We're Here - and the jet lag sets in

Well its official. This is my first post from Down Under. I’m writing this on my computer in my internet-less flat the day of arrival in Australia, knowing full well that it will at least be Monday before it makes it into your internet realm.
I was really impressed how smoothly travel went on the way here. I sort of felt like I was going to Russia again with all of the layovers and hours dedicated to travel (close to 36 between car and bus rides, flying, and down time in airports). Only this time I didn’t have Brian or Jesse to follow. I’m so grateful for all of my prior travel experiences before coming here, especially Russia, because it has taught me some travel tips that are necessities and how to step up to the plate if need be.
After weaving my way through the long line of security at Pittsburgh, I met Ellen, the girl who I was booked to travel with from Messiah. She is extremely sweet and reminds me a lot of a mixture of Mel and Hannah (Dotts) in her looks and demeanor. We flew from Pittsburgh to Cinnci, Ohio and then from there to LA. I spent a lot of time reading and trying to sleep on both flights, both of which I failed at miserably, which would end up being the theme of this seemingly sleepless travel journey. In LA we had the joy of having to leave the terminal to try to find a different terminal with the Quantas (Aussie Airline) desk to check in and get boarding passes for the next leg of our journey. The only problem was that there were multiple Quantas desks in various locations and when we would ask where to go the standard response was “well it might be here”. About thiry minutes later we found the desk and ran into my roomie Rebekah and her travel buddy Amy in line. What a relief to see other Houghton students. After that I finally got to see Shane which was also a huge blessing. After much chatting, our group of HDU students began to grow as we moved towards our gate. Once there, few by few we all gathered to met some new people and greet some familiar faces.
Our flight to Melbourne was delayed between 40 minutes to an hour from leaving LA but we made up for it in the air. I got to sit between Ellen and this really sweet grandma like lady from Australia. She kept trying to take care of me. It was so nice. I think this was one of the first times I sat beside a stranger and didn’t totally panic. It probably helped that Shane was catty-corner in front of me, but I also see God’s hand at work trying to stretch me, even this early on in the trip.
I’m also feeling blessed in the whole group dynamic of this trip. Honestly, I’ve got to spend time with a wide variety of people instead of just the two or three people that I knew well before traveling. I’m looking forward to getting to know the people I count as friends and good acquaintances better through all of this, but for once I don’t feel completely overwhelmed with getting to know so many people at one time. For those of you who know me best you know that this has to be God at work.
Once landing in Australia we went through the joy of customs but it was totally worth it to see Dr. Walter’s smiling face waiting on the other side of the gate and to be greeted so warmly by TK’s (the professor we are here with) wife. We are now unpacked and in possession of some groceries for the week, although I’m in dire need of tea right now. The flats we are in are pretty comparable to the flats at Houghton only a little older. I’m sharing a room with Bekah Armbruster and Becky Kenote is also in our flat. We seem to get along well. We are all freezing right now though. It is soooo cold in our flat. It’s winter in Australia right now which means noting in comparison to Houghton winters, but it is warmer in the low 50 degree weather outside of our flat then inside of our flat. Haha.
And now we are getting ready to go and give Tucker (one of the non-Houghton kids on the trip) a birthday greeting. The Kettlekamps somehow got their hands on a cake, which is a feat in itself, and we’re all going to go sing before we crash from exhaustion. Actually Bekah is already asleep on the couch in the living room. Oh the beauty of jet lag – Judy all of the travel totally made me think of you however. Hehe.

Prayer Requests:
- Presence to be involved totally in the relationships here
- Wisdom to be involved and connected to the people back home (all of this adds up to communication)
- Wisdom with how to spend my free time here
- Sleep – would be amazing right about now
- Finding a church home where I can be well connected

Side thought:
I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to be able to do life updates and still have time to explore the complexity of my thoughts with you – but that does not mean that I’m not having these random thoughts worth exploring so I’d still like to share those with you without all of the explanation – which will inevitably make the confusing even more so, but…
Rob Bell made the statement that Love with/ flowing from an agenda isn’t love at all. Taking that statement to be true, is there any difference between having an agenda to love a person and having a reason to love a person?