peace

hello all,
i feel like i need to start out with this:
the new blog site for Kaleo 7 has recently gone up and even though we still have a few months of growth and community here i have to admit that i have mixed emotions about it all. i have come to love the people and even the place here so much it feels like home, i know that Jim has said that this is not meant to be a permanent thing, and i am stoked to see what comes of our lives when we do go our seperate ways, yet at the same time i am almost scared of the day we have to say goodbye. i remember last year when the K6 blog went up and we were all so excited about it and i am so glad that there are more people feeling those things this very moment, i also remember seeing the posts of the K5's who were still doing kaleo and how they were shocked that it had gone so fast, it is a bitter-sweet blessing to be feeling those things now. i look back to the start of these past months and i know that God has done amazing things in my life and has changed me in ways that will never be undone. there has been learning, growth, nourishment and so much more that can not even be put into words. it is truly exciting to think about the future, both not knowing at all what will be coming and yet knowing that God is faithful and that he will lead us all to the place we must be. it is hard to think that we will say goodbye to kaleo, and yet i know there is truth in what one Jon Lefebvre said just last night in our worship session that "kaleo is not a place, it is a state of mind" this is so true on so many levels. Kaleo is about community, we have seen and tasted what that close community can be and now it is up to us to share it with the world.
all that said, there are still after all a few months left to spend here, and i do not intend on wasting one second of it anxiously awaiting the end to something that is still going so strong, something which truly does not have an end.
Kaleo. at the beginning of the year we were told that it means to be called. well a calling does not last only 8 months, i realize that it is a life-long journey to follow the call of God in our lives and i am so stoked to follow that no matter where it leads. i only pray that God would give me the wisdom and the patience and the courage to do the following with all my heart!
God bless the ones who will come to know the God we have grown with here in the months and even years to come!

aside from all that, haha this week we got to enjoy theology class for two mornings in a row and i know that there is a lot that was soaked up during that time, but i pray and ask for your prayers in us making that knowledge stick and giving it a change to permeate into our hearts. but also that we would talk to each other about it all and to question in and make things real to ourselves, rather than simply taking it word for word. we must be sure that we are not mislead because it is our own responsibility to study and know the word of God for ourselves!
on thursday morning we will be getting up in the morning to head over to the mainland where we will be attending missions fest in Vancouver, there will be many people representing organizations from all over the place who do work around the globe, i pray that it would not be overwhelming but that we would be able to stay calm and not simply be drawn without thought to sign up for every thing that looks good, but that if we are called to pay attention to some or even one of these representatives whether for the immediate future or somewhere further down the line i pray that we would gain all the information we need now so that it would be a seed planted in us ready to shoot out when God calls. I pray also that it would be a time of rest from homework, a time of fun in getting to hang out with each other in another new setting, that we would grow more still as a family of believers.

we have been reading a book in preparation for or trip to India called The Three Battlegrounds, it is a book based on the issues of spiritual warefare. it has been good to hear some things, such as that while true children of God can not be "possesed" by the devil we can and are constantly being "oppressed" but we do not have to continue to live that way, we can be made free from that. not from our own fervor or zeal but from the admittance that we are weak and to surrender those dark places of fear or sinful habits, that through shedding light on those areas and opening them up to Christ he can make those areas righteousness in us and tear down the strongholds that the devil might have on us. i know that it has already been a blessing to me to know this, and to always be aware of the way that i am thinking and the things that i am doing and to constantly be giving them up to God knowing that i am not pure and he is making me stronger through it. we must have patience, in all circumstances, for patience comes from trusting and having faith that Christ has won the victory for us and simply relying on the promise that God will see us through. a quote from the book we are reading is this:
"A peacemaker is not merely someone who protests against wars; he is one who is inwardly so yielded to Christ in sprit and purpose that he can be called a son of God. Where he goes, God goes and where God goes, he goes. He is fearless, calm and bold. Peace eminates from him the way ligh and heat radiate from fire."
through giving up the things that i am afraid of letting go, from surrendering those areas of darkness inside, i believe that it has been easier to talk to people about things, to be more open to people, not to be ashamed of things in the past but to let them go knowing that i am not the only sinner here. we have all failed and fallen short, but we also have all been forgiven and redeemed.
i feel like i have rambled on a lot just now, but i hope that you found some encouragement from it all. i want to close off by giving a shout out to my mom on her birthday! happy birthday mom!! love you!!
until next blog! haha see you guys!!
PEACE!

Snow Trip!!

hey everyone!!
i have to appologize in advance that there wont be pictures in this blog because i havent been able to find my cord which connects my camera to my computer since we got back from mount washington. but as soon as i find that you can bet that i will be putting up some of the pictures from the trip!
to let you in on how it went though, i can say one thing for sure, it was interesting! :P apart from the fact that two of the girls broke each their right arm while snowboarding, my roomy fish got a concussion from a nasty wipeout, and another guy ended up the week with 11 stitches in his little finger...it was an amazing week!
to be honest there was a lot of growth spiritually and within the kaleo community. on a couple of the night we talked together in chapel sessions about the names that we gave to each other way back on the Grace during our SALTS trip, some of us ended up with new names. long story short, i was given the new name of 'reaching'. i believe that it is a fitting name for me in that it is going to be a challenge for me to always keep reaching. not only reaching out to people in love and reaching them for Christ, as well as to keep reaching within myself to allow more growth and to stretch and become more of the person who i am being molded into; but also to always trust in God and to reach to him in everything that i do in order to better become that person he has called me to be.
i feel like this new name is going to play a big part in my ministry and in my work of mission throughout life in that it will always be challenging me to do better and to be better.

i was not able to get to church this week because i was working in the kitchen for a retreat here at the camp. so there is no news yet on how church has been since we got back really.

we continue to prepare for our ministry trips, and your continued prayer for financial support to be provided for the trip would be incredible. as well as prayer that those with broken limbs would heal well enough to be prepared in time for the trips as well, and for the work God is already doing in the hearts and minds of the people we will all interact with, no matter which trip we will be going on. and for the work he is doing in our own hearts here before we leave home to do his work.
another note on that: today in class i was convicted by something that our teacher said, he was talking about missions trips and how we have turned them into some kind of "christian tourism" they have become a way for us to gain 'experiences' where we take a few great pictures slap them up on facebook and then thats it. where in reality, no so many years ago people our age would be preparing to go out into the world for God knowing that they may not get back, knowing that the spreading of the Gospel could cost their very lives. it just made me think about what my reasons are for going and gave me a new dedication to do all that i have been called to do when we are on our trekking trip. not to be reckless and foolish, but also not to be afraid or to allow myself to cower away in the face of oppression, because oppression is the very way of life to which we are called as followers of Christ.
prayer for safety and protection and bravery in an area that is not open to evangelism would be another thing that is greatly appreciated!
anyways, i think thats about all the ranting i can do for now! i love you guys and will update again soon (and will be looking for that silly camera cord so i can show you all some of what happened at mount washington!!)
much love in Him
Miranda

moving right along then...kaleo 6, part two

well hey everyone!
so its been a while since i have poste! that is because it was Christmas break!! woop woop! it was alot of fun to be able to get home and to see friends and family again, i celebrated my 19th birthday at home! had some friends over and we baked a cake and hung out together like days of old. it was great. christmas with the family was amazing, it was good to see my brothers and sister and my parents all home together again for a christmas in our own house, it has been a few years since we have had a reaxing holiday season at home! so it was nice, plus we had tonnes of snow and that was super fun!!
since being back at Kaleo, i have realized that over the break i have really come to appreciate and live as brothers and sisters in Christ all of the other students here as well as the staff and the leaders! i missed them a lot! and it has been great to get to catch up with them all! and i am looking very much forward to what this semester is going to bring!
this first week back we have been in class with Tim Stabell learing about the theology of mission, it has been a very interesting class for me and has set on my heart a new and eager hunger to dig into the word of God and all that he says about how and what our mission in this world is as followers and believers of Jesus Christ! we have struggled through questions about the doctrine of hell, how the environment plays a roll in our mission as Christians, as well as going over the pros and cons of short and long term missions! all of which have been topics i have eagerly listened to and am excited to do further study in the word of God to learn more and to find out where i stand in all those areas of christian living!
we have also begun to do workouts for the India trip, we are all very excited about the trip and some are nervous, but getting together as a team to prepare in prayer meetings spiritaully and to get to gether to run and do other intense workouts to prepare physically has been very encouraging and is making me thrilled more and more at the experiences and lessons we will gain when we go over there in March, Lord willing.
of course with all the added meetings and such with the india prep it means that we have to be more and more conscious about how we spend our time, so prayer that we would spend that time wisely in getting our work done in plenty of time so as not to be rushed and stressed would be amazing, as well as continued prayer in the raising of finacially supprt would be excellent.
i would also like to put out there that many of us are in the process of applying for schools for next year, so prayer also for making the right choices and to be attentive to the leading and calling of God as to where he wants us to go next year would be incredible!
i am sorry if that went very quickly and seemed smushed together, but i am already feeling the crunch of time and need to get some reading done tonight ;)
thank you all so much again!! love you all and praying for you as well!
miranda