engaged!

just a little update to tell everyone that we are ENGAGED! details to come :)

big changes...

wow. it has been 4 months since I have written in my blog. I have been incredibly busy since my last post...

let's see if I can give a brief play-by-play of the last few months.

I spent a 6 weeks on our second outreach in Darwin, Australia and a mountain village called Seuterlan in Timor-Leste, formerly part of Indonesia. we did a lot of work with aboriginal communities and homeless ministries in Darwin, just serving wherever there was a need. in Seuterlan we built houses, taught English, Bible, and health care everyday, and spent all of our free time building relationships with the people there... but I will have to write a whole separate post on outreach because it was a life changing 6 weeks that I will NEVER forget. the Lord met me in incredible ways and taught me a lot about His love, myself, and others. it was the hardest, yet most beautiful 6 weeks of my life.

so after 6 weeks of being gone, we arrived back in Townsville on June 4th. we were all so excited to reunite with the rest of our DTS and hear about all of their experiences in Papua New Guinea and down the eastern coast of Australia. however, it was a crazy week that FLEW by because before we knew it, we graduated and said our goodbyes on June 10th as the last 5.5 months of our life came to a close. I have never cried so hard and so much in my entire life. that group of 36 of us formed incredible bonds, we became like family and we overcame some of the hardest things that we'll ever go through in our lives... all together. so when it was time for us to leave... it sucked. I left the day after graduation and it was the most emotional day I have ever seen... seriously we were just all crying as people left in groups of 5 or 6. it was just terribly heart wrenching, like family members being ripped away.

but, I boarded a plane and headed to Sydney for 11 days with my BOYFRIEND. yes. I, Malloree, met the love of my life in none other than Townsville, Australia. and no, he's not an Aussie. but an incredible man from Texas that loves the Lord, loves me, and loves college football. what more could I ask for? more on that later. so we left and headed to Sydney where we met some of our friends and had an incredible time between there and the Gold Coast. after saying all of our goodbyes, Jordan (my man) and I flew the looooong flight from Sydney to LA (after an 8 hour delay which made us miss our original flights) and parted ways there to head back to TX and GA.

Home was interesting at first. I wasn't used to driving anymore... especially on the right side of the road. I didn't know anything that was happening in the world as far as pop-culture... and my friends and families lives had all gone on without me while I was gone. so it was a little difficult to fit back into a world that I wasn't sure if I belonged in anymore. home didn't feel like home. by the end of DTS, all I wanted was my own room, my own bed, my own space... and when I finally had that, I would've killed to be back in that cramped, smelly flat with 17 other girls and 2 showers. I really struggled with missing my friends, especially my girl friends. and I also struggled trying to reconnect with the friends I had at home. I was different, home was different, and everything had somehow changed.

so, Jordan and I figured out real fast that we weren't going to be good at the long distance thing... we met on DTS obviously, but there is no dating. so for 5.5 months, we were friends... he was one of the 2 or 3 people that I got extremely close with right away. we prayed, really sought the Lord about what we should do... and it became really difficult to just be friends, but we made it, we did it right, and we're grateful because the foundation of this relationship is one formed by a deeply rooted friendship and lots of trusting in the Lord. SO, we did not start dating until we got to Sydney. we had waited long enough! haha. so once we got back into the swing of things, I left to go visit him in Texas for a week. I met his family and got to experience a little bit of Texas life. I instantly felt at home again. it was a wonderful week. so for the last 2 months since we've been home, we have been back and forth 4 or 5 times. long distance was just tough for us and we knew that we wanted to be in the same place. so after praying, consulting our families, and lots of thinking... we decided that I would move to Texas. Jordan has a big boy job and I was still weighing options of grad school and waiting tables. I got a job in Texas and as of 3 days ago... I am officially a Texan. I love life here and I am so happy to be close to my man and to start a new season!

in between all that, I also went on a wonderful family cruise with my cousin and our grandparents to the Caribbean. it was the most relaxing week of my life. we had an unbelievable time and got to do some really cool things in all the ports! I absolutely loved it.

I also celebrated my 23rd birthday in July. woo woo! with my wonderful friends at a wine shop where we ate and drank all kinds of wine and danced and just had a great time.

since January, my life has been all about change and refinement... I have been living out of a suitcase (yes, even at my parents houses!) and sometimes unsure about where money was going to come from for insurance and cell phone and yada yada... but I am finally entering into what I think is going to be a season of settling for awhile. I don't know how long it will last, but I am confident that I am where I'm going to be planted for a long time. I feel an overwhelming peace that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I'm not who I was 8 months ago (thank God). but it is wonderful to know that I can trust in who the Lord is, what His plan is for my life because I have SEEN Him do incredible things in my life and I have experienced His faithfulness, even when things look pretty shabby.

thank you to my friends and family who have done nothing but supported me these last several months, and even prior to that. I am forever grateful and my life is better because of ya'll.

hopefully I can post some pictures soon...

all my love from the deep heart of Texas

beautiful Marta. in east timor.

some of the most beautiful children in the world.

one of the houses in manatutu, a village in timor.

timor is a BEAUTIFUL place, even amidst the poverty.

some of our team gearing up for the 4 hour drive up the mountains to seuterlan!

holding a baby croc :)

My first meal in the US! Wendy's :) it was the best cheeseburger I'd had in so long.

My boyfriend, Jordan, and I in Bondi Beach, Sydney!

Me and Jo in Sydney at night. isn't it beautiful?

DTS Grad day: this was my side of flat 8! the right side :)

some of my best friends on DTS: Courtney, me, Lovisa, Hilary, & Liz

this is 2nd outreach in Darwin: Liz, me, and Fanny.

Liz and I got to paint for one of the homeless shelters

We also celebrated Fan's 21st Birthday! she is so special to us!

one of my favorite children in the world, Maxwell. he's from the Bagot Aboriginal Community. he is so precious!

2 beautiful girls from the Bagot Community as well!

back to civilization on June 3rd!

FRIENDS! I am heading

here: to East Timor

to love on these beautiful children:

and also here: Darwin

to love on aboriginal community! can't even wait!

I will be back to Townsville on June 3rd... with one week of DTS left, a week and a half of traveling with friends to Sydney and the Gold Coast and back to the beautiful state of Georgia on June 22nd!

LOVE YOU GUYS!

a little tuesday inspiration:

Just the little things:

sometimes you just need a sweet reminder of the little things that make ya happy... like:

back to the base!

so we've been back from outreach for almost a week.... I can't believe it! We had to say bye to one of our dearest friends and teammates, Cory Nikkel. He is captain of his college football team at home and had to go home early to start training and practices and what not... so that was really emotional for all of us and we got a small glimpse of what it will be like to say bye to our friends on DTS. Cory lives in Iowa, so I have no doubt that I'll see him again at some point... but we called ourselves, big sis and little bro... so I will certainly miss him around here. it's been strange to not have the whole team here. some of us went out to dinner with Cory his last night here and then stayed up 'til 3:30am with him and then woke up again at 5 to see him off. it is so wonderful to get to be back with everyone again and love on our friends and here everyone's stories!

people picnicking on the beach for Cory!

ordering pizza and coke :) of course.

cory, liz, me, and chello!

this week we are studying missions. it has been incredible thus far. basically missions in everyday life, not just being a "missionary" and having a "missionary" lifestyle, but living a life of missions whether it's in your hometown, or God calls you somewhere else, doing frontier mission work, and also using your gifts and talents and seeing what the Bible says about those things as well. it's been pretty fascinating and has also really challenged the way I think. I don't always agree with everything I hear on DTS necessarily, and so I really like this week because it's all about how you look at it. so I'm really looking forward to everything coming up. our last day of lectures is tomorrow and next week we have spiritual warfare! so I'll be anxious to update everyone.

we leave for our 2nd outreach next Saturday! I cannot believe it. I'll keep everyone posted sometime this week on details! thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

Got some more cute pictures from outreach :)

the most precious little princess, Brianna. LOVED playing with and loving on her.

hard to see, but i'm speaking a little after school program!

loved this little muffin, Josephine. she would hang all over me. it was so cute!

some of my sweet girls at Home Hill Primary

FIRST OUTREACH!

So, I know it's been a long time since I've written in my blog... BUT, I wrote a post the other day, a really great, detailed one with pictures and lots of fun things... and about a month ago, my macbook battery quit working and so the only time my computer works is if it's plugged into the wall (because there is no battery in it) and it got kicked on accident and came unplugged and the whole thing got wiped out.... UGH. So, here is my attempt at the same blog post. I know I'll be leaving major details out on accident, but I'm going to try and keep you updated on everything that's been happening!

Right now, we are in the last week of our first outreach. I am with a team of 11 others (9 other students and 2 leaders) and we have been traveling a little further south than Townsville. The first week and a half we were in a small town called Ayr. It was PRECIOUS. It reminded me of the town I grew up in. The people were the kindest, most hospitable people I have ever met in my life. They gave a new meaning to our american term, "southern hospitality." They fed us multiple times, invited us into their homes for dinner and to watch movies, and really took an avid interest in getting to know us individually and as a team. Most of what we did in Ayr was help out in the schools. We taught their RE (religious education classes), did games, skits, songs, teachings for their after school programs, hung out with the kids on their lunch breaks... and even got to go into some of the high schools and be a part of their biology, drama, and p.e. classes! it was SO much fun. I also got the opportunity to speak and share my story and a little teaching with a high school girl's self esteem group. As soon as Maddie and Chelsea (my leaders) brought it up, I KNEW I had to speak at it. So I prayed into it and we all did as a team and everyone felt that I should be speaking. So that was pretty cool. It was INCREDIBLE. I have never really told my story like that... I've given my testimony once to my covenant group, but when it's your good friends, they already know a lot about you as it is, so it was a smidge different and took a completely different spin. did I mention this group was full of non-Christians? there wasn't a single believer there. so that made me nervous because my whole story is me being a complete DISASTER and how the Lord has relentlessly chased after me my whole life... even when I didn't believe in Him and even when I was completely oblivious.

So... I shared my story and since it was a self esteem group, really tried to emphasize the "identity" aspect of it all. Which is something I still really struggle with. To me, that's so interesting because as much as I still really struggle with it, the Lord has given me a lot of authority in that area and also a lot of wisdom and too, given me a strong passion for helping young women realize who they are in Christ. I've had visions and had people tell me about things they've heard and seen from the Lord about me speaking to young women, the authority I have with young women, and that I'd be a woman of influence... and so when I was speaking, the Lord was revealing to me the same things. It was just unreal. I started to cry at the end of my story because I think for the first time I truly realized how GOOD the Lord has been in my life and how He really has brought me from one end to another... and how He continually chooses me and wants to provide and love and care for me. and then I started to cry because I so desperately wanted these girls to GET IT. to know who they are in Christ. to know that what others say about them is not who they are. to know that they are chosen and dearly loved... that Jesus LIKES them and desires their affection and their attention. He wants to be loved by them! they are made with purpose and just the way they are because that's exactly the way God wanted them to be! it sounds so simple, but it's the hardest thing to grasp... especially as a woman. but I was told it went well, which I couldn't tell you, because I don't really remember much of what I said. it was truly all God and I am so grateful that He chose me for that opportunity. I can't wait for another chance to share and minister to young girls. I really feel like that's something I'm supposed to be doing in ministry.

so yea, Ayr was incredible. we had a lot of fun... we stayed in a little church and we were busy bees! then after a week and a half, we came to Airlie Beach, which is where we are now. It was a lot different from Ayr. Airlie Beach is part of the Whitsundays, which is a beautiful group of islands with amazing beaches... it's very touristy and full of backpackers from all over the world. There's nothing but bars and shops here and lots of young people. Immediately when we arrived I felt this heaviness and like I was being attacked and I got really homesick. So when we got to where we were staying (a beautiful house- the YWAM Whitsunday base- looks straight out of Jurassic Park, literally in the rainforest), I went outside, prayed about my frustrations, and then came back in and took a nap. when I woke up... literally there were 8 Americans in the house, some with thick southern accents. I thought I was dreaming. NOPE. A team from the World Race was staying at the base as well and they were all from southern states: Tennessee, Alabama, the Carolinas, Texas, etc... one girl's mom went to Samford (where I went to school) and another girl was a ZETA! (my sorority)... no lie, it was so sweet. I felt like God was giving me a little piece of home to answer my prayers and to show me some love! also- the girl from Alabama's accent sounded just like my best friend, Carly's! which they grew up about 45 min away from each other, so that makes sense. it was so precious! God has continued to do that for me a couple times whilst on outreach. there was a book that I was really wanting to get... someone had prayed for me on the base about restoring my relationship with God as a Father (which is what I'm working on with Him now), and there's a book called "He Loves Me." which is all about living in freedom and love with God as a Father and what not. one of the World Race girls put it in the free pile at the base and I now have it! it's mine! yippee! and I couldn't find it anywhere. so that was pretty cool... an answered prayer.

so since being in Airlie Beach, we have done a lot of backpacking evangelism. Basically, just meeting people and hanging out and trying to build relationships. It was going okay, it's not the most natural and comfortable thing in the world... but Liz and I met some really cool people and some other team members have had amazing stories. We also did a prayer walk around the city and just prayed for the people that come in and out of here and all the places on the main strip. and yesterday we did a free bbq on the beach for people and it was just AMAZING. we had so many people come! and our thought was that they'd probably just come and eat and then take it and go... but they stayed to hang out with us! we bought food for 75 people and we had one hot dog left at the end :) so we were pleased and the people kept saying how blessed they were... they totally didn't understand why we would do something nice for FREE without expecting something in return. so it was cool... I truly think it spoke more about who God is than anything else we've ever done. our friend Fanny ended up praying with another french girl and the girl was just so moved. no one had ever prayed for her or with her before. that baffled my mind... it was just a cool day.

so today we have the day off. I'm sitting in a cafe' with Liz and Katie. the rest of the team is out on a boat tour of the Whitsundays. we decided to pass because of money and sea sickness! haha. Katie and I threw up the whole time on our trip to the Great Barrier Reef about a month ago, so we decided not to attempt to do that again... so the 3 of us are having a nice relaxing day of coffee, lunch, pedicures, and beach time. it'll be a nice, refreshing day.

all in all- I have learned a lot on outreach... a lot about spiritual warfare, working as a team, my own personal relationship with God, learning how to step down and not always lead... when to be a chief and when to be an indian, and how to truly love (not just tolerate) others. My attitude the last week since being in Airlie has been pretty bad... just really negative and I've been under a lot of spiritual attack, over my mind, my heart, and even my body! it's been crazy.... but as I've really prayed, sought out God, and really tried to be intentional with my time and my authority, I've been able to overcome it, but still struggle a bit. but God's good and we're working it out. my heart is feeling a little foggy, but it's definitely better than it was. we leave here on Friday and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the minutes. I'm definitely ready to be reunited with my friends on the base and to prepare over the next 2 weeks for our final outreach... 2 weeks in Darwin and 4 weeks in East Timor (formally Indonesia). if I thought this was tough, those are going to be even moreso.

anyhoo... I'm good and safe... God is good. Australia is good (full of rain and bugs though), and I am missing home more than I ever thought I would. but I'm pushing through!

BE BLESSED. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. LOVE YOU! thank you for your prayers!!!

the internet is too slow here to post pictures, so that will have to wait until we get back to the base!

LOVE YOU.

AYR. our 1st stop.

at the Burdekin School for Harmony Day!

Team Timor :)

painting hands for harmony day!

sweet girls at Home Hill Primary after school program! Circus Day!

celebrate harmony day at the Burdekin School

of course I chose pink, hehe.

chelsea, maddie, liz, and me... our day off! coffee date :)

one of my favorite things about australia :)

katie, me, fanny, and liz... roomies!

Whitsundays/Airlie Beach!

Liz, Katie, & Me on our girls day off!

another of Whitsundays/Airlie... reminds me of L.A.

more.. beautiful sailboats!

and the beach on a beautiful day :)

these are actual photos taken by people on our team of some of the islands! i wasn't there, but i got them from maddie! isn't it lovely?

and of course... the best thing to ever come out of switzerland, my darling friend, fanny.

that's all i got for now. update again soon.