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