PhaseTwelve

And So it Begins...

Hey it's Julia and Melissa, your favourite bloggers!

Well, we started our journey off with a bang; all thanks to Eastview Church. We were welcomed up on stage so that the church could actively surround us with their prayers for safety and boldness as we prepare to be pushed out of our comfort zones (and time zones. Ha). Soon after we were packed up and ready to drive out to Falcon Lake to begin Phase 1 of our journey. We were expecting a relaxing ride, but typical Cory already had an assignment prepared. Each vehicle of students and leaders were to learn the Thai numbers 1 to 100, and some basic phrases. The night began with our first HOC competition, which stands for Head of Cabin - a spin-off of Cory's favourite reality TV show, Big Brother. In our small groups of three, we got decked out in our team colours and put on our game faces. Cory, can you describe the challenge? …

Why yes, yes I can. Teams were separated in a large circle with the backs facing the middle. I would read out a list of punishments that students and leaders would bid on to receive in order to gain points for their team. The catch? They don’t know what their other team members are bidding. Punishments included; wearing a unicorn head mask for an hour at any time through out the week, permanent marker “I heart Jonah” tattoos on your body, no junk food for the week and burning the shirt off your back in the fire. One punishment was to shave an eyebrow. No one took the bait, but Sarah Wolfe ALMOST took the plunge. After punishments were read, teams could then bid on rewards, but using the points they just earned. It’s scary because the team with the least amount of points would be our first have-nots. Needless to say it got crazy and the dramatic music playing on our stereo set the mood quite nicely. Back to you ladies…

Because of their greed, team yellow became the “Have-Nots”, which involved uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, no showering for 36 hours, and only fish and rice for lunch and dinner. The night ended with a time of sharing around the campfire, where three students and two leaders shared their testimonies. Although some of us were pillow-less for the night, today was a fun start to our week of team building and orientation.

-J&M