Author Topic: Introduction: ag4hosea  (Read 3032 times)

Offline ag4hosea

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Introduction: ag4hosea
« on: June 03, 2016, 03:02:42 AM »
+7
Greetings from Perth, Australia! My name is Andrew, I am a 21 year old man and I love to cook, play board games, sing, and colour-in (it is actually really therapeutic you should try it sometime). My favourite colour is blue and my favourite animals are birds. I have a cockatiel called Cyril (he is an adorable chubby yellow bubby-dub who loves my mum, tolerates me and hates everyone else) and a budgie called Cloudy (she's weird, and has been bestowed the two horrifying nicknames 'attack budgie' and 'kamikaze pilot'). I work for a company called Bunnings, Australia and New Zealand's largest warehouse, selling direct to the public for commercial and domestic needs. It is also the place where lowest prices are just the beginning (I love my job, the sense of purpose and self-worth that I get out of it is a real blessing from God).

So that's just some general things about me, "but what about that game you play that people call 'Redemption', what's that about and how did you hear about it over there in the sweltering heat in your dingy tin hut, with your kangaroo riding antics and strange colloquial sayings that sound like ancient gobbledigook to me?" I hear you say in rather specific and eloquently put terms.

Well, I suppose I'll have to start back in 2004, when I was a shy, skinny, timid little school-boy who obviously went to school seeing as I was both 9 years old and a school-boy. Okay, let's just imagine this scenario: you're in Sunday school, your Sunday school teacher has a new memory verse challenge for you: recite the Lord's prayer off by heart (without looking at it while you do it of course) and get a gift voucher to Word bookstore (a Christian bookstore that sadly no longer exists because Koorong was just too successful to compete with).

Guess who completed the task first? Yep that's right, my younger brother! Grr, well long story short he and another girl (small church, majority of population extremely old and slowly dying off one-by-one, so we were the only 3 kids) went to Word with said Sunday school teacher one day WITHOUT ME (what a travesty, I know bring out the violins and tissues, just let the tears flow, it's okay). Another long story short, brother comes home with a new computer game called Victory at Hebron.

Ok, cool. But I'm not interested, because I'm jealous and having a sook. Dad tries it out to make sure it's not violent or anything, which he finds the most violent thing in it is probably when you run at full speed directly into another person's house and they challenge you to a card game. Cool, it's safe. Dad kinda likes the game, it's fun, it's interesting he likes to play it every now and then. Brother is neither here nor there about it, plays it sometimes because you know, it's his game.

But, while I watched my dad play it, it actually looked really intriguing and I was interested. I asked if I could play, brother up in arms about it being 'his game' and gets annoyed when I'm playing it, because all of a sudden 'he wants to play it and I'm not allowed to' (that's funny, could have sworn you lost interest as soon as the cd went into the disc tray).

Anyway, in yet another long story short, I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, so my obsession with the game fast tracks at bullet speed, I ask if I can go on the computer after school pretty much everyday before we even walk in the door. Once, I even cried when I thought I had closed the game without saving after winning a new character called Gad (you might remember, 6/3 Red Hero from the prophets expansion), I was inconsolable for quite a while (until after school the next day when I found I still had Gad in my inventory).Feew, that was a relief.

Now, sometime in the very near future I went to Word bookstore with mum, because I also had completed the challenge and had my gift card. So I went and got a board game from Cactus Games, called Solomon's Temple, which I noticed while looking at it that it included two promotional REDEMPTION cards, King Solomon and King David (my first two redemption cards)!
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2016, 03:03:23 AM »
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And now it is 2016, I have thousands of redemption cards and no one to play with. So I search for a way to play it online, and while searching I came to a post in the Cactus Game message boards about a wonderful program called Lackey. I downloaded it straight away, got the link to the redemption plug in and yay! I'm in. I played around with deck building for a while (I love the prophets and magicians themes), but I still hadn't played any proper games (I had a brief go through with my best friend Don, who plays magic the gathering and so already has a built-in knowledge of how ccg's work, but that was all).

So, up until the other night, I hadn't played a full game of redemption yet. I would first like to thank jmhartz for helping me by starting a game with me, which helped me get used to a few of the lackey functions. However, I hadn't closed the lackey server properly after downloading the CoW update, so we were seeing different cards, and so I disconnected, downloaded it again and properly closed it this time.

But most of all I would absolutely love to thank Karius Vega for his tremendous help, this guy helped me out as well, first of all by versing me in a sealed deck game (he chose deck I or J, the one with the Ruth/Judges offense) and I chose deck G. He went first, made a rescue attempt with whatever hero he used. Boom, straight from my hand I defend with Red Dragon, immune to human heroes. I think he was a little surprised and impressed, seeing as I had never played a full game before.

Then after moving on to constructed deck, he tried out a concept he's been working on and I tried a deck concept I had put together with my novice knowledge and lack of experience, but you can ask him how I went (I lost by the way, no surprise hehe lol). Being a nice guy, he gave me some small tips on how to improve the deck (which he got to see every card I had very early on due to a search ability he used).

All in all, Lackey has fulfilled a pretty much life long dream by allowing me to ACTUALLY PLAY my first games of redemption, and it has connected me pretty much straight away to one of the best players there is. And on redemption as a witnessing tool, I am a visual person so having the art work linked with the Bible verse has been the basis of my Biblical memory for ages, as I can remember key events and their location in the Bible pretty well, and have discovered things in the Bible that I would never have discovered otherwise. I thank the Lord for the game of redemption, because God has used it in my life to lay foundations of Biblical knowledge, and providing me with a way to connect and socialise with other people.

I am a very shy person, I have social anxiety, OCD and Attention Deficit Disorder (not hyperactive literally thank God for that) and have suffered with depression in my teen years and do every now and then in bouts as well, so it really is a blessing to have a christian card game in my life to help keep my always turned on and ever-wandering mind occupied and focused.

Just one last thing before I finish up this really long and rather detailed introduction, I would like to share with you something that I learned about God through studying the book of Hosea. I suggested to my church Bible study that we should do a study on Hosea, and from there God touched our lives in ways we can't even believe to understand. To some, the book of Hosea is a book about a man who marries a prostitute, which turns them off of delving into it. But looking past that, I found that the story of Hosea and Gomer was in fact an illustration of our relationship with God.

Hold on to your seats and try not to wet your tracky-dacks, it's about to get profound.

In the illustration, the Prophet Hosea is a faithful husband, while Gomer is an unfaithful wife. Throughout the New Testament, the church is said to be the bride of Jesus, and when we parallel the way Gomer ran away from her husband time and time again to other men, we see that we are Gomer. God is faithful to us, and no matter how many times we run away from Him and seek salvation from our baals and idols, God will always come after us and bring us home. It presented to me a fuller picture of Jesus' unfailing love for us and it has changed the way I see God and my relationship with Him profoundly for the better.

Thanks for reading my groovy, edgy albeit wordy intro if you got this far, i really look forward to the amazing things God has in store for me, not just in redemption, but throughout my entire life and I'm so glad that you guys are a part of that now.

You're brother in Christ, Andy :)
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline jesse

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2016, 08:32:53 AM »
+1
Welcome, ag4hosea! What a wonderful testimony! I thank God that He has led you closer to Himself through this great game! I play online too once in a while so maybe sometime we'll play as well!

Also I completely concur with you about the Book of Hosea - it is one of my very favorites! The truth of Jesus being our bridegroom - that we have not just his acceptance by His grace but actually He is deeply and unwaveringly in love with us despite our weak love for Him - is monumental. I highly recommend a movie that was made based off of the Book of Hosea called Amazing Love, with Sean Astin.

God bless!

-Jesse
Love is the flame of God, Who is love and an all-consuming fire!- Song. 8:6-7, 1 Jn. 4:8, Deut. 4:24

Offline Gabe

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2016, 08:46:13 AM »
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Welcome to the global Redemption community, Andy!
Have you visited the Land of Redemption today?

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2016, 09:38:24 AM »
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Thanks guys :) I really appreciate your support and kindness, I look forward to what lies ahead!
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline uthminister [BR]

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2016, 10:06:05 AM »
+1
Welcome to the boards. Please ask always and often with any questions and feel free to post decks, get involved in ROOT tournaments, and the prayer forum is probably one of my favorite areas. Let me go ahead and say this as well...Australia for Redemption Nationals in 2020!

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2016, 10:11:20 AM »
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Thanks, I will do. And I think a national tournament in Australia would be AWESOME!!!  :thumbup: 
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline Ironisaac

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2016, 10:27:46 AM »
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Thanks, I will do. And I think a national tournament in Australia would be AWESOME!!!  :thumbup:

How many people do you know of that actively play in Australia?
Some call me "Goofus"

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2016, 10:43:01 AM »
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Exactly 1: Me :( But there are definitely people here who play it though, most likely over in the eastern states (Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales). I know because Koorong bookstore has plenty of stores over there, and it stocks redemption cards, Australia wide! I bought some of my cards from there online and shipped to me from over east, as the cards were held there. Sometimes though, I had to place an order and wait a bit longer until the next shipment was due because what I wanted wasn't currently in stock in Australia, I presume because other Aussies had bought them already.

But there are some guys at my church that play magic the gathering, one of which is my best friend who I have told about Redemption. So, there are about 5 or 6 potential redemption players that I know of.

Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2016, 10:45:43 AM »
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I would love to come to the US sometime in the future as well, that would be so awesome!
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline uthminister [BR]

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #10 on: June 03, 2016, 10:49:20 AM »
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My mind is officially blown. You should host the very first Australian National Tournament and cement yourself as the very first Redemption Nationals Champion from Australia!  8) I wonder if Rob would sanction other National Tournaments and then the big event every year would end up needing to be called the Redemption World Championship or something epic like that.

Offline Ironisaac

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #11 on: June 03, 2016, 10:53:46 AM »
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My mind is officially blown. You should host the very first Australian National Tournament and cement yourself as the very first Redemption Nationals Champion from Australia!  8) I wonder if Rob would sanction other National Tournaments and then the big event every year would end up needing to be called the Redemption World Championship or something epic like that.

As far as i know, we have people from the US, Canada, Germany, and now Australia. Am I missing any countries?
Some call me "Goofus"

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2016, 10:56:52 AM »
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Wow I've been wanting to do something big and telling God that regularly in my prayers, maybe there is something in that! Either way, the possibilities are really exciting me (and scaring me) even more now!
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline YourMathTeacher

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2016, 07:45:45 AM »
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Welcome to the Redemption Family! It is indeed exciting to hear that Redemption in growing overseas. Your enthusiasm is appreciated. ;D

I have a cockatiel called Cyril (he is an adorable chubby yellow bubby-dub who loves my mum, tolerates me and hates everyone else)

Ironically, my cockatiel loved me, tolerated my mom, and hated everyone else.  ;)

what's that about and how did you hear about it over there in the sweltering heat in your dingy tin hut, with your kangaroo riding antics and strange colloquial sayings that sound like ancient gobbledigook to me?" I hear you say in rather specific and eloquently put terms.

This was my original impression of Australia after watching The Rescuers Down Under and Crocodile Dundee. But then my kids fell in love with the Wiggles, so now I always picture Australia as Sydney and the Opera House.



My wife is a hottie.

Offline ag4hosea

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2016, 08:08:30 AM »
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The Wiggles were the best when I was a kid! I approve of this representation of Australia, because it is certainly much better than some of the alternatives (bogan culture, I'm looking at you).
Your Aussie brother in Christ, Andy :)

Offline Prof Underwood

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Re: Introduction: ag4hosea
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2016, 10:44:21 AM »
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Welcome to the Redemption family and thanks for sharing your story of how you came to this place.  I find it amazing how God leads people here in a variety of different ways.

I also happen to be somewhat close to you as I am living in Central Java, Indonesia :)

 


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