Moving to the Big Smoke

So it's happened. I've made the move and am now living in Sydney! I've done 1,500 km of travel, a total of about 12 hours of driving.

Travel Map

Mum and I did this trip over 3 days back in February. The first night was rough in the recliners on the Spirit of Tasmania, followed by a night in Holbrook before arriving at Moore College the following afternoon. On the way, it was also wonderful to briefly connect with some friends in Melbourne. I'm thankful Mum came with me to keep me company, share the driving and help set up my room.

Term 1 has finished, and now after nearly 3 months, a few people have asked me how I've found the transition to Sydney. Honestly, I don't think there has been much of a transition; it's felt more sudden, being picked up out of one place and plopped into another. Until now, college life has taken much of my attention, leaving me little time to grieve what I have left in the only city I have ever lived in. Part of that reason is my new living situation.

Hot Choclate Hangs

I now live in a house (John Chapman House) with about 50 other people, which has been a unique adjustment. I think the best way to describe it, is being on church camp every single day of the year. Everyone has their own room, but this is the only place to get away and relax unless you intentionally try to escape somewhere else.

Although life is less private, it has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know lots of people very quickly. This has been a particular blessing after what was a somewhat lonely season just before I left Tassie. Being around so many people, however, has been a challenge. I have found that my energy levels throughout each week do fluctuate quite a lot. I've needed to be wise to which nights I join in what's going on in the evenings.

It is a hoot, though, playing many hours of ping pong, movie nights on the roof, board games, and hot chocolate hangs. A while ago, we had a fancy dinner where we all got dressed up, and the cooks catered a 3-course meal for us. These are just some of the good times already had.

Chappo Fancy Dinner (1st year photo)

Attempting to play Catan in Greek

My studies are going well, and is a significant change from last year. Although I'm likely doing fewer hours of work/study, the nature of work is more draining. Rather than preparing material to teach, I'm now having content constantly given to me.

At the moment my favourite class is Greek! Classes are intentionally taught in a stress-free environment, which helps with language acquisition. Light-hearted jokes about our mistakes and frequent breaks are encouraged. I've been astonished at how much we can already read after 8 weeks. We are literally reading multi-page short stories!

On the other hand, Hebrew is a slog. Learning a new alephbet, lots of vocab, and little reading to help consolidate learning. Other units I'm studying are New Testament, Biblical Theology and Thinking Theologically.

It's such a blessing to have time to learn biblical languages that will hopefully enable me to read the Bible with more nuance next year as I continue to exegete and teach others.

St Barnabas Anglican

On my first Sunday here, I was warmly welcomed into the place where I serve, St Barnabas Anglican Church in Ingleburn. It's a church of about 150 people over three congregations, usually a 50-minute drive from where I live in Newtown. (So definitely getting through my podcast listening. In fact, I listen to The Branch sermon on my way back at night.)

It's located in a unique area predicted to grow by 30 thousand people over the next 15 years. So, the church is keen to proactively plant a new church within that time. It's exciting to be part of this new vision they are currently embarking on.

Some of my responsibilities will be starting up a Sunday afternoon discipleship group, occasional preaching, and leading services. Thankfully, the placement is restricted to Sundays, as the senior pastor, Joe, is keen to keep my commitments flexible to not detract me from my studies.

More recently, I have been on college mission with my chaplaincy group in Oran Park (South-West Sydney). Working alongside the New Life Anglican Church staff was a fantastic week. Like Ingleburn, this church is also located in a highly fast-growing area, and the church is struggling to keep up with the number of people moving into Oran Park. 13 years ago, the church started with 10 people surrounded by paddocks and has now grown to 600 people with growth of about 15% each year! New Life is in a prime position, at the top of the hill and directly opposite the aged care home and the K-12 college.

Much of the week was spent connecting with and encouraging church members, senior residents, and school kids. A few preached, some gave testimonies, and we taught scripture classes. We also spent time learning about the area of south-west Sydney and the need for more people to serve and minister to a growing population. It's all very exciting, with the potential for what God might do through the church in Oran Park within the next decade!

Check out the Moore College Missions Facebook page to see more of what happened at each of the missions during this week.

Mission Team at New Life Anglican Church

Acting in Gr7-8 Scripture

Visitng Retirement Village

Checking out the new Western Sydney Airport

All up, God has been good to me in providing a loving community that learns and encourages one another. Next week, I'll be heading on a short camping trip with a few from Chappo, which will be a good way to get out of the house.

Apologies, as this update has come a bit later than I intended. I hope to write again before I make a short trip to Tassie during the winter break in July.