Week 8: Caving

This week we had the opportunity to get some work done from the New Testament class that we just put behind us. Although we cannot be all work without a little bit of play in there. We had the opportunity to load up the vans early Thursday morning and head north to go explore some caves.
 
Only an hour and a half drive took us to Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, one of the best places to explore caves in Canada.



Upon arriving we met our guides who explained what we could expect upon entering the caves. Then we split off into 2 separate groups following our guides towards the caves.

We grabbed helmets and headlamps, then we began our hike into the forest to soon find the caves we would explore. 

Making our way towards the mouth of the caves our guides explained what to look for when discovering new caves. Limestone was a common rock to be found, which was one indicator of cave country. Another indicator was to look for a place where it looks as if a riverbed had once been but is now dried up. Our guides explained that finding a dried up riverbed meant that there could be stone beneath that the water had over years pushed through forming caves. 

Entering the caves for the first time forced many members of the group to experience a tension between excitement for what could possibly be beneath our feet and the scary reality of descending into a cold, wet, dark, unknown space.

 Once we were in the caves we realized that there were so many amazing things that could be discovered beneath the surface.

Our guides showed us around introducing us to a mysterious formation on the rocks called calcite, which is essentially a cave crystal formed from calcium carbonite, taking formation over the course of many years. Making our way through the caves we had to be very careful not to touch the calcite along the walls so that the oils in our skin would not damage it.

As we were able to experience these underground formations we took a moment to turn off all the lights and experience 100% darkness.

Once we left the caves we met up with the rest of our group, thanked our guides and headed back towards camp, but on our way we had to make the iconic Vancouver Island stop at the Goats on the Roof market, where Students were given the opportunity to check out the different shops around the area. Finishing up at Goats on the Roof we made our way through the rain back to Camp Qwanoes. 

Continuing to work on assignments from class, many of the students were preparing to work at the Jr High retreat over the weekend, where students served in many different capacities alongside the Camp Qwanoes staff. 

Continue to pray

That the students will continue to use their ministry experiences as opportunities to grow in their ministry capacity. 

That what the students are continuing to learn through studies would continue to penetrate their hearts spurring them on to growth. 

That the students would continue to be eager to see how God is working in their lives.