Camping Reflections

This weekend was a blast. I camped 100 metres away from the beach, up on a hill that over looked the ocean. I have never spent so many days so close to the ocean. I have never chilled out the way they do. The entire weekend I was thinking of how I would be camping with the Navs at Sedona, but God had me in Lennox Head, Australia, learning a different way to worship him.

The structure of camping was....none. There was no set times or things to do. Just people, Jesus, bibles, food, and the beach. the weekend consisted of, eating, going to the beach to lay out, exploring the "Flat Rocks", playing soccer, rugby, surfing, swimming, burrying people in the sand, and making a "boat" in the sand.

At the rocks we found all sorts of creatures. I loved it. I saw and held star fish, a SHARK (I pet it, sorry mum), crabs, schells, and all sorts of life that lives in the rocks. It was so so so cool. Then out in the ocean you could see whales, dolphins, and while we were swimming we saw blue bottle jellyfish. Man the ocean is cool!

Australians are hard to get to know on a deeper level though. I could feel this tension of being an outsider. I could tell these people all grew up in the church together, and while some were welcoming and friendly others didnt even ask my name. I brought stuff to make American Smores (they dont have graham crackers or hersheys chocolate here, and most people dont know what a smore is) and some people I gave the stuff to didnt even ask my name let alone say "thank you". It is so different to what the Navs ministry is like.

Also they are extremely sarcastic and blunt. When playing games they make fun of you the entire time, and are unafraid to say offensive jokes. It was hard to adjust to, and as I reflect on the time I am trying to assess what is a cultural difference and what is spiritual immaturity. Anywho, here are some pics!

this is Kristen and I walking to the beach

This is Kristen, me, Holly, and Denea up at 5:00 watching the sunrise

the sunrise....glorious

this is Holly and I sun baking

this is the view from the trial down to the beach

these are dolphins in the ocean. wow.

me playing in the rocks, finding starfish, hermit crabs, and squishie coral

a starfish

if you look below the rock you can see the shark, its tail curves up to the right in the picture

a view of the "flat rocks"