Novice Campers Travelling Oz

Brad and Sam have gone away on a hike for four days with other Delhuntie staff and a group of year 9 school kids.  All was going well until this morning, first day of the actual walking part of the hike; Brad has done his knee in and will not be hiking, just camping.  Such a shame as little Sam carried his pack with his clothes, 3 meals and sleeping bag on his back, cared for by two staff Neil and Leah, and Brad didn?t get to spend the day with him - not fair.  Brad was driven to the campsite to bunk down with Sam tonight.  Brad cannot straighten his knee past ¾ so can?t walk yet can sit cross legged.  What is God trying to tell him?  The girls and I are painting a mural for our Pinnacle of Terror.  It is great that the girls can help me, keeps me from being a perfectionist!  I don?t know how many times I?ve cleaned up when they?ve gone out of the lines, but the experience is more important than the result.  We are having a lot of fun; making a lovely mess, paint in hair (Shay), on shoes, spilt in the workshop (me), ?Look mum I?ve got pink paint-gloves on!? (Nat), lots of giggling, singing and silliness.

When the boys go away the girls get to play...with the axe.  I had to chop kindling as we have none and due to the rain all the local sticks are wet, wet, wet.  One of Brad?s last parting comments was to buy some fire starters.  So while we were out I went to Woolworths and grabbed a pack of Heat Beads.  I tried lighting one, not much help I?m afraid... still none the wiser as to what a ?fire starter? is!  So we headed to the junk pile (through really sticky mud) and gathered lots of bits of scrap pine.  I haven?t chopped kindling since forever (Brad is such a gentleman).  For every swing of the axe I reckon I hit the wood every 3rd go!  So Brad?s chopping block is a bit chopped up but hey, a woman?s got to do what a woman?s got to do!   Then tonight as I go out I notice someone has mysteriously filled my wood box (I had none left, was just heading over to the boys house to borrow some of theirs while they?re all away) and gathered a mound of dry sticks for kindling.  Thanks Helen, I know you organized someone to do that!!!

R

Oh my knee!  The kids from Heatherton School were a great bunch and I was really looking forward to getting to know them more, as well as doing Sam?s and my first hike together.  We?d been down to the creek for icebergers and I had just been kneeling on my bedroll as I rolled it up.  Couldn?t straighten my leg or put ANY weight on it!  The grabbing pain was so very intense.  Thankfully when I pulled it back from the danger zone, back toward my butt, the pain went away.  Neil knee something was up when I shot him a desperate look across the campfire and came straight over.  After surveying the situation, he called on James ? camp cook.  What a blessing of a young man James is.  He massaged my knee, used hot and cold compresses for over an hour as we tried to slowly stretch, mobilise my knee.  It came a little straighter, but that knee was out of action.  I was SO disappointed and spilt some bitter tears ? why me, why now?  Anyway, I told Sam that I wouldn?t be going with him, but would see him at Sub Camp that evening, and that he?d be in the hands of Leah, Neil and Elwyn (re-named Cecil by the kids!).  Thank you guys for challenging Sam and pulling out of him the courage he showed on the hike.  He was so small carrying his pack that from behind he looked like a pack with skinny legs! (almost Magic Pudding-ish).  Short story, Sam was very courageous, often at the front of the pack, helped inspire the Heatherton hikers, and is a hero.  Back at Base Camp I sat on chair and chatted with James ? quality time, in between he getting up and retrieving things for me and also cutting down 2 large dead trees for firewood (probably more for fun too, but who?s to say!).  Got to tell you, being an invalid sucks!  I hated having to ask others for help and resented every request.  After lunch we got into the Troopy and headed to Sub Camp to set up.  The hikers soon joined us, with tales of walking impossibly steep 4wd trails, and some injuries.  Spent some enjoyable time that arvo with the others staff around Sam?s and my little fire, then hobbled with my make-shift crutch down to the creek for a cold dip.  The next day, after a hobble-to-the-creek-and-try-to-unsuccessfully-swim-iceberger, James and I waved off the hikers and jumped into the Troopy to head back to Base Camp, via those incredibly steep 4wd tracks (sounded like hyperbole to me, but the didn?t exaggerate!!)  We broke camp the next day and waved goodbye to some incredible students.  Memories of the camp: Tim conquering his abseiling fear, Bre and Caitey and their mates talking when they should have been sleeping, building a rock dam with Sam, ?capture the flag?, beautiful nature.  Oh and by the way, I was walking just fine on my knee an hour or so after the hikers returned!  What?s with that?  I?ll be very interested to hear from my Heavenly Father one day why I wasn?t to go on that camp.  Was it for Sam, for James, or perhaps for me???

B