Week 4: Surfing

At the beginning of the week, students had a couple days to get some homework done before we headed to Tofino for our big surf adventure.

We loaded up the vans bright and early Thursday morning and headed towards Tofino, but we could not travel all that way without making a couple stops.

Our first stop was at a place called Cathedral Grove, a place where some of the largest trees on Vancouver Island live. We spent some time exploring the area in awe of some of the largest trees most of our students have ever seen.

Our next stop was along the highway to Tofino at a place called Walleys Creek, beautiful rocks and waterfalls.

Next stop Tofino.

When we arrived in Tofino we spent some time exploring the town and checking out one of the beaches to get a taste of the waves we would soon be surfing.

We headed to the church that we would be staying at for the next few nights.

The next day we woke up bright and early and headed to a beach to have a few moments of silent reflection before we headed to grab our surfboards and wetsuits.

We arrived at the beach we would be surfing at and met our surf guides who would cover a quick lesson for first-time surfers along with covering safety in the water.

Now we were surfing!

We surfed for the whole afternoon before we headed back to the church for supper, where we hung out for the evening, played games, and watched a surfing movie that got us primed for the following day of surfing.

Once again we got up bright and early Saturday morning to clean the church that we had been staying in the past couple days to get out and get a few hours of surfing in before lunch.

After a few more hours of surfing, we returned our rentals and grabbed lunch at the iconic Tofino taco truck called Tacofino before we had to load up into the vans and make our way back home.



Please continue to pray for:

- Our students to continue to connect with each other forming strong relationships that become open and honest with each other.

- That our Students would continue to press into what God has for them in the coming weeks.

- That our theme "The Way of Jesus" would continue to sink deep into our student's hearts.



NOTE:
If you want to see more from our surf trip, go to our Instagram, @kaleoprogram, and take a look at our "Surf 2019" memories.

Week 3: Spiritual Theology

It was the first class of the year for the students this past week. Professor Cal Macfarlane flew in from Saskatchewan to teach Introduction to Spiritual Theology.

"I found Introduction to Spiritual Theology very insightful. At the end of the class, I felt like I had a better understanding of how to apply each of the spiritual disciplines and make God the centre of everything in my day to day life". - James Vanderqwaak

On Thursday afternoon, the students set off for their silent retreat. This was a new experience for most where they would use what they had just learned in class and now apply it to real life. They spent 18 hours in silence and solitude, which meant that they spent time away from distractions of school, food, even people, and devoted all their time to be in the presence of God.

For some, they came back with stories of how God had clearly spoken to them and revealed specific things either about themselves, God, or the next steps they needed to take in their lives. For others, it was a time to practice undevoted attention to the Lord, learning to wait, listen, and enjoy being in his presence.

The next morning, the students all got together and gathered on the dock with Cal and some of the leaders to have communion together. It was a really special moment as all the students came together after experiencing such a deep and challenging experience with God.

After class on Friday morning, they had time to study one last time and finished their first exam of the year.

On Saturday, students and staff from Qwanoes attended the Island Youth Worker Conference. Different speakers came from all over. The staff and students decided which sessions to listen to and gathered in-between times for worship, community, and a little bit of 9 square.

Our next big out trip we are going on is the surf trip to Tofino. The students will leave this Thursday and are looking forward to shredding the waves as they have become even closer with each other. We will be staying over at a church in Ucluelet overnight. This will be another opportunity for the friendships that are already built to become deeper through new experiences while in and out of the water.

Continue to pray for:

- Saftey on the surfing trip; including transportation and being in the water. As well as good weather.
- Deepen their relationships. Not letting any boundaries get in the way.
- God to speak into their lives through being in his creation.
- The students to continue in vulnerability and openness towards what God has in store for them.

Week 2: Mount Albert Edward

We all met after church on Sunday afternoon to pack our bags for our big hiking trip this week. 

We brought our backpacks, clothes, food, tents and all the necessary gear we would need for the next 3 days as we made our way up Mount Albert Edward. 

We packed our bags Sunday afternoon and gave everyone the rundown for what to expect when we set out early Tuesday morning. 

Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early to eat breakfast and hit the road so we could get on the trail as soon as possible. 

To put what was ahead of us into perspective, the summit of Mount Albert Edward is 2,093 meters above sea level, where Denali (the highest peak in North America) is 6,190 meters above sea level, and Everest (the highest peak in the world) is 8,848 meters above sea level. Which means that what we were about to climb was approximately 1/3 the height of the highest peak in North America and just shy of 1/4 of the highest summit in the world. Needless to say, we were not setting out on just a walk in the park. 

When we arrived at the trailhead we unloaded the vans and got ready for our first day of hiking... in the rain, although this was no surprise to us and we were prepared for all the water the sky could throw at us. 

So we set out for the beginning of 3 days with nothing but the backpacks on our backs, and the summit on our minds. 

For the beginning of the trip, we separated into 2 campsites, at separate locations. Half of the group made their way to Kwai Lake while the other group made their way to Circlet Lake. Upon arriving at our campsites at the end of our first day of hiking we quickly set up camp, getting our tents up, and boiling water for hot food not wasting any time to get into our warm sleeping bags at the end of the day.

Waking up early the second day the group that camped at Kwai Lake quickly made their way to meet the rest of the group at Circlet Lake where we would all head up the mountain together.

With the rain behind us, the sun shining, the whole group together, our daypacks loaded, ready for another full day of hiking, only today was a little more vertical than the previous day.

Taking our time we made our way up the mountain, scrambling up some sections, and pushing through pain in our legs, the summit was in sight, yet it felt so far away.

Eventually, after working our way towards the summit, it got closer and closer, and every time we looked back the view was more and more beautiful.

After the final push up the ridge of the mountain, we made it to the summit!!!

The rewarding feeling of looking back from 2,000 meters up, at how far we had traveled, was such a surreal, rewarding feeling.

As per Kaléo program tradition, on the summit of the mountain, our leader Korey gave a talk and revealed the theme for the year to everyone. This year's theme is "The Way of Jesus" which is rooted in John 13:34-35 and John 14:6, where Jesus talks about how his disciples should be identified by their love, and how he is "the way, the truth, and the life."

After taking a moment to pray over the coming months we began our descent back down the mountain. 

After a hard day of hiking, we safely made our way back to the campsites where we prepared food for the evening and entered into one of the best nights of sleep of our lives. 

Thursday morning we woke up and packed up our tents and hiked back to the parking lot where we loaded in the vans and made our way back to Qwanoes to get ready for Introduction to Spiritual Theology class starting Monday morning.

Continue to Pray For:

- Our students to be attentive for how God wants to work in their lives over the coming months

- Our theme "The Way of Jesus" that the reality of this would continue to sink deep into our student's hearts

- The students to continue to connect with one another and form relationships that can be open and honest with each other

Note:

Please feel free to follow along with what we are up to on our Instagram Page @kaleoprogram when you find us click on our "Mt. A. E." bubble to see more on this trip, and check back to get updates on upcoming trips. 

Week 1: Welcome

They are finally here! Kaléo 2020 officially began Wednesday afternoon as we welcomed 21 students from 7 provinces across Canada. After everyone got registered on Wednesday afternoon we began our orientation. Students began getting to know the people that they would be spending the next eight months with and learning more about what day to day life will look like throughout the coming months.

Among orientation, the students were introduced to the Staff here at Camp Qwanoes learning about the heart of this camp, and the ministry that goes on here. They were also introduced to the pastors of the churches in the area and found out where they would be serving for the coming months. They had an opportunity to meet their pastor, chat about the year and share a meal with them before church this Sunday.

We decided to enjoy an afternoon at Qwanoes Beach, and we didn't let the rain stop us. The students have also engaged in a challenge course workshop where they have learned how to work at Camp Qwanoes' challenge course, leading different course elements for groups that will come this fall. 

The students have become familiarized with the area, and the people and have been prayed over as they have officially begun their eight months of learning and growing into the people that God has designed them to be. 

Continue to pray for:

Our students to remain excited about how God will work in their lives over the coming months. 

Our students to grow closer together in community with each other. 

The upcoming trips that we would have safe traveling, good conditions, and that it would be a time where the students learn more about how God wants to speak to them this year.