The great outdoors and etc.

So I just came back yesterday afternoon from a 2 week camping trip at a place called Hidden Valley. And let me just tell you. It was amazing!!! The first week passed by in a blur of torrential downpours of rain. Taking everything out of the tent to dry and draining it was almost an everyday occurrence. You just had to get used to feeling damp 24/7. Gooood times. Already looking back I can laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. There was one point where the river completely flooded over the road and we were unsure if we would be able to get through to get us food for the next day! But overall, it was awesome. Our days consisted of lectures in the morning and then we were pretty much free the rest of the day. We could play a plethora of sports in the meadow (which was sometimes occupied by cows), swim in the creek, or explore the wilderness! A few times, we got to walk to the gorge, which was this beautiful area with a river and rapids and waterfalls and rocks!! It was so awesome and I would just be sitting there on a rock thinking to myself, "What the heck am I doing here? I'm in the middle of the Australian bush, sitting in the middle of this random river with these people from all over the world. How awesome!" It blew my mind to say the least. Nighttime was probably my favorite part. We had a camp fire every night and would just sit around for hours, throwing logs on the fire, playing the guitar and singing, trying to catch pademelons (Australian versions of rabbits, kind of a cross between a mouse and a kangaroo), talking, talking, and talking. It was so great. We were camping with the other school as well and it was great bonding time with them, I made some great new friends! Every night when it wasn't cloudy, we could see the Milky Way and some shooting stars!! God's creation is absolutely beautiful!!! Lectures were absolutely fantastic. God lovingly punched me in the face multiple times and I just realized a whole lot of stuff about Him and about myself. We learned a lot about faith and surrendering our whole lives to Him. It was challenging for sure, but a great week of learning and growing. :)
It was a great two weeks camping and we are now back on base for one busy week before we go on our first outreach!! I'm still a little unsure of the details, but my group and I will be on the road for three weeks traveling around Queensland. We'll be spending some time in the outback at a church and then from there, we'll probably be going to Brisbane. We'll be going to lots of schools and churches, putting on programs and spreading the word about the horrors of human trafficking. I have no idea what to expect and I couldn't be more excited about it!! Lots of love to you all :)