Jenny Marino: Impact Summer

Hey guys! I just got back from Byron Bay. We spent a week there for what was called "Impact Summer." A ton of backpackers come to Byron for New Years and so it was a time to really reach out to to the people there. During the day we set up sports by the beach. I was on the team that helped set up this volleyball tournament, which turned out to be a really big hit. We had a sound system and announced it at the beach, and tons of people came and joined. It was an awesome time to meet new people and there were tons of opportunities to talk to people about God and why we were there.

At night we would set up a free barbecue in a park by the beach. Every night there were people performing there (some of the people from the M.A.D. school as well as some from my school) which was really awesome. People also shared testimonies and what God has been doing in their life. There were many other groups that were here for the Impact Summer, such as other YWAM schools in Australia, people from local churches, and even a team called Island Breeze from Fiji. The Fiji team performed with such an awesome dance the first night and shared their testimonies.

God taught me so much this week. I was able to talk to tons of people about God and even pray with people. I actually spent my new years holding this sick girls hand and praying for her. That was so awesome. My friend and I were able to talk to her and her friends about YWAM and what God has been teaching us. They were really open and she even got our email addresses to stay in contact. My other friend and I were also able to pray for another girl, and it was her first time praying in her whole life. What a blessing. It was so awesome to be used by God and learn to really love people and see people how God does.

Also, Merry Christmas! We were one big family here and that really helped from being away from home. It was definitely a Christmas I will never forget. haha I was even able to skype my family and play in our "white elephant" game.

Happy New Years too! I know God has big plans for this next year :) and I am excited for us all to be a part of it.

Love you and miss you guys. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means a lot to me.

Also, outreach update and prayer request:

We had a meeting, and we can't buy the tickets yet because not everyone has all of the money. The cheapest tickets we can find right now need all the money up front, and so ya... So please pray for God to provide, and for a good ticket opportunity. Because the exchange rate got so bad as well, I might end up needing more money depending on what tickets we can find. I am hoping I won't but we'll see. I am going in tomorrow for shots and they said we will have to buy this mosquito net thing for when we go to the jungle. So those will be extra costs. But I know God has it all under control and I'm confident that He will provide.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! They mean a ton.

Here are some pictures: