quiet, and then he made it his mission to make me crack. He thought I would either be really mean or I would be cool and then we could be friends. So everyday he would joke around and tease me, but because I have two older brothers I have had lots of practice not reacting to being teased. I would just go along with his jokes and fling some back at him, and eventually he thought I was pretty cool. We spent the next little while secretly liking each other, until he bravely stepped up and told me he liked me. We took our time talking about dating and what it meant to both of us. We had a lot of long conversations about hard issues, and finally came to the decision that we both wanted to start a relationship. He wrote my parents asking for their blessing on us dating and they gladly gave it to us. So now it's been about 3 months and everyday I'm amazed more and more at how God has brought us together so gently and sweet. I'm so excited to see where this adventure will go.