Cultural Experiences

Indonesian Service Trip

During the recent holidays the inaugural Service Trip to Indonesia took place. Seven Year 10 students and three staff members were involved in forming partnerships with three schools in North Sumatra. During the ten days away, students and staff worked together to give English lessons to a wide variety of year levels, visited a church, an orphanage, did some sightseeing and handed over the motorbike that Mission Endeavour had raised funds for. Some student reflections are below.

Mrs Sandford-Morgan

Service Learning Leader 

Upon arriving at our first school in Indonesia, we were greeted by a lively group of young children who were overjoyed by our arrival. Over the course of the next few days we were frequently asked for photos and autographs which we all gladly agreed to. Naomi

Teaching in both the elementary and secondary school was such an enriching experience. Being able to share our gifts of English with underprivileged students was both a rewarding and educational skill building opportunity for all. Sophie

In the senior school we were welcomed and introduced ourselves during a devotion. Initially, we went to the Year 10 students' classes. We taught them how to play Uno and how to make paper cranes. Next, we split into two groups and we did mock interviews.  We talked about questions they could be asked and how to reply. This was followed up by a goodbye ceremony on behalf of the primary school, orphanage and high school. We were shown cultural dances and presented with a traditional ulos. Olivia

On Friday, we went to the Bishop’s office to formally hand over the motorbike to the head of the orphanage. When Sophie, Amelia and I first saw the bike we were beyond joyous over the fact that our fundraising goal had become a reality.

On Sunday, we attended a church service in the local town. It was similar to a church service in Adelaide, following the normal structure of greetings, worship, sermon, and communion. Three of the lovely people whom we had met at the orphanage sang “I Give You My Heart” in both English and Indonesian, which was a really heart-warming moment for myself and others.  Cynthia

Going sightseeing around Indonesia really enlightened our different views on third world countries. We loved the must-see attractions such as bike riding around Lake Toba, bartering in the markets, visiting the zoo then going to see the elephant in a sanctuary in the forest. We also loved seeing the diversity in Indonesia with the Buddhist Temples, the Muslim Mosques and the Christian Churches. These were quite different to Australian attractions with our adventure parks and water parks. Amish

I really enjoyed our day in Singapore. It started with an early flight and finished with a very late one. During the day we enjoyed the experience of using the MRT (Singapore public trains), finding some familiar food, riding the sky train to Sentosa, navigating the island in the middle of a huge thunderstorm and of course had the amazing adventure of riding the 450m long flying fox that saw us crossing a lagoon onto another island. It was an incredibly exciting day and a perfect way to end the amazing trip with some adrenaline and lots of laughs. Amelia