It's been a while....

Hey everyone....
   So I know its been quiet a while since I've posted a blog but I've been unmotivated and a bit on the down/depressed side of things the past few weeks so I decided not to worry anyone in blogging because it would have been a sad and depressing read.
  So here I am feeling much more myself and not so upset at life. I was depressed because my friends left and Brock is gone... I also didn't get to go to Fraser island after all due to predicted weather, so unfortunately I didn't get to travel at all and I wasn't able to sit on the beach in Australia for my B-day but i did go out for a very fancy birthday dinner with my friends over looking the city of Brisbane while the moon rose instead... which was a very nice alternative. On the down side of that night I realized my camera is broken (the one I got for graduation!). I'm sorry to say but its difficult to take pictures now so I wont be posting anymore because of this problem.... :( 
   The Redeemer program is up and running and it was a hard first week working with Aussie kids so I'm pretty exhausted and my Crohn's has been acting up because of the stress (Mom if your reading this I'm fine I promise). It was just an unexpected turn I've had to relax on the food that I've been eating and I'm cutting out the sugar because we eat a lot of it here on program. My kids are starting to come around and are enjoying the program we just got off expedition one and it rained the whole night and all the kids tents were soaked through... so they were pretty unhappy... me on the other hand being an outdoor professional was warm and dry inside my cozy tent :) haha... the kids were fine too. oh by the way the first time i have experienced so much rain here since I've arrived in sunny Queensland it has been non-stop rain since the 19th!!! so running an "outdoor" program its hard to play outside a lot because of all this rain... we're all pretty fed up with it! I want the sun back. Life is pretty good here in the down under and I can't wait to come home to my wonderful family I'm incredibly homesick, its been a while since I've felt that way... but I'm ok. I have 3 1/2 weeks left until I'm home and get to see them and my amazing boyfriend! I might be getting to go to one more site see before I leave this wonderful place its called 1770 its the southern most tip of the great barrier reef. Brock got to go, and now I'm really jealous and want to go too so I might be going with some new friends (staff) from redeemer. We would go for only 2 days and then i have to leave the country but at maybe I'll get to leave this place seeing a wonder of the world! I can't wait!!! alright well I better go, hope you are all doing well. thanks for the prayers and please continue praying, this is a christian school that is here this month, so God will be moving... so please be praying! 
-Amelia

End of the Program.

Hello all,
    So the Hong Kong program is over and its so sad for so many reasons. But to fill you in on what all has happened the last part of the program, we went on our third expedition. It was amazing to see the kids really begin to grow and they had an amazing time out there I learned a lot as well. Yesterday they all left and several tears we're shed unfortunately. So the program is over and I have a week to travel but before travels begin once again I have to say goodbye to Brock, Casey, and Austin as they return back to the states tomorrow morning 8-12-2011 :( I will miss Brock terribly. I'm going to Fraser Island on the 14th and will be sitting on an island in Australia for my 24th birthday! whoo hoo! I will start the second program Redeemer on the 21st of August and I'm so excited to get back to the basics with the kids. so anyways, all is well way over here thanks for the prayers and miss the family lots- love you guys! until next time you stay classy America.

Mid-Experience update

        Hello all! I’m doing great out here in Australia. Missin’ the family and my friends! Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but as soon as it all started it just hasn’t stopped. The program is so much fun and I’m learning a lot and gaining a lot of experience. I think God is doing a lot within me though… It’s a good feeling to be used by him to make a difference in these kids lives. It’s a challenge to get through to these kids though because of the language barrier, but the girls seem to want to be really close to me and I’ve attempted to refrain from getting close with them but I’m starting to give in because they seem to want that love and I’m kind of their mom figure for this whole month and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think I will struggle riding that line of instructor and friend. They seem to respect me a lot though. We just got through with expedition 2 a couple of days ago. In the beginning when they arrived at camp we did activities to try and cement the group before we did any really major things out of their comfort zone. We played lots of games and taught them a lot of basic skills for expedition one which was a one night camping experience. We also taught them how to ride bikes better. I spent most of that time teaching some girls how to ride a bike because they didn’t know how! That was pretty awesome I thought J. Then we went out on exp. 1 and then went out for an activity day (Rock Climbing!!!) it was so much fun teaching these guys how to climb and watching their fears become reality and facing those fears and overcoming them. I had a couple days off and then went into exp. 2 which was a 4 day 3 night backpacking and canoeing trip. I got the chance to teach a lot more and just get to know the kids more. After exp. 2 they did a debate on to dam or not to dam a river in the local area. So it’s been really chill around here the last few days and on the 26^th I got the chance to hang out with Brock all day for the first time since the program began. It’s been so hard being away from him and him away from me. It’s going to be so much worse when he goes home and I stay here another month… L. Anyways so the kids did that debate and the 28^th We took our group Abseiling (Rappelling) for another activity day. And today I’m on my day off and I have tomorrow off as well and this is the first time I’ve gotten to just chill out and not be traveling to places to hang out. I really just want to go climb and talk to my family. We start expedition 3 really soon after I start work again which is a 5 day 4 night mountain bike, canoe, and backpacking trip. The kids are really excited about the trip but also really nervous about getting lost because this expedition we hand over everything to them and they lead us and make all the decisions its all up to them this time. I could go into why this is such a big deal but it’s a long story but its mainly to do with their culture and how failing is highly looked down upon and they have a lot of pressure to perform and succeed and if they don’t succeed they get really upset. anyways so in a way we want them to fail to bring out some emotion of stress to push them to grow and become stronger people. Wow… I’ve written a novel this time. So much to say and don’t know how to fit it all into a one page blog, unfortunately. I’m having an amazing time though and Brock and I are planning to return at the end of January because our bosses like us and think we add a lot to the program and they’ve practically offered Brock a full time position, but we’ll see what happens when he graduates. I’m planning to return because I love what they’re doing over here! Ok well I love you all so much and I hope that gives you a pretty good glimpse into my life at the moment. Just keep praying for us over here and that we continue to glorify Him in all we do. Cheers Mates! Xoxo!

-Amelia-

Settled In

      I am finally at my home for the next four weeks! I’m about a .5 mile from the town of Kenilworth and can get free internet!!! Surprisingly, there is no free wifi anywhere! It gets expensive. The camp (Kenilworth Homestead) is incredibly beautiful, it’s a big homestead from the 1800’s with just lots of pastures with rolling hills and the boundary is carved by the merry river. Our bosses house was the original house and it’s amazing and massive! There are about 28 horses, there used to be cows but they were becoming more of a hazard than useful, there are 2 goats, 1 sheep, 1 alpaca, 2 chickens, and one massive python named Monty. Our rooms are amazing with great mattresses and really hot showers! I feel right at home going running every day by the river where you might get lucky and see a platypus and spend the evening as the sun is going down doing some yoga. People would be crazy if they didn’t like this place! The kids arrive on Thursday the 14^th and my co-instructor is Dylan from Canada he’s really nice and our personalities are very similar so we’ll be able to work well together with the kids and get them excited about playing in the bush. So the kids that will be coming are from Hong Kong and some have never seen the stars so this could possibly be really out of their comfort zone. It’s a great opportunity to really show these kids different way of life than the lives their culture forces them to live. Dylan and I are really excited to push these kids in ways they’ve never experienced. Brock’s group arrived today at Tuchekoi where I was living the past 2 weeks I’m anxious to hear how everything went for him. I already miss him so much and it’s only been one day haha... He’s doing great over here and has been having lots of fun. We’ve all been kinda ready to just start working instead of dinking around with whatever, so I’m a bit jealous of him. I’m trying to think of what else you all would want to know but I can’t think of anything at the moment. I guess since the last time I wrote nothing major has happened but just more training stuff last week we went on an overnight recky (recreation) 6.5 miles canoeing then camped then 10 miles hiking the next day. We saw Guana’s which are similar to a gilla monster just not poisonous. And we saw some Kangaroo’s! The next day we worked around camp to get things ready for the programs. The next 2 days after that we had formal training and one of those evenings I went running and saw a wallaby right on campus! It was awesome!!! They are really cool animals and Kangaroo’s are so lazy and don’t care about anything really, they are nocturnal animals so they sleep most of the day, you can walk right up to them just like the picture of Brock. Well I guess that’s about it for now kids. I’ll probably write again next week sometime updating you about how the kids are and such. 

Since last time.

So since last time I wrote I have been climbing, rappeling (absailing), hiking, and canoeing. I've seen a wild pig that was probably 200+ pounds and wild dogs and lots of birds. We're on our days off and we got to finally make phone calls home! yesterday we went to the beach all day and the guys played in the freezing water while I laid out in the cold haha.... today we're goin to the beach again then hiking through Noosa Nat'l park and cooking out while watching the sun set over the water. Tomorrow we head back to work to go hike another route we'll be taking the kids on the Noosa river. It will be an overnight canoe and hike... what a horrible office right? I'm getting paid for this!!!! anyways so i guess thats the update. But I heard some news about Amy Milam's dad (Bill)... He's been in the hospital so be praying he gets a out soon. keep praying thanks so much gotta go! :) bye!

Starting Work.....Finally!

Hey everyone...
    So you may not see anymore pictures for a while they don't have wifi at work i have to use a desktop for internet. I finally am starting work and my first day of work is going climbing! I mean........ what a life! I can't believe I'm in Australia, and its kinda hard to imagine too because honestly the culture here is incredibly similar to America so I don't really feel like I'm in a different country honestly... even though I am living in a freakin rainforest! this is so much fun! I'm finally not dragging all my stuff around anymore and its settled in a cabin for the next 2 weeks before i start the program the next 2 weeks of training include scouting the areas we'll be taking the kids aka... climbing, hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, and over night stays. and i'm done at 4:30 almost everyday so we get to just sit around get on the internet, eat, play cards, go running.... hopefully it will warm up so we can go on adventures after work too. It's so great. these will be a great 2 weeks. Our bosses are so laid back they are so sarcastic and funny, its such a great work environment. Life is Good! Please be praying that we all grow a lot from this experience and God shows himself in amazing ways, because he has in so many ways already. For example... Brock and I were changing buses one day headed up the sunshine coast and I was SOOOO fed up with all my packs and how they kept falling I was just really mad anyways so this lady out of no where pulls over and takes us straight to the hostel we were trying to get to! what a God send! I mean just that small thing from God helped me remember he really is taking care of me while I'm over here. So, pray he continues to show up because its so wonderful when he does. 
 Love you all and thanks for all the prayers! 
-Amelia 

In Brisi and the on the Island

Hello All,
     So a couple of days since a good update Brock and I have finally stopped goin so fast paced and relaxing at the hostel in brisbane for the night until we head up to sunshine coast tomorrow. Brisi is amazing and a vibe similar to the US cities so its pretty fun, the hostels are way more nice... like a hip hotel. its really fun! so many interesting people. I will say though we have seen so many people pissed off at each other and not afraid to say anything about it either... a little crazy. The first day in Brisi we went to this amazing breakfast (breaky) place where the capachino was to die for! then we walked around the outdoor mall and watched live bands then walked across a bridge to the other side of the river and walked the river walk to this amazing public pool that looked like a lagoon we didn't go swimming a bit cold for that but it was really pretty. Then we walked across a different bridge just for pedestrians to the botanical gardens where I saw PARROTS!!!! hopefully those who understand my crazy for birds i was SO excited!  :) after that we were pretty tired and took naps and then went to dinner and were back in our beds by 7:00 thanks jet lag! haha. 
      The next day we got up around 6:30 and left for Moreton Island on the ferry at 8:30am. The island was incredible!!! the water was so blue! (MOM you would have died and gone to heaven... wish you had been there). crazy birds too it was so awesome i was so entertained. We camped at a camp site called the wrecks where they purposefully sunk ships to break the waves for when ferries came in. We for a long walk that next morning it was like a 4 mile walk or so then that afternoon we went snorkeling where I flipped out because of the fish... I tried to prepare Brock but i guess that didn't do much good. I was hyperventilating pretty much the whole time haha! ya... adventure! haha whoo hoo! it was great. so today we came back from the island and back to Brisi and walked around chinatown which was hilarious! And now we're just chillin and goin to grab a drink later at the hostel's bar and go to bed and get up and go to that awesome breaky place again and leave by 11:00am for the sunshine coast to a different hostel and hang out on the beach! :) 
     love you all! and miss you family! I'm doing great and Australia is awesome so far. I'm getting nervous about starting the job but hopefully it will be just as amazing! 
Cheers,
Amelia

Quick experience update

Hey Everyone! We're officially in Australia! Our hostel is amazing! we have horrible jet lag and are exhausted but hopefully tomorrow we'll get out around Brisbane and have a good city experience. I have a nice long story about getting through the international airport and customs.... lets just say a deprivation of sleep and potentially lost luggage and then them search my bag for tent stakes was not a good combination for the emotional side of myself. haha its funny now but wow I was so upset I never want to travel alone and I was SOOO happy to see brock by the baggage claim in Brisbane! but all is well here in the down under and I miss you Fam! love you all lots maybe I'll have time to write more tomorrow.  xoxo!

A trip of a life time??

    AH! It's happening oh so fast! I'm not sure if I'm ready for this. I leave this Saturday at 5:45 from Atlanta and fly to LA from there its a 15 hour flight to Sydney then a 3 hour flight to Brisbane where I will finally be able to stand. I have no idea how I am going to entertain myself for that long but hopefully it won't be to terrible. So that's the update on Australia plans... but I want to tell you about my recent trip.
     I went on an adventure with my best friend Amy Milam and we went to DC for 2 days then to NYC for 2 days then back to DC for what was supposed to be 1 day but turned into 2. We rode a Megabus to and from our destinations... all of you out there that thought it may be kinda sketch... totally fine, no one was weird, just like riding on a plane only gravity has a hold on you. We took an overnight bus which was horrible because you were sitting the whole time and trying to sleep sitting up is not fun at all. But we got there and walked about a mile with all of our stuff on our backs through the city to our friends house and stayed on their couch for 2 nights. we did a lot of touring and eating. good times for sure. then we headed up to NYC. when we were riding in our taxi to our hostel on 103rd street in manhatten upper east side.... WAY upper east side... our driver told us to be very careful it was a bad part of town.... OH GREAT! haha... so, still pretty confident in our judgement of things we are let out right where we were supposed to be and got our keys from a very nice lady and she showed us to our room. we had a key to the outer door and to our room both doors locked behind us... we probably would have found somewhere else to stay if this had not been the case. we both all day that day only had 2 granola bars and it was 9:00pm so we were starving. walked across the street to a pizza place and got a massive new york pizza slice. so good! the next day we got up early and walked all over probably about a total of 6 miles that day... haha! we saw times square, Rockefeller center, central park, went shopping, and to top it of went to the mary poppins broadway! AMAZING!!! anyways... so we drove back to DC the next day and went to sleep when we got back and toured all the last day that night we were supposed to get on a bus at 11:00 for another overnight ride. well we get to the parking lot at 11:02 and the bus had already left!!! these buses the whole time we were riding them didn't leave until at least 15 minutes later so we thought we had some wiggle room. Nope! so we walked back to the house with all our crap and didn't get back home until 12:30 and we booked another ticket for 10:45 the next morning and drove home.
     Wow, was that a whirl wind trip or what!? Great experience, but i would never live in a city like those. I felt confined, I missed the trees and birds terribly! but it was a great experience and I learned that I have had this expectation that when I travel it's going to satisfy me in some way. Like as if it would hold meaning on my life. It doesn't... Life happens with people and with pouring into those around you, not by traveling around the world. I am so happy to have really grasped this before I left for a country I had only dreamed of going to but now I realize its just another place... The reason I am meant to be there is still uncertain, but I'm pretty sure its not because I need to fill a traveling void in my soul. I pray God uses me in ways I've never experienced while I'm over there. traveling is so much fun and its a fun yet expensive hobby, but there is more planned for me than going around the world to see everything.
     Thanks for putting up with my writing the way I speak, it's hard not to, you would think college taught me a thing or two :) please continue to pray for safe and smooth travels as I head out on my way. I know I don't write very often but I will try to keep up better while I'm in Australia.

$ Oh the Drama of it All $

    As of today I have 13 days until we head out to Australia for the summer. It gets closer and closer and I get more and more nervous. Brock and Forest are done with their trip and Amy and I are about to go on a awesome trip to Washington DC and NYC! We have free housing with an old friend in DC and we're staying in a hostel right by Central Park... Brock -don't worry we'll have tons of pepper spray. We head out for our adventure tomorrow on a megabus to get to DC by Tuesday morning, it will be an overnight bus ride, and hopefully we won't be getting bed bugs or whatever else might be creeping around on public transportation... but isn't that part of the adventure? we are going to be able to go from Knoxville-->DC-->NYC-->DC-->Knoxville all for $25 each for transportation... so bed bugs and all here we come! I'm sure we'll have a few crazy stories to tell. When we get back from our adventure on Sunday possibly Tuesday depending on if Amy has changed our bus I'll have a little less than a week to get ready for the epic adventure ahead.
    We all received as of this week our staff manual and gear lists... its exciting! My parents were gracious enough to buy me most all of it on top of my graduation presents! because I've been trying to not only save for Australia but also for my NYC/ DC trip which if I'm honest with my self i'll end up spending $200 and only $100 as of now I can afford. Hopefully God will provide all that I will need for both trips; I am struggling in trying to control all of it. Money is a hard thing for me I want to make sure I have enough and if I don't think I do I go out looking for ways to get more. I have been controlling it up to this point. I want to rely on God from here... I know I can't afford both trips at this point but both seem to be really happening... sooo, God help? Pray that finances just work out for these trips and I'll have more than I needed. Also all the things my parents bought for me they honestly can't really afford it anyways but they are so faithful to God and he always restores them... mom got a refund check for $350 the day after we bought everything for my trip... God is so good. We are also having a garage sale the next weekend and hopefully help so more as well. I have to learn to just let go and I need to start now. thanks so much for reading if you did... please continue to pray everything goes smoothly... one more thing as of right now I'll be taking that 15 hour flight to australia alone... and I'm going to go crazy... so theres another thing to pray for as well haha... ok now i'm done. hope everyone is doing great and thanks again!

Life on the Other Side

         So.... Graduation has come and passed. College is officially over. I will never have anymore tests, papers, portfolios, literature reviews to write (unless I want to), proposals to write, or anymore presentations to do unless I want to!!! Montreat College will always be my second home, I fell in love with the people (my friends) and my boy. It also did a lot more for me, it was my guide to find the passions God has set on my heart now- adventure and the environment. Going to Australia is the next page in this chapter of life, and I'm terrified... I have been in school way over half my life, and this is something totally new that has to come with adjustment. I love change and I thrive in it, because that means I'm growing, and I love that feeling. but.... good grief it is so scary right now, I'm living at home with three cats and my parents... not exactly living the dream you could say... I'm a little in shock and struggling in that. I have become so independent because of Christ and I know I need some down time for a bit, but my heart is so restless... this makes is so scary. God is in control though, right? 
         Brock is on a road trip with his new found friend this past year, Forest Johnson. they are inseparable, it's so good to see! they left May 16th and on the 17th they were already in Colorado! They are going to Denver, arches, bryce canyon, Zion Nat'l parks, and then to flagstaff and on down to Tucson, AZ. Next week their going down to Mexico for a couple of days.... what a trip!!!! AH! so much fun! 
         My friends come home soon from graduating college too and me and my best friend are going on a road trip too! we're going to DC, New York, and Boston... all on around $100!!! how did we do this? well there is this public transportation bus called MegaBus. You can get a ride for $1!!! what a deal! anyways, thats my excitement until Australia... speaking of Australia my Traveling Visa was approved and the country has officially said I'm allowed to come! WHOO HOO!!! Life is good, just super scary.... but good. 
     Check out the sweet Graduation pics!

A new life right around the corner

It's a week and a half before graduation!!! I have no other major responsibilities, all my finals are over but turning in some portfolios which are already finished.... How do you conceptualize this new life that is about to start? I will never be in college again and I will be in a totally new life and a totally new way of life too. I am not tied down only thing tying me down is a job... and its in AUSTRALIA!!! after that who knows what could happen!!! wow... I could do whatever I want, Brock and I aren't planning on getting married any time soon either so how do you just live and do what you want... there is this crazy amount of freedom that I don't know what to do with!   It's GREAT! sooo.... life is about to come on quick and how do I be prepared for this... hopefully college did that haha.... I did spend a ridiculous amount of money for it, so I better be prepared. I will Trust in the Lord and I believe he will do amazing things with me, I ask whoever reads this, it becomes their prayer for me as I enter into this new life. love you all.
-Amelia

Graduation---> then on to Australia

Hello all,


  I am starting this blog for those of you interested in how Australia will be. As we know right now though I am obviously not in Australia just yet. I have a college education to conquer in a couple of weeks. Not to much longer and I will have my BS in Outdoor Education and headed to Australia to work from June 27th- October. I will then come back home until January in order to attend possibly 4 weddings and Brock's graduation.... thats another blog topic I'm sure. In mid- January I will head back out to Australia, hopefully with Brock by my side (Brock is my wonderful boyfriend of 2 years) until the end of April. At that point the sky is the limit to what happens next. As of right now though I am following what God wants me to do by going to Australia with free airfare, free room and board, free food... and I'm getting paid. He has made this possible, for which I am grateful, I can only imagine how he will use the four of us from Montreat to lead these kids. To all of you out there be praying that it will be a safe trip, my health will be great for the time I'm out there (not sure if I'll have insurance), and that God will use us in incredible ways. Thanks to all of you who will be following this blog, this and Facebook will be great ways to reach me while I'm out of the country. Until then I will keep you updated with all I find out.