525,600 Minutes

525,600 minutes...actually, it has been 527,040 minutes since this year was a leap year. It has been exactly one year today since I left the United States for my greatest adventure yet...9 1/2 weeks in Australia! It is so crazy to think that it has been a year.

It's so interesting to look back on some of my thoughts from one year ago today http://songintheharvest.blogspot.com/2011/06/father-let-my-heart-be-after-you.html. I had no idea what I was in for. 

Part of me feels like there is no way it has been that long. It's pretty safe to say that I talk about Australia at least everyday. I continue to learn life lessons from that trip even a year later by reflecting on the things I did, people I met, and experiences I had. But even though my summer in Australia has become an intrinsic part of who I am, a lot has happened in the past year. Even though there was a time that I seriously considered not coming home from Australia, I am very glad I did. I have been shaped by a lot of relationships and experiences this year that I wouldn't give up for anything. But those experiences were heavily influenced by the learning and growing that happened in Australia. Looking back on the way that God has organized my life in the past year is just another piece of undeniable evidence that God has a perfect plan for everything.

So I guess I just want to say this. Traveling is probably the most important and beneficial thing a person can do in their life. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and dream big and do something that seems a little risky and/or crazy. And if God is whispering something in your ear...turn up the volume. And do it!

And thank you to everyone that made my experience in Newcastle an amazing one. I will be back. Someway somehow.

-Ray

An ode to Youth Street. 

(Yeah, I'm in there...wanna play Where's Rayanne?)