Merry Christmas!!

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends and good times of celebrating Jesus! This month I used a different program to create a newsletter that is a bit more colorful and has some pictures of the past six months. It is a PDF file so I will need to e-mail it to you, if you would like me to send it to you please let me know. My e-mail address is christi.r.hawkins@gmail.com.

An Australian Spring..

Heres a bit of an update on life. Things have been moving right along, it's already November!!

A couple of weekends ago some friends and i went down south and got to enjoy the beautiful south west of Australia. We spent lots of time in the surf, visiting the tourist spots, enjoyed the sunsets over the ocean with the dolphins and used the grill as much as possible. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.

This last week I went with our youth ministry to a Christian high school to teach seminars on Identity and Relationships. Most of the students are from non-christian families, so it was great to have the opportunity to come in and share God's heart for them. We had some great small group times, open and honest on both sides. Great conversations about God and each of us on the team got to share some stories from our high school years. We did a few skits and during lunch each day we were able to chat with the students, which was heaps of fun. I never thought that I would enjoy going back to high school that much, it was great to get off base and meet some true australian kids face to face.

This week I'm back in the registrars office e-mailing away to potential students. Today we had a birthday party and celebrated with some home made apple pie!! It's good to be back but the e-mails have definitely pilled up! Most of my time is spent e-mailing and deciphering e-mails that aren't English, but every once in a while I will get a phone call. Like the other day I got to talk with a potential student for about an hour. As they were asking loads of questions, sharing their fears, future plans and what God has been speaking to them about going into missions I was able to answer questions and share a bit of my own story of trusting for things to all work out and to see finances provided. It's always fun to look back at what God has done and be able to encourage someone else with the testimonies that God has given me!!

In January begins the Young Peoples Discipleship Training School (YPDTS) 2011! As YPDTS staff we have started our recruiting and weekly prayer times! We are excited to see things starting to come together, we are trusting for heaps more students to join us.

Overall things are going well, I'm learning more about intercession as I lead prayer times about once a week. I'm running 12KM  in a week to help raise finance for my roommate who is going back to Canada for her best friends wedding in January. The weather is warming up and that means so is the ocean! Also my sister  Johanna is going to be visiting me over Christmas which is such a blessing, I was kind of dreading being away from home during christmas for the first time. I still am having a hard time imagining christmas on the beach in 100 degree weather...

A few prayer requests:
For health as allergies and other sickness have definitely slowed me down.
For creative ways to get the word out about the Young Peoples DTS.
Perseverance as I help practically by answering e-mails and phone calls.

Thank you for your support and prayers, Love to you all,

Christi

September!

Wow so much is happening all the time. It's so good to be a part of such a big family. Such a full couple last months, and they are just going to get busier! 


This quarter the Christian Missions class that I'm taking is all about keeping the big picture of world wide missions in mind and knowing where I fit.  Last week we looked at how God has called us to be whole hearted in everything that we do, whether that be loving our family, cleaning the bathroom or sharing our testimony. This week we listened to John Bills share with us that when we prayerfully intercede we can change the world! Talk about empowerment! The key to praying for the world to change is to be ready and willing to be the answer.

During the majority of my day I work in the registrars office e-mailing people all over the world about our training programs. I have a pretty cool job of being the initial point of contact with anyone inquiring about our base. It has been challenging to work on a computer all day, but what you learn from dying to self is irreplaceable!  Every time I have to stop and refocus he is there reminding me that he is God and he knows what is best for me.  Pushing through all of the tedious details as I work towards getting students here, the biggest thing that I'm realizing about myself is that i need Jesus more everyday. That even when I'm doing something that is maybe not what I'm particularly gifted at, God is using it to refine me, check my motives and make me understand what I am called to later on that much clearer.  


One of the biggest blessings that God has given me here is some amazing friends!  Some I've known since last year and some I've just met, but there is just something that is impressive about their love for Jesus. 


More soon!

Just the beginning!!

 Hello Everyone!
      God has said that he gives each day it's daily bread, and that phrase has never meant that much to me until lately.  As I began raising support earlier this spring there was just enough to buy health insurance when I needed to, then when it was time to apply for a visa again there was just enough. On the 17th or 18th of June I had the realization that in order to arrive in Perth on time I would have to buy a plane ticket, like right now! So I called the church to check the status of my account there and found that there would be within ten dollars of enough. Great I thought, again just enough; time to find a ticket! At that point I hadn't had any responses about monthly support, but I knew I was to buy the ticket. God kept speaking to me about faith, and the phrases "The time is now" and "He is faithful to those that are faithful to him" kept coming to mind, so I bought the ticket! Throughout the week I was asked many times if I have all my support raised now that I have a ticket, and I would answer a simple no, I didn't want them thinking I'm irresponsible using up all the support I had on a plane ticket!  Well guess what our God is the good and faithful one, within the next week and a half I had $395 a month pledged and a few one time donations which leaves only $55 more to go a month as well as outreach fees! I have also had the privilege to share with both youth groups and both services at my church, I am overwhelmed with God's goodness and faithfulness!!

Today was my first day of work, I will be working in the registrars office most likely for the following six months. They were trusting for more staff so I'm an answer to prayer which is kinda cool. They were very welcoming, I was greeted me with coffee, cake and a sweet little card. One of my main jobs will be to manage all the incoming inquiries about the schools that we run here as well as keeping all student info up to date. I'll learn more about what my job entails with time.

My house is referred to as Harold St. and is a quick 15 minute walk from base.  At the moment there are just a few girls here, and have been wonderful in helping me adjust.  The whole base is quite welcoming and it has helped that I know a few people already, God has been very generous with his blessings throughout the past two weeks from moving money mountains to a good deal on a nice warm blanket!!

If you feel led to partner with me in prayer or financially send me a note at christi.r.hawkins@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you!

All donations can be sent to:
Evangelical Covenant Church

3600 S 9th St.
Lafayette, IN 47909
U.S.A.
with my name attached, they are tax deductible.

Abundant Blessings in Christ

Visas & Plane Tickets

Here's the latest:

 I have a visa and thank you Jesus that it came so fast!!! The next step is to buy a plane ticket!

Lectures start June 28, which means I have a few weeks left before I cross the pond!

I still need monthly financial partners who will be willing to start giving in July. If you feel led to be one of these partners send me an e-mail.  I would love to meet with you and answer any questions that you might have.

I'm going to be sharing at Evangelical Covenant Church on June 27th at the 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. services.  I will also be available to answer questions at that time.

Blessings,

Christi

Support Letter

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

            I am writing you to share with you my heart for the ministry and training that God has laid out for me to pursue.  I was privileged enough to have participated in a short term training school last year, and since returning to Lafayette, God has made it very clear that I am to return to Youth With A Mission (YWAM) located in Perth, Australia and join staff full time.  A passage of scripture that God has used to encourage me is Jeremiah 1:4-19 where God calls Jeremiah into ministry even though he was young.  God has used this and other things to confirm his desire for me to spend my next two years committed to his purposes at YWAM Perth.

I am committing two years of service in YWAM Perth.  During this time I will be on staff, hopefully staffing two Young People Discipleship Training School’s (YPDTS) and completing a leadership school that will run in conjunction with staffing. Upon returning to Perth in late June I will jump right in to staffing and continue to learn and grow in a place where I will have many opportunities to expand my knowledge, be encouraged and to grow deeper in my relationship with God.  During the time that I am not staffing the YPDTS I will be assigned a position in a ministry located on base to support the overall ministries of the base. While on staff, I will participate in all base activities such as weekly times of worship, intercession, shared meals, evangelism, staff meetings, times of fellowship, chores, accountability, attend weekly leadership lectures and work through a journal for a quarter of each year. 

At the same time, I will be preparing and being equipped to staff the YPDTS that I was blessed to be a part of last year. This school begins in January with three months of student training. During the lecture phase of staffing a school I will participate in all base activities while attending the students lectures, planning school activities, school staff prayer times, leading a small group of girls, and meeting with each of those girls weekly for a time of prayer and processing.  The lecture phase is followed by three months of outreach to the nations. During this potion of staffing a school I will be co-leading a team into a different nation and working with local churches and helping wherever there is a need.  Throughout the whole school I will be making disciples and sharing my faith with these students, while working with them in a variety of different ministry opportunities.  I am very excited to come alongside the students in their faith, encourage them in their walk and give them opportunities to grow.   I am preparing for a very busy two years filled with lots of personal growth.

  I am praying for a support team during this time. If you feel lead to be a part of this team please jump right on board. I am in need of a solid prayer team and finances throughout the whole two years.  My need consists of a few different numbers about $3,800 to get me there, $450 a month during both years, and $10,000 for the outreaches when I will lead teams out into the nations.  My hope is that if you feel lead to be a financial/prayer supporter that you understand that through you and I working together God’s work is getting done!!! All special gifts may be sent to Evangelical Covenant Church with my name attached.  If you would like to be a monthly supporter please let me know the amount you would like to pledge by phone or e-mail, this is all tax deductible.  I am planning to leave in the end of June or beginning of July to make it there by the beginning of my leadership lectures, it would be great if you could contact me by the end of May that would be very helpful.

I’m going to be sending out updates through Facebook, and I’m going to be keeping a running blog of my experiences too.  You can find my blog at http://christianarose.blogspot.com/. Let me know if you’d like to know more or would like to meet with me, I would love to share with you.  I hope and pray that you will be encouraged and inspired by hearing what God is going to be doing on the other side of our world, as I will be to tell you! Also since we are a team I hope that you will send me prayer requests and updates in your life so that I may also lift you up in prayer as well.

Abundant Blessings in Christ,

Christi Hawkins

Christi.r.hawkins@gmail.com