2 months into the adventure...

...I haven't written in my blog since I've gotten here and that wasn't part of the plan. I'll go through the main things you should know from my first 6 weeks of college.

My three amazing flatmates

Beth- from England. she is amazingly polite, she drinks a lot of tea, and she is the most tender-hearted and loving person you will ever come across.

Jessica- from Florida. she plays the guitar and sings like an angel, has a great sense of style, and she is so beautifully unique and good at just being herself.

Becca- from Switzerland. she has such a mother's heart for everyone, she is so passionate and selfless, and she plays the flute like nobody's business.

Classes and Ministry

I am learning SO much from all of my classes. Right now I'm taking Old Testament Introduction & Tutorial (the tutorials are basically like a debrief of the class), Personal Leadership & Tutorial, Music Excellence, Worship Band Lecture, Worship Band (we learn music theory and practice with our bands).

Outside of classes we also have many different activities to participate in.

Tuesday- Connect group (basically like a bible study night/ fellowship night with a small group of people that you decide to join)

Wednesday- Powerhouse (youth night for 18-25 year olds)

Thursday- Creative Night (for worship music students)

Friday- Wildlife (I'm allocated to Creative Design as my fieldwork so I go from 5-10 and help with stage design and then lighting during the service) I'm also going to become a Wildlife leader (Wildlife is a youth night for high school students)

Saturday- Street Teams (I do it voluntarily and I LOVE it :) We get out there and serve the community and meet different people in the less fortunate areas of town) & sometimes I go to the 6 p.m. service at church.

Sunday- Church! (I do Kids Creative as my area of service in church so I get to lead worship for ark & cubby (ages babies-6 years old) and it is AMAZING. I go at 6:45 a.m. and we get done at 12:45 in the afternoon. It's so great to see kids that young worshipping God!.... I love it so much. and then I usually attend the 7 p.m. service at church.

God is completely giving me strength and endurance to serve Him and to serve the church and really put my all into it. I do get tired sometimes but I know that what I'm doing has so much eternal significance and that keeps me going.

"God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." Genesis 41:52

I suppose I should talk a bit about Sydney as well.

It is beautiful and the beaches are only a bus ride away. The weather is generally warm/hot but slightly humid and rainy sometimes too. The people of Australia are incredibly laid back and very friendly. The coffee is the BEST I've ever had. All of the students live in the same apartment complex but it's spread out by 5 different buildings all surrounding a courtyard. We have an amazing community and there is such a sense of family and fellowship between the students. We're not allowed to date during our first year so that helps for things to be much less complicated.

I couldn't be happier with where I'm at in my life at the moment, and I mainly say that because of how much I'm growing and changing and becoming more of who God intended me to be. I can feel Him shaping and molding me and giving me new revelations everyday..but that doesn't just happen automatically, I'm constantly pursuing Him and seeking after Him. I have a whole new outlook on how important it is to set aside time every day to be alone with our Father and read His word and journal about what He's speaking into my heart that day.

We got put into our bands..my band has 4 vocalists, 1 piano player, 1 electric/acoustic guitar player, 1 electric/acoustic/bass player, 1 drummer, and 1 flute player. I love my band! Right now we're working on the song Brave by Nichole Nordeman, Brianna and myself are singing lead for it. We have performances in a few weeks.

AND Colour Conference is coming up next week! I'm extremely excited about that..it will be amazing and I'm going to be serving as a host the whole time but I'll also be able to sit in on pretty much everything :)

OH and one more thing! I turned 20 on the 25th of February and I had an amazing birthday! We went to Max Brenner's Chocolate Cafe. I had a soy dark hot chocolate with crunch waffle balls & then chocolate fondue with strawberries and bananas...yea it was chocolate heaven. My roommates and friends made it so special with cards and goodies and lots of love. They also gave me a stovetop espresso maker :) they're so sweet and I got several packages from home so yes... it was the best birthday yet I'd have to say.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Please pray for me to find the perfect job soon! Also please let me know if there's anything I can be praying for you about.

Love,

Taylor

Finally in Sydney :)

After much anxious excitement I have finally arrived to Sydney, Australia. It took about 24 hours of traveling to get here, including layovers and flight times. It's so crazy to think about flying across the ocean for 14 hours...

We landed in Sydney on Saturday the 16th and I did the whole tourist/sightseeing thing with Dad and Terri for the weekend. Sydney is such a huge city and it's always alive with different activities and things to do.

Monday I went to Hillsong College to get settled in and meet my roommates. I met a few different people in the office and they were all amazing and helpful and welcoming. I also met one of my roommates, her name is Beth and she is from London! She is the sweetest girl ever and I'm really glad we're roommates. We're still waiting on our other two flat mates to arrive. My apartment has 2 bedrooms 2 bath 1 kitchen 1 living room and a big patio and we're on the 7th floor. I was definitely pleasantly surprised when I arrived, it's pretty nice!

So far I've set up my Australian bank account, got a cell phone, and moved all of my clothes into the apartment (I brought too much stuff). Our apartment is pretty empty at the moment...we have 2 mattresses in our room..oh and a dryer and a dishwasher that came with the apartment. We just need to get living room furniture, a refrigerator (that one is pretty important), a microwave, washing machine, bedroom furniture..and the list goes on. I know God will provide...I'm already having to rely on Him more than ever and I LOVE that!

Yesterday a bunch of the new students went to the beach..it was a great time. People are from all over the world...Canada, Montreal, Norway, Holland, Africa, all of the U.S. and so many more places. Everyone is really great and I love all of the diversity...these people are going to be like my family for the next few years and I already know many of them will be close friends for the rest of my life. It's so weird to go from one season in my life where I was basically living on my own and then come into this community type living with more names than I can remember with friends from every inch of the globe!

Last night was my first night in the new apartment..it doesn't feel like home yet and I found myself feeling a tinge of homesickness but I'll get settled in soon enough. I really do miss all of my family and friends back home...and if yall are reading this just know that you're in my thoughts and prayers every single day.

For anyone that wants to send me a letter or anything my address is:

214/11 Potter Street

Waterloo NSW 2017

Love you all!

Anticipation.

In exactly 4 months from now I will be on a flight on my way to Sydney, Australia. I'll be going to Hillsong International Leadership College to major in worship music. People from all over the world are going and I could not be more excited for this amazing experience that lies ahead. The best way to describe what I'm feeling 90 percent of the time lately is anticipation. However, I know that I need to treasure the time I have at home for now because these 4 months are going to fly by. I'm going to Australia completely on my own without knowing a single person there. I think that's the beauty of it though, it's an adventure and it's just me out in the big world, with God of course. I love that. It gives me a chance to go to a place with a completely blank slate and people will simply see me for who I really am and who God transformed me to be, but they won't have to see who I used to be.

Interesting things about Sydney:
- It's the largest city in Australia.
- The warmest month out of the year is January, which is when I'll be arriving :)
- A resident of Sydney is known as a Sydneysider.
- Sydney has one of the lowest population densities and highest living standards in the world.

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." Isaiah 55:12-13