For me, it started in June 2005. My family and I were on an ECHO missions trip in Ft. Meyers, Fla. One morning, my dad got an email from Alastair McEwen with an invitation to pastor the McKinnon/Frankston RPC in Australia. There were a few tears on my part, and there was commiseration from other friends on the team.

About seven months later, after much prayer and hard work, we said goodbye and started our journey to Australia. My two older brothers, Allen and Zachary, could not come with us. After a lot of tears, hugs, and “I love yous,” we left Allen and Zachary at the gate to board the Chicago train, bound for Los Angeles. It was a difficult parting, but we knew that, Lord willing, we would see them again in Australia in a few months.

The three-day long train trip was relatively relaxing and enjoyable, though there was a sense of confusion and misplacement as we slipped in and out of time zones. The first night on the train, I read Psalm 18. Verses 30-32 and 46 really stuck out: “As for God, His way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect…The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.”

We arrived in Los Angeles on Jan. 26. We had the day to move ourselves, 6 personal bags, and 31 suitcases from Union Station to Los Angeles International Airport. We were only supposed to have 30 suitcases; so we had to pack, re-pack, weigh, and re-weigh almost all of them. We left one suitcase open and empty by the trash. For the first time, I felt a little embarrassed about all our luggage. Those around us didn’t know we were moving to Australia!

As the plane took off, I looked out the window to catch the last glimpse I would have of America for a long time. Due to crossing the International Dateline, we skipped almost all of Jan. 27— Benjamin’s 11th birthday. On Jan. 28, we arrived in Melbourne, Australia. We were enveloped in warm hugs and kisses by people we barely knew or didn’t know at all! I was on an adrenaline high until about 6 p.m. Melbourne time. My body clock felt it was 2 a.m., so around 7 p.m. I went to bed and right to sleep. Around 4 a.m., I got up, unable to sleep any longer. It was Sunday morning and church wasn’t starting until 10:30. We didn’t know how to turn on the oven to warm up our breakfast, so we had to wait around for a few hours before my dad decided it was a decent hour to call someone to ask.

Our new church family was so kind and welcoming to us. It was humbling to realize that these people had chosen to love us before even meeting us.

God has blessed us immensely here. It was a huge transition to go from a church of over 200 people to a church of 30 members, and from a large youth group to having only two other teenagers in our church. However, there is a different closeness in the church body here. Those two teenagers, Casey and Matthew Pluke, have proven to be wonderful friends.

It doesn’t seem like age matters so much here. There is a special and visible unity in how easy it is for a young person to talk with an older one, and vice versa. There is no one exactly my age that I’ve met in the RP Church of Australia, but I’ve really enjoyed making several younger and older friends. It didn’t take long at all for these people to hold a very special place in my heart. I truly never saw myself loving these people this much. God changes minds and hearts in amazing and profound ways. Of course, these are the highlights. It’s not all “rainbows and butterflies.” I do get homesick some days, but I have found that God’s grace is sufficient. He is God of all nations, and I’m glad to know that this is where He wants my family and me right now.