Australia campus ministry thrives as life returns to ‘relatively normal’

As The Garden campus ministry in Brisbane, Australia, moves along in its new semester, campus minister Carly Kies shared an update on some of the highlights they’ve experienced.

“We have so much to be grateful for in the ways we’ve seen God working at The Garden,” she said. “Here are a few that stand out.”

• Brisbane continues to have 0 locally transmitted cases, so we can live in a relatively normal way here. We did go into a three-day snap lockdown recently, but it was lifted early because of the population’s great response in testing and social distancing.
• At least 19 new students have walked through our doors so far this semester. They are mostly friends of friends and students we met in campus clubs.
• Many students have stepped into leadership roles and are serving the community with their time and dishwashing talents.
• Several local churches have become invaluable supporters in all areas of our lives and ministries, including coming into our campus house and cooking meals for our students.
• We have a baby here! Eric Schlipf and Emily Abernathy’s daughter, Reya, is 4 months old now and provides countless hours of entertainment for all of us.
• We also have a dog at The Garden! Star belongs to someone who lives here and has provided joy and stress reduction for everyone.