Happy New Years!

Happy New Years!
Well I am now here at Kaleo after my first week of class and it feels like I never left! Coming back was great, I loved being at home yet I was really excited to come back for this next semester. For New Years I was able to go to Saskatchewan and see some old friends as well as camp staff from this past summer which was great. Coming back has been quite hectic. We started off our first week with Theology of Mission taught by Tim Stabell. I'm going to admit that it was hard to adjust into study mode but I really enjoyed his enthusiasm for the course. He was a missionary in Congo and now he teaches as well as goes back every so often so it was good to be taught by someone with first hand experience. Also he touched on a lot of controversial subjects that lots of proffs sometimes don't go into for the sake of time which was very interesting. He also really emphasized prayer for the different countries of the world and he really wanted to challenge us to start thinking about missions and reaching the unreached with the Gospel. One thing that hit me probably the most was how we are called to share the Gospel and how we don't take this as a serious matter but yet there are millions of people out there lost and searching who don't have answers to their questions yet we're sitting there with all the answers doing nothing about it. For me the challenge was urgency, to gain back that understanding that I have hope that so many others lack and need now I'm not saying that I need to go overseas but even here at Crofton, Bonnyville, Kindersley etc. Also during this week I've been getting more and more excited to go to India. That's right, for the year end trip I will be headed to India on a trekking trip through the Himalayas and we'll be in one of the most significant spiritual areas for Hinduism where it is the life ambition of every Hindu to go on a pilgrimage if possible. Over Christmas I was busy getting things prepared for this trek as far as equipment and fundraising goes. Now that I've been back our India team (of 14) has started a exercise schedule to get ready for our time there. So this week when we were praying for the different countries it was exciting to think ahead to India and start to pray for the people there and look forward to what we will encounter. Aside from the class this past Friday was our first time back at youth with our kickoff. We had about 15 youth who came which was fun, some new faces which was also encouraging. Then today was our first Sunday back which was really good. I've grown to like the church and really appreciate it. It's a congregation of about 60 people and they are quite the community. Sitting in their service you just feel love come from it, every Sunday the pastor asks for prayer requests and I think that has really helped us fit in and be able to see the hearts of the people through their requests. I will also be playing the piano for church starting next Sunday which is nerve wracking yet exciting at the same time. Some prayer requests would definitely be for our youth group, that God would work through us leaders and direct our program as well as the devotions. For our India team that God would prepare our hearts for the upcoming trek and for what we will encounter as well as prepare the hearts of the people. Then also with our Kaleo as this next week we are headed to Mount Washington for a 5 day snowboarding trip and I've heard that this has been a significant week for the Kaleo's in the past. We will have lots of sharing times and chapels and I'm so excited to see what God has in store. So if you could pray for both safety and for openness for all of us as we look at this next semester. After our snowboarding trip we will be starting Theology of Christian Doctrine which looks like it'll be a very interesting and key course so if you could also pray that God will prepare our hearts for that week as we do our pre-course homework and as the proff is getting ready to come to us. That would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!