Happy Birthday Dear Claire Bear!

Update from Copper Canyon... en fotos!!

Claire holding a wee one











Mark cutting up our dinner (you can see the pig's head in the background)







Riding on the back of the truck (it was cold!)











Chris pushing some kids on the swings in WaWaChique






Food Distribution Day (Bob is filling sacks with food)











The Team with Pastor and Brenda








Kristie and Sandra (Director of the Boarding School)

Soaring on Wings of Eagles

I am filled with a lot of joy right now as I sit down and try and record all the answers to prayer and all the ways that we have seen God move in the past week or so. I want to share with you the incredible story that we have been part of that has really taken shape in the past couple of days. As some of you may know, things here at the Olympics have been going great. The Kaleo group is known and well liked by the workforce and we have been given some great opportunities to serve and to love other simply for the sake of loving them. We have been blessed with incredible energy and excitement, however over the past couple days, as a group our focus has shifted. Jim described like we were little kids paddling in a canoe, but not really going anywhere. We had grown weary. Our attitudes changed from being in God's will to being at work. I personally have found it very difficult to pray and go out of my way to start conversations with others and I know that others experience this too. We had a great chapel the other night addressing this and the main verse that we looked to was Isaiah 40:31 which says that those who hope (or wait) on the Lord will renew their strength. I know that many people were praying and have been praying for us even over these past couple of days. We asked that God would open up our eyes to the things that he is doing, in the same way that Elisha’s servant’s eyes were open to God’s angels surrounding the hills. We asked for strenght and energy to get through the days. We asked that God’s truth and his words would be constantly on our lips, and we would be eager to spread those words of life to all that we encounter. We also asked that our perspective would change to one that is hopeful and full of trust and anticipation of how God will show us why we are here today. Going into today had a totally different feel to it than the other days. We were hopeful, eagerly waiting for God to make himself known at the Olympics, similar to a hungry obedient dog sitting and waiting for the command from his master to go ahead and eat. Let me share about my experiences today, which are only some of the many that were shared as Kaleo.

This morning, my position took me to a spot where I was all by myself monitoring a path that served no purpose. The entire morning though was filled with prayer. I found myself having words to pray again, and things to be hopeful for and request to bring before the Father. As I went into break, I sat beside one of the head honchos of the venue, a guy named P. I enjoy P., he is full of energy and is genuine. As I sat beside him, he encouraged me saying that everyone from Kaleo is doing an incredible job here at the olympics and that everyone notices that there is something different about us. He said that to wake up at 4 in the morning and be full of life is evident that we have something driving us and it motivates and encourages all the workers. His exact words were that we are being excellent “ambassadors” and “missionaries” here at the Olympics! I was able to bring encouragement to him as I have noticed something different about him compared to the others that he works with and I told him that. Maybe he shares the same hope that we have.

So the morning was full of prayer, the afternoon was full of opportunity. I talked with another supervisor, D., and he was just going on about how great the bible college group was. He said that he goes around telling people that he would take all of the bible school kids to be on his crew any day. He encouraged me by saying that we want to be there, and we are a pleasure to work with and that we are making a difference. So those two conversations helped to renew my hope that God is working through us and is using us collectively, as his church here at the Whistler Olympic Park.

I got moved into a security tent were I was working alongside two people in their twenties, a guy and a girl who were totally into the party scene in Whistler and lived to get through the day and party hard through the night. The one guy told me that I could consider him to be an alcoholic. Bible school came up on conversation and I felt like this was my time to be bold in my conversation so after we talked a bit about theology I asked them what they believed. The girl said that she believed in Jesus, and God and Joseph and stuff, so I kept prying a bit more, and asked how that impacts her life. It turns out that I had the opportunity to share the entire gospel message to the two of them, plus about another two workers who were listening in on the side. Please pray for them as God has planted some seeds in their heart. Pray that others would come and water it and that the truth that was spoken to them today would run through their mind daily. Even though they were a bit hesitant when they first found out I was a Christian, they were genuinely interested in what I had to say and I could tell that it intrigued them. When they left as their shift ended, a guy named A. replaced them and he was from Haiti. We had a great conversation about Haiti but once again, Jesus came up in conversation. Turns out he was a baptist that didn’t really go to church anymore. I felt like again, I needed to be bold with him, so I asked him if he was still being filled up. Not really knowing what this meant, I elaborated and explained the need to be reading his word daily. He explained that he didn’t have a bible and wasn’t getting filled up anymore. It just so happened that I had a New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs bible in my bag that I carried around just in case I ever needed one to reference or even to give away. I gave him this bible and he was grateful to receive it. Along with it I gave him the verse John 10:10 which has been on my heart for the past several days. He said something like, “How cool is this! We just met a little while ago and now we are talking to each other about Jesus! I have a friend who also talks to me about Jesus!” He seemed pretty pleased to have his own bible and I am really pleased to have been able to give him one.

This has been an incredible day. Tonight was a night of great rejoicing in answer to prayer and excitement to see God at work through us. Again, this is simply my own experience of today, the night was full of other stories of how we are being, according to P., ambassadors for Christ here at the Olympics.

Keep praying and hoping for big things.

Up Early (The Olympic Team All Laughed!)

SURPRISE!!! We're here in the Canyon at the school in Q. We thought we might not have internet but we DO and are so eager to share and ask for continued prayer.

The hike yesterday went well! It took us about 4 1/2 hours to get in. Was definitely tiring and stretching for each of us in a different way but was a great experience. Mark and Chris also had an enjoyable little swim in the river... as they tried to be adventuresome and cross it by foot instead of the cable car! We were all excited to see the kids when we finally arrived in G. So many beautiful children!! They are so beautiful and love to laugh and have fun playing any sort of game, whether it is one that they teach us, or we teach them. We played a version of soccer, Kristie taught them how to play "What time is it Mr. Wolf," and Claire got to hold the most beautiful baby. In the evening Pastor T. gave a message, challenging the people to live in freedom. We ended the day with a time of reading the Psalms outside under the stars. Simply Beautiful!

Today (Friday) we were up early. Started working at 7am loading up old flour sacks with sand and gravel and carrying them a few hundred yards down a slippery little "trail" to where they were mixing cement for a fish pond (Kristie helped with the mixing). There are two guys who have come from J. to oversee the project and we are definitely glad that they are here to provide direction! We had breakfast at 9am and then started getting ready for the food distribution.

People will walk for days to come and receive the provisions that Pastor T. monthly provides. Before the distribution Pastor gave a another word to the people, challenging them to live lives that please God. Kristie gave a short word of greeting and blessing to the people. From there, we measured beans, flour, and sugar from large sacks into smaller bags, and then we got in a line and put the other items into bags as the people came along. These people, although obviously poor and primitive, were dressed in their best. The women quietly talked among themselves as they nursed their babies and sat away from the cookhouse. The men stood lined up, chatting amongst themselves, wearing their white cowboy hats, much like Pastor's. By God's provision, we were able to give out 100 bags of food. Praise the Lord!

The kids have now gone home for Saturday and Sunday and so it is a little quiet around here. Looking forward to more cementing tomorrow, and then church and possible a hike to another village on Sunday. On  Monday we resume working and hope to have some fun with the kids.

Please pray that the people would continue to open their hearts to us as we seek to interact with them.
Pray for the ability to communicate in Espanol.
Pray for Kristie's shoulder (it's pretty sore from today).
Pray for protection, both physical and spiritual.
Pray most of all that we would walk in the fullness of what God has called us to in this place for this time.
Pray that these people would walk WITH God... Isaiah 61:11

Thank you. God bless.

From Chris and Kristie (on behalf of the team... the rest are outside chatting with the people.)

10 More Days of Opportunity!

In some ways it seems like we have always lived in Squamish, always slept on thermorests, always woke up at 3:45 AM to get on a bus to Whistler (or got back from Whistler late at night), and spent days off hiking or hanging out at the church or at Starbucks. In other ways, it is hard to believe we are nearing the midway mark of our time here.

Every day, students have so many opportunities to serve, love and carry on conversation with people from all over the world. They bring back their names and we pray for them, including some people of influence in this world. On top of it all, we see individual students changing and maturing in their faith and confidence and leadership, and coming together as a community in significant ways. And we still have time for more.

Thank you for your prayers for us! We are so grateful to be here.

Bright Orange and Yellow

Time is FLYING!! I can´t believe how much we´ve done and seen already! And how much Spanish we´ve learned as well.
 
We arrived at the Base Camp monday evening and began early Tuesday morning with a painting project. We painted the chapel and the dining hall, both at the camp, the typical Mexican bright orange and YELLOW. They look fabulous!


Last night after painting we had the blessing of hearing Pastor T´s story. Seems like the Lord has been speaking into all of our lives about what it means to live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7 and Hebrews 11). Pastor´s story resonated deep in our hearts as he told of miracle after miracle of how God has provided after he has stepped out in faith. The very fact that we are here this month to help with the food distribution is provision from the Lord and we can tell that they are very thankful.
 
Today we drove 5 hours into the small city and tourist hub of C. We spent the afternoon shopping and writing to YOU!! Tonight we dine at Pollo Giordito (CHICKEN!!!). We are hoping for good sleeps at our hotel to prepare us for a day of hiking.
 
Tomorrow we hike into the canyon. Pray for strength, joy as we journey, prayerful hearts, and protection.
 
We are so blessed to be safe, well fed, healthy, and strong (especially Bob).
 
We hope to touch base with you again while in the Canyon, but if not... no news is good news. We are eager to bless the children and love on the people there. We are praying for God to break through to their hearts because of our willingness to shine His light. We look forward to declaring His glory to you when we journey back. Isaiah 61:11.

Posted for Kristie

The Hope Within Them

No word from Mexico today, which was expected.

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

Wow, the venues at the Olympic Park and Sliding Centre are definitely aware of the hope within these students. They describe it as "spirit" and "energy" and "joy." And they are asking about it. Thank you for your prayers!


Others were thankful for some rest today (I heard something about 14 hours sleep last night), and the wonder of this place.

Buenos Tardes!

Well, my friends, we (finally) got through the border okay, bags and all, and are now on our way to our destination!! We had a fantastic wait in the airport with our driver, P., and his wife, S. Claire practiced her Spanish on him and soon they were high-fiving and having us all in fits of laughter.
 
We arrived at the Bible College late in the evening. Met B. and were so blessed by their hospitality. We slept SO well last night and are refreshed for another day. We have been very well provided for... even Bob had trouble finishing his meal! (He nods.)
 
Tonight we will arrive in town very late and tomorrow we will be exploring the camp and painting. We hope to hear Pastor T.'s story soon.

Please pray for health and traveling mercies, for great connections with the people and that we would walk in the Spirit each moment.

Posted for Kristie, 14-Feb-10

Settling In But Not Settling For Less

We received word last night that the Mexico Team was finally in El Paso, and though they had a four hour wait for their luggage they still expected to be in Mexico that night. We may not hear from them for a little while until they have Internet access again. They miss the rest of Kaleo but are in good spirits.

On the Olympic side of things, good things are happening: students with opportunities to talk about their faith, meeting influential people such as the President of Poland and the US vice-president (his entourage laughed when Emma asked to see his ID), and lots of athletes including a gold medalist. And crazy things like being asked out by a member of the Canadian bobsled team (she said no). Students have the opportunity to pray for these people of influence who they will now remember a long time.


Probably the best thing that is happening is the students' witness as a community. "Oh, you're one of the Kaleo group! I worked with a few of you this morning." That's a pretty common statement. Kaleo is a visible presence at these venues, and people are aware of the difference in their attitudes and words and actions. Someone asked a student today if she was part of that "Bible school" group and she asked how he knew. He said, "There is a spirit about you." Many of the other workers know that we are followers of Jesus. Some people just end the conversation as soon as they realize the student is a Christian; others are very open to talk. Last night as we met and heard one another's stories, we were challenged to love these people - and some of them don't make it easy - no matter how they respond.

So, we are settling into the routine of very early mornings (it is amazing how silent this place is after 9:00 PM) and riding buses and managing people all day. But we are not settling for simply being appreciated volunteers. Thanks for your prayers for focus and anticipation of what God will do.

Some students had the day off, so we hiked the back side of The Chief, a 600 metre vertical rock near Squamish:

Que Pasa

So the Mexico Team got off to a great start... well, up to Seattle. There they discovered that their flight was canceled and it seemed like there would be no more flights until the next evening and no help from the airline. So we prayed and I am sure Kristie did a little fighting for her team, and now they have meals and a place to stay, and will fly out early tomorrow morning. Maybe they just needed a little more time to rest and grow some memories together, and see what God can do with tough situations! Please keep praying for them! Here it is in Kristie's words:

"So we TRIED to get to Mexico today, but ...well... its a long story. But I guess I have time. We left Coquitlam at 5am this morning. Interstate driving was good. Border crossing went SEEMLESSLY! We had great chats all the way down. Got in early enough to grab Denny's and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Waited for our flight to come. Waited. Continued waiting. Just when we thought we were smooth sailing, the airline announced that due to mechanical difficulties our flight was cancelled. CANCELLED!! So we stood in line to re-book our flight for 2 hours and then stood in another line for about a 1/2 hour until the Lord had mercy (after much praying) and a kind lady rebooked us for a flight out tomorrow. And she booked us in at the Seattle Holiday Inn with free meal/Denny's vouchers... Woohoo!! When we went down to pick up our baggage (long after the carousel had stopped) we were greeted by our ticket agent, a friendly middle-aged man, who greeted us with a smile and waved us right over to where he was guarding it for us. What an angel! We are sad to miss a day in Juarez, especially since we won't be able to catch the Sunday service, but we are thankful that today we have a place to stay, good food in our bellies, and great friends to spend the day with. Hoping for a bit more smooth sailing... but have been blessed to see the Lord move in our midst."

An Olympic Start

We have arrived, picked up bright blue uniforms and huge ID's, watched the (sorry, top secret) dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies, moved into Squamish Baptist Church, received our orientation from the ever-enthusiastic team leader Sorrel, got far too little sleep and set out for the first volunteer shift at the Olympic Park at 4:25 AM this morning. Sorrel called me this morning and said that our Kaleo team is amazing and that everyone is riding on the wave of their enthusiasm. The team arrived back full of excitement and stories of great conversations with people from all over the world.

The Sliding Centre team had the day off today, along with a few from the other team, and explored 1000 foot tall Shannon Falls. Sadly, we also found out that a member of the Georgian Olympic Team died today on the luge course where this team is scheduled to begin tomorrow. We spent time praying today for the Sliding Centre staff and the family of the athlete who died, and we will appreciate your prayers for this team tomorrow, who don't know what to expect there. Thanks so much!

So now we are getting ready to watch the Opening Ceremonies again, this time on a large screen at the church. Can't give anything away, but it was pretty amazing to watch. And it might remind and encourage you to pray for us. Pray especially that we will not lose focus, with all the hugeness of everything happening around us here, and that we will listen to the voice of our Maker here and not miss any opportunity.

Please pray Col. 4:2-6 for us!

HE SAID WHAT?

Some of the finest quotes from Mr. Jim Paulson

· That’s my quick and dirty on doing theology

· Casting demons out of the projector

· Are there demons in your projector?

· That’s a pretty girl, that’s a pretty girl

· I was just really into rocks

· I heard a voice, sounded male, who was it?

· It’s not an undigested piece of beef

· Oh yeah, preach it Jimmy, it’s good

· Goodness Gracious, I have an inborn sense of right and wrong

· I see that buzz in the room every time I say something moderately stupid

· Maybe it’s a bunch of hooey

· Good effort Tommy, good effort, not sure I’m going to take these witnessing with me next week

· YES I SEE THAT HAND!!

· It’s a non-verbal way of saying "watch the clock, Jim"

· I didn’t offend you did I? I was trying to be silly

· MO-MENT, MO-MENT

· We’re loving it! We’re loving it! Mark, Preach it brother

· If I may elaborate on that, let me just say: ditto

· This is where you say: "he’s insane, he crazy"

· I like people to be concerned about me

· We give a rip

· I’m in a happy zone, I say happy way too much lately

· I have so many happy, sorry, juicy notes on this subject

· Juicy, it will be juicy for us today

· (Applause) Back row! Back row!

· Now it’s time to talk about God!

· Now it’s time to talk about the crew chief!

· (about the mobius strip) I don’t ever get it!

· I will never be in the Marv Penner league in terms of coolness

· OK confession time, I like the show Joan of Arcadia

· Did you get any of that on youtube for the kids back home?

· I’m juicily expecting

· What if juicy means something… bad?

· Before I tell you, you should all sit down

· Make a note, don’t try that joke anymore

· Worse case, you’ll be a heretic, and I don’t want that for you and me

· This may be a juice day or a blood day

· Turn of your youtubes or whatever

· We’ll start in the back with group Bo etc.

· The Lord must feel pretty good about his boy Jim

· Carnal Christian: I’m going to heaven I just won’t be at the top of the class

· She really had it figured out, she’s dead now. (about Mother Teresa)

· The raptures gonna HIT before I get my BA

· I think I dosed off in the middle of that and woke up and was like what am I doing?

· It was kind of an X-Files thing – VOOOOT

· And I shall not take my shirt off to show you

· I will choose genuineness Alex, genuineness for 500

· There was nothing like an open dorms night (talking about the tabernacle)

· Team Haley and the justice doers

· It’s the hardest job I do, scrubbing this board; does it scrub hard or easy?

· We inherit the blessings of their bloodbath of figuring this out.

· Talk to me guys, gals... don’t you hate the term gals?

· Did you see that I jumped for joy! I jumped for joy!

· The funk has lifted, if there was a funk

· The silence in the room is different than the silence in the room before lunch when I thought we were all dying

· Take it anywhere you want to knowing I may have a horribly lame answer

· You want some quick and dirty bleeding up here?

· At the dispenser I had a… "I’m gonna get crazy! I’m gonna get crazy" and I went for a Mountain Dew

· I had this crazy notion, live on the wild side

· I’m not the sharpest tack of the tacks in the tack compartment

· I hope I’ll be flooded with friend requests on facebook

· You’re trying to drive me crazy and I admire the effort

· Both camps wear beards

· I keep on watching for hands, but I’ll keep on yammering until I see one

· This is the third time I’ve taught this. I don’t want anyone to think I’ve taught it dozens of times.

· ... When it comes to selling that violin on antiques roadshow

· That was totally a courtesy laugh and I thank you

· I’ve been thoroughly humiliated in the classroom setting before

· It ends bad for him… the lake of fire thing (about the devil)

· The Jim Paulson – Kaitlyn Cey Show did all we could to squeeze some truth out of Jim Paulson’s mouth (about creation “discussion”)

· I hope this won’t mess with keeners like Nate who have already read half the book

· You might find you’re leading a youth group full of sinners

· Sorry, I’m busy right now, I can’t take that (someone's phone ringing in class)

· It feels like an episode of The Office

· I’m not trying to make this a Calvinist thing, Tim is.

· They are happy as clams living their God-rejecting lives

· What I just said was half-baked

· The holy Spirit, in a back-handed way…

· Here’s my best line on the unpardonable sin – Ask Wes

· You won’t be asked to name ten of them. You may be asked to name two of them. I can’t remember

· There are times in my life I think I should go apologize to China

· To China, I’m sorry, if I goofed up your nation, I’m sorry

· We’re totally depraved, Merry Christmas, see you in the new year

· I’ve never seen the movie Natural Born Killers, but I’d like to build off the title of that movie

· I feel for you, I’m just kidding, I’m being silly

· It will be tragically difficult! (if you didn’t study for the exam)

· Cool!

· He’s all moist with perspiration!!

In the case you missed it...

These are photos of this mornings sunrise 040210

Rush Of Love.

I just wanted to let you all know that I love you. Very much. As I sat in the back of class today I was looking around at all of you and I got that little tug in my stomach that moved up to my heart and I got so happy. As my means of expressing affection can often be violent at times I opted to write how thankful I am for each and everyone of you instead of biting you arm or punching it. Anyways I'm glad that I get to be in your life and I am so thankful that God has placed you in mine, the things I am learning from each of you is life changing. Thank you for growing with me, and for being you. Even though this year is flying by I am so pumped that I still three months with you guys.

LOVE YOU!!

Abby