Travelspiration: Grace in Australia

 I'm so excited about my first Travelspiration post with one of my best friends Grace, who is currently living in Perth Australia! She went out there to be a Nanny in September 2011 and is now staying for another year on a youth work course at her church. It's been so wonderful to see this dream of hers grow from something that seemed impossible to something that is her everyday reality. I'm so proud of the risks she has taken and the way she has created a new life for herself thousands of miles away from home.

What made you decide to go and live abroad?

I was at a sleepover with my close friends and I saw an advert saying ‘Childcare in Australia’ in a magazine when I was 17 yrs old. At the time, I was doing an apprentaship for a Nursery and training to be a Nursery nurse. I thought that would be an awesome thing to do and I had always wanted to go to Australia. A couple of years down the track, when I was 19, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I kept dreaming of where I could go and what I could do, so I decided to do something about it.

What did you hope to achieve?

1.     The first and foremost thing I wanted to do as soon as I got here was to find a church that I could part of. It’s such a great way to feel part of a community and make friends.

2.     To travel around Australia to Sydney, Gold Coast and see some of the local sights in Perth.

3.     To learn how to Surf.

4.     To go skiing in New Zealand.

5.     To see a Kangaroo, Koala, Possum, Wallaby etc.

6.     To make heaps of new friends

7.     To get a slight Australian accent

8.     To go to Hillsong Church in Sydney and the Hillsong Conference.

9.     To have an Aussie BBQ on the beach on Christmas day.

1.  To grow in my relationship with God and not give up on my dream even when it got hard, scary and overwhelming.

What were you scared about?

·       Spiders

·       The flight over- missing my connection flight from Dubai to Perth

·       Whether I would get on well with/ like  my Host family

·       Making new friends from scratch.

How did you go about organising work/etc?

Sydney seemed the obvious choice of location and as I started researching into possible jobs, churches, accommodation, nothing was opening up and it seemed overwhelming. Then, I realised that I hadn’t been praying or including God in my journey. As I started to ask God to help direct me, I was reunited with an old neighbour who lives in Perth, Western Australia. His family were home visiting family for Christmas. Naturally, I began sharing my interest in Australia and the fact I wanted to come over and work for a year as a Nanny or Au-pair. They mentioned that they had a friend who hired Au-pairs and they were currently looking for a new one to look after there kids. God is so good right?! Living in Perth hadn’t even crossed my mind until now. We exchanged contact details and set up when I would fly out and move in with them.

How has living abroad changed you?

·       It’s forced me to grow up and become more independent.

·       Made me rely and trust fully in God as I’m constantly so out of my comfort zone and can’t rely on myself or my family.

·       It’s helped me to make and cultivate friendships.

·       I’ve had to mature more and become more confidant.

·       It’s deepened my relationship with God. I’ve become more intimate and real with him. I have to actually put my faith into action.

·       I feel more adventurous- Glad I didn’t just stay in Bracknell where everything was easy and familiar

Any advice for people thinking about living abroad?

Go for it! I would advise you to pray about it and include God in all your questions, decisions, panics etc. You can’t do it without him. Go by his timing rather than yours and step out in faith.

Hang on and guard your dreams. Write them down so you don’t forget them. Don’t dismiss them if they seem impossible or too hard.

My mentality was: I’m young, single, got no real commitments and I don’t want to live a boring, familiar, comfortable life.

Quotes that have helped me:

“You haven’t really trusted God til you’ve attempted something that can’t be done in your own strength.”

“God brings you to a new place because the new culture sets you up to finish your race strong.”

“Wanna know when you’re tapping into God’s plan for your life? When the plan is too big for you. You’ll need His power to pull it off.”

“Sometimes God doesn’t reveal his whole plan for you as he doesn’t want to freak you out. Step out in faith and keep taking steps one at a time.”

If you'd like to have your own adventures and thoughts on travel posted on the blog, please don't hesitate to contact me at im.ausland.travelspiration@gmail.com and introduce yourself :-)