At the end of a road

FE 130 K:
In 75 words or less and without being cliché, please write a couple sentences of what your salvation is for in this world that you live in. Take into consideration what you know now as compared to what you thought coming into the program.

As Christians, our salvation is not only for us to have eternal life in heaven but for us to spread the gospel through the nations, preaching and making disciples wherever we go and what ever we may being doing. Our salvation is not for us to hold within ourselves but to share it with others. If God calls us to love our neighbors then if we love them we ought to strive for their salvation as much as our own in order to share God’s love. 

Mission Impossible?

February’s Assignment for Field Ed 130 K:

The month of February has had a focus on missions - Missions Fest, Perspectives in Missions and the Missions Trips. Choose three out of the "Thirteen Missions Debrief Questions" to discuss in your post (questions posted below by Shane on Feb. 23rd). Expand on these questions by incorporating how Missions Fest and Perspectives in Mission assisted or did not assist in your preparation, execution and return from your trip. If the conference or class didn’t help you, why do you think that is? What would have been more beneficial?

Remember that this blog is an opportunity to worship Jesus for what he is doing in and through your ministry. It is not a place to vent. So as you write about things that could have gone better, own the situation. As leaders you have a role in the outcomes you experience.

The blog is to be 500 words in length. As it is much longer than the previous posts it will be due on Wednesday, March 8th at 5 pm. If you have any questions, please ask!

Without further ado, the three questions I have chosen to answer are:

1.    What did you learn or experience that will change the way you live and represent Jesus?

2.    What have you learned about Jesus’ calling on your own life?

3.    When did you start taking the mission trip seriously?

1.    I learned lots through my trip to East Vancouver, Missions Fest, and the Perspective in Missions class. I learned about First Nations Culture and how the lives look for impoverished people living in East Van. I learned about many different cultures through Perspective in Missions and about how important culture is when doing missions. I learned lots about Vancouver’s culture and was experienced a space where I could mentally prepare myself for the East Van trip when I was at Missions Fest. The East Van trip itself was an unforgettable experience and I learned so much about the city, the people, the culture and the church. The most memorable learning experience for me was definitely learning about the poverty and darkness in East Vancouver and through that, I learned about the many organizations like Potters Place and New Beginnings Church that are striving to make a difference and show God’s Grace and love to the people in East Van. I learned that there is always hope in the darkness. The overall experience was awesome and I would not take any of it back!

2.    I started taking the mission trip very seriously when our Vancouver group got to Potters Place on Feb 13th. Potters Place is a soup kitchen (and then some) located on East Hastings in Vancouver, they serve two meals a day, do worship services, sermons, and other outreach for the community. Their clientele consists mostly of people who suffer from substance abuse/addiction, homelessness and prostitution.

The trip came alive here for me because I started to feel like I was being used to further God’s kingdom and I felt that my work was helping a cause that was making a difference in a very dark and broken community.

3.    Ever since I gave my life to God, I knew that he has a calling for my life and I have been anticipating me discovery of said calling. I have had many small hints over the last few years but through the Kaleo program, I have become much closer to discovering God is calling for my life. After my Mission trip to East Van, I can confidently state that God has called me to work in ministry with youth and children. I have watched as the work I do with children at Warmland church in Crofton has grown to improved. At New Beginnings church in East Van, a few of us students had the opportunity to work with a group of children from the area. On the second day in Vancouver, we went swimming with the group and many other students told me that I was doing very well with the children. When we returned to New Beginnings church, we had three days where a few students and I worked with kids through the Say Yes program at the church. Again, many students told me that I did well with the kids and just seeing how much others appreciated my work with the kids helped pushed me to work harder with the kids. In the end absolutely none of the work that I did with the children felt like work but instead it was extremely fun. It was because of these reasons and much prayer that I have come to discover that God has called me to minister to children and youth.

Missions Fest and Perspective in Missions wrap up:

I honestly can say that Missions Fest helped prepare in a sense because it was held in Vancouver as well as the mission trip so it did help to ease me into the trip to already be remotely familiar with the city.

The Perspective in Missions class helped prepare my heart for the mission by reminding me what our purpose is in missions and that we can make a difference in missions.

Both Missions Fest and helped prepare my heart and mind for missions by easing me into a mindset where I was ready to act on the field and aware that everything we did was for others and that we were very much spreading the gospel.

To conclude, I learned many valuable lessons through Missions, I really took the mission trip seriously at Potters Place, and I realized God’s calling for my life in ministering to children and youth through the month of February and it’s focus on Missions.

Blog of the turch

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
As you work through the "Foundations of Church Ministry" course and based on the experiences from your ministry areas, what have you come to really appreciate about your church back home?

          The Church I’ve been going to back in Regina Saskatchewan is called Avonhurst Pentecostal Assembly. Avonhurst is a very new church for me and I have lots to still learn about it as I have only been about three to four times. Things that I appreciate so far are the openness of Avonhurst and how quickly I was welcomed and accepted. I greatly enjoy how the church body is very friendly, down to earth and unlike many churches, they aren’t limited by their groups and are very accepting to new members and made me feel like I’m part of the church so quickly.

          I look forward to learning much more about the church in the future and attending again over Christmas break. With everything I've learned in the Church Ministry course, I have so many questions for the leaders at Avonhurst and I can't wait to discus them this Christmas

Love Crofton

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What ways were you involved in "Love Crofton"? How have you seen or experienced God work in you or around you, as you loved our neighbors by serving them in practical ways? What were some highlights? What did you find challenging?

            I was involved in Love Crofton in three ways, I raked and did other yard work at one house, painted a room and did a few odd jobs at another house, and finally I helped clean the vehicles used for transportation and hauling. I experienced God’s love on a very personal level after finishing painting a room for Diana Schwestak. Isabella, Virginia and myself had a very nice conversation with Diana when we finished up painting. Diana asked us about our stories that brought us to the Kaleo Program and after that she told us many spiritual stories that have unfolded throughout her life, many of which affected me on a very emotional level. I felt encouraged to see again a very beautiful example of someone who has given their life to Christ and doing his work. My highlights included the conversation my group had with Diana, and the entire cleaning process of the vehicles was very enjoyable because we played around a lot and it was super fun. What I found very challenging for myself was that for the first few days of Love Crofton, I was very sick and was unable to help out. Overall, I enjoyed Love Crofton great and only regret that I wasn’t able to help out for the entire week due to my sickness. I pray that us Kaleo goofballs really did make a difference and encouraged Crofton and showed it real love.

Blog 3000

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: How have you seen or experienced God working in your ministry areas during a retreat weekend?

            This last weekend (Oct22-24) I was given the opportunity to act as a cabin counsellor for the juniors retreat at Camp Qwanoes. I saw God move in so many ways through the juniors and found him moving in my heart also. I saw kids being impacted to there very core by God. I saw some even come to believe in God as their personal saviours. I saw my own cabin kids grow and learn lots about God through his word during chapel and devotions. I saw them grow personally and I tried my very best to be a positive impact in their lives. It was through this that I grew to know my campers and many others.

            It was quite amazing that both my and Evan Klaasen get to lead our group of kids who are all from the area of Warmland Church. This was so great because we both got to know the kids that we see on a weekly basis and we got to see how they interact with each other and their environment. It was such a blessing to be able to teach our campers about the God we love and follow. Getting to know the kids from around Warmland was also great because we were able grow closer with them and encourage them to make it down for Youth nights and church services. It was awesome that God was able to work in the campers lives through me and the other councillors.

            I saw God working in myself during the retreat this last weekend. Some other councillors and friends mentioned to me that I was great with the kids and working at camp with kids again felt great and encouraged me greatly towards my goal and calling of working in children’s or youth ministry in the near future. 

Blog 2.5

 THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

How have you been intentionally making connections with the children and youth from your church? How about the connections with pastors, ministry teams, or other church leaders? How do you feel about these connections?

Due by: Friday, October 14th at 11:59 AM.

   For the past few weeks, I have been invited to Warmland church and they have been hosting events such as Awana/Ignite nights. By collaborating with the pastors of the church, I have made myself available to help out with whatever they needed me to do. It has been a passion of mine, to see the faces of the kids attending Awana/Ignite on Wednesdays. I never seem to have a problem with playing with them. Games are more than just an ice breaker with the kids, they help form a trusting relationship with them in a safe place like the church.  I pray that I can create a safe place in the church for them. To care for and accept these kids and ultimately love them unconditionally as God has loved us. It all starts by understanding them and building that relationship with these children that will make an impact. I hope that, as I continue to attend these nights with the children that I can make a connection and that God can work through me to make a difference in their lives. 

   It has been lots of fun getting to know all these new people through church and even in our small group as it gives us time to get to see each other grow in the church community. I have also made connections with some of the different members of the church. Almost every Sunday, some of them have been inviting us over to their home for lunch and it has been such a blessing as we’ve grown to know lots about them. By inviting us into their homes, we see a beautiful connection between each member and it does remind me of my home.

   Finally, to answer the last question. As much as the children are full energy, it is sometimes hard to keep up with them. Overall I feel like I need to improve my connections with the children and the leaders of the church because I am so new in their community. I hope that I can also keep up with the children and continues to learn and understand them as much as possible. 

Thirst Compression

Geoff’s Blog:

So for today I have an assigned question I get to answer for my blog. The question is:  What were your initial impressions of your assigned church and of Camp Qwanoes? What are your hopes for the year and what do you foresee as being a challenge in these ministry areas? So here is my properly formatted 150+ word blog, ahem:

            My first impression firstly on my assigned church was that I thought it was very small and with a total congregation of around 130 members with usually around 40-60 members at the services I’ve been to so far. My group will be working in part with the children’s ministry including Sunday school and youth nights on Wednesdays. If I’m completely honest the small size of the church might be hard to get used to at first but I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone there and helping out with the kids. Camp Qwanoes itself has taken some getting used to as I have lived in a camp setting for extended periods of time before but now I’m discovering how different camps can be from each other. I’m amazed by the vast variety of activities and scenery at the camp and simply cannot leave the beach along and often find myself going for long walks on the beach collecting shells. For challenges, well every class, assignment or adventure we take seems challenging but I think that is a good thing because if we aren’t challenged that what are we doing here.  I am really looking forward to these next eight months in the crazy place.