The world around me

I've been thinking a lot about being here. I've been looking back in our K6 blog and reading everyone's first post. I find myself laughing at them because how we were all trying to make our lives sound sweet to avoid the bad first impression. God's kind of been shaking my world up a bit and trying to make me look around and see where I actually am. Heh, it's been working really well. Being here at Kaleo is such a blessing from God. The people that he has brought into my life are amazing, and the leaders he chose for this year have really helped everyone by just being there for us to hang out with or talk to. I can't believe how much we have done already! The joy that it brings me when I look back on last year and remember how excited I was, and to now realize that I am here, surrounded by God, friends, and 4 amazing leaders is mindblowing! I'm so excited to see what God is going to do in and through me. I'm really looking forward to the next 6 months here. By December, half of my 16 month journey will be over! I can't believe that I've been at camp for 6 months already. It seems so much shorter. Pray for this next week, that everyone will get caught up on their homework and be able to stay focused on our work, yet still make time for eachother. Thanks everyone!

This past week was a really good one. We had our hermeneutics class which took a lot of brain jouce. It was really good though. We also had a milion passed kaleo students stop by to say hi which was sweet! Friday night was Halloween, and we had a sweet epic halloween party at youth. Haha, we put disgusting food in bowls, and they had to put their hand in it and guess what it was. It was gross. On saturday I finally got to sleep in and woke up and had an g=urge to go help out in the kitchen. So I went there and found out that one of the kitchen staff's grandpa had died unexpectedly the night before. So I told the FSM to let her leave and I'd take over for the rest of the afternoon and the next morning. So that felt good to be able to help out. I really enjoyed being able to hear what marrell taught us this week, and just to chill with the youth and help the kitchen out. This is a picture of us kaleo-ers at halloween. Have a great week!!!

Lessons

So right now I am sitting in a coffee house in duncan called Coffee on the Moon, drinking a London Fog, and umm........ well that's about it. This week was a really weird week. It started normal until my dreams started at night time. I donno why, but my dreams have been weird. This week was a full homework week which was sweet. some of us went down to seaspan in victoria and helped winterize the salts ships, which was sweet. And then inbetween all my homework I went to youth group. I'm really enjoying my youth group, the kids there are amazing. Being able to get back into the grove of working with kids has been really good. I've been able to see what they are in to and what kind of person they are becoming. I can see that God's going to do amazing things through me at that church. This past weekend was jr's retreat, and although I was not involved, it was really good to be around kids at camp again.

If you were to ask me how kaleo was going, I would have no resopnce. So much has happened already that I'm shocked that I am still alive and happy. God kind of taught me a lesson this week about being scared around men. He's been trying to get me away from my fear of men for a few years now, but has had no luck. Being around 13 guys who you constantly see, who hug you, who have heard your testimony, who have told you that you are beautiful in a non-sexual manner is something that you dont think you can find anymore. I just needed the final talk from Jordan to break that scare that was surrounding me. So that's been pretty sweet. Life's good, life's good. Pray that it will stay good as for this monday we start our second class. Love ya all!!!

Artistic Mentor

So the other day I was looking at our male interns blog. I saw that he had a post about making a difference in the world. It really inspired me to read that. Lately God's been telling me to get out there and start practicing my photography a bit more. Being a college student, and living in a place that I have shot many times makes it hard to really get out there with my camera. Jordan is an amazing photographer, and the one who first inspired me to look into it. A while back, my previous mentor left which ment that it was time to find a new one. Jordan won. Photography is my way of seeing Gods creation. To be inspired by someone who I have barely had a conversation with is hard to understand for most people, but me being a visual learner, has taken tips from watching him shoot and seeing his work. I'm ready to listen to God and start practicing.

Curveballs

Ever been thrown a curveball by God? I tend to get them a lot. Most of my life I am being thrown a curveball or 2 all a time. When that curveball is thrown, do you catch it? Or does it hit you hard? I've been thrown 2 curveballs in the last little while, and both of them I have caught but they have slipped out of my hands and fallen on my foot. I've been going through a time in life where I wonder what my purpose on earth is. Which in my mind, is not a good thing to wonder, because it meens that you are not happy with your life. I'm working through a few things right now that are affecting my attitude a bit, and are making me wonder why I am here. I feel that when God is telling me something, I need to go out and do it. but when things get in my way, I get frustrated and dont know if I should give up or not. If God keeps on throwing those curveballs to me, sooner or later I'm going to have to catch one. I'm really hoping that that day comes soon.

The Returning of my Computer

So due to my lack of pict's the past few weeks, I will give you some now.

Once again I come baring no pictures, but in a couple of weeks, I'll have a visual update. Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Hope your thanksgiving was a really memorable one. So this passed week quite a bit happened. I am at home right now with my family for thanksgiving. My cat was very happy to see me again. He always reminds me of a walking fuzzball of joy. haha. Anyways, on tuesday we set out to have our adventure of the week, which consisted of packing up a bunch of camping supplies, a swimsuit, a million towels, and like 5 huge rubbermaids of food. We hit tofino for our surf trip. It took us approx 7 hours to get there what with our pee breaks, stopping for gas, and our trip into coombs. But it was a really good drive up there. Once we got to our campsite, we set it all up and just hung out on the beach and by the fire. Then the next day we hit the waves.
We had amazing weather and some nice waves. Haha though the wetsuits were very unattractive, the experience was sweet. We went to a beautiful part of long beach (I think) that had very soft sand and a nice view. It's places like those that make me wonder where God get's his creativity from haha. I didnt manage to fully get up on my board, but I did manage to get some sweet waves in that carried me for a long time. That night we went back to our campsight and Jim threw out the oppertunity to have someone shair their testimony. So I went for it. It went really well I thought. kinda awkward after, but what do you expect. lol. Then the next day some of us hit the beach again and some stayed dry. The wetsuit was FREEZING!!!!!! haha but I found that the second day was even better than the first. The whole experience was sweet. Then we packed up and hoped back in the vans and drove back. Other than that and coming home and doing at least 3 papers at home, not to much has happened. God's been giving me a lot, though he took away my computer for a bit, he's been blessing me with oppertunity's like this trip and my first thanksgiving actually at home, which is sweet. so ya. Happy thanksgiving to you all!!!!!!

So unfortunately I do not come with any pictures this time due to my computer crashing on me. But I do come with a story. This past friday we had our youth Kickoff. It was really sweet. We ate pizza and chips, went on a scavenger hunt while all tied together (my team won), played a kind of dodge ball game, and just hung out and talked. It was really good to finally be able to meet all of the youth there. It was quite a large number that showed up which was good to see. After being introduced to the kids they all started talking at once to us. hahaha. I'm so excited to see what God's going to do through me and the other kaleo's there this year. 

On top of all that I went to the Camp Qwanoes Road Tour in victoria sat night. That is always sweet. Some of my youth girls showed up and we all sang and played games with finger darts and I was jumping up and down on stage while fulfilling my role as an actioneer. That's one of my thrills in life. Jumping up and down, doing actions to the camp songs that I've heard a million times, and watching the kids from the stage jumping with me and attempting to do the actions. It always brings a smile to my face. Other than that not much has happened here in the Kaleo world. We finnished off an amazing class with Marv on spiritual formation, and God spoke to a lot of us through that class and through our final solo time. It's been so cool to watch everyone grow even the leaders. I can see a change in Jordan and Jen through the way they interact with the students now as apposed to the beginning of the year. which was really only a month ago. Anways, That's my post for the week. Keep me in prayer as I do my homework without my laptop and for all of us as we go on a sweet surf trip on tuesday. adios for now!!!