Camping!

So when they told us we were going to be camping 2 hours out of the city in the Australian bush, I expected something super hardcore with a bunch of dangerous animals and no trees. But it was actually very similar to camping at home. Except the outhouses were a lot more disgusting then most I've been in. But it was such a fun weekend! We wer supposed to leave on Friday morning - one group at 9am and the others at 12. I was on the 12 bus (to get in a bit more sleep!) but we didn't end up leaving until 6pm. The first bus broke down and got a flat tire so they were all stranded at McDonald's for hours and we were stuck back at the base... But we finally all got there, all safe and in one piece. Basically all weekend was spent in the water. We were a minute walk away from this beautiful river.. so perfect for swimming. There were also these kind of caves/tunnels that were cut out of the rocks that everyone had a good time exploring. We also rented canoes - my arms are still sore. It was prety cool to have a whole weekend of hanging out with just the yp. I love camping so much and it is even better when you are with so many awesome people. Unfortunately we couldn't have a campfire due to the drought here but we still did manage to get some s'mores in.

I guess I should fill you in about what I've been learning in classes and stuff.. Last week's topic was evangelism. It was really great. Our speaker was able to convey the importance of evangelism and also how exciting it can be. He told us so many awesome stories of encounters he had while just street preaching or evangelizing. By the end of the week I just wanted to go and tell people about God! haha. But, really, he was very inspiring. Each Thursday the whole base goes out into the city of Perth to evangelize. I normally approah Thursday night evangelism with a kind of bad attitude, not wanting to do it and mostly just really scared. We got the chance to go out as a school to evangelize and we had a pretty cool time of worship and sharing on the streets. A lot of people stood up on a bench and shared bits of their testimony or why they love God.. I didn't really feel like I had anything to say, so I hung back. I am still pretty apprehensive about the whole evangelism thing but I know it is something important and something that will push me out of my comfort zone. I am excited to grow in this area! This weeks lectures are about the fear of the Lord. A pretty big topic. I know it will be good!

I am now half way through the lecture phase, or a quarter of the way through in total. This is just crazy to me. I can't believe how fast time has been flying. I feel like I just got here! We are going to start looking towards outreach a lot now. Today we talked a bit about finances and just where people are at. A lot of people don't have all the money they need yet for outreach, so we are all trusting God that it will come in and people will be willing to support them. It is going to be cool to hear the stories of how God provides.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well!