My last few weeks in Australia were on track to be a depressing mess. Isolated, friendless and alone, after finding myself in a little suburb north of Sydney with some twenty-odd days till flying home, I began to brace myself for a very long stay — or what would feel like it. I was stuck in an old house with an old woman who talked to herself too much, an old cat who was going blind, and nothing to hold myself together but a newfound desperate hope, and the thought that I would be back in the States soon, back to Arkansas, my home, with my friends and loved ones around me. But in the meanwhile, I was in a very different place.
In an effort to escape more than a fortnight of these depressing circumstances, I made plans to attend a church that I looked up on Google Maps. It was the Northshore campus of Hillsong. So on the 16th of February I walked to the train station from my host home in Wahroonga and stepped onto the T9 to take it to Chatswood. I ended up spending the rest of the day hanging out with various different groups of people from the church, every one of them taking the initiative to bring me into their group and make me feel welcome — stepping out and touching a stranger’s life without really having any idea of the impact they were making. And let me assure you, the impact was felt.
Let me tell you, the people of Hillsong Northshore are a special bunch. Without them my time in Australia would have ended in solitude and loneliness, only to be succeeded by more of the same when I returned home in the middle of a pandemic. These people invited me into their groups, took me to lunch, went on walks with me, talked about life, listened to my struggles, shared their stories, brought me into their homes, gave me a place to sleep, loved me like I’d been there for months, and made me feel like I could have been. Seth and Libby let me stay in their flat with them, included me in birthday surprises, spontaneous nerf wars and movie nights, and fit me into their hectic school schedules to make sure I enjoyed my time in Sydney. Leaving their place on that last night was one of the strangest experiences of my life — it felt more like I was just going on vacation for a bit and would be back in a couple of weeks. I spent my days bouncing between church events and different campuses. I looked like any other student, and was greeted like one by so many new friends. Most people assumed I was attending the college — and I almost felt like I was.
When I walked away from that building on that warm night in early March and headed off to the airport (after running into another friend in the park and giving her a hug good bye), it felt like leaving home. It was honestly hard on me. And I’m glad it was, because it means these people really meant something to me. They walked into my life with intention, and gave me a home, even though it was only for a short while. These people loved me before they knew me, and in doing so changed my life, and pushed me in a direction I desperately needed to go.
I really don’t know how I could put into words what these people did for me, so I’ll leave it where it is for now. I’ll list some names below, the names I have written in the back of my journal, but know that they are only a portion of those I met and talked with. If you’re reading this and your name is below, know that I am extremely grateful for you and how you’ve touched my life. I’m going to include a few photos from my outing with Seth on one of my last days in Sydney, but if you want to see more I’ve uploaded a few galleries here on the site that you can find right here. (Click the menu, select AUSTRALIA, then choose SYD, MEL or TAS.)
I’ll leave you with that, friends. I hope in the middle of all this uncertainty you can remember and appreciate the more solid things in your life; the people who love you, and the lives you yourself are able to touch.
“The delight we inspire in others has this enchanting peculiarity that, far from being diminished like every other reflection, it returns to us more radiant than ever.”
with love,
— Joel
Special thanks to …
Phyl, Sarah, Seth, Libby, Andreas, Mike, Karl, Alvin, Moano, Madison, Daniel, Blake, Lo, Talia, Zane, Nathan, David, Laura, Austin, Helen, Maxine, Ian, Hyatt, Bambi, Shan, Lucie, Jen, Lily, Allen, Josh, Johannes, Isaac, Monica, Peter, Bjorn, Natalie
Geeky Things
Camera: Fuji X-Pro2
Lens: Fuji 35mm f/2
Processor: Capture One 20
Location: Waterloo, NSW, Australia
Notes: Seth happened to have bought that Fuji X100S from a friend, and it incidentally being the camera that renewed my love of photography about five or six years ago, I was very excited to hang out and get to encourage someone in their use of that wonderful, special piece of equipment. And to use it a bit myself, which was lovely. The first two photos above were taken in the apartment, and the others at a cafe around the corner where we got flat whites with honey, which were delicious. As always, the colour shots were made using Classic Chrome, and the the black and whites used Acros.