We last Sunday with 81 students on a double decker bus and 2, 12 seater vans. The drive to the Gold Coast ended up taking 23 hours in total so we reached our campsite around 11:30 am on Monday.
Tuesday was our first full day of adventuring during which we got to go to a beautiful beach for the first half of the day and go shopping at a massive two-story indoor/outdoor mall. That night Andrew spoke on Gods love. For the first few days there was a bit of a spiritual heaviness and the kids were a quite hard to handle at times and not too receptive, though there were a few really meaningful conversations.
Wednesday we went to Wet and Wild which is a pretty awesome water theme park and on Thursday we went to Dream World which is full of crazy roller coasters. During these few days we were able to begin to really connect with the students and build their trust. Despite the many dramas that went on the first 3 days or so we started to see some breakthrough and the kids begin to respond to what we had to say which was awesome.
Thursday night we had a band come, Selahphonic, and they were awesome! They played a few songs and then since they are also film makers they showed a 15 minute video that they had made (they played the background music and narrated a bit live). The video was a metaphor of how the world views God and how He views us back. Going back to a little earlier, around dinner time SJ and I were able to have a great conversation with 2 students about the purpose of life and the place that God can have in our lives, that really pumped me up for the night! The conversation was cut off a little bit early because we had to go pray for the evening but what was awesome is that while we were praying I had a picture of our campsite and all around was a slight mist or fog, all except for a perfectly clear circle above our facility. We had been praying heaps all week for breakthrough and I felt like this was God saying that we had finally broken through and that on that night He had a clear sky to come meet the kids. Now going back to the night time, after the band played a few songs the lead singer shared his testimony and then invited up to the front anyone who wanted to accept Jesus and their Lord and Savior. I couldn't believe what happened next, 48 out of the 81 all rose up in unison and walked to the front! My eyes opened so wide and all I could do was look around, jaw dropped, not believing that this was possible. The change in some of the kids was so clear, I couldn't believe that the same kid that was one of the biggest trouble makers was now much, much more docile and asking Jesus to come into his life. It was a phenomenal time. After the students went up there was a major dance party happening which was also epic. When things wrapped up on the part side of things some worship music was put on and we were able to connect on a more personal level with some of the kids who had accepted Christ and tell them more about what it would be like, how to start the relationship and pray with them. The next day, Friday, we packed everything back into the bus and then headed shopping. We went to a massive outdoor mall for a few hours before taking a train back to the church that we went to the first day, but this time for dinner. The bus ride back, though this time only about 19 hours, was quite long and boring. Now we are back and have started lectures again! It is about dinner time so I must head out but I hope you are all doing well.
Selah
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