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!