Week Two

Well another week has come and gone, this one much different from the last. This was a class week where we did not go out on any trips but had our first class of the year. The class was Spiritual Formations, taught by Marv Penner. This was an awesome class! It is funny how excited all of us were to go to class and it was very interesting to listen to. I would say that this is the perfect class to have at the beginning of the year, since I think it will really kickstart our year of intense growth. The course focused a lot on spiritual disciplines, such as fasting, prayer, journaling, solitude, celebration and about a dozen or so others. This class had a very personal feel about it, not like we were in bible school, but almost as if we were studying the bible as a large group. At the beginning of the week we chose a spot around camp that would be our "sanctuary" or the place we would go to meet with God. I went down to the beach and sat on a very large piece of driftwood. In our class we would learn something, then have a chance to practice it, such as praying the psalms, then we would go to our sanctuaries and pray one of the psalms. In the middle of the week, I was having a really difficult time in the class, just because I felt as though I was in a very awkward stage in my relationship with God. I felt like I didn't know a lot of the answers about my faith that I really should know. I was also having major questions about my spiritual growth, that seemed non-existant, so one night I went over to the guest house and hung out with Marv and we just talked for a couple of hours. He really helped me through some questions. I told him that when I was meeting with God, I really didn't feel very nourished. He told me that when I came here and did CIT two years ago, I learned a lot really quickly, but things that grow quickly don't really have very deep roots. Here, I have a whole year to let my roots grow deep, but it will take time. He said that that summer, I was given spiritual milk, and it was perfect for that time in my life and it definatly filled me and nourished me. I have felt though that over this past year, I had been coasting on what I learned two summers ago, and that I have not really been growing or challenged since CIT. What he said next really encouraged me. He said that I am now ready for meat. I now need more solid things to fill me and to nourish me, and I am really excited for that, except that I don't know how to eat meat. I'm not sure how to read the bible and study it in a way that digs deep into the word. This is something that I need prayer for. Please pray that I would learn how to eat this spiritual meat, and that I would not be discouraged in the time when I am learning this. At the end of our class, we did a solo time where we spent three hours with God, putting into practice some of the spiritual disciplines we had learned over the week. I came into this time with expectations, which I regret, and wish that I could have just entered this time looking forward to spending time hanging out with God. Instead I was really looking as to how God would speak to me and trying to hear what he was saying. I did not feel as though I heard God speaking to me, and maybe that is because of my expectations coming before him. All in all, I am inspired to learn more and spend more intentional time with God.

My church group went to another house for lunch after church today. Thats probably the best part of New Life. I really enjoy meeting people in the community. I found the place we went to a little bit difficult to form conversation, but they were very generous and genuinely interested in us. On Friday, we went again to youth group. It was a fun time where I could get to know the guys in my small group better. Last week felt a little awkward, but this week we had a lot of fun. We know each others names and I think that this will be a really good, fun year in youth. I hope that my small group guys will be inspired by me. I am getting to know more and more people in the church. It is a unique feeling having to get to know people in a church, but I know that I will be in a similar situation many times over the years. Going to the same church all my life, I never feel like I need to be part of it, because I have been for as long as I can remember, but now hopefully I can see what it means to be new to a church and need people to take in interest in me. This situation will probably change me to see newcomers differently.

This week has been a lot of fun. There haven't been many pictures taken around here, so I don't have any to show you but we've had a lot of fun times skateboarding, "Kaleo's Best Dance Crew" night, good guitar playing and singing, fight couch, birthday party, foosball, created our own chapel services, bonfires and late night picnics. Tomorrow, we are all going on our S.A.L.T.S trip, which is five days on the high seas on a 140 foot ocean schooner, where we are the crew and we live on the ship. There will definitely be some amazing pictures from this trip. Some of us are all dressing up as pirates. So beware, if you are planning on sailing through the Gulf Islands this week....