Hello Australia. (from Jamie in Glasgow, Scotland)

Hi Guys.

i am writing from the fifth night of a wonderful adventure in a place called the United Kingdom. It is cold and wet here but the people have been kind and warm and so we’re loving it. i am here with three American bands: The Rocket Summer, The Secret Handshake, and Between the Trees. Before The Rocket Summer plays, i get a few minutes to talk about TWLOHA – mostly i talk about pain and hope and community and all the things we’re excited about and all the things we’re learning. And then i introduce The Rocket Summer, which is a lot of fun because everyone screams. We had a show in Glasgow, Scotland tonight. It was one of my favorite nights ever. It is amazing to be far from home but to realize that we have so much in common with people here. They drive on the left and we drive on the right and they think we talk funny and we think they talk funny, but those are not the most important things.

We’ve been talking about pain and hope and community, and we’re learning that we were right about the hunch we had. The problems that we talk about – depression and addiction and self-injury and suicide – they exist here as well. It’s been an amazing privilege to stand on their stages and say that these issues are not American issues. These are people issues. We didn’t know how they would respond, because these people didn’t come to hear some guy talk, especially some guy who talks funny. But people have been listening and even cheering sometimes. We’ve been meeting the kindest folks and having the greatest conversations. Some of it is heavy, as life is really hard for a lot of people. i met a girl tonight who said she lost her best friend to suicide. i met a guy who said his friend cried during my talk. He gave me a hug in the hallway and he thanked me and i thanked him and it meant a lot. But even in the heavy stuff, there is something hopeful. It seems like there’s hope in community.
i ran into a friend from Nashville before the show and it reminded me that the world is small. Oh, and earlier, there was a hill and our van couldn’t make it up the hill and we started sliding backwards and that was really scary. And that reminded me that life is very fragile. But the scary part only lasted a few seconds. We made it okay, and so now we have a new story.

We’re really excited about this place. In 2007, we supported treatment and recovery in the United States, Canada and Australia, and in 2008, we’re going to add the United Kingdom to that list. We’re going to launch a street team so that folks can get involved. We’ve already met some great people this week and we’re excited to stay in touch with them. And we’re going to launch a U.K. online store, so that people don’t have to wait so long or pay so much for shirts. More than anything, we’re excited to learn about this place – these people and what life is like here for them. We believe in hope and help, that they are real and true, and so we believe that hope and help are real and true here as well.

It is very very late here, and we must get some sleep. Tomorrow we head back to England for a show in Newcastle. But first i want to share some exciting news:

We’re coming to Australia! We will be there February 20 – March 10.

We’re not going with bands. Just going with hopes of meeting people, putting some events together, knocking on doors, and visiting one of the organizations we work with. We’re hoping there will be some opportunities to speak as well. And of course, more than anything, we’re hoping to learn. We see this trip as the start of bringing TWLOHA to Australia. i fly into Brisbane on Feb. 20 and will be spending first few days on the Gold Coast. Plan beyond that is to make our way south. We’re going to spend a few days in Sydney – excited to connect with the Hillsong folks there.

Now here’s where you come in:
[email protected]
We want to hear from you. We need your help in opening doors and telling us where we need to be, where we might be able to meet, etc. i would love to speak a couple times, but we’ll need invites from official folks (school, church, coffee shops, etc.) Get a few friends together and tell whoever is in charge that TWLOHA is going to be in Australia and you want us to come to ____________.

PLEASE E-MAIL US AT [email protected]
PLEASE DO NOT SEND A MYSPACE MESSAGE. PLEASE SEND AN E-MAIL TO [email protected]

Okay, that’s all for now. Off to bed. Thanks to everyone who has been hanging out with us at the shows. Thanks for the many kind words. This is an important place. Your story is important.

Australia, you’re next. We’re excited.

Peace to you.
jamie

PS: Here is a super rough video of part of my first talk of the tour. First night ever in England, actually. This was Wolverhampton:

PSS:The Rocket Summer is a truly great band. It’s hard to explain how much these songs mean to me. The last nine months have been a season of change for me – a season of healing and letting go and getting better and believing. These songs have been part of that process. And the guys are great as well. We’ve become fast friends.