darjak diaries - entry #2

kick it off with a BANG!...

its saturday, the music's pumping, the energy level's high and excitement fills the air. it's the day that youth street kicks off in darwin nt for the first time ever! not sure of how many crew ( a cool "tag" we give the youth) to expect having been able to do only three days of promo prior, we await anxiously.

with near 23 youth street staff, thanks to the reef to outback back base in darwin and current DTS that's running we make an unstoppable force. crew start to arrive and we see 9 come in total, in the mix we had a few sport fanatics along with a skater and a few musos. this was of course GREAT considering those are the three teams we are running for this youth street connect.

because it was the first day of youth street in darwin we wanted to kick it off with a BANG! so we decided to have what we call a "together factor". which basically brings all the crew together for a few face melting hours of extravagant fun! we decided to run the first ever "battle of the gladiators" to test one's skill, accuracy and stamina.

needless to say friends, this day went OFF! we had crew raving about the day , the staff, the games, the snags (cooked by yours truly) and set on bringing ALL their friends next week. it was amazing to see the youth get right into it, there was no room for passivity or boredom this week that's for sure!

darjak diaries...

entry #1 - mere beginnings...


8 people pack their bags full of what little belongings they have with the goal of achieving a call greater than themselves. they hit the road filled with a desperate passion to see aussie youth changed by the heart of god, and through love, bring hope to a generation that needs it most.

3 days, 30 hours, 16 pit stops, 120 pieces of chocolate, 450 something songs, and 0 arguments later they arrive at their destination. shaking off the cobwebs of the many hours past with closed eye's, they step out onto a sun-scorched land that is not their own. vision clear, and hearts on fire, they begin the journey god's laid out for them, not sure of what awaits around the corner but ready to take on whatever lies ahead...

opposites attract...

what is the opposite of giving up?

to Persevere...

question then, what does it mean to persevere?

“to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success...”

if we were to be, search our heart honest with ourselves, how many of us can say with full certainty that we persevere? there certainly have been times when I look back on my 25 years of life thus far that I can say, “YES” to that question. but, most of the time I know that I ran in the opposite direction when faced with a trial that required me to press on.

i have been surprised in such a confronting manner by a young lady who of late has taken a place in my heart so large that at times i wonder how much space i have left for anything else. she has impressed to me whether she is aware of this or not, so many attributes of the character of God and his heart for his children that i know i love him more because of her. how has she done this you may ask...

well in it’s simplest form, she loves. she loves with her whole heart not holding anything back even though at times she wants to protect herself, she doesn’t, she lets others in. she laughs, she cries, she ponders, she explores, but she does none of this alone, she takes others on this incredible journey with her. i have seen this woman for months now pursue the father heart of God like i have never before witnessed. she came into my life not knowing what his voice sounded like, or in which direction she was going, not knowing how to love with all her heart, not knowing how to see him, and with so many questions plaguing her. when faced with these thoughts and questions most of us would, like i was saying earlier RUN. when faced with our own thoughts and fears most of us find ourselves moving away from the trial, away from the challenge. but not her. feet firmly planted she stood not wavering, not moving, not shrinking back, she persevered. she continued in her course of action even in the face of difficulty with really no prospect of success other than this small nagging glimmer of HOPE within her heart until finally...

a response.

a vision.

an experience.

purpose, and insight into her father’s heart for his children.

i have never in my life been privileged enough to witness and be a part of something so personal, something so unique that it only makes me want to love God more. and her story in and of itself is enough hope, enough passion to stir my faith for greater things.