This week was very free. This was intentional because it allowed for lots of time for the students to prep for CVYN (Cowichan Valley Youth Night: a completely student organized and run youth event) which will be all online this year. It also gave time to work on the homework from the previous week's class.
Monday, January 18, 2021
Weeks 17+18: The Return
This week was very free. This was intentional because it allowed for lots of time for the students to prep for CVYN (Cowichan Valley Youth Night: a completely student organized and run youth event) which will be all online this year. It also gave time to work on the homework from the previous week's class.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Week 12: Christmas and Girls/Guys Day
Guys Day
This was a big activity day for the guys. Almost every guy woke up the next day with sore muscles but ended the day with smiles on their faces. They started off hiking Stoney Hill to watch the sunrise. It was definitely worth the early wake-up. If you've never hiked there, it has many beautiful cliff lookouts over the ocean and a very chill hike.
When they arrived back at camp they played disc golf on the field for a few hours. After they finished they walked down the beach to have a massive fire! And of course, guys day wouldn't be guys day without some chopping wood. They finished off the day with some sting pong, pizza, and a movie night.
Girls Day
The girls started off the day with brunch at the guest house. The guest house is over 100 years old on a beautiful property that overlooks the ocean. After brunch, they headed over to the rink to do some skating! Skating consisted of freeze tag, penguin slides, and a bunch of skating around.
Christmas Festivities
In the middle of the week, we jumped into our Christmas festivities. Thanks to the Duerksen family, (who is the family of one of our students, Janae) we were able to do Christmas cookie decorating. We also made our own Christmas ornaments.
Afterwards, we headed over to a forest and cut down a Christmas tree. But, we couldn't just cut down a Christmas tree without making it a competition. Each group presented their best Christmas tree with either a skit or a song. It was hard to choose, but we left with a massive tree and headed back to camp to decorate it. With all the homemade ornaments, pool noodles, and one strand of lights, this Christmas tree is definitely a Kaleo Christmas tree.
A bunch of the staff and students dressed up for the Christmas banquet that night. We had an amazing Christmas dinner cooked by our kitchen team. Then we all gathered for some pictures.
Later in the week, we got to hear from Krista Penner who is an incredibly gifted speaker. Her personality and words of wisdom kept everyone so engaged; we didn't want to leave the zoom call. She spoke on what it looks like to be a leader including self and social awareness, inner motives, and how God uses us. We're hoping to have another workshop with her soon.
Things To Keep in your Prayers
- The health of the staff and Students here at camp
- Guidance with travel restrictions as many of the students are planning to go home for Christmas
- peace and time management among students as the last bit of the first semester can feel overwhelming with finishing up classes and homework
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Week 11
This week was much more what you might call "lowkey" compared to your typical Kaleo week. The students had a lot of time this week to work on papers and other schoolwork. There was also a couple unique chapels like our Worship chapel. So instead of the usual format we sang songs to God the whole time which was super awesome. At another chapel Dwight Geiger (a former maintenance man here at camp and current pastor) taught us about the Shema.
Day Hike (Tuesday)
On Tuesday we embarked on a day hike on Maple Mountain. We split up into four different groups and hiked a loop that hugged the coast and then went up the mountains on the way back to camp. On this hike there is a look-out with some wooden crosses which are a bit of an attraction on the mountain. Afterwards we headed to Club Coco and decorated some blank mugs with sharpies. Each person got to decorate their own mug which will be part of the Christmas gift exchange at the end of the semester. There were some super fun and creative designs made and some really artsy ones too. All together a super fun day and a great week.
Upcoming Events and Prayer Requests:
- The students have an upcoming class: Intro to Christian Theology with Merrill Dyck, starting on the 7th.
- There will be a lot of papers and major assignments to finish as the semester closes.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Old Testament Film and Class: Week 10
We had Don Taylor fly out from Briercrest to teach our students about the Old Testament last week. Don has been a long time professor with Kaleo. In fact, he has taught classes every year since Kaleo began. Not only did the students complete their Old Testament class, but they produced a 10/10 Old Testament film. It even had Jesse (our assistant Kaleo program leader) crying laughing.
Old Testament Class
This class was very eye-opening for many of the students. When reflecting on the Old Testament class, Ari, one of our students said, "It was so different back then, and learning about how the society worked in those days really gave clarity on what the Bible was talking about, and it just reaffirmed to me that God doesn’t change."
Emma, another student, stated "One of my favourite things from the Old Testament class was developing a deeper understanding of how the Old and New Testament work together as one continuous story."
Personality Test
Don Taylor also led the class through the Myers Briggs test. This is a test that reveals your personality type. After each student found out their results, they all lined up and stood in a spot that reflected their percentage of where they fell in each category. The categories are extroverted - introverted, intuitive - observant, thinking - feeling, judging - prospecting, assertive - turbulent.
We got to see the vast differences between students, and this also allowed them to better understand one another. Many felt they understood themselves much more as well.
The Film
As the class continued, students were just putting together the finishing touches on the Old Testament film. Before we knew it, Don had completed his last lesson and the film was complete. A few of the students organized a film premier topped with snacks, awards, and fun games. Everyone dressed up in their best clothes and we sat down to watch the film.
Don Taylor actually appeared in the film as someone flipping through T.V. shows and commercials. Each T.V. show was a scene made by the students in very creative ways. The beginning of their scenes started off with an INCREDIBLE musical. They also included soap operas, anime, weather forecasting, sports broadcasting, hallmark spin-offs, and many, many more creative scenes. I could go on, but you'll have to see it for yourself.
Monday, November 16, 2020
Caving: Week 9
This past week we took a day trip to Coombs and the Horne Lake Caves.
We went in two separate groups. The first group headed straight for the caves, took their tour and then went to Coombs on the way back. The second group went to Coombs first, explored the area and the shops, and then went to the caves afterwards.
The Caves
To begin the tour, the guide lead us on a little hike to the caves, giving some history of the area on the way and explaining a bit about how the caves were discovered, the size of the caves, etc.