What's the Catch

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

Last Thursday my team decided to serve the students of University of New South Wales since it is their finals week. Our idea was to buy coffee and tea and hand it out for free in front of the Library. We went to buy the goods at the store and came across a protest on the way. It was such a great way to start a conversation with an Irish lady who was observing. I started telling her why I was here. She asked me if I was a born again Christian. She was Catholic and said that all that matters is doing good. I was able to tell her about how the Love of Christ is my motivation in "doing good." I praise God for an opportunity to talk to a random stranger on the streets about Christ. Anyway, we got the coffee and headed to UNSW. It was so awkward at first because no one wanted anything to do with us. We were yelling "free coffee, free tea." Yet no one came by for a while. I started getting more bold, yelling, "get your caffeine boost for exams." I even joked about giving away the whole coffee pot. :) We later found out that they all thought there was a "catch" to it. The students either thought that we were going to ask them to sign something or demand some charity donation. Yet after we told them that we were just some Christian students from the States who wanted to serve them as they studied, we got quite a great response. I talked with one girl about her Greek Orthodox beliefs and had many other convos with other students. My team was so energized and encouraged by the end of the quest. It made me realize how much we give with selfish motives. We say we're doing a great thing, but really expecting something in return. It was so great to just love on the students in such a simple way without a catch. We hope to be able to do this again sometime soon, so be praying for it.
That night all of the girls on my team went to our friend Cassie's (from church) house. She has been such a blessing to us. She is an American missionary who has been in China for quite a while teaching English. Right now she's getting her PhD at Sydney Uni. We love hearing her stories and it was such a great time finding out how God is using her.
Yesterday I was able to experience the Blue Mountains. It really did take my breath away. My team went on a 4 hour hike up and down the trails. Our God is so majestic and creative. At one point we reached a refreshing stream in which some of the boys drank out of. It was a reminder that Jesus is going to satisfy our every need. He restores our soul. I also was able to experience the wild life of Australia by going to the petting zoo today. God definitely has a sense of humor. Some of those birds were so crazy looking. But my friends and I were talking about how even though they look so strange, they were given each feature by God to help them survive. They were so intricately made. How much more does the Lord care about us! I'm so blown away by creation. It's so easy to forget about it, especially living in a big city for such a while. I pray that I never forget.
One of my teammates has been spending time with a student here and the student emailed him today to ask how to become a Christian. It's really shown me the greatness of spending time with others and asking them questions. I pray that the Lord continues to open the doors in conversations with students and anyone we come in contact with in the city.