All the good things He had planned

This morning I was reading Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”, reflecting back on all the fun I had last week. All the good things He had planned…

We were so blessed to have a team of students fly down from Brisbane to help us out on campus! Each day we’d arranged different sports/activities and meals to share with any students wanting to join us. We met so many wonderful students and I haven’t laughed so hard in a while!

Planning this time was actually quite a tense journey. As I mentioned in our last newsletter I had previously been asked to leave campus by one of the chaplains. Even though we’ve been invited back onto campus, I was still dreading the day that we would cross paths again! Would she hear me out? Would she be encouraged to know that some of the students we spent time with last week claimed it was the most fun and warmth they’d felt since arriving in Australia?

I can understand there are administrators on campus who are genuinely looking out for the welfare of students and protecting them from being taken advantage of - we have already helped students move out of dodgy accommodation scams. However our experiences last week continue to affirm that our presence on campus is part of “the good things God planned for us long ago”.

We are already starting to notice a community forming. A group on campus that is bringing the different cultures together and creating a safe and fun space to figure out this thing called life. Huge thanks to the crew from Brisbane who helped sow a vision that has really caught on! We’re already looking forward to planning your next visit ;)

...and UniCulture was birthed

This afternoon I was playing with Joel in his room and he turned around and asked me to leave. “Go out of my room Mum, I want to play by myself.” I laughed as I left the room but it got me thinking. That could be taken as highly offensive in most other places and with most other people but this was Joel. And this was Joel’s room. You see, Joel likes to spend a bit of time playing alone. He likes playing with others as well, but sometimes he just wants to have full access to his toys, to move them into the right places and to enjoy them on his own.

A few months ago I was asked to leave Deakin University by someone in authority there. Her issue wasn’t with what I was doing but with who I was. I wear a lot of different hats - I’m a Mum, a wife, a friend, a mentor and a pastor. She didn’t like that last one. I haven’t yet tracked down the rule book she is following but I decided not to contest the issue and have been keeping my distance since then. Why are these two stories related? Well, when Joel asked me to leave the room, it actually made me look at this situation through new eyes. It made me think of all the other things God has been doing on campus the past few months that haven’t involved me. I was keen to be there, just like with Joel today, but Joel had other plans and God has had other plans too.

To be honest, it hit me hard to not be on campus for these months. The old saying “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” rings true. I constantly find myself thinking about different students I’ve made friends with and wondering how they’re doing, praying for them, facebooking them and thinking of practical ways to support them. The rest of our team have felt the same, and we ended up creating a facebook group to keep this sense of community alive. UniCulture was birthed out of this time. Our catch phrase is Connecting Cultures, Creating Community. Since then, a club on campus called Deakin Cultural Diversity Club has asked us to help them run events. When I’ve finished writing this newsletter I shall go back into Joel’s room and see if he wants to play again. Tomorrow, I shall walk back onto campus and see if the time is right there as well…

Passing on the passion

What's more exciting than being involved with impacting the lives of students? Seeing others catch a passion to do the same! In true Aussie-tall-poppy-syndrome style, I have been slammed for going onto campus and 'encouraged' not to go on there again...but I have seen students catch a glimpse of how they can impact their own campus. Job done.

Back in the Campus Groove

Last week I took my last tablet in the battle against anxiety and depression! Can I feel the difference? Yep! In a good way. This past week I have reconnected with the intense feelings of excitement I remember from over a decade ago when my passion for university ministry was first stirred up. I’m grateful that I had medical help in softening the pain of our recent season of life but it sure is good to really FEEL again! In God’s timing I’ve come off medication and been released into building great relationships with other Christians and ministries. That in itself has been a powerful experience as well as building with non-Christians on their spiritual journey.

Late last year we united a group of young people to actively pray for Deakin and connect with students. They have continued to give up their time and resources to help me out at Deakin (Ken now focuses on Melbourne Uni and I am involved at Deakin Burwood). Earlier in the year when it started getting colder, we were looking for a room to meet in and I began calling all of the chaplains on campus. Since then, the chaplaincy has been an amazing support!

Some highlights for me this year have been playing soccer with the students, providing them with home-cooked meals and freshly brewed coffee, helping with English speaking, praying alongside a hundred others for our universities, cooking for the Melbourne Uni SFC camp, giving out pancakes, making videos, getting to use my Japanese vocabulary, pastoral chats over coffee and taking a day trip along the Mornington Peninsula. Coming up is a trip to Healesville and a “Voice of Deakin” karaoke competition! Can’t wait.

The all-consuming grace

It has been almost 2 years since I last posted on this blog...a lot has happened...but those stories can wait for another day. Today I simply want to declare my thankfulness to God. I was on Deakin today, planning a video script, trying to put into words why my heart beats for the students, why I put time and energy into visiting the university every week with my 2-year-old daughter trotting along behind me...You know, it's actually a difficult question to answer, because it's almost unexplainable. The passion and determination I feel to see the universities radically transformed can only come from something outside of me. Sure, there are rational reasons why I would have chosen this path initially. But I can't explain why I continue to choose this path despite the obstacles and despite the impossibility of the task. Just by the grace of God. The all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-enabling, all-consuming grace of God.