Update February 2019

Hi friends! I have been back in Australia for a little over a week now and everything still seems really new, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. I am living in an apartment with 6 other women and the building we live in is occupied entirely by YWAM staff. This picture is the view from our balcony, it's such a blessing!! It’s just a 2-minute walk from base which is where I spend most of the day. On Mondays we have worship with all of the students and staff together, then we each report to our respective ministries/schools around 9:30/10 am. On Tuesdays we have base-wide intercession, which means everyone meets at 8:30 and gathers in groups of about 3-6 to spend an hour in prayer. Sometimes there are topics of prayer for us to focus on, and other times we just ask God what to pray about. During this time, someone takes notes and at the end all of the groups submit their notes and they are stored so we can see when prayers are answered, or how many people are praying for something on a certain day. We have a similar time of intercession on Thursday mornings as well, except we all meet within our ministry groups and pray for things specific to the ministry that we are in. After intercession, I go to the healthcare office which is just across the street from the auditorium (the main meeting place).

This week I was working with the healthcare team preparing for Can-shaking. What the heck is Can-shaking, you ask? Well, every non-profit in the city of Perth is assigned one Friday a year where they are allowed to take to the streets armed with their humble cans (imagine a small paint can) and ask for donations. So, Can-shaking is essentially standing on the street shaking a can full of change begging for money. Let’s, just say it was quite the experience!! YWAM Perth has a registered non-profit called A.R.M.S (Australian Relief and Mercy Services) and this is what we were raising money for. All week we were prepping for this event. There were probably 3-4 hundred people that participated and each one was put into a group of 6-10 people and given a name tag and a map of where to go. It was a massive effort considering almost everyone on base participated. We ended up raising about 9,800 dollars!!!

I was honored to actually get to help out with the A.R.M.S ministry this week. We went to help out a woman “S” who had recently had surgery and has not been very mobile. She has a few young children and needed help around the house with cleaning and other odds and ends. Glenda and I cleaned up around the house while Andrew and Himchung (the real heroes of the day) disassembled an old trampoline and then (attempted) to reassemble a new one. Now, just to clarify, these trampolines were not full size, the old one was actually kind of small, but the second was full-sized. They worked in the (very, very hot) sun for three hours. Sadly, they weren’t able to finish putting together the new one, so we will have to finish that up next week. “S” was so thankful for all of our work and we were able to pray with her at the end. This ministry is dedicated to helping families in Perth that are experiencing a season of crisis. It was a really incredible experience to get to be the hands and feet of Jesus to this family. This is something I will get a chance to do pretty much every week, probably not for the same family, but for others like it.

Another thing the healthcare team is committed to is evangelism. A group of people from healthcare go out to do evangelism four days a week, I was able to go twice this week and honestly had some seriously odd encounters. But, the second time I went I was partnered with Brendon and as we were praying beforehand, he asked God to see someone that he had met before. We walked to a park where many indigenous people hang out and started talking to some of them, after a few minutes, Brendon saw someone he recognized! The man’s name is Peter and he was so sweet and kind. Many of the people there seemed like “trouble-makers”, but Peter was clear that he likes to mind his own business and avoids trouble. We were able to pray for him before we left, it was such an amazing encounter that I had to grab a picture. Peter was excited that I wanted a picture of him and as I was taking it he said “I will be happy” (his way of telling us he would smile). Please join me in praying for Peter and his safety and provision. He is a bit of a loner and doesn’t seem to have a family or anyone to look out for him and he is definitely vulnerable to abuse from others in his community. He has so much joy and kindness in him and I pray that he continues to experience God in big ways!

Update on financial support:

I have received so much support over the last few weeks and I have all of the monthly support that I need right now, PRAISE THE LORD!!! If you still want to give (either monthly or a one-time-gift) you can write a check to “City Church Charlotte” with “Haley Everson” on the memo line and mail it to: 2300 McClintock Road, Charlotte, NC 28205. There will be added expenses along the way and I will need more funds for any outreaches I go on, so every bit is so very helpful! Thank you so much to everyone who has already given and to everyone who is praying for me, I am so very grateful!!

Heart talk: Honesty time…

Moving across the world by yourself is really, really hard. It’s stressful, it’s lonely, it’s scary, it’s unpredictable, and it’s very uncomfortable. It’s not something I would ever want to do on a “whim”. There have been several moments during the past week and a half where I have thought “what the heck have I done, and is it at all possible to undo it?”. Do you want to know why it’s so hard? Because, moving across the world to be a full-time volunteer is in fact a crazy thing to do. And to people who don’t know Jesus, I probably seem a bit insane, and honestly sometimes I feel a bit insane, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that this I where I’m supposed to be. I make a lot of mistakes, but God never does. So even though moments of this crazy adventure have felt like huge mistakes, I know God isn’t in that business and that I can trust what He says.

Sometimes following God looks crazy, and other times it actually iscrazy, but you know what? It’s always good, because that’s just who He is. I am extremely thankful though, because with each passing day I feel less and less lonely, stressed, and scared. Part of that is because making friends is pretty awesome, but part of it (well, actually most of it) is because as I lean into God and His promises, I feel more and more secure. My security doesn’t come from my situation or circumstance, but rather from knowing, truly knowing who I am and the incredible, awesome, everlasting, promise-keeping God that I serve.

Thank you guys so much for all of your love and support! There are so many exciting things happening here, so I will send out updates often! We leave for staff retreat in a few days, so please be praying for safety over our group and a good time of drawing close to God and growing in relationship!