I am a Child of God

Hey everyone! I hope you have all been having a great week, I can't believe we are in August already.

Week 3 brings us to Tom Hallas' lectures on The Father Heart of God. He taught us that we are God's adopted children. In the Hebrew culture the Bible was written, in you could disown a child if they brought shame to the family, but if the child was adopted they can't be rejected, or disowned. God's heart is that we would come to fully know and enjoy Him.

Thursday I had the opportunity to help with kids club for the first time. It was a good afternoon spending time with the children from the local state school, and being able interact with them as they acted out Daniel and the Lions Den. Although I found it a bit difficult, I was encouraged through a good conversation with some of the children, and I am excited to continue helping in this ministry.

Friday we had ministry time with Tom where we all spent time telling the group some things that have hurt us, that we have been holding onto, and struggling with. Tom really demonstrated the Father's heart for us during this time as we wept with each other.

Saturday Ocean and I took a train and tram to Glenelg for the day, we climbed down the side of the jetty 5 times in total for our little photo shoot, here are a few of my favorites.

Week 4: Identity and Purpose week with Andre Agostini (our base director) was so freeing, although I don't understand the content well enough yet to explain much. He talked about the distinction between sinner and saint in the Bible, and how freeing our being dead to sin really is. God created us in His image, and for relationship. When Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he had the very first identity crisis. He decided he wanted to be God, deciding what is right and wrong, the first sin. If you think about it all sin is when humans decide what is right and wrong. Throughout the Bible there are stories of when people tried to decide right and wrong, and it ended in disaster until they turned back to God, who lovingly helped the people in their mess. Jesus was the second or last 'Adam,' through Him we died, breaking our commitment to sin, and are resurrected in Him, making us His perfect bride. (as I am writing this I am realizing that I am combining this week (Mission) with last week (Identity and Purpose), as I am still processing all this information... so I hope you are enjoying my attempt at summarizing week 4.)

"But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:15 NLT

Saturday Morning we attended a Revival SA worship meeting. Saturday Night I had to opportunity to lead with the worship team, share my testimony, and serve in the cafe at DUO. I love serving, and spending time with these people every week. It is such a blessing for me to talk to, get to know, and see God's heart for these people.

We finished our church hopping with Victory Church, and last Sunday we chose our own churches, I went to Playford Uniting Church in the morning, and took a few of the other girls to Victory for the night service. I enjoyed, and think I will continue to attend both.

Thanks again for all the support, although I am missing Toowoomba, (not the weather, it has been warmer here,) I am really feeling at home here in Adelaide. I continue to look forward to what God has in store for the rest of this season in my life, and what He has planned for the next.