Week Twenty

I am writing this post on my bed at the end of a very full week. It is incredible to see how fast time has gone this year! There is only three weeks left of K7! What a blessing this has been, and what a ride. This has been a great week, filled with a trip, random events, service and homework. Pretty classic Kaleo if you ask me. I'll break it down a bit for you.

Monday was the day our gospels assignment was due. I was proud and ready to hand in my Cost of Discipleship paper, but needed a way to unwind after a long assignment. So, we rented the rink and played some hockey. Followed later that night by a dodgeball/basketball night then to loose all of what we gained through extensive exercise that day, we made apple pies and ate them over at Kristie's house. Good times! Tuesday to Thursday was our second surf trip in Tofino. Once again we experienced the hospitality of the church in Ucluelet. Like our last surf trip, I would say that the best part of this trip was the chapels each night. I am learning so much about community this year, and about fellowship as believers. Community must be inclusive. That is what our community was like this week. Each night, we had locals come and join us for our worship times. We met an amazing family called the Livingstones and then another night a youth group came up from Tofino to join us. It's so cool that as believers, we have a common bond already, and we are indeed brothers and sisters. I feel that fellowship with other believers is something done not as often as it should. I greatly respect Jim for arranging this, as it has shown me that wherever we go, like Paul in Acts 18:10, there many people in this city that belong to the Lord. This will be something that I will take with me out of Kaleo, striving for greater fellowship with believers. The surfing was cool too, I love the super chill west coast feel that I could live in, even for just three days. It is something that I can picture myself in somewhere in the future.

On Friday, we had representatives from Briercrest come here and give us interviews about next year. Though that was their main purpose, they also wanted to come out and just check out what was going on at Kaleo. Like a guy named Cal who came with us on our surf trip, these people hear about Kaleo, and see the fruits of it and are intrigued with this program, they want to see what it's all about. To be honest, it kinda reminded me of the Olympics where people had heard all about us before even meeting us. This encouraged me, and I couldn't help but think about the truths of developing a good name for yourself, and that will take you very far. Kaleo has definitely earned a good name over all these years, and it's cool to see that people recognize that. It makes me even more thankful that I could be part of this. Anyways, these interviews sorted out who is going to Briercrest next year and who isn't. I still don't know which category I am in. I am so utterly clueless about next year, and much time and thought has been spent in this decision. This leads me to my next line of thought, trust. One morning, feeling particularly lost about my next year decision, I was reading through some Psalms about trusting in God. I found myself even questioning that God would indeed tell me my direction and when he would, it would be too late. This lead me to read Job 38-41 where the Lord questions Job and says things like, "Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?" and "Can you direct the movement of the stars - binding the cluster of the Pleiades?" I realize then that the one who holds all of the universe in existence, and loves to do so, will not forget me and my future. It's funny that I would even doubt that the one who puts boundaries on the ocean cannot reveal his will for me in time. This gave me a renewed sense of trust and I will wait for him to lead me ahead. Its so funny too, because on Sunday morning before church, I spent some time writing down in depth all these thoughts and Isaiah 50:11 stood out to me. It says, "Watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment." Later on Sunday night at the homeless ministry, I had an incredible conversation with a lady named Vicki, and she offered her whole life story to me. So much pain, so much hurt and so many troubles. Trust in God came up and all of my thoughts that I wrote down that morning, were pretty much my exact words to all of her questions. It was so weird, but amazing. I was so ready for that conversation. It seems as though God may have been preparing me that morning for that conversation. At the end of the day though, she said that she would rather trust herself and pay the consequences than take a risk "like scratching a lottery ticket" and trust God and reap the rewards. Pray for her please.

Going to youth on Friday was strange. I have been away for so long. Every weekend I am unable to go as we are either away or I have to work here at camp. Therefore, it was hard to be back there. Normally I find it very easy to be with the kids and conversation comes easily. This was not the case. It took all that was within me to start and keep a conversation going, and I found that the kids and I were not naturally drawn to each other. That was hard, but I realize the importance of being consistent in ministry now, especially with youth. I wish that our youth group went deeper with these kids. I find that the teaching is so watered down and so....weak. There is not much teaching in the youth group, and therefore, when there is teaching, it should be bold and powerful. I can tell that these kids are hungry for it, and I feel a bit frustrated because feel that youth group does not feed them like it should.

This week is our Christian Worldview class, and it is our last class. It should be good. I am really excited to learn. I am excited for these next few weeks as well. Continue to pray that I would be sprinting this last stage of the race. This is my training for the world, and I want to be strengthened and challenged and stretched as much as possible before I leave this place. Pray that God would be bringing to mind the things he has been teaching me and showing me. This is technically the end of my blog assignment, however I have found these posts to help me understand all that I have taken in each week, and will be a great reminder to me in years to come of what each week looked like, so most likely I will continue these posts.

Most of all, pray that God would be building up his grand finale for Kaleo 7. I'm looking forward to seeing what that is like.