Toe FEENS!

This week we went to Tofino where we went surfing again! The trip was so much fun - I enjoyed it more because I knew what to expect, where we were staying, what surfing would be like, etc. I tend to worry about these things too often when we go on trips and such. On the drive there I was blessed to be sitting in the front of a van (because I tend to get awfully sick on BC highways - not nice and straight like those of Saskatchewan:) beside Kristie (student life leader), and I totally enjoyed visiting with her. The drive there was stunning - I loved all of the pretty sights and we stopped at Cathedral grove where there are tons of beautiful old trees that are massive, Coombs (a cute little tourist town) and at a gorgeous waterfall. Once we arrived we all unpacked our things and explored the town. It was fun to hang out with everyone and be in Tofino BC, what a beautiful place. The next day we went on a hike to a lovely beach and hung out there for a while on the rocks watching the waves, this was very relaxing and gave me some good time to spend with the Lord. Later that day WE WENT SURFING - WAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I had so much fun surfing the waves with everyone. I ended up just playing in the waves but it was a really good time. THis weekend I am planning on working at the juniors retreat, and participating in the Cobbel Hill Baptist Church Sunday service by leading worship as well as the Bridge in the evening. We have also been getting rides to Youth every Friday this semester and it has been so nice to get to know everyone better from the church.

DITCH THE BAD BOYS / GO BOARDING!

So, the beautiful Kaleo ladies were able to get rid of the pesky boys and have a little lady time, which can be much needed from time to time in this crazy Kaleo life that we live. So we, the girls, took off in the lovely chev at about three ocklock on Tuesday and headed on in to Duncan where we hit up the Safeway there to purchase some yummy snacks! We took our snacks to the youth building at New Life and just hung out and visited with one another, this time was so special! We all shared food and the best part was the fellowship.. no thats not true - it was the food :) After that we went to an aerobics class where we all worked it out! It was so much fun - I absolutely loved working out to a fun groove with all of my Kaleo ladies! After we had all burned off some of the calories that we had just taken in at the youth building at new life - we went on to the guest house where we made personal pizzas for ourselves - SOOOO GOOD! and so much fun to. Special thanks to our dear cook Laura who came along and helped us with all this and with all of the food. We had an amazing night chatting and laughing and hanging out there and slept over there. The next morning we had some quiet time and then headed back to the lodge. On Thursday we went snow boarding! I loved it - the sun was shining and the snow conditions were excellent!

Matthew Mark Luke John - hear the good news and pass it on!

Gospels baby! Loved loved loved this class! Wes Olmstead flew on out from the beautiful, sunny, gorgeous, stunning, lovely, breath taking, heart stopping, incredibly exhilarating plains of Saskatchewan to teach us about the life and times of Jesus - fascinating. The first question that Wes asked was, "Who is Jesus". I found it interesting that he said a lot of first year classes will say that Jesus is the savior, Messiah, King - but they often neglect to list the characteristics that characterize Jesus as a man. Jesus is a Nazarine, a Jew, Jesus is a Galilean, a human. We often think of Jesus as God - and there is no doubt that Jesus is God, but unfortunately we neglect to think of Jesus as a human - and he was completely human. Wes' class spanned from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon - the seven hour days were long and tiring, but truly eternally of great worth. I LOVED listening to this man pour truth over our class - one line that he often repeated that spoke to my heart was that we as Christians need to, "Bear fruit worthy of repentance." I have been spending much time in prayer trying to figure out exactly what it means to bear that kind of fruit that Jesus demands of his followers. Wes brought with him from Saskatchewan an intern named Karis and her husband Josh. I loved talking with them and listening to their life advice! They were a true blessing and Karis did a wonderful job teaching the class during the sections that she did. I was reminded through this class the high cost of following Christ - of being his disciple. And that Jesus did not come to earth to make believers but to make disciples.

Reading Break!

So - after the Olympic fun, it was time for reading break! It was such a blessing that I was able to find a seat sale heading straight for Saskatoon during our reading break so I was able to go home and see my family! I was definitely feeling the need for a break - and although it wasn't real restful, it was definitely refreshing to be home. I was able to see many people who are very important in my life. I loved the fact that when Sunday rolled around and it was time for me to come back to Kaleo - I was ready. I am truly loving the way that God is blessing me this semester with joy at kaleo. I really don't like flying and let's just say, it felt like some long flights to me, but God was faithful in taking care - as he always is. Sunday night I flew back in and I was attacked in the air port! By my two beautiful roommates Haley, and Nicole. They took me down and I am pretty sure that some people standing around were ready to call security, but the tussle ended pretty quickly and no permanent damage was done. It was Nicoles birthday so we headed out for a night on the town. I loved our night together, and found myself feeling incredible thankful for the friends that God has gifted me with here at Kaleo!

Olympic Update!

Hello!

This is an official Olympic Update!

We began this journey on February 12^th, all 27 of us in the Kaleo course. This experience has been absolutely incredible. I can see God working through and in us all over the place! We have been working long hours (6:00 AM – 4:00 PM) and taking busses in the morning and night to get to and from Whistler Olympic Park. That means that we are waking up at three thirty every morning, and getting back to the church around five thirty. Every day seems to come with new challenges, and there are always new people to meet from all over the world, which has been incredible. The Weather has been phenomenal (around 9 degrees) for this time of year at Whistler and the sun has been gorgeous. Each night after we are all back form our day’s work we all meet together and worship with songs and bible passages and stories from our day. We asked God before this trip to make it clear why we are here – and each one of us has had experiences where God has made it clear that he brought us here for a purpose – which is amazing. We are well known in the workforce at Whistler as “oh that group from the bible college.” It has been so cool to serve along side twenty-six enthusiastic, loving, hard working workers who are there to serve the Lord along with me. I can’t imagine doing this without them. I have developed relationships with many of the other workers and love this great opportunity. God has been astoundingly gracious to me by blessing me with great health, energy, strength, joy, confidence, boldness, patience, and endurance! We are staying at the Baptist church in Squamish where the mountain’s supremacy surrounds us. Each night after work the bus ride home renews my soul with cascading rivers, and mighty mountains topped with white powder that reach as far as the eye can see. The sun is usually setting around this time. I have completely appreciated Jim Badke (Kaleo leader), along with Justin and Marissa (Kaleo interns) who have been leading us through this trip. I am also appreciated Laura Sherwood, our cook, who is staying with us in Squamish to cook for us. We have one week remaining - continue to pray that we would power through this mission of God's!

In God's Time

Time seems to be something I simply cannot get enough of. I feel like I am running behind my own life just trying to catch up. Life has been very busy here and keeping in touch with everyone at home has been a challenge. This past week we had class on Tuesday and on Thursday - Camp Ministry with Jim Badke. I enjoyed these days of class, and learned lots about the Camp Ministry. I was very busy throughout the week applying to Universities and getting all of my transcripts and info sent along with each. I barely made some of the due dates - it felt great to get that out of the way. The week was also very busy with homework, some from Theology of Mission, some from Camp Ministry, and some from Introduction to Theology which we are taking this week. I enjoyed spending time with my roommates this week, one night we went into Duncan and sat at Starbucks and visited - this was such a blessing! On Friday night we had an event here at Qwanoes for all of the youth groups in Cowichan Valley. I was blessed to sing with Russ throughout the evening. It was fun to hang out with the ladies of Cobble Hill and show them where I live and my room and they were able to meet my roommates. This evening was tons of fun. On saturday, we went to play soccer with our youth group in the afternoon, and unfortunately, Justin (intern) and James acquired false information when seeking directions - so lets just say it took a while to get there:) but once we got there, it was lots of fun, I loved hanging out with them and playing soccer. On Sunday, we went to church - and it was a really sweet time of worship and fellowship. It wasn't long before we found ourselves back there for the Bridge. The Bridge was a good mixture of fun and learning. Lech (Pastor) talked to us and the youth about the heart of worship, then we praciticed, then ate supper there (which was amazing!) then the service started at seven. It went very well and some of the Kaleos came too - and that was a huge blessing. I am looking forward to theology this week!