Hello everyone, December 7, 2009
This week was so fabulous. It was very busy but probably one of my favourite weeks that I have had. One Tuesday we helped Stevie G decorate cookies for our youth group party (well the girls helped the boys played rock band). It was fun. On Tuesday night we had a delicious Christmas staff dinner and then after we had a Kaleo talent show which was really fun. John and I had to organize it which was a bit stressful because I am not good at doing things like that but it was good for me to be out of my comfort zone. On Wednesday some of us had to opportunity to help out at Crofton’s Senior’s annual Christmas lunch. It was so much fun and it was really cool to be able to serve in our community. Some of the kids from Crofton Elementary School came to sing to the seniors and it was cool because I knew most of them (the grade six class) from youth group and it was encouraging that they seemed happy to see me and it was nice to be able to cheer them on while they were singing. Wednesday night it was my last youth group session and we planned a huge Christmas party. It was a really fun night and I think the kids had a good time. It was a lighter mood. There were video games and there was a colouring table which was nice because the kids could come and just sit and talk. I was able to talk to one girl about her life and some things that had been bothering her. Please pray for her and I hope that she will be encouraged by God’s love. After youth we had a big clean up session. Thursday a group of 20 I think headed off to Vancouver. We attended a youth conference directed for youth leaders. Its purpose was to teach and encourage people who work with youth. Since we all participate in leading our youth groups it was very beneficial to go. I learned so much and not just about reaching out to youth but God showed me things about myself that I want/need to change. All of the sessions were spoken by really gifted speakers and they were very practical sessions. I really liked the city of Vancouver it was a lot nicer than I expected and on Saturday me and a couple of friends went on an adventure to Stanley Park. It was really fun. Overall we had an awesome jam packed weekend and I think everyone who went really enjoyed and God worked through lives. Today we went bungee jumping. It was so much fun and en experience that I will always remember. We also climbed through a challenge course that was quite intense.....at least for me. Some parts of that were scarier than the bungee jumping. Sometimes I really enjoy doing things that challenge me because after I do them I always feel better. I am having such a great time here and looking back on this whole first semester it has been the best time ever. I have learned so many new things about God and about myself. I feel like I have overcome challenges and challenged myself. I really believe that I am in the right place and that God still has so much more to show me. I am so blessed with the friendships and the leadership here. I have really enjoyed working with Warmland Church this semester. It has had its challenges with learning to love and be patient with the kids but I really believe that we are there for a reason and that God wants to do great things. Thank you so much for all your prayer and I hope that you all have a great Christmas.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Church Ministry week
Hello friends, November 30, 2009
this week was awesome. It was really busy as usual. We had our Church ministry class with Dave Ernst teaching us. It was a really interesting course and very beneficial because most of us have grown up involved in some sort of church. My favourite part of the class was there was a panel of Pastors, pastor’s kids, and pastor’s wives. We were able to hear about their ministry and what their struggles and their joy’s are. Overall it was a very interesting class and today we just had the exam which I think I did ok on. This week at youth there was a good turnout. Stevie talked about two healing miracles that Jesus performed. I led my small group girls in discussion questions and it was encouraging because they all expressed how they believe in prayer and that God can heal. They all had stories about God had healed someone in their family or someone that they know. During the end two girls got into fight and one ended up being pretty upset so it was difficult to deal with that while trying to teach all of the girls. Anyways overall youth went really well and the kids listened much better to Stevie G during his lesson. That was an answer to prayer and very encouraging. Saturday I worked m last partial weekend in the kitchen for Men’s Retreat. I worked from 1pm till 7pm. It was cool to help out. I had to cut some onions, which was funny because I always cry when I cut onions and there was one point where I thought I had gone blind but I think I was just being dramatic. Saturday night dinner was awesome, it was Steak and prawns. I think all the men and especially all the Kaleos and staff enjoyed it. On Sunday I helped out in Sunday school with Stevie. It was cool because I got meet more Warmland kids which were some of the younger ones that do not come to youth. It is nice to get to know more and more kids in Crofton. I feel like if I go anywhere I run into someone that I know from the church. It is cool to have the community feeling in a place that feels so far away from home. This week we are headed off to Vancouver for a youth conference. I am really excited. Please pray that everyone will be able to get their work done and will not be stressed at the conference. I hope everyone is good back at home. Thanks for praying, there was definitely an improvement in the youth this week.
God Bless!!
this week was awesome. It was really busy as usual. We had our Church ministry class with Dave Ernst teaching us. It was a really interesting course and very beneficial because most of us have grown up involved in some sort of church. My favourite part of the class was there was a panel of Pastors, pastor’s kids, and pastor’s wives. We were able to hear about their ministry and what their struggles and their joy’s are. Overall it was a very interesting class and today we just had the exam which I think I did ok on. This week at youth there was a good turnout. Stevie talked about two healing miracles that Jesus performed. I led my small group girls in discussion questions and it was encouraging because they all expressed how they believe in prayer and that God can heal. They all had stories about God had healed someone in their family or someone that they know. During the end two girls got into fight and one ended up being pretty upset so it was difficult to deal with that while trying to teach all of the girls. Anyways overall youth went really well and the kids listened much better to Stevie G during his lesson. That was an answer to prayer and very encouraging. Saturday I worked m last partial weekend in the kitchen for Men’s Retreat. I worked from 1pm till 7pm. It was cool to help out. I had to cut some onions, which was funny because I always cry when I cut onions and there was one point where I thought I had gone blind but I think I was just being dramatic. Saturday night dinner was awesome, it was Steak and prawns. I think all the men and especially all the Kaleos and staff enjoyed it. On Sunday I helped out in Sunday school with Stevie. It was cool because I got meet more Warmland kids which were some of the younger ones that do not come to youth. It is nice to get to know more and more kids in Crofton. I feel like if I go anywhere I run into someone that I know from the church. It is cool to have the community feeling in a place that feels so far away from home. This week we are headed off to Vancouver for a youth conference. I am really excited. Please pray that everyone will be able to get their work done and will not be stressed at the conference. I hope everyone is good back at home. Thanks for praying, there was definitely an improvement in the youth this week.
God Bless!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Prayer Week
Hello friends, November 23, 2009
This week was a week that I will always remember. This was 24/7 prayer week. When I first heard of this I was unclear what was expected and I thought oh boy.....a whole week of prayer this is going to be boring. Well.....I could not have been more wrong. The way it worked was all 28 of us including leaders each signed up to pray for an hour a day including the late hours into the night. The point was to always have someone in the prayer room 24/7 for the whole week. If someone forgot to go to their shift the person would be in the prayer room until someone else came so there was always someone in the prayer room. I thought praying for an hour would be long but it definitely was not. I prayed with people and by myself. God really showed me a lot in that prayer room. I think I learned how to listen to him. I would pray but think too, about him, and my life. I think he showed me how important encouragement and building up other people is. I really loved the week (even though we had A LOT of homework) and I think it brought so many of us closer together. This week at youth we had about talking to Jesus. There was quite a large number of youth and they didn’t really pay attention. They talked pretty much through his whole thing and it is hard to listen to because they just talk and do not listen when you tell them not to talk. So, I am praying for Stevie and hopefully seeds are at least being planted. In my small group we were able to have a bit more of a conversation which was good and an answer to prayer but sometimes it is still hard. We have two girls who know the lord and no most of the answers to the questions and the other ones don’t really care. They were however able to open up a bit and tell me more about their family life which was cool. They are just hurt and want attention. I am learning to really want to get to know the annoying ones and I think God is changing my attitude about them. We played games and had snack after that. That is always my favourite part and I like being to play and just have fun with the kids. We cleaned up at the end and went to McDonalds after for a treat! The rest of the week was good with continued prayer and a lot of homework. Sunday I had church I was down with the Jr. Church kids. I went around with the JKs and SKs so it was fun. They were cute. My helper was a girl from youth so that was cool. I already knew her she seemed happy that she got to be with me so that was nice. We played and I really enjoyed being with that age group they are so cute. Also this past week on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon I had QFX. QFX is where I am placed with another student with one staff member to experience their job and what it is like to work in camp ministry. I got placed with Haley working in the kitchen with the head cook Laura. It was so much fun!! We got to build a gingerbread train! It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed working in the kitchen and seeing how things worked and her type of job. Overall this past week was pretty cool and I learned a lot. This week we have a Church Ministry class. Today was our first day and I really like it. It is much more interesting than I thought it would be. I like Dave and I think he is a good teacher. Anyway I hope everyone is doing good back in Ontario...has it snowed yet? It has sure rained here. Thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray for the Warmland kids!!!
God Bless
This week was a week that I will always remember. This was 24/7 prayer week. When I first heard of this I was unclear what was expected and I thought oh boy.....a whole week of prayer this is going to be boring. Well.....I could not have been more wrong. The way it worked was all 28 of us including leaders each signed up to pray for an hour a day including the late hours into the night. The point was to always have someone in the prayer room 24/7 for the whole week. If someone forgot to go to their shift the person would be in the prayer room until someone else came so there was always someone in the prayer room. I thought praying for an hour would be long but it definitely was not. I prayed with people and by myself. God really showed me a lot in that prayer room. I think I learned how to listen to him. I would pray but think too, about him, and my life. I think he showed me how important encouragement and building up other people is. I really loved the week (even though we had A LOT of homework) and I think it brought so many of us closer together. This week at youth we had about talking to Jesus. There was quite a large number of youth and they didn’t really pay attention. They talked pretty much through his whole thing and it is hard to listen to because they just talk and do not listen when you tell them not to talk. So, I am praying for Stevie and hopefully seeds are at least being planted. In my small group we were able to have a bit more of a conversation which was good and an answer to prayer but sometimes it is still hard. We have two girls who know the lord and no most of the answers to the questions and the other ones don’t really care. They were however able to open up a bit and tell me more about their family life which was cool. They are just hurt and want attention. I am learning to really want to get to know the annoying ones and I think God is changing my attitude about them. We played games and had snack after that. That is always my favourite part and I like being to play and just have fun with the kids. We cleaned up at the end and went to McDonalds after for a treat! The rest of the week was good with continued prayer and a lot of homework. Sunday I had church I was down with the Jr. Church kids. I went around with the JKs and SKs so it was fun. They were cute. My helper was a girl from youth so that was cool. I already knew her she seemed happy that she got to be with me so that was nice. We played and I really enjoyed being with that age group they are so cute. Also this past week on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon I had QFX. QFX is where I am placed with another student with one staff member to experience their job and what it is like to work in camp ministry. I got placed with Haley working in the kitchen with the head cook Laura. It was so much fun!! We got to build a gingerbread train! It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed working in the kitchen and seeing how things worked and her type of job. Overall this past week was pretty cool and I learned a lot. This week we have a Church Ministry class. Today was our first day and I really like it. It is much more interesting than I thought it would be. I like Dave and I think he is a good teacher. Anyway I hope everyone is doing good back in Ontario...has it snowed yet? It has sure rained here. Thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray for the Warmland kids!!!
God Bless
Monday, November 16, 2009
Hi everyone. November 16, 2009
This week has been a good and tiring week. We had Don Taylor fly in from Briercrest to teach us Old Testament Literature. This was my favourite class that we have had so far. I grew up homeschooled for the earlier years in my life and I was privileged enough to have Christian curriculum which consisted in learning a lot of the Old Testament bible stories. This course really expanded on all those stories that I loved so much and I learned so many new things that made the story seem not just like a story. I also learned so much more about the OT. I learned new stories and a lot more about the Prophets. The OT is really important to read because in order to understand a lot of the NT you need to read the OT. Most people think that the NT is just fine to read because it is so practical, but in order to fully understand the NT (the second part of the Bible) you need to read and understand the OT. I really enjoyed Don’s class and I really liked his teaching style. He was very organised and gave us lots of breaks to keep our focus on him and his teachings. During the week we had a class assignment to make a OT movie. It took a lot of work and some late nights but it turned out great and I thought it was really cool how we all worked together as a group and everyone took part in helping. I think it’s so important for everyone to help out and be able to work together with any of us in a community like this one. On Wednesday night I had youth. There were not too many kids there because it was Remembrance Day and most of them had P.A. day so I guess they assumed youth was off too......which it wasn’t. Stevie told them the gospel message and it was frustrating for me because I was sitting listening and it seemed like none of the kids were listening. They were flirting with each other and being silly and it made me sad. I feel like someone needs to explain to them the seriousness of fearing God and respecting leadership. In my small group there was only 4 girls but it made it so much easier to talk to them and lead. I asked some serious questions and I think one girl is saved and knows what it means to be born again but the other 3 just said exactly what all of the other girls said. When I asked if they thought they were born again they all just said yes. I am really enjoying getting to know the kids and playing games and stuff with them but I am finding it difficult to have deeper talks with them and to really be able to know their lives. I guess for now I can just love them and am as kind and fun to them as I can and of course pray for them constantly. My heart goes out to some of them. I shouldn’t get frustrated with them because they have probably never been taught the right way to behave. Sometimes seeing these kids and comparing them to how I grow up, I thank God that he blessed me into a Christian home where I was taught about Godly things and for the most part protected from this world. Please keep the kids from Warmland in your prayers this week. Please keep all the leaders and Stevie G in your prayers as well. Please pray for encouragement for him and the right messages and topics to talk to the kids about. On Sunday Church was cool. All of the Capenwray students took over and were in charge of a service. It was so encouraging to see God working through them and to have ministering at Warmland along with us. I have enjoyed getting to know some of them and it is cool to make friends outside of Kaleo too. Overall this week was very busy with class, all our homework, our movie project, and youth. I am enjoying being busy but please pray for strength and good health. Thanks for listening and God bless you all this week!!!!
This week has been a good and tiring week. We had Don Taylor fly in from Briercrest to teach us Old Testament Literature. This was my favourite class that we have had so far. I grew up homeschooled for the earlier years in my life and I was privileged enough to have Christian curriculum which consisted in learning a lot of the Old Testament bible stories. This course really expanded on all those stories that I loved so much and I learned so many new things that made the story seem not just like a story. I also learned so much more about the OT. I learned new stories and a lot more about the Prophets. The OT is really important to read because in order to understand a lot of the NT you need to read the OT. Most people think that the NT is just fine to read because it is so practical, but in order to fully understand the NT (the second part of the Bible) you need to read and understand the OT. I really enjoyed Don’s class and I really liked his teaching style. He was very organised and gave us lots of breaks to keep our focus on him and his teachings. During the week we had a class assignment to make a OT movie. It took a lot of work and some late nights but it turned out great and I thought it was really cool how we all worked together as a group and everyone took part in helping. I think it’s so important for everyone to help out and be able to work together with any of us in a community like this one. On Wednesday night I had youth. There were not too many kids there because it was Remembrance Day and most of them had P.A. day so I guess they assumed youth was off too......which it wasn’t. Stevie told them the gospel message and it was frustrating for me because I was sitting listening and it seemed like none of the kids were listening. They were flirting with each other and being silly and it made me sad. I feel like someone needs to explain to them the seriousness of fearing God and respecting leadership. In my small group there was only 4 girls but it made it so much easier to talk to them and lead. I asked some serious questions and I think one girl is saved and knows what it means to be born again but the other 3 just said exactly what all of the other girls said. When I asked if they thought they were born again they all just said yes. I am really enjoying getting to know the kids and playing games and stuff with them but I am finding it difficult to have deeper talks with them and to really be able to know their lives. I guess for now I can just love them and am as kind and fun to them as I can and of course pray for them constantly. My heart goes out to some of them. I shouldn’t get frustrated with them because they have probably never been taught the right way to behave. Sometimes seeing these kids and comparing them to how I grow up, I thank God that he blessed me into a Christian home where I was taught about Godly things and for the most part protected from this world. Please keep the kids from Warmland in your prayers this week. Please keep all the leaders and Stevie G in your prayers as well. Please pray for encouragement for him and the right messages and topics to talk to the kids about. On Sunday Church was cool. All of the Capenwray students took over and were in charge of a service. It was so encouraging to see God working through them and to have ministering at Warmland along with us. I have enjoyed getting to know some of them and it is cool to make friends outside of Kaleo too. Overall this week was very busy with class, all our homework, our movie project, and youth. I am enjoying being busy but please pray for strength and good health. Thanks for listening and God bless you all this week!!!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Kaleo Blog #7
Hello everyone, November 9, 2009
This week was fun. We had reading week. It was nice to have a break and catch up on some sleep. We had quite a bit of work to do seeing as our Major Hermeneutics paper was due the Friday of reading week and all our OT pre-reading was due on Sunday. On Tuesday we had a trip into Victoria and it was really fun. The only other time I had been in Victoria occurred when I was seven and my parents went on a huge house hunting escapade so all my memories of Victoria trace back to this one trip and when we were walking on the streets of Victoria I saw the hotel we stayed at for 11 nights. It was funny and I took a picture for my parents. So Wednesday night I had youth. We had a lesson on anger and how Jesus got angry. I led the girls in a small group discussion after and there was one question that got a couple girls to open up. It was about family anger. It is still very hard because I feel like they have no respect for each other and they don’t care about what each other has to say. The only thing that matters is what they say. Please pray for the youth of Warmland. It is great that so many non-Christians come out to youth but I wish there could be some sort of sign of growth or interest. After we played more games and the games are really fun and I always feel like I get to know the kids better through the games. This week I was unable to attend Church because I was sick. I woke up Friday morning with flu-like symptoms and stayed in bed all day and then Sat morning I woke up and my body felt better but my face was huge. My ears were completely blown up and my cheeks were really puffy. All day I tried different drugs Benadryl, ibuprofen, etc. but nothing was bringing the swelling done. Sat night I went to the clinic in Chemainus. The doctor didn’t know anything and sent me home. I found it really hard being sick here. It is hard to have to privacy you want and when you are sick you just want to be at home in your own bed. I really called on God and he comforted me throughout my whole sick weekend. I really prayed that I would be well enough to go to class and that my face would go back to normal. Today is Monday and I feel so much better and my face is pretty much back to normal. Praise God. Please pray for strength for me as I still have a cold and I am not feeling 100%. I am really looking forward to the rest of this class. So far it has been great. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless!!
This week was fun. We had reading week. It was nice to have a break and catch up on some sleep. We had quite a bit of work to do seeing as our Major Hermeneutics paper was due the Friday of reading week and all our OT pre-reading was due on Sunday. On Tuesday we had a trip into Victoria and it was really fun. The only other time I had been in Victoria occurred when I was seven and my parents went on a huge house hunting escapade so all my memories of Victoria trace back to this one trip and when we were walking on the streets of Victoria I saw the hotel we stayed at for 11 nights. It was funny and I took a picture for my parents. So Wednesday night I had youth. We had a lesson on anger and how Jesus got angry. I led the girls in a small group discussion after and there was one question that got a couple girls to open up. It was about family anger. It is still very hard because I feel like they have no respect for each other and they don’t care about what each other has to say. The only thing that matters is what they say. Please pray for the youth of Warmland. It is great that so many non-Christians come out to youth but I wish there could be some sort of sign of growth or interest. After we played more games and the games are really fun and I always feel like I get to know the kids better through the games. This week I was unable to attend Church because I was sick. I woke up Friday morning with flu-like symptoms and stayed in bed all day and then Sat morning I woke up and my body felt better but my face was huge. My ears were completely blown up and my cheeks were really puffy. All day I tried different drugs Benadryl, ibuprofen, etc. but nothing was bringing the swelling done. Sat night I went to the clinic in Chemainus. The doctor didn’t know anything and sent me home. I found it really hard being sick here. It is hard to have to privacy you want and when you are sick you just want to be at home in your own bed. I really called on God and he comforted me throughout my whole sick weekend. I really prayed that I would be well enough to go to class and that my face would go back to normal. Today is Monday and I feel so much better and my face is pretty much back to normal. Praise God. Please pray for strength for me as I still have a cold and I am not feeling 100%. I am really looking forward to the rest of this class. So far it has been great. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless!!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Kaleo blog #6
Hello Hello, November 1, 2009
I had a fantastic week. On Monday morning we left for our Surfing trip. On the way to Tofino we made some amazing stops. I have never experienced God's creation in the ways I have here at Kaleo. We first stopped through a huge forest with some of the biggest, oldest, and most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Then we had lunch while watching a rushing river rapid. It was beautiful. After we stopped at a lighthouse point and we went wave watching which was incredible. It was really windy and the waves were beautiful. The next day we went surfing and I had so much fun. I had never felt such power in the waves. It was at times scary but so amazing to see and feel God's amazing creation. We got home Wednesday night too late to go to youth. It was too bad we missed it but if we had to miss one it wasn’t that bad too miss because they were just carving pumpkins. There was no lesson or games planned. On Saturday a couple of Kaleo students and I had the opportunity to help set up activities for the Olympic torch in Crofton. We helped set up the tables, balloons, crafts, and decorate the community center for later that night. When the kids came we helped them with crafts and handing out hot chocolate and timbits. It was cool to help out because I actually knew a lot fo the kids from my church. It was nice to see the girls and talk to them about their week. It was cool to see so many familiar faces whether it was people from Qwanoes or kids from Warmland. Today we had church and a missionary from Tanzania came and preached about spreading ht gospel. It was inspiring to hear his stories. Tonight I went to the worship service at Warmland Centre. It was well done and I love worshiping the lord. I really like belonging to a church and being participating in all the different services and activities. God has blessed me and I feel like I am right where he wants me. Please pray for me and his upcoming week. I have a lot of work to do and I want to do the best I can. Thank you for your prayers and God Bless.
I had a fantastic week. On Monday morning we left for our Surfing trip. On the way to Tofino we made some amazing stops. I have never experienced God's creation in the ways I have here at Kaleo. We first stopped through a huge forest with some of the biggest, oldest, and most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Then we had lunch while watching a rushing river rapid. It was beautiful. After we stopped at a lighthouse point and we went wave watching which was incredible. It was really windy and the waves were beautiful. The next day we went surfing and I had so much fun. I had never felt such power in the waves. It was at times scary but so amazing to see and feel God's amazing creation. We got home Wednesday night too late to go to youth. It was too bad we missed it but if we had to miss one it wasn’t that bad too miss because they were just carving pumpkins. There was no lesson or games planned. On Saturday a couple of Kaleo students and I had the opportunity to help set up activities for the Olympic torch in Crofton. We helped set up the tables, balloons, crafts, and decorate the community center for later that night. When the kids came we helped them with crafts and handing out hot chocolate and timbits. It was cool to help out because I actually knew a lot fo the kids from my church. It was nice to see the girls and talk to them about their week. It was cool to see so many familiar faces whether it was people from Qwanoes or kids from Warmland. Today we had church and a missionary from Tanzania came and preached about spreading ht gospel. It was inspiring to hear his stories. Tonight I went to the worship service at Warmland Centre. It was well done and I love worshiping the lord. I really like belonging to a church and being participating in all the different services and activities. God has blessed me and I feel like I am right where he wants me. Please pray for me and his upcoming week. I have a lot of work to do and I want to do the best I can. Thank you for your prayers and God Bless.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Kaleo Blog #5
Hello all, October 26, 2009
So this week was very interesting. We had our class hermeneutics. The class was really good and I learned a lot on how to read and understand the bible. I did really well on my assignments and I have an overall interest in this topic. We got into lots of discussions and one particular one was on the subject of baptism. Some people believe that you need to be baptised to get into heaven and some people believe it’s an act of obedience. It was a very good conversation and I came out having more open views. On Wednesday night we had youth group and it was pretty fun. I am beginning to really enjoy our youth group. I am getting to know the girls. Again my prayer request is that the girls will listen in our small group time. There is about 1 or 2 that answer all the questions and then the other ones just want to talk and not pay attention at all. So my prayer is that apart from all the fun they will have their desires will eventually change and they will want to actually be involved and listen to the lesson. On Sunday I went to church and let the whole games program for the Jr. Church kids. It was really fun and it was good to get to know some of the kids. They were pretty open and I got the feeling that they just want someone to hangout with and laugh with. They were cute and I think there is so much work God wants done at Warmland church. Tonight I went to New Life for a worship service and it was amazing. There was a portion in it where people just told stories of how God has been faithful to them and it is so encouraging to me hear stories like that. God is so powerful and he really works in so many lives. Thank you again for praying. Please pray for our surf trip for the weather. I am so excited to learn to surf!
God bless you all this week!!!
So this week was very interesting. We had our class hermeneutics. The class was really good and I learned a lot on how to read and understand the bible. I did really well on my assignments and I have an overall interest in this topic. We got into lots of discussions and one particular one was on the subject of baptism. Some people believe that you need to be baptised to get into heaven and some people believe it’s an act of obedience. It was a very good conversation and I came out having more open views. On Wednesday night we had youth group and it was pretty fun. I am beginning to really enjoy our youth group. I am getting to know the girls. Again my prayer request is that the girls will listen in our small group time. There is about 1 or 2 that answer all the questions and then the other ones just want to talk and not pay attention at all. So my prayer is that apart from all the fun they will have their desires will eventually change and they will want to actually be involved and listen to the lesson. On Sunday I went to church and let the whole games program for the Jr. Church kids. It was really fun and it was good to get to know some of the kids. They were pretty open and I got the feeling that they just want someone to hangout with and laugh with. They were cute and I think there is so much work God wants done at Warmland church. Tonight I went to New Life for a worship service and it was amazing. There was a portion in it where people just told stories of how God has been faithful to them and it is so encouraging to me hear stories like that. God is so powerful and he really works in so many lives. Thank you again for praying. Please pray for our surf trip for the weather. I am so excited to learn to surf!
God bless you all this week!!!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Kaleo Blog #4
Hello everyone,
Well this week was so fun. On Tuesday we went caving and I had never been close to a cave before and I thought I was going to hate it and be scared of bats and spiders, but it was not like that all. I ended up loving it and there were no bats but we got to climb up high in the cave and go down low through small spaces. At one point we were all in different spots of the cave and we all turned out our lights and sang some worship songs. It was so cool and I will always remember that. On Wednesday we had a calmer day to sleep and catch up on homework. Wednesday night I had youth. Youth went well. I think this was the first Wednesday where I was actually able to make connections with some of the girls. It has been slow to make friends with them and let them get to know me because I tend to be shy at first but being a leader at youth I realized I need to go above and beyond and really try to get to know these girls. Steveie G gave a lesson on being a good friend and then we broke off into our normal small groups and we went through questions. Sometimes its frustrating because its only the same people who answer questions and you can just tell the some of the girls are not listening at all and there is no respect even when we are praying. So that is frustrating but I am really praying for my group and hoping that somehow God will reach their hearts and they will want to know more. We played some games after that everyone had a good time at. Then we helped clean up the whole place from all the games and went home. The next day all of the girls went to the old ladies home in Crofton. It was really good to be there. We were able to sing to them and just talk and get to know them. It made me realize how important it is to be thinking and praying for unsaved people especially older people. Sometimes being in a community with all Christians you can forget about non Christians but I am trying to pray for them and we would like to visit these ladies again. This weekend at Qwanoes was the ladies annual retreat. I signed up to serve for that whole weekend where ever they needed help. Turns out they needed help in the kitchen. So Friday night I did dinner dishes and helped bring up food to Clun Cocco for the ladies snack. Saturday I was in the kitchen all day making bread, cleaning up, and getting dinner ready. Saturday night we had to get the ladies snack ready again and clean the whole kitchen. Sunday I missed Church because I was on breakfast dishes and lunch set-up. I did lunch dishes and then I was finished for the weekend. It was definitely a long weekend and it was hard because all of our homework pre-course was due on Sunday and I had to move out of my room and do all my laundry all weekend because of our bed bugs situation which most of you have beard by now. SO, this weekend was very busy but overall good and I praise God we moved out of our rooms ok and all my work got handed in on time. Almost every day I learn something new here and I am continuing to love it. Please pray for me this week as I move back into my room I am really hoping that I won’t get any bites and that I will really enjoy and be able to focus in my Hermeneutics class.
God bless you all!
Well this week was so fun. On Tuesday we went caving and I had never been close to a cave before and I thought I was going to hate it and be scared of bats and spiders, but it was not like that all. I ended up loving it and there were no bats but we got to climb up high in the cave and go down low through small spaces. At one point we were all in different spots of the cave and we all turned out our lights and sang some worship songs. It was so cool and I will always remember that. On Wednesday we had a calmer day to sleep and catch up on homework. Wednesday night I had youth. Youth went well. I think this was the first Wednesday where I was actually able to make connections with some of the girls. It has been slow to make friends with them and let them get to know me because I tend to be shy at first but being a leader at youth I realized I need to go above and beyond and really try to get to know these girls. Steveie G gave a lesson on being a good friend and then we broke off into our normal small groups and we went through questions. Sometimes its frustrating because its only the same people who answer questions and you can just tell the some of the girls are not listening at all and there is no respect even when we are praying. So that is frustrating but I am really praying for my group and hoping that somehow God will reach their hearts and they will want to know more. We played some games after that everyone had a good time at. Then we helped clean up the whole place from all the games and went home. The next day all of the girls went to the old ladies home in Crofton. It was really good to be there. We were able to sing to them and just talk and get to know them. It made me realize how important it is to be thinking and praying for unsaved people especially older people. Sometimes being in a community with all Christians you can forget about non Christians but I am trying to pray for them and we would like to visit these ladies again. This weekend at Qwanoes was the ladies annual retreat. I signed up to serve for that whole weekend where ever they needed help. Turns out they needed help in the kitchen. So Friday night I did dinner dishes and helped bring up food to Clun Cocco for the ladies snack. Saturday I was in the kitchen all day making bread, cleaning up, and getting dinner ready. Saturday night we had to get the ladies snack ready again and clean the whole kitchen. Sunday I missed Church because I was on breakfast dishes and lunch set-up. I did lunch dishes and then I was finished for the weekend. It was definitely a long weekend and it was hard because all of our homework pre-course was due on Sunday and I had to move out of my room and do all my laundry all weekend because of our bed bugs situation which most of you have beard by now. SO, this weekend was very busy but overall good and I praise God we moved out of our rooms ok and all my work got handed in on time. Almost every day I learn something new here and I am continuing to love it. Please pray for me this week as I move back into my room I am really hoping that I won’t get any bites and that I will really enjoy and be able to focus in my Hermeneutics class.
God bless you all!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Kaleo Blog #3
Hi everyone!! October 12, 2009
First off I would like to thank everyone for praying for me and for the weather of our sailing trip. For those of you who did not know, our whole Kaleo group of 28 students boared Monday morning a 138' gaff schooner morning for 5 days. The weather was so beautiful the whole trip. There was one day where the wind was crazy and we hoisted up the sails. It was amazing the whole ship was on a starbard tack(leaning to the right side) and I thought we were going to touch the water but we didnt. The trip overall was really fun and I learned a lot baout sailing the people I was sailing with. One scary funny story that I had to overcome invloved the ship's lifeboats/dories. Most of you know how much I love the movie Titianic and lets just say that being on this old boat for 5 days....Titain came up a lot. But on the second day we anchored the boat and our whole group piled into thses very small dories. I was so terrified. First of all the group leader said she this was the most people they had had ever in these boats and I was sitting on the group because there was no room and this boat was the tippiest thing I had ever been in. And to make things worse the water was freezing and I was in pants, socks, sweater, coat, and hat. So falling in would probably not be the best thing. Anyhow we made it safely there and back but It was very scary and I had to overcome my fear and go in them again the next day!
But all of those fears aside I had such a great trip and I will always remmeber my five days on the Pacific Ocean. This week at Church I didn't really have the oppurtunity to help serve since we missed youth group because of being on the boat. On Sunday it was my turn to stay up in the service and Pastor Scott preached a good message titled "Dragging people tp Christ". It was all about witnessing to people and it reminded me how much I forgot what it was like to witness. Being ere surrpounded by almost always Christians I forgot how much of my life involved witnessing to my friends back home, and this service helped me remeber how even though I am not always around non christiansI can still pray for everyone back at home and for oppurtunities at here. THen after church I was able to help stack up the chairs and take down the church since its in a communtity centre. God blessed us this week with an incredibale trip. Thank you for your prayers, God bless!
First off I would like to thank everyone for praying for me and for the weather of our sailing trip. For those of you who did not know, our whole Kaleo group of 28 students boared Monday morning a 138' gaff schooner morning for 5 days. The weather was so beautiful the whole trip. There was one day where the wind was crazy and we hoisted up the sails. It was amazing the whole ship was on a starbard tack(leaning to the right side) and I thought we were going to touch the water but we didnt. The trip overall was really fun and I learned a lot baout sailing the people I was sailing with. One scary funny story that I had to overcome invloved the ship's lifeboats/dories. Most of you know how much I love the movie Titianic and lets just say that being on this old boat for 5 days....Titain came up a lot. But on the second day we anchored the boat and our whole group piled into thses very small dories. I was so terrified. First of all the group leader said she this was the most people they had had ever in these boats and I was sitting on the group because there was no room and this boat was the tippiest thing I had ever been in. And to make things worse the water was freezing and I was in pants, socks, sweater, coat, and hat. So falling in would probably not be the best thing. Anyhow we made it safely there and back but It was very scary and I had to overcome my fear and go in them again the next day!
But all of those fears aside I had such a great trip and I will always remmeber my five days on the Pacific Ocean. This week at Church I didn't really have the oppurtunity to help serve since we missed youth group because of being on the boat. On Sunday it was my turn to stay up in the service and Pastor Scott preached a good message titled "Dragging people tp Christ". It was all about witnessing to people and it reminded me how much I forgot what it was like to witness. Being ere surrpounded by almost always Christians I forgot how much of my life involved witnessing to my friends back home, and this service helped me remeber how even though I am not always around non christiansI can still pray for everyone back at home and for oppurtunities at here. THen after church I was able to help stack up the chairs and take down the church since its in a communtity centre. God blessed us this week with an incredibale trip. Thank you for your prayers, God bless!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Kaleo Blog #2
Hello everyone, October 4, 2009
Well I have now been here at Kaleo for almost three weeks and I absolutely love it. Tomorrow we are heading off on a five day sailing adventure up the gulf islands. It has been about a week and a half since I have last wrote and since then I have been able to be involved with 2 youth group sessions, helping out with Jr. Church, and helping out with Sunday school. For youth group we all played some games at the beginning then we all had a group lesson on John the Baptist and after I helped out in my small group and went through discussions questions with the girls. Last Sunday I also helped out the pastor's wife with the younger kids in Jr Church. I helped her lead the craft which were science experiments and then clean up after. Today was church again and I went to Sunday school with Stevie-G and helped out with the gr. 5-8 keeping them under control. They were interesting kids. I think one thing I really feel burdened to pray for is a general interest in God from the kids. I would say most of the kids just come to youth and Sunday school because it is a place they can hangout out and eat cookies. It would be amazing if something hit them and they realized how amazing God is and how much they need him in their lives. If you could please pray for Warmland's leadership team which consists Pastor Scott, Ross the worship leader, and Stevie-G the youth pastor. They have a huge job in planning all of the youth and church events and reaching out to a very different community that many of you are used too. A quality that I can already feel developing in myself through this ministry is leadership. With these kids it surprises me how much they need to be told what to do and how little they know about God. During small group I have to step up and answer questions and really try to get them involved. I have also learned not to try too hard with them and just focus on praying for them and becoming their friend and someone they can look up too eventually. God has truly blessed me with an amazing opportunity to be involved with Warmland Community Church. I am learning so much and thank you so much for your prayers. I love it here so much and I feel so blessed to be a part of this school.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Kaleo start!!
Hi everyone!
hello from 4,000 miles west! I am in B.C. and I love it. I have really enjoyed my time here so far. Our team of 28 students our amazing people that I can't wait to get to know more. We have been blessed with solid godly leaders. Thank you so much for your prayers, I am so excited to see what God has planned for this year. Part of of our year involves serving in a local church. The church that I chose is called Warmland Community Church and it is located in Crofton. Warmland is a very different style of church. It is held in a community centre and is very geared to non-Christians. We play some secular music to encourage people to come to church and to make them feel more at home. Church is not about the type of building it is about the message that we are trying to get across. Our first Sunday was there today and it was different but very good. Today we were not involved so much in our ministry because the pastor wanted us to experience a real sermon there. We talked to some of the members in the congregation and got the feel of the church. We also had to help stack the chairs because it is in the community centre. It is now Thursday and last night I had the opportunity to be involved with Warmland's youth group. We had a get to know you night which was really fun. The kids that go to warmland are very different then kids that I am used too, so I think God is really showing me that I need to love the difficult kids and treat them the same as I would easy to get along with kids. I feel burdened to pray fro the girls in my small group, they are all in grade 6 and they seem very distracted from God and my prayer is that by the end of this year they will know God and his love so much more. Overall, this first week of Kaleo has been so amazing and I have already been so stretched out of my comfort zone, whether it was climbing a mountain to being involved with a non traditional church. I am so excited to see what God has in store.
Talk to you next week!
God bless and thank you for all your prayers!
hello from 4,000 miles west! I am in B.C. and I love it. I have really enjoyed my time here so far. Our team of 28 students our amazing people that I can't wait to get to know more. We have been blessed with solid godly leaders. Thank you so much for your prayers, I am so excited to see what God has planned for this year. Part of of our year involves serving in a local church. The church that I chose is called Warmland Community Church and it is located in Crofton. Warmland is a very different style of church. It is held in a community centre and is very geared to non-Christians. We play some secular music to encourage people to come to church and to make them feel more at home. Church is not about the type of building it is about the message that we are trying to get across. Our first Sunday was there today and it was different but very good. Today we were not involved so much in our ministry because the pastor wanted us to experience a real sermon there. We talked to some of the members in the congregation and got the feel of the church. We also had to help stack the chairs because it is in the community centre. It is now Thursday and last night I had the opportunity to be involved with Warmland's youth group. We had a get to know you night which was really fun. The kids that go to warmland are very different then kids that I am used too, so I think God is really showing me that I need to love the difficult kids and treat them the same as I would easy to get along with kids. I feel burdened to pray fro the girls in my small group, they are all in grade 6 and they seem very distracted from God and my prayer is that by the end of this year they will know God and his love so much more. Overall, this first week of Kaleo has been so amazing and I have already been so stretched out of my comfort zone, whether it was climbing a mountain to being involved with a non traditional church. I am so excited to see what God has in store.
Talk to you next week!
God bless and thank you for all your prayers!
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