Vancouver Island Mission

If you asked these students what the most impactful experience for them was this year so far, almost every one of them would say that this mission's trip was. Not only was this trip impactful in the hearts and lives of those we met, but also in the hearts and lives of these students. We won't be able to share every story and experience because there were so many incredible ones, but I hope you get to see the powerful work of the Lord through this post. Miracles, restored relationships, bold evangelism, bold prayers, and life-impacting moments are just a few of the things you will hear about.

Street Evangelism in Nanaimo

Our first three days we jumped straight into street evangelism on the streets of Nanaimo ministering to the homeless and the wealthy. About 90% of the students had never done this before, so this was intimidating for many when they entered Eagle Mountain Church. Thankfully, we sat down with Fransisco (one of the leaders in Nanaimo part of Youth for Christ) and got to hear his testimony. Fransisco lives a lifestyle of evangelism and bold prayer wherever he goes. Not only this, but it is so evident to see his love for Jesus in his life in whatever he does. 

We learned about intimacy with the Lord, practical tools, how to share our testimonies and the gospel, do's and don'ts, etc. This was so helpful and inspiring for the team to be able to prepare to go out on the streets. Something that inspired many students to be bold even if they were scared was to step out of their comfort zone so that the Lord could comfort them, rather than comforting themselves by staying in their comfort zone. It is pretty rare to see a group of 18-20 year-olds who are so excited and ready to share the gospel with people they have never met before.  

Each afternoon we split into groups of 3-4 and headed out. Many students had the opportunity to get to know the people on the streets and listen to their stories. Many who had no one to share these things with. Others had the opportunity to pray for healing and some were able to see healings. Others got to share their testimonies or share the gospel. Some were accepting and others were not, but we are so proud of the way these students stepped out of their comfort zone and into something greater. 

The last day, it snowed so much here at camp that we couldn't make it out to Nanaimo. So that day changed to shoveliinng people's driveways around Crofton and sharing the gospel right in the neighborhood around us. We got to zoom call with Fransisco before we headed out on that last day and share about our experiences.

Valentine's day

For Valentine's day, we had students in charge of planning a day where we could go out and bless people with homecooked meals. The team did an AMAZING job shcduling rides to deliver home made meals along with thoughtful notes to each family with special gift baskets. We received some emails later from the family's who received these and they were so encouraged and loved. Some spoke of how much they needed some sort of act of love that week. Not only this, but the other half of the students put together their own church service that night including Valentine's day games, music, Q4Brew (a student led coffee shop), and five students spoke on the five types of love. Of course, they performed "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presely too.

Youth For Christ Victoria

We partnered with Youth For Christ (YFC) for 4 days in Victoria to bless and work with single moms. This was a different transitition as we were now working with people who had homes. We got the opportunity to go to four different houses. Each house had their own specific situation and as we got to help clean the houses, we got to learn a lot about them and their children. Due to confidentiality, we won't share all the details, but some of the work we got to do for them was painting walls, cleaning out un-needed things, cleaining the roofs and walls, putting in new flooring, yard work, etc. 

This was also an inrediby impactful experience for us along with the families we worked with. There were prayers answered within five minutes of praying and when we left, they were so thankful and had felt blessed beyond just the few days that we were there and felt so cared for and encouraged.

Bless Duncan

This was a very different type of ministry than what we had done before. 5 groups were given $200 each to go and discern how the Lord wanted to bless those around them with. There were many who were homeless that were able to walk away with shoes for the winter and rain, groceries, or even just a meal. One student had a vision from the Lord of someone they should talk to and ended up seeing that person that day. From that conversation they got to meet two others and were able to share the love of Jesus with them. This was a very practical experience to be able to discern the Holy Spirit and follow his leading.

Love Duncan/Camp Qwanoes

The last few days of the missions trip were very similar to our love crofton event. Students split up Into some groups and got to help people in Duncan with exterior work. Students were helping garden, taking down blackberry bushes, chopping wood, and lots more. While this was happening, other students were at camp cleaning up the roads from fallen trees, sticks, and leaves. We had well over 100 garbage bins full of leaves and sticks that got rid of. It was a great experience being able to give back to the place that we get to live in all year.

Things to pray for

- Continuing in boldness to share the gospel as a group after Kaleo

- Prayer for the single mother's we met: financial issues, healing, for them to know God's love for them.

- That this mission's trip would not be a spiritual high, but set forth a rhythm of life afterwards.

Week 20: Foundations of Church Ministry

     

    This past week the students were in Foundations of Church Ministry with Professor David Lee. In this class the students tackled issues such as discerning calling, spiritual gifting, the challenge of change, discipleship, how this all relates to the church as a whole, and more! David was able to teach the class in person which was a breath of fresh air for the students. 

    "It really has shaped and influenced the way I view the church and my role as a part of it. Plus, the man's a G." - Patrick Braun on Foundations of Church Min.

    In other news it was my BIRTHDAY ON FEBRUARY SIXTH! So the entire campus rejoiced!

    We watched the super bowl on Sunday which was mega fun. Later that night we had a beach fire and sang some worship songs. 

       We have been gearing up for our upcoming mission trip as well. We were not able to run our typical Vancouver and Mexico mission trips this year, but have come up with an exciting alternative. We will be connecting and working with ministries in Nanaimo, Victoria, and Duncan over the next couple weeks (February 11th-23rd).  In Nanaimo we will be doing street ministry with Youth For Christ. In Victoria we will be partnering with Youth For Christ once again, cleaning the homes of some single moms they are connected to. In Duncan we are running all sorts of different ministries within the community such as, on Valentine's Day we are partnering with local churches to deliver meals to families. 

Prayer Items

- Our upcoming mission trip (Feb 11th-23rd)

- Safety (Covid-19, Travel, etc.)

- For God to work powerfully in and through us

Mt. Washington Ski Trip

After staying at camp for the first few weeks after Christmas break, it was about time for an out trip. This past week, we journeyed up to Strathcona Provincial Park again... but this time we weren't hiking, we were skiing and snowshoeing!

DAY 1: Snowshoeing

Imagine walking through the fluffiest powder through a beautiful forest and then building the biggest snow forts with a bunch of your closest friends. Well, that was just the start of our trip.

The same area that we hiked up to the base of Mt. Albert Edward earlier in the first semester was actually the same area that we got to snowshoe this past week, except it looked way different under feet and feet of snow. When we reached our destination, we began building quinzees. If you have never heard of a quinzee, it is a shelter made out of snow. The process involves piling the snow up, stomping it down, digging out a hole, and a little bit of extra creativity. Of course, we turned it a competition and the results were crazy unique looking shelters with funny stories or presentations.

Then we headed back after a quick backwards race in our snowshoes (just as hilarious as you can imagine). Soon, we arrived at our lodge and unloaded. This night was the first of four nights of encouragement. Each night around 7-8 students or staff would be thoughtfully encouraged by the group. This was one of the most powerful events of the trip if you asked many of the students. In fact, it was hard to limit the amount of encouragement. Even after the timer was up, there were many many hands still up that could have kept going with the encouragement. Later in the evenings, it was not uncommon to see students and staff encouraging each other late into the night so no one was missed.

DAY 2: SKI DAY

The moment we were all anticipating; we woke up early for some breakfast and a devotional led by a student and then hopped in the vans to head up to the rentals. Everybody strapped on their skis and snowboards and next thing we knew everybody was out ripping on the slopes or the bunny hill.

Everybody had a blast and there was tons of fresh snow that fell the night before and while we were skiing. By the end of the day, it was so windy and cloudy that you could barely see 10 feet in front of you while skiing. THANKFULLY we had no injuries but big smiles on everybody faces as they entered back into the chalet.

DAY 3: REST DAY

This was a day where we had absolutely no plans, and it turned out great. Many of the students got to sleep in. The day involved lots of board games, hot tubing, and building a jump and skiing off it behind the chalet. This was a blast because nearly every student was out there hitting the jump. This was a first for many. Not only were people hitting the jump, but trying spins and grabs. We even had some toddlers tag along on their skis and toboggans. You have probably never seen a more pumped up group of young adults cheering for a 5-year-old skier hitting a jump (they were probably better than half of us). We also had some homemade sushi for lunch. This is something we have been doing for the last few years and it is a big hit!

DAY 4: LAST SKI DAY

This day was a beautiful bluebird day. This was the last ski day for Kaleo. The sun came out and there was an incredible ocean view from atop the mountain. Everybody who was just learning at the beginning of the week was really starting to get a hang of either skiing or snowboarding. They were skiing and snowboarding in and out of trees, hitting the terrain park, or natural features on the mountain. 

After a good long day of skiing, everybody piled back into the chalet for a delicious steak dinner. (a special mention to our student Charlotte who had a steak for the first time in over 10 years). This was also the last encouragement night. When we finished we prayed over everybody and even prayed over some of the people we had met on the hill throughout the week. 

LAST DAY

We began the day with a late breakfast and a devotional and began to pack up all of our belongings. Everybody wanted to stay so much longer, but it was our time to head back to camp. This trip made so many life long memories. What you didn't see are all the laughs and stories that were told in between these pictures. This is a special group with such a tight bond and we were STOKED on this trip.

Prayer requests

- healing for injuries that happened on the rest day (knees and head)

- Students to be listening to the spirit's direction as they are taking Foundations of Church Ministry class.