Friday, October 8, 2010

I wish we could have school at Chilliwack Lake all year.




So this has been a long time coming but definitely worth telling about.  On the 17th off September everyone in Quest took off on a trip to Chilliwack Lake for some Voyageur Canoeing, unnecessarily rough camping, and one the best times of my life. 

Hello Chilliwack Lake








Voyageur Canoes fit 12 people.  We filled four.
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That's Matty, an intern with Quest, steering one of the boats.  My canoe is coming in behind.  With a good team these canoes get moving quick.


Dan Boon, one of the Quest leaders, steering one of the canoes.




It took us about an hour to canoe to where we were staying for the weekend and then pulled the canoes up the beach.  We spent the rest of the afternoon chillin on the beach, playing some sweet games and swimming in some very refreshing water. 
Ninja, so much fun, and the best part is that it can be played anywhere. Arigato.
Hammock Time!  Thanks Matty for hanging my bed for me. 
 
Meal Time! It is amazing how good poorly cooked camping food can taste when you have been canoeing all day.




The Saturday and Sunday nights were spent around the campfire singing songs, deliberately worshiping the creator of everything that we had enjoyed that day.  We also listened to Mike's do some story telling on these nights, one of the best story tellers I have ever heard.   He put a whole new spin on the story that can be found in Mark 2.  Am I willing to let myself be carried by those who are taking me to the right place?  Then on the story of Jacob and how he wrestled with God and His name was changed. Genesis 32.  What do I know myself as?  What defines me?  What is my name?

Saturday morning we took off on a day trip to the end of the lake.  Where we got to hike in a preserved forest that was over 250 years old.

Let's just say it got our attention.
 Every trip we are required to do a journal response for our Christian Perspectives class.  I enjoy these assignments immensely as they can force me to do some thinking of the trip that would necassarily have happened.  I thought I'd include it here as well.

If only we could just have school at Chilliwack Lake all year.  Seeing the view of mountains surrounding you; shouting God\s majestic power so loud that you can’t miss it, is something that I can never tire of.  Using the hours of the day for conversation, games of ninja, swimming, or canoeing as a team is not something to be taken for granted.  Each moment having the focus of enjoying God\s providence for bringing me there and loving the people he has brought alongside of me to share these experiences.  The nights spent around the campfire just deliberately fulfilling our purpose of worshiping our Lord and Maker in community is one of my greatest joys.  Hearing God’s message for us through His servant Mike and the undeniable urging of the spirit to respond to what Mike has said immediately is one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life.  If I could choose to go back and never leave, it would probably be a much tougher decision than it should be.
            However life continues and brings many more experiences and I have to consider what this experience will shape the present decisions and experiences.  During the walk in the old forest, Jer was talking and mentioned the importance of knowing your surroundings; the usefulness of being able to look around and know the names of plants and what they do and how they are connected to other plants around them.  You get a much better idea of the bigger picture but also the intricate details and how they play a part.  This has given me a larger desire to learn about the outdoors, the trees, the plants, and the animals, so that I may fully experience the joy of being in God’s creation.  This can also expand to desiring knowledge of the Bible or in individual people who are part of the church.  God had a plan through the Bible and know the intricate details as best as I can is something to seek and desire if the end result is a greater idea of God and how he works.  Also God is living and active right now in the world and seeing his plan unfold through many different people can give a glimpse into His bigger plan.       


 

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