Two years since we met

[Brent "Moose" Lough]Wow, looking at the date it's been approximately two years since the day we all met, crazy how time flies. I haven't been to this blog much but i just read a bunch of the latest ones and its cool to see what you all are up to, new leadership roles and new freedoms, and I pray for the ones struggling they would find the overwhelming love of Jesus in a new way or revelation, because it makes all the difference!!

Well, where to start.. I miss our times together, hanging out on the sailboat, camping, hiking, surfing! Great memories with great people! And since leaving there at Christmas, I then went to a missionary school in Africa last summer for 3 months, got totally wrecked by the love of Jesus and joined a group of dreamers that were planning a missionary trip to every country in Central and South America, including the Caribbean. The trip was estimated at one year in length, and was starting right after the missionary school in Africa ended. I decided this is where I wanted to be, and thought God wanted me there as well, so I came home from Africa and a couple weeks later was off to Mexico.

Well, its now almost a whole year later, and here I am in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The trip has been a huge blessing, living in community like Kaleo but a little closer quarters, sometimes camping at gas stations or sleeping on the beach, or under the stars in an empty parking lot. Being led by the Spirit as much as we can as we travel, being of one spirit, and living in love is awesome. It's not always comfortable or makes the flesh feel good but you always have peace and joy in your heart, so not much else matters anyway!

It comes with sacrifices though, and after one year of being away from home, keeping relationships gets tough, as facebook and email is nothing close to just talking and being with people. And even harder when internet connection is limited, slow, and we just don't have it a lot.

I've been learning a lot, though, and recently God has been teaching me about Identity. If you don't know who you are, your self worth, and if you don't know how much God loves you, it's hard to love others and tell them how much God cares about them. First you get secure, then you can speak into others lives. And your self worth is huge! No one pays $100,000 for a $20,000 car, because its not worth it! But Jesus died for you. He said you were worth it. He saw past your sin and looked at your value, made in the image of Him, and said you were worth His blood! Know that and you will have the heart of God for people.

So anyways I been learning a lot, and I have until approximately April or May until this trip is done, and then will be returning to Canada, and I'm dreaming of taking a trip to BC to visit some of you! Well see what God has in store for me... I'm sure itll be good!

Love you all!

Brent 

A Sermon and a half

Hey guys! It's Logan here, and I hope that everyone has been having a growing summer. I forget what I last wrote, so sorry if some of this repeats what I've said before. My summer has felt busy at times, and unproductive at others, but generally speaking, it's been alright. I took up my old job working for 2K Construction, and we've been doing roofing as usual, and also building a large shop with living quarters for the last 3 months. It's been good, and I've learned some new skills (which I will probably promptly forget once I am not practicing them anymore *cough* Greek *cough*). But maybe I'll remember something that's useful for the future. I finished  this last Friday, however, because I hurt where I had my hernia last year. The idea of having to have surgery again isn't a big deal to me, though I would rather not. My biggest fear is possibly not being able to join RU, which I have been excited for all summer (I've even been practicing, pretending that I know how to dance!)

I've also been doing an internship at my church back home, under my youth pastor. He is a great guy, and I continue to learn lots from him, both by listening, asking, and by watching what he is doing. He has been a great mentor to me, and I pray that God continues to use this man in the same way that he has used him in my life. Or in a different way. I just hope that he is used. Anyways, my internship has been great so far, and I have had the opportunity to work alongside the staff at my church, teach bible studies, attend Elders meetings (even funner than eating wool socks!), and consider camp as part of "work". And coming up this Sunday, I will be preaching on Ecclesiastes, on how everything is meaningless! Yeah, I stole this sermon idea from Eric Ortland if you Briercresters are wondering, and for everyone else, it was a fantastically moving sermon, about how things can only gain meaning with God involved. I think it's a powerful message, and easy to preach on, so if I mess this up, then I really messed up... I would appreciate prayer for it. I have invited a few friends who will be coming, who typically don't attend church. So I'm leaving a lot to the Holy Spirit, because I might not give it much to work with :P.

As for the lessons that I've been learning this summer, God has been teaching me about humility and about surrendering my thoughts to Christ. Humility has come from my internship. One of my struggles as a biblical studies student is converting what I've learned into what I live out, and if that doesn't happen, then my knowledge simply becomes a source for pride (though I know there's lots that I don't know). Anyways, I have felt pride in several circumstances in my internship because of it, either because I knew something, or because of my "position" in the church. Anyways, in this God has shown me that I am not the all knowing, all powerful intern. Typically senses of pride are followed by me getting embarrassed.

As for the surrendering my thoughts to Christ, this has been from something one of the staff said at a guys talk that we had with all the boys cabins one night. The Scripture is:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ⁶ being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (1Cor.10:3-6).

I had heard this before, but it struck me this time that I should actually SURRENDER my thoughts when I had thoughts enter my head that were not honorable to God. anything that did not fit into the Philippians list of "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" should not be on my mind. James says that temptation gives birth to sin, and sin spawns death, so what good is it to be dwelling on the very things that bring me death, when I have life? I am no longer a captive to sin, but I am a slave to righteousness, and my reward is eternal life instead of death. Now I don't claim to have this perfect; I am still being taught this, and as Cal said, we will always be beginners at this. But I have found that in those moments of temptation, that when I do take captive my thoughts and surrender them to Christ, I find that I no longer seemingly have to dwell on these things, and temptation does not lead into sin. This being said, in terms of lust, ladies, it is immeasurably helpful when you are considerate of guys and watch how you dress. Low cut or tight shirts and short shorts/ yoga pants make it so much harder to treat you as sister's in Christ, and I, along with most brothers that I've talked with, find it much easier to transform you into an object instead of a person when you dress this way. It isn't what we want, but it's how our bodies react. (I am not writing this to anyone in particular, just as a general message).  I understand that summer is hot, and it's fashionable, or maybe it's nice to get attention, but it makes it much harder for those who are trying to pursue godliness to succeed. Something to consider anyways.

Ecclesiastes has also been a good thing to be studying this summer, though I am having a hard time changing this from a good thought to a real life application. Basically my sermon goes like this:

-talk about my life, my experiences, friends, family, etc.

-All of this is meaningless

-Alexander the Great (idea stolen from Prof. Ortland), conquered land, dies, and nothing that he conquered stays the same: What was the point of his life?
-Rockefeller (my idea), Capitalist, monopoly on oil. Comparatively probably one of the richest men to have ever lived. Person asks him "when's enough?" and he says "just a little bit more"

-What gives you fulfillment? Money? Experiences? Conquering vast amounts of land? Sex or popularity or good looks or clothes? Your Job? Your friends? Your family? Wisdom? Love? At what point does our striving for fulfilment fill us to Rockefeller's "just a little bit more"?

- "All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing" (Eccl. 1:8)

-rich or poor, wise or foolish, popular or reject, you die. And everything that you stood and strived for will be forgotten. "What does man gain by all the toil, at which he toils under the sun." (1:3) So why bother? What point is there to life?

-Read Ecclesiastes 3:9-14

-Some of our desires gain meaning, because they are God's gift to man

-Gifts only carry meaning when they come from someone important to you (there is no significance in a gift if it doesn't come from someone) and it is meant to build relationship.

-This specific gift gains meaning because of God's nature. He's eternal, where we are temporary. Anything we accomplish contains no meaning "under the sun", because under the sun, on earth, things are temporary. However, God is eternal, and he watches what we do, and it is there that our actions are able to gain real meaning.

-Jesus says not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

-Why do we then try to set our hearts on that which is fleeting? Why do we try to find peace in things that are going to fade or change?

-I don't think we can find meaning in life w/o God, and Eccl. ends with that: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."

-If we have been created with the sole duty to fear God and keep his commandments, would we not best find fulfillment in the very thing we were created to do? And to do good in the eyes of God, this is where we will find true purpose.

-Don't believe me? Then I challenge you; Try and prove me wrong. See if you can find lasting meaning in this life w/o God. Because frankly, I don't think you can.

Well, that's my sermon. That was pretty much all of it, I didn't do very good at making it point form for you guys. Sorry I talk so much, hopefully you enjoyed reading, if you made it this far. Tell me what you thought of the sermon if you'd like! I would definitely like feedback on things that are good, or could use improvement. And I hope to hear more from you guys in the future! We had a little surge of blog posting, and it was great!!

Grace and peace, everybody!

Your friend,
Logan

Update

Hey Y’all! (This is Bryan, as I dislike having to scroll to the bottom in order to find out who wrote the post).

Well since everyone has decided to give updates about what’s going I figured I might as well do the same. I will warn you, this blog post will not be a happy one and will leave you with questions that I cannot answer. Lets start with directly after Kaleo ended.

            When Kaleo ended I was on an absolute high for God and for life. Several of us had an amazing week at Jim and Sarah’s house just a few weeks after everything ended. That helped ease the void of being with everyone. After we went our separate ways I came home and was able to get a job working for a landscaping. Honestly, that was really tough as I was the only one the crew who spoke any English and I came from a totally different aspect of life, but it was work. After two months of that I was able to quit my job and start a new job on very same day. It looked like God was looking out for me. Getting that job turned out to be a live saver, as you’ll read later on.

            As the summer came to a close my faith waned, as I wasn’t seeing any answer to prayer and in fact getting the opposite of what I needed. My prayer to God was for real friendship with people and to not be so alone. When September hit I lost every friend I ever had, and when I say every friend I mean everyone. I would say that was the beginning of the decline into a deep depression. The only person who kept some semblance of being a friend was my brother. By November I was so tired emotionally and spiritually that my only saving grace was pouring everything I was into my work. I can remember the day and where I said goodbye to my faith. But I wasn’t so simple as just saying goodbye as by the time November came I was committed to going to the Dominican Republic for a missions trip with my church so I had to keep up appearances that I was this faithful Christian person that I wasn’t. December came and went and work stopped due to the cold weather.

Christmas came and went and in two weeks after I was off to the Dominican Republic. I was expecting this grand rekindling of Christianity and that I would come back a better Christian. But the mission felt hollow, we weren’t needed there, we were just there for the warm weather and to inflate our egos. I came back no better than before I left and was looking towards and month and half of no work and no friends. In that time I abused my mind with too much television and screens while abusing my body going to the gym 5 or 6 times a week. My mood got worse, plunging me deeper into a depression, and kept blaming God for my bad luck. At this time I was still trying to attend church hoping things would get better, but they didn’t. Eventually I stopped going altogether realizing it wasn’t getting any better.

By the time I quit the church it was nearing the end of February. Work had started again but I did little to improve my look on life. Eventually my mind was constantly filled with thoughts of suicide and death. Some days I would just go home, watch TV and wait for the next day. There were several times I had decided to end it and was poised to do so but back out a the last minute. Life had little meaning for me; I cared for nothing and felt nothing but loneliness and a deep anger at everything. I wrote on the blog often but every time I posted something I would delete it right away calling myself weak.

So from February until now I have slowly crawled out of this deep hole of a depression, hardening my heart to my own feelings and to those around me. I wouldn’t say I am completely better but I am doing better than before. I haven’t told anyone of my struggle simply because I don’t want them to know I think I am weak for not being able to cope. So I coped by myself hardening my heart away from everything. I don’t feel happiness, sorrow or pretty much any emotion, just cold calculations on what needs to be done. I live my life one week at a time with no future objective in mind. Sometimes I wish I could die, a tragic car accident maybe, but know that death is not in my immediate future. Right now in my life I don’t think, just do. I throw every ounce of energy I have into my work and just trying to make myself tired so that I don’t have the energy to even think in my free time.

So there you have it, my life since Kaleo summed up into a couple of paragraphs. It doesn’t seem adequate but it will suffice for now. I can’t really call myself a Christian anymore as I don’t go to church and can’t stand to be around anything related to Christianity as there is too much disappointment linked with it.

Thanks,

Bryan

           

Anapauo. Rest.

Can we please do a count of who all is dating someone because I feel like everyone is in a relationship! As such, I fully expect some reunions happening soon **wink wink**.

Heyo! I miss you all a lot. That's what I need to say first. I can't believe it has been over a year since I have seen so many of you.

Next, nothing much is new in my life. No boy or anything, but I am moving! I'm moving about 10 minutes from UBC and will hopefully be hanging out with Janet lots!

So this has been an interesting season. I, once again, am learning to rest. It seems this is going to be my lifelong lesson and I thank you guys for speaking that over my life. Yes, Jim, I'm thankful for the name now; it just took a little while!

Last year was really tough for me and more than anything, all I wanted to do was escape. And I didn't see it as escaping before or I was just denying that it was escaping. I just wanted to go to Briercrest and have good community and actually like my courses. But I needed to finish out my year at UBC. So I did that. And applied for Briercrest for the fall of 2012. However, once it came down to crunch time of accepting my bursary, it was clear to me (against everything I wanted) that I was to stay in Vancouver for another year. Even more, I was to stay in Surrey for this summer.

Family, this was the hardest thing for me to do. I love to go. I love to serve, but this summer, I was called to serve in a different way. It has been really hard for me to be in my job and be home instead of at camp or in another country, but there has been good. As well, I have learned to see the suffering as suffering for the sake of Christ because I believe that He has called me there and has me there for a purpose and so there will be attack. I've gotten to bring a coworker to church with me and she is going to bring a friend with her now. It's really cool to see God's hand in placing me at work just when she was looking to start going back to church. Please pray for the both of them.


Also really cool is that a friend of mine started coming to church with me at Easter and is still coming. She has been my friend (really more like a sister) for about 17 years now. Actually, a few of you have met her! Her name is Kylie! Anyways, she has never expressed an interest in church but is now coming pretty regularly! Pray for her salvation. The Spirit is changing her heart and He is drawing her; she just needs to take that final step.


So it has been hard, but good for me to be home this summer. I still wish I could have gone somewhere, but for me to be right where God wants me is the best place for me to be. And I am learning to rest in that.

Please message me or something if you want to know more of what God has been teaching me. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

I love you all and I would love to hear from you!

And a little treat from Hermeneutics:

Holly

Hey

Hey guys.

I've just been looking at some scripture and thought I would just share. Its not a lot, but it is a couple of verses that have really stuck out for me this past week.

" Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter or our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. " Hebrews 12:1-3.

Just something to think about.

I hope you are all doing okay. I would love to hear from anyone. It seems like forever ago and I think and pray for you guys often. But yes, I would love to hear how you guys are doing. Whats up in life. Your walk. All of those type of things. What  some future plans are. Share a verse or something that has been on your mind. Anything really. Blogposts aren't too hard to write. So with that I challenge all those who may read this just to post something. Some ideas i cant think of is a verse, an update, a joke, a youtube clip of something that struck you, a picture. I don't really know haha. I just want to hear how y'all are doing!

oh boy, oh boy!

Hey everyone!
I hope your summer is going well! So... me and Jocelyne are making a road trip to the Island in August! We will be leaving Medicine Hat August 15, and will back in the Hat around the 23. So we would love to see all you BC people! Just thought you should know :)

summertime visits

oh hey.

I'm coming to BC from august 12-17 and would love to see some of you! I'm staying at bret's so I'll be in vic but let me know if you want to hang!!

Love you all dearly.

Anna

INDIA!

To my dear Kaleo family,

It feels like ages since I have seen or even talked to many of you - this blog has been pretty quiet lately! I have been checking it occasionally and am excited about the things being posted-
Jim, the Lord's faithful hand is so evident in the way that He is leading you and Sarah - I couldn't be more excited about the position He has given you (Oh, and I randomly met a Colleen Sumner at work one day, who passed on her greetings to you!).
Sarah, I shouted "hallelujah" when I read the post about your dad. The Lord is doing miracle upon miracle in your family! :)

I apologize for my quietness over the past year as well - I've sat down a few times to write (after I finally remembered my log-in info...), yet somehow it feels insufficient. I'd much rather just all sit down around the couches in the lounge and share stories about our lives. But I suppose this willl have to suffice...

I'll begin with the most exciting news because I feel as though I might burst! After 2 1/2 years of waiting for when God would open up the door for me to return to my beloved India, He has graciously given me the privilege this summer! I leave on July 16 and will be gone for 5 1/2 weeks. It will look different than my past trips to India, as I will be spending the whole time at the school there for Dalit children. I will also be officially teaching them English, putting my TESOL classes into practice. It's a little intimidating, but I know the Lord will equip me for the task. Although when I originally felt called to go this summer, it looked like I would be going by myself, the Lord has provided my dear cousin Kathleen as a travel and ministry companion. As well, in quite a miraculous turn of events, my parents felt that this was the summer God wanted them to travel together to do God's work in Russia and India, so they will be there for the last two weeks of my time in India.
I cannot WAIT to return to the precious children at St. Paul's school.

I had my last day of work today, at a job that the Lord just placed in my lap a couple days after arriving home in April. My employer from last summer called ME as soon as she learned over Facebook that I was back in Vernon. I thought it would be impossible to find a job that would hire me for a mere two months, but she wanted me back for as long as she could have me. Praise the Lord.

The Lord is good. SO good. Kaleo was a year of tearing down a lot of things in my heart, tearing down idols and attitudes and ideas. This last year at Briercrest was a year of rebuilding. And the Lord taught me SO much. To Him be the glory.

I pray that our Father reminds you all today of who you are in Christ and the depths from which He has rescued each one of us and the things that He has taught us. May He give you the strength today, brothers and sisters, to live up to what you have already attained, to live boldly for the sake of Christ.

In His Name and for His glory,
Heidi

Hey guys! I can't believe it has been a year. I miss you all so much! What a great year. I encourage you to look at your yearbooks! :)

I don't know how many of you know, but on Thursday, April 26, Canadian parliament is going to debate the personhood of unborn Canadians. They will be discussing / debating what a human is and abortion. Please pray for this! Pray that they may know that abortion is wrong and that a baby is a human even though it is unborn. Please be praying for what will be discussed.

Here is an attachment for an article that talks more about it :

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-parliament-to-debate-abortion-april-26

I encourage you to read it. There is more articles about this so look those up too.

Peace and love,

Mike

One Year Later

Amazing! It has been one year since Kaleo Grad 2011! How we miss you all, and have been so glad for every opportunity to hear from you and about you and to occasionally see some of you! Your progress in your faith is celebrated by us; your struggles are mourned and prayed for. "It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:7, 8 NIV).

Also, it has been one year of transition for us: wrapping up our time with Kaleo; helping Anna through a tough transition; selling and moving out of our 100 year old house; giving up both of our dogs; two weeks in Ucluelet; another two in Kelowna; a month housesitting in Duncan and another in Victoria; a trip across Canada visiting 90 Kaleo students; then 8000 km of travel around New Zealand; and finally a month of volunteering at another camp on the Island.

So, what's next? Friday evening, I was sitting in a kayak on the quiet waters of Cowichan Lake with the sun warming my back, and suddenly I knew what we should do. So yesterday, I accepted the position of the Director of Camp Imadene's Auxano program. This is a discipleship program for young adults of college age, focusing on biblical training and service, running from September to April. The goal for the fall is about 12 students (they had 5 as a trial run this year) and I will work alongside two other leaders (like Kaleo's interns), who are yet to be determined.

Right now we are living in Honeymoon Bay (see? I can be romantic!) in a beautiful waterfront home that belongs to friends. We never get tired of looking out the window.

Love you all! We appreciate your prayers as we get started in a whole new ministry! May our paths cross soon!