photo update!

so, about a week ago the four of us went out to go bowling! it was good times all around, phil won a game and i won the other game. it was loads of fun, i think all of us got at least one strike, and i know we all had fun!! thanks for taking us guys!!

we had some fun with the photographic memory making.

on Monday the 8th of December, we took a trip to Wild Play Element Park, of Nanaimo BC; where some went zip-lining, some went up on a high ropes, some rode a monster size swing, and some went BUNGY JUMPING!!

do i look too happy to be preping for a jump off a 150' bridge??









love you all!!

no turning back now!!

incredible!!

and then last night we had our christmas banquet! it was so much fun, excellent food and amazing friends to spend the time with!!

love you all!!

happy december!!

hey hey hey everyone!! so guess what, it is December!! what a wonderful month!!

this past week was awesome, we got through our church ministry course in what felt like a day, seriously the whole week went by so fast its not even funny! but it was a really good class and i know that there are things i learned which will stick with me forever, as well as thing that i already had an idea of but am now assured of. we went through what the church is as the body of Christ, which is his children, thats us; its not a building where you go and sing songs and listen to some guy talk one day every week. we learned about spiritual giftings and how we have each been given certain gifts that are special to us to use to further the kingdom of God on earth.

since that class has ended we have a few more papers to write and pre and post course work before the christmas break and then we will all be heading to our respective homes for a few weeks. it is very exciting, and still there are some here who have tensions at home which may not bring so much joy to the break. prayer for all of us to find peace and restoration over the holidays would be awesome as well as prayer that we will all stay committed to taking some time out of our days to think about each other and pray about how our time is going that we will all be safe and in good health.

for misnitry this past week i got a chance to visit an old folks home on sunday afternoon with a few others and some people from church. we put on a little sunday service for some of the residents, it was so cool to hear them all singing by heart the old songs that have such powerful meaning, and to see them; just to look into their eyes and wonder in awe at the lives they have lived, the things they have seen and done, the places they have been, to know that they are all somebodies parents, siblings, children, and grandparents. it was really a new experience for me and one i will not soon forget, they are the ones who God has brought through a long road and will no doubt soon be calling home to be with him. and looking at them with that knowledge and seeing the peace in their faces was inspiring. i felt prepared to talk with tham and at the same time i felt completely unprepared because it was nothing like i thought it would be, they were like children (in the most respectful way) in that they are open and innocent in so many ways, and because they are dependant, but it is a beatiful dependancy. they tought me in that short time of maybe just over an hour then i could have ever expected. and so much of it is stuff that cannot be explained or described its something that touched my heart. that was my ministry experience this week.

yesterday we all got together (girls) and set out for another adventure together, the guys also went off for some adventure (not sure what they did as they are not even back home yet). our day was titled "a day in the life of Jen Lee" because we got to spend the day doing things that she enjoys, we began by going for a short one hour hike up a mountain on which sits a white metal cross, and we had a chocolate bar and a can of coke up there before coming back down (in the rain and fog which made the trails look like something out of a tolkein or C.S Lewis novel) and heading to the swimming pool and out for coffee (probably her favorite part of the day overall) :P then we went to the badke's house and had bbq'd shish-ka-bobs and then ice-cream for desert. when that was done we all gathered together for a time of song and sharing with each other. it was another great time of growth both individually and as a group of SISTERS!! yeah thats right ladies! ;) and we committed to praying for each other over the coming break. this morning we had an amazing breakfast (or brunch i guess) before packing our bags and coming back over to the camp.

and now here i am writing about it all!! i hope that it did not bore you in any way.

prayer for the things mentioned within the blog post as well as for continued prayer for support of our year end trips and for the continued work which God has started in us all would be awesome!

i love you guys and ill see some of you soon!!!

past couple of weeks!

hey everyone!!
first of all i am sorry that it has been so long since i have updated this blogger!!the past couple of weeks have really just flown by and i lost track of time. two weeks ago we had a youth night where all the families and friends families of the youth of New Life came to church to watch a movie together as a family. we watched Kung fu panda, it was lots of fun. the kids were laughing, the parents were happy to just be able to relax for a little while in the evening. it was nice to be able to sit and enjoy something along side of the teens who i have been getting to be involved with.
two weeks ago was reading break for us, and oh my goodness does it feel like it was a lot longer ago!! that whole week was really good, some of the kaleos went away from camp and got to hang out together while some of us stayed here at Qwanoes. one night we all (those of s who were left) went out for dinner to Boston Pizza, we all had so much fun and then some of us swung by DQ for icecream as desert afterwards...mmmm so good!!
another day during that week i got to take the ferry from Crofton over to Saltsrping island with Deborah, Phil, and Joel. we got up and took the morning ferry over and spent the day walkng around and just having a good time together, we watched some sea planes take off and then we found a realy sweet spot along the water to sit and hang out, we got to chat with some local teenagers who were just hanging out (during school...hmmm) haha, and then we went for some ice cream before heading back home to camp. the ferry ride was a lot of fun and phil took quite a few videos on his camera which have gone up onto facebook already.
one other night during that week deborah gave phil and i each a facial with some face cream that she had left over. when that sutff dries your face gets all hard and stiff and you cant move it, its a pretty cool sensation. after we sat with dry white stuff all over our faces for a while we washed it off (skin was so smooth!!) and then we made some nanaimo bars!! that was fun as well, plus they tasted really good. and we shared those with whoever wanted some.

those are some of the highlights of reading break week for me. and now for the udates from last week!!

last week was our 24/7 week of prayer and about as much as i can say to sum it up would be to say that it was simply incredible!! each of us signed up for at least one hour each day where we would go up into one of the empty rooms to spend an hour in prayer either on our own or with one other person. we set up a wooden cross in the room where people could write down prayers on bits of paper and then pin them up as a show of surrender to God, as well as papers which each of our names on them where we could leave each other notes of encouragement and advice. we each had a pitcture up around the room and it was so cool while you are in there to look around and see all the people who we have been living with over the last few months and simply pray for them, openly and without worry of who else might hear. the room was so filled with the presence of God i knowin my heart without doubt that each of us came out of this last week new in one way or another. just last night at our worship service we went through things that we had prayed about over the week which have already been answered!! it is so exciting to see how much you can do when you simpy give it up to God in prayer.
as well as feeling God in that room, it was an incredible blessing to have so many stars out almost every night of the week, it was so cool to be able to just go down on my own to the dock here and lay under the countless stars and hear the wind and the waves (and even on one night a few trees crash under the force of the wind!! sooo cool!!) and just realize how small i am, and how insignificant i would be if not for the grace and power of God in my life. if you have never done this, or maybe even if it ha just been a while since you did last, i would encourage you to go out and just lay under the stars and let God speak to you through the wonder of all he has created!.

that is the update for my last couple of weeks, this week we are into another class, church ministry and so far it has been very interesting and i am excited to see at the end of the week all that we will have learned.
prayer that we would all gain exactly what God intends for us to learn this week as well as a continued commitment to prayer even though we are not made to stay in a room for an hour would be an awesome thing, as well as prayer that God will continue to change us and to be working in our lives more and more each day.

God bless you guys!! hopefully hear from you/ see you all soon as Christmas time is coming fast!! LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!

Random update

Hey everyone!

this past week has been a interesting one for sure. from a more then sketchy youth meeting to a kick butt K6 V Staff floor hockey game! 

first off, the youth meeting, it was on Thursday night, which also happened to be the same time that we were to be playing our floor hockey game, the whole day i was debating whether or not i should be at the meeting and no matter what i thought about it just seemed that i was not supposed to be there. so i went to the game, played, had a blast, unfortunately lost to the staff team, (but thats ok, we will get them next time K6!). after the game we went out for slurpies at the sevey in Duncan. while we were there (and on the ride back home) i was informed of what had gone on in the youth meeting, only because there were a few who had chosen to go there instead of floor hockey. apparently, there are some issues going on with one of the pastors, trying to "take over" the youth program and make it his own creation, i do not want to start blabbering on about it, because i was not there and so i don't feel like i have a right to. but i will ask for prayer that things will be worked out. 

on friday night at youth, it was a little odd going in and seeing things from this new perspective that we have been given. i almost didn't feel prepared to be there and try and reach out to the kids when there seem to be some misguided directions that the program has begun to take. i know that we have been sent to this church for a reason, and i pray that if it is to see through this or to try and make a difference that we would have the courage to step up and do something rather than just sitting there and letting things go by. prayer for this is a huge thing right now. 

and on an awesome note! this week is going to be reading break! i will be staying here at the camp with just a few others who are doing likewise, but prayer for those who are traveling or who have family coming in would be great! i am hoping that we all get well rested from this week away and are brought back with a renewed desire to dig in to what God has put here for us. also, since it is a "reading" break, it would be good to be able to get some work done for classes as well!!

(sorry there have been no pictures lately, i will do better at finding some to stick in here next time!) 

one other thing that i will write about is that i have had the chance to talk to some people here who are feeling like they are just getting worn out, either with others or with trying to find out just why they were brought here. if you could pray that we would all get a renewed vision of why we have been called here and what it means for our future that would be super. 

thank you to whoever still finds the time in their days to read this and pray for all things Kaleo. i love you guys and hope that things are going well for you!!

God Bless!!

 - Miranda

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

hope you all got lots of candy this year on the 31st!!
on halloween friday the New Life crew went to the church and helped to serve by handing out candy to students of all ages from the trunks of cars which got dressed up...yes, the car were dressed up for halloweed, its called trunk-or-treating. and it was pretty much awesome! we got to spend time with the youth in a fun and exciting setting. i think that this was a good way to help us connect with them on a more relaxed and less imposing level. i know that some really good conversations went on as well as having fun giving (and eating!!) candy!!
this past weekend i got to work in the kitchen prepping food for a guest group that was staying here at the camp. i got to wake up at 5:30 two mornings in a row and go help make breakfast, i really did enjoy the time i got to spend with the staff and other students who were helping out. we made eggs, suasage, poridge, and all that good breakfast food! then we got to make lunch and then dinner also. making awesome food and getting to know the staff here by just spending time with them and working together to attain a common goal; its funny how much closer you can get to people by simply being in the same place together and working together to get something done. serving the guest group was also alot of fun, as well as working in the kitchen i got to go and work at the climbing wall, it was alot of fun to watch and encourage the youth as they struggled up the wall. i am glad that we got to learn all the skills we did when Kaleo began so that we can be part of the ministry of this camp. so far it has been alot of fun! also, there are two Kenyan preachers who are with us at New Life for a few weeks and we got a chance to talk to them, it was cool to hear what they thought about halloween because they had never experienced it before. they couldnt believe that people gave out candy for free...and man did they like the candy!! aha it was awesome!

today, we all split up into two large groups and headed out in different ways, some of us went caving at horne lake caves a little past coombs; the others went to victoria to hand out sleeping bags, socks, and other things to the resident homeless, as well as talking to them and letting them know that there are people around who care and want to hear their stories. some of which can be super awesome. i was in the group that went caving today and it was so much fun, we drove out there and made a stop at coombs along the way. its always a fun place to make a pit stop. then we piled back into the van and took off to the caves, when we got there we spit into two smaller groups and grabbed some helmets and our headlamps and off we went. there were some pretty small places in there which we had to smoosh ourselves through but it wasnt so bad that people were gettng stuck. we got to stand under an underground waterfall. experience the complte darkness of deep places, and ... see many many daddy long legs cluttered all over the roof. Tom and Fish totally freaked out at the sight of them. then Ben found a massive bug that kind of looked like a cricket but it was seriously HUGE and it had a big stinger thing on it!! DISGUSTING!!! by the time we were done in the cave i was covered in mud, and we got to go to the swimming pool, we walked in all covered in mud and all the people looked at us as if we were nuts because of it. but thats ok it was fun and very well worth it all. we went into the pool and swam/hottubbed for a while before changing (into clean clothes which we had brought along) and then headed back to base camp for dinner and then woship afterwards.
tomorrow the groups get to swtich it up and the cavers get to hit the streets of victoria tomorrow and i am amped for that!

then just tonight a little while ago fish and i went to the panabode (a house which is the home of some of the full time staff here) and we watched the new Hulk movie (pretty darn good it is) and then we played some wii with Matt, Joel, Phil Fish and me. it was alot of fun.

basically, if as you were reading you got bored and started skipping through bits and pieces, this week has been encouraging in our church ministry, and...fun!! through and through.
some things that i think would be good to pray on would be comfort to some people who are going through some rough times right now, for strength and courage to make tough choices and the wisdon to see the decisions that need to be made. as well as for the missions trips that the teams would be put together in the way that God has had planned before time as we know it began, and that we would all feel comfortable in the places we have chosen to go and that the finances for the trips would come in to all who need them!

thanks for reading yo!

Winterizing the Grace...a return to SALTS!

so, today some of us got to go to the SALTS shipyard and help to winterize the beautiful Pacific Grace. we were up and ready to leave shortly after 8 this morning, we hopped into one of the vans and off we went to the victoria harbour. when we got there, we were directed to Antony (who was my watch leader during our week-long voyage) and he set us about our work of the ship. as we were working we got to see Sarah and Jillian and Rebecca again as well, it was so cool to see them all again...only the skipper was missing. as for the work, we untied the sails from the booms and set about the task of hauling them away to the storage shed (those things are pretty darn heavy!) and then we inspected each of to see if there were any small holes or other wear marks on them.

we also disconnected the booms from the masts and hauled them into the larger storage area in the shipyard. as well as the large things that had to be taken down, we cleaned out the areas below deck and brought up all the stored food that was down there. it was really cool to go below again, i have to say, climbing down that ladder to the hold brought back some really cool memories of nightwatch and getting up at one in the morning to go and spend an hour on deck making sure the ship wasnt drifting too close to shore!!

we also brought out the good old dories...yes, those are the small boats that you use to go ashore when at anchor, the ones that feel like you are going to tip over at every movement...that was good times too. all in all i think we worked from about nine ish to a little after four (minus one hour as a lunch break). and at the end of it all, we said goodbye to the Grace and to the crew once more and came back to camp.

then, later in the evening after dinner we had another fireside. and i got to have chocolate fondoo!! it was so good and the fellowship and conversation was awesome as well!!...next week we have our Hermeneutics class, so if you could pray that we would all be able to pay good attention and that we would learn what God wants to show us throug this class that would be great! and continued prayer for those hurting these days would be much appreciated!! thanks guys!

Prayer

well, this past week has been eally chill compared to those when we do things like surfing, hiking, sailing, and all that AMAZING stuff. but even so, it has been an awesome week. on thursday night to friday afternoon K6 split up for a time of bonding and getting to know each other, the girls went to parksville, went out for Indian food (sooo good and super filling!!) and then we stayed at a place right on the waterfront. while the guys went to JimBad's house and had steaks and did "manly things" (video games and movies...yeah i know, NERDS) :P
no i am kidding i am sure that there was alot more to it then only that.
on thursday night when we girls started to relax and get comfy we played some games and we sang some worship and praise to our great heavenly father. and then we took some time to hear about hurts and questions that we have been facing. i dont want to get into details of what was shared other than the fact that it got emotional and personal to the deepest level at some points. in regards to that i am writing this blog. i just want to ask you all this time for prayer. prayer for comfort to those who are hurting, for comfort to overcome the weight of things that have happened in the past of people's lives. for strength and encouragement to face the things that try and hold us down. prayer for the ability to overcome the hold that satan tries to place on us.
i also want ask for prayer for Jon, he is a K6 sutend also, and he lost his grandfather this past week so he is away from us until saturday at the soonest and i just ak that God would continue to grant peace and comfort in the promise that because of the gift of Christ Jesus they will be reunited again some day.
i know this wasnt the most exciting blog, but i just really wanted to take the time to ask for continued prayer, and to remind us all (yes even me) that this year is not simply for fun, it is a huge growing time and a time to get to know Jesus on a much more personal level and to really alow him to speak into our lives.
your prayers are all very much appreciated!
thank you all!!

Surf Tofino and then some

so, last thursday we headed towards Tofino to catch some waves!! the weather was perfect, it was just starting to rain here at Qwanoes but as we drove to the west side of the island we hit the nice weather. on our way there we stopped at a place called Coombs...basically an old school hippy village...and we had some food and stuff...and the goats that usually live on the roof of one of the buildings were not there any more, that was pretty much sad. but you know we dealt with it. and then we drove through cathedral grove, which is a place in the forest where the trees are pretty much seven feet in diameter...so basically they are huge. and then we kept on going all the way to Euclulet to watch the massive waves (and by massive i mean like 20 feet...no joke) crash against the rock face of the coast line before heading to our camp site closer to Tofino. the weather was awsome all three days that we were there!!

on the way there, as we were getting rather close to our destination...JimBad ran over a baby racoon!! there was a little family of them running over the road and we thought that they were all over safely and then a straggler came out of the bush on one side and went to run accross and ended up under us as Jim was trying to avoid it, but it didnt make it and fish and Kristy and i were sitting in the front row of the van and we saw the whole thing and yeah pretty much it was a very sad moment to and otherwise happy day...and then Tom Bietz said "BOOM headshot!" which was horrible...

(oh and while we were there jen and jordana and i made a big drawing of a man in the sand and we named it JenMirJor..it was pretty much awsome)

on the day that we got there we had a game of soccer and i think everyone played or was taking photos of the people playing...and then (because we were playing with bare feet) Deborah got kicked in the foot and pretty much broke her pinky toe (and by pretty much...i mean she did). so that was fun. and we ate and sang songs and shared testimonies and all that good stuff, then the second day we were there we hit the beach to catch some killer waves...and i say "killer waves" because i pretty much almost died...yeah so it was the SECOND wave of the FIRST day of ACTUAL surfing, and Deborah happens to decide to ride a wave, she was having a totally awsome time of it too, until she realized that she was aiming straight for my head!! so yeah i was basically almost decapatated by her surf boad as it smucked the side of my head just behind my left ear...and then she went on to finish the job by running over the rest of me!

no in all honesty its super hard to turn a surf board when a wave catches you, your pretty much going to end up where it takes you unless you are a pro who has been at it for years and years...and there were 32 of us in a relatively small portion of a very large beach so it was bound to happen and indeed several others came out of the three days with similar tales. so no hard feelings to Fish (fish is deborah...deborah is fish). and even though i didnt manage to stand up and ride a wave, i found riding the waves penguin style to be alot of fun anyways!! plus we get to go again in the spring so maybe next time!! it was basically awsome fun times and if you have never surfed you should totally try it!!

the waves were awsome for beginner surfers, oh and the wetsuits...so much fun to try and get on, only not really. seriously :p it was very interesting as we all struggled and fell over and stood up again and struggled some more. and then we all got to look like super hard core ninjas, which was pretty sweet.

on the third day some people went and did more surfing while others went and walked to a small surf shop place and then went and explored the beach. it was so beautiful there, seriously one of those kinds of places that you could just sit down to relax in and never leave. after a few hours of surf and exploring at the beach we went back to camp and packed up to head back home. on our way back we came accross a road block thing that gave enough time for several of us to play some soccer on the road. it was lots of fun. and i stole the ball and then gave it back because...well i dunno, i just did ok?

then on friday we had a day of class with JimBad before half of the kaleos went off for thanksgiving weekend. on saturday half of the half that was left took off to victoria and the remaining five of us were able to chill and hang out and spend good quality time getting to know each other even better. plus we cut Josh's hair! and that was good times.

on sunday we went to church and then out for an amazing thanksgiving lunch with one of the church families and it was soo good!! by the time we got back home to qwanoes it was dinner time and i only had a few grapes because i was too full to eat any more. then after dinner we all (as in the half of us who spent thanksgiving here) went and had a four movie, movie night!! we watched mulan, pocahantas, rescuers down under, and tommy boy. and i fell asleep in the last one and when i woke up people were leaving and getting me up and i was seriously just totally confused and i had no idea what was going on!! its a really neat sensation to wake up to ill tell you that much!

and today (being monday) i spent most of the day with fish and her parents who came back from taiwan. and then we had a semi formal thanksgiving dinner here at camp with the kaleo and the staff members all together. the food was fantastic and the fellowship was totally cool. all in all i can say that i am glad to have spent this thanksgiving here with these people who i have come to know and will enjoy getting to know even more as the next seven months pass by.

Surfs up and Happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

oh and i am thankful for kaleo6, family, friends, and air!!

S.A.L.T.S

I am just going to say...wow...
ok so i will clarify a little but, but seriously. God is amazing and his creation is the most beautiful painting, the sweetest song, the most breath-taking view. and it is all so much better when you have awsome people sharing every moment of the experience.
so, last week we spent five days sailing in a 130' schooner, with about 35 other people, sailing through the islands off of the BC coast comming close to the American border. we arrived at the victoria harbour, found the Pacific Grace docked and ready for us to set sail. we boarded and were introduced to an awsome crew (skipper, skipper's wife, Rebeka, Antony, Sarah, and jillian) each one of them...top class. we found our bunks below deck and were split up into three groups. Fore watch (team flippin rad!), port watch, and starboard watch. as groups we shifted through positions on board from being bow and stern watch (looking out for other boats or logs or other things) as well as being standby or manning the helm or the radio in the aft cabbin. as well as simply sailing, we were learning all along the way, we learned how to tie knots, we learned about the ship and how you manouver it, we learned "rules of the road" about who has "right of way" in certain situations. we learned about the parts of the Grace and at the end of it all, we had a test and many of us became Certified Junior Sailors. woohoo!!
on the first day we had sunshine and wind that was perfect for sailing, skipper said it was one of the best days for sailing with the wind that he has had in a long time. it was an incredible experience. one that will stay with many of us for the rest of our lives. on the morning of the second day we all boarded the little dorries (small baots that you lower into the water then climb aboard so that you can go ashore without actually docking the ship, instead it stayed anchored in a bay; and we took a hike to a lookout with a magnificent view of the islands all around. those dorries are pretty freaky the first time you go in one because they feel so tipsy every time you make the slightest movement, but really they are quite sturdy. when we got back to the Grace we settled down and made our way to the next destination. the next couple days were rainy, but i didnt see that as miserable it was all part of the experience on one of these rainy days we came to the dock of Camp Qwanoes and had some of the camp staff come and tour the Grace, when we left there i climbed up the shrouds to the top of the main mast and i was up there until we reached our next anchoring point; it was a rainy day so my fingers were cold, but it was so quiet up there and such an awsome view and just a great relaxing place to go when you are on a relatively small ship with 35 other people...i could have fallen asleep standing up there leaning against some cables... then on the last morning we had some intense fog. it was really cool and skipper had to use the radar and the fog horn. and the people on bow watch had to be extra careful and attentive. we got through it all ok and at the end of the day we had made it safely back to harbour and we packed our things and disembarked from the timbers of the Grace.
It was a beautiful trip and i will never forget all the things we did and all the people that shared the experience with me. the games we played (the dragon myth with beef, and the pots and pans vs the knives) the sherades and madgab...and the mug up times when we sang and shared about ourselves while having tasty treats. and the head, having to "pump after every dump" haha oh man. learning to use charts and plot courses. all of those are things i will remember.
it was all a good visualization of how we "sail through life" and no matter what comes our way (wind and sun or rain and fog) when we stay on course and stay faithful through it all God gets us safely back home.
I am sorry if this was all scatter brained, it has been a few days now since the trip and i just wanted to get it all written out so that i dont forget anything, if you want more detail feel free to ask any questions.
"when the wind blows, sailing we will go" "sail away sail away sail away"
God Bless

New Life Youth ministry

So, we have been to two youth events now with our new church youth group and so far it looks like it is going to be a realy exciting 8 months with these guys! I am going to be involved with the senior high kids, mostly the events are on Friday nights, but there is also a bible study night on wednesdays that I will probably look into going to at least a few times, as friday nights are mostly for games and just random get-to-know-you kinds of activities. Then first friday we went was the first friday of the youth season here and there was some awsome worship time where all the kids were dancing and singing out to God, it felt like a mini concert to be honest, there was just that much energy! and this past friday (last night) we went to the pool and there were games and lots of swimming and snacks and stuff, it was good times for sure. I didnt swim but i enjoyed talking to a few of the church members as well as being able to sit and look into the faces of so many young people and just have a chance o quietly pray for them. not knowing where they are in their lives but i just prayed that they would grow in Christ and learn to love him in the bad times as well as the good times that they will all have in life.
Last sunday we went for lunch to the home of one of the church families and we had tocos and we talked about all kinds of things, it was alot of fun and it was nice to have that chance to get to know someone on that kind of level; and tomorrow we are going to be having lunch with another one of the families. It is really nice that they are a church that is making us feel very welcome and they are reaching out to us to get to know us so that we will feel more at home in our church ministries.
That is all that has happened so far with the Church side of things so far, but there are many more fun things that we will be doing as a group with the youth that i am looking forward to and i will deffinitely post on here all that goes on in the future. until then, I hope that all is well with you where ever you may be at the moment you see this.
God Bless,
Miranda

Mount Albert-Edward

wow...absolutely the best word to describe this trip. the growth that happened here both physically and spiritually was super intense. the scenery was breath-taking, the support from others when the trail got rough was invigorating, and the silence from being in such a beautiful place allowed so much time to really listen for the voice and call of God.

we all split up into small groups of about seven each and we hiked together in those small groups. on the first day "team motherhood" (of which i was the umbilical cord) hiked into kwai lake and set up camp for the first night in the woods. the boys got their tent all set up just fine...but us gals had a very misbehaved tent that just didnt want to stay up, so finally Jeremiah had to come to our rescue and show us the right way to set it up :P THANKS JER! the lake was small but so pristine, and the view we had was awsome!

we had some little critters visit us too! whiskey jacks (they are birds) came and ate trail mix out of our hands...i even got one to eat some that i had in my lips, it was so cool!! on the second day we repacked out bags and headed out for the lake that some of the other small groups had stayed the night at, when we got there we all put together some small day packs and made our way up and up and up and up to the top. the climb was challanging and good for team building. i cant even describe it to you here. it was simply something you HAVE to do on your own to truly understand.

sorry that the pictures are kind of out of order up top there, i will let you all decide which ones go with which parts of the trip :D

(yeah, ill figure out that whole picture dealio for next time fo sho)

umm some prayer that i ask for this week would be for Kristy Hiede, while we were on the mountain she found out that hr grandma passed away and that she is not going to make it to the funeral so pray for comfort for her also for all the blisters and sore legs, backs, shoulders and hips that all of us have some or the other of to be healed so that we can regain our strength in time for our S.A.L.T.S trip next week!! (which by the way i am so incredibly stoked for!!) and anything else you can think of to pray for would be greatly appreciated, as of now i am super drained so i am going to turn in.

love you guys!

First Impressions

Hey hey hey!
"God is good all the time, all the time God is good"
It is so clear that this is the place and community that we as the students have all been called to. It's still so early in the year we have no idea what is to come, and yet the first four days have been..."fantasmagorical"! haha (yeah I know, not a real word, that's ok it's how I feel).
I have been able to meet some absolutely amazing people already and have been getting to know them bit by bit each new day. I have to say, it has been so wierd/awsome being around people who for months previous to arriving, have been in my prayers and whom I have seen photos of and read about on things like Facebook or MSN. I want to tell you some of the things we have done and seen here up to now, but first let me just say, I am extremely excited to see what the near and distant future holds for all of us here at Kaleo this year.
On the first day my parents and my sister brought me to the camp, on the way here there was no feeling of anxiousness or fear, only an intense sense of the fact that God had it all under control and there was nothing to worry about. When we eventually got to Camp Qwanoes, we signed in and unpacked in my new room (which by the way, I love!). I got to know my roommates and we have already started bonding so well. Deborah, is one of my roomies; she has spent the last five years in China with her family because her Dad is a pilot for China airlines. Deborah has so much energy and has really been a huge part in drawing together many of us students, on the very first day she went through all the names of the students so many times that she is now the reason I know all the names that I know! (but I must admit that I still am slow with quite a few). My other roomie is Leila, she has worked a this camp for many years and has been really helpful in how I have gotten to know the camp.
On the second day, we were introduced to the staff of the camp that are here from the summer and most of whom will be staying on during the time we will be here. We went into small groups to pray with each other and while we were talking to each other we spotted a small pod of Killer Whales out in the straight. I have always wanted to see them in real life and it has been a huge highlight of my time here so far AND IT'S ONLY THE FIRST WEEK! Later on in the day we all went down to the beach for a water party, we went tubing and kayaking and just had an awsome time. One thing I have to say, I really would not be bothered if i never had to have all that salt water in my mouth again! So nasty!
Since then we have been told about how the year is going to go and have been introduced to alot of new people and all of the inner workings of Camp Qwnaoes. Today we were able to go out and train on the challenge course, we all learned how to belay for the climbing wall and for the zip line (which is called The Screamer for a very good reason!) as well as getting a chance to do some climbing and "zip-lining".
The scenery here is breath-taking; the past few days I have gone down to the water front and watched Sea Otters eat and chill on the Dock (they are adorable), and have also seen jelly and star fish! I will eventually have pictures up on here so you can all see what the place looks like and so you can get a better idea of whats going on.
Some things that I hope you will all pray for and with me about are the continued growth in self and in community that has been started here, as well as for the safety of all of us as we go about our ministry opportunities and our adventure trips, and of course for all of us to be able to focus of God through the environment here and the teaching we will receive from the Profs as they each come in with new and important messages. Another thing that I would like to ask for your prayer on is that we would all be able to take everything that we learn here and bring it into our home communities and help make the difference that is needed in this world. To pour out what is being poured into us. Lastly, I ask for prayer over the new Church communities we will be digging into over the next eight months, that we can all really plug in and learn new things that we can bring back and share with each other as we continue to grow.
I love you guys!

Miranda Tiede