Thank you

Dear friends and family

   I want to once again thank you for praying for my mission’s trip to Australia.  God is working in Melbourne and I am so thankful to have been a little part of it.  God also taught me numerous lessons while overseas.

   Being back home these past few days have been interesting. I miss Melbourne tremendously. I miss the friends I've made there even more. However, it is nice to be back home and to have seen many of you. Since being home, I have pondered and thought about this trip a lot. What did God teach me? In what ways did He move there? 

   

   While we were there, I think we planted a lot of seeds and tilled the soil of people’s hearts. I also know that we encouraged the Aussie missionaries and students.  It was a blessing to them to know that there are other Christians out there that are their age and who care about Christ.  I was told by multiple students that they were so thankful for our team. And likewise, I was so thankful for them. I think this trip was a beautiful example of Proverbs 27:17.

    "Iron sharpens iron,

    and one man sharpens another"

  God taught me a lot this summer. One of the many things He convicted me about was local missions. The Aussies are so passionate and real about their faith and they want to see Melbourne transformed into a city that loves and knows Jesus.  It’s very hard to find anyone who is luke-warm about their faith. When it comes to Jesus, they are all in.  This made me think about whether I felt the same way about Mason or Springfield.  Do I feel the same passion when it comes to local missions? Do I pray regularly for transformation? 

  God has given me a renewed heart and spirit towards this. I am excited to get back to GMU and work and start being more intentional with my classmates and co-workers.  It would be my joy to see GMU become a place that loves and knows God.  Would you please pray with me that God would transform Mason? That God would transform Northern Virginia? We serve a powerful King who is capable of doing so. Thank you once again for helping me go on this mission’s trip. You have been such a blessing to me and those in Australia.

Stoneza (Hannah) 

Only a week left in Oz

G'day friends.

This has been a week of highs and lows. I would say that personally, it has been the hardest one for me yet.

It seemed like sharing this week was especially tough. Most days were filled with rejections and shallow conversations. Student after student was filled with apathy and complacency. They thought that Jesus was a cool guy, but that they had no need for Him.

However, there were moments that encouraged me. On Wednesday, half of our team when to the Bundoora campus to outreach. Me and one of my team members got into a decently long conversation with three students. We talked about a plethora of topics ranging from faith, to women in the Bible, to how can you know for sure, to gun laws in America ( thought of you Pratt Family!). It was so fantastic to see people really interested and seeking  answers.

I've definitely started to realize how hard the soil of peoples hearts are here. And even though no one here has accepted Christ, I know that we are still in Melbourne for a purpose. God has given me so much peace abut this. Maybe not now, but sometime in the future Australia will be ready to accept the good seed of the Gospel. We can never know how big God is and what He'll use in peoples lives. I'm just hoping that each conversation I have with people here will push them one step closer to God. That talking to them makes them think about what they really believe, and makes them question what life is all about.

I have fallen in love with Melbourne. God has placed such a burden on my heart for the Uni's here and for the city itself. I am excited to keep  going out and sharing while I am here. I am even more excited to go back home and continue to pray for this place and wait and see how God works here.

Cheers!
Stoneza

P.S. We played the Aussies in footy yesterday and didn't get crushed! At one point, we were even winning. Next Thursday, we play some good ol' gridiron. Hopefully we'll show them what real football is all about.

Take heart

Hello Friends.

I write this post with a little bit of a heavy heart. As stated in my last post, I was supposed to meet up with a student named Amy on Friday. I was really excited to do so and spent a good amount of time planing out what I would say. However, both her and her husband did not show up. I'm not sure if she forgot or was never interested in the first place.

It's not like I went home and cried about it afterwards, but it did hurt. I was very excited to meet with Amy and she seemed really interested in learning more about God. She was the one who asked me if I could tell her more. I'm not sure what happened, but could you pray for her? Pray that I would see her again or that she would respond to my email. Or just pray that someone else would be able to tell her more about who Jesus is. I 100% believe God is sovereign and this is all part of His plan.

Also, please continue to pray for Greg and Elise. They have been on my heart and mind a lot. Here's the link to their blog with more info
http://gregboros.blogspot.com.au/

Please also pray for my best friend Felicia ( most of you back home know her and what's going on). She's having brain surgery on August 10th. I really wish I could be with her and comfort her and it's hard for me to be away.

Despite all of this, God has been faithful. He daily lifts me up and encourages me through scripture and other team members. Here are a couple of the verse that have been encouraging me.

Psalm 27: 14
Wait for the Lord;
     be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!


and Hebrews 6:19-20


^" We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."




Hopefully these will encourage you as well.


Cheers,
Hannah

Wait, what?

Hello again friends!

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog update. Quick wrap up of this weekend.

   Friday was a free day. Our team got a delicious brunch at the cutest cafe for a pretty cheap price! That was such a blessing. I spent a lot of that day just resting in God and spending time with Him through the Word and prayer. It was nice to have the freedom of just spending as much time with God as I needed. Later that night we went over to the missionaries house and enjoyed some fellowship with them and then watched a movie.

   Saturday I was able to sleep in ( first time in weeks!) and then went on a long walk by the river here in the city. It was such a beautiful sunny day and a great time for reflection and conversation. That night we then went back to the missionaries house for a going away party. Kathrine Ross (who has been here for 1 1/2 years) is going back to the states. She has been such a blessing and influence here. The Aussies and rest of the Americans here will miss her greatly. I am excited for her new role in the states! Please pray for safe travels and transition back to America.

   Sunday was so busy. I'll start with church. I have really enjoyed going to City on a Hill. We've been going through John one section at a time. After each and ever service I always walk away refreshed and with a new understanding of that passage. It is obvious that God is working in Melbourne and growing this church. One of their motto's is "Know Jesus and make Jesus known". As simple as that is, it speaks a lot of truth. As we get to know Jesus better and better, our desire to share Him with others should also grow. It's clear that this church loves Melbourne and wants it to be a place where God is worshiped and proclaimed.
   After church we went to Victoria Market ( giant outdoor market) and then headed off to a footy game. Man, that was so much fun! I've never seen so many people on a field before and such much action taking place. It was great to experience some Aussie culture with Aussies. Eventually the Aussies are going to play us in footy and then in American football. I'm not to sure how well that is going to turn out :)


Anyways, that was this past weekend. Today, our team headed off to RMIT city to do evangelism/ outreach. We teamed up with some of the students and staff from Student life (what they call Cru here) and did surveys. The surveys were titled "What's your story?". It was basically seven questions ranging from "what three words describe who you are?" to "what do you believe spiritually?". I had a lot of great conversations, but I want to tell you about one in particular.

  Jezza ( one of the Aussie staff members) and I had a wonderful conversation with a woman named Amy. As I approached her and asked if she would be interested in doing a spiritual survey, she said yes as long as I talked slowly because she just moved here from China. I laughed a little and assured her I would and told her that her English was quite impressive. We then got into a 20 minute conversation about life in China, her move to Melbourne, and the questions on the survey. The last question on the survey quotes a verse from Jesus. Before asking it, I thought that it might be a good idea to ask her if she even knew who He was. She quickly replied she has heard of Him and that there were many churches in China (good job missionaries in east Asia!). She then said she didn't know much about Him, but that she wanted to.

Wait, what?

I was a little shocked when I heard that. I could tell that she honestly wanted to know more about Him. I know Jesus said,


"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matt7:37-38

but often I have a really hard time believing it. Oh Hannah Stone of little faith. I then asked her if she would be interested in meeting up once a week for an hour for me to explain to her who Jesus is and what the Bible is all about. She excitedly agreed to meet up this Friday at 3. Her husband, Ling, then walked up and we explained to him the previous conversation we had with his wife. He then also wanted to meet up and learn as well.

Praise God!
Praise God that Amy was so open and eager to learn more about Jesus.
Praise God that her husband Ling walked up when he did and he was ok with her meeting with us.
Praise God that Ling also wanted to meet with us.

I know that not everyday or every conversation is going to end up like this, but it is so encouraging to see that God is working in some peoples hearts here.

Please pray for this Friday. I am a little nervous about our meeting. Pray that both Amy and Ling show up and that God will be working in their hearts. Pray that God will lead me and give me the words to say. I do have a material called Christianity explained to work with and I will not be doing it alone. But still, I feel a little intimidated.

Please also pray for Marwa and Leanne, two Muslim girls I talked to today. I was able to go through the Gospel with Marwa; and Leanne might come to one of the Student Life events later this week.

Lastly, please pray for two Mason staff members, Greg and Elise. I love them very dearly and they are going  through a very rough time right now. Here is a link to their blog http://gregboros.blogspot.com.au/

Sorry for such the long post! Thanks for your prayers.

Hannah

Did WW II even happen?

As shocking as that question seems, someone actually asked it.

Today was our first day going out and starting spiritual conversations at RMIT City (one of the Uni's).  The conversation I got into today once again showed me how hopeless and dark the world is without Christ. Me and my friend Steven went out sharing today. The first conversation we had lasted a little bit over an hour and covered a whole slew of topics.

  We started talking to a guy named George and asked him if he would be interested in taking a spiritual survey about his world view and what he believe. As the conversation went on, it was obvious to see the lack of faith. He couldn't be sure of anything. He couldn't be sure Jesus ever existed, couldn't be sure the Bible was true, couldn't be sure WW II happened, couldn't be sure that the conversation he was having with us was even real.

I knew the spiritual climate in Australia was rough, but this conversation made it real to me.

The good news is that we were able to go through what we believe and what it means to be a christian. We were able to have a spiritual conversation with him that hopefully got him thinking about things. You never know how God is going to use this in his life. This conversation might have pushed him one more step closer to God. Maybe, maybe not.

Another praise is that I wasn't discouraged by today's conversation. Even though no one accepted Christ today, I didn't walk away feeling defeated. Honestly, I was just happy that he was able to hear the gospel.

Praise: That we do know the Truth. That we know we have a purpose in life and it isn't hopeless. That we can place our faith in something trustworthy and good.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me -John 14:6 

Prayer: For George, for God to be working in his heart and taking the blinders off his eyes.

Prayer: That our team continues to get over sickness. I'm feeling better, but still not back to 100%.

Quality vs Quanity

G'day friends!

This week has been great so far. Yesterday (Monday) our team had training all day. We learned about the spiritual atmosphere on the different Unis and when the best hours for evangelism are. We also learned a lot about Aussie culture and the difficulties it brings. We also went over our testimonies and why they are important. While we we're discussing what should be included in them and why we share them, this verse came to mind.

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death" Rev 12:11


God has given each one of us a story of how He has changed our lives. It may not always be super exciting or seem powerful at first glace. Even if it seems "boring", it is still a unique gift that God has given each one of us and that no one can take away. And in the end, God will use our stories of how He transformed us to conquer the devil ( along with the blood of Jesus of coarse).

After training, we ate dinner and hung out with the missionaries here. It was so much fun and refreshing. They do so much work here and really invest in the students. I am so blessed to be working with them for the next five weeks.


Today was yet another exciting day. We toured RMIT Bundoora ( one of the Uni's) and got familiar with the campus. We then heard from a girl from student life ( Bek) and learned about the spiritual atmosphere there. We also took a prayer walk around the campus and prayed for the students and the upcoming weeks of evangelism. One thing that I have noticed here is how passionate the Christians here are. There are very few luke warm believers here. Either the Aussies are all about Jesus and transforming where they live or haven't given a thought about God. It has been very convicting in my own walk with God. Do I care about GMU as much as they care about their school? Do I always live all out for Jesus like I should?  Do I always look for opportunities to share God with others?

On a side note, I was able to see three kangaroos in the wild today! It was so surreal and fun.

Praises:
-For all the friendships I have made with the Aussie students.
-Our awesome missionaries
-seeing kangaroos

Prayer requests:
-The health of the team. I, along with many others, am sick.
-The hearts of the people we will be sharing with.
-For God to transform Melbourne into a city that love Jesus and makes Him known.

Cheers,
Stoneza

MYC

Greetings friends!

Wow, so much has happened in the last week.

Last Monday was the start of MYC ( mid year conference). Our whole team piled into a huge bus filled with Aussie students and headed down Lake Hume.

MYC is the winter conference for all of the student life's ( what they call Cru here) in the Melbourne area. About six different  Uni's ( universitys) were represented, along with us 10 Americans.

Going into the conference I was a little nervous and uneasy. I didn't know any of the students ( about 150 total) and really wanted to start working. I wasn't sure what my purpose was there and felt like I needed to be doing more. This was something I really had to bring before God. Throughout the week God began to convict me about my feelings. He showed me that the motivation behind me want to get started on our evangelism was all messed up. I often place my value in working and getting things done. I wanted to start evangelising because it made me feel better, not because I actually cared about the students. Ouch, that was convicting.

He also showed me the importance of just getting to know the students. I made friends with so many of the Aussie and now have a better understanding of what their Uni's are like and the spiritual atmosphere of their campuses. I also learned how student life works here. I was shocked when people said the big student life's here had 30 people. 30 people? That's all? Some only had a regular of 5 people show up each week. God once again reminded me how spiritually dry it is here. Just because the people here aren't starving physically doesn't mean they aren't starving spiritually.

I was encouraged by the unity and fellowship of Christians as well. It is so amazing that within just a few days people  from America, Australia, and Asia can all form friendships. And it's all because of the unity of Christ. Worshipping with people from many nations is just a poor image of how Heaven is going to be like. I truly look forward to that day. 

Overall, this past week has been great. I learned a ton during the conference sessions, met new friends, had the best 4th of July ever, worshipped with people from all over, spent an afternoon evangelising, told jokes in a talent show, danced it up at a dance party, met all of the missionaries here, and grew closer to God.

I'll try to be updating more often so I can give more details about what's going on.

Cheers,
Hannah ( or Stoneza as the Aussies call me)