There is probably enough to write an entire book about this past month of my life spent in Australia, however right now I just want to focus on one story in particular. This story is particularly near to my heart because through it the Lord showed me exactly why He placed me on this trip. I can honestly say that if I was in Autralia for the past month for no other reason then this one young woman, that was more then enough. Gratned, the Lord did hunderds of incredible things in ministry, in the individual lives of my team members, in my personal life, set up divine encounters, and birthed a specific God-given vision for my life. However, none hails in comparision to what He did in the middle of the outback, in a small aboriginal village called Bre...
The entire reason i chose to go to Australia to begin with was becuase of thier incredibly high sucicide rates...I felt an urgent call to go to this nation b/c the Lord gave me a vision of how for many of the people there, it truly is a matter of life and death...they have a choice to make. With Deut. 30:15 flowing through my mind, I knew the Lord gave me this vision of ministering to someone who was on the verge of choosing death. I knew He had called me to speak the words of LIFE to this individual or group and tell them there is another way--there is hope and freedom in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To help them realize they have the choice to choose LIFE or death, but that LIFE is so worth it, a choice that I had to make in my own life at one point.
After a couple of days of settling in, we headed out on a 15 hour drive into the outback to go spend 10 days in a small and broken aborginal village called Brewarrina. In Bre, alcoholism, drugs, and sexual immorality are all norms for most of the people in the community. There is also a lot of bitterness towrds white people as a result of past hurts.
Specifically, the Lord sent me to Bre for a divine purpose which was made clear over my time there. On our first afternoon in Bre, we had the youth centre open and most of the kids were running around and having a blast. There was one girl, however, who seemed a bit older and was just sitting alone in the corner. Instantly, I was drawn to her and the Lord began speaking to me about her life. I knew she had plenty of hurts and heartaches and somehow i knew that I could relate to her. He literally spoke words, His words, through my mouth to her from day one. We instantly conected and she just began telling me a lot about Bre and its history and her family life and so forth. Over the next seven days, I continued reaching out to her and spending every mintute of the youth centre time talking to her and listening to her. I also got the privalige of getting to know her 5 younger siblings who came as well. The night before our last night, two people from our group shared testimonies whcih was followed by small group time. In small groups, we were talking about how everyone has a story to tell. I turned to Amelia and said Amelia, I know you have a story. She just kind of shook her head and smiled. The next day (our last day) we went and sat down to say our last goodbyes. She turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Courtney, I want to tell you my story, but I cant say it to you. Could you give me paper and i will write it?" So I went and got her paper and a pen and she went outside and wrote it. She came back 20 mins later and handed it to me. She said not to read it until she left. I begged her to let me read it before she left, though I already knew what it would say bc the Lord has shown me, yet I wanted to be able to talk to her about it more since she didnt know that I knew. This is the letter she wrote to me....
6/29/10
Hey-
Um well ever since I was little, I felt left out, like my dad would play with the others, and I remember me just leaning over the side left out.
I pretty much wish I was dead most of the time. When I lost my aunty it felt like I lost everything she was someone I can tell stuff. But you’re the only person I can tell my story and I wish you would stay.
Every now and then I wish I wasn’t born, it’s like why am I here? I still do and I think it will never go away. I would like to thank you so much for everything I will never forget you, you will always be in my heart. I even sometimes say I hate everyone, even my mum and dad.
iLy. Xoxox Amelia.
Thanks for everything.
P.S. I don’t think I would like to see you after you read this cause its shame and start crying.
After reading this, I instantly found tears falling onto my cheeks. I went up to her and asked her to come outside with me. We walked out into the frigid night and she just put her head on my shoulder and wept. I said a few comforting words and gave her a minute. Then she looked up, but refused to look me in the eye. I put my hand on her chin and lifted her face until our eyes finally locked. Then the Lord literally just put the words in my mouth...I couldnt even tell you all that came out, but I know that morning I had memorized Jeremiah 1: 5 in my quiet time, and i know the Lord gave me that for this very moment. I told her " Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." She continued weeping. I shared with her how there was a time in my life when i felt hopeless and purposeless. That i always had this emptyness inside of me that i tried for years to fill with all of these different things, but nothing ever satisfied that emptyness. Enstead, all those things led me down a path of destruction to the point where I didnt want to live anymore...how I was once at the point where she was at now. Then I got to share how the only thing that is desgined to fit inside that empty hole is the love of Christ. I got to continue to speak Truth into her life and tell her that she could break free from the generational bondage passed down from her parents and that the Lord has good and beautiful plans for her future.I got to tell her she could choose LIFE!
Today we are facebook friends and I have gotten to continue to pursue our relationship, just like Christ has so relentlessly pursued me with His love. I have a total faith and peace that in the oncoming days and weeks Amelia is going to come to know the indescribable love of our incredible Savior for herself. The Lord did some incredible things over my month in Australia, but this moment, this precious girl...this is why He sent me to Australia this summer. So really, I cannot put my gratitude into words for your support; this young woman's life was spared because of the incredible plans of the soveriegn loving God that we are so privalged to serve. Wow. He just blows my mind.
Here is a picure of Amelia and I on our last night in Bre, her new bible in hand.
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