Credo

Tiredness has set in at the Bode. Everyone is walking around looking like they just want to go and have a nap. I’m feeling that too. My eyes are heavy, my brain is tired, and I feel like a cold is setting in. Great.

As I come to write this post, I’m sat here wondering where to start. I feel as though I have so much I want to out on here, but when I think back everything about the last week is just one big blur; the days have all merged into one big one.

I spent the last week in Switzerland doing an English Camp with 20 kids (...well, I say kids. They were between like 13-17, so more teenagers than kids I guess) who wanted to improve their English. There were 6 of us from school went to help out. I loved the week, and there were so many highlights of my time there, but after a few days of being there, all of us missed the Bode. I valued my time in Switzerland, but couldn’t help feeling I was missing things back at school. I don’t think any of us expected to miss school as much as we did. The morning we set of home (yep, I have been referring to the school as home now) we were all so giddy at the thought of getting back into Germany.

...But what were the highlights Steph?! You said there were highlights before you started getting all soppy about missing school!?

OK, so just general camp life was fun. Yeah, it was exhausting, but we had so many laughs with the kids. And though the camp did feel quite long because it was a full week, it gave us more chance to get to know the kids there. We got pretty close to some of them, and it was to encouraging seeing them by the end of the week asking more questions about the bible talks, and praying for each other in small groups. And because it was a small camp, only a small group of us went to help out. Spending a whole week with just 5 other people from Bode was class; we all got to know each other so well. On the journey there none of us really knew each other. We were asking questions like ‘so, Natalie, do you have any brothers and sisters?!’. But on the way home, we were chatting away like friends do, laughing away, and generally being giddy.

What else happened?! ...A farmer near the place near where we were staying shot at us. Yep, you did read that right. Well, he maybe didn’t shoot directly at us, but he sure did shoot his gun with the intention to tell us to get of his land. Us guys from school had a free afternoon one day, we had a bit of cabin fever from being inside all day, it was raining, and so what else was there to do but put on bin bags, and slide down some hills. SO much fun. Got a few bruises and some very muddy clothes, but totally worth it.

We also went on a sweet hike up a mountain. And the view, not joke, was AMAZING. You could just see the Alps for miles and miles. We sat and had lunch at the top, and an eagle was flying around, soaring through the air. It was quite a sight; it was flying effortlessly though the sky. Watching it fly I couldn’t help but remember the passages in the bible where God says he will lift us up on wings like eagles. How he does not grow tired or weary. He is strong and powerful. Standing at the top of a mountain, looking out at the greatness of His creation just reminded and confirmed to me how amazing He is. He made the mountains just though speaking words. He spoke and they appeared. I mean, can you get more powerful than that?!

Honestly, I’m struggling to think of other things that we did. We played a lot of games, did general camp things. I had my first real smore at a campfire taught by North Americans and they were pretty darn good.

Anyway, I’m back at the Bode; for now anyway. Next week I’m off again with the whole of the English outreach team to lead a camp somewhere in Germany. So this week on my agenda is catching up from all the I missed from last week, doing this week’s work, writing the assignment that’s due while I’m away, and planning some English lessons for the camp. Busy?! Yes. But its all good.