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The Bethany Project Youth Trip 24th July – 8th August 2006-
Christ Church group report
When we all first set out on our trip to Bethany we all could not have possibly known how much this trip would change our lives.
Our departure from the Hope Centre on Monday 24th August began our trip together (all 19 of us!) although, the plane journeys were lengthy we all managed to keep going and to arrive in Mwanza still complete with our entire luggage!
The morning of Wednesday 26th July was our arrival at Bethany though many of us did not know what to expect as we arrived all the children came to greet us. Such a fantastic feeling! Most of the day was spent finding our way around alongside all the other members of the group. The next morning began lessons for all the children.
Each morning after our breakfast of home made bread rolls which tasted really excellent, we made time to plan our lessons, this proved a very difficult and challenging task throughout our stay at Bethany. The rewards on the other hand that we received were so great that the tedious planning made it well worth all the effort, just to see the children learn and more importantly want to learn. I remember just watching from the door of the classroom, looking at one of the children, who had just arrived home from school, change, collect her things and run across to the classroom not stopping until she arrived at the door! This moment for me just demonstrated how much in fact these children wanted to learn and wanted to succeed despite whatever is thrown at them. I had great respect for all of the children for this.
The teaching proved challenging for all members of the group as the fortnight progressed. However, I feel because God has called us all there our expectations of achieving excelled as we watched the children learn and develop each day. I think this is one of the greatest rewards we received whilst at Bethany.
Whilst at Bethany we also spent time playing with the children which was fantastic. I couldn’t believe how each one of the children had such a unique smile that just melted your heart. The time spent playing games and dancing was so pleasant the children just seemed to enjoy life so much. The line dancing especially, I think was a real highlight for the children and just to be there holding there hands and dancing alongside them was so wonderful.
Throughout our stay we experienced many highs and lows however, with a great team of many fantastic people we all pulled through and in general succeeded. During our stay at Bethany we saw many things that the majority of the group had only seen for the first time, some of these things made you stand back and really appreciate what you had but, the strangest of feelings is when you walk into a shop and think to yourself I don’t actually need any of these things. Our stay at Bethany taught us all many lessons and gave us all many of the most wonderful memories to look back on.
As our time spent at Bethany came to an end we returned to England on 8th August leaving us only to thank all the people who made our trip possible with their financial donations and prayers and also all the children for welcoming us so openly and inviting us to participate in their daily lives. We had formed such strong bonds with the children and they had taught us all so much about life and God during our stay. We are all extremely grateful for everyone who imputed into our trip in their own small way.
On behalf of our group I would like to thank Graham and Sheila alongside Kevin, Ann, Jo and Dan for all the time they spent with preparation and organisation and all the effort they put in to making the trip successful. We could not have made our trip without the hospitality of Graham and Sheila and the fantastic organisation and support of all the leaders. I know Jo certainly kept all of the girls going with her support, love and encouragement something we all valued very much. Thank you.
Karen Ross
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