Camping: Toowoomba

 

At the beginning of January we took a trip two hours from home to the lovely town of Toowoomba.  We have been wanting to visit Toowoomba ever since we moved to Queensland (two years ago!), and we are so glad we finally made it - it was such a lovely weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring a little of the town and surrounding areas.

Our first stop in Toowoomba was Picnic Point Lookout.

 View from Picnic Point Lookout of Tabletop Mountain (which we unfortunately didn't get time to visit)

We stayed in a Big4 for the first time and loved it!  The gardens were beautiful, the upkeep was faultless, and our tent site was perfect - on a lovely grassy spot with multiple garden beds of veggies and herbs that we could eat (!!!), 5 metres from the BBQ, 10 metres from the pool, 20 metres from the kitchen, and 20 metres from the bathroom... score!

On our full day, we began with a leisurely breakfast and then headed off to Crows Nest National Park for a hike with sunscreen, hats, water, snacks, and baby carrier in tow.

We had a late lunch at Nest Cafe in Cabarlah.  The food was amazing, and they have a sweet little corner for kids to play!

Our next stop was Black Forest Hill - apparently the "largest display of German grandfather and cuckoo clocks"... and it was beautiful!  No pictures of the magnificent grandfather clocks though, thanks to wrangling a toddler in this very expensive shop.

We did the tourist drive around Toowoomba and stopped at the Japanese Gardens.  WOW!!  I am so glad we took the extra 20 minutes to wander around the gardens - it was so peaceful and beautiful!  Perfect way to end our active day.

Our final day was spent packing up our campsite, visiting the Toowoomba Church of the Nazarene, and having lunch with some friends at Kingfishers Cafe & Restaurant (where the food and beverages were divine!).

Overall, a lovely couple of days away from the normal routine of life!  We would love to return to the area to explore more of Toowoomba and surrounds.

Our biggest love and thanks to Nana and Grampy - your Christmas gift became this holiday!  Thank you!

~Rachel

DTS Outreach Darwin [Katherine]: Week 4 Recap

Yung Bala Kamp team :-)

On our last week in the Northern Territory, we journeyed down south, past Katherine.

Pretty much the scenery for the entire 3 hour trip

Potty break at the Adelaide River Inn

We unpacked for a one-night-stay at a missionary's house

One inspiring, beautiful woman of God

Chatting with my amazing friend and leader...

...during this gorgeous sunset!! 

We joined a Yung Bala Kamp (Youth Camp), which was run by an SIM missionary, who ministers in the Aboriginal communities in the NT.

Our warm welcome to the outback

Unloading the troupie. We dumped everything here, then moved it all over to the shed, and then moved it all >>

>> here. To our campsite :-)

Story of our lives in the outback

Teaching

Discussion time

Bailing out water from the leak, created by someone driving into a tap! Oops! 

Craft-time

Outdoors activities (these guys are FAST!)

The Shield of Faith

Tug-o'-War - girls won!!!!!!

:-)

Learning about the Armour of God

I spent hours during this week reading and journalling. It was amazing!

Had lots of fun with this little kid!!

On the last night at camp, we had a wonderful worship and sharing time.
During that time, suddenly there was a scream from one of the tents.  The girl in the tent had a toothache, so she'd been sleeping while we were around the campfire. A bunch of the ladies, as well as a couple of the leaders from our group rushed into the tent. The girl said that she saw something; felt something in the tent with her.
Earlier in the camp, we as leaders felt a very strong presence of the enemy. We'd spent a good couple of hours in spiritual warfare at that time, and now it felt that the devil was back, in a very physical way.
The women in the tent prayed over the girl, casting out any demons and anything of the enemy. Those of us around the campfire were praying as well, and eventually there was release. Eventually the girl in the tent calmed down.
I started singing praises to the Lord, and everyone joined in. Just remembering that moment gives me goosebumps! I literally felt the Lord's presence there, in those moments. He was so very real; so very close. I was amazed at the breakthrough that we felt during that time of spiritual warfare.
God is so powerful!

Yung Bala Kamp

On the way back to Darwin

I got the joy of opening and closing gates =D

Team debrief on the way home

Overall this camp was an eye-opener. I've never really spent much time with Indigenous people, and I loved living with them and seeing how they do life.
Spending that week with our team was a great experience, too.

~Rachel