the "sunshine" coast? prove it.

g'day!! (i have absolutely not picked up on this yet, by the way)
soooo, three planes, a bus ride, two books and a movie later...i made it. WITH my luggage! and, can i just say that i firmly believe there was at least one angel with me from the minute i got to the airport? good news: turns out international flights allow 70lbs/bag, which is a blessing because i was definitely over 50lbs. (i kept reciting every bible verse i could as she weighed my luggage, til finally she told me i wasn't going to be charged). i didn't cry once, with the exception of sitting on the floor of o'hare by myself reading the cards my family gave me(thanks a lot, guys!). but other than that, i think that cori right, God pretty much had each of my planes in the palm of his hand all the way through as he cleared the weather for me. on my first flight, i kid you not, marty smith's twin was my flight attendant. i'm not sure whether or not marty smith has a twin, but she does now. it was so nice to feel like i knew somebody on the flight...so someone thank marty for her great service the entire way to LA.
in LA i boarded the biggest plane you have ever seen, and sat next to the window with an empty middle seat (amazing!) opposite a retired marine turned missionary from down south. such a nice man (angel) and i slept seven and a half of the ten hours, only waking when the angel tapped my shoulder when meals were served.
i had a longer layover in fiji (can someone explain to me why they have chicken flavored potato chips? seriously?), where i watched the sun rise over a mountain, and started talking to a girl because i noticed a tattoo on her arm that said "John 14:27"....turns out, she now lives in the same house as me. our world is so small!
from the brisbane airport, we took a bus to our house....a VERY full bus, so i had to sit in the front seat next to the driver (which freaked me out because i was in the driver's seat, but not driving. how do they drive on the other side of the road?). anyway, the driver, Ray, and i became great pals. he could immediately tell that i wasn't from here, nor was i educated on anything related to australia. so Big Ray (as i like to call him...he started calling me 'mal' right away, so i figured we were on a nickname basis) went on to tell me the name of every tree and flower, explained to me the conversion to MPH (since i gasped when i saw the '100' sign, thinking it was MPH) and knew the history to every stretch of land we drove by. we saw a kangaroo (which i was overly excited about) AND, i soon learned that Big Ray was REALLY good friends with Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter (yep, i'm definitely in australia). he went to school with Steve and told me a bunch of stories about the two of them...because, according to Big Ray, steve was a real "good bloke."
i live in a house with about ten girls (no, seriously. ten. or twelve. i don't even know. i stop counting girls i live with at five.) it is absolutely beautiful - a total beach house. the downstairs has a library w/ three computers, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a laundry room. the upstairs has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living room - which both have sliding glass doors that go out to a huge balcony that wraps around half of the house. it looks out onto our driveway and the pool, which is near the front of our house. so, seriously...i can't complain. it's incredible.
oh, and apparently they've been going through a drought here....but NO WORRIES, WE TOOK CARE OF THAT. it's been raining ever since i got here. it' s still obvious that this place is beautiful, but i'd appreciate a little sunshine soon. the beach is close to our house, and about a ten minute walk away is an outdoor plaza that has a ton of stores and restaurants that all have open storefronts and outdoor seating - no doors even exist (because, apparently, it's usually sunny around here). ten minutes in the other direction is another mall, which is home to my good friend, Target. we shopped a little bit today, and tomorrow we're having a bbq on the beach to get to know everyone, although all of the girls seem to be clicking almost immediately. we've talked about how awkward these first couple of days are, but soon we're going to be like family. they're all really incredible and i look forward to telling you about them...maybe another time, because i'm embarrassed at how long this already is.

but, i'm alive...and well. i'm AMAZED at how laid back and nice everyone is here. it's not uncommon to have a stranger ask you if you need a ride, particularly when it's raining (don't freak out, mom. i'm staying safe AND i still have my passport). today we met some really faith-driven guys outside of the christian bookstore (where they sell my momma's books!!! i was SO proud!) and they were really encouraging about what a great area this is to witness in and share the gospel because everybody is so laid back and open to discussing nearly anything. even big ray told me:
"well, mal....our population is getting higher and higher each year because the entire world is so concerned about terrorism and we're...well...not."
thanks, big ray.

alright, i gotta run. love you all so much and thank you so much for all of your prayers....i feel them every minute of every day.

xoxo