From the past few years,
summer vacation seems like was the busiest time during the year in my life. This
year summer vacation I had three camps at the beginning of July, and then I
went to Caux + London for a week each. Came back to Taiwan a day before the
APYC started. APYC will finish tomorrow.
Kids’ camp I worked with
senior high school students. During the school time I met them once in two week
and we had different training. In the winter and summer vacation they helped
with the kids’ camp. Summer vacation kids’ camp the senior high school students
in charge of everything, from the leaflet design, doing the budget, thinking
about the program, and making all the name tag, handout. It was not easy to sit
back and wait for everything happened. Many times I thought things delayed and
felt panic but looked at them, they seemed not worry at all. Working with them
trained me a lot in “letting go”.
This time we had 24 kids and
20 senior high school students. Because of the number of the kids we didn’t
have enough money to cover the whole expend. The kids they paid fee to attend
and we were hoping the money they paid can cover the senior high school
students’ fee as well. I shared this situation with the senior high school
students and we were trying to get more kids to attend but it wasn’t work out. So
instead of looking for more kids I was thinking how to find money to support
the camp. I thought about many of my friend, my students’ parents quite support
what I am doing, I could invite them to donated some money. I shared with lady
A and she thought about another lady B whose daughter I am now doing one to one
talk every week. Then I received a phone call from this lady B said she will
like to cover all of the money which I needed for the camp fee. Thanks her so
much, and can sense what I am doing been lead by a higher power.
Youth camp I worked with
university students, the same they took on everything, and the same I was
facing my “worry” and “trying control”. During the youth camp we let junior
high school students took care of their basic living, so they needed to clean
the classroom and the toilet by themselves, enter the kitchen to cook for the
meals, and went to the market to buy food. Enter the kitchen was the biggest challenge.
Most of them never cook before and was the first time cooking for 30 people. The
first day they try to use electric pot to cook rice but they forget to plug the
plug.
During the youth camp they
also learned to schedule the timetable for the camp. They need to decide in the
small group when they wanted to wake up in the morning, when for breakfast,
lunch, dinner, when to go to bed, when for the first session to start. They
need to think carefully otherwise no time for cooking or cleaning the
classroom. After decide in the small group then they needed to negotiate in the
big group so 30 of us agree the timetable together. There were a lot of
patience and communication inside the negotiation.
I was in Caux for a week. Accompany
two of my students there. They attend the internship program. It was nice to
see so many familiar faces in Caux but not all of them I had chance to catch
up. Everyone was so so busy with different things. It was nice to be there
after the tiring camp I had in Taiwan. My time in Caux was relaxing and can get
some rest to recover from the tiredness.
Then I went to UK for
another week. I met some friends and tried to be a tourist. Most of the travel I
did was for different programs and then I might have one or two days can look
around. But this time in UK no program. Unusual feeling. It was nice to meet up
with Keith and Kofi, two old friends from AFL2. I enjoyed looking around in
London and Oxford and I also had two days enjoyed the countryside Lancashire.
Now, back to Taiwan, because
of APYC I also met a lot of friends here. But I wasn’t attending the whole
program because one of my secretaries went to join and I need to take on her
work in the EQ office.
Thanks for reading and wish you a happy summer.
H.Y
