Mission: Haiti

Myself and 26 other youth and leaders will be departing towards Haiti at a lovely hour of 3 am on July 3rd. As the country with the highest poverty in the western hemisphere and almost entirely engulfed in voodoo, simply speaking, prayer is needed for myself and the group.

As one of the older youth in the group I have a greater responsibility upon me. And thus I ask of prayer for:

An awareness of situations around me, both during travel and in Haiti

Wisdom and discernment when problems arise

A broken heart for the people we meet and witness to

An encouraging spirit for the mission organization we are staying with

Safety during travel(plane, bus ride-8 to 14 hour ride dependent on river levels, ya!) and the beginning of Hurricane season

Health-malaria, heat stroke, sunburn, dengue fever

To see the world as God does, none of us have been to a 3rd world country

And, upon returning, we not be so incredibly cynical towards developed countries that we lose sight of what God has given us

Thanks fellows

And some people don't believe in Miracles...

So today I was having "the worst" day of my life. Everything was going horribly wrong. It got to the point where, after spilling an entire bucket of strawberries on the floor I sat down in the middle of booster juice, shed a tear, and literally gave up. (I know, this sounds so over-dramatic... but it was actually quite horrible.) After Noah (co-worker) calming me down and me taking my break I was starting to feel a little better, but still just ready to start the long walk home. Then I get a text message from my Mother saying to call her on my break. So I replied asking what the conversation was going to be about. She said "school." -side note, every conversation we have had about "school" has contained such things as "you need to think realisticly", "you need to choose a real school", and "I'm not helping you, but go ahead and try." So of course, I was not looking forward to talking to her. So I called her on my second break and she starts off with "So, Dad and I know that you really want this... and it is really expensive you you can't realisticly afford it. And we talked about it and there is absolutely no way you are getting a student loan! But we have decided that we want you to do it! So you can use the RSP money!" ...!!!!!!! So yes, A true miracle has occured in the world today! My mother, is actually enabling me to attend Kaleo 7! I AM SO REDICULOUSLY STOKED!!!!

So, I am officially VERY excited to meet you all... sorry that that story was kinda long.

Bria

K7

Greetings and Salutations; to borrow the colloquialism.

Hey guys, and gals,

The other day I was doing my devotions and for some reason I was feeling quite flustered, a combination of many thoughts and questions running through my mind. I was also frustrated that every time I would spend time alone to find God, I wouldn't find him much less hear from him. I would ask him many questions and seemingly get no response. Near the end of my devotions, I was reading a handout that I was given at church and in it the author described a situation much similar to mine that he had been through. As a solution God gave him the Bible verse Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." After reading this verse, I realized I was trying to live the Christian life without the utilizing the Body of Christ, Instead I would try and follow God all on my own. I also realized that have never really been spiritually connected with my church family. With Kaleo around the corner, this made me much more excited to meet you guys, to start connecting on a spiritual level and grow closer our Creator. Bring it on!!

Just thought I'd share my experience.

Trent

Some News/ Please Pray

So, I've been thinking, praying, and talking alot about this september and where I'm supposed to be. And well, I'm pretty sure that Kaleo is exactly where I'm supposed to be. So I finally worked up the guts to tell phone my mother and tell her of this thought streem. She was, of course, very un-impressed. So I am now trying everything possible to get me to Duncan. She is trying everything possible to keep me in Kelowna, or better yet get me home. So if you guys could all please pray that if this is what I'm supposed to do that it will all work out and that my mom can handle it all. I'm excited to meet you all none the less.

-Miss Byman

K7

Helly Hansen Base Layer Sales

Of all the things that are on the "To Bring" List that we sent you, probably the most important and useful item is… underwear! More specifically, the specialized stuff that will keep you warm and dry in all conditions, which we call "base layer." It can be expensive, because it cannot be cotton and tends to be found only at specialty shops.

So, I was at a Helly Hansen warehouse sale the other day and picked a whole bunch of top-quality base layers at rock-bottom prices. "HH Lifa performance baselayers not only insulate next to the skin, but move heat-stealing moisture away from your body quicker, meaning you stay dry and comfortable in any condition."

Normally these sell for $40-60, but I was able to get them for $15. The first people to contact me can purchase these at the price I paid ($15 + tax = $16.80). This is what we have (sorry men, there was very little available for you this year), and you can click on the title to see them. I will delete them as they are sold:

Women's Longsleeve Shirts

• Large - Indigo Blue
• Medium - Indigo Blue
• Medium – Aqua Blue

Women's Pants

• Sorry! All gone!
  

Men's Longsleeve Shirts

• X-Large - Mid Blue
• Large - Orange

Men's Pants

• Small - Red

Again, it's first to contact me, first to reserve the item you want, so when you contact me please give me a first, second and third choice. I'm setting a limit of one shirt plus one pants to start. I would appreciate receiving payment over the summer, as it's on my credit card, but if you need to wait until I give them to you upon arrival here, that's okay. I hope this is helpful to you! Can't wait for you to get here!

Hi Guys

Hi everyone, My name is James VanderVeen and I come from a small town in Ontario called Schomberg. Famous for it's anual fair and a top 25 finisher in Canadian idol. Just a little back ground, don't want to give too much away. grew up in a christian home. loving family, been super blessed that way. got involved in camp as a camper and counsellor and saw God do some amazing things in my life through that. I graduated from Toronto District Christian HS in 2008 and a spent this past year working and travelling. I'm really looking forward to getting to know all you guys and seeing God do some amazing stuff this year.  see you soon, james

SUMMER TIME

I have noticed a trend as of late... and that would be that nobody is putting anything up on here, so i thought i would start a new trend. post things! Is everyone excited for summer? going to Kaleo? REALLY SOON :) well i am. this summer i found a job working at a day camp in my neighborhood (spelling?) which is the best paying camp i have ever worked at... they actually pay minimum wage ! so i was pretty excited about that. um i think i am also going to be playing beach volleyball in the ova so if anyone else in ontario is doing that or anyone is going to nationals let me know and i will try to look for you. well thats pretty much my summer cant wait to see you guys
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
(there is two T's in my name how owuld i go about doing that if i wrote my name like this?)

Wonderful Thailand

Hey Kaleos! I wanted to share a couple of photos from my adventure with you - what an adventure it was! Thank you for your prayers, God was so evidently with us, teaching us, helping us.
Can I encourage you to pray for these faces, and places?

This little man on the left is autistic, and his friend there, I think thinks he's a superhero. I got to play with these kids for a couple of hours while their parents were at church. The boy on the left, when I was showing him how to use my camera, took the most beautiful picture of the entire trip - just ask Jim Badke.

This is Ngaam, another girl from Sunday school. Her name translates to mean "beautiful", and well, isn't she?! She's a really special lady - if you met her, she'd probably give you a flower bud, it's kind of her thing.

These treasures live in a community of houses that were built for families whose homes were destroyed in the tsunami. After all that devastation, they still have the most profound sense of joy and love that I've ever seen.

These girls were in the tsunami aswell, but can't you just feel their joy?

An out the window shot on our travels, a little taste of driving through Phuket.

Blessings of hope in your hearts,

Laur