I'm finally here!!

HI!!!! ah! i can't believe that i'm actually here! even though i've been here for only a week i feel as if i've been here for months. the people here are so nice and i've made fast friends with alot of people, so it feels like we're family instead of classmates :) let's see.... last week i left on sunday. i saved my packing for saturday night (hehe) so i got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep. sunday morning i went to first service at church, and i must say i can't remember the last time i cried so much. at the airport the orams came with us and saw me off along with my family. all of my flights went very well, well, almost. i almost missed my flight in tallahassee, but thankfully the held the plane for me. i slept on all my flights, so i was full of energy when i got off the plane in brisbane.

some staff from YWAM came and picked me and 4 other girls up and took us to the base which is in mitchelton, a suburb of brisbane. to be honest, australia doesn't look all that different from america. i share a room with 7 other girls who are all beach to bush. my room is connected with another room which aloso has 8 girls, but they are in the sports DTS (there are 3 DTSs: sports, beach to bush, and MAD which has art, dance, and music). the greatest thing of all is that i share a bathroom taht has 4 sinks, 2 showers, and 3 toilets with 20 other girls, but so far things have gone good :) things here are care free and other than having someone cook for us, we do everything ourselves. if we need groceries or anything we walk to the mall which takes about 15 minutes to get to. the weather here has been great so far. it's sunny and warm with a cool breeze in the daytime and at night it's cool. today has been the only day it's rained, but that's ok. the animals here are so different and exotic. there are these birds that sound like monkeys, so that's the sound i usually wake up. i've seen parrots, turkeys, tons of different birds, and even a kangaroo!

everyone here is so diverse and so unique it's great :) there are people from the usa, canada, japan, taiwan, thailand, peru, germany, france, switzerland, denmark, sweden, norway, austria, england, holland, and australia here and the accents are cool to hear. i have made fast friends already with many of the girls and guys. this weekend each DTS went on a retreat so that we could get to know each other better. my group went to Toowoomba which is a mountain 2 hours away. the experience was so awsome, i can't even put to words who great it was. we stayed at a camp and we hung out and took pictures til dinner. the mountain overlooks a valley with mountains popping up here and there- it was beautiful. after dinner we all got together and shared testimonies. yesterday i went on a small hike with some friends and, being the total clutze that i am, i ended up tripping and cutting up my knee- it was great. we all took a trip to the town and then i went with a group and i hiked up a mountain. let me repeat that: I HIKED UP A MOUNTAIN! can i just say it had to be the hardest thing i've ever done. it was really steep and very rocky. it took me a while, but thanks to my friend chris, i made it to the top. never ever have i seen such a magnificent and breathtaking view. it felt like i was on top of the world and seeing the way the sun touched the tips of the mountains and how it stretched it's way through the valleys and the trees...... it was a magestic sight. and i didn't have my camera. luckily some friends of mine did, so i'll get some of those. we got back and had dinner and then had worship and testimonies for about 4 hours.

although i can't say too much i will say this: i was in a room with alcoholics, drug addicts, people who have been in and out of jail, people who have denied the faith and are trying to figure it out, people fleeing from broken and bad relationships, people who have attempted suicide, people who have been sexual abused (and so much more) and you know what, i feel right at home and i wouldn't want to be in any other place. the ages of my group range from 17-28, and although our stories may sound differnt, they are all the same. we are all searching for Him and trying to find our place in this world. hearing everyone's story helped me understand them better, and i think i love everyone so much more than before. we came to the mountain as strangers and left as a family. it literally feels like we have been together forever and i can't imagine my life without them. ah! it's so hard to explain. the friends i've made, it feels like we've been friends for a much longer time than a week. we have our inside jokes and our secrets and i love each one of them.

on our way back today my bus, "trusty rusty", blew a tire so for about 1 1/2 hours we played volleyball and soccer in a gas station and "mackers" (mcdonalds) parking lot. ha the lingo here is definately different. burger king is hungery jacks. wendys is an AMAZING ice cream shop, and wooleys is the name of the local grocery store. the prices here- ah!- they are soo expensive! it's not hard at all to spend $20 in one small setting, so it takes some getting used to.

so sorry it's taken so long to write. the internet is so slow and YWAM keeps us busy. i'll try to write as soon as i can, and i hope you enjoyed my update! :)
oh, by the way, if you'd like to send me a letter my address is:
stephanie haaren
671 samford rd.
mitchelton QLD 4053
australia

much much love!!!!!
~me ;)