SummerSALT Lorne and Torquay '09!
A few of us in our Droppo Tshirts on the first night.
Boys' breakfast: Bacon, eggs, baked beans, toast, hash brown and grilled tomatoes So, you must be wondering about this. We have this thing where girls will pick a day to serve the boys and make the boys feel loved and vice versa. So us girls decided to make the boys breakfast which the boys commented were "the best ever" and we organised manly games for them to be uncivilised which were "fun but sore" hehe..
We served the boys breakfast, washed and dried their dishes and packed their lunches - to which the boys all went "AWWWWW...!!"
Boys' Games Night Team Dinosaurs
Team Knights
Game #1: Hole Ball with no rules
You can tackle for fun..
Or get the ball into the hole
Game #2:Buck buck
Aim of game: piling (and gayly hugging each other)
They managed to pile 3 guy on top. The fourth, Hamish couldn't balance and brought everyone down with him hehe..
Game #3: Who's the stronger sex? Aim of game: Lock 'em in!!
Then pull them apart
Girls giving their all to beat the boys!! By the way, at the end of the games night, all the girls' tummies were aching from laughing too hard and all the boys' egoes were puffed up with masculinity. lol
Girls' breakfast: The boys serenaded us while we ate breakfast.
Juice in glasses with ribbons tied around them. S2
Crepes with caramelised banana or berries, or both... plus croissants! Except for the croissants, the boys cooked up everything else themselves... AND they made sure all the washing of dishes and whatever else that comes with it were all done only by them for the rest of the trip. I couldn't even wash a single cup or stack dishes away! =O These boys are soooooooooo sweeettt.... and they made me realise my standards were never too high, because there ARE amazing guys out there. I just haven't met them yet...until Summer Project. I know he's out there.
Oh, and I got proposed to. As a joke of course.
I made a French Choc Cheese Cake for my buddy who turned 21, and apparently, it was the bomb. =S and deserved to be proposed to since "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" -.-"
Lorne crew.
Final night pranks...
Josh finding it funny that he could flip me upside down.
My revenge: ice down Josh's back
Background
This two-week mission trip was organized by Student Life and it has been running for a few years consecutively. Student Life is the university ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia and is found in various campuses all across Australia. Specifically for this project, the universities involved were UNSW, U of Sydney, U of Melbourne, RMIT, Latrobe U, and Deakin Geelong.
SummerSALT Lorne is one of 8 mission trips that Student Life plans yearly. The project’s main focus is to reach out to school leavers who are searching for hope, direction and most importantly, God. Campus Crusade for Christ Australia provides us with evangelizing tools that proved to be extremely useful during this project. The KGP (Knowing God Personally Booklet) is like a gospel track, explaining the gospel in 4 points, ending with making a decision and saying the sinner’s prayer, to leading a Christ-centered life. The Soularium is a tool for dialogue in picture cards. Each of the 50 pictures are freely interpreted by the viewer as they answer questions like “Pick a photo that describes your life; pick a photo that you think describes God and pick a photo that describes your spiritual life right now.” These tools were in constant use as we helped draw schoolies into spiritual conversations.
I was privileged to be able to spend these two weeks in Lorne with 28 other amazing Christians who have devoted their lives to serving God. Each team member was a constant encouragement to me as I observed the way they prayerfully lived each day while on project and they have helped me grow into a deeper relationship with God.
Testimonies
There are so many testimonies to tell!
1) On the first Tuesday night, Erin and Bek encountered with a group of four friends who were extremely drunk. Harry’s eccentric personality was more evident as they walked into our Drop-In Centre (Droppo) while Melissa blurted out that she doesn’t want to spend her life doing “this” as she bent over a toilet bowl. Pat, Josh, Erin and Bek then had to go through a long night of getting the four home safely in the Free Shuttle Bus that we ran. On Wednesday night, the four came by Droppo again, this time, sober. They engaged in a spiritual conversation which then led to Josh and Pat sharing the KGP with Harry. By Sunday, Harry had sent Erin an SMS saying that he’s found God. Though he hasn’t made a decision to follow Christ, he’s certain he’ll eventually get there.
2) Emily had a chat with one of the guys that came by Droppo. They got into a conversation about his family and he explained that his family is really insulting and could turn a cough into something to be kicked out of the house for. He told Emily that he worked 60 hours a week so that he could buy a house and prove to his family that he’s worth something. When Emily heard this, she told him that she has so much respect for him because she’s never met another 18-year-old who would do that. The boy then started making coughing motions to cover up the tears that were welling up in his eyes. Who knew just a simple encouragement to a boy who feels so broken could go a long way?
3) Tom lived in Anglesea with his friends and they were waiting for their cab to come at 2am. While waiting, the boys hung out with us at Droppo. Gina engaged in a spiritual conversation with Tom and when it was time to leave, Tom didn’t want to go and told his friends to head home without him. We offered to send Tom back to Anglesea if he would stay a bit longer to chat, he did. Joel then joined Gina and together, they shared the KGP with Tom.
4) We lived at a backpackers’ hostel and it was the perfect opportunity for ministry as we did life with other travelers. There were many young travelers, ranging from 18-22 years of age. There were 3 boys specifically, Ishmael(Izzy), Kas and Tony who we’ve impacted. On the first day that the 3 boys moved into the backpackers’ hostel, we were all a bit put off by their rough and rude attitude. Luckily for us, having to spend meal times with the boys meant we got to know them better and found out they were brothers and cousins from Albania and Croatia, and have lived a really tough life growing up. The boys came by Droppo a lot and there was a big difference from the first night to the last night when we tried talking to them about God. Kas was very close to making a decision, but still sat on the fence; Izzy was adamant that justice needs to be brought on all the people who’ve done bad things and Tony actually sat down to listen to a proper conversation. We made them a card and wrote them each encouragement notes and they were deeply touched. By the last night, Izzy admitted that he wanted to be like us, to do good to people. These boys who first came with roughed-up attitudes were now like saints, despite everything that they’ve been through; we were all blessed to see the change that happened in them in those four short days.
I have a lot more testimonies. If you want to hear more, just ask me.
Lessons learnt
This trip has changed my mindset about the call for missionaries. As much as rural areas and third world countries are in need to hear the gospel, there’s so much oppression and lost souls in our society. So many of the schoolies I’ve met have a twisted view of religion, Christianity and God, and so many more have never heard of God’s love for us.
I learned what it really means to be used by God. I saw with my own eyes, the answer to the prayer “Here I am, Lord, send me.” I learned that God can only use you as much as you will allow Him to, because everything after that will be like a roller coaster ride that you can’t control. And I learned that God’s power is limitless, what He can really do with us and through us is far beyond what we can ever think or imagine. The best thing that I’ve learned is God’s strength really is made perfect in my weakness.
Recommendations
I would encourage everyone to go on a mission trip like this one if they’re willing to be stretched by God and are desperate to witness how much they can be used by God. There is so much need at Lorne especially at this time of year. Binge drinking, drugs, sex before marriage and passing out on the beach is something so real. Teens that would turn around and say “I want something more than this” or “I don’t want to live my life doing this” simply means it is extremely crucial that there is someone to turn to when they start questioning. Though we didn’t witness anyone give their lives to God, we know that the seed has been planted, and so many have left Lorne looking for something they never thought they would find before coming on Schoolies. And I’ve learnt, the older they get, the harder it will be for them to turn to God; these teens are at the ripe age of turning to God for refuge and strength.
I hope these stories have touched you as much as they’ve changed me. But it must be noted that opportunities for stories like these are all around us, sometimes we’re just not paying enough attention to them. I pray that somewhere down the road, you will find the courage to step out in complete faith and allow God to use you. In that process, may you also be blessed.
If it isn't obvious already, these two weeks has been amazzinnnGGG!!! I loved every moment of it, and I miss it, the people, the place, everything heaps.
It's been a pleasure telling you all of this. S2
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