i ramble a lot. i know.

first off, i'd like to give a big shout out to the now officially retired power co. sponsors. my mom emailed me about the last show and how emotional it was, and it made me cry my eyes out just reading the email. i can't imagine what it was like to actually be there, but i hope somebody got all of those ugly cries on tape! seriously, though, i feel so blessed and privileged that i could grow up on that team that became my family in addition to my immediate family. we have such good memories - i will never forget all of us watkins/liebenow/larsen kids getting into our sleeping bags laid out next to each other at the top of the stairs in the lobby of the church before so many tours and christmas musicals. we had the best childhoods in the world, i'm completely convinced.

soooo i'm writing AGAIN already because it's rainy and i'm sick. MOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!????!?!?!!? I DON'T FEEL GOOD. HELP. actually, i'm sort of relieved it's raining because that takes the temptation of going to the beach away when i should be sleeping.

we went to church yesterday morning and during the service, the pastor had all of us ywam'ers stand up and members of the congregation just got out of their seats from all over the sanctuary to come place their hands on us as the pastor prayed for us. it was really cool...there were tons of people surrounding us. the community is so involved in the church and that is very evident - which makes it a very welcoming place. plus, they have REALLY good coffee and chocolate after the service...not like i need any incentives, but it is an amazing bonus.

we went to a different church last night (the same one we had visited last week) because they have an evening service. it's in a smaller room than their morning service, and they set out candles, have coffee and tea and they have these huge, amazing leather couches. the ambience is so awesome and it's all very laid back. the speaker is great and he sounds like an australian jerry seinfeld, which makes it all the more entertaining.


saturday we went to noosa, which is about forty minutes away, and we went on a two hour hike up to the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean (mom, you would have cried). it was BEAUTIFUL and we saw two koala bears in the trees on our way up! i'm 99% convinced one of them was waving at me, but i could be wrong. the sickening part of it all is that we were only there for about 3 hours, and noosa has some of the best shopping in the WORLD and an incredible beach, but i CHOSE to go hiking for the entire time. like...i decided on my own that hiking is how i wanted to spend my time there. MOOOOOOOOM?!!!!!?!!?!?! I THINK I'M BECOMING OUTDOORSY. HELP!!

anyway, it was completely worth it - the view was priceless and i can say that a koala bear waved at me, so i'm pretty sure i can die happy now. after noosa, a few of us went to watch Cam, a former ywam staffer, play in his rugby game. i had never watched a rugby game before. it was...intense. how do they not wear any protection or padding or anything? there was bleeding, fighting, yelling. it was a mess! my son will never, ever play rugby. ever. i'm not even convinced that he'll be able to play football, but rugby is absolutely out.

of course, i need to have a son first before this discussion goes any further, but i'm just saying for future reference: my son will not play rugby.

since it's winter and all, the sun goes down around 5pm (annoying) so although it feels like it's late, our evenings are always much more open than we think. on saturday night we got bored and so megan, tenille, jason and i went for a run to a nearby town, moolooloba, and then walked along the beach. i absolutely LOVE the beach at night...more than any other time of day. it's so peaceful and quiet...there's nothing better. plus, running at night = less people, which = less spectators, which = more comfort. i'm sold!

this week our lectures are about hearing the voice of God. i am continuing to read through the Bible (i'm actually ahead in my reading, which is something to be very thankful for...with the schedule they have planned for us to finish reading the Bible by the time we go home, it makes it something that you do NOT want to fall behind on) and i'm about halfway done with the first book we are required to read - we have a "book report" for that due in a couple of weeks. it's arguably a miracle how much time i'm spending studying and reading. dad, do you think i could get the discount on car insurance for having good grades now? we should probably look into that. my study habits throughout high school and college were good, not great, but i'm CERTAIN i could get us that good student insurance discount now. check into that.

instead of our regular worship team playing this morning, we had a group of ywam students that were visiting from vanautu. they did some of their native dances and songs, and then they lead us in worship, which was sooooo cool. they come from a very poverty-stricken village, many of them have no idea how they're going to afford to get home, but they just have faith that God will provide them with the money they need to continue their travels to witness to people in different areas. they came with so much joy in their hearts - you could see it on their faces, hear it in their voices and feel it with their dancing. by the end, our ywam students and staff were so touched by these ten or eleven people, we took an offering to help them continue their outreach trip - they are looking to go to either China or Sydney, but only have $17 total for their entire group. we all got up and went to our wallets and put all the money we had in a cardboard box that was placed in the middle of the room. only ten minutes later, there were hundreds of bills...there were pledges to give more money...there were rings, bracelets...even a set of car keys. our base is not very big, but we all gave as much as we could because these people and their outreach was truly deserving. i can't wait to hear about where God takes them...they were such a neat group of people.

everything else is going really well. thanks again, so much, for all of your prayers and emails (even ryan is writing...unbelievable!). if you feel inclined to send gifts, please note the following needs:
*COLD, skim milk (this is so weird, but they keep their milk in the pantry, and it's called, seriously, "Long Life Milk" does that make anybody else feel wildly uncomfortable, or is it just me?
*napkins (they don't use them here. i don't know if they consider themselves to be outrageously neat or what, but let's be honest: i'm not. i need a napkin).
*pretzels (i can't find them ANYWHERE and i've been wanting to eat pretzels since i arrived in fiji on day one).
*sticks of gum (they only have these little chiclet sized things. i like the sticks. picky? maybe...but i'm on a roll here, just let me run with it).
*sugar free hazelnut flavor shots (none of their coffee shops have sugar-free flavors. too picky? okay, yeah. i'll let this one slide).

okay. that should do it. am i asking too much? it's a possibility, yes, but, honestly: long life milk. think about that one for a second...

love love love love LOVE you all!!!