Moving across the world is something that few people have the opportunity to experience, but I have recently been challenged and privileged to be one of those few. Since being called from a congregation in the U.S. to a church without a pastor nearly 10,000 miles away in Australia, my family has undergone the long process of moving internationally and has now been living in Frankston, Victoria, for five months.

Before making the trip to the Land Down Under, I lived all 15 years of my life in Columbus, Ind., where my dad was the pastor of a church. Living in one place, going to the same church, and knowing mostly the same people my entire life was something I didn’t really consider would change. That is, until a sabbatical in 2016 when my family and I went to Australia. While there, we had the opportunity to visit the three Reformed Presbyterian congregations in Victoria. Those congregations were very welcoming to us, and many of the families in the churches invited us into their homes.

I believe all of this was in preparation for Apr. 2019 when my dad received a call to be pastor of the church we had visited in Frankston. Receiving the call wasn’t a shock: my family had sensed it coming. But having my parents consider this big move left me in a state of uncertainty. As Columbus was the only place I had ever called home, the thought of leaving it to go somewhere as far away as Australia came with significant doubt about moving to a place so different from what I knew. I also felt that the timing was wrong: “I am finally old enough to do the things I have been looking forward to with my friends for so long. Why do I have to leave my home now?” was a frequent thought.

During the waiting period between receiving the call and being granted our visas (which meant we could live and work in Australia), we had to exercise trust in God, who knew His plan for us, while we were very unsure of how to go about things in the meantime. “Should we pack? Should we register for the next school semester? What if we don’t get our visas?” We discussed all these questions at the dinner table, though they remained unanswered for several months. After finally learning that we had the OK to move, we spent a few months preparing and set our moving date for Feb. 27. Having been graciously given a very peaceful life, leaving the majority of my family and all of my friends was the hardest thing I have ever done.

After two weeks of travel—stopping in Ottawa, Fresno, and Auckland—we finally made it to Frankston. A major providence of God was that we arrived in Australia two days before the borders were closed to international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this experience God has taught me that, when you are stripped of the majority of what is familiar to you, you tend to go back to what you know to be true: that you have a heavenly Father who loves you more than anyone else can; and that He works everything you experience for your good and His glory: “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

Since moving to Frankston, we have been getting to know our congregation and settling in to our new home as best we can amid pandemic restrictions. I have been painting, sewing, and continuing my schooling. I trust that God will continue to work out His plan for me, grow His church, and use me to bring glory to Himself.

Sometimes I say to myself, “You actually live in Australia!” It is still surprising to me, because I never imagined that I could move across the world.

Amanda McCracken is fifteen years old and now lives in Frankston, Victoria (Australia), where she recently moved from the U.S. with her parents and one of her six siblings. She enjoys several forms of art as well as baking, reading fiction and fantasy, and sewing. Most of all she enjoys being around her friends and family, when she isn’t in lockdown due to the worldwide pandemic.