A Go

Ok, so apart from the subject of this blog being the rumoured name of my favourite band (Anberlin)'s next album, hopefully due out in September, 'A Go' pretty much sums up an activity that took place last night, and i can definitely say that it was one of the most oddly unique experiences i've ever had!

After what had been a really pleasant day, involving beautiful weather, fantastic lectures, and a swim or two in our neighbour's pool, we were all called into the auditorium for 'outreach prep' - the scheduled evening activity. There were rumours going around that we were going to be finding out our outreach teams and locations, so there was a real vibe of anticipation and excitement around. Oh, how that changed.

One of our course leaders, Ania, called our attention to let us know straight away that tonight was not the night we would find out our teams. Then the atmosphere changed. Ania, and the rest of the leaders, assumed a very serious facial expression, and we were told that tonight we were going to be given some instructions in order to carry out an activity - we would be given these instructions once, and after that, we were on our own. More than that, there was a real weight about the situation, and no one knew what was going on. Here were the instructions she gave us:

You will leave the auditorium and go to your houses.

Do not talk.

With the one sheet provided per house, follow the packing instructions.

Pack all items listed, tidy your room, and come back to the base.

Throw the bag you packed into the back of the truck that will be parked outside the front of the base.

Once finished, be back here in the auditorium - do not talk until we say so.

You have 20 minutes.

Go.

And so, everyone stood up, and walked to the exit. Well, they walked about 3 steps and then everyone broke into a full-on sprint. The vibe in the air was now one of pure adrenaline, mixed with sheer confusion. The 'no talking' rule was broken by all as soon as we left, and we continued to break it. Everyone arrived back at their houses and the mayhem began. We frantically packed, with no time to really assess the situation seriously, we were just obeying orders. After 10 minutes of packing a list that looked scarily like a weekends worth of stuff, the vibe changed again. Now people were beginning to get frustrated, some loved the thrill of it all, some were anxious at the now slightly more real possibility that we were going somewhere.

We finished and made a mad sprint across the street for the base. Once we arrived, we noticed the seriousness of the course leaders as they watched us like hawks, not saying a word, and refusing to answer any one who spoke to them. Now we were definitely in unknown territory. We got on with the job, and made it back to the auditorium, a little sweaty (being perfectly honest), but on time.

A couple of minutes passed (which felt like a very, very long time) before Ania finally spoke. One by one, she asked people who had broken the rules that had been set forward, to stand up. After the rule 'do not talk' was brought up, we'd all failed. We were then told that none of us were qualified to go on outreach. That made us shut up!

At last, we were informed that tonight was just a test (some were relieved, I was kind of excited by the whole thing!). It was explained to us that there were lots of lessons we could learn from this experience, which gave us a really good picture of the lifestyle of missions. It's all about carrying out instructions given to you, no matter how short the time given, how unclear the final objective, how silly the instruction, no matter how frustrated you get at the leader - you need to be able to perform. Furthermore, we are expected to not just meet the standards, but to completely raise the bar. This includes doing all things with optimism, a servant-heart, a willingness to help others and with an attitude that pleases God.

The unique situation brought out a lot of characteristics in people that were otherwise hidden. So we were able to evaluate ourselves and see how we could do things better next time.

Was it a test of patience? Of character? Of respect? Of nerve?

Yeah.

Worth it?

Totally.

So that was last night! I do enjoy telling stories, but for now that's all i have time for. So i'll leave you with some updates before i go.

This week's lectures are going really well. Our speaker, Jonathan Spainhour (the leader of the Biblical Core Course here at Reef to Outback), is leading in a week on learning how to study our bible, looking specifically at the book of Philemon. It's been great so far, i've learnt a lot of techniques for bible study, loads of random but interesting facts about the bible, and i've been given a new passion for reading it!

Finally, on sunday morning this week, i will be leaving for a 2-week camping trip in a forest 2 hours north from here. Me and the DTS are incredibly excited about this chance to go away, get to know each other even more, spend lots of time with God, and do loads of fun camping things like bonfire-watching, guitar-playing, star-gazing, river-swimming and hill-climbing! Unfortunately i'll be totally out of contact for the two weeks - but i will obviously be in touch before i go.

So that's me, hope you enjoyed the story! Please be in touch - i miss you all.

Take care and God bless,

Matt x

Prayer requests

To remember everything i learn during lectures - it's a lot of head knowledge for one week.

Time management, I'm struggling to balance communications/work/preparations for camping.

Good weather for camping. Pretty please?