Dreams and Summer Bliss

Good morning/afternoon/evening and “way-past-your-bedtime“. 
I am so excited to see this blog up and in action.
My life since camp…hmmm…to be honest, it is very difficult to tell you how my life has been since camp, because I have trouble remembering all that life has brought. So instead, I will tell you about my few last weeks.

I went on a motorcycle trip 2 weeks ago and trust me, when you’re on a motorcycle for 6 hours a day, there’s not a whole lot to do but think. So my mind kind of went completely berserk and I just found myself daydreaming the whole time. And something that God brought to my attention in my daydreams is all the beauty in this world. Really, if you think about it, the earth is one huge playground for kids and teens and adults. There are trees to climb, and lakes to swim in, hills to roll down (if you’re anywhere but Manitoba of course). But there are so many beautiful and wonderful things. It makes me so happy and excited inside that it makes me want to swim the length of the ocean and run millions of miles and other such insanity that clearly I’m not capable of doing. Basically, what I’ve come to see is how much God has given me in my life, and how much he continues to bless me with.
I think of that, and then I think of people who don’t realize that all of these things in the world weren’t made just by chance, but they were made especially to bring beauty and joy.

Essentially, what I would like to share with everyone today is this, God loves you. God loves me, you, your best friend, the weird nose-picker in your class, and basically anyone you know, have met, or will meet. I want to share God’s love with you, because He has been sharing it with me.

So please, the next time you’re outside enjoying the beautiful weather, do not just enjoy it, but also realize that there is wonderful things to enjoy because God loves us.

Have fun,
Have love,
Have peace,
Megan Jane Eloise Krahn

God is Everywhere

Where have I seen God lately? This is a hard question, in the way that I can’t just pick one thing, because He seems to be everywhere in my life. University for me this semester has been the hardest, busiest, most stressful semester yet, but at the same time I have never enjoyed school more. In January 2010 I wrote a blog post about how I had decided in grade 12 that the one thing I would not go into was Engineering, and now I have just finished my second year of Electrical Engineering. I find it amazing how God leads me down paths I never thought I would take, and continually makes everything work out. As long as I do my part, He always does His. Whenever I am worried about school, or think that I just can’t do something, I just tell myself this, "God will ensure my success in accordance with His plan, not mine." And His plan is always better than mine.

Enough about school. In January of this year I became an Aunt for the first time, and it has been such an amazing experience. I will always remember going to the hospital on the day he was born, and holding this little person, just sleeping in my arms, so perfect.

Sometimes we focus on the bad things in our world, and talk about how messed up it is, and wonder where God is, but when looking at a newborn baby, I can’t help but think how amazing God is, and everything bad seems to be overshadowed by this perfect little person who just entered the world. It is amazing seeing this little boy growing up, and everything he has already learned to do in about 3 and a half months. It’s also amazing how much I care for this guy, and how much I love him without him even doing anything to earn my love, which just reminds me of how much greater God’s love is. That guy up there must love us a crazy amount! When I am around my nephew, no matter how busy or stressful my life is at the time, nothing seems to matter except him.

Have you ever made a baby smile so much that their whole face just lights up? Because that is one of the best feelings in the world, because babies completely express what they are feeling. I always see God shining so much through my nephew, but when he smiles at me, it’s as everything good about God is shining through that smile.

Remember, God is everywhere. If you look for Him you will find Him. He is in the buds of spring, the snowfall in May (I know that kind of sucked, but you must admit, it was pretty) and even shines through in difficult situations. And if you feel like you can’t find him, God is good, so everything good in your life is from Him.

Melanie Dyck
Counselor - Camp Moose Lake

Horse Story

God teaches me through the horses I work with. One of the lessons being taught to me is by my friend Rusty, a 10 year old Tennessee Walking Horse. Rusty is a rescue horse, he was saved by a kind woman who nursed him back to health from starvation. When she found him he could barely stand. I met Rusty part way through his healing when a friend of mine went to purchase him as a project horse. We went out to take a look at Rusty and what we found was a horse whose body was young, but whose eyes were old and tired. We wondered what this horse had seen in his relatively few years to make for such a worn look. I saw Rusty again a few days after he arrived at my friend's house. His body looked the same, still fragile, but his eyes were completely different: they were very much alive with the look of a fighter. My friend and I both chuckled as we wondered if the horse we had expected to be a quiet kids horse would turn out to be quite something else. Rusty promptly started his training and after about a week of his new routine his expression drastically changed again. I walked onto the yard one morning to find Rusty with his same body, but yet again a completely different expression. His eyes had lost the wild look and instead held excitement for life. His eyes were calm and trusting, not angry or afraid.

In two weeks we saw Rusty change into a new horse. We had the privilege of watching Rusty work through the baggage he brought with him (horses just like people carry their past experiences wherever they go) and learn to love life and trust people again by knowing consistent care, fair expectations and lots of love. God tapped me on the shoulder at that point and connected my experience with Rusty to the experiences I have working with people everyday. God used Rusty to remind me that if I am intentional in treating all people with love, consistent care, and fair expectations no matter whether they have learned to approach people and the world with hostility, sadness, anger, or any other number of emotions, they too will heal from the wounds of their past and learn to open up, grow and trust again. I think this is how God approaches each of us everyday: with love, consistent care and fair expectations; we just need to be open to it.

New Places - New Faces

I’m starting to believe that spring is finally here! Yes, I know that not all the snow has melted yet and there was still frost on the roofs this morning, but there are puddles on the sidewalks, the grass is showing, and this morning I heard some very spring-like birdsong on my way to the bus stop. As my school year ends, I am really appreciating watching spring come because it reminds me of the way God is working to bring new life to the world, and also because it means that camp is just around the corner!

But that isn’t what I really wanted to tell you about in this blog post. This year I started going to school at the University of Manitoba so that I can get an agriculture degree that focuses on sustainable agriculture (Agroecology) because I am passionate about food and working to fix our broken food system (but that is another story for another time). Because I was starting at a new school, I didn’t think that I would know anyone. Before this year, my schooling has always been at small schools where it is easier for me to get to know people and where I have always easily found my place. My classes at the U of M all have lots of people in them and I didn’t think I would make any friends or even talk to anyone at all. Have you ever gone to a new school and felt that way?

Looking back on my year, I’ve realized that it didn’t quite turn out the way I expected. Does God ever cause things to turn out exactly the way we expect them? My classes were big and I don’t talk to very many people but some of the classes also have labs where the students are split into small groups or pairs, so I was able to get to know some of my classmates. I also discovered that there is a Mennonite chaplain’s office where Mennonite students as well as students of other denominations get together to hang out, eat lunch and have discussions. Here is another place where I have met some familiar faces and begun to make some new friends. Even more exciting is that I sometimes meet other camp staff in the halls!

This year, God has definitely been showing me that I can find a place to belong at U of M, and helping me to see how God is working through the people at U of M. Whether you are nearing the end of your school year, or you still have a couple months left to go, or even if you are not in school, I hope that you can see God working in the places you spend time at and the people you are with.

Enjoy your spring and see you this summer!
Megan Klassen-Wiebe
SPD Assiniboia 2010 and 2011

Belief Maintenance

Hello! I hope you are all as joyful as I am that we are on the cusp of spring, which means summer, which means closer to camp. Yay! Let me tell you about a few things I’ve been pondering this year. To begin, you need to know that I am an extremely goal-oriented person. Every year I write a list of things I wish to accomplish in the coming year. Usually this spans 20-40 goals. This year however, with a quality over quantity approach, I chose to mentally note only 3 goals. One of these goals was to write a sermon. Fear not, I’m not going to put a whole sermon up here, just a brief summary.
First, let me tell you a little about myself. I’m a 3rd year Psychology student (I also reserve a large place in my heart for Biology). In my social psychology class we learned about something called belief maintenance. This was the grounds for my sermon.
The majority of psychologists agree that the best way to predict one’s attitudes and beliefs is through one’s behaviour. A small example from my own life was when I made the choice to sign up for a half marathon last year. I had always enjoyed running, but I must admit that in the first few weeks I wasn’t always excited to jog. Sometimes I just wanted to curl up with a good book, or head to the park instead of pushing through 10 or 15 gruelling kilometres. But, I set a goal for myself and I forced myself to hit the pavement five times a week. Since then, I’ve slowly come to love running, and I feel antsy when I go too long without lacing up. The more I run, the more I love it. Simply put; how you act strengthens what you believe. Now let’s connect this to faith…
This means that one of the best ways to strengthen your belief, and ultimately relationship with God is to work for God. The Bible, especially the New Testament emphasizes how important service is. Jesus and his disciples went out into the world to teach others about God. What better way to do that than to work at camp? Camp has allowed me many opportunities to teach others about God, through PEG, bible, fireside, and many other times. When I serve God at camp, I strengthen my own beliefs and faith. When you serve God, you not only help somebody else out, but you remind yourself of your own beliefs, and that makes them stronger!

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” -1 Peter 4:10

- Erin Braun-Janzen
Windsurfing instructor and counsellor 2010

Reflecting in God

To be honest, right off the bat here, I find it rather difficult to think about where I see God in my life. It’s not something that often just pops into my head, and when I really sit down to think about it I can see how anything could be interpreted as God acting in my life. It could be the nature around me, a cozy room, or a friendly face I see on the street, at work or anywhere. And I didn’t want to just write about anything. I mean, had I wanted, I could have just ripped this off in five minutes or something. But who would want to read about that? So, I’ve been thinking about this. I’ve thought about it as I work or in the evening by myself, or while walking on the coast. And I think I’ve finally found how I’ve been seeing God of late.
First, though, some quick background.
In case you didn’t know (why should you? I haven’t told you yet) my name is Dustin Loewen. I have worked predominantly at Moose Lake, but this year won’t be returning, for the first time in six years, this summer. This is due to the fact that I am living in the Netherlands for the year. I decided to do this right at the end of last summer, and have sacrificed some pretty big things to make it happen. I work at a little conference center/ group’s accommodation. It was started by Mennonites, and still runs in part through the Mennonite Community of the Netherland’s continued support. My job consists of lots of cleaning.
Now, to the point. This year, along with the opportunity to live and work in the Netherlands, I’ve been given the wonderful opportunity to take a year out. I’ve been awarded this amazing chance to be able to reflect on my life, to take a step back from it all and see what is important and what is not. I am really thinking a lot about what I want to achieve with my future, or things that I want to stop doing, or what I want to stop hiding from. It isn’t often we get to do this in the hectic lifestyle we have created for our modern selves. And despite being a fairly reflective person, it was something that I almost never did. It is really easy to just continue to live in all the exact same ways that we have been, and sometimes it take such a removal to open our eyes to the fact that maybe we don’t want to anymore.
It was a couple of months ago that I realized that this is what my trip is going to be for me. But! I must say it is interesting to attribute this special gift to God. Because, really, that is what this is. It has been a beautiful gift, and I am happy to say that I am seeing God in the changes that are happening in my life, and hopefully will continue to happen in my life.
And of course I also see God in all the cool things I do, and wonderful people I meet, and walks on the beach, and beautiful emails, and exciting news, learning a new language, and, and, and…

Groetjes en tot straks (greetings and see you later),

Dustin - 2010 Moose Lake Summer Program Director

Awesome God

Do you ever walk to school, or drive somewhere, or get home at the end of the day, and realize that you don’t remember anything you saw, or what happened along the way, to take you to that point? It’s easy to go through a day, or a week, or sometimes even a month, without having really noticed what happened, or how the time passed – almost like you’ve tuned out. I have a bad habit of tuning out, especially when I’m busy or overloaded. This ensures that I don’t add any extra worries to my plate, but it also ensures that I often miss out on chances to appreciate both the people and the world around me – God’s awesome creations.

Recently I took some time off of school, work, and my regular daily routine to go traveling in Asia. Yes, it was fun and exciting (we went surfing, ate tarantulas, slept in hammocks in the jungle…) , and yes, I got to spend 3 months living with some of my friends in a different continent, but one of the best things about the trip was the amount of time I had to stand in awe of God’s handiwork. We had no schedules, no agendas, no places to be or people to see…there was nothing that needed to get done, and no deadlines to be met (besides getting home before Christmas to appease our families!). It was so different than my life in Canada; I actually had time to observe everything around me, and appreciate it properly. One day in particular (one of my favorite days) we went on a hike part way up a mountain in Vietnam, and spent a few hours at the waterfalls. We hiked in and around the falls, which was great by itself, but the best part was when we were at the bottom, and stood behind the rushing wall of water with the sun coming through the top. We looked up at the bright white light, heard nothing but water pounding the rocks, and got completely soaked. I remember my mind being blank of almost everything besides the word “wow”.

So while I am currently back at school and still incredibly busy, having practically every second of my days packed and planned out, I try to find times where I can look around at, or listen to, my surroundings and think about how incredible it is that I exist, or that there are such things as waterfalls or thunderstorms, or even the fact that God made us all different and excellent in our own ways. Searching for things to wonder at can be very refreshing, and gives you and God a chance to connect on a different level!





- Sam McDougall
Summer Program Director(Koinonia)