Luseland Bible Camp

A large portion of the LBC staff

Hello Kaleo family!

Even though I posted recently....very recently, I decided I don't even care, and I will again!

So.... camp ministry.

Two of my campers in my cabin during Kids week

It has been so crazy and wonderful beyond what I can express. God has been revealing himself so clearly to me through this last few weeks, and I am finally seeing the fruits of how God had worked through me during Kaleo. At Kaleo I was in a strange state, I have always been a leader at camp and at my school but at Kaleo......nothing. I was in a strange state that I cannot explain. But I think God was changing me from my core, and started some pruning, some re-molding and starting a few fires within my heart. Definitely not all of these things have come to completion but I think it was only until after Kaleo that some of these things were finished (if that makes sense at all). Going into camp ministry has made me realize what really has taken place during the year. I thank all of you so much for helping me get to the state I am in now.

God is good! Through the camp season he has given me selflessness (not perfect but way beyond my own ability), strength and energy, patience with all the medical stuff I deal with, and so much more. It is so hard to explain but all I can say is that it is all making sense now, and I can see how God has had his hand in my Kaleo year.

It has also been so wonderful to hang out with my Parakaleo, Kaitlyn Cey. She is doing such an incredible job at LBC. She is the program director at the camp I am working at so we have been able to hang out a lot. I am learning so much from her, and is just a great person to discuss stuff with. We have even planned to hang out at B-crest.... opa! Even though I knew her before Kaleo I am getting to know her on a whole different level. Anyways....

In other news, I went on my very first date....ever! I have 'dated' one person before but never went out on a date.... does that make sense? So that was pretty epic in my opinion. He was quite the gentleman, very funny, and he is four years older than me! He also mentored under Cal this past year. I felt so special, haha. Our interests are very opposite in many ways, and I am still questioning if that is alright or not. I am still praying for the Lord's leading on this though as I am unsure how all of this fits into His will for my life. So just thought I would share that exciting news with you.

Love you guys!

Lynnea

a Wide game called Armageddon

P.S. crazy story, apparently Wes Olmstead used to work at the same camp I am working at in the 80s! Sweet!

Yearbook is Coming!

Today, a single copy of the new Kaleo Eight Yearbook was shipped and should be here very soon. If that copy looks like it should, the rest will be ordered and should arrive in early August. If you are on the Island, we will get your copy to you, and the rest will be mailed. Thanks to the Yearbook Team and Tyler and Janet for all your work on this! We think it looks great, and hope it will bring back some amazing memories for you!

Miss you all! Thanks to those who have been in touch, and for the rest, we would love to hear from you!

I Still Love Lighthouses!

There is a lighthouse in Saskatchewan!

The view:

The lighthouse:

....And you guys didn't believe me (in Cochin).

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Hey guys! I have been following everyones blogs, and I'm excited to hear what God's been doing in everyone's lives, and as James writes, as we all are going through tests in our faith, we are developing perseverance, for God's glory. So my summer has had some mixed emotions tied in with it. Working on the rigs I figured was gonna be a pretty sweet gig, a bunch of hard work so that I could pay for B-Crest in September! However, While the work is alright, I have found myself feeling persecuted and alone at work. Sharing that I am a Christian at work has created a couple good conversations, but for the most part they just make fun of me for not wanting to have sex until I'm married. Anyways, I am finding it a much harder atmosphere to work in then I expected, as most of the conversations revolve around sex, and I'm having a hard time to relate to any of them. Secondly, I haven't recieved enough hours to cover school anyways, so I'm not sure how worth it this job was anyways. I feel like a whiner, because we are called to spread the gospel, and persecution comes with that. It just feels like almost everything lands on deaf ears. I guess it's been good practice for what a lighthouse does. The one exception to this is a Muslim man I have had some time to talk with, and though I havent been very bold in my speech, I hope to find another oppertunity to speak with him about God and Christ. I guess it is encouraging that I just have to shine, God does the hard work. Nevertheless, I am longing to escape soon! As the title says there is a light at the end of the tunnel, school is coming!
On a better note, They let me book a week off for camp, and didnt need me for another week, so I went to Faith Bible Camp, and was a Sr. Cabin leader for a junior high camp and support staff for the junior camp. This turned out to be a very encouraging time, as two of my boys gave their lives to Christ, and all of them seemed fairly engaged with the conversations. One night our devotion happened to be on forgiveness and grace, and what that is to us as a forgiven people, and it excited me to see it affect the guys thoughts a fair bit.
In other camp stories, I got my cabin to do the Raisin Bran skit, and everyone at camp loved it, said that it was definitely the funniest skit their was. Overall I had a great time, and it gave me some refreshing time to focus my mind on God without judgement or ridicule. besides all this though my summer hasn't been very eventful, and I find my thoughts often drifting back to everyone from Kaleo. My hopes and prayers are with you all, may God's will be yours!
Miss you all a ton,
Loges

I get knocked down, but I get up again

<---- Me in a ballin business suit. I'm growing up.

I'm no longer a teenager (and on that note, Mike isn't either). We're old.

Birthdays are a good time to reminisce. Last year this time I was at camp, planning on going back to CBC and in their Outdoor Leadership program, setting up my apartment and roommate for the year... my year looked nothing like I thought it would. I don't know about you guys but I am so thankful I did Kaleo. Yeah, I still feel sometimes like we were a failure of a Kaleo.. because it really seems like it when you look at things. But even if we were, I'm am sooo glad I was a part of it. We weren't expecting a year like that.. I can guarantee none of us were. We learned and we grew in unexpected (and some huge) ways. ALL OF US.

Now, since Kaleo and during Kaleo, I know many of you think you have gone backwards in life, personally. Guess what? I'm here to tell you right now that you haven't. We all fail but we're not failures. We all take steps back but have taken way more forward. How is that possible? Grace. Incredible. "The God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." THAT is how we go forward.

I just had to fill out a medical history form for basketball next year.. and I needed more than triple the room they gave me in terms of the number of medical issues I had to elaborate on. It's sad. But the really sweet part - only like 4 of them I had labelled as current. Praise him. He is SO gracious, guys. To a supposed failure like me, and certainly to you.

Haha for the record, I labelled depression as a previous condition. I think that's true, but even if it isn't, it felt pretty sweet to write that :)

One more thing I have to mention since I have your attention and all here. I'm reading Mark Buchanan's Rest of God these days, alongside my psych text, and it is brilliant. I've never been the one to gush over Mark Buchanan but you all should read it. Seriously. Go buy it or borrow it or something (I'm borrowing it from my Pastor). And read your Bibles every day. That's worth MUCH more than a cheesy Qwanoes song, it changes your life.

Since I just love apologizing, I gotta say sorry for the mini-preach sesh.

Oh and update on Meghan Carr, the 20 year old: I'm going to bridal quest. My husband is waiting for me there, so I thought I better follow through on my committment to attending.

Life

Well I guess I will tell you how my life is going cause thats what all the cool kids are doing these days. To put it in short life right now is is pretty much the same thing everyday and every week is the same. A day for me will consist of getting up, working until dinner, come home, eat, relax, got to bed and then do it all over again. Suffice to say that I am happy with life right now but there are times that I wish there was more.

The biggest problem for me is loneliness. My relationship with my parents has never been better, but friends are far and few. But I am sure that a 15-year friendship with my best friend is over because he's not willing to put any effort into the friendship so after a while I can get the message. I am blessed with an amazing church and pastor who I will regularly have coffee with but during Sunday services I will usually sit by myself. I have come to terms with my loneliness and have accepted it, probably prefer it over company, I have become more introverted than ever and I don't mind it too much.

The most significant things in my life that have happened these past weeks is that God provided an amazing job for me with a great boss doing residential landscaping. I am pretty much getting an education from this guy as he willing to teach me the best way of doing things, teaching plants names and what conditions they do well in. It is exactly what I wanted in my job. I have a good wage and have consistent hours.  I had to quit my old job because it was just too draining on me and I had no life, that and the fact that they had to let me go because they were running out of work.

As well come the end of September I will be off to the Dominican Republic for a missions trip with my church! I don't know for sure whether or not I will be going because they still have to confirm time and expenses but I am 95% sure I will be going. Over there I will be building an add-on to a church as they have grown to the point of over-capicity and need additional seating for 200 people. I will be leaving at the end of September / beginning of October, which I believe is hurricane season over there...

Anyways i don't know who still checks this but thanks for taking the time to read this and hope to hear from you soon!!

Update

Hey guys

I never thought I would say it, but I love working at camp. It's a ton of work, but it such a great atmosphere for me. I have been growing so much and it's so sick that I get to occasionally see Bayus, Steve, and Sarah. I get to teach cute kids how to wakeboard while working on my tan. im stoked.

Im going through a lot right now and would love it if you could keep me in your prayers. I was also wondering if you could pray for one of my old friends back home. He overdosed and is now paralyzed. I wish I could be back home to be there, but thats not really a possibility. I dont know what state he is in as of now but if you could pray for him and his family that would be appreciated.

Jojo

I'm in Argentina. Again.

I'm in Buenos Aires. So crazy, but oh so good to be back. I love this place. I love the friends I've made. I love the food. I love the family that I'm staying with (The Rendles). It's just great.

Honestly though, such a God thing to be back here. I remember sharing with you guys right before the end of Kaleo that I might be able to come back here and solely by the grace of God, I am back in this wonderful city. But it is very different than before. One: it's cold. Because we are below the Equator, it is currently winter here. So I got an extra 2 weeks of summer in March and now I have to give them back. Two: the teens we worked with the last time aren't here, for the most part. As international kids, they have gone back to home countries or are travelling. BUT! This has opened up sweet opportunities to connect with different teens. And I'm making new friends. =) As well, God has opened some sweet chances to have conversation with certain people and have them open up which is fantastic!! Third difference: different team. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish you guys were here! It's so weird experiencing Buenos Aires without you, Argentina Team!

But God is so good, Kaleo. He brought my support in over what I expected and in such a quick time span! And I'm back in this city with people that I love.

Please pray! My cysts are not bothering me but (i really wanted to say "pero" which is Spanish for "but"; I speak a little Spanglish now) I have a cough and headaches every day... But I'm loving Argentina!

Miss you all!!

Jordana serving at Qwanoes - so good!

Chilling on the Island

Like most of you, I check this blog practically every day, but haven't updated you much since we all parted on that tough Sunday in April. But I have loved reading about you and having the opportunity to see some of you in the past couple months, most recently at Holly and Heidi's homes. We have been to Ucluelet and to Kelowna, and now we are back on the Island, staying at a friend's farm near Duncan for Sarah's knee surgery on Tuesday and her recovery. We will be here until near the end of July and then likely will be in Victoria for a few weeks. Our plans are a little up in the air because it turns out that I may need surgery too, as my shoulder gets a little worse every day. But we still hope to fly to Halifax on August 23, where we will meet Kristine's mom and step-dad and take their truck and camper back across the country, arriving back in BC in early to mid-October.

How are we doing? It is hard to say. On the one hand, we are processing so much pain and loss right now that is is difficult to feel anything. Keeah was put down June 20, and the same day we took Barkley to stay with friends in Vernon until sometime this fall. Being in Kelowna was tough as I felt the loss of my dad, and my mom is very lonely and never wanted us to leave. It has also been strange to be back on the Island but not in our home, and we feel quite disconnected from everything familiar here. And for both of us, physical pain is an ever-present reality. So life continues to be hard.

But on the other hand, the grace of God just keeps rolling in, wave after wave. We enjoyed amazing weather in Ucluelet, while it was raining everywhere else, and our favorite beach that used to be an hour's hard hike now has a road right to it so Sarah could go. Our visits with Holly, Kristie and Heidi were so good and so encouraging, and Kristie's new home overlooking Okanagan Lake was a piece of heaven. God has freed us up from debt and made it possible for us to continue for some time without employment. On June 27th, Sarah and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary:


We have places to stay - for free - for months if we need them. For the first time in a very long while, we have time, but haven't become bored, even though Sarah can't walk much and walking is about the only thing I can do. I am reading Job, and with him I ask God how long the trouble will continue, but with him I can also say that God is good and can be trusted.

I want you to know that we love to hear from you! Please don't feel like you need to leave us alone. We may not be ready to have you all come and take over our kitchen as in the past, but we still love to get your messages, texts and Skype conversations - and snail-mail letters, Anna (thank you, Canada Post)! In that sense nothing has changed, because we still have a deep and abiding interest in all of you, just like with any Kaleo group before you. I just don't get a new crew this year. We are still all about this: "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" (Colossians 1:28-29).

So thank you for your prayers, and for staying in touch. I look forward to having the Yearbook in hand soon, so we can remember better what God has done this year in perfecting you in his kingdom. (I hope to get the final draft to the Yearbook Team by early next week, so it shouldn't be too long before it comes to you in the mail). I know that many of you are also finding life difficult right now, which should come as no surprise, but I understand how uncomfortable it can be. May we all live in the grace of God.