Hiking Mt. Albert Edward - Adventures in the Mountains

Hiking in on day one, pictured you can see the peak of Mt. Albert Edward in the distance.

Our first out trip together did not start small

Hiking over 35 kilometres, gaining over 1,000 meters of elevation, and summiting the peak of Albert Edward is how we decided to spend our first trip together. 

We spent three days hiking in one of the most beautiful and accessible parks on Vancouver Island. Everywhere we went there was absolutely stunning views; from gorgeous lakes to beautiful forest trails, this hike left us in awe the entire way. 

Divide and conquer ‘get to know’

Our group divided into 4 smaller hiking groups on the outset of the trip. This was great because it provided awesome opportunities to get to know each other without being overwhelmed by the numbers of whole group. Two teams camped the first night at Kwai Lake, while the other two teams spent the night at Circlet Lake. 

The day we summited had some serious elevation gain

Here is a Snapshot video of our time on the mountain.

More than just a good time outside

A large vision behind the Kaléo program that flows through everything we do is helping the students to grow in their walk with God, and grow as leaders. Our time together didn't happen because we wanted to ‘just go hike a mountain,’ we had purpose behind what we did. We were seeking to grow from every moment and opportunity. Frequently we would stop and reflect together and engage in intentional discussions. So in this way we have so many more memories than just a good view and a hard hike, but rather now we have memories of where we met with God and grew as a group.

Andrew sharing a principal about how to lead in risky environments

Our trip was all about team work

This was about working together, and encouraging each other along the way. It wasn’t about getting up the mountain the quickest, it was about getting up the mountain together. 

After summiting we had an opportunity to respond in worship with a guitar that was brought to the top. 

 The whole crew at the top of Albert Edwards!

The Ladies

The Men

The trip was an absolute blast

The weather thankfully was fantastic and there was a cool breeze at times which made for awesome hiking conditions. Our group definitely grew together immensely on this trip and we are certainly looking forward to the rest of the year together. 

Team D in the parking lot!

Thanks for dropping in for this weeks post. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and hearing about our great times in God's creation. Feel free to comment any questions you might have.

The students are wrapping up their first class tomorrow called Spiritual Theology. I look forward to sharing more about it next week! 

Until next time,

Levi Allen

Kaléo Program Intern

Week One At Qwanoes - The Year Kicks Off

The Kaléo Program kicked off last week here at Camp Qwanoes!

The year has gotten off to an amazing start and it is so great to have all the students here together for the first time.

Pictured above is this years students!

Registration & Orientation

The first few days of their time here at camp was a mixture of registration and getting oriented on where they will be living for the next 8 months! Excitement was definitely in the air. There were also great times to connect together as a group and get to know the staff team here at Qwanoes. 

We played some awesome group games together

The weather was amazing! So a water fight was definitely necessary.

Pictured above is this years students as well as the greater staff team here at qwanoes. Each student is paired in a relationship with a year round staff member in something we call Qord. Qord is a great opportunity for our students and staff to get to know each other and have someone they can talk to throughout the year.

Josh is getting to know his Qord Kevin Way

Camp wide beach party!

One of my favourite parts of the first week of the Kaleo pProgram is the camp wide beach party we have together. The weather was excellent, and it was a blast getting to play together down at the Qwanoes water front. 

The Camp blob is definitely a favourite

We had a lot of fun tube rides together

This wraps up a glimpse of our first week together

The students are currently helping to run a retreat here at Qwanoes and begin their first class this monday! We have already gone on an amazing out trip and have some awesome memories to share with you. Check in next week to see more stories from the Kaléo Program.

Until next time,

Levi Allen

Kaléo Program Intern

Preparing you for a year of academics

Hello!

My name is Janelle Wills and I am one of the Kaleo program interns this year. I am so excited to meet you all very soon and I am already anticipating the incredible ways that God is going to grow you throughout the year! As you are preparing to jump into the Kaleo program in September, I want to give you a little heads-up on the academic component of the program.

When I was a student in the Kaleo program during the 2012-2013 school year, academics played a huge role in how God was shaping and transforming me. As you know, the Kaleo program is so much more than fun out-trips and crazy adventures. It is an opportunity to dig deep into Scripture, to stretch your heart and mind, and to grow in godly character as you learn from some of the best professors Briercrest has to offer! For me, academics pushed me to wrestle through important truths that grew to shape my entire outlook on life and faith. I hope and pray that each of you takes full advantage of this opportunity to be radically shaped by academics. Trust me, you will not regret it. ;)

In order to make the most of your academic studies, it is important that you have an accurate expectation about what is coming. I’m not gonna lie – sitting through class lectures, reading books, and writing papers is going to take up a lot of your time and energy. At times course work might feel like your worst enemy. But push through the challenges and I believe academics can produce some of the best rewards. There is no way around the academic requirements of the program, so you might as well embrace it and give it your all. Your hard work will be so worth it! So do not underestimate the benefits of striving for academic excellence. Invite God to challenge and change you as you honestly seek for the truth and as you give each course your best effort.

Although I want to stress the weight of academics, I also want to ease some of your worry. Here are a few practical tips that will help you strive for academic excellence and make the most of your studies at Qwanoes:

#1. Don’t fret! Anytime God calls you to do something He also equips you to do it. He asks you to give Him your best and then He uses that for His purposes. One of the big things I learned as a Qwanoes/Briercrest student was how to be content with doing the best I could with the time I was given. Even if academics is not one of your strengths, continually give it your best shot in every circimstuance and trust God to walk with you in the process.

#2. Don’t procrastinate! Know your deadlines, use your time wisely, and hold each other accountable. The class schedule has been specifically structured for your success, but at the end of the day it’s up to you to get things done. Stay on top of your readings and assignments and you will find that the workload is totally manageable.

#3. Utilize your resources! Read your syllabi, attend academic workshops, use the Qwanoes library, talk to your professors, ask your leaders for help... Everything you need to do well is made available to you, so take advantage of that.

#4. Learn together! One of the cool things about the Kaleo program is that you get to do everything in a close community of like-minded people. Share what you’re learning with others, explore hard concepts together, and help everyone reach their full potential. In a community, success means ALL of you succeeding together.

#5. Take action! The Kaleo program is unique in that it incorporates so many opportunities to practice what you are learning in real life situations. Be intentional to apply new concepts as you engage in church ministry, camp ministry, community life, leadership opportunites, and outdoor adventures. Your desire to learn and grow will continually increase as you demonstrate genuine character growth in your daily life.

As you wrestle through new and challenging concepts, I hope that you ultimately pursue God above all else. Be stoked about academics as one of the ways God is going to reveal himself to you, and be ready to respond when He shows up amidst the mundane, the stressful, and the engaging demands of the Kaleo program.

See you soon! : )

Janelle

A word from last year's leadership award winner

Following along in our series, here is a word from last year's leadership award winner, Ian Friesen.

Hello Kaleo 2014-2015! I am so excited for the cool amazing ways that you will see God work this year! As a former student I remember many people telling me this at the beginning of the year and it caught me off guard. I was really uncertain as to what I was getting myself into, but what an amazing year! God did so much that I was able to see, and much more that I was too proud to open my eyes and see. 

As you have heard the Kaleo program has a focus on leadership development. Some of the greatest personal spiritual growth for me occurred in the area of leadership during the Kaleo program. The term 'leader' has a much more dynamic meaning than you may now know. Your typical leader as someone in an authoritative position of power with people under them is quite narrow minded as you will find out. Apparently the introverted, quite spoken, and non trend setters can lead in ways they don't even know they are doing!

Leadership is a really unique and fascinating concept. I am excited for all that you will learn about it this year! How one human can have such a powerful effect and impact on another human, to the extent that is possible, is beyond me. People of complete opposite character types and personalities can lead in the same powerful, effective way. The perfect mould for a leader that you envision is only one of many moulds. This is exactly where you can see God do only what God can do; use the weak to lead the strong. Weak as in muscle, sure but that is far from the point; weak as in shy, absolutely; weak as in not courageous, for sure; weak as in afraid of uncertainty, certainly; weak as in opposite of what the world would call a leader, indeed! As you dive into service, classes, out trips and so much more keep your eyes open to see how God uses people to lead others, including how he uses you to lead others. Godly leadership takes strength, but only the kind of strength that God gives will suffice for the job. Please, I urge you and myself, don't think you can do it on your own.

For me personally, and I believe for all people, the key to leadership is a servant heart! Servant leadership cuts through barriers and obstacles like a hot knife in butter. Jump in and serve God! Allow God to use you however He will as you lead others this year and on! 

A note of caution and encouragement on this topic. Leadership is not for the weak, meaning it is challenging in so many ways: intentionality, integrity, prayer, planning, flexibility, humility, pressure, trust, faithfulness, competence, time, effort, the list goes on. As a leader it sometimes feels like you are always giving. This is the challenge...and the reward, it is more blessed to give than to receive. That being said the rewards are very much present and leadership is very worth it. That is, if you are leading others towards holiness and Christ likeness, directly or indirectly. Godly leaders rely fully on God's strength, not their own, to do the work of God. That is where the strength comes from. Keep your eyes open for how your leaders, Andrew and crew, rely on God's strength. You will learn a lot from them. Then, as you lead others, the privilege is on you to rely on God's strength. 

So take courage, be bold, and go to God for help! Seek Him and ask Him to use you to lead others towards Him. Soak in what you are taught about leadership. Enjoy the somewhat terrifying, yet oddly fun, games with so called leadership lessons. Practice leading, in different styles too. Be prepared to be put in tough and uncomfortable situations, but trust me from my experience that it is worth it and you will grow in really cool ways toward Godly leadership. I'm so excited for each of you to grow in this area and I am even more excited for when the leaders of Kaleo 2014-2015, you guys :) , go out into the world as missionaries with servant hearts ready to lead others towards intimacy with Christ!!

In Christ,

Ian Friesen

A word from last year's community award winner.

Here is word from last year's community award winner, Riley McCrea. Riley excelled at being intentional with conversations and challenging people among the community. Riley was always willing to challenge others, ask them what they are learning, and pray for them. Here's Riley:

Hey Kaléo 2014/2015!

I am so excited for you guys to be here and being a part of this program! This program has many aspects that will help you to grow in your faith and one of those is the community in which you will be living.

You guys will be doing life together for 8 months and will be challenged by each other and grow with each other.  There are a few things that I believe will help you guys to get to know each other faster, deeper, and quicker.  Firstly, be real and follow after God first. Let your guards down and be vulnerable, it will happen eventually but when it happens is up to you.  Secondly, it takes courage and initiative.  Everyone wants to be a part of a community, and a community centred around Christ is the best kind of community.  However, if nobody has the courage to start going deep and challenging one another during the year, it will not happen.  If nobody takes the initiative to start to try to learn about all these other people in the program, it will not happen.  Take initiative and be the first to get to know one another and care for one another truly loving them in Christ.  
              Thirdly, be a part of this community here at Qwanoes.  Plan to be with the people that you are living with here and now.  Be here for the people that need you now, finish things that need to be finished before entering the program, tie up all loose ends before you make the journey out here.  Whether that loose end is: apologizing to someone in high school that you didn’t get along with, or maybe you are in a disagreement with someone at home; make things right before you come out here.  It may be difficult and humbling but it will be good, not easy, but good.  You never know God’s plan, it can end up being very different than your own. Tie up loose ends because you don’t know when you’ll have the opportunity to tie them later. I cannot stress this enough, finish and tie up things at home so that you can be present here with the people here, not always skyping people back home every chance you get.  I avoided doing this before I came out here last year for the Kaléo Program and the person that i didn’t apologize to, or make things right with, haunted me all year long, and now i’m here for another whole year; did i plan that to happen? No, but God has a plan and we don’t always know it.  
            Fourthly, be prepared to get to know people, expect to get to know people and strive to live life along side them through the good and the difficult.  There is only one you, only you can affect people the way that you do, so make your impact on people count for the greater good of the kingdom of God instead of your own self.

Thanks for reading this guys, hope this gets you excited for the upcoming year and getting to know a lot of other people.

A word from last year's adventure award winner

Continuing in our series of posts from last year's award winners, here is a word from Cara Tetreo the adventure award winner.       

     First off I would just like to say that I was not the most adventurous heading into this program. However this past year through a lot of the out-trips I have learned about allowing God to take me out of my own boundaries and build perseverance. I have learned to try new things and not push myself so far that I will never try it again, but step by step I was able to accomplish what I thought was not possible for me. Through prayer and the overwhelming encouragement I received from my friends in the program I realized what I thought was not possible, was! This program will stretch you maybe more so than others in this component but that is good thing and it will allow you to receive growth in learning new skills, being challenged, relying and trusting in God and your fellow students.

            Personally I have realized that through the adventures, it is important to really absorb what you are doing and how it applies not only to the program but your life and walk with God.

While you are on the adventures try to let the beauty of His creation around you soak in and take those challenges as an opportunity to talk to God! A huge stretch for me was our out trip to Mount Albert Edwards. I knew that this out trip was going to be quite the challenge and I was unsure if I was able to accomplish it, having never hiked much before. However I used prayer all through the hike as a big support and there was nothing but praise and thankfulness towards God that I felt while reaching the top of that mountain!

            I also suggest on the adventures that you take the chance to be intentional in starting conversations with your fellow students. Ask them about their interests, home life, hobbies, family and more. The adventures are a great opportunity to bond together, have fun, and really get to know each other. While you still can do that during life at Camp Qwanoes, the adventure component is really tailored to communicating with one another, which allows to create a community very quick.

            Also, while you are going through your what to bring lists to pack for this September ask your friends, family or church family if anyone has what you need on that list. I ended up buying a lot of new things for our out trips when I could have easily asked people if I could borrow for the year. In the long run it saves you money and if you end up loving the adventure you tried you can always buy the stuff needed later to pursue the activity after the program! 

            Lastly, I would just like to say that the adventure aspect of the program is such a highlight! You are going to make memories of a lifetime with such an incredible Christ-centred small community! Soak in everything you can and take confidence in knowing that you do not have to be a professional at anything you try, I certainly was not! Just try your best and allow God to stretch and challenge you! You are going to have a blast!

A word from last year's valedictorian.

Hey everyone, throughout the summer we will be posting some words of advice from last year's award winners. We are only a few short months away and these posts will provide some opportunities to prepare your hearts and minds for the journey that awaits for your next year. Here is a post from last year's valedictorian, Stephanie Pauls.

"Hey future Qwanoes students! I remember my excitement growing more and more each day as the promise of living on Vancouver Island became closer. I have no doubt that doing the Kaléo Program was one of the best things I could have done after High School and I hope you feel the same way after your year, no matter what stage of life you may be in at this time.

Looking back and reflecting on my 8 months in BC, there is something that I wished I had known before I began. The year will be made up of the moments you experience and then how you grow in your walk with God as the Holy Spirit shapes you through each of these moments. The Kaléo Program will not change you, instead it will be God’s work in your heart as you live your life for Him and take every opportunity to learn.

One of the best parts of your year will be the abundant amount of opportunities that you will have. They will come in many forms like connecting with God in the beautiful Island outdoors, meeting lots of solid Christian people, learning about your faith and the Bible from college professors, and being genuinely invited to take part in a church family. But every opportunity comes with a choice as to whether or not you will take advantage of it or let it pass by.

It was only later in the year that I began to understand this concept. It is so easy to miss out on opportunities when you do not properly value their importance or see them for the good they can accomplish in your life. It is important to never put off what you are meaning to do. There may be conversations you want to have or a book that you looking forward to learning from. Using the opportunities to their full potential will become great experiences, which will then become chances for you to learn and grow.

So while you prepare for Kaléo 2015, ask God to show you things that He wants to change in you. Spend time in prayer and conversation with God, because it will be in each moment that you are willing to grow that you will find yourself becoming more of a godly leader. So my final advice for you as you come into this intense year learning and growing is, do not do anything half-heartedly because those experiences will become what you make of them. Simply “doing” activities or schoolwork will not help you learn the most that you can. Growth happens when you acknowledge where God wants to change you and then intentionally step out of your comfort zone.

I wish you all the best this year and know that through prayer and intentional work you can also have a great time as you participate in everything that the Kaléo Program has to offer."