smooth sailing

So I've been meaning to give another update for a while.

first off, I'd like to point out that  :

When you are in the Will of God . . . it is just SO exciting to see how God miraculously provides for you. 

Similarily , 

it is when you have no way of making it happen that God gets the chance to glorify himself.

Bridget and I compared our intineries not too long ago . . . 

yep, you guessed it.

We are on the same flight into Arhus ( the town where we are to be studying and living)

SO, we are officially meeting in the boarding lounge of Copenhagen airport!

We had both arranged to arrive about a week before the semester started so that we could orientate ourselves around the town, set up our Danish bank account and obtain our CPR numbers ( a bit like a social security number).

( oh and by the way . . . DID YOU KNOW. Denmark offers all residents (including me!) FREE HEALTHCARE?!

pro's of living in a democratic nation ;)  ) 

Anyway . . . about the same time I found out Bridget and I were both arriving into Arhus on the 25th Jan, I caught up my church's pastor to tell her of all these good things.

she put me in contact with a lady named Ali who was in the congregation who used to live in Arhus!

So Ali and I caught up and I told her Bridget and I would be arriving early into Arhus.

And she sent an email out to her friends son's international college in a town about 1.5 hours out from Arhus to see whether anybody could provide us free accomodation while we caught trains into Arhus to set ourselves up.

Which got me thinking.

I didn't really want to be living 1.5 hours away from Arhus.

But if there were a body of believers in Arhus, surely I could just email all the pastors of the different churches and kindly (haha) ask them to put it out to the congregation:

"2 young female Australian students needing a bit of help"?

Bridget and I both really wanted to find christians and a church pretty much as soon as we could, so surely this would be the best way? 

So on Wednesday, 5th Dec 2012

 I wrote an email, prayed and waited. Trusted. If it was the right thing and of God, it would take just one person to respond to God's prompt to provide hospitality.

7pm Sunday night, 9th December 2012. 

I'm housesitting, nobody else was home and I was a bit restless as I was reading my book 'What happens when Muslims believe in Christ' - written by Brother Andrew. Amazing book, if you're interested.

Not sure what else I should be doing, 

I felt a prompting to go upstairs onto the balcony to just pray.

So I did,  . . . i looked out over the sunset and asked 'anything specific, God?'

'Accomodation.'

OH YES! 7pm Sunday night Perth time is 12pm  Sunday afternoon Arhus time!

The congregation will just be arriving home to their families and lunches, possibly discussing with their friends/partners whether they would like to put up 2 young australians. 

SO. 

I prayed what one prays when they're not sure what to pray:

"May your will be done, and may your purposes in this situation for all our lives be fulfilled." 

After a little while of this,

I felt settled.

I went downstairs, switched on 60 minutes 

(i LOVE that show)

and it was a dudd. :/ 

hate that.

the stories were : 

1) mining in West Australia, 2) some lady's cake stall in America and a band i'd never heard of. 

i did some dishes, sang some songs, twiddled my thumbs while waiting for my housemate to come home

. . . 

and then checked my emails. 

God is so good. 

At 7.30pm (my time) and 12.30pm (Arhus time)

a young student living in arhus had written me an email. 

he introduced himself and said that we were welcome to share the spare bedroom he had in his apartment 

whom he lived with his housemate in.

he said that if we weren't comfortable staying with boys, he could arrange girls from his church to take us in instead.

he also said he would arrange for some girls to pick us up from the airport since they may be out of town on the date we arrived.

he said that he would introduce us to many christians,

and help us find our church : either the large one with 800 attendees, 

or any of the smaller fellowships.

he said that he would love to help his fellow sisters in Christ.

i sent the email to Bridget before flicking her a text

"YES! check your emails :D"

Bridget and I conversed over email 

they are boys . .  genuine?

they seem genuine. not creepy.

they considered and respected our feelings of staying with boys

and understand wanting to find an approprriate church

we did a bit of facebook stalking . . . 

yeh, they should be ok.

 do they know we can't pay them?

hmmm

i replied to the kind-sounding young man

BUT ACCIDENTALLY SENT BRIDGET AND I'S CONVERSATION TOO.

I ALMOST DIED. 

but it's ok. 

either he didn't see it, or he didn't mind.

GIRLS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THESE THINGS!

hah. 

whoops.

not my proudest moment.

anyway. 

SO THAT'S IT!!!

how amazing is God. 

i have a christian girlfriend whom i'm arriving into arhus with

who, by the way, is dealing with the loss/grief of leaving her tight-knit family too! 

(ha, a bit dramatic, but i've actually repressed that detail of leaving my family! im sure when the time comes, God will amply supply me with his grace and comforts. but no need to access that just yet ;-) ) 

we converse over text/email with the same christian worldview.

WHICH IS RARE 

it still baffles me 

THAT TWO SCHOLARSHIP EXCHANGE STUDENTS WHO LIVE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COUNTRY COULD BE SO MATCHED

. . . 

we have christian friends waiting for us to take us in

oh and also said that they would take care of our food for the week.

then, when we move into the college acoomodation,

i will be in room 1, bridget will be in room 3. roomies! 

never had that joy before.

God is so miraculous in his provision.

i am literally blown away at how effortless this whole process has been.

i think : if he's brought us this far and we're not even there yet, what on EARTH could be waiting for us there?!

i feel like i'm going to grow in Him in SUCH an amazing way over there.

this won't just be an academic download,

this is a time of faith download.

sometimes it takes my breath away. 

on a side note,

i'm buying a professional canon camera for my trip!

stay tuned for non-iphone photos.

( literally, that was the reason i decided to buy a pro cam. so i don't use the excuse of instagram for taking snaps of my semester away.)

Isaiah 45.2-3
" I will go before you
and level the mountains;
 I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name."

smooth sailing