We are currently in our final week of Junior High camps this summer. God continues to do fantastic things in the lives of campers! I hope that your preparations are coming together as Kaléo 2013 is officially one month away! The staff team have already started asking about you and are anxiously awaiting your arrival.
Finishing off our summer series, below you will find a letter from last year's Academic Award winner, Nicole Pauls. Be sure to send Lyann or me an email if you have any questions in the coming weeks.
Psalm 32: 8, 11
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you…Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
I trust your summer has already begun to fill you with experiences that are molding you to be more like Christ, our Lord and Saviour! Although your time at Qwanoes will likely look very different compared to years past, I hope a vital part of your growth and learning will come from the academic portion of this year like it did for my fellow friends and I. It’s crazy cool what you can hear in class one day and continue to remember and learn from as you walk with God through any portion of this year and the ones to come.
Contrary to what many first think, the Kaléo program is predominantly dedicated to classroom learning. Almost everyday you will be preparing for, engaging in, or concluding work for a week of classes. There will be days set aside for school work while others will also contain an array of camp and church responsibility, out trips, and not too much procrastination, hopefully! You may experience the thrilling adventures of reading a textbook on a rocking sailboat or praying for a foreign country as you fly to Mexico. Although overwhelming, difficult, and boring at times, remember that you can choose to rely on the strength of Jesus, engage in classes with a positive, joyful attitude, and apply things from courses to your everyday journeys.
I’m excited to pass on to you that your future “classroom” will be unlike any classroom you’ve studied in before! The intimate setting allows for great discussion, debate, and a more personal and hands-on environment. You will have the opportunity to build and refine friendships with other students while studying, sharing thoughts and resources, and working together.
Every week of classes looked different! Not only did this allow for students with diverse learning styles to learn in a comfortable way or try something new, we studied with wise and thought-provoking men who have diverse perspectives and strengths. We discovered the art of pottery and fought to win sword drills to receive candy. With other professors, we went to a weird art gallery or shot them down during nerf-gun wars. It was appreciated that they took time to answer our questions and share their stories with us.
My prayer for you is that with every long class, early morning study session, and even late night scrabbles you would seek to learn God’s Word, knowing and following Him stronger than the day before.
It's gonna be a gooder,
Nicole
