Hey guys!! I have been using the WordPress blogging engine for a while now under the crippled hosting that WordPress.com offers. Well, since I am already paying for hosting of my own webpage I thought I might as well start hosting the blog on that site and then be able to get ALL the features that WordPress offers.

So… My Blog is moving!!!  But no worries, you shouldn’t be able to see any huge changes (besides new cool additions). Just keep using Power3k.com as the web address and you won’t have to worry about anything.

So, my blog is officially at www.power3k.com now instead of this site. Just update your links and things will go on as normal! Thanks!

-Ryan

Simple Love.

I think I am going to start uploading music to my blogs. Jill Schaeffer got me thinking about the idea and I like it! WordPress has a cool MP3 plugin so I will be trying it out here pretty soon. Brendan Wilson (guy I’m staying with right now) has awesome taste in music and has been opening up my eyes to some neat bands! I promise to share!

This song sounds happy and deep at the same time. Perfect for this picture!

Damiak – Step Behind the Yellow Line

Oh, also got some great shots of a day trip to Bathurst with the year 7/8 Cricket team! Can’t wait to post them!

SLC Punk… that movie has the most amazing reactions. I remember the first time I watched, I than dyed my hair pink!

So I watch it here with a couple of the guys. After its done we talk for a few minutes then jump into my car. Destination: Sydney. Time: 12:15am. Why: Because we can.

Why were we doing that? Just to go… to be able to talk and feel united in something for 4-5 hours. It was beautiful… it was relaxing and freeing as well. We just drove the 2 hours down, stopped at a beach and prayed for each other, walked around talking for a bit, then turned around and drove home.

The thing was, it wasn’t the destination… it was 100% the journey together. We talked and shared so much in that car. It was just as powerful as traditional therapy… but without the hassle. It was just 5 guys taking the time to drive and let God (and the road) take us wherever we needed to go. Answers presented themselves tonight and will continue to be found as we look back to the midnight run. So much fun.

“Alex the D+M car” has lived up to its name every time now!

So returning, its 5:45. I am now updating the blog because I haven’t for a while.

My recommendation if your confused: Grab a couple close friends and DRIVE. Doesn’t matter where, just do it.

Oh.. and go somewhere beautiful too!

Just found a new program called Live Writer that should make it a lot easier to post things. It uploads the pictures and everything automatically so it simplifies a LOT.

Let me fill you in real quick on what is going on in my life right now. I am planning out and preparing for a Bible study I am leading on the subject of Prayer. That is Friday night. Saturday is a big Youth Rally in Newcastle. Saturday night we’re having a Scavenger Hunt that I have to finish planning. Then next week I have 2 school trips and I am leading out in Sabbath school (A 4 week study of Philippians). Then I have to prepare for a school StormCo trip (mission trip) to Vanuatu from the 19th to the 27th. The 28th I’m leading out a Christian dating seminar and lastly on the 5th of Dec I am finishing up the Philippians study. Also, I guess I am preparing most of the drama for a christmas program (just found out about that) on the 19th or Dec. Go ahead and throw a LAN party in on the 5th (Dec), a camping trip on the 12th – 14th (Dec), and 3 birthday parties inbetween.

So, lots to do. Good thing its all fun stuff. I love not having to worry about homework and being able to concentrate on planning fun. GREAT STUFF!

EDIT: (9 Nov) Scav hunt was amazing!! Bible study awesome as well! Looking forward to Philippians!

Alright, so Australia wins again!

This weekend I was given the opportunity to go on a “canyoning” trip with the Charlestown Pathfinders. I had no idea what Canyoning was but whatever the Charlestown Pathfinders do is usually pretty cool. I was told to bring a wet-suit, and some warm clothing. We jumped in a bus and took for for the Blue Mountains, a set of canyons only slightly smaller than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

I enjoyed the mountains but was eager to find out what this entire Canyoning was all about. I found out we would be doing some repelling (or Abseiling as they call it over here) so I was stoked about that. We started out hiking for a while into the bush and it was pretty cool.

I grabbed a quick picture of the group before we got too far into the trip. From that point on things just started getting cooler and cooler. I  found that Australians don’t like using trails very much, but would rather create their own or use a stream. We ended up using the stream method.

 The group gearing up to hike down the “trail” (stream).

So it all started out in good fun and quickly got a bit more extreme. The water was about 6 degrees Celsius or 42 degrees Fahrenheit so you can imagine it was a bit cold. We continued on anyway pushing our way through the water!

That’s the trail behind Sheldon. She didn’t realize the water
was as deep as it ended up being.

From that point on I became lost in all the wonder. The Canyon got deeper and deeper. Soon the rock walls were on either side with only the stream running through the middle. The picture at the very top was a common sight! There we a couple places were we had to either climb down small waterfalls or just jump them into bigger pools.  

I really felt like I was in some sort of wonderland… it was just all too cool! It was as if Tinkerbelle really could live in that place!

Soon we came to the end of the canyon and we got to repel out. It was right near the opening of a waterfall so it felt pretty darn cool… just kind of jumping off a cliff next to rushing water. WOW!

Go ahead and check out all the pictures on my Picasa Collection… There are many that almost seem unreal… really just something that blew me away completely. The Australians would keep asking me what I thought and every time I found myself at a loss for words good enough to describe it. I love this place so much…. if only you guys could all see this with me!!

Take care everyone at home! Love you all!

Oh and I found some REALLY neat little things I wanted to share as well. Check this stuff out!

Now I just found another verse that clarifys or complicates the matter; all depends on what you read in the lines.

Check it…

Colossians 2:20-23
20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

wow… kinda a kick in the pants. more to think about!~

So what is Big Camp? Camp Meeting….. Australian style. Now usually this doesn’t mean that a whole lot is different. Maybe the people are a bit more relaxed and the atmosphere is more chill…. probably nothing more.

WRONG.

It beats the socks off of Soquel Camp Meeting and every other Camp Meeting I have ever been to! These people really take their week long spiritual enrichment serious! First thing, EVERYONE camps there. Usually around 4000-5000 people attend and most stay in these large tents with bunks and as many amenities as can be brought in via car, truck, or ever space ship.

Average Tent

Our Tent with 2 Couches and a BBQ

We decided that it was absolutely necessary for us to eat only delicious BBQ every night so we brought an entire gas grill. And for the sake of comfort we needed to couches to make sure that that people that would hang out at our tent would be comfy. We had the dream pad!

The tents are bigger then Soquel and more people stay around for the entire period. A tradition is for everyone to head to the beach for an afternoon of fun EVERYDAY. Here are some of the pictures we shot while engaging in some of this tradition.

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Of course the main reason to go to something like Big Camp is of course the meetings. I was expecting something fun and light but I was massively mistaken. Boy do those Aussies know how to worship! The praise band was off the hook! I would have had no problem paying to see them in concert! The songs were fantastic (all the songs are different from the ones we sing in the US) and the atmosphere was completely amazing. The music would have been the highlight for the entire camp for me if it wasn’t for a guy named Matthew Gamble.

Matt is a completely crazy ADHD speaker that goes off his rocker constantly. He’s pretty much unable to keep on topic for more then 5 minutes and his talks are regularly interrupted by music references (rap no less) or lewd jokes. That and the guys seems to hate a lot of the old Seventh Day Adventist practices and beliefs. He’s all for breaking the Sabbath (he had constant references to swimming on the Sabbath), disrespecting churches (inappropriate dress and jewelry), and unchristian behavior (specifically dancing). He is the type of guy that could go into a church and have the building emptied before he gets halfway through his talk (if he can even stay on topic long enough). I can imagine many of my peers back at school writing him off as a left-wing nut. Someone that is completely ludicrous and without proper sense of religion.  After hearing him speak all week I only had one thing to say.

THANK GOD FOR MATT GAMBLE!

All week he spoke simply about Jesus. He started in Genesis and ended in Revelation. It was during that 10 day journey that I died a being a born and bred Seventh Day Adventist  and was resurrected a Christ follower. Now I’m not saying I’m not SDA anymore…. that’s not what I mean at all. What I am meaning is that I am now a follower of Jesus in action, teaching, and spirit rather then just a keeper of SDA doctrine. Matt slowly went through ALL of my old ingrained beliefs of religion and salvation and blew them to bits while simply teaching Jesus. What does my music taste, my Sabbath afternoon activities, and my dress have to do with any of my salvation or relationship with Jesus? Why do we require ties (a pagan phallic symbol) at Church when Jesus, who was homeless, went to synagogue dressed in his everyday clothes? Why is it taboo to wade in water above my knees on the Sabbath when God created the water for us to enjoy everyday? Why are drums not allowed in the church why Psalms 150 says to praise God loudly with the clashing cymbal?  Why is it OK for us to tell people that they aren’t accepted by God while wearing necklaces and jewelry yet expect them to believe us when we say God loves them just as they are? WHAT IS GOING ON?

Though it might not have been his goal during his nightly talks, Matt took me through the Bible and through Jesus’s ministry on a mission to separate religious doctrine with  true Godly spirituality. About salvation through faith, not through becoming a better “Christian”. About Jesus’s love that accepts people as the way they are, not how much religious potential they have. About how I can proudly put my hand up and declare that I am saved now matter what I do or how I act. wow……….WOOOW!! Talk about a total revelation! That are huge things…. HUGE THINGS!!!! Through discussion and prayer I have come to realize that it is only my mission in life to love as Jesus did, learn about Him and His methods, and help people through their struggles whether spiritual, physical, or ideological. I am not here on this earth to convert people, that is the Holy Spirits job. I am here to be God’s hands or feet; His earthly instrument that will point back up to Him. I am not allowed to judge other human beings. I am not allowed to say I have all the answers. I am not allowed to tell people how they should or shouldn’t be. These are not things that I was created to do. I was created to have a relationship with God and with my fellow humans. I was created to love, enjoy life, and rest. Why do I fill my life with such overly complicating things?

Halfway through the meetings Matt made a call for churched people, but not baptized people, to come forward and be baptized. Two Charlie kids went up while the rest of us yelled and cheered! Then 2 more kids were baptized during the week anyway.

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Big things were happening during the meetings. Some nights we would be jumping during the music and others we were dancing the background. The Spirit could be felt heavily. God was there….. and He was AWESOME! Is Awesome… forever awesome.

All of the days were relaxed…. usually afternoons were spent at the beach or on the lounges back at the tent. A ton of the kids got into Rubik Cubing and it was named the official sport of Big Camp 2009

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The last day (Sabbath) we woke up and watched the Sun rise over the ocean! It was so incredibly beautiful and wonderful to just bask in God’s creation. When we first arrived at the water there were whales not more then 500 meters away coming up to breathe. An entire pod was there surfacing and diving again. There wasn’t enough light for me to take pictures so I am peeved about that. Days earlier we had seen them full on jumping out of the water, but I didn’t have the camera!! Agh! When the sun finally came up it found a good amount of groggy teens chilling and worshiping God on a grassy hill. Absolutely wow!

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So yes….. I would have to say that Big Camp pulled a Dark Knight and lived up to it’s crazy amount of hype. Definitely one of the most life changing weeks I have ever had. The best part was that I got to share it with so many of the kids here. These guys are so awesome. They put up with my crazy games (we had an impromptu game of Pictionary using only stuff we could draw in the sand, so much fun!), my elegant  foot-in-mouth syndrome, and my American ways. That and in all that they can still somehow see a man of God deep in there.

Man, I LOVE YOU CHARLESTOWN CHURCH!

So there it is… the story of my Big Camp experience. If you want to see ALL the pictures from the trip check out my Picasa WebAlbum of the trip.

Pictures of Big Camp Australia

I love you all reading this! I will be posting some video blogs here pretty soon.  I took a couple quick videos while I was away and I just now have to get them converted and ready to edit up / post up. I miss you all….. and I can’t wait to share with you more on what is happening at this Church. God is working strongly here…. there is a revival coming.

This is what I saw everyday for the last 1 1/2 weeks.

Ok… well I say that now since I am 21 and have been given the chance to live out many of my childhood dreams again. Yes, the Zoo is a wonderful and magical place. All the different animals and fun creatures to look at!!

Nicarlia, Konrad, and I

I had the chance to head down with Nicarlia, Brendon, and Konrad; 3 companions I would not have traded for anything. We saw the Monkeys, the Elephants, the Lions, the Seals, the Snakes, and the Koalas! How wonderful it is to be 21 and able to act like a child again. We ended up finding a beautiful tree that begged to be climbed. So yes, in the Zoon we climbed a tree. I’m pretty sure it was against the rules but it was still great!

Great Panorama Shot!

We headed into Sydney for dinner (called Tea here) and got lost in the City… I forgot how wonderful it was to be lost with good friends in a big city. We searched for food and eventually found a great little Korean place to stop at.  After that we kept walking into some shopping areas… we got a bit tired so we stopped for coffee and hot chocolate. I got the MOST wonderful hot chocolate. You got to mix the actual cocoa and milk together…. PERFECT!!

After that we missed our ferry back to the Zoo parking lot. No worries… a cheap bus fare and we were on our way. AWESOME DAY!!! Loved it so much… good company and a feeling of freedom that is always welcome! It’s warming up here so things are getting really wonderful. I hope everyone at home is great!

btw, did I mention that our ferry went RIGHT PAST the Opera house?

Love you all!!