Wednesday 22 July 2020

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!

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