Australian Update!

EasterFest!

Hey YALL!!

I just wanted to update you all with happenings around base these last couple of weeks!! Things have been so crazy in the land down under! We went to a town called Toowoomba for a week. First, it was great to be in the city because how much fun I had saying the word TooWOOMBA! I found reasons just to say the town name, because it is such a crazy name. Also, during this week was April Fools Day, so you know that I had fun with this day! We were in Toowoomba because we were in charge of the nations largest Christian Festival called "EasterFest." It is alot like "Rock the Desert" in Midland! We were in charge of setting up the festival and helping wherever we were needed. I had no idea what went into a concert like this! We woke up around 5:30 every morning and didn't go to bed before 2am. During the festival we did everything from Security (that's right, I was backstage during KJ-52, Superchick, and Newsboys!) We had a lot of fun with the Security aspect because we were checking wristbands as people were walking into the park. We would pull them to the side and make them feel like they were in trouble and then ask them with serious faces "have you eaten any fruit today?" or "could you please hop on your left foot?" then we would take the tongs from the kitchen and use it as a pretend security scanner. It is amazing

what people will do when you have a Security shirt on. Another cool thing we were able to do was walk through the camping areas at night and just hang out with the thousands of youth campers! Because I had an accent it was like an automatic open door into conversations! We had

great conversations with people and saw some real deliverance from sin and hard times they were going through. One thing I learned alot through out this week was just the joy of serving. I was in charge of changing the Rubbish bins (that's right they call it Rubbish bins...I have been made

fun of multiple times trying to call it Trash cans!) anyways, I had to change all the trash bins everyday. With a concert this big, I would say there were around 400 or 500 rubbish bins spread out over a kilometer (that's australian for Mile) The first day I had a lot of fun, because we walked around with the trash claw that picks up trash easily and also looks a lot like a gun or sword, so we made it a "special operation" and did ninja moves to each rubbish bin.

The second day, the claws broke, and my army buddies were assigned to moshpit security, so I had to go around by myself. During this time, God really taught me an awesome lesson. This is what serving is all about. Sure, its fun to serve when God calls you to be the cool backstage Security hands and it's easy when he calls you to serve in the comforts of your life, but what about when he calls you to serve among the garbage and in the disgusting rubbish bins that when they are changed, your work goes unrecognized? I believe that when Jesus was here,

He was serving in the dumps and serving among the Trash. It's the Joy of serving. When I came here, I said, Lord, I will go anywhere, I want to be your hands and feet. It was as though God was saying "sure Dondi, you will serve me in the cool places like Africa and do cool things like

feeding the hungry or building house, but will you go among the rubbish and serve me with everything? Will you go to the discusting places by the world standards? And when you go there will you serve and see people through my eye? Will you love the unlovable, and will you still serve when your work goes un-noticed?" I came to realize, I am ready to serve where ever God can use me, even if that is in the depths of the rubbish. Here I am, Send me!