and by full, i mean full of grace.
today, i got to have a skype chat with something like 9 different Kaleos. best ever. and got to have 3 of them over here. it makes me so happy.
it's been really hard being home. i just miss my Kaleo family a lot. So it's been really good today to have them around and to talk to.
on the side of the lies that were attacking me, they're not as prevalent as i fit back into life here at home. Kaleo was amazing, but now I gotta find/make my own Kaleo.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
can't believe it.
well, i'm home now. this year has come to a close. it's crazy to think that Kaleo is over. and it hurts. but God is good, and it is good that we leave Kaleo. i didn't expect them to become such a part of me. but they have. and i am so thankful.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
all of a sudden...
Today marks a week until we all leave for good. Wow. I can't believe it's so soon.
I was just looking through the end of the K7 yearbook and it almost made me cry. Kaleo is ending soon. Soon, I won't have these people just across the hallway or just downstairs. Soon, we go back into the world, and literally fan out across the country.
While I am excited to go back home, I am not quite ready to let these dear ones go.
I actually feel like I'm going to cry.
I was just looking through the end of the K7 yearbook and it almost made me cry. Kaleo is ending soon. Soon, I won't have these people just across the hallway or just downstairs. Soon, we go back into the world, and literally fan out across the country.
While I am excited to go back home, I am not quite ready to let these dear ones go.
I actually feel like I'm going to cry.
Monday, March 21, 2011
forgive me!
I've missed the past couple of weeks! It's been a good couple of weeks though. I actually got back from Argentina today. Let me just say that it was a LOT of traveling. But oh so worth it. What that also means is that this may not be the most coherent or grammatically correct blog post I've done.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this trip before I went. I knew that we'd be working with third culture kids (TCKs) who are kids are not Argentine by birth and are in Argentina because of family situations whether it be parents at an embassy or being half-Argentine and only raised partially in Argentina. We knew that we'd be putting on a retreat for them, but I didn't expect it to turn out as it did.
It was wonderfully. I thought that because they often have a lot (their families are often well off) that they'd find the games and such that we did lame, but they threw their all into everything we gave them and they just had so much energy. That in turn gave our team energy and it was such a fun weekend.
Before I left I was concerned because I was the only girl Kaleo on this ministry trip, but it turned out so well. At the retreat, I got to meet a few girls closer to my age and bond with them in a way I might not have had the chance to if there were other girl Kaleos for me to turn to for hanging out. I made new friends and these girls (and all the kids) have imprinted themselves on my heart.
A really cool moment at the retreat was being able to be out in a big field and just lay there and look at the stars. There was a big group of us and we had our heads sort of all directed towards the middle and just talked of the magnificence of God. To be outside with a group of teens who really don't often get a chance to get out of the city and get to experience God's creation in such a cool way was so amazing. And the stars were out in all their brilliance. And as we laid there staring at the stars, we saw 2 shooting stars! We sang our hearts out to the Lord and I know that He took joy in that sweet sound (even though most of us had lost our voices).
Also as a part of this trip, we got to work at a community center in Buenos Aires called Conviven. Conviven means living together. This ministry is so great. They are not affiliated with any church, but I believe that the man who runs it is a believer. This community center is right next to what is called a villa (pronounced vizha in Castellano, the form of Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires). A villa is what we would know as a barrio or a ghetto. So this center has people coming from there and they have to opportunity to take computer classes, or English classes, or even photography classes. There are many more things that this center does and they don't have much to run it on. So part of our ministry was to go and help them out with an odd job or two. We ended up painting their computer room. The colour we painted it was yellow but the shade was called Shooting Stars. When the name was seen by those who were buying the paint, they had to get that one. It was super cool to see them be so blessed by that simple act of painting a room. The computer teacher was floored. And afterwards, we prayed over the room. The teacher wasn't a Christian but we got an email later saying that he liked the passion behind our prayers and was really grateful and moved.
I will post more later, but right now, I'm fading.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this trip before I went. I knew that we'd be working with third culture kids (TCKs) who are kids are not Argentine by birth and are in Argentina because of family situations whether it be parents at an embassy or being half-Argentine and only raised partially in Argentina. We knew that we'd be putting on a retreat for them, but I didn't expect it to turn out as it did.
It was wonderfully. I thought that because they often have a lot (their families are often well off) that they'd find the games and such that we did lame, but they threw their all into everything we gave them and they just had so much energy. That in turn gave our team energy and it was such a fun weekend.
Before I left I was concerned because I was the only girl Kaleo on this ministry trip, but it turned out so well. At the retreat, I got to meet a few girls closer to my age and bond with them in a way I might not have had the chance to if there were other girl Kaleos for me to turn to for hanging out. I made new friends and these girls (and all the kids) have imprinted themselves on my heart.
A really cool moment at the retreat was being able to be out in a big field and just lay there and look at the stars. There was a big group of us and we had our heads sort of all directed towards the middle and just talked of the magnificence of God. To be outside with a group of teens who really don't often get a chance to get out of the city and get to experience God's creation in such a cool way was so amazing. And the stars were out in all their brilliance. And as we laid there staring at the stars, we saw 2 shooting stars! We sang our hearts out to the Lord and I know that He took joy in that sweet sound (even though most of us had lost our voices).
Also as a part of this trip, we got to work at a community center in Buenos Aires called Conviven. Conviven means living together. This ministry is so great. They are not affiliated with any church, but I believe that the man who runs it is a believer. This community center is right next to what is called a villa (pronounced vizha in Castellano, the form of Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires). A villa is what we would know as a barrio or a ghetto. So this center has people coming from there and they have to opportunity to take computer classes, or English classes, or even photography classes. There are many more things that this center does and they don't have much to run it on. So part of our ministry was to go and help them out with an odd job or two. We ended up painting their computer room. The colour we painted it was yellow but the shade was called Shooting Stars. When the name was seen by those who were buying the paint, they had to get that one. It was super cool to see them be so blessed by that simple act of painting a room. The computer teacher was floored. And afterwards, we prayed over the room. The teacher wasn't a Christian but we got an email later saying that he liked the passion behind our prayers and was really grateful and moved.
I will post more later, but right now, I'm fading.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
i wonder if i can do a post in twenty minutes that sums up how i'm feeling...
This afternoon and evening were great. I loved today.
I feel like I learned so much that I don't know if I took it all in to the fullest extent. But maybe that's because I wasn't meant to retain it. Maybe it's not right for this time. But I got glimpses of so much I can learn today.
I got to hang out with such a cool couple today named Jay and Michelle. Honestly, both of them impacted me with their words and the way they do life in the amount of time I spent with them. Jay has incredible wisdom and is able to articulate it well and his words stick, at least in my mind. He said some great things about resting in God and how bringing God glory brings true rest in Him because that spirit of restlessness is done away with in His presence. And he shared this quote:
The life of man upon the earth is a life away from the Presence , wrenched loose from that "blissful center" which is our right and proper dwelling place, our first estate which we kept not , the loss of which is the cause of our unceasing restlessness.
--A.W. Tozer
How true this is. When we are in His presence, we are at rest. And so this applies to me as I learn to rest.
And then tonight as we (Anna, Janet, and I) hung out with Michelle, Michelle said something in a prayer that really snagged my attention. She said, "Thank you that we have never gone hungry. If we've been hungry, it's been by choice." There are so many in this world who cannot say that. And it blows my mind. I knew I always had food but I didn't realize that I had never gone hungry. There's so much power in those words. It just really hit me. And then we just had amazing conversation. It was wonderful. A much needed night in a very emotional day.
I then came back and had a conversation with Janet which was really good. It was cut short by a mix up, but still so good. I'm still learning grace. Praise the Lord.
And no, I cannot do a blog post in 20 minutes.
I feel like I learned so much that I don't know if I took it all in to the fullest extent. But maybe that's because I wasn't meant to retain it. Maybe it's not right for this time. But I got glimpses of so much I can learn today.
I got to hang out with such a cool couple today named Jay and Michelle. Honestly, both of them impacted me with their words and the way they do life in the amount of time I spent with them. Jay has incredible wisdom and is able to articulate it well and his words stick, at least in my mind. He said some great things about resting in God and how bringing God glory brings true rest in Him because that spirit of restlessness is done away with in His presence. And he shared this quote:
The life of man upon the earth is a life away from the Presence , wrenched loose from that "blissful center" which is our right and proper dwelling place, our first estate which we kept not , the loss of which is the cause of our unceasing restlessness.
--A.W. Tozer
How true this is. When we are in His presence, we are at rest. And so this applies to me as I learn to rest.
And then tonight as we (Anna, Janet, and I) hung out with Michelle, Michelle said something in a prayer that really snagged my attention. She said, "Thank you that we have never gone hungry. If we've been hungry, it's been by choice." There are so many in this world who cannot say that. And it blows my mind. I knew I always had food but I didn't realize that I had never gone hungry. There's so much power in those words. It just really hit me. And then we just had amazing conversation. It was wonderful. A much needed night in a very emotional day.
I then came back and had a conversation with Janet which was really good. It was cut short by a mix up, but still so good. I'm still learning grace. Praise the Lord.
And no, I cannot do a blog post in 20 minutes.
Friday, February 25, 2011
it's late, i know.
So this post is most definitely late, but oh well. I don't even know where to begin on this one...
So the day after I posted my last blog, I went home for a week! This was honestly such a wonderful time. It was great to reconnect with people and see where they were at. I got to have some great conversations with good friends about how they were doing in the Lord and the things that they were learning about God through their present experiences in life. And I also got to share what I am learning as well as learn from them. As always, I got to see my best friend, Alanna, and this was a much needed time. I just love hanging out with her and bouncing ideas and thoughts and such off of her. We always have wonderful conversations that end with me being challenged and her being challenged. It was great to see her because originally, I thought I wouldn't see her this break. However, she was having a hang out with another of my best friends and I ended up surprising the other friend, Elya, who had no idea that I was home by showing up at the hang out. She almost cried. It was brilliant! As well, I got to hang out with my friend Leslie at her place and one of her roommates, Lonnie, is a friend of mine as well so I got to see them and laugh hysterically with them (more like watch them laugh hysterically, repeatedly), and just catch up on life.
Another cool thing that happened this break was that the friend I mentioned above, Elya, got engaged! It was really sweet to be at home when this happened cause whenever anything in her relationship has happened, I've been at camp. This time though, the big one, I was home!! YAY! So now we're in wedding planning mode and it's really cool to see how a wedding comes together!
I feel like this week wasn't super spiritually charged. I think that's a problem cause I feel like that happens when I go home on break. And so I think I'm a bit concerned that this will happen when I go home for good. I really hope not.
Something I did do, though, is make a decision about next year. I have been waffling for so long, but I think that as long as I get accepted, I'm going to go to UBC next year. I had so hoped that I could go to Briercrest, but I think I realized that I was mainly going for the community (which is not a bad thing), and something that Jim talks about here is each of us finding or creating another Kaleo when we leave. I think that it is important that I create or become a part of a good, Christian community at home and pour myself into that and not just go where I think it'll be easier to create that because I already know people and such. As well, being at a secular university will give me a missions field to work on right from the get go. And I get to stay home and be with friends and see what home holds for next year! I'm really excited about it but also kind of scared that I'm making the wrong choice. I think that I just have to have faith that the Lord will make it clear if it is wrong, but that I need to proceed faithfully. God will work wherever I am!
Huh, I guess there was a bit of spiritualness to my break...
Prayer request time!!
Please pray for the Kaleo leader, Jim, and his family. His father has just passed away so they are dealing with the loss right now and adjustments that need to be made.
Please be in prayer for my trip to Argentina (and the other missions trips too). We leave in about a week and a half for Argentina and India, and two weeks for Vancouver/Ucluelet. I definitely just realized that I leave a week from Monday and now I'm a little anxious that I am not prepared so please pray for that. Pray for unity for the teams and for hearts to be prepared both in the Kaleos and in those that we will encounter
Please pray for us as this year is coming to an end. Pray that we would be able to finish well and be the community that God wants us to be. Pray that we wouldn't squander this time but that we would cherish it and be thankful for it and use it to the fullest.
Thank you so much!
Blessings,
Holly =)
So the day after I posted my last blog, I went home for a week! This was honestly such a wonderful time. It was great to reconnect with people and see where they were at. I got to have some great conversations with good friends about how they were doing in the Lord and the things that they were learning about God through their present experiences in life. And I also got to share what I am learning as well as learn from them. As always, I got to see my best friend, Alanna, and this was a much needed time. I just love hanging out with her and bouncing ideas and thoughts and such off of her. We always have wonderful conversations that end with me being challenged and her being challenged. It was great to see her because originally, I thought I wouldn't see her this break. However, she was having a hang out with another of my best friends and I ended up surprising the other friend, Elya, who had no idea that I was home by showing up at the hang out. She almost cried. It was brilliant! As well, I got to hang out with my friend Leslie at her place and one of her roommates, Lonnie, is a friend of mine as well so I got to see them and laugh hysterically with them (more like watch them laugh hysterically, repeatedly), and just catch up on life.
Another cool thing that happened this break was that the friend I mentioned above, Elya, got engaged! It was really sweet to be at home when this happened cause whenever anything in her relationship has happened, I've been at camp. This time though, the big one, I was home!! YAY! So now we're in wedding planning mode and it's really cool to see how a wedding comes together!
I feel like this week wasn't super spiritually charged. I think that's a problem cause I feel like that happens when I go home on break. And so I think I'm a bit concerned that this will happen when I go home for good. I really hope not.
Something I did do, though, is make a decision about next year. I have been waffling for so long, but I think that as long as I get accepted, I'm going to go to UBC next year. I had so hoped that I could go to Briercrest, but I think I realized that I was mainly going for the community (which is not a bad thing), and something that Jim talks about here is each of us finding or creating another Kaleo when we leave. I think that it is important that I create or become a part of a good, Christian community at home and pour myself into that and not just go where I think it'll be easier to create that because I already know people and such. As well, being at a secular university will give me a missions field to work on right from the get go. And I get to stay home and be with friends and see what home holds for next year! I'm really excited about it but also kind of scared that I'm making the wrong choice. I think that I just have to have faith that the Lord will make it clear if it is wrong, but that I need to proceed faithfully. God will work wherever I am!
Huh, I guess there was a bit of spiritualness to my break...
Prayer request time!!
Please pray for the Kaleo leader, Jim, and his family. His father has just passed away so they are dealing with the loss right now and adjustments that need to be made.
Please be in prayer for my trip to Argentina (and the other missions trips too). We leave in about a week and a half for Argentina and India, and two weeks for Vancouver/Ucluelet. I definitely just realized that I leave a week from Monday and now I'm a little anxious that I am not prepared so please pray for that. Pray for unity for the teams and for hearts to be prepared both in the Kaleos and in those that we will encounter
Please pray for us as this year is coming to an end. Pray that we would be able to finish well and be the community that God wants us to be. Pray that we wouldn't squander this time but that we would cherish it and be thankful for it and use it to the fullest.
Thank you so much!
Blessings,
Holly =)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
...back to my first love.
It's been a good week. I want to start by saying that. It was kind of a class week in that we had class for only half the week. We did Camp Ministry, which, to be honest, was kind of boring. I say that because though I understand the usefulness of what we learned, I felt like I was just learning something I already knew. So that was Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
However, on Thursday, I went to Victoria with some Kaleo girls to see a debate at the University of Victoria on whether we need God for morality. This was between a professor of apologetics/ethics/philosophy at Trinity Western and a professor of philosophy at the University of Victoria. It was a really good debate. Something I did notice, though, is that the UVic professor took the stance that morality exists because we know that there is value in humans and so we shouldn't do anything against other humans. But he refused to acknowledge, or even answer the question of, where we get our value. He claimed that it is intrinsic, yet didn't say why. This was a wonderful reminder that though the world may try to explain away the necessity of God, we not only need Him, but are built to need Him and have some of His core values built into us even when we aren't walking with Him. We are created in His image and have worth because of that, even when we don't acknowledge that this is the reason for the worth of a human life.
A passage that came to mind when going to this debate was:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe . . . For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength . . . But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 25, 27-30
God is so much higher than us and though we may think we are so wise and have the world figured out, He makes our wisest wisdom seem like foolishness. And His foolishness is wiser than our wisest wisdom!
This week was also really good because I got to lead worship for the first time in front of a church on Sunday. I loved it! I love to sing and I'm trying to learn to play guitar and so to bring those two things together for the glory of God brings me so much joy. As well, I did a fundraiser for my trip to Argentina and we raised a good chunk of what I needed. I found out today that all my money has been raised and I am definitely headed to Argentina!!!
Thank you for all those who contributed! God definitely used you in my life!
As well this week was a ministry team overnighter! So the 4 guys on my team (Matt, Mike, Michael, and Steve) and I headed down to Victoria to meet up at our team leader's (Melissa) house and chill for the night. It was a sweet time of bonding and eating and planning for our trip. As we planned, it became more real that we indeed were going to Argentina! I'm so excited.
This trip was also really good for me because it helped alleviate my concerns about being the only girl Kaleo on the team. I really got to bond with the guys and they were really sweet about treating me with preference because I was the only girl. And on Valentine's Day, they each spent $5 and bought me a gift! It was so cute! This is gonna be a great trip. God is gonna do some cool things in us and through us. And He's definitely going to teach me patience.
Something that I thought about this Valentine's Day that I hadn't thought about before was realizing again my first love. I wasn't with a significant other on Valentine's Day and I realized that I didn't need to be (though it would have been nice). But why shouldn't I celebrate the love that I have in God? This is definitely worth celebrating any day of the year. So that's what I tried to remember yesterday =)
God is doing some really cool things right now in my life. In the post before my last one, I talked about surrendering something to God. Well, He is still teaching about trusting Him but He is not just leaving me to it. God has just shown me that this is right for right now and He is bringing good from it. I still cling to those verses I shared with you last time.
I am now off to finish a paper and then on to reading break for the next week or so! I'm very excited to be home for a while!
Please continue to pray that I will trust God with everything, big and small.
However, on Thursday, I went to Victoria with some Kaleo girls to see a debate at the University of Victoria on whether we need God for morality. This was between a professor of apologetics/ethics/philosophy at Trinity Western and a professor of philosophy at the University of Victoria. It was a really good debate. Something I did notice, though, is that the UVic professor took the stance that morality exists because we know that there is value in humans and so we shouldn't do anything against other humans. But he refused to acknowledge, or even answer the question of, where we get our value. He claimed that it is intrinsic, yet didn't say why. This was a wonderful reminder that though the world may try to explain away the necessity of God, we not only need Him, but are built to need Him and have some of His core values built into us even when we aren't walking with Him. We are created in His image and have worth because of that, even when we don't acknowledge that this is the reason for the worth of a human life.
A passage that came to mind when going to this debate was:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe . . . For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength . . . But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 25, 27-30
God is so much higher than us and though we may think we are so wise and have the world figured out, He makes our wisest wisdom seem like foolishness. And His foolishness is wiser than our wisest wisdom!
This week was also really good because I got to lead worship for the first time in front of a church on Sunday. I loved it! I love to sing and I'm trying to learn to play guitar and so to bring those two things together for the glory of God brings me so much joy. As well, I did a fundraiser for my trip to Argentina and we raised a good chunk of what I needed. I found out today that all my money has been raised and I am definitely headed to Argentina!!!
Thank you for all those who contributed! God definitely used you in my life!
As well this week was a ministry team overnighter! So the 4 guys on my team (Matt, Mike, Michael, and Steve) and I headed down to Victoria to meet up at our team leader's (Melissa) house and chill for the night. It was a sweet time of bonding and eating and planning for our trip. As we planned, it became more real that we indeed were going to Argentina! I'm so excited.
This trip was also really good for me because it helped alleviate my concerns about being the only girl Kaleo on the team. I really got to bond with the guys and they were really sweet about treating me with preference because I was the only girl. And on Valentine's Day, they each spent $5 and bought me a gift! It was so cute! This is gonna be a great trip. God is gonna do some cool things in us and through us. And He's definitely going to teach me patience.
Something that I thought about this Valentine's Day that I hadn't thought about before was realizing again my first love. I wasn't with a significant other on Valentine's Day and I realized that I didn't need to be (though it would have been nice). But why shouldn't I celebrate the love that I have in God? This is definitely worth celebrating any day of the year. So that's what I tried to remember yesterday =)
God is doing some really cool things right now in my life. In the post before my last one, I talked about surrendering something to God. Well, He is still teaching about trusting Him but He is not just leaving me to it. God has just shown me that this is right for right now and He is bringing good from it. I still cling to those verses I shared with you last time.
I am now off to finish a paper and then on to reading break for the next week or so! I'm very excited to be home for a while!
Please continue to pray that I will trust God with everything, big and small.
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