1 Week in

  3 days. 21 students and 5 leaders. God's creation. 1 mountain. It was indescribable, but I'll do my best to tell you what it was like.

 As I said, it was a 3 day trek, and the first 2 days were absolutely beautiful - sunshine and tons of green! We started the first day 5:30 in the morning with a 3 hour commute to the mountain. They split our group in to four: group A, B, C, D. Groups A & B went on one path and C & D went on another. My group (D) spent a lot of time hiking, eating and talking together. There was Hannah, Tessa, Michael and Jon with our Leader Viktor and it was really cool to get to know these people even better and have the chance to see their strengths and weaknesses in play during this trip. The first day we hiked 8 km and it took us 4 hours. It was incredible being in such beautiful nature with crystal clear (but not clean - it was soo tempting!) lakes. We made it to the 1st campsite by 1:30/2 and then decided to hike to the viewpoint, where I got the picture that you now see here. That was spectacular and another hour of hiking! We settled down for a delicious sidekick spaghetti dinner and went to bed for 8:30 which became 9:15 after all the talking and prayer :). 6 am wake up the next morning to hike to the other campsite to meet up with groups A & B so that we could summit the mountain together. After 2 hours we made it, and our friends were just waking up...I guess you could say we were a little envious. Thus begun our trek up towards the summit, and it was difficult, but phenomenal in what we saw. Our spirits were quite high for most of the trip, and those that struggled were only encouraged more by those in front and behind. We had this group mentality of getting to the summit together...we could not let those around us lose heart and turn back, so there was a ton of support in what ever direction we turned.

*side note: We have these memory verses which we have to memorize for monday, so we're all trying to commit them to memory together - which is still hard, even though we're all doing the same thing.

 So when I thought of losing heart, my mind kept going back to one of our memory verses: "Therefore, do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So fix our eyes not on what seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. It gave me such hope, not just for the summit, but in general with our daily struggles and obstacles.

 So we finally reached the final stretch, the crawl up to the peak. The hardest part, but the view at the end was breath-taking. I could see forever and still some. In fact I could see the Rocky Mountains on the Mainland...I waved at you guys over there, but I don't think you saw me :) So anyways, after climbing nearly 6,000 ft our entire group (minus a few who couldn't climb 'cause of health issues) made it to the top and right before we descended we sang the doxology - what a moment!!

 On the way down we overshot the trail quite a ways and couldn't find our way back, causing us to become a little more worried because it was getting darker, but God proved faithful in keeping us safe and we made it back in time for a late dinner. After 10 hours of climbing/hiking that day we were physically exhausted but still in fantastic moods because of what we were witness to up on the mountain. However, the next day seemed to stretch us all a little more than we could have thought as is poured rain on us all day long. It was miserable trying to trudge through the mud and the flooded paths, but we managed to have no injuries or casualties. Erin, one of our Kaleo Interns has this chronic lung condition, so the elevation was really terrible for her, so Viktor (her husband and our leader) carried her pack for 6km on the way home. For me it was such an act of service that it quite humbled me - for I was struggling with just having a heavy, wet pack when he had the same thing, but was willing to carry someone else's burden. Eventually I noticed that he was past the point of exhaustion so I sucked it up and volunteered to carry Erin's pack, even if it meant that I would be worn down even more rapidly then I already was. I have to say that it was hard, but I was able to take my mind off of my own troubles and fill the needs of others - and that was enough for me to make it to the point where someone else was willing to carry the pack. 6 hours later we finally made it to the parking lot, soaked to the bone but so happy to be getting in to the warm, dry vans (where we discovered that we stunk very, very bad). 3 days, 20 hours of hiking over 40 km, 6000 ft up - together we accomplished what we thought we could not do, together we revelled in the footprints of God and together we realized that we are a part of this creation. Michael did bring forth a profound thought that really has stuck with me: "Looking out over the mountains, I get this thought: That God is jealous for me, He wants all of me, even though He created all of this." how amazing and true that was.

 Thus ends our adventure to the mountain, but there are so many positive repercussions of this trip - we've bonded, created fun and lasting memories and friendships. Thank you for praying for us, God surely answered many a prayer on this trip.
 We've recovered well - now that we've showered, been fed and slept. Only a few sore bodies...thank goodness nothing worse has happened, we are definitely thankful.

Now I'm off to prep for our upcoming class...now that I have some downtime I can actually get some things done, like laundry, organization and best of all getting time to skype with mom and Elliot (so glad that the mullet is gone!). Also, the phone lines are still not up and running, so email, facebook or the written word is your best bet.

Till next time :)

Ps. Here's some photos of the trip: Mt.Albert-Edwards - Enjoy!!

Here We Go!!

  So here I am again...just after 4 days I'm back again! It's been a whirlwind time here and I can't believe how much has past since. (It's actually incredible that I remember what day that we're on!)  We've gone from learning the about the different directors and what their role is over to becoming certified belayers! I've been keeping very busy and thankfully it's been so much fun!

 I've had the greatest time getting to know my fellow Kaleo-ers and it's been the coolest thing figuring out who each of them are and how we're similar and so completely different. Just being in this environment-one where we all have the same beliefs is just so encouraging. Being able to talk to so many people on the same level about our faith is new for me, but it's something that I'm interested to learn from.

 We've spent almost 3/4's of our time in orientation, learning more about our school and it's mission and the different people involved in camp and in school. I haven't minded in the least getting to know the different people and all the staff- there are brazilians here and they are so much fun to hang with, they have so much energy and love to have a great time! There are so many parts to this place and it requires so many dedicated people to make it work.

  I've also been linQed (linked) with a staff member as well, Laura who is the head chef here at Qwanoes is going to be my "mentor" for the next 8 months. I've figured that it's going to be a different relationship that I've ever had, but I'm praying really hard that we can learn to have a friendship that delves deeper and that I can learn from her and that she can learn from me. We've also been joined to a church. This is also going to challenge me in a very large way. It's a small little Baptist church with an average of 35 people - 5 in the youth group and 3 in the children's ministry and none in the nursery. I'm helping lead the youth and the children's ministry so it's definitely going to be an interesting time for me learning to adapt to that since I'm used to 20 two year olds in 1 sunday school class. It's definitely an older generation church, so I'll be learning a lot from the elders there. We did get a chance to meet the pastor of the church yesterday (i think it was yesterday!) and it was just so interesting because he brought his granddaughters with him. The older's name was Hannah and she actually remembered me from anvil days and the other one was Casey. Casey, I learned was brutally bullied in public and private schools so her parents pulled her out to homeschool her instead. But as I talked to her more, it became apparent to me that she has so many passions, and I was so excited to see that she opened up even more about herself in the little time that we talked. Even if I only have 5 kids in the youth group, I know that with the one on one time that we can invest so much in to their lives more than we could ever do in a larger setting. We can show them the love that God continuously shows to me and the couple other of Kaleo students that I'm working with.

  Already I'm learning so many things, and I'm hoping that I can manage to take it with a humble spirit what God is choosing to give to me. I'm also really interested to see what my role is here at camp and how I fit in to this whole thing.

That's just a tidbit of what's been happening around here, and hopefully it'll be even more exciting and adventurous. In fact it just might be, Monday morning we're heading off to Mnt. Albert-Edwards for a 3 day hike....Wish me fun times and bonding time:)

1st Day!

So I was unable to post this last night, so I'm posting it today...just imagine this was posted yesterday :)  

  So I've been here all of 7 hours and already I'm feeling at home. There are so many awesome people here it's outstanding. I now have had a chance to put names to faces and meet a couple new people who I didn't know were coming.

  There are 4 of us in a room, each with a loft bed and a desk beneath (I have to say that I have never had a desk this big...it's awesome!) and we get to have the awesome opportunity of sharing the washroom facilities. I think that the best part of the room is the view...some beautiful green trees and ocean front!!

  Already I'm feeling very comfortable with my roommates, it's been a good time getting to know them and I can't wait till we're really, really friends (maybe by that point we'll be ready to strangle each other, but only time will tell:) Most of the other students that I've met thus far have been really awesome and I also can't wait to learn from them and develop really great relationships. 

  My roommates are 3 very different but quite similar girls. We have labelled ourselves the seniors room due to the fact that we are the oldest girls and possibly the oldest students in general. Nancy (who I accidentally called Nicole in my email...whoops!) is 23 (nanny Nancy we call her 'cause she's the only one in her 20's) and hails from the far regions of Newfoundland and she's a newfie that doesn't have an accent - it's only a little disappointing. The there's Makayla who's from Alberta and we've already bonded over our love of basketball, in fact we're going to train this year together and then think about playing for Briercrest next year...so epic!! Finally there's Lindsey, and Lindsey in fact brought her violin (awesome!) and a 2 stringed guitar - with the hopes of learning to play it this year, she may be successful once she gets more strings!

  Life here is already busy, the day hasn't stopped since we got here so there hasn't been much time to really think about what I've gotten myself into yet. Right now it just feels like a week at camp, and so I'm hoping that homesickness can really hold off for a little while, at least until I'm ready to deal with it - which will probably be never, but I know it'll come eventually. I do miss my family a little bit so there's still going to be that little feeling in the back of my mind. We had a good time touring around camp, becoming familiar with our new home and begin to get to know the other students outside the vicinity of our room. We got to do the ever famous name games - where everyone sits in a circle and tries to avoid being hit by a towel while still trying in vain to remember our fellow kaleo-ers names (too much pressure for me, but still fun!). Finally we wrapped up with mug up (aka snack time) and an awesome introduction from our leader Andrew, who by the way just became a first time father to a baby girl at 4 am this morning- Aubrey Grace, (aka the Kaleo Baby!). I'm really excited to learn from him, he's so passionate and I can see that he tries to live what he teaches. Our other leaders are fantastic as well - Erin, Vicktor, Bec and Jay- they seem so eager to be a part of our lives that I'm so excited. And one of the better parts is that Erin, Vicktor and Andrew have all been through the Kaleo program themselves, so that's going to be a fantastic resource for all of us!

  It's creeping towards bedtime so I'm just going to close with a simple thank you for taking the time to follow along with me and I hope that I can keep you all informed so that you can experience this year as much as possible with me. 

Preparing

    My walls are bare, and there's very minimal in my closet. It's like those scenarios in the movies where the college kid packs up and leaves all the luggage by the door ready to go off to school--and I'm finally getting to experience it myself.

   It's definitely a situation that comes with 2 very different emotions: Excitement & restlessness for the journey,

and
fear.

  Indeed, I am admitting that I do have fear, but not the "terror" kind of fear, but more of the fear that has a nervous quality to it because I don't know what to expect. And for me, uncertainty is, well...uncertain.
  So I'm asking for prayer right before I start: Please pray for my ability to adjust, not only to an entirely different environment of life (going from city life to camp life), but also to the schedule, the classes and also to the many different people that I'm going to spend a majority of my time with. Also, please pray for my heart. Kaleo is translated as "to call" (Greek) and what God has called me to at Kaleo (and beyond) has not been revealed but I pray that whatever it is I can receive the task with a willing and servant heart. One final thing that I would love you to do is pray that God humbles me by breaking down the walls that I have built. How or when He plans on doing it, I will not know until it happens- but pray that I can praise Him through those storms.

  With only 2 days left there is still so much to do so my mind and my body are kept very busy. But I'm now at the point where I'm ready to get going...ready to get out the door-thankfully I have a wonderful mother who keeps reminding me to enjoy these last two days for what they are and what they'll give me.


I'm packed, and rearing to go. Bright and early Wednesday morning I leave...SO VERY CLOSE!!!!!!!




 

Almost Time!

   We are finally in to September, and there are 12 days left until the start of Kaleo!! There is a buzz in the air (at least for me there is). I've become a little more restless the closer and closer we get to the big day. Kaleo will mark the first time I've been away from home for longer that 2 weeks...it's going to be a tough road dealing with all of the homesickness but as of right now I'm more than ready to get started. I'm beginning to get all of my gear together for packing which is slowly making me realize what I've managed to get myself into, and it's going to be mighty interesting. 

  It's funny how quickly the time is winding down here at home. I had months and months of time and that has now dwindled down to a meager few but busy days. 

  Please pray that God prepares my heart properly for Kaleo and that I'll enjoy these last 2 weeks with friends and family (and if you're wanting a little extra: pray that I don't forget to pack anything important!!).

  Thank you my dear family!