Hunter is back from Bali!! And she had an amazing time. It feels so good to have her home and the kids have loved hearing all about her trip! Today on the blog I wanted her to share her thoughts about her trip to Bali and I’m sharing my thoughts as well. I’ve gotten lots of questions about her trip, so I figured I’d share everything here on the blog because that would’ve been so nice for me to have when I was getting her all signed up and ready.
HUNTER’S TRIP
: ALL ABOUT HXP
HXP is the company Hunter did the trip through! We got on their website around Thanksgiving time last year and saw what weeks they had available for Summer 2024. So we looked at our calendar and chose which dates worked best for our family. When we registered, Hunter got to choose the top 3 places she wanted to go! You can read through all the different places they offer around the world. So Hunter applied for her top three and she was hoping she would get Bali. And not everyone gets one of their top 3 picks, but it’s still so exciting wherever you’re sent. They first assign all the kids that are 18, then 17, then 16, that way the older kids get the top priority. About a month later, they sent us the email that she was assigned to Bali!! It was so exciting. Parents can also go and young adults can be leaders after they turn 18 and are graduated, which Hunter is super interested in. Hudson really wants to go in a couple years too.
All the trips are different prices, you can see pricing on their website. The further out of the country you go, the more the trip will cost. They do have options in the United States too, because I don’t think they let 14 or 15 year-olds go out of the United States. But, if you’re interested in this, make sure you get on the website around November/December and get signed up. They highly highly recommend you do not go with friends. Like don’t try to match up your friends at the same time. Hunter hardly knew anyone in her group and even though it’s scary, it gets them out of their comfort zone!
: HUNTER’S THOUGHTS
Honestly, my trip tp Bali was a great experience for me! It was very eye-opening and I would recommend going on it. It was a total of 18 days which is a lot for teenagers, especially during the summer, but it’s so worth it and it went by fast. I felt like I was only there for a week. But like I said, it was very eye-opening. I got to see what the third-world looks like and how they live their life. It’s just very different from where we live, I don’t think I’m gonna ever complain again. I feel very grateful for I like the places I live, the food I have, etc. The food was hard because it was literally chicken and rice for every meal. Sometimes we had fish too, and we would have to take out the bones and stuff! I lived off of the G2G protein bars [code: KAILEE] because I didn’t like the meat in Bali but wanted to make sure I was getting my protein in (I love the peanut butter ones). I’m really glad we packed extra snacks for me to have at the worksite.
One thing that I enjoyed was the people! It was so cool to see a group of teenagers all come together and bond so fast! I honestly believe that because we didn’t have our phones, it helped us be very present and bond much more than we would have if we did have our phones. We were able to get to know each other so quickly and be much more vulnerable with each other. I realized how much a distraction my phone is and, not even just the phone, but like worldly influences in general and how much they distract us and take us away from like what we could be missing. Teenagers tend to hide behind their screens but we were forced to become close and it was such a blessing because we were able to see each other’s needs and really develop a connection. I met so many good people and even though we were all so different, we are all such good friends and bonded through this amazing experience!
The kids in Bali were one of my favorite parts too! They are all around the streets, I just loved seeing them and I loved serving them. We were building a school on a beach and the kids would be there every day to talk to us and help us. So you develop a very tight connection with those kids and some of those kids bond to you very fast. The first few days we did some exploring around Bali, but the rest of the trip was service work and it was really good. I felt the spirit there and I would probably do it again. It would be so fun to be a leader on an HXP trip someday.
: MY THOUGHTS
Okay, here’s my thoughts as the mama! It was really stressful to get her all packed because she was our first kid to go. And the anticipation of sending your daughter to a third-world country for 18 days was a little crazy, but I never felt like she was ever going to be in danger. And she’s just so responsible that I didn’t have a worry about her flying by herself and getting from plane to plane. I totally felt calm and like I trusted her to do that on her own. Once we were all packed, it was fine. I bawled like a baby when we dropped her off at the airport and she left! The travel time was 27 hours plus and at least five plane rides to their final destination. The first 3 days were literally the hardest because her and I have such a close relationship. She’s always busy during the day, but she always comes into my room at night and gives me an update on everything. So the fact that she didn’t have a phone or anything to contact me with was the hardest thing for me the first few days. But there is a parent on every trip that will upkeep the Instagram that you can follow along. We were hooked to Instagram!! My kids would wake up first thing in the morning and want to check it for any updates and pictures of Hunter. She was a whole 25 hours ahead, so when it was morning for us, it was night there for her. So we definitely looked forward to those updates.
hunter’s top + skirt + shoes + belt bag
But honestly, after like the first three days, I could’ve let her stay a month! It would’ve been hard, but just the environment that they’re in is so uplifting. They’re constantly serving and feeling the spirit. They had morning and night devetionals, so it keeps them in a good place mentally and spiritually. She struggled with the food, but other than that she had a great time. We got a letter from her a few days before she came home and her letter was so sweet. She told us she was having a great time, and she was so thankful for her life back home. She also talked about how the kids in her group became her best friends. The letter was so comforting for Joe and I, we could’ve let her stay another few weeks 100%. Joe and I also wrote a letter and Joe emphasized to her that she needed to embrace this trip because it’s the only time she won’t have to think about too much, or check her phone, or worry about who she’s hanging with that day, or worry about cheer or soccer, or whatever it is! She got to disconnect from the everyday crazy of the world and just live in the moment. And I think that is something that money just can’t buy. I would definitely do it again. Hudson repeatedly said he was so jealous, he’s like I wanna go every single year. He was just was so envious of the experience and not having the phone.
: WHAT TO PACK
HXP has a packing list on their site- so we literally packed everything they had on the list. Also, the bathroom situation was less than ideal. There was no toilet paper on the worksite so make sure to pack wipes. And be sure to pack lots of snacks! Also a WATCH! We got this watch and she said it was so nice to have since everything is on a schedule and she didn’t have her phone to check the time. HXP gives you a backpack to use but people told us that she would want a bigger one, so we ordered this one for her and it was so perfect! It holds a ton of stuff, which was so nice to have for the travel days too.
I think the only thing Hunter wishes she would’ve done was pack some nicer clothes. We packed mostly grungy crappy clothes for the work site because we knew everything would get ruined. She only brought two shoes on the trip We got these tennis shoes and these Tevas off Amazon and she literally threw them away when she got home because they were so hammered. We ordered a ton of things on Amazon, like tennis shoes, joggers, a digital camera, and more. Everything we ordered on Amazon is linked here.
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Thank you to everyone who was so supportive of us while Hunter was in Bali! We love you all!
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