Farewell From Camp Qwanoes

Hello Again!  

As the season changes and Camp Qwanoes starts to gear up for summer, we can’t help but feel a certain emptiness with the departing of our Students.  After a fantastic year of learning and adventure, we were sad, yet excited for our students as they left camp to explore their own adventures and seasons of life!

We Celebrated Graduation!

Graduation weekend is an exciting time for us as we celebrate our students and the ways in which they have grown throughout the program.  We were blessed to have many of the students’ families, friends and churches at graduation to celebrate with us too!

Friday night of graduation weekend started with dinner, followed by a reception in which we could mingle and meet the friends and families of our students, see pictures from the year, and present gifts to our students on behalf of the leadership team.  It was great to share stories, and reflect on some of the events and adventures of these past eight months!

Graduation Day on Saturday was full of events.  In the morning and early afternoon, challenge course activities were briefly opened up for parents and students to enjoy, and kick off the day!  Following this, the graduation ceremony started later in the afternoon.  This was a great time to celebrate our students’ journey as we enjoyed pictures, speeches, awards presentations, certificate presentations, and a video of the year produced by Dale Thielmann (video link at bottom of page).  After the ceremony, we took pictures in the field, followed by a reception dinner, where we enjoyed a nice meal, shared stories, and began our goodbyes.

We Said Goodbye to Our Students

The Sunday of graduation was a rather sad day for the Kaléo Program.  As we said goodbye to each other one by one, we prayed and encouraged one another throughout the morning.  However, this is also a very happy moment for the Kaléo Program.  A chance for students to look behind them to see what God has done in their lives, and a chance to look ahead at the journey that He has planned for their future!

Thanks From the Leadership Team! 

On behalf of the Kaléo Program leadership team, I would like to say thank you to all of the families, friends, and churches that have been such a great support to our students these past eight months.  May God bless all of you, and may God also bless our students as they go to love and serve the Lord in the next seasons of their lives!

Sincerely in Him,

Dustin Smith 

Kaléo Program Intern, Camp Qwanoes