..and then LIFE happens!

CIAO!

Time flies and days pass by, and we are only one week away from the amazing Hillsong Conference!! Right now we are half way through our intensives, I have the amazing priviledge to intern these two weeks with Kane Keatinge, our Fuel youth pastor and prepare stuff for Friday night programs and JAM, the youth conference that runs alongside with Hillsong Conference! I am so excited for Conference – I get to serve fulltime in JAM (12 to 17 years of age) and this year for the first time EVER, JAM is held in the Sydney Olympic Park at the massive Sports Stadium!! We ALSO have JAM nights at the same venue, so basically we have overtaken the actual Hillsong Conference! :D

Last week was such a good week! Intensives are great because all assessments are done and everyone is working on something FRESH and new, and by doing so starting to take more ownership of the conference ahead! I have only recently started to realize how little people catch the spirit of this house – and how hard it is for many to own the ministry they have been placed in. Many consider themselves too good for the things that have been given to their hands and that frustrates me so! Did Jesus not say that only those whom are faithful with the little they have been given will be entrusted more? It's obvious that many of the students here come from small churches where they have been the big deal and they have hard time realizing that other people have talents too and that they will need to learn to do other things too than just what they love doing/are good at. It is so true that pride is the root of all sin!



Many of my friends outside College have been leaving – Keith left a week ago back to L.A and Florence and Esmeralda are now travelling, but they'll be back before they head home. We had lunch with Esmeralda at the fishmarkets before she caught her flight to Cains, and we had the best time ever! We nibbled on sweet chili crabs, baby octopus and stuffed lobster! Yummy...



We also had our fare share of the terrorizing seagulls :D It was all worth it though when a pelican swam over to pose for us :) It was such a magnificent sunny day in the harbour..!



Afterwards I ended up in the film shooting for our Conference opener, which was way fun! My connect group leader Tylea studies and works with the TV crew in our church so she invited me along, and we had the joy to act high school students chilling out in the yeard of a private school in the middle of the city! Funny thing was that St. Andrew's (the school that is) is also a boarding school, so halfway through the shoot we had gained nearly every students attention and dosens of eyes stared at us through their bedroom windows! :D



We had the Heart for the House offering happening this week – we as College gave our offerings on Tuesday and the rest of the church family throughout the weekend. The Heart for the House offering really stirred me up to believe God fr miracles in the almost impossible circumstances that people back home are facing. I love being a part of a church that does not stare at it's own belly but actively reaches out to the community and nations, and that is what this offering is all about – the corporate miracle that our offerings can produce together. To change a life of a little kid in the streets of Mumbai, to provide for a struggling family in the Sydney area.. the list goes on and on, and the impact this giving will have is inevitably great!



It's also been a great week of taking a little ”me-time” - a bubble bath, a long walk in the park, reading a chapter of a good book and going a little silly in the park whilst no one else is watching :) You know me – one part of my heart will never grow too old to swing in the swings watching bright night stars.





It was Jenn's birthday this weekend – we of course celebrated ahead of time with our RDG on Friday (another great excuse to have something sweet!). We totally surprised Jenn with all of the girls – I faked the whole week like I didn't remember that it was her birthday on Sunday and called all our kids to make my masterplan work – all my little ”partners in crime” were delighted to be of a help!! So we decorated the RDG area with Jenn as normal and then I sent her home as we were way early. Then my little helpers appeared and we tossed and turned some ice cream and skittles into a cake :) The girls had the most fun throwing the skittles around and trying to catch them with their mouths wide open.. :D



Then we redecorated the RDG area with balloons etc. And made sure Jenn did not walk in before it was time! The girls went off with their funky birthday whistles right on Jenns face! :D It was so much fun! ...and the cake was yummy as always... :)





We've had the priviledge of hosting Lisette's sister Nicky here for a couple of weeks now – she is staying the total of 6 weeks and has fully integrated into our flat life by now :) They look dangerously alike.. :) After Conference we'll also have both of Rachelle's sisters visiting us, such a delight! I think it has really deepened out relationships too, being able to see a glimpse of a life from back home through the loved ones we have had visiting! :)





On Sunday me,Lisette and Nicky went to do the Coogee to Bondi beach walk :) Bright blue skies, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze in my hair.. OH MY, it was so BEAUTIFUL!



As we walked, we saw breath taking scenes and I seriously started to consider if an hour bus ride to school every morning would be that much of a pain if I lived right next to the beach... :)





I also have bittersweet news – we are most likely moving to another flat in the Meritons complex which is great since the new flat will be bigger & better! However, Lisette Marie Carrillo, my dearest roomie, will be moving out as she has found a way cheaper accommondations within the Meritons. I've been quite sad thinking about it lately, since we have bonded so well and she truly is like a big sister to me! Lisette is the voice of wisdom in this flat.. so it's weird thinking about what our life will look like without her.



Not to even mention that this will mean that I will have a new roomie within just a few weeks or so! We are having someone from the new intake, since I figured this was God's way to pass on the blessing I received when I first arrived – to move into a all ready flat with amazing people who know everything from the bus routes to assessment tips. It makes me smile when I think of it :) The only drama in this is that Lisette will most likely take most of the furniture with her, and so I am right now desperately trying to find at least a bed for myself.. Our new spacious flat might look even more spacious as I really dont have the money right now to buy anything at all – but Im sure God will bring it abouts and provide just what we need in whatever form He chooses to. He has always come through to before, and I have faith that He will in the future too!

Talking about provision.. We had the most fun happening at the Sisterhood last week! We had a cloathes SWAP – everybody brought their good conditioned non desired goods and we organized everything to a mall looking fantacy! I got some great bits and pieces to myself too – this pretty dress was actually a skirt size 44 but with a belt and some magic it turned into a dress for me! :)



We had tons of cloathes and shoes! :D The fun thing was, our Senior Pastor Bobbie Houston wanted some items to be brough on the stage whilst she was entroducing the cloathes swap – and a moment later I found myself in the toilet changing with our youth pastors and only minutes later from the stage with Bobbie with a hilarious combo of a wetsuit, pink wedding hat and a huge winter scarf! :D Fun times... You never know where you end up whilst cordinating a cloathes swap at our church! :D

I don't have much here but I've learned to love the simplicity of life – the greatest things that can not be measured or bought! Walking in taped shoes to be able to support someone in need has become a lifestyle once realizing there is a cause and purpose much higher than myself!

Biju Thampy, an ordinary man whom has changed the lives of thousands of children in Mumbai, India shared with us something remarkable last weekend at church, something that has impacted me greatly and will continue to shape the way I live my life:

"I believe that the love of God can never be measured - but it can be demonstrated."

Lots of Love,
-P

P.s. My return flights are now officially booked, I will arrive back to Finland on the 4th of December!

Snufkin

I opened an envelope the other day and read something that deeply touched my heart. My dear friend was writing to me ahead of time and looking at the seperation we were going to face for another year as I was departing overseas from a totally new perspective. She quoted a story from Moomins to describe her feelings on the eve of my departure to Australia:

Moomintroll stood aside watching as Snufkin packed away his tent.
- "Are you going to be away for long?" he asked.
- "No" answered Snufkin. "On the first day of spring I will be here
again and will whistle under your window. One year will pass quickly!

A tear rolled down my cheek as I read this and reflected on it - she is right. I am Snufkin and I am just so blessed that at least one of my friends has grasped the greater reason behind me travelling.

SUGAR HIGH!

When you are turning 22, you need to make sure you are getting the most of it! I wanted to make sure this years celebrations would be the best yet, and so I decided to celebrate several times!! I must admit I am still in a sugar high after all the cakes I have consumed during the past weeks..

Obviously I celebrated on the actual day of my birthday with my mom, flatmates and my tutorial group. That's 2 parties so far. And 2 cakes!!

Then I celebrated with my Fuel RDG girls, to whom I baked another cake! So that's total of 2 cakes, and 3 parties. My co-RDG leader Jenn had organized all beautiful decorations for me, and we even had special free pony rides available!! How fun is it to have a birthday hey?

Then I hosted a MASSIVE brunch for my best friends here in Australia : On the V.I.P questlist were my connect group leader Tylea, Luke, Ben and Jenn from Fuel, Ashton and Liv. We had the abundance of food – fresh fruits, stuffed crapes with most delicious fillings, bacon and egg muffins etc etc. It was defenitely my favourite meal I've ever had here, with all the great food and amazing, inpsiration company :) That added up the Party count to 4!

Then me and Jenn took off to the Centennial Parks to spend the afternoon with the Fuel Sisterhood for a PICNIC!

The day was beautiful with clear blue skies, warmth and laughter. We fed the ducks, played games, raced around, decorated some cupcakes (and Nickey's cheecks too!) and chatted on and on. We didn't have the traditional cake but a dosen of cupcakes surely counts!!! Score: 3 cakes, 5 Parties!

I do really love our lively youth ministry and I feel like Im learning a lot more than just how to run youth – Im actually falling in love with this age group more and more everyday.

With the rest of my friends, I had organized an adventure night in the honour of my birthday. We started of with some scavanger hunt in teams to find some of the party items around the Meriton Apartments area which created a lot of fun competition between the teams! This gave me and my flat time to start heading to the closeby hilltop in Moore Park to set up the party venue itself :)

Once all teams had found their way to the park, we had cake and tea on the top of the hill, chatting away and admiring the gorgeous view of the entire city! We played some fun games and the whole night was such a blast! Part count:6 Cakes:5

Then after all my celebrations were done, my friend Luke decided to host a Cake party!! Jill came home that day and simply told me: ”We need to make our cake to look like Luke's face!” And so we did ;)

The cake actually looked a lot like Luke, he just doesn't have his glasses on this picture! However we put a lot of time, effort and thought to it.. :) We defenitely won the ”Most Creative” award with our masterpiece! ;)

In the end we had around 10 different cakes to try and you can quess how sick I felt after all that sugar... Even though I tried just tiny pieces of each one, I could feel gaining weight as I chewed the heavenly feast of the sugartable.. :D So my Cake Count suddenly jumped somewhere around 15!! :D

So for now, Im pretty confident that I've had my fare chare of cakes for some time.. I assume you'd all agree with me on this and support me in the changes that my future diet must contain!! My whole body is craving carrots and broccoli, so I need to take action and really lay aside all the baking for some time!!

So, hopefully you're all kind of on the page now what has been happening here..
On Tuesday we had our finalization day and so now all school assessments have been turned in competent and we have a moment to take a breath before the start of Hillsong Conference!
From next week onwards, we have Conference Intenses at school, so no normal classes anymore but we are all preparing stuff for the conference under our specialists! I have the priviledge to Intern with Kane (our Fuel pastor) and Im really looking forward to the next two weeks!! After that, we are hitting Hillsong Conference hard, and I have been priviledged to make JAM (Youth conference for kids from 12 to 17 years) happen!! So it's all exciting and new and Im so looking forward it all!!

My roomie Lisette's sister is arriving to Australia tomorrow morning, so were going to have some life in the house again, and we are actually considering to move into a bigger flar within the Meritons, from which some of our friends are moving out and so it just might be that soon I'll have a slightly changed address and a way bigger balcony!!!

Anyhow, I love you all so so much, hope you are having a great time all around the world and to those whom are in the summer season.. We're pretty much even!

Lots of Love,
-P

Mom <3

So as many of you would know by now, my mom decided to make a surprise trip to Australia to make my 22nd birthday so ever speciall! So I had the priviledge of hosting my very special, loved mum for a whole week here! What more could a girl wish for..? I LOVE my mom!

The whole week was filled with walking around, and at the end of the day our feet would be sore but we'd wear bright smiles on our faces because of the beautiful, warm weather that lasted exactly the duration of my mom's trip! It had been so rainy before mum came, but was totally blessed with sunshine and blue skies! After mum left it's been still pretty but FREEZING – I reckon God organized the best just for her. :)

My flatmates absolutely loved having my mum around – mom brought a pair of oven mittens and a moomin mug for everyone, and you wouldn't quess that now no one drinks out of any other cup! :D Jill loved the oven mittens so much that she cooks them on.. finally she doesn't have to be afraid of the boiling hot sprinkles of oil! They also thought my mom was the sweetest thing (which she sure is!) and were amazed by the closeness of our relationship. They got to keep company to mom at times when I was al school, and also challanged her English through the continuos practise! I must say Im so proud of her and to where she's come to with her language skills.. My mom's the bomb!

So we had two days to take a full day trip when I was off from school and ministry responsibilities – so right away on Monday we took off to the Blue Mountains to explore the nature and get away from the hectic city. We catched the train and once we arrived to Katoomba, our sweet red english double decker was waiting for us to explore the sights around!

Since it had been raining so much before mum arrived, the waterfalls were amazing! It took my breath away (and the high we were standing from the ground took mom's.. :D)!! A bummer was thought that we couldn't see much of the majestic landscapes as it was CRAZY FOGGY – I felt like walking in the cloud for the most of the time!! I quess mom was just glad she didn't have to stare at the steep drop to the ground all the time :)

Mom's eye of course caugh the most random things like an orange little mushroon that looked just like the ones we spend our autumn days picking up in Finland! :D Random, I know :)

We walked a few tracks and enjoyed the peace and quiet – also hear some pretty random birds singing and tried to avoid the flooding steps in our non-waterproof sneakers... It was heaps of fun! :) Even though locals were wearing full winter gear me and mom got going in a thin long sleevers!

We also hiked to take a look at a ”garden” marked on the sights map, only to discover a dead end path in the midst of the burnt forrest.. anyhow, we did find something beautiful outside the ”gardens”.. the stunning colours of autumn!

Some of the best things we did with mom was just to grab a cup of coffee and sit outside, in the harbour or walk around the city. Not to even mention OUR SWEET AFTERNOON NAPS!! I must admit that was the absolute highligh of mum's visit and I took full advantage of it as much as I could! :) Im glad we both consider it as a mother-daughter-quality time! :)

Of course the pressure was on since it was no longer my mom's first visit here and I had been carefully considering all possibilities to entertain mommy.. But I loved the fact she just wanted to relax and of course we saw a lot of stuf, but she was happy just taking a walk in the morning, reading a book in the park and baking a lot of yummy stuff for us whilst I was at school! You can imagine how much my roomies love my mom after all that cooking.. !

One of my favourite past times was when we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Harbour. I've never really got the eye for contemporary art, but we found a few very interesting pieces of art, out of which my absolute favourite was this circles of letters companied with a video where a funny old man was reading the nonsense circles fast and moving from cirle to another.. I know my words won't quite give it it righteous honour, but just ask my mom – she would tell you how HILARIOUS it was!! :D

We ate like kings and queens for the whole week - eating out, eating in, baking and cooking.. :)

And of course, it was my 22nd birthday too whilst my mom was here – the best birthday I've had ever! My flatmates had attached a huge congratulations poster on our wall so it was the first thing I saw when I woke up.. They had a pink cupcake with two candles for me and also a silly indian hairband that I was to wear for the whole day at school (and if you know me well enough you would have already guessed that that was exactly what I did!:)) and they sang happy birthday as the first thing! They gave me a beautiful black and white picnic basket and a jacket I really really like as a gift :)

My mom crawled next to me and I had a bunch of gifts from friends back home – it was the best!! Apparently I had communicated well enough that Australia doesn't quite have the selection of sweets and lollies I desire.. so my massive picnic basket soon filled up with all sorts of Finnish lollies, chocolate and xylitol gum! :) I think I might be ale to survive to the end of the year with these!!!

So for my birthday we designed a Bday cake in the shape of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House for my tutorial group! We had a lot of fun designing and constructing the whole thing and it certainly did receive all the praise from my tutorial!! :)

First we checked the original model.. :)

...and then we got to work!!

It was a true masterpice, even though I say it myself...!

Our second daytrip on Saturday was to the capital of the nation, Canberra! It was about the time for my mom to see another city – obviously not one of the busiest ones :D:D:D But however, they do have a respectable amount of culture and history down there (plus obviously the operating governmental organs too!)

We took the Countrylink train down on Friday night and slept in hotel for the night to be fresh and ready in the morning for the big day of exploring around :) We WALKED around the WHOLE DAY, it must have added up around 20kilometers in total! We visited the stunning World War Memorial and explored the AMAZING National Museum of Australia, for free of charge!! The technolgy & multimedia of the museum still blows my mind and I cant wrap my mind around the fact that all of that wonder and awe is available for free of charge!!

We also bumbed into a scene I have not yet discovered in the midst of the city – a dead kangaroo on the footpath! Poor little thing, it scared my mom so...

Once we were finished with the Museum, we really wanted to visit the Parliament House but we had to walk around this big lake to get accross to the right side of the connecting bridge, and then we could not simply find the footpath to the top of the hill!! So we jumped around accross the car lanes and finally ended up climbing over a small barrier to reah the Parliament House, which we both found exhausting yet quite hilarious!!

Once we had found our way up we soon realized we had ran out of time and now we didn't have enough time to actually visit the building itself, but had to be satisfied in only admiring the infrastructure from the outside, get a few pictures with the remarkable landmark and the rush on to the trainstation to catch our 4hour ride back home!Oh boy were we exhausted from all the walking and fresh air by the time we got to sit down and have some dinner in the train.. Im pretty sure we we both slept like babies that night!! :D

On the last day we slept in a little bit and went to relax at the Fox Studio Markets close by my place. It was a nice sunny day and we found many cute little things for mum to bring back home for kids, and I got a really pretty souvenier bracelet too! :)

We also took the Essential tour inside the famous Opera House – a quided tour through the most famous venues inside this piece of art! It was truly amazing to see inside the sails and discover the variety of stages they had for different performances! My absolute favourite was the Great Concert Hall which has been built to facilitate Symphony Orchestra, and together we both agreed that for mum's next visit we'd have to come to listen to a Symphony there!

It was so interesting to also learn the history of this breathtaking building – I never knew it took a whole 16 years to finnish the building!! As we discovered the secret of the shapes of the sails which had been built by thousands of individual iron ”ribs” I found myself wondering how far to the future a human mind had flewn to find this answer to the impossible problem at the time.

Mom cooked a farewell meal for my flat – of course something typically Finnish would be mom's meatballs and potatoes! Jill, Rachelle and Lisette got all excited about it since I've once made them before, and I think at that time they first fell in love with the Finnish food! :) (Maybe I should try some mämmi next time? ;D)

We all had a great time having my mom around and even though it felt strange to see her go again, I am just so glad she came and we got to spend time together! I don't feel homesick like I thought I might after she left, but I rather feel refueled for the next 6 months ahead, and that's the whole point of having people visit you in the end!! :)

I LOVE MY MOM.