Goodbye September

I have been so bad about blogging the last few weeks, please forgive me. But somewhere between going to Camp Revive and housesitting and surviving a dust storm, September ended and October came!

I was fortunate to attend Camp Revive in Melbourne. Camps in Australia are not just for teens, but also for young adults, so I was a participant at the camp. Because students here go to school all year long and summer is only about 6 weeks in December and January, lots of camps happen throughout the year on weekends. Five of us went to this camp from the Gosford—three young adults and two teens. We drove down to Melbourne in a massive road trip of two 10-seater buses and a minivan filled with 25 teens and young adults from the Sydney area. We arrived at the camp after spending 12 hours in the car on Friday evening. The camp was extremely uplifting and encouraging, even though it rained all weekend long. The theme was “Here I am to Worship,” which focused on how we can worship God with our every day lives and not just on Sunday mornings. There were excellent speakers, times of singing, and lots of fellowship. I was fortunate to meet and get to know many teens and young adults from all over Australia. I also was able to spend time with Jamie Canham and Sammie Marshall, two HIM workers in Sydney who also went to OC. The camp lasted until Sunday afternoon, then we got back in the bus and headed home. We arrived back to Gosford at 2 am Monday morning. Despite the long drive and the bad weather, I really enjoyed Revive and learned how to better worship God on a daily basis.

Spending 24 hours in a bus and loving it.

Me, Cam, and Emma representing Trek Youth.

My new Melbourne best friend, Amber.

Craft time with Jen, Allison, and Jamie (another HIM worker from Sydney).

A few weeks go, I woke up to very red and hazy sky. A freak dust storm had blown In the night before. Everything was coated in dust and the sky was foggy until late afternoon. I have been told I this never happens and it won’t happen again while I am here! Even after the air cleared, a fine layer of red dust covered everything including my freshly washed clothes! I ended up washing them twice and just using the dryer. The good thing was I felt right at home seeing all that red dirt along the street and on my car—just like being in Oklahoma!

I'll leave you with some of the signs that Spring is in full swing here on the Central Coast! These are all in my backyard!