The Beauty of Contagious Passion

I've just had an incredible week leading on my first camp Kedron camp! So good to be back on a kids camp with awesome leaders and awesome kids!!! This time I had a group of 8 girls to look after for the week. I had two fun, loving independent year 5s, 4 year 4s, 2 of were chilled and loving and I don't think they cried the entire week!! and then two who were friends and then were in tears because they had fallen out and this cycle repeated itself until one of them went home early due to a skiing trip... Then I had 2 quite fragile year 3s for whom it was there first week away and who both (despite a few tears=( ) managed to stay for the entire camp and they went home happy. Every camp I come back with many stories. There are some that make me smile, some that make me cry and others that make me want to tear my hair out in utter frustration. The last one usually happens on the last night of camp when all my girls are tired and cranky (And usually I am too!!) but this camp it...

Off on another kids camp at the end of the week!! I'm so excited!! Some people think I'm nuts- I've had a crazy semester and I work with kids all the time and really just need a rest... But here is what comes to mind when I think of kids camps... I remember small groups with kids who are so eager to read the bible and love asking questions and finding out more about God. I remember kids who were too scared to go down the water slide and then finally plucked up the courage and did it and loved it. I remember kids who started camp a bundle of nerves who opened up to be funny and friendly and couldn't stop talking about all the fun they'd had when their parents came to pick them up. I remember kids who drove me INSANE all camp with their fighting and arguing and then they told me what home was like... and the frustration melted instantly. I still pray for you now... I remember the music, the action songs and watching you get really into i...

These last few weeks have been a bit insane. Once again back in exam season and uni has played its usual heartless trick of giving us less than a week after assignments have finished to cram in as much precious revision as we can before the moment hits us. My first exam didn't go so well... then 2 hours sleep the night before the second one didn't help especially with having to get up early for the third one... I spent 3 hours watching kids T.V after the third one and ages dozing the day after... But that's how life goes sometimes... We stress, we rest and we keep on moving... However, this week has got better as it went on... I teach scripture once a week, I missed my class last week cause of an exam. When I got there this week they cared enough to ask how it went and then were curious as to what I was studying. I told them I wanted to be a primary school teacher and they were really excited and thought I should come and teach at their school and teach year 6 (whi...

Country to country, city to city, house to house, people to people... You get the drift I move a lot. One of the things I love about moving is the fact that I have a fresh start everywhere I go... I've recently arrived in Australia from Kenya, supposedly home- my family, my bed and my things are here and there are people who I think are people I went to primary school with, but 7 years really do change a person- particularly when those are the teenage years. In a sense, I'm home...I'm back at the first church I was ever a part of, some new people and some old ones... and I think its brilliant! These people are welcoming, they are passionate and they are genuine and I love it. For the last couple of weeks I have felt God challenging me. Once again about my priorities... I'm back in first year uni. A conjoint degree in psychology and teaching... New subjects, new learning and the same old temptation to let my need for unnecessarily good grad...

  9 weeks ago, I arrived in Kenya and it seemed like the scariest place in the world. By week 2 I was brave enough to set foot outside the compound alone and by week 4 I was happily teaching a VBS class to about 40 kids in a small classroom in Kibera slums. By week 6 I was spending Christmas with my exciting and totally lovable Kenyan family. Just two weeks ago I once again stepped foot in the beautifully wonky corrugated iron and wood construction known as Joy Springs. I was quickly blessed with hundreds of smiling faces and 4 beautiful classes that I could love, teach and develop lessons for. It was my dream. I was working hard and spending heaps of time with the children that so strongly drew me back to this continent. Now due to my short time in Kenya I only have 3 weeks left in this completely amazing place. I have seen so much and fallen head over heels in love with an African country once again. Today I found out that I could not go into school on Monday due to potential d...