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.

Weeks 17+18: The Return

Week 17: Class

    

    We just wrapped up our first couple of weeks of second semester at Kaleo! On January third we welcomed the students back from Christmas break and the following morning they jumped right back into class. This class (Intro to the New Testament with Wes Olmstead) challenges how we read our Bibles and understand the New Testament as a whole.

    Some other news... it was NOLAN'S BIRTHDAY on the 11th so Happy Birthday Nolan!

Week 18: Skutz Falls

    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. 

    However, on Thursday we took a day hike to Skutz Falls. The hike follows the river then crosses over on a bridge and returns to the trailhead on the other side. It is a super pretty hike. Great for those strong in appreciation of beauty and excellence.

    Afterwards, we set up hammocks and tarps for the night at the far end of camp. This was just because we didn't want to set them up in the dark.

    After supper we played a game where half of the class was defending the dorm building and the other half was trying to get inside. If you were trying to get in and you were tagged by the defending team (with a pool noodle) then you had to join the defending team. We played boys against girls and played two rounds to give each team a chance at offense and defense.

    Once this was finished and we had established that both teams were terrible at the game, we headed down to the beach for a mega bonfire and worship/sharing time. 

    Following that there was nothing left to do but head to our hammocks for a cozy and restful sleep (which everyone for sure had without exception). 

Prayer Items:

- CVYN

- Ski Trip on the 25th

- Gearing up of the mission trip

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

Week 11

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.