Retreat Season Begins and Love Crofton

Hello again, and greetings from Camp Qwanoes!

As the leaves begin to change colour and the air becomes colder, camp has begun to shift into a new season of ministry.  For the next few weeks we will be entering into a series of retreats run by Camp Qwanoes, similar to our summer program for campers.

Campers are back!

After spending a few weeks at camp in a rather quiet and peaceful environment, it quickly changed last night as junior campers aged 7-11 flooded into the property with excitement for the 2015 Fall Juniors Retreat!  This is also an exciting event for our students as they have the opportunity to put to practice what they have been learning so far in the Kaléo Program.

Students have taken on various roles throughout the retreat, but most of them have been serving as councillors for the campers.  Each cabin holds about 6-8 campers, most with one counselor, some with two.  For some, this is a brand new experience and are enjoying taking on the role of leading discussions, participating in games, and enjoying meals with the kids.

This week we served Crofton through several types of service projects.

Love Crofton is an annual event of Camp Qwanoes in partnership with Warmland Community Church in Crofton.  After advertising and preparing last week, we received many calls for service around our community.  Students took the opportunity to show Gods love through many tasks such as mowing lawns, raking leaves, washing windows, and many other kinds of yard work.

We were proud to see our students caring for their new community with such joy and excitement!  Though some jobs proved to be more work than others, our students learned a lot about our community and, in some cases, had the opportunity to pray for those who needed prayer and support in Crofton.

As leaders, this was also a very exciting event for us as we were able to step back and let the students take the lead.  Though this was a Camp Qwanoes event, our students were the ones who organized and carried out the tasks for Love Crofton.  We were thrilled to see how much they have been growing so far in the Kaléo Program.

Students have also been hard at work for class next week.

In preparation for Gospels class next week, students have been studying diligently to prepare for their upcoming course.  Wes Olmstead, Dean of Academics at Briercrest, has a passion for teaching on the New Testament and we are excited to have him join us next week.  

Please be in prayer for our students as this will be one of their heavier courses this year and that they will be able to retain all of the information that they will learn.  Also be in prayer for the people and families of Crofton who were served this week and that God’s love would resonate in their lives.

In Him,

Dustin Smith

Kaléo Program Intern, Camp Qwanoes