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 26th 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 28th 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-
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