Sorry We Had to Leave

Emma Alcordo - one of our College Captains, 2019

Late in December Emma joined a Scripture Union Theos team. The volunteer team spend their time connecting with teenagers and young adults, getting to know them, providing a safe place, listening to good music, and exploring the Christian faith. Emma's destination was Mallacoota, where, as was well-reported, a huge bush-fire struck the town on New Year's Eve. After sheltering in the Community Centre and then on the beach, the team were among those evacuated by the Royal Australian Navy to the safety of Melbourne.

I have written and rewritten this article a few times shortening things and adding new bits. And each time I write about my experience, I get more and more emotional. I don’t think I’ve fully processed myself what really happened during that one week we were away. But the more I recall what happened, the more it becomes real and the more it hurts. On December 28 2019 we planned on staying for two weeks in a little town just along the borders of Victoria and New South Wales called Mallacoota, to run a Theos program. It was my first time being a part of the team along with 6 others in a team of 17, and it was definitely an experience we all won’t forget.

The most dreadful part for me was staying in the cinema. I cried many times that day both before arriving and while we were there. Although we ate Chupa Chups at 4 am and watched around six animated films, Over the Hedge and Happy Feet 2 both making a strong feature, I felt as though I couldn’t cope. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how much other people are struggling more than I am and almost how selfish of me it was to panic when I’ve only been there for 12 hours while others have been there nights before. And the other people in the Theos team were very kind and looked after me, even though they were going through the same exact thing.

In the end, my frustration about feeling selfish turned into gratitude. I became immensely grateful for the people I was surrounded by and for the God-given opportunity that we could help so much during a time like this. And this hope propelled us for the next couple of days. We ran grocery orders for elderly people who were still staying at the cinema even after the fires, we set up a barbeque for locals to come along so we could all spend time together and we got to help out at the local Op Shop where we met the loveliest Scottish lady named Jacquie who took myself and my friend Lucy under her wing. 

Jacquie is such a beautiful soul because she knew all the locals who walked through the Op Shop doors. All she had to do was look at them and instantly understand what they were going through. No words, just an overflow of love as she hugged and helped so many people who had lost their belongings. Although we didn’t get to spend much time at the Op Shop, Lucy and I met a few special people there. Lucy helped sew a button onto a pair of shorts for a woman who lost her house and that woman said she just wishes people will acknowledge the loss, even though it’s just a house it still had so much meaning and attachment to them. I was lucky enough to play and build with a little girl who was there for the holidays. Jacquie apparently did a double take because she thought that there were two young girls playing on the floor, but in fact the other one was me and she hugged me.

Saying goodbye to Jacquie was hard. She held Lucy and me and kept saying “my angels” in her thick Scottish accent which I’ll never forget. And just like that, we were off on our navy ship journey back home. Hours before we left, we were told not to expect much as it would be a similar experience to the cinema but for longer which I was not looking forward to. However, as soon as we realised how kind and accommodating the navy people were and how large the HMAS Choules actually was, our worries disappeared. We all very much enjoyed our time on the ship; the food, the view. We even saw dolphins in the morning! It was nothing like we would have expected, but I guess that follows with the rest of the experience.

Then the first time driving through Melbourne again. It felt like Mallacoota was worlds away. Here the sky was blue, you couldn’t see any smoke, houses stood in a row undisturbed and people walked around unfazed. And I couldn’t even believe it when I got back home especially to my room. Ironically, I had a parcel of online shopping waiting for me and I just felt so so guilty. The same feeling of selfishness crept up on me again but everyone who was supporting me was kind enough to help me realise that we did as much as we could so we shouldn’t feel bad about what we didn’t get to do.

It’s been about two months since it’s all happened and I’m still processing it all. On the one hand I’ve come back enjoying life so much more and reminding myself not to take things for granted. And on the other hand, since coming back, things tend to overwhelm me more than usual.

However, my main take away from it all is that God is always with us, through everything. Even when we were in that cinema surrounded by darkness, two of my friends looked at me and said, “God’s giving me this feeling that it’ll all pass soon.” And sure enough the next announcement from the firemen was that we were safe to go outside. But it’s just amazing that the same God who controls the weather is the same God who protects us from the same weather. And so, my heart can hold onto the simple truth that God can also heal, both people as well as places, and I can’t wait to see how much Mallacoota flourishes from now on.