Is anyone even still interested in this?? (part 2)

My e-mail to everyone after I decided to come home... (the WHY)

I have been on the go almost every day since my last email, which is a good thing, but it makes it hard to sit down and type something longer than the 140 characters that twitter allows. All of you that have emailed me and written to me on facebook, please forgive me for not responding. All of your messages and encouragement have been so appreciated! I can't wait to tell you all about it when I see you in person!

For most of this stuff, you can read the details here: http://mcpeacock.blogspot.com

but I'll give you the highlights...

I spent a week in Queensland and it was crazy... good crazy. I think my favorite parts of the trip were Steve Irwin's zoo and watching the sunrise at Byron Bay on the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. The beaches in Queensland look like a tropical paradise, even though a lot of them are in big cities!

I also spent the day at Bondi Beach, saw fireworks over the Opera House, went to a footy game (rugby league), sat on the edge of a cliff (with my feet dangling over the side... yikes!), ate the biggest cheeseburger I've ever seen in my entire life, turned 25, hiked all around the Blue Mountains, and washed all of my clothes by hand (thanks to a broken washing machine). See? Told ya I'd been busy.

If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying a house at Bondi Beach. I loved it. My housemate Renee and I spent the day there, but I think I could spend every day there. The next day Renee and I went into the city for the afternoon and did a lot of shopping. While we were in one store, we heard fireworks and went running out into the street (we looked both ways) and down to the harbour and caught the grand finale of a fireworks show that was happening right beside the Sydney Opera House. Now tell me that isn't cool. The day after that was my birthday and my other housemate Corrine and I went up to Manly (one of the northern beaches in Sydney) and hiked all around the headlands. It had been raining, but stopped just in time for us to jump a few fences and walk right out the edge of the cliffs. Yes, I was careful. Yes, it was kind of scary... but it was SO COOL. To the left you could see the city, to the right there were more cliffs and the beaches, and straight in front was the ocean. At that moment, I felt very small and God felt very big.

Friday, Corrine and I drove up to the Blue Mountains and hiked all around an area called Katoomba. There were trails going all around the edge of the Jamison Valley and the views were amazing. On Saturday, I went with Renee and my friend Ang to see the Parramatta Eels play against the Sydney Roosters. The Eels are part of the NRL - the National Rugby League. Not to be confused with the Rugby Union, or the AFL - the Australian Football League. The Eels also won the Grand Final (the championship) last year and are SUPER popular around here. The park that their stadium is in also just happens to back up to my neighborhood. Anyway, the Eels were really good last year, but sometime between then and now something happened because they haven't been quite as good this season. When I say they haven't been "quite" as good, what I mean is that they are in 10th place out of 16 teams. The Roosters are in 3rd. That didn't stop Parra fans from being just as excited though! The game was sold out and everyone was loud and excited all the way up to the end... even though we lost 46 - 12. Also, the star player for the Eels, Jarryd Hayne, goes to Hillsong. I've seen him a bunch of times there so it was cool to actually know who at least one of the players was.

This week, Renee and I went to 2 concerts and they were both really good. The second one, Mumford & Sons, was one that we had both been really excited about for a long time. It was their last show in Australia for the rest of the year, and it sold out in 5 minutes! They were already one of my favorite bands, but seeing them live definitely made me like them even more. They played in a really old theater with seats in the balcony, but standing room only on the main level. Everyone was packed in so tightly, but I think that just made it even more fun.

I think that basically gets things caught up, in a nutshell, of the events here in Sydney. As far as the job hunt goes... that is another story. Here is the short version: Long, long ago (ok back in the spring) I applied for a transfer to a different school at home, just in case, I ended up only staying in Australia for the summer. I wasn't technically eligible to apply, but I did it anyway. When I got to Australia, I almost immediately started feeling like my "big plan" wasn't quite right and I wasn't going to / supposed to stay here long term. I really didn't like the thought of that, but couldn't shake it. Yes, I was homesick, but I have been homesick before and stuck it out and everything has been great. This was a different feeling. Everything in my head wanted to stay, but something in my heart was telling me it wasn't what I was supposed to do. I wrestled back and forth with what to do, and got nowhere. I prayed and prayed for clarity, and only got more confused. I prayed and prayed for a job, then heard that it can take up to a year to get into the school system here. Do you see where this is going? Lots of tears. Finally, I basically said to the Lord, "Ok look, I am seriously going to need your help here. My making a decision on my own just isn't going to happen. I know that no matter what I do, You have a plan and a purpose, but I REALLY need something obvious to help me out." Y'all I am not kidding, the next morning Hadley sent me a message and told me that I had gotten a transfer to another school at home. I asked for a job, and I got one. It might not be in the country I wanted to be in, but it was an answered prayer. I asked for something obvious, and I got it. I mean, just because it wasn't what my plan had been, I couldn't ignore it. I mean, you can't only choose to listen when God gives you answers that fit in with the plans you have made because then, what's the point of asking anyways? All that to say, as sad as I am to leave, I am coming home. I have made great friends, and I know that this isn't the last time I'll be in Australia, but I also know that it isn't where I am meant to stay right now...

So there ya go. Sorry for the repetitive stories in this post from the e-mail, but it's been long enough that I figured it wouldn't matter too much. :)

THE END