guess I might as well keep posting...

Funny, I wasn't going to post through Christmas break, yet here I am doing my second post of the break!

Christmas was great! It was super chill, low-key, wonderful. I got to spend some time with family that I hadn't seen in a while as well as getting an email from someone that I didn't expect an email from. So good.

I'm super stoked at the moment because a friend that I did CIT with, Jess, is visiting Canada from New Zealand and is staying at my house for a bit =) It's been really cool so far to catch up with her and stuff!

I must admit: I'm super stoked for Kaleo to start again.

i know i said i was peacing it...

Hello!

Oh man, it's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas, everyone!

This break has been going well! I have gotten the chance to surprise 3 different people since I've been home and it was so fun! (Completely unrelated, but I have finished every sentence with an exclamation mark up til this point. Oi.) I love surprising people. It's one of the best parts of coming home after being away for school.

I discovered when I got home that things were not as they were when I left. Some are good changes, some not so good. Friends going through hard times, some hurts with other friends (but thank the Lord for healing!), and some wonderful things for other friends. Yet, God has His hand on it all.

I just wanted to thank everyone who reads this for your prayers! I really appreciate them!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Holly

last days.

So today is the last full day for this semester and it has been wonderful.

It was Kaleo Christmas this morning so each of us got a name and we did a Secret Santa dealio. It was really cool seeing what everybody got for each other and the thought that was put into (most of) the gifts. For the most part, people tried to match the personalities that they were buying for. I got a gift card from Starbucks! I really enjoyed giving the gift that I'd gotten for my Secret Santa. I was so excited for him to get it!

I am looking forward to this break, but I'm also really nervous about it. God has done some good things in me this week. I have realized that I am the one that Jesus loves and for the first time ever, that is enough for me. I don't know why I'm nervous to go home, but I hope that these things that I've learned will stay with me when I'm at home and I will come back here refreshed and rejuvenated.

I'm stoked to see my mom and all my friends!

So here's where I peace it! Talk to you in the New Year!

Many blessings for this Christmas season,
Holly

ready for home.

Oh man, this past week was pretty great. We had an awesome class called Foundations of Church Ministry and I learned a lot about the church, what I can do for my pastors, and my role within the Church as a whole. I was studying for my final exam which is in approx. 12 hours and I realized I hadn't written this post yet, so here I am!

We had a chapel at the end of the week and it was a bit of a confession time and I let everyone know how I was feeling and how I needed to do better in regards to them. And then I left for the weekend!

I went home this weekend for a friend's birthday party and it was such a good break. I got to see those that I am most comfortable with, those whom I can be Holly with and I did just that. I wasn't really inhibited but was the same person I am used to being normally. I don't think I have completely been her here at Kaleo. Hopefully, I will be able to be next semester. I also started making plans for Christmas break with friends at home and I can't wait to be back at home! 1 more week!

Today was a good day. We went to a place called Wildplay that has a whole bunch of elements to climb up and over and such, with a whole bunch of ziplines thrown in for good measure. For those of you who know some of my fears, a fear of heights is one of them. This was big for me. I wasn't too freaked out, but neither was I too willing to go bungee jumping, for which my name was drawn. Someone else went in my place. I just can't do the stomach drop feeling. Maybe one day...

Now comes a final exam, two papers, and then CHRISTMAS!! YAY!

Please pray that we would finish the semester well.

God knows what I need. You know what I need.

He does. He knows exactly what I need.

Lately, I've been struggling with this fact. I call it fact because I know it's true, but it's a hard head-heart connection to make. I've been feeling like I need something, but then I don't get it and I go, "Lord, I thought You knew what I needed. This is what I need...." Still, it doesn't happen. I'm just waiting until I have a heart change. I want so badly to have what God wants for me. I want to feel like I need what He knows I need, not what I think I need.

This week has been filled with papers and homework and stuff like that. It's kind of sucked, but at the same time, I'm learning things that I didn't know before.

I'm also learning to trust. And not to trust when it's easy, but when it's hard and I don't want to trust people. Something that Jim reminded me of in a prayer this week is that love trusts. When I heard that, I went, "Crap. I gotta trust the people here. If I am saying I love them, then I need to show them that by trusting them." So I'm learning to trust.

Another thing that I've been discovering is that what I had planned for this year is pretty different from what the Lord had planned for this year. He's changing up what I thought would happen. I have been disappointed, hurt, and broken. But I think that slowly, I'm letting go of the disappointment, of the hurt, and I'm being put back together again. But it still sucks sometimes and it's really difficult and it's pushing me out of my comfort zone so much.

So that doesn't cover so much the events of this week, but it's what I've been learning.

Please pray for me. Also, please pray for a couple of the Kaleo girls who were in a car accident last night. They are doing okay, but they're in pain.

Thanks, everyone.

so tired.

Hello!!

Well, this past week was a doozy. I was sick for most/all of it, but I also had to write a paper... Oh my word, that paper was the WORST. To top it off, I have to write another one this week... Oi.

A cool thing about last week though, was 24/7 Prayer Week. For every hour of the past week, there has been somebody praying in a room that was set aside specifically for this. It was really cool to see the stark honesty displayed in this room. We had paper everywhere to write on and window markers and stuff... It was really really cool. People also told their testimonies and the Lord really opened certain people up, some of whom I didn't expect.

I'm really tired right now, so I'm not sure what to post... Oh!!

I'm going to Argentina!!! It's for the Kaleo missions trip. We were given three spots to rank in order of preference and I got my number one! The other locations are Vancouver and India. I'm really excited to work in camp ministry in Argentina, and help equip youth leaders there with things we've learned here in camp ministry!

Please pray that I'll be able to get all my support!

Until next time,
Holly!

bah.

Hola!

So this past week was hermeneutics which was really cool. We didn't have a test at the end so I didn't need to worry so much about taking notes (and they were emailed to us!) and I could just take it in a lot of the time. We weren't supposed to have our computers running during class which worried me a little, but it didn't turn out to be too bad.

For the end of the class, we had to do a creative project presenting the book of the Bible we read everyday for a week before class started. We were split into four books and I did Galatians. Our project was SICK! We rewrote "Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer to be "Galatians!" It was quite funny! We were even asked to do an encore.

The coolest part of this week has to be that my mommy came and hung out with us for a couple of days. She shared her testimony which I know affected some people. She also just poured into some of the Kaleos and visitors individually which was super cool. I'm so glad that people here got to experience the amazingness that is my mother, and that they understand me a little bit more.

I'm currently sick so please pray that I get better!

refreshed? umm...

So the past week was reading break, and quite honestly, it was wonderful. I loved being home and seeing my friends and getting to be a part of their lives in person once more. I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends in the evenings which was so needed! I think my highlights of my reading break are surprising my best friend (the look on her face was PRICELESS!), and hanging out with my mom, watching movies. So good to have that down time and I even got a bit of homework done! It was hard to come back, however, just because I have such a solid group of friends at home and I feel like I'm still trying to find my footing here...

The day after I got back here was my Old Testament Literature exam, and I didn't think that was too bad, to be honest. I studied with my roommate the night/morning before so I felt pretty good about the exam. That being said, I could be very wrong about how I did.

This past weekend was the Junior High retreat and I counselled... by myself! I have never counselled by myself before, and quite honestly, I don't want to again. I like counselling with a junior because I think that the girls get more attention that way. Even though, I still got to know them a little bit and have a glimpse into their lives and struggles. I got to have two of my campers from the summer in my cabin which was sweet because I got to follow up with them and see where they're at. Praise the Lord, they have been going to youth group and getting connected to a church!

We are now into our week of classes: Hermeneutics. So far, I'm finding it interesting as it is challenging me to look deeper into the Word and what I am reading in it. No longer am I just looking at face value, but I'm relating words to each other and trying to get meaning from them.

The youth group is having its launch at Cowichan Lake Baptist this week, so please pray that this will go well, and that this youth group can have a positive impact.

Also, I am feeling a bit discouraged so please pray for me!

feeling super stressed.

please pray. as i look of the mountain of homework i have, i feel more and more stressed and feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day. also, i have to decide on a missions trip by the end of this week. please please please pray.

home... well, one of them.

This past week has been... CRAZY!!

We just finished Old Testament Literature, which was cool now that I think about it (after the fact, of course), but I found it hard to focus a lot of the time. I still managed to keep up and not miss much either! We took LOTS of notes though, which will be super good for studying for the final at the end of this week. Something that caused a lot of stress, but is now a sweet memory/keepsake, is the video we did chronicling the Old Testament. We broke off into groups and each wrote a scene from the ones we were given, then as a group, we acted them out! The video is so funny and it'll be cool to look back on this and remember the crazy times filming (or in my case, script editing).

I'm home now, for a little while, for a much needed break. I'm stoked that I can spend time with friends that I've been missing and catch up on a little/A LOT of homework.

Please pray for a recharge for me and for me to get everything done that needs to get done! Thanks so much!


Short post this time, I know, but this week hasn't really been all that eventful...

Holly

trust.

So this week has been an interesting one...

I actually couldn't remember for a while what we did but then my lovely roommate Jordana reminded me that we had a class on Monday and Tuesday! We did a class called Camp Ministry. It was really interesting to learn about the Sex and Culture part of this course. It breaks my heart to see how prevalent pornography is in our culture and how young kids are getting exposed to it. Can you believe that the average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 years old? The enemy has done quite a number on this generation by making this kind of garbage so easily accessible to young minds. It's heart wrenching! We not only learned the facts about this, but also what implication this has for our ministry at camp. If this is what kids these days are being exposed to, then what does that mean for how we counter that at camp? I really enjoyed this part of the class because I believe that kids need a good dose of Truth right now in a world where they are being spoon-fed lies by everyone and everything around them.

Then Wednesday was caving. However, I stayed back at camp to get some much-needed rest and homework time in. This was such a good day for relaxing and actually getting some work done. The rest of the week was then filled in with random stuff like a "how to write a paper" session and meetings about the retreats that are coming up.

This weekend was Juniors Retreat, and man, it was wonderful! I loved seeing kids here again. Yes, we see kids here as guest groups and such, but seeing kids here for camp just lifted my spirits so unbelievably. I had lost sight of camp and why we do what we do, but this weekend just reminded me how fantastic camp is. The kids got so into everything, especially since they were 9-11 years old. I wasn't counselling this weekend but rather was on program staff and worship band AKA an All-Star and on Quixotic, respectively. I loved being in the role I was in because I still got to connect with kids but wasn't responsible for a cabin of youngsters at all times. It was especially cool because even though I didn't have my own cabin, a group of girls adopted me almost as another counselor and they were such a cool bunch!

This week has also been about God asking me to trust Him with my relationships here at Kaleo. I tend to hold tightly to my friendships and sometimes find my worth in them, but this week, God has been telling me in different ways that I need to stop searching for my worth in those friendships, but rather to find my worth in Him. This is not easy, let me tell you, but I know that God will continue to work on my heart until He is my only source of acceptance and worth. It will be so good. Please pray for this.

This week starts Old Testament Literature which should be interesting. I was reading the textbook for the course and it talked about not understanding ourselves fully if we don't know our history and how it is the same for Christianity. We can't understand our faith fully if we don't know the history behind it and how God made everything work together to lead up to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. I'm excited to learn more about this part of the Bible that I generally try to avoid aside from the Psalms and maybe a little of Isaiah (and other random parts). Please pray, as always, for the ability to stay focussed and engaged in the class as this is difficult for me sometimes.

Something really huge to pray for is the possibility of starting a youth group at my church here on the island. The chairman of the board has stepped up to be our youth sponsor, so please pray that we could get something off the ground for the teens of Lake Cowichan.

Drowning in His Grace,
Holly

finally, a break.

Hello hello!

Well, I'm back from surfing and what an adventure it was! We drove about 4 hours up the island to a surf town called Tofino and set up camp, then hit the town. There really wasn't much to the town and it was very overpriced, but I can finally say that I've been to this town that I've been hearing about for so long.

The surfing itself was a challenge for me. For those who don't know, I've got a pretty big fear of water which I've not yet been able to overcome. This has resulted in me not learning to swim, despite many attempts to do so because I simply cannot put my head underwater. So surfing in the ocean was a big step for me. Very soon after I got in the water with my surfboard, I went underwater and it scared me to no end. But this time was different. This time, I refused to let my fear stop me from trying something new, and so I kept going. I managed to stay in the water for another hour and a half. It was great! I got to ride some waves in on my stomach on the surfboard and just be able to say that I did it! I remember being in the water and just asking God to take the fear away. He didn't. But He was with me through it all and gave me the strength to get through it and have some fun. So so good.

We camped about 50 yards from a beach at a really nice campsite and just enjoyed some more bonding time. We shared some awesome chapel time around the campfire which was just amazing. We are starting to share our stories during chapel and so I am excited to see what happens in chapel in the coming days and weeks.

At the moment, I am swamped with homework but I am somehow always able to find something else to do. It's not very effective! So please pray for some focus from the distractions surrounding me.

We are done with major outtrips for the semester as the weather won't be that great for much longer which is why this post's title is "finally, a break." Finally, an extended period of time here at camp!

I have to head to bed, but please comment so I can know what to share with you!

unbelievable.

It's crazy how quickly this place has become home. I came home from, well, home today and being in this community again just made me so happy. I have come to love these people as my family. It is so good.

I'm excited to start doing chapels again. I can't wait.

home again.

My, oh my, what a crazy couple of weeks it's been!

In the week after I posted my first blog, I had my first class, Spiritual Formation. What an amazing class! I have never enjoyed class so much or wanted the next day's class to come so much. I learned a lot about God and how much He loves us and how we are designed to be in relationship with Him and through that become our true selves, the people who we were truly created to be, not the shadow of our true selves this world encourages us to be.

One of our assignments was to memorize two passages of scripture a day for four days, down to the punctuation. What a toll this took on our group. You would often find any of the Kaleos talking about memorizing the verses or trying to memorize the verses, often with some friends, often to no avail. =) But we got it done and I am really glad we did it. The passages we memorized are: Matthew 5:3-12, Mark 12:28-31, John 16:12-15, Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 5:16-26, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 2:1-11, and 1 Peter 4:7. Some of these I already had memorized and so it was just a matter of reviewing for punctuation, but I also got to learn a lot of new passages that I know are going to be useful. The Word of God never comes back empty.

I also spent from noon on the Thursday of that week to 7:30 am on the next day in solitude, silence, and fasting. What a time to spend with God, just focussing on Him and what He wanted to tell me. I was worried about this time because in previous solitude times I found myself getting frustrated at the lack of results I was seeing, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but I was to be greatly surprised. I started off the time by going straight to bed because I knew my body needed the rest and I wouldn't be able to focus if I didn't. After I woke up, I went downstairs, made myself some tea and just read my Bible. Never have I spent so long in the Word without getting bored or antsy. Somehow, the Holy Spirit worked in me to extend my patience and satisfy my hunger because I wasn't really hungry either. God really revealed some things in my life that need to change and also worked in a miraculous way that made it so clear that He was present in my time with Him. God showed up in such a crazy way that day. I am still in awe of it.

Cal Macfarlane is a wonderful professor who made class interesting and was so funny making it easy to be in class. I'm really glad that was the first class we had. It made it easy to be in class for 6 hours a day and get used to this format of school.

Then last Monday, we left camp for 5 days to go on a sailing trip with S.A.L.T.S. This is a wonderful organization that takes people sailing around the Island and the surrounding islands. The crew trains you in sailing and all the work on the boat is done by the group that comes. The stuff like cooking and more difficult, need-to-be-a-certified-sailor stuff was done by the S.A.L.T.S crew though. The food was so good!! My favourite part, however, of the entire trip was the evenings spent together. We'd have dinner then a little bit of chill time before we all went up on the deck to play some sort of crazy game. After that, we would go down to the "hold" (where the guys slept/dining room area) and sung songs, then Jim would have some way for us to encourage each other or admonish each other, and I believe that our group grew through it. We were asked to verbalize our hopes for each other this year and how we see Jesus in each other, and other sweet things that helped us grow closer as a group and helped us grow in our relationships with Christ. Wonderful, wonderful nights. A part that wasn't so great was night watch. Throughout the night, someone always had to be watching the boat, so in groups of two we went up and did watch for an hour. I fell asleep twice and was only able to stay up for the entire hour once... oops! I also got to steer the ship!! I steered it out of the harbour in Victoria which was really cool. I know now which side is port and which side is starboard, yet for the life of me I can't figure left and right. Weird...  This was a great experience and I am now a certified Junior Sailor!

A sunset while we ate smokies on the boat. What a masterpiece  handpainted by the Master Himself.

The boat we spent a week on, the Pacific Grace.

Yes, I can use life saving equipment.

The Kaleo 8s and the S.A.L.T.S crew at the end of the trip.

This coming week we're headed off to Tofino to hit the waves! It'll be so cool experiencing Tofino and maybe trying something I've never done before. Also, I'm so stoked to see how our community grows through this trip as well.

As always, I need prayers! Please pray for safety on this trip while we're travelling and while we're in Tofino. God is a God of protection so I know we can trust Him because He has always come through for us and praise the Lord, no one has been seriously injured yet.

Also, please pray for my spiritual growth. Please pray that I will continue to grow in the Lord and that it would be radical growth. I don't want to remain static, but rather be dynamic. Too, please pray that God would continue to reveal to me things that need to change in my life and that I would be able to make those changes.

Always, please pray for my church. We still have a lack of youth coming, so please pray that God would do something crazy and unexpected and totally revive the youth of this hurting town. The people of Cowichan Lake Baptist Church are so wonderful, so please pray for blessings for them for the way they've totally welcomed us with open arms.

Blessings!

Grace.

Wow. I honestly can't believe that I'm already/only a week in. It's been quite the ride so far.

First off, I should probably explain what this blog is about. This is my way of sharing with all my friends and family what I'm up to here in Kaleo in a fairly accessible way to all. It will also contain prayer requests that I will have throughout my time here. I will try to update this often and keep everyone up to date.

I called my blog Undeserved Good Stuff because something that has been repeated to us here is that the word that God has put on the hearts of many in regards to this year is grace. When I asked Jim (Kaleo Leader) what the definition was he said "It's not only undeserved mercy (which was what I had defined it as), but all kinds of good stuff like gifts, blessings and such." And so, my definition for grace is now "undeserved good stuff". Please pray that we would discover God's grace in new and amazing ways!

And now, on to the stories...

The first day was crazy. Everyone showed up and we chose our rooms. By chose what I really mean is that we chose a floating plastic animal out of a bucket which told us what side of the hallway we were on and then from there, we had to decide which room on that side. My room faces the ocean and I have two roommates named Jocelyne and Jordana. They're fantastic! We then played games and then just settled in.

The rest of the week was just learning where we were and how to get involved. These people are so amazing. It's crazy to think that it's only been a week, yet I feel like I've known them longer. It's such a good atmosphere.

God is already doing such crazy things in me. The first full day here, we had two Briercrest staff members come to hang out and do registration and they spoke at our first chapel. It was really sweet because one of them, Chantelle, really spoke into my life and I related to her a lot. After that chapel, I went up and talked to her and we connected. I'm stoked that she'll be there if I end up going to Briercrest after Kaleo.

I also have been placed/chose the church I'm going to for the year. I'm going to be at Cowichan Lake Baptist Church which is a small church in a troubled community. There is also no youth group at this church so it's going to be the Kaleo students (Erik, Meghan, and I) trying to start some sort of youth initiative at the church. As well, I sang a solo on my first Sunday at that church which was a little nerve-wracking, but everyone was so encouraging and I think that I'll be involved in worship ministry this year. Please pray for our team of Kaleos and the ministries we are going to be involved in and start this year. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of the youth of Lake Cowichan to come and be a part of whatever gets started. Pray for strength and wisdom as we encounter this town and these youth.

I survived our first outtrip!! YAY! In total, it was a 30 km hike. Now, I must mention that I despise physical activity of basically any kind, so this was way past a stretch for me. This took me past what I thought my body could do and had me praying in my mind a lot. God really gave me strength and, oh man, to be able to say that I've hiked 30 km is a wonderful feeling.

This next week will be classes and a different kind adventure. A prayer request is that I would be able to soak up as much as possible in class and I would be able to do my homework efficiently. As well, please pray that our group gets even closer in the days and weeks to come.