Day 21: Home

Well, our three weeks has come to an end, and what an amazing journey it has been. Many of our students signed up in the early part of this year, and our team has been busy preparing for much of it. Throughout our team meetings, one-on-ones and general preparation, we have been so impressed with all our students. They have been eager to learn, get involved and have fun, as well as getting along so well. 

Our last day of the trip was mainly based in Singapore. After checking-out of the hotel and heading to the airport, our initial flight felt relatively quick. Arriving in Singapore, the Cambodia team had about 11 hours to kill. The team collected their airport vouchers and had a brief look through the shops, thinking about what their last bits of money would be going towards. 

The Cambodia team then embarked on the free city tour that the Singapore airport offers. We got to travel around the city and see all the special sights. The city is amazingly clean and the citizens are extremely proud of their country and city, which is so cool to see. 

Upon arriving back at the airport, the Philippines team had just arrived and settled down near Burger King. It was so nice to see familiar faces, as well as see the other team and how they had come together. While we are two separate teams, there is a still a sense that we are part of one big project together and it was awesome to see a glimpse of that at Singapore airport. 

After some food and collection of goods, we boarded our last flight, watched some movies and attempted to get some sleep. Everything went smoothly upon our return to Melbourne and our families were quite overjoyed to welcome us through the gates. Some sad goodbyes to the people we have lived with for the last three weeks and all of a sudden, it was done.

But really, for us, we see this as just the beginning. These trips have never been about solving complex issues overseas, or just doing our little bit to help. It has always been about investing into the lives of young people in Australia, hopefully broadening their perspective and giving them a path forward so they can make a change here in Australia, and live positive lives that have a positive impact on the world around them. And so, our hope and prayer, is that that would happen. 

Thanks for following along on this blog, for your support and encouragement. Hopefully our daily stories have inspired you and we look forward to the best yet to come! 

- Joel