Sailing with S.A.L.T.S. - Adventures on the Sea

 Just under two weeks ago we had the amazing opportunity to head out to sea with the Sail and Life Training Society, an organization that takes groups like ours on these amazing ‘trips of a life time’ aboard beautiful tall ships.

This is a shot of the Pacific Grace on a different sailing trip, but showing the enormity of this boat. 

Our voyage took us in and around the stunning Gulf Islands that are located in between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. This trip is the largest trip we have gone on so far, and we had an amazing time. 

Skipper John Andrachuk giving us an orientation before we left port.

 An incredible new way of life took form the minute we stepped aboard. Things got underway before we knew it and one of the students even steered the boat out of Victoria’s inner harbor. The immediacy of everything is slightly intimidating at first as we are thrown into this whole new world, but it wasn't long under the careful instruction of the crew that we started to get the hang of things. Most of the students have never stepped foot aboard a sail boat before, let alone a 138 foot gaff rigged schooner. This unique bonding starts to happen between the students because they are all starting at the same stage, learning and growing together. The students encouraged each other and shared their new found knowledge, opening up through shared experiences and growing closer as a community.

A few students and the female intern Ashley Haarms handling some sails under the carful leadership of Aron Koen

Sarah passes through a sail tie on the main boom getting it ready to be taken down. 

These boats take enormous team work to set and manage the sails. We where split into different watch teams and there is always a group overseeing the running of the boat. Duties include taking the wheel of the ship, watching the bow, sail handling, anchor watch, navigation, radio monitoring, or cleaning up the dishes from our meals. Everyone needs to be taking part and doing their share, otherwise the sailing just wouldn't be possible. It was cool to step back sometimes and see everyone working in unison to work on a single task. An awesome hands on experience of what it's like to work together as the body of christ. 

Working together to haul in the main sail sheet. 

Although it was raining frequently on the trip, students had a positive attitude and there were plenty of smiles going around.

An amazing Humpback whale followed beside our boat for over an hour, here is a shot of it framed under the
beautiful snow caped Mount Baker.

Here is a quick video showing a few moments that we were graced to see this magnificent creature.

Working together to launch the Dories, small row boats that we would take ashore together. 

Stephanie Pauls sharing a smile as she handles a line. 

The food on this trip was incredible. 

A shot of the stars as we spent time together in pairs on anchor watch. 

A personal favourite about our time aboard is the nights spent together as a community. We would gather together and play a few games and then all meet in the hold (a room in the center of the ship) to sing worship songs together. It was close quarters for sure, but being able to hear all the beautiful voices singing together in unison praising God was an amazing. 

Life aboard a sail boat is truly a incredible experience. 

Throughout our time on board Skipper John Andrachuk and the program leader Andrew MacDonald would share leadership principals and how to be intentional with growing in these areas. The whole crew was an awesome model of how to live out your faith and were great examples of humble and confident leaders. Showing as well that leadership is not just in a position but in all areas of your life and glorifying God amongst the people he places around you.

Here is the students of 2014 with the crew of the Pacific Grace!

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our time aboard the Pacific Grace. The students are currently finishing readings for the upcoming Old Testament Literature course, and we also recently got back from a surfing trip! There is a new blog post coming thursday next week and in the meantime there are plenty of other great photos from our adventures that didn't make it into this blog post available in a gallery linked to bellow.

Until next time,
Levi

or click this link http://bit.ly/Kaleo2014photos

Spiritual Formations - First Class of the Year

Hey everyone it has been a busy couple weeks here in the program and there is so much to fill you in on. This week I am going to share a glimpse into the Students first class of the year spiritual formations, and also a few photos from a Qwanoes Road Tour.

In this class the students learned all about what it means to be a disciple - a true follower of Christ. They had opportunities to learn different disciplines and practices they can use in their life, seeking to have a healthy faith walk and grow closer to God. They spent time looking into what it means to live in Christian community and how that is important. This class also provided lots of time for inner-reflection and spending time alone listening to God. 

There was beautiful sunny weather most of the week.
It provided awesome times for outdoor chapels as well as opportunities for personal reflection
 all around the beautiful Qwanoes property.

 

Students were given opportunities in groups to lead different chapels and worship services that took place throughout the week. These gave them opportunities to express creativity and make the chapel their own - it was wonderful to see students gifts come forward as they led their peers in these times of community worship.

Students discussing together in groups different attributes about God during one of the chapels. 

Towards the end of the week the students spent a little under 24 hours in silence and solitude. They spread out in all different areas of camp and didn't speak or see each other for their whole time apart. It was an awesome opportunity for them to really focus and listen to God and reflect on His word and what they had been learning in the course so far. Despite at first wondering what they would do in so much time alone with God, most of the students came back from their time wishing they could have more of it.

We all gathered the morning after their time of solitude to take communion together. It was an awesome moment where each student had the opportunity to share with the group what they had learned. A majority of the students had been fasting during their time of solitude as well, and what better way to break that fast together but with communion.

Here are a few thoughts from the students on this course.

The students have also been busy reading Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. An excellent read that share Bonhoeffer's thoughts on the nature of Christian community and how individuals relationships with God affect the path of a Christian community's path to God. They are currently writing response papers to this book, as well as finishing up work form Camp and Youth Ministry.

A Few of the students had the opportunity to help run a Qwanoes event at a local church called Road Tour. It was sometimes hard to tell who was having more fun, the students or local youth that were attending.

There has been so many exciting things going on, and even more seems to be just around the corner - look forward to a post next week about our previous trip on SALTS!

Until next time,
Levi

We're back from Sailing!

We just returned on friday from an amazing time aboard the Pacific Grace. We where sailing through the Gulf islands on a beautiful tall ship built specifically for sail training. Our time on board was amazing despite lacklustre weather, the students had a blast with our time aboard, and even our trips ashore. There will be a full blog post coming this thursday highlighting the first class of the year!

- Levi 

First Retreat Experience - Learning through Service

It has been an amazing week here on the island with fantastic weather almost every day. This past weekend was the Students first opportunity to help run activities at Qwanoes for a retreat. Trinity Western University brought over its student leaders to Qwanoes to experience all that Camp has to offer, and it was a fantastic first opportunity for Qwanoes Students to get involved. 

Students forming a welcome tunnel showing Trinity what a Qwanoes welcome is all about!

There is always time for a quick photo! Smiles all around as the retreat is kicked off.

Putting all the training into practice this last weekend at TWU retreat.

 The students got to help run activities in the challenge course, waterfront, and many other aspects of camp. It was a unique experience for them being able to serve young adults and see first hand what Camp Activities are like to run. As we move into the fall the students will get to be involved lots of other Qwanoes retreats, which provides lots of opportunities to practically apply what they have been learning in the classroom.

Heather and Sarah belaying in the Challenge Course!

Riley showing us how to through a rope properly to the Qwanoes dock. 

To close off the weekend Students and staff got to enjoy the Qwanoes waterfront with activities like boating and the giant Blob. It was great to just hangout with each other and enjoy the company of some good friends. The community is really starting to shape and take a vibrant life as students are realizing the potential this year has in store.

The students are currently in the midst of Spiritual Formations, and at the moment are experiencing a solo time of reflection with 24 hours of silence and solitude. This class is an awesome way to begin the year--students spend a lot of time reflecting and learning about their own spiritual journey and what it means to deepen and grow in their faith. Discovering what discipleship is all about and how everything they are taking part in this year is all an outflow of a desire to follow Jesus. Stay tuned this weekend for more updates from this course, and what the students had to say about it. 

Until next time, 

Levi

Mount Albert Edward - The Year Kicks Off!

Hey Everyone! My name is Levi and I am a Qwanoes intern this year with a focus in the Kaléo Program. I have the incredible opportunity to fill you in with stories, photos, and updates week-by-week of what’s happening in the life of the Students!

It has been a packed week and a half, and the program is already off to an amazing start. Students are getting into the swing of things here at Camp with various orientations and training— lots of time getting acquainted with the ins-and-outs of their new home for the next 8 months. It’s so fantastic to have them all together and join the family here at Qwanoes. The staff has been prayerfully anticipating their arrival for some time now and couldn’t wait to meet them. The LinQ program was launched and students got to meet and pray with a staff member they were paired up with. This is an awesome opportunity for students to have intentional relationships with a staff member during their time here.

The ministry component of the program also got underway as pastors from our local partnered churches eagerly came to meet the students. The ministry component is a huge opportunity for the students this year, they will get countless opportunities to directly apply what they are learning in the classroom to where they are serving in their Church. They are in groups of 3-4 and will have many opportunities to grow as active participants in areas like worship teams, leading youth group, and children’s ministry.

One of the things they also accomplished is training to be a qualified belayer in the Qwanoes challenge course. It was so cool to watch the dynamic of the group start to form as they worked and trained together on how to belay one another. Helping each other learn and grow, and just enjoying each others company as they get to know who they are spending the next 8 months with.  

On Monday with much excitement and anticipation we set out as a group to tackle our first out trip together. This trip is a stunning backpacking trip through Strathcona Park to summit Mount Albert Edward, one of the largest peaks on Vancouver Island. Our trip was spread out across 3 days with over 34 kilometers of hiking in total. We began the first day hiking from the parking lot in four smaller groups to reach the lakes we would be camping at that night. The rain was coming down as we started hiking but moral was high as students were actively connecting with each other in these smaller groups. Two of the groups spent the night at Kwai lake, and the other two groups over at Circlet lake, planning to all meet together on Tuesday morning to summit the mountain.

Warming cold hands after a day of hiking in the rain

For the summiting portion of our trip we are able to leave our heavier back packs at camp and begin the ascent with only daypacks. We all appreciated the lighter load, and would need the extra energy to tackle together the task ahead of us. This is the most challenging portion of our trip and we had to all work together to keep on going. After gaining some serious elevation it became very obvious how glad we were to be relieved of our larger packs. Throughout the hike during breaks Andrew the Kaléo Program Leader was able to use tangible metaphors and stories to explain things about God’s truth what it means to be a Disciple. The understanding of Gods grace can deepen on a hiking trip as we realize God taking the weight of sin from our lives is similar to removing the heavy load we didn’t need to carry to the summit. This makes the adventures so much more than just a fun trip as a group, but rather countless opportunities to attach powerful memories to life lessons the students will take with themselves for years.

Some portions of the hike to the summit seemed to be almost straight up

Stunning views to be had the whole way up

Our second day had started with clear skies but as we approached the summit and took a break for lunch the fog had started to move in. We always want to be as safe as possible, carefully considering if it was good to make our last push to the top. This type of weather could cause reduced visibility and hinder our ability to follow the trail. Thankfully after watching the weather the clouds stayed at bay and created a sort of bowl and wall of clouds around the mountain as we proceeded to hike the final stretch. Everyone dug deep and encouraged each other for the grueling final stretch. Every single person of our party made it to the top and it was an exhilarating time of celebration and high-fives all around.

The fog starting to move in on our trek to the top. 

Big celebrations at the top! Everyone made it!

Taking time to remember these powerful mountain top experiences together

After a short rest at the top we proceeded to finish the careful hike down the steep terrain. It was thankfully only till after we made it safely to the first lake that the rain started to come down. 

The Kaléo 2014 Girls!

The Kaléo 2014 Men!

The Peak of Albert Edward pointing up through the clouds, this is the view from the parking lot. 

The last morning we packed up our wet tents and gear and began the hike back to our vans. After reaching the parking lot it was incredible to view the peak of Mount Albert Edward in what seemed an impossibly distance away. It was incredible to have summited it just the day before and gave a new level of excitement to what God could accomplish in the students lives this year. It gave such powerful imagery of the immense things that can be accomplished when you put one foot in front of another, stick together as a community, keep pushing on, and trust God above all else with the results. The results of this trip were spectacular to say the least and the students enjoyed a deserved rest on the 3-hour drive back to camp.

The students have already begun academic work on the hiking trip in prep for their first class. They have been memorizing bible verses as an assignment for Spiritual Formations that begins on Tuesday. Now back at Camp they continue to memorize and have begun reading one of their first books.

Students reading their first book by the fire in Pacific Woods Lodge

Thank you all for your prayer and support, it is incredibly appreciated and we want to ask that you would continue keeping us in your prayers. It has been an unreal start to the year and God has brought together and amazing group of students. We look forward to what God is going to continue to do in and through each one. Stay tuned next week for an update on Spiritual Formations and pictures from the retreat this weekend the students had an opportunity to serve at.

Until next time,
Levi