Hey guys!
Sorry for the lack of updates in Detroit. I'm back in Australia, done with DTS, and I'm now travelling up the coast!
Let's start with the last 6 weeks in Detroit that I didn't update about. I honestly don't even know what to say, it was incredible! The people opened up to us tremendously and we saw such amazing transformations in everybody. The street we were living on changed so much by the end and everybody knew who we were. Spiritually, you could feel that something had lifted from the neighbourhood and people were starting to see their worth. We had people shouting at us from half a block away, and our first thoughts were that we did something wrong, or they were trying to sell us something. To our amazement though, they would ask if we were fixing up the houses that day so they could help us or if we were playing basketball that night so they could play with us.
We took a weekend trip up to Canada because our leader and his family lived in Kitchener, Ontario. We were blessed enough to go to Niagara Falls, but we spent most of the other time relaxing, watching hockey and playing board games. We made sure to get Timmies a few times, just to hold our fix until we get home. Throughout the rest of our time there, we expanded our ministries quite a bit. We realized that basketball was one of our biggest ministries and really invested our time and hearts into the people that played with us. We got involved in the local recenter, helping with special needs people, and participated in an event called "Love Detroit". For 40 days and 40 nights they had 24 hour worship and prayer and then sent out teams to evangelize in certain areas. We got sent out to one of the biggest muslim influenced areas, and got to know the people there and learn more about their culture. Overall it was an amazing experience and I'm really glad we got to get involved with it.
The team I went with was absolutely amazing. They picked me up when I was down and spoke life into me when I needed it. They all taught me so much about myself, others and God. They were some of the coolest people I have ever met and I was given the opportunity to call them family for 10 weeks. They will always have a spot in my heart and the influence they have had in my life has been immense.
We got back to Newcastle on the 11th and struggle with jet lag, but we made it through. We had a week of debrief, where we had classes on how it would be when we get back home and what to expect. Then we had our graduation on Thursday the 15th. On the Saturday, we were given our certificates and just like that, DTS was over. I said some of the hardest goodbyes, not knowing if I'd ever see these people again. These past 6 months have just flown by and I can't believe that everything is over just like that. Luckily, I've been given the opportunity to travel for 6 weeks with one of my friends named, Max, and 6 other of my friends will be with us for 2 of them. Once they leave, we'll have a few friends come by and travel with us for a few days here and there, but Max and I both feel like God just wants us to have fun and enjoy ourselves for these six weeks. Relax, no stress and see where God takes us.
Thank you so much for following along with where these past 6 months have taken me. I am greatly appreciative to everyone who supported me financially and through prayers. I'm starting to get ready to go home, but I will never forget the memories and friends that I made here in Australia. See you all soon!