Week 12: Christmas and Girls/Guys Day

Well, that's it! End of semester one. What a mega year. We have had an amazing few months together and are so thankful for all that God has provided for us during this time. Here's a look into the last week of this Kaleo semester.

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. 

Afterwards, we walked down the beach... which turned into walking through trees because of the high tide. You know, just your casual stroll down the beach. The night ended off with pizza, making macrame, and the hot seat. The hot seat is where you get to ask any question to one person at a time. There were tons of funny stories and we all ended up getting to know each other deeper than when we started off the day.

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