Touch Down

Good morning!

Well, you will be glad to know that, after much travelling, I'm here and all is well.

I arrived in Townsville a few hours ago (it was 8am local time) and since then have been given a tour of the local area, settled into my new house and been given a tour of the YWAM base. It was all a bit exciting, and at last I feel like I'm here and this is really happening - and i cannot wait.

Ok so now i'll try and answer the questions i imagine you'd be asking...

Flights

After the little episode at London Heathrow involving the snow, everything ran pretty smoothly! The planes were all on time, and navigating the airports and making my way to the transfers etc wasn't a problem. The food was probably the best i've ever seen on a plane - I'm definitely a fan of Emirates Cuisine.
Once i arrived in Brisbane, i met up with my friend Maddie (another YWAM DTS'er) and from there we caught a Taxi into the Brisbane Domestic airport to catch our final flight into Townsville.
The only problem with the flying concerned my ears! Doing four ascents and descents in less than a couple of days really played with the fluid in my ears, and even now i'm struggling to hear out of my left ear.. and im almost falling off my seat my balance is so bad! so yeah, a prayer point there.

Accommodation

Im sharing a house with about 10 other guys, some staff, some DTSers. I'm in a large room with 7 others, and the house has its own bathroom facilites/lounge/kitchen, the normal. We're a 5 minute walk from the base and i can't complain at all about it really! I'll admit i was thrown a little by the Gecko that greeted me on the bedroom wall..but I'm sure me and him will manage to work something out.

Weather

It's the rainy season, we're due a lot of rain over the next few months. But for example, today the sun is shining, its incredibly hot and the humidity is only just bearable. Love it.

The Base

The YWAM base is where everything happens. From eating, to relaxing, lectures, worship, organising, computing (yes, i have almost permenant web access here, which is great) and more. the facilities are great and i'm looking forward to using them!

The Area

Beautiful. Lots of beaches, hills, wide open roads, palm tress, basketball and volleyball courts.. i think i might just be able to have some fun here.

The People

I havent had the pleasure of meeting everyone yet - but those i have met so far have been very welcoming, encouraging and exciting. I was able to meet up with my good friend james who is currently here on a DTS which started in October. It was good to see him and it helped me relax a little!

Finally, how am i feeling about it all? well, its currently 11.30 am here - but my body clock is set to english time which is about 1.30 am. so im tired beyond belief and im also pretty tired emotionally. The newness of everything, mixed with missing friends and family (quite a lot) means that my emotions are quite mixed. However, the more i think about it, the more i know that as soon as i've had a good sleep and get into routine here - God is really gonna start blowing my mind and im going to have the time of my life. So bring it on.

Thank you again for your prayers and support, God bless,

Matt.


Prayer points:

Settling in/Recovery/Friendships/Homesickness/Closeness to God.