Youth Camp, Getting Wet and Selling My Bike...

The campsite forgot we were coming...

I'm a little bit late with my post this time, there have been cries of "Shame!" but I think I've had a valid excuse. Last week we had our youth camp and to be honest I'm only just feeling recovered now.

There had been concerns that we wouldn't be able to go ahead with our plans but thank God, all went well and we had another successful year. We were camping next to the River Kolpa on the border with Croatia with 17 young people and 5 adults. It didn't start out particularly well since the camp site had forgotten we were coming and the area we usually use was filled with boats, cars and a digger! Fortunately it was all moved quickly and we were able to set up as usual. 

This time we were studying the book of Colossians and looking at how we can be rooted in Christ, keep growing in him and then showing the fruits of our faith. In the evenings we had talks by Peter, our pastor and in the mornings the kids all went off for Bible studies. I had worked with two of the older teenagers to write the studies and they did such a great job of preparing and then leading their groups. It was great to see how God is working in them and in the lives of the other young people there. It was also encouraging because we had two teenage boys from another part of Slovenia who are not from church backgrounds. They had come to camp in the past because they were good friends with the Australian missionary family who left Slovenia last year. It was great to see these boys come back even though the Australian family wasn't here.

Altogether we had a really great time together, playing games, swimming in the river, singing and of

It got a little bit wet and muddy!

course learning more about God. That was, of course, until the last night/ morning. We knew that rain was forecast and so we prepared accordingly. I was sleeping in my hammock again but I had not been informed by my more experienced co-leader that I needed to attach rope to my hammock ropes so that the rain would drip off that to the ground. Instead, I woke up at about 6am with a soaked back! At least my tarp worked and so I wasn't wet from above as well! I had also had a moment of stupidity the night before and left my waterproof shoes on the floor next to my hammock. Because they are gore-tex, the rain didn't just soak them, it left pools of water in each shoe! Sufficed to say everyone was a little bit cold, wet and miserable that last morning. It did eventually stop raining but I think everyone was looking forward to clean, warm beds.

Despite the weather it was a great camp and I know that I'm really going to miss all of these people here. The time is ticking ever closer. I have just over a month left here in Slovenia, that is if my flight isn't cancelled! I'm having to start organising my things and preparing to leave. Yesterday I had a bit of a stressful morning when I discovered that my bike had a puncture and I still needed to get to my language lesson. I got there eventually but decided today that I didn't want to deal with the hassle of fixing my bike when I was planning to sell it so soon. Therefore, today, I wheeled it to a bike shop and sold it. Part of me is happy that it's one less thing to deal with but another part of me is sad because it's another step towards leaving the place that has become my home.

My co-leader woke up to a pool of water on her tarp!

I know that it is the right thing to do, and also I don't really have a lot of choice in the matter, but it's hard to say goodbye even if it is only (hopefully) temporary.

I will lift my eyes to the Lord and keep my eyes fixed on him. I will keep on trusting in him and I know that wherever he leads it is for my good!

Finishing the School Year (and a Mini Rant About the British Foreign Office)...

This last two weeks have really been ones of closure and goodbyes. I've already had to say goodbye to two American families from the church. One family has moved back to the US permanently whilst the other is just there over the summer but they will return to Slovenia after I've already (hopefully!) returned to the UK. Many weekly meetings have also finished for the summer. These included the weekly Bible study, my ministry training sessions and the youth group. For our last youth group of the school year we had a Masterchef competition. We split them into three groups, older girls, older boys and a younger group. Each group had to make chocolate mousse and then the hard task of judging them fell to the leaders. Surprisingly, and with no favouritism or biased voting, the younger group won. They had expected to be in last place so it was very gratifying to see the excitement on their faces when they realised that they had won! We had great fun together but it was a bit bittersweet for me as this was the last one I will attend and be a leader of.

That being said, I am in full planning mode for our youth camp which starts on 14th July and lasts until 17th (I will probably be late with my next blog post due to exhaustion!). We will be studying the book of Colossians and looking at how we stay rooted in Christ, grow and show fruit in our lives. I have been working with two of the teenagers who will be leading the groups to help them prepare and write studies on each section we will be studying. Please be praying for this time together, that we will have fun and safety on camp but mostly that each young person would learn more about God and grow in their relationship with him.

Here I need to put in a warning that I am about to have a mini rant against the British Foreign Office. I try very hard to keep my posts on social media politically neutral but since this decision affects me personally and makes very little sense I am sharing it so you can continue to pray for me and for the situation. As I'm sure you're all aware I am moving back to the UK at the end of August. This has meant that I've had to follow the news very carefully to work out my travel plans and what will be required of me. Last week I had to deal with the news that my flight on 26th August from Ljubljana had been cancelled. I've managed to book a new flight with a different airline on 28th August so I'm praying that this one doesn't get cancelled as well.

Today the government published the list of countries that are exempt from quarantine from 10th July. Slovenia is not on it! This is despite the fact that we have lower rates of infections than our neighbours and they are all on the exempt list. Serbia and Croatia are currently the countries from which we are getting most of our imported cases. Yesterday Slovenia added more restrictions to non Slovenes crossing the border from Croatia. Yet both countries are on the list. I just don't understand! I can understand the need to be in quarantine especially if I was coming from a country with a high rate, but I'm not. If anyone has any ideas then please send all answers on a postcard. I'm genuinely confused and obviously a little bit upset with the situation. Please be praying for this situation. I will quarantine, obviously, if it's required but I'm hoping that it will change before the end of August. If I need to quarantine, then this will also restrict my parents to the house as well. It just adds another level of difficulty to my move from Slovenia to St. Albans and then on to Swindon. I just need to keep reminding myself that God has it all in hand and he knows exactly what is the best thing for me. If this means quarantine, then into quarantine I will go...