Outtatown Site 2 South Africa

Site 2 Party!

2009-04-21T14:57:00.002-05:00

The ending Outtatown Site 2 - South Africa PARTY!

Durban!

2009-03-27T06:23:00.002-05:00

Our third and final home-stay happened with Indian families in the city of Durban. It started out with all the Outtatown students and their host families having an Indian feast on the beach which was amazing. During our week in Durban, we had the opportunity to visit a Hare-Krishna Temple and a Muslim Mosque. These visits opened our eyes to the diversity of religion in the world. We also had the chance to listen to speakers who talked to us about Indian culture; and Indian immigration in the 1800’s from India to South Africa. We were able to visit a museum that focused on Indian life during the Apartheid era of South Africa. We were blessed to go to a retirement home and listen to the people talk about their life experiences, were able to play games with them, and also able to sing for them. We had the chance to visit a Drug-Rehab center which helped young Indian men and women stop taking drugs. We also visited two malls in a predominately Indian part of Durban, and so able to buy some Indian products. To end the amazing week, we went to the Ushaka water-park where we spent the day having fun going down the waterslides and hanging out at the pool. It was a great week to experience Indian culture.

Jordan Beller

Bungee Jumping!

2009-03-27T06:04:00.002-05:00

216 meters above the ground, 110-meter jump, a five second free fall, and one of the most incredible moments I have ever experienced! Adrenaline was pumping through everyone as we were dancing on the bridge, and then they called my number J41. After hours of waiting around, it was finally my turn to jump. Excitement, fear, and anticipation coursed through my veins. I sat anxiously as they tied up my feet, putting all my faith into their complex knots and big elastic cord. They pulled me to the edge, and with my toes hanging over the edge; I looked down at the beautiful scenery below. It was scary to think that I was about to jump down there, bit it was too late for any second-guessing. They started the countdown, and before I knew it, I was free falling. I will never forget the feeling of simply falling with nothing around to stop me, and also having complete trust that I won’t go crashing to the ground. All sound disappeared and the only thing I could hear was the wind passing my ears. Ironically it was such a peaceful moment, and it was a whole new way to take in God’s creation; diving into such a beautiful valley with green trees everywhere and a little creek trickling at the bottom. I was in awe; it was most definitely an experience of a lifetime. I was amazed that not one student on our site passed up this opportunity. I just did the world’s bungee jump, no big deal.

Rylie

Mdumbi!

2009-03-25T05:02:00.004-05:00

This past week we got to spend time in on the Wild Coast in one of the beautiful places in the country – Mdumbi Backpackers. This week provided the awesome opportunity to slow down a bit, reflect on the semester, enjoy the beach, go on a hike, do some service work and get to know ourselves better through the “knowing yourself” sessions taught by our leaders.

Jeffery's Bay!

2009-03-25T04:45:00.005-05:00

Jeffery’s bay had to be one of my favourite places we’ve been so far. One of the activities he had the choice of doing was horseback riding on the beach! It has always been my dream to gallop along the ocean and to have done it in South Africa along the Indian ocean was unbelievable. Once we made it to the sand dunes everyone was beginning to spread apart. The horses had done this so many times that all we had to do was sit there and relax. We could gallop up the sand dunes, stop at the top and enjoy the panoramic view. MY favourite part had to have been when we saw the ocean and could gallop along the edge towards Jeffery’s bay. It was just you, your horse, the waves, and the salty sea breeze. The waves would splash up beneath your horse and your runners would become wet with the mixture of sand and water. This experience was everything I could have asked for and during the entire time I couldn’t believe that I was living my dream.

Kirsten

Bonnevaille!

2009-03-25T04:28:00.004-05:00

After spending the first two weeks in the Johannesburg area our site did the long drive to the Capetown area and site three began their journey down the coast (they’ll do the long drive from Capetown to Johannesburg at the end of the semester). At the mid-way point in the semester we had the opportunity we spend the weekend with them at Bonnieville –which is also about the mid-way point in our journey. During our time together we got to sleep outside, relax, do a high ropes course, swim and go off rope swings into the water. It was fun time that provided the opportunity to share stories with the other site and get a glimpse into what the rest of the semester holds (because from here on in what we’re doing site three has already done).

Stellenbosch Small Group Day!

2009-03-25T04:02:00.005-05:00

One Saturday morning we had a lot of fun doing a variety of challenges in our small group. We did a relay race that included apple bobbing, “swimming” across a “river,” building a pyramid that included each member of the small group and a human wheelbarrow race.

Service Weeks at Kayamundi

2009-03-23T09:26:00.004-05:00

Service Weeks at Kayamundi
We had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Kayamundi (the township just outside Stellenbosch – in the Capetown Region). Our time was directed by Johan Horn a phenomenal man who, among other things, partners with the township community to do development work. He led us through a process where groups of four to five students were paired up a with a local guide.

On the first day each group was taken on a tour through the community. During the tour the groups were supposed to keep their eyes open for the assets of the community and possible projects they could work on that would build upon the assets that already existed. Throughout the first week – in conversation with their guide, community members and Johan – each group identified a need within the community that they could help with. Each group spent the second week working on the projects. The following are descriptions of each of the groups` projects.

Creche

Over the span of three days we spent our time at a crèche owned and run by a lady named Nolitha. She had started the crèche to provide schooling and daycare for children who didn’t have enough money to go to pay for other daycares. Each day 20 kids came to the tiny crèche at 7am and some stayed until 2 or 3. A couple of days before we arrived in Kayamundi there was a fire that burnt down about 20 shacks close by and Nolitha had opened her doors to store things while the shacks were being rebuilt. This left her already crowded in a small crèche with hardly any space outside. We decided to paint the inside of the crèche and create some organized storage to create a better environment for the kids to play in (especially because there’s no other shelter from the incredibly hot sun outside!).
We were so lucky to get to work alongside members of the community. Our guide Dzu and his friend Luvuyo helped us paint and translated so we could interact with the kids -we’re not quite fluent in Xhosa yet!
It turns out Dzu has an eye for art, and his paintings in the crèche were phenomenal and added a lot to the final project.
Nolitha is an amazing woman who pours all her energy into the crèche and the children that come, and we had the chance to see what she does and give her a bit of a break for that short while.
It was awesome how we could involve the kids - they included their painted handprints on the wall, and we felt so welcomed as we’d arrive every morning and immediately be swarmed by smiling little kids.
The final afternoon we had a big birthday party in the newly painted and organized crèche. There were balloons, food, face painting and lots of laughter as a wonderful celebration to end off a week filled with working, playing and learning together.
Jordan, Becca, Josh, Patrick, Cassie

Crèche number two

2009-03-23T09:13:00.002-05:00

While touring through Kayamundi on the first day, we saw many opportunities to help out the people of Kayamundi. After discussing our options and talking it through with our guide, we decided that painting a crèche and changing the locks on a church was the most tangible things we could accomplish. Based on our resources and budget, we came up with a plan. We gathered all our supplies and set out to complete our project. Along the way we had a few setbacks and surprises, but together as a group, we were able to work around them. We got the community involved. A few parents of the children came out to help us paint. The kids also put their handprints along the wall to add a personal touch. In the end, the teacher was very happy with the new look of her crèche. All in all, we were glad we could bless these people as much as they blessed us.
Rylie, Erin, Lindsay, Peter

Starting A Garden

2009-03-23T08:42:00.001-05:00

As we walked around Kayamundi, we felt that it would be best if we taught these African people how to start a garden, and have them maintain it, in order that they may be able to have more food to live on.

John, Kathryn, Brent, Melissa

Paint by numbers

2009-03-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

After walking through Kayamundi the first day we were all drawn to the same project, painting murals in a bedroom for orphaned children. We knew that it would be a stretch of our artistic abilities and that it would be challenging but we decided that our heats were pulled to this project and that could only be from God. We were most defiantly blessed while buying supplies. The store manager was more than willing to give us our paints at cost. This allowed us to use our left over money to buy snacks for our guide Luthando’s friends (who were helping us out) as well as donate money to Prochorus (the organization) for children’s books.

Our project work time was not always stress free. Giving up control of how we would like things done and having people walking in and out of the room was not always easy to deal with. Even though it was challenging at times it was inspiring to see people from the community getting involved. With everyone’s help and a huge blessing from God, we were able to get everything finished on time. Even though it was a challenging experience, it was one of growth and learning to co-operate as a group. There was a strong feeling of accomplishment when we were able to meet our goals and finish on time.
P.S. The secret to dealing with stress, is to not get stressed. Words of encouragement from a helpful friend.

Ainsley, Abby, Jenna, Jason, Janelle, Luthandos

Building a Fence

2009-03-23T08:02:00.002-05:00

This project involved building a fence to keep intruders out of a school yard where children played.
Ricky, Chelsea, Kirsten, Amber

Building a railing

2009-03-23T07:50:00.001-05:00

Kayamundi…the name doesn’t do the place justice…what an inspirational, stressful and amazing week. Our group decided to partner with Kuyasa, the local learning center that was our home base for the week. We saw the vibrant children as the greatest asset to the community of Kayamundi.
We decided to assist Kuyasa in improving their already amazing children’s programs, including a feeding scheme, after school tutors and computer classes, to name a few.
Our main project was to construct a safe railing for a not so safe staircase that over 200 children use a day.
With the help of your guide, Mama Aloni we spread out our resources allowing us to finish the railing, assist in feeding 200 plus kids a day, teaching classes from junior kindergarten to grade five and in between doing whatever odd jobs Kuyasa staff asked of us.
Overall, we saw an awesome example of how God provides when his children choose to follow him. We found ourselves arriving at Kuyasa just when there was need, and with God’s help we were able to help full some of these needs.
God is truly at work in the community of Kayamundi and it was awesome to see and be apart of this work.
Tonya, Mackenzie, Caroline, Scott

Operation Rooftop

2009-03-23T07:34:00.003-05:00

After choosing what we wanted to do for our service project, Operation Rooftop, we went to go see Yuli’s house. Yuli is a very young lady who was kicked out of her house because she contracted HIV. She moved to Kayamundi and built herself a shack, but it was lacking a roof, a door, and a window. The first day, we realized that all the materials were quite expensive, and would put us over budget. That night, all of us prayed that things would go smoothly, and that we would be able to give her the things that she needed. Monday morning our prayers were answered, and we were able to find roof plates for half the price we expected. We also received an unexpected donation. The next day, we put the roof on, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Until we arrived on Tuesday. One of the neighbours decided to help, and ended up tearing down the whole front wall. By the end of the day (with the help of the community), we were able to get the wall back up. The last day, we had a bit of extra money, and were able to provide Yuli with a bed for a good night’s sleep. To end off the week, Yuli was welcomed into her refurnished house, and to thank the neighbours for their help, we threw them a “shack warming” party, complete with Coca-Cola, Romany creams (cookies), and Simba chips. All in all, working in the Kayamundi township was a gratifying and eye-opening experience. We saw God in the generosity of our site (who donated some of the money designated for their projects) and the community, while being open to the reality of the way of life other than our own. Our guide Tumi was the best we could have asked for with the willingness to help in any way, her dedication to get the job done and always having a positive attitude that was contagious.
Kristen, Jessica, Kelsey, Sean

Spitbraai

2009-03-23T07:22:00.003-05:00

After one of the tiring days of service work in the community of Kayamundi, our group had a wonderful Spitbraai(barbecue). It was just a nice time to eat amazing tasting food, and replenish our strength for the strenuous days ahead.

Homestay

2009-02-26T06:37:00.000-06:00

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me,I was sick and you looked after me.”
Matthew 25: 35-36
There are no better words to describe my “coloured” homestay. We pulled up to the Strandfontein Methodist Church in our huge bus with 35 people looking for a place to stay for a week. There were about 20 families there waiting to take complete strangers into their home, feed them, and take care of them. We went in and Rodney, our country partner, started reading off names and sending people off with their new families, it was exciting waiting to be called, and even more exciting when I was paired with Melissa for the week.
My “parents” happened to only be 8 years older than Melissa and I but it still felt like family life again. We had two sisters, a nine-year old, Caitlin and a two month old Morgan. Caitlin would drag us outside to play with her friends, and there were a lot and introduce us as her Canadian sisters. Melissa definitely said it best when she said we’d never been so popular in our lives. Being back in a home and sharing a room with only one other person was definitely a bit shocking (imagine putting something down and it still being in the same place two hours later! It’s a new concept!) but it felt so good. At a time when I miss my family so incredibly much it was awesome, and so God sent to have the 20 or so families take complete strangers in and make us feel like we’re at home again.
At the end of the week, saying goodbye to our families was January 13th at the Winnipeg airport all over again. The only difference was that even though these new people are family, the chances of seeing them again are pretty small. I’ll never forget my week with my second parents and my two sisters. It felt like home again, and for God to give these people the hearts and spirits to make it ‘home’ is truly amazing.

Tonya Rempel

Homestay and service projects in Strandfontein

2009-02-26T06:35:00.001-06:00

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Robben Island

2009-02-26T06:34:00.000-06:00

Robben Island was an eye-opening experience for me. We had been to a prison before, but it was a completely different experience with a tour guide that had actually stayed in this prison. Instead of telling us stories of inmates and forgotten prisoners, he talked from experience, told stories out of his own life. It made the horrors of the prison and also the incredible structure of the prison, seem much more alive.

Joshua McGraw

2009-02-26T06:33:00.002-06:00

2009-02-26T06:33:00.001-06:00

Table Mountain

2009-02-26T06:33:00.000-06:00

We had an opportunity to hike up Table Mountain during our adventure week in Cape Town. I had been really excited for this since I had heard it would be happening. I love pushing my limits physically. But I soon found out what type of shape I was in…I swear it was about a billion degrees, and there was no wind. But it was pretty amazing because every time I felt I could go on any longer the path would flatten out, I would find a bit of shade, or more commonly one of the people on their way down would push me on. At least four to five times random strangers on their descend would say “don’t stop now” “your nearly there” “you can make it brother.” It was a pretty incredible experience. Oh, and the view from the top is breathtaking.

Ricky

2009-02-26T06:31:00.001-06:00

2009-02-26T06:31:00.000-06:00

Cape Point

2009-02-26T06:30:00.001-06:00

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Shark Diving

2009-02-26T06:29:00.001-06:00

What an interesting day...we woke up crazy early, drove across the city and got to the ocean. We got onto a boat and we really didn’t know what at that point what we were getting into. It was such a windy day and therefore the water was insanely choppy. We all sat down and got comfortable, quickly we realized this was was going to consist of PUKING PEOPLE! I was dubbed 2nd to puke out of about 10 people in our site. The icing on the cake? We didn’t even get to dive in the water because sharks weren’t showing up. LAME. Okay I make me making this sound a bit negative. We did end up with 5 brief shark sightings…although most of us were too busy puking to see them…

Abby

To give you both sides of Shark diving, I was one of the few people that didn’t get seasick. I loved being out on the ocean and hitting the ways and sitting on the boat waiting for the sharks to come. For me the experience was very relaxing. And it was very exciting when the sharks did come around, and it made all the waiting worth it. Though they didn’t stay around very long like Abby said we did get to see 5 sharks. Also there were 20 of us that got to put wet suits on and even though we didn’t go in the water, you felt really hardcore wearing the wet suit. We had a fish head for the bait, to bring in the sharks and one time the shark surprised us and came up and destroyed the fish head and eat it whole! That was a pretty amazing site, it all happened so fast and seeing the sharks, teeth…I’m just glad I wasn’t in the water with him. So for some of us shark “watching” was not what we expected but we still had fun.

Melissa Kennedy

2009-02-26T06:28:00.004-06:00

2009-02-26T06:28:00.003-06:00

Paragliding

2009-02-26T06:27:00.000-06:00

“When I say run, run as fast as you can! Don’t stop until we’re in the air, and even the keep running!”
That was the speech I got just moments before taking flight into the most amazing experience of my life. Who ever thought the feeling of weightlessness and wind blowing in your face could be so fun. That’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to soaring on wings like eagles, and man was the birds eye view spectacular. Taking in Gods creation from so high in the sky in a parachute is probably the best experience one could ever have. To my left was Table Mountain in its amazingness, below me lay Cape Town and straight ahead and to my right the Pacific Ocean stretches on for miles. I was so in awe of my surroundings that I almost forgot to take pictures! It wasn’t until my pilot reminded me my camera was in my hand, that I started taking pictures and even then I was sure I was going to drop it and most definitely wouldn’t have survived the fall.
After a way to fast 10 minutes we began our twirling descent which was by far the most fun. The pressure compresses you and you twirl and twirl down towards the ocean and then swing back over the ground for landing. Before you know it your feet touch solid ground marking the end of your flying adventure.

Kelsey Marchard

2009-02-26T06:26:00.001-06:00

2009-02-26T06:25:00.001-06:00

Reflections for Simontown

2009-02-26T06:24:00.000-06:00

Stretching my limits, connecting with others and accomplishing some of my dreams are a few things I’ve experienced in Simonstown.
The rippling of the waves, the feeling of sand in between your toes and experiencing the awkwardness of podgy penguins for the first time were definitely memorable moments.
I can’t even describe the beauty of Simonstown, it’s amazing. I could see God in so many ways and it blows me away how in awe I am of his marvelous creation.
Everyday is a new adventure, whether it is paragliding, shark diving or meeting Desmond Tutu in an early morning mass. At night sometimes I would look back on the day’s events and I couldn’t believe how much we did and how crazy – awesome it was.
One of my favorite times of the week was surfing! Its always been my dream to surf and being able to do that in south Africa with amazing friends is the coolest thing ever!
A bunch of people would walk to the train station, hop on the train for 20minutes and then rent surf boards and hit the waves. While out on the water I couldn’t help but be reminded how spectacular our God is. It’s incredible to think that his precious thoughts of us, out number the grains of sand!
Overall my experiences in Simonstown have really revealed to me how a great our God is. Its stirred up a lot of questions about how we can have amazing adventure experiences and then a week later be helping in a township. It creates a lot of discussion among us and really makes me think about the injustices on our world. I’ve loved getting to know God better, and sharing experiences and growth with an awesome group of people. I can’t wait to see how many more ways God will reveal himself!

Kathryn

2009-02-26T06:23:00.001-06:00

2009-02-26T06:22:00.000-06:00

An update is on the way

2009-02-17T02:52:00.002-06:00

We have been throughly enjoying our time in South Africa!!! In the four weeks we've been here we've stayed in five cities and have had the opportunity to interact with over three of the major cultural groups here. We are doing well and learning a lot - a points more then we can process in the moment! Things are a bit slower in the next couple of weeks so stayed tuned for some major blog updates!

Site 2 Media Committee

The Cradle of Humankind

2009-01-30T15:17:00.000-06:00

We visited caves renowned as the "Cradle of Humankind." They are called that because the oldest fossils of mammals that humans descended from were found here. We enjoyed our time walking deep down into the earth and crouching as we walked through the narrow passages.

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Apartheid Museum

2009-01-30T14:51:00.000-06:00

One of Afrikaaner professors who speaks to us told us that she believes that every South African should visit the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg. It is an incredibly powerful collection of the contributing factors to Apartheid, the realities of Apartheid and the countries to journey to democracy. Through interviews, tapes of life footage and a many write-ups and pictures the museum paints a vivid picture of what it was like to live during the Apartheid era.

This picture demonstrates the inconsistent nature of the apartheid racial classifcation system

Constitution Hill

2009-01-30T14:34:00.002-06:00

We spent one morning visiting Constitution Hill - the former home of a prison and the current home of the South African Constitutional Courts. Constitution Hill is a difficult place to be. As the tour guide walks you around the prison the reality of life under apartheid becomes vividly apparent - to the point you can almost smell what it would be like to live with 35 other people in an incredibly small room that contained both bathroom "pots" and "beds" composed of folded blankets. It is heart-breaking and a points nauseating to hear of the cruelty that people have inflicted upon each other. That one person could treat another person in these ways is fairly incomprehensible -- the only answer to the questions of "how" and "why" seems to be "evil."

The Elwierda Bus (our second home)

2009-01-30T14:15:00.000-06:00

A glimpse of South Africa

2009-01-30T13:57:00.004-06:00

By Becca Letkeman

"See Soweto and you see all of South Africa," a lady tells me as we stand beside a fruit stand on one of the city's busy streets. If the city was a choir it's sopranoes would be blaring Kombi (VW vans) horns, it's altos the mellow hum of constant chatter between neighbours and friends, tenors the cheerful bits of pulsing pop music, and bases the lulling chug of PUTCO buses.

Soweto is bustling.
Soweto is vibrant.
Soweto is full of life.

I cannot completely describe what it is like to be here, nor capture the warmth and openness of the people who live here. We walk down the street and people smile, wave, or stop to talk, which prompts us to attempt 'Sawabona' (a Zulu greeting). They laugh heartily, surprised and amused by our attempts at Zulu. Then they reply, 'Unjani?' (How are you?) 'Ngiyaphila,' (I am fine). The conversation stops here because we do not know much of the language beyond the greetings!

I have been struck by the welcome people give us. On Monday we went to SKY (Soweto Kliptown Youth), a youth center which teaches gumboot dancing, a form of South African dancing orginating in the mines. Before we watched the children dance they mentions several times, 'You are at home here. This is home.' We'd never been there before!

From this gesture and others I've gathered that those from Soweto know a lot about care.

It seems Sowetans know a lot about GOD.

And after catching such wide glimpses of GOD in Soweto, if it indeed speaks for the whole of South Africa, discovering the rest of the country will hopefully be a rich and challenging journey.

Beautiful Art

2009-01-30T10:30:00.000-06:00

Walking through the community of Kliptown

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Regina Mundi Church

2009-01-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

As part of our touring we visited the Regina Mundi Church. During the Apartheid era this church was a rallying point for protesters. It is particularly infamous because of the destruction cause by the South African police when they raided the church, causing significant destruction, including shooting the hands off of a statue of Jesus. The church also houses a picture of a black Madonna and a beautiful picture called the "eye of Soweto."

The second floor of the church is filled with pictures and personal reflections on the affects of apartheid and how people have journeyed through that time.

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Alive and Dancing

2009-01-30T10:07:00.000-06:00

We thoroughly enjoyed multiple dancing performance put on by youth who work with an after school program. The dedication of these children is inspiring. As we watched we saw children as young as six sweating away under the African sun as they whole heartedly focused on learning the steps to their gumboot dancing (see center picture). We also enjoyed lively dancing from the girls and extremely unique dancing from a group of teens who had found their way into Kliptown (a section of Soweto) on their from their rural homes into Johannesburg where they were looking for work.

A nation of children

2009-01-30T09:50:00.000-06:00

As I walk through the townships of South Africa I am greeted with the friendly smiles and eager handshakes of children. Their happiness at seeing us and willingness to walk around with us is an incredible source of joy. Playing with children is a significant part of our experience in Soweto and we are just as eager to make friends with them as they are with us.

I am struck by the reality that a substantial number of these children likely have never held the hand of white person before.

I consider the difference in their upbringing that make them so much more willing then children at home to take the hand of a stranger and go for a walk..

I also wonder what life is like when their is not the excitement of having vistors around...

2009-01-30T09:31:00.000-06:00

The eyes of Soweto

2009-01-30T09:28:00.000-06:00

The first three days

2009-01-30T08:23:00.000-06:00

We spent our first couple of days at the Heronbridge Retreat Center. This was a beautiful and restful place where we adjusted to the heat (yes!!!), debriefed Christmas and reconnected with each other.

We arrived tired, yet very happy

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Poor Josh had to wait a week for his bag to arrive

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Heronbridge Retreat Center

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We tried to spend us much time outside as possible

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Climbing trees and playing with our country partners' kids

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These super neat roofs helped keep us cool!

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We are blessed to be surrounded by beauty

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The Beautiful African Sunset

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Playing "water polo"

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Enjoying the Pool

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First Impressions of the Rainbow Nation

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We have Arrived!!

2009-01-30T07:18:00.000-06:00

The long, long trip!

2009-01-30T07:15:00.000-06:00

It was a long (but fun) 20 hours of flying and 10 hours of layovers as we travelled from Winnipeg to Toronto to London to Jo-Burg SA!

Cross Cultural Preparation

2009-01-02T23:39:00.002-06:00

On our last day at Pioneer Camp groups of students took turns teaching each other (in various dramatic fashions) about cross cultural adaptation, cultural shock and variety of other intriguing topics!

Melissa and Jason's group taught us about different ways of keeping an open perspective

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Patrick modeled the different stages of culture shock

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Not exactly sure what Janelle was teaching about, but boy was it fun!

2009-01-02T23:33:00.001-06:00

This group taught us about the stages of cultural adapatation

A Christmas Party - Outtatown Style

2009-01-02T23:17:00.000-06:00

It was a CLASSY party

2009-01-02T23:11:00.002-06:00

Each PMG made their own "gingerbread" creation

2009-01-02T23:09:00.000-06:00

Santa made an appearance

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Jerry (our host at Pioneer Ranch Camp) enjoyed telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas

Laura was happy with the gingerbread Santa had for her

Jason didn't have as great of an experience

Brent was more than happy with his visit

Ski Day at Sunshine Village

2009-01-02T22:49:00.002-06:00

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to spend our last day in Alberta with site 1 and site 2 at Sunshine Village near Banff. It was a day filled with falls, laughs and great runs.

Getting ready to go up the gondala

Yes... there was some fear at the beginning!

And some warning!

And some amazing ski gear!

Peter resting up before he braced the Canadian Winter

2009-01-02T22:41:00.005-06:00

Kelsey and Mackenzie happily enjoying the gondala

Jason and Jess riding the lift

We really do get to live an amazing life!

Crazy helmet hair

Kelsey had a run-in with her ski pole, but she was okay!

Guys Appreciation Night

2009-01-02T22:37:00.002-06:00

We (the girls) are really blessed to get to live with a group of twelve awesome guys. So we decided to let them know how much we appreciate them with a night filled with their favorite things - a supper filled with meat, a fort to be manly in, a top secret outdoor game and movie.

2009-01-02T22:30:00.001-06:00

Working on the cards we made for each guy

The boys waiting patiently even though they have no idea what is going on. We told them they had to stay in the hallway and then took them upstairs one by one!

The girls welcoming a guy to the party!

2009-01-02T22:24:00.002-06:00

Chelsea and Tonya welcoming their "guy"
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The boys heading off to the fort the girls made them

Each boy enjoyed their own verse in a rap created by the girls

Laura enjoying the party treats

Andy enjoying life!

Fun on the ice at Pioneer Ranch Camp

2009-01-02T22:12:00.001-06:00

Studying....

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Peter and Patrick hard at work studying for a "test" on the South Africa Preparation Material

This was the best kind of test - one filled with candy! And people enjoyed it in many ways!

Small Group Bonding

2009-01-02T20:22:00.003-06:00

One windy afternoon we decided to get to know our small groups on a more "personal" level through a series of challenges... mainly involving small openings, heights and large pieces of wood!

Laura's Small Group

Aaron's Small Group

Andy's Small Group

Tessa's Small Group

2009-01-02T20:21:00.006-06:00

Fun with Wood!

2009-01-02T20:21:00.005-06:00

The goal of this task was to fit each member through an opening in the spider web without touching any of the string. The tricky part was each opening could only be used once, so we had to be very strategic with who we put where!

Can she make it through???

Yep! And Riley can too!

2009-01-02T20:19:00.002-06:00

Climbing the wall in whatever way you can!

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A different kind of wall, but the same kind of fun

Hiking Elk Mountain - CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

2009-01-02T19:50:00.003-06:00

We had the awesome opportunity to go for rainy hike up a small, yet very steep, mountain close to Chilliwack B.C.

When we started it felt like fall...

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And then it started to get colder...

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And then it was defintely WINTER!!!

Temple Tours

2009-01-02T19:32:00.003-06:00

During our time in Vancouver we had the opportunity to visit three temples and receive a brief introduction on their faiths. It was exciting and interesting to learn about the core values and practices of these traditions.

Impact Vancouver Day

2009-01-02T19:26:00.003-06:00

Rylie, Brent, Sean, Caroline, and Kelsey

Today we had a project called impact Vancouver day, which made it sound really intimidating. As a group we were pretty much told that today we were to be creative and do something to impact Vancouver… now that seemed kind of scary and pretty intense and as a group we were left thinking how can we do something to actually impact Vancouver.

We sat in a coffee shop pondering ideas and we came up with a few good ones we could run with but we decided on one, which we did and it turned out so well. What we did was take papers, fold them up like little letters and we wrote on the front of them and we wrote on the front of them “show love” then inside was an encouraging quote, or a saying, or a joke, or the idea of people opening it and treating themselves and someone else to coffee. We wrote on the back of them “you are loved”, and then we stuck them all into little envelopes and on the front of the envelopes wrote, “this is for you”. Once we finished creating our plan we put it into action, and it was so exciting!

We had decided earlier that we wanted to do something on the trains and so once we were all ready we each grabbed a pile of envelopes, which we made a hundred of! Then we headed to the train station bought a two-hour ticket and we hopped on the trains. It was so exciting it felt like secret mission because we were being so sneaky. What we would do was sit down and while we were sitting there put an envelope on the seat, then when the train stopped we would get off and move to another train kart. When we were getting off we would sometimes hand someone an envelope. It was really cool. Some people were confused, some people rejected us, and others were so willing to accept. It was neat to see the people picking up the envelopes that we had secretly lest on the seat. One guy looked at it so long while we were riding on the train, then as he left he discretely picked it up. Which was rather exciting.

Our day was really neat because we just wanted it to be all in Gods hands. We knew in one day we really wouldn’t be able to change Vancouver, but with the help of God we could make someone else’s day or maybe challenge them to think. We like to think that God had a huge hand in giving the envelopes away to the right people. We didn’t know what the envelopes said specifically in each one, so we never knew who was getting what, which we thought was pretty sweet since it was all up to God. And that’s how we decided to impact Vancouver.

Free Hugs Anyone?

2009-01-02T19:26:00.001-06:00

Jordan, Becca, Patrick, Jessica and Ainsley

“Free hugs anyone?” Basically we spent our day in the rain hugging anyone and everyone. We started in a train station holding cardboard signs advertising free hugs. Then we moved to the corners of East Hasting and Main where we also gave out hugs and ended up chatting with a variety of people from different walks of life. We impacted Vancouver by brightening some people’s days and showing that a hug is a universal sign of love.

The Power of Engagement

2009-01-02T19:25:00.002-06:00

Abby, Tonya, Mackenzie, Peter and Cassie

On impact Vancouver day our group began with absolutely no ideas. After tonnes of brainstorming we decide to do something artistic with the people of inner city Vancouver. On our way to do that we ran into Rick- a man who knows the streets all to well. He opened up to us for about an hour and when we asked him what we should do to impact Vancouver he told us to do what we were already doing; talking to people. Without an agenda we therefore decided to be open to conversation as our way to impact Vancouver. This involved an impromptu tour through the First United Church- a mission, and some incredible time talking and playing games with people in the Carnegie Community Center. It was an incredible day the deeply impacted each member of our group.