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