continuing the journey...

So I've been in Naracoorte for 2 months already! It's been a pretty crazy 2 months.
In the time I've lived in 2 houses, got another part time job, and been to the mechanics 3 times. But let me explain more about what I've been up too. 

So on February 1st I packed my belongings in mums car and set off on my own for the 4 hour drive. When I arrived I had no idea what was gonna happen. It was pretty scary driving away from home because this was home, family, friends and familiar environments but I felt called and I was excited but probably more nervous at that point. 400kms later I arrived at Naracoorte at about 3pm and drove straight to the Ministers house- I didn't even know where I was going to live that night or long term. 

Youth group was at 7pm that night. Nothing like being thrown straight into it! It was a welcome party night and was heaps of fun hanging out and meeting youth and leaders too. That night I got attacked with streamers, water guns, permanent marker and cake- I passed the initiation though I think?!
Church the next morning where I got introduced and interviewed in service before heading out to the place that had been arranged for me to stay. It was with a lovely family from church. Fon, David and her son Jojo. Fon is a Thai lady and an awesome cook. They lived on a property about 5kms out of town and it was a beautiful house! 

One difficulty was that I had mums car but only because I had an intensive in Adelaide a week after I arrived so borrowed it for the week I arrived before heading back to Adelaide to return the car and study. On my return to Naracoorte I would have to organise a car so that I could get to my house and work each day. I was blessed with a car that I could borrow, one of the youth leaders bought a car for their son for when he got his P's however he still seemed to be a while off them so instead of it sitting around I got to borrow it which is awesome. Here come the great sermon stories though, it's a manual and I've never driven a manual before. So a lesson backwards and forwards in the backyard then a drive on the back roads. And the car was all mine, all good as long as I don't stop on a hill as I can't do a hill start and didn't breakdown coz I couldn't do a rolling start I would be fine. 

Within the first week of having the car, I had stalled at an intersection and the car wouldn't start again. I had to call for help. Minister to the rescue of crying youth pastor!
The battery then went flat the next day so I had to push it to the mechanics. He's an awesome guy from church, he's reply, "was wondering how long it would be before I saw you here"
New battery and I was all good again. Getting used to drive a manual was tricky when I was so used to the auto. This led to the second challenge. - I parked on a hill. Not even a little one. A really massive big one. I tried so hard to successfully do a hill start but it just wasn't happening. I tried for nearly 15mins. I kept rolling backwards. Then I came up with a genius idea. If I can't go forward successfully, why not go backwards?! So I reversed down the hill and into a side street until I could turn around and drive off normally. I thought I was brilliant, the poor couple I had been visiting were so concerned for me!
My second trip to the mechanics came the next Friday after getting a new battery. Imagine for a second, the most annoying high pitch squeal of an alarm. Now imagine it not meaning anything and happening nonstop from the second you turn your engine on until you turn it off. Unsure of what this alarm meant, I took it to my good friends at the mechanics, they too were quite perplexed and suggested that it would stop soon. It did 2 days later. 

The same day which I visited the mechanics ended quite eventfully. Now remember how I said I couldn't do hill starts? Yeah well sometime you just have to stop on a hill, like when you have a stop sign and there is a car coming. So I stopped, problem was I couldn't start again. I stalled. The pressure was building, a car waiting behind me, the high pitch squeal frustrating me and now enters steam or smoke from the bonnet?! I signaled the car to go around me and eventually I got a successful hill start. Overwhelming stressed because of high pitch alarms and smoke I drive the next street until I arrive at church in tears and jump out of the car which I assume is a car about to blow up! - maybe I was a drama queen whatever! I pop the bonnet and steam goes everywhere. I have no idea what I'm even looking at. Luck that a guy from church was walking past at the time and I asked him to give it a look. After the initial comment that the alarm noise was annoying we eventually find the problem, a hole in the radiator hose. The car got grounded at church for the weekend. One of the other guys offered to fix it Sunday arvo so, it stayed there until then.

I got to participate in Amazing Saturday - which originally was kids camp out in the south east but this year was compact into 8 hours of extreme fun.  It was really awesome to see many of the local churches come together to assist by leading in the event.

so much more has happened too since starting to write this post.
I'll try and post more regularly and with shorted and more consise points.