A Note

to say Hi...

I'm sorry to say it, but lately my priorities just haven't included updating this blog. And now that I'm home for Christmas, and have a bit more time, all I can motivate myself to do is update the face of the blog.
I just have no writing inspiration.

So for now (until January 1st that is), if you want to know what's going on in my life, call me or go for coffee with me... preferably, go with the coffee option. :)

It's been REALLY good to see a lot of you again. I miss you when I'm gone.

Liz

"Smooth" Talking

Well...
We caved.

It was one of those times when the pain of the punishment was great enough that I almost would go back in time and just... let the hair grow forever.

No, we did not make it to our goal of December 1st.
It was just too much to handle.
We looked like little boys... no, not even little boys, like grown men.

We got Tim to buy us waxing stuff (he was in town already, relax) and braced ourselves. I was the only one who had ever waxed before so I prepared Laura and Jojo for the pain.
Their facial expressions as we started were /priceless/... I've never laughed (or whimpered) that much.

We were all pretty pathetic about the whole process... but it's over and done now...

My legs are officially VERY smooth and hairless.
It's a beautiful feeling.

Hairy Scary

Laura and I are having a competition right now.
We started two weeks in to October.
And we end on December first.
We're tied right now...
For two different reasons:

She is darker and thicker.
But I am longer.

*shudders*

Leg hair is gross.

All I want for Christmas...

...is my one not quite front tooth back.

Yup.
I lost my tooth.
Not like lost lost it... cause I still have it.
But like it fell out of my gums lost it.

It was my fake tooth (hurrah for hockey injuries!).
Gradually for a few weeks it had been getting more and more wiggly,
And like any good kid I helped it right along by wiggling it whenever I had the chance.
I was kinda hoping to pull it out,
But no...
It had to just fall out while I was eating.

Now I look slightly like a pirate.
It's pretty sweet.

There's No Time Like the Present...

Wow...
I guess it's been awhile, eh?

As we fade into winter here at Frontier Lodge our schedule slows down quite a bit. We've only had a few groups in the past 4 months. It's a nice change though, and it gives us time to catch up on other things that need to get done. For example:
-Digging up our lines to check for leaks and to bury them deeper for the winter chill
-Renovating/cleaning the garage so it's actually usable again
-Scouting for out-trips for upcoming groups
-Finishing the office renos
-Refinishing the dining room floor
-Planning and organizing all the music/worship binders (my project)

As for free time... we've started changing our focus to fall/winter activities. The rock is getting a little too cold to be climbing (though Tim and I have gone out a few times), so 6 of us starting practicing for some glacier travel. We hung ourselves off the deck, pulled each other up, ascended the ropes, and built anchors. After a few nights of practicing, Brad, Jess, Migges, Nicole, Tim and I headed out for a day of glacier play. We went to the Columbia Icefields and promptly found a crevasse to throw each other into. It was great. It was so awesome to be on a glacier for the first time ever.


I really am coming up blank with things to say... I waited too long to post. Now everything feels like old news, or I forgot the whole story.
Sorry.

With everything slowing down a bit, I get more time to invest in relationships; with my girls, with Tim, and most importantly, with God. It's been really nice.
God is so good. Every day He blesses me somehow. Every time I'm down, He's there.


Well, I'm signing off for now...
I'll try and get on here a little sooner next time.
Thanks for all your support and prayers, you all mean SO much to me. Seriously.

Grace and Peace.

A Call Out...

Hey guys...

Would you all pray for me the next couple of days?
I know alot of you already pray for me, and for that I am SO thankful...
But I need an extra dose of prayer these days.

There is a load on my mind and a weight on my shoulders.
God is really teaching me alot about selflessness and about how selfish and immature I am.
It's a long and painful lesson.

I tend to base my emotions on how people treat me, what they say to me (or what they don't say), or on how full my "love cup" is.
(I think I kind of talked about this a bit before...)

The other thing I need prayer for, and maybe this is what is spurring on all the other things, is my relationship with God. I feel like I've come to a wall... not necessarily a brick wall, but a paper wall... one that is letting just a little bit of Light through, maybe a little bit of Sound.... but a wall none the less. It's preventing me from getting anything out of my devotions. Anytime I sit down to pray or read my Bible, the wall comes up.

Would you guys join with me in prayer that my walls would be broken and that my weights of selfishness would be lifted?
We serve a Great and Powerful God and He has promised that He will always be listening and answering prayers.
That being said, would you guys email me and tell me some things I can be praying for for you? I may be struggling a bit, but that doesn't mean I can't be praying on others behalf.

Grace and Peace to you all.

Liz

A Speedy Lesson

Over the six months that I've been here at Frontier God has really taught me a lot of lessons.
Some I learn right away.
Some I have to surrender every day.
Some hurt.
Some are really beautiful.
Some take a few nudges to get my attention.
This one took a really long drive to learn.


Some of you may know this, some of you maybe not... but...
I like to drive fast.
Like I really, really like it.
It gives me a sense of freedom, power, and control...
And plus it's just stinkin' fun.

I know that speeding is wrong.
God has really been convicting me of this.
I obey the other rules the government has put in place...
Like, I don't steal,
I don't graffiti things,
I don't assault people,
I don't drive on the wrong side of the road.
I believe those are wrong.
So what gives me the right to think that speeding is ok?

I was really struggling with this whole issue.

But once you get into a habit of sin,
It becomes a habit hard to break.

So anyways.
I'm driving back to Frontier on Tuesday...
I'm doing really well,
You know,
Watching my speed and all...
Well, slowing I start to creep faster and faster.
I know inside that this is wrong,
But it feels so freeing.

Next thing I know:
I'm getting my very first speeding ticket.
Actually, it was my first time even being pulled over.
I always thought that the first time I got pulled over I would be really upset...
Well...
I started laughing.
God has such powerful ways of getting our attention.
I know I deserved the ticket.
I had been stupid.
The police officer was really nice.
Because I was so pleasant to him and recognized what I had done wrong,
He bumped it down to the lowest possible ticket he could.

While I was sitting there,
God brought some verses to mind.
It was a set of verses that I had been reading repeatedly for the past few days.
The verses are from Romans 6 (The Message) and are as follows:

When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.

What Is True Freedom?

So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?

As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.

But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.


I was giving in to sin,
Thinking that it was giving me freedom...
When really,
All along, God was waiting with His Life giving Freedom.

The rest of the ride back to camp was pretty sweet.
I definitely drove the speed limit,
And God really blessed that.
The sunset was spectacular,
The moon was huge and full,
I had an awesome time of worship,
And when I got back I had awesome friends waiting impatiently for me.

Sometimes learning lessons costs more then we want,
But in the end,
The new Freedom and Life we get is FAR better, and worth so much more then money...


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Here are the flowers I had waiting in my room from my amazing man.

There is no Try

This week Nicole and I were scheduled to go scouting for an over night hike. It's good 3-4 day hike, that we were going to attempt to do in 2 days. We were a little wary of pushing for 2 days as the guide book says that "if you are very strong and very fast you can make this a 2 day hike, otherwise plan on at least 3 days". Well we left with skeptical minds and backpacks packed for up to three days. We got to the trailhead and it welcomed us with a light snow falling.
....... I just totally lost my train of thought.. So I'll just tell you the story with no frills.
We did the 3-4 day, 27 km hike in..... one freaking day!!!! Nicole and I hiked for 11 hours straight. We did that yesterday... today I hurt.

Nicole and I are machines, what can I say.

I may be Alive and Kicking,

But the Deer sure isn't.

I have a long list of things to say and I'm gonna try and power through them so I don't get distracted. Here goes.

Hunger Pains
The last time I wrote I had just got back from hearing the discouraging news of all the things I couldn't/shouldn't eat right now...I figure I should let you know that I haven't died of starvation yet. According to the scale here, I have lost over 5 pounds, but I'm doing alright. God is really teaching me a lot through this. So since I've been back from the Chiropractor I've had a lot of salads and stir-frys. It's been pretty hard at times... not being able to eat what everyone else is eating. It takes a lot of time and energy (and money) to cook my own meals; none of which I have a lot of. I spend a lot of time being hungry, which is fine, it doesn't hurt to be hungry as lots of people are more hungry than I am for longer than I am. It's just been really draining for me. All I wanted was someone to take the time to care for me. You know how when you're sick, all you want is to be at home with mum and some chicken noodle soup? Yeah. I just wanted someone to baby me a bit. Of course no one here has the time to do that, and they've got their own hard times. I got pretty low. My energy level when way down. It just drained everything I had. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually I was shot. I ended up withdrawing a lot. Then one morning, after a particularly hard night, I was just starting my morning devotion with some prayer and BAM! God met me where I was. He reminded me through His Word, and through a book I've been trying to read, that I've been missing the whole point of everything. I was so wrapped up in my own "problems" that I pushed everyone away and put myself before them. My self-centeredness was what was draining me so bad. Bill Hybels writes a book about living beyond ourselves. In it he talks about how the way to peace, joy, and fulfillment is through following Jesus' example of servanthood. I had been so busy throwing myself a pity party that I was missing out on life. I had been putting my want of attention before the people that I really care about.
As soon as I understood what God was trying to say to me, it just clicked. Something in me changed... it's not going to be smooth sailing all the time though. This is something I'm going to have to surrender to God everyday...
Having a serving attitude is hard for me... but the Bible clearing states that to be a leader you have to be a servant. It's something God's been trying to teach me for a long time. It kinda stinks that I wouldn't listen until He took all my food away...


Ok, so I already got distracted... I keep thinking of things that need to be done.
Ag.

Taking a Fall
We're in full swing of the Fall season here at Frontier Lodge - our groups are becoming a little more spaced out, I had the privilege of programming for our last canoe trip of the year, and the sun is calling it quits by 19:30. (Sorry, I've taken a fancy to military time.) We've had some really nice days this week. It was like 25 out for a few of them. As much as I love the summer weather, every nice day we have reminds me how much closer we are to Winter. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to winter and to all the new sports I'll be able to learn... it's just that I'll always be a summer girl.

Since the end of the summer season we've had 5 or 6 groups in. They've all been a bit older (like grade 12 classes), and have come as pretty tight groups. This makes it hard to be able to hang out with them, or connect with them, unless you really put in a lot of effort. This is something that I'm working on. God has been revealing to me that I don't really have a heart for people anymore... it got lost somewhere along the way of Frontier becoming a "job", not a "ministry". (If you could be praying for me in this regard, that would be awesome!) God is good though. There was one day, while I was hosting a group, that I was just not feeling the love. All the students were really annoying, and the teachers were even worse... I started praying about it, and BAM! God filled me with His Love. For the rest of the day I was able to really love them and care for them. It was a huge lesson for me.

Of course, now that the groups are a little more sparse, we have time for the "fun stuff"... like camp work, scouting, preparing for next summer, cleaning... All stuff that has to be done, some stuff more fun then others. We've been working on redoing the Office for quite a while, and it's almost done. There's a Work Bee this weekend (starting today) and hopefully the Office, along with a list of other things , will get finished up.

Because I'm not the most skilled construction worker out there ( :P ), I'm not always on camp work. This week I got to go scouting with Darcy on some old quad trails. We were on bikes making sure the trails were still ridable, as they haven't been used for bikes in a few years. It was pretty darn amazing. It was a downhill ride that Darcy said was actually harder then our normal "hard" downhill trail. There was a few times where you're scared for your life... where the hill is so steep that you're leaning back so far that you're basically sitting on the rear tire, where you have to duck so low to miss a tree your teeth hit the handlebars, where the drop in front of you is so big you can't decide if you should bail before it or just try and survive it, where your adrenaline rush is so intense you shake for like 20 minutes after the ride is done. The whole ride wasn't like that though... there was two rather large hills we had to climb, and we had to climb them both twice. Ridiculous. They were hills I wouldn't want to hike up, let alone hike a downhill bike up. Every muscle in my body was raging... is still raging. I took one really nice fall when a tree totally took me out. It was across the trail, but looked small enough that it would just bend when I rode through it. It was a lot stronger then I anticipated. The result was a bruised funny bone (with numb fingers), a sore rear cheek, some blood on the arm, a goose egg of many colors on the knee, and a hurt pride.

You're such a deer... er... dear
I went hunting with Tim last night. It was the first time I've gone sitting. (As apposed to walking around the forest shooting squirr-er-targets...) We sat for about an hour and a half and saw only the rear ends of two White Tails. Just as the weather started getting a bit sketchy I saw something off in the distance. Tim couldn't see it, even through the scope, so he crept up to the top of the hill to look down. Where I was, I could only see him, not down the hill... which was fine. ( :P I wish I could have taken a picture... he was the epitome of all that is man. ) He stood there for a minute or two, just looking through the scope... then there was a shot... then silence... then four White Tails scattered. Tim called me over. He had dropped a good sized doe. His goal had been for at least a 4x4 buck, but the doe just kept coming closer and closer. When he shot it, it was only like 60 meters away.
So now there's this dead deer... The next step is pretty obvious. It has to be cleaned... and I don't mean it needs a bath.
I'll spare you the gory details, but I must say how proud I am of me. I didn't get squeamish at all. I even helped hold it while Tim pulled the guts out. It was actually really interesting to see all all the insides... cause you see lots of pictures for biology and stuff, but seeing it live is a different story.
Chuck had been hunting too, so by this time he had walked over to us. He and Tim tied it to a big stick and they carried it down to the road, while I was in charge of the backpacks and guns. We took it back to camp, hung it up in the quad shed, and they started skinning it. It's a long, but interesting process. The only time I got a bit grossed out was when they started sawing through the ribs with a hack saw. It sounds pretty nasty. After the skin, along with the head, was off, the boys started cutting the meat off and Jojo and I had a bit of fun with the head. The tongue was sticking out, so we pierced it was a nail... and then we were investigating it's mouth and eyes... both of which are really weird.
Haha, you should have seen us though... we looked about as redneck as you can get. Tim, Chuck, and I were sitting in the back of the truck, all geared up in camo, with guns between our legs, and the prize behind us...

This is the End
Well, this is officially the longest blog I've ever written... You're probably all asleep.
I have to run though... I'm picking up Laura from Red Deer today.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Praying for you guys.

Grace and Peace,

Liz

Who Cut the Cheese?

... It certainly wasn't me, that's for sure.
Why, you ask?

BECAUSE I CAN'T STINKING EAT CHEESE!!
...or any dairy for that matter...
...or wheat
...or beef
...or pork
...or chocolate
...or caffeine
...or any citrus fruits

*sign*
I'm gonna starve to death.

Ok, let me back up a bit.
My hives/rash/thing still hasn't really gone away. I started on a rice diet awhile ago (meaning I eat nothing but rice) and that seemed to be helping, leading to me strongly believing this is a food allergy.
But seriously... it is so itchy, I can't stand it. I have been getting like 2 hours of sleep a night, and none of the "stop itch" things have been working.
So Cindy (our mother figure here at camp) got concerned for me and did some calling around. She found this Chiropractor in Rocky that does natural allergy testing. So I called him up and got an appointment for this morning. I went in kind of skeptical cause I didn't know a lot about what he was going to do.
He ended up doing these like muscle test things... and it was weird, but he could tell things about me just by feeling certain muscles and stuff. In the end he told me I had an intolerance to the things above... so basically I get to eat rice and chicken.
Apparently, I can get rid of the intolerances by going in for regular chiropractic care. I looked it up on the internet and it seemed legit... we'll see though I guess...

For now, though....
It's the slim pickings for me.

Scratch.

Ok,
I'm here because I need prayer again.
I'm having a bad reaction to something...
What, I don't yet know...
And I have hives all over me.
They get worse every day.
I went in to the emergency the other day,
Cause my throat was swelling up.
The doctor said it was probably something I ate.
Like either:
-Dairy
-Grains
-Fruit
-Food Dye
-Nuts
Well thanks.
That eliminates like sugar.

So I guess what I'm asking prayer for is:
-Perseverance to get through this without ripping my skin off
-Wisdom to know what to do (go in for allergy testing, try and test it out myself...)

Oh,
And neither Benadryl or Reactin work.

I feel like one big ball of itch.

I just want to say:

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support!
It's people like you that help keep ministries like Frontier going.

I love you all!!!

Prayer Request:

Please pray for the staff here at Frontier tomorrow (Sunday).
We are hosting the annual Wycliffe Adventure Race to 2025 again this year.
The days are LONG and busy, and after only one day we're all ready to call it quits.
Tomorrow we all have to get up at 5:30am to meet and then prepare breakfast and then go all day.
So yeah, prayer for energy, endurance, good attitudes, and Christ's Spirit would be SO amazing.

This is a huge opportunity for us to help further the Gospel across the earth, so maybe just prayer for that would be awesome too. That God would really bless this, and that the money raised would be wisely used and deeply effective.

To find out more about the Adventure Race I think www.wycliffe.ca might have some more info about it.

Thanks everyone!! You are all huge blessings in my life!

Not in a Hole Anymore...

I suppose I should let you all know that I'm not still stuck in that hole that I dug...
It's now filled in and forgotten about.
Thank heavens.
...Of course my days of digging are far from over...


I'm very unmotivated to write these days...
So much has happened.

I'm at home right now.
Yup, I surprised my family and friends by just showing up at midnight on Saturday.
It was great.
Then on Sunday... everyones faces when they saw me.... priceless.

It was SO amazing to see everyone.
I went to church and to C&C, and we played soccer, and went for coffee...
It really made me miss being here.
At the same time though, it was really reaffirmed to me that Frontier is where God wants me.


But I need to go pack up and get ready to head back...
Hopefully I'll have time for more of an update later.

Love you all.

Liz

Ps. Please email me with stuff that I can be praying for you!!

Digging myself into a hole...

I dug myself into a hole for 7 hours on Thursday.
Actually, it was a ditch.
3 feet deep.
2 feet wide.
It was 28 degrees out by lunch.
I think I lost like 10 pounds in sweat.

They've been working on this ditch for quite some time now, trying to get it ready to lay some power lines. It's pretty much done now... I was pretty determined to get the stinking thing done. They were making fun of me the whole time I was working cause I had to use a pick axe and a sledge hammer for parts of it. I said that by the time I was done I would be a man...
They agreed.

The ditch is almost done...
Thankfully, I am still a woman.

For He is my Rock...

"I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety." Psalm 18:1-2



On Monday, after Fat Tire (Which went great by the way. Thanks for all your prayers!), 7 friends and I left for Lake Louis. We got there around 19:00 I think, set up camp at Mosquito Creek Campground, and spent the night singing worship songs and praying. It was so nice!
Tuesday morning came a little too early, but we were all up and ready to go by 9:00. We left for the "Back of the Lake" and an hour later were standing beneath beautiful quartzite rock, flipping through the guide book, trying to decide what to climb first. After some debate and backtracking we settled in for some awesome climbing and spent the next 10 hours in harness and helmet.
That night we lost 2 of our group members. They headed back for work the next day.
Wednesday we took a little more chill. We cleaned up camp, sorted out gear, and headed back to the "Back of the Lake" for another 8 hours of climbing. After a good, solid, challenging day 4 of us headed home. (Tim and Phil went in the opposite direction, towards the Bugaboos for a few more days of climbing and hiking.)

God is so Good.
He gives us strength and energy.
He lets us use and be in His amazing creation.
He blesses us daily with little blessings that often we miss.
He teaches us, stretches us, and molds us.
His Word is Good News.
His love is eternal.
His arm is strong.
God is so Good.

Fat Tire...

So, I got a little distracted on that last post... I tried writing it in between work duties and that didn't really work all that well.

Last night started our yearly Fat Tire Festival. It's a biking festival with competitions, guided rides, games, and prizes. People stay here or at the campsite beside us, and join us for meals, activities and a church service tomorrow.
I was assigned to help out with the night ride last night. It started at 10pm and went for about an hour. Most people were pretty silly and didn't bring a headlamp, so it was quite amusing to be behind them, listened to all the noises. :P



Prayer:
-Energy for all the staff. These are long days with lots of people interaction.
-That all the little details would be worked out and that nothing would be forgotten.
-Church tomorrow. That people would be open to hearing about God, and that the message would be totally God-inspired. Also for Flo and I as we lead worship... for confidence and a spirit of worship.

Praise:
-That we get this awesome opportunity to witness to people with our lives.
-For the beautiful creation I am surrounded by, and that God lets us play in it and be a part of it.

Riding the Road...

Greetings Ya’ll! (I get to say that, cause I’m in Redneck country :)

It’s crazy how fast time flies when you stop wearing a watch. I’ve been here at Frontier Lodge for 3 months already.
For those of you who don't know a lot about what I'm doing or where I am, here's a quick overview:

Frontier Lodge is located 5 minutes West of Nordegg, Alberta; two hours West of Red Deer, Alberta. It is a Wilderness Adventure Camp that “uses God’s Wilderness to Reach, Teach, and Train Youth and Adults for Jesus Christ”. We use God’s amazing creation to spiritually and physically challenge people out of their normal comfort zones, and into God’s life-long adventure. Some of the ways we do this include: rock climbing, rappelling, caving, mountain biking, canyoneering, and hiking. It is so encouraging to see how God can use these activities to move His people closer to Him. I am so honored and blessed to be a part of this.

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Right now we've got our Mountain Bike Level 2 camp going on. They're some pretty awesome guys. I haven't really been involved with them at all, but it sounds like it's going pretty well. Today is their last day, so they head off in a few minutes to get their last rides in.

The part that I have been involved with is the campfires. When I first came into the week I was a bit hesitant about what the campfires would look like - specially the music... Cause you know, teenage guys, trying to look cool... but I was blown away. They were more active and into the songs and skits and stuff then any other group. It was AWESOME.
Migges has been talking about the "longest but best story ever"... basically going through the entire Bible in 5 nights, ending with Christ's death on the cross/resurrection and what that means for us. This week a few of guys realized their need for God and gave their lives to Him. Please pray with me that God would be real in these guys lives, and that this would not just be a "spiritual high", but an on-going relationship with God.

A New Day...

As you can probably tell, my blog has had a bit of a change of face. I'd like to change its focus a bit too. Now that I'm here at Frontier Lodge for another year, I want this to be specifically for camp related stuff. I have a goal of keeping in better touch with you all personally this fall, so I'd like to save the "fun stuff" for letters/emails and such.

So yeah.
Welcome to the new day.

They are...

...finally here!!!

Wahoo!
My family got here yesterday an hour and a half early, so they surprised me down by the beach... It was awesome.
I am SO happy to see them.

Last night Tim and I took them rappelling. Josh and Dad both really enjoyed it, so they went twice. Then we hooked Lanny and I up together and he gave it a valiant try. He got to the edge of the cliff with his butt hanging over and decided it was too much. I'm so glad he gave it a try though... it's a big challenge for most teenagers, let alone a 6 year old. So he did good.

Today we spent some time on our downhill bike course. Hit some wicked jumps. Heh. Lanny is a maniac and Josh is a man.
Then we went down to the beach, had a picnic and picked up some rays.

My family is such a blessing to me and I am so thankful for them.

Once Upon a Time...

There was a girl named Liz.

Yes, that would be me.

I'm really hyper right now.

Being in the kitchen all day makes me crazy.


--------------------------------------------

I owe you guys a bit of an update... like an actual update.
There are 2 big things that need to be updated.

The First:
I've been praying really hard about this, and challenging God to give me some clear guidance (I know, I shouldn't do that...); And He made it super clear to me by meeting all my challenges. So yeah, I just made a commitment to stay here at Frontier for a year. So I'll be here until the end of next August. I feel that God is really blessing this decision and is totally at the head of it.
My two big challenges now are to gain that next level of confidence in myself, and to start raising financial support. Please be in prayer with me for both of these.

The second thing that needs to be updated is actually a secret... so you don't get to know... But I will tell you that it's crazy exciting (at least for me) and I'm sure you'll find out soon enough... so HA.
:)

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This picture is of Laura and I about to start our game of pure genius. Heh...
We were on wide game one night, and were both really tired of the regular games, so we decided to put a little twist on Capture the Flag. It's called Rescue the Princess and it still has a few details that need to be worked out... but the kids loved it... and it's pretty fun for the leaders too. :P
What happened is this:
Laura and I were the princesses (Obviously!) and our teams had to rescue us from the other side. It's basically all the same rules as Capture the Flag. The twist we added, though, was that Laura and I would be hiding somewhere visible in a wheelbarrow (With some head protection on - Safety first!). The kids had to find us and wheel us across to the other side. It was one of the funniest things ever. I just about died. The kids would be pushing me along, see an "enemy" and just drop me and run. It was great.
But like I said, we need to work out some details. When we played it, we ended up with me having to give a pep talk/lecture about respecting people physically and emotionally... But all in all, the game was a hit, and the kids wanted more!

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Grace and Peace.

Liz

It's all "character building"...

Romans 5:3-4
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."

God has really been challenging me lately about my comfort zones. He's really been showing me just how caught up in them I get. It's so easy to just stay where I am and not want to step out into one of God's crazy adventures...
But God wants so much more for us. He calls us into an adventure with Him and it always requires us to step out of our comfort zones and follow Him.
It's been a hard and tiring lesson, and I know it's not over yet... but God is totally moving, and is so strong and powerful, I trust that His way is best....

...

.............IT FREAKIN' SNOWED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dancing the Days Away...

I just want to say that God is so Good and that He is Powerful, Creative, and Merciful... and I am SO thankful that He desires a relationship with pitiful me.

Starting at a Run...

Well, summer staff training is over and done with. I didn't have to be there for much of it, cause I'm already a pro. :P
Not much to say about it... When I wasn't in training (which was a lot of the time), I was on camp work. Great fun. We finally finished building the basement that has been a year long project. Everyone was very excited. It meant that Brad and Jess could move out of their mobile home into the basement, which meant that Migges could move out of the girls basement into the mobile home, which meant that the 2 extra girls upstairs could finally move downstairs. Heh.

This weekend was a good'er. We finally got some sweet weather... like 30 degrees yesterday. Leah and I spent from 10:30am-2:00pm outside, sitting on the dock. It was great. I got a pretty sweet burn on my legs, but that's it. Then Leah, Steve, and I went into Rocky to get Slurpees and some groceries.
Today I decided not to go to Church, cause it was already 25 degrees out by 10:45am... Steve and I hung out at the beach for a bit. Did my devotions, and helped Steve out with some homework he has that's long overdue.

And now I have to go prepare myself physically, mentally, and spiritually for the upcoming week. I am cabin leading right away today for the Senior High Wilderness camp. I'm super excited, but also really nervous as well. A lot of the girls coming are regulars here, so I am a bit intimidated by their high expectations. But God is really exciting and energizing me so I have faith that He will work everything out.

Praise:
-The Beautiful weather.
-A God who fills me with Love, Joy, and Passion.
-That God cares so much about us that He gives us the desires of our hearts.

Prayer:
-For the campers who come this week: that God would really work in their lives.
-For energy, wisdom, and patience for me for the campers.
-That God would work in my life and that I would fall more and more in love with Him everyday.

Chasing Daylight

"You were born to live a great adventure;
You were created with a divine destiny;
You are called to fulfill a great mission.
You were designed for a unique purpose.
Now you are called to live it out."

"Jesus Christ has come to free us from a meaningless existence and liberate us to a life filled with adventure.
He has come to lead us out of the mundane and into the extraordinary."

"His promise it that in Him we will find the life our hearts have always longed for."

-Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus

These quotes stand out to me every time I read this book. They are right at the beginning, so every time, I start back at the beginning just so I can read them.

I think they stand out so much because, my heart really does long for adventure. It longs for a life so deep in God that a radical, liberated, energized adventure is the only possible road to take.


But yeah.

I guess this is more of a spiritual update than anything.

Adventure may be what I long for, but the devil sure has fun telling me how hard, discouraging, and lonely it will be. I've been feeling really attack lately. Like Satan is trying to pull me back under.
It's hard finding balance here. We're always feeding others, giving our time, energy, and love. And then when it comes time to feed myself, I feel too tired or discouraged to get into the Word, or too distracted to pray.

I've really been struggling with what my faith looks like for me. You know, you can see other peoples faith and how they act, communicate with God, grow and stuff... but when it comes to me... I have such a hard time personalizing it, or even defining it.

God is everything to me. Without Him I would be a piece of poo.

I can say that. And mean it. But how does that change how I act, communicate with God, or grow?

We are reading through Romans right now as a Bible Study group and today we read Romans 4. Up to now the topic that has obviously been surfacing is Faith. But I've always had the same questions and doubts about my own faith. Until today. Here's the verses that really hit me:

"Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous."

And it was like - this is what my faith should look like. Not some blind optimism, but a realistic, practical faith. Abraham knew that physically it wasn't possible for them to have a child, but he had such a deep faith in God, that the only possible road was to trust that God is able to do whatever He promises.


I have no idea if any of this is even making sense...

But it's way past my bedtime so some quick prayer requests and praise items.

Praise:
-That we serve a God who will never leave or forsake us, no matter how much our faith wavers or how many doubts we have.
-That we are invited to live in God's great adventure.
-For the camps we've already had (safety, great times, God's Word spread).
-For my housemates here. The encouragement they are, and how we're growing together towards Christ.
-Summer!!

Prayer:
-Energy, wisdom, and love for campers.
-That my faith would really become real to me.
-For my future as I decide what to do... that God would be at the head of me decisions.
-For the campers who are going to come to camp. That God would be working in their hearts even now.


I love you all!!!!!!!!


Grace and Peace.

Liz

Whaddya 'Merican?

Hey Ya'll.

(Try to imagine me telling you this with an American accent)

It only takes a week of Americans to go from saying "God" to saying "Gad".
Heh.

I just got off from hosting a youth group of 50 from Colorado. They were here for a week. Most groups only stay for like 2-3 days, so it was nice to actually be able to get to know the kids. I am SO tired though. Hosting a group is pretty hard, cause you have to get up when they get up, and go to bed when they go to bed, plus hang out with them during the day. It drains ya pretty good.... but is so much fun.
This group was such an encouragement to me. They were all so open and honest about their faith. Every night they would have a "fireside" where 4-5 people would share testimonies, we would sing worhsip, and do a devo... it was intense. God was present and really moved in our lives. The kids had such a heart for Him... their passion and longing to know God better was a challenge to me to get my act together.

This week taught me a bit about flexability as well. We had to play every day by ear. It rained just about everyday... it was ridiculous. The first day we had some regular activities (biking, rockclimbing, rappeling, traversing). The next day the weather sucked so we had a work day. (to save money, every year this group does a day of camp work... it's a cool idea.) I was in charge of "brushing" - forest clean up basically. It was a pretty boring job, but I found out that with a bit of competition and a prize, you can get anything done. It turned out really fun. Day three was rainy again, so we went on a hike with the whole group. It was cold, foggy, and wet... but I think everyone had fun. The weather was a bit nicer on day four so we did our regular activities. I was on moutain biking. Because of the rain, the trail we were on was almost half in the water. It was great. There was a few of us in the back of the group that fell off our bikes more then we stayed on. At one point I just about peed my pants I was laughing so hard. :) Yesturday was their last day of programming and I was on canoeing. The day started out beautiful, so our hopes were high.... then one of the canoes tipped before we even left the put in spot, then we had to get out of the water 2 extra times because of lightening, then it started hailing (!! the second time I've gone canoeing and it has hailed. Stupid.), so we were like an hour late. But whatever, we had some good laughs. Then today they had to leave early, so on my day off I had to get up at 5 to help make breakfast. Last night we (Phil, Leah, and I) had the brilliant idea to do a polar bear swim to wake ourselves up... well, this morning when we woke up I'm pretty sure there was frost and when I looked at the temp later it wasn't even 0c . So, we met down at the lake. It was beautiful... there was a thin layer of fog and the sky was starting to turn a purpleish blue. But all we were thinking at the time was that this was the worst decision we had ever made. I was perfectly awake, and had no need to do this. But we had come this far... so we just went for it. It was cold. Period. After that we made breakfast and said our goodbyes. And now I have 2 days off. (!!)

Last weekend 4 of the guys and I went in to town (that was supposed to sound really exciting... but somehow I don't think you will think it does...) Anyways, we don't get into town much. Got some serious stuff done, got some silly stuff done, acted like kids, and just had a good time... then one of the guys (Tim) told us about this long cable across the North Sask River he had seen and we decided to traverse across it. So we grabbed our climbing harnesses and some other gear and headed over. [For those of you who don't know much about traversing, there's a few different ways of doing it: Traversing is basically getting from one side of something to the other. Traversing with a rope involves either hanging hand over hand (like monkey bars) across, "crawling" upside down across (Holding on with your hands and feet), or else trying to slack line across (which is basically tightroping it) ] We did a combo of slack lining and "crawling". It was so much fun.... but SO tiring. My fear of heights was a bit hard to get over, but when 4 guys are there pressuring and watching you... you just pretend everythings great. :P Actually, I was a big baby in front of them... whatever...

Well, the sun is actually out today, so I'm gonna go get some rays.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!



Grace and Peace,

Liz

Not Looking Back...

Wow,
I can't believe I've been here for over 3 weeks.
Time has gone by SO quickly.

Thought I'd give you all a quick update since it's been awhile...

So far the camp groups have been awesome! We've only had school groups so far, so it's been neat to be able to "get into the schools" around Alberta.
I've been doing a lot of programming - though mostly climbing/rappeling, and canoeing. My muscles ache every night. I love being so tired that I just fall into bed.
I've got a sunglasses tan that could rival any... speaking of sun: last week we had a full 9 hours of snow!!! Like I'm talking over a foot of snow. We had a pretty sweet snowball fight, but I was tired of it after hour number 2. Heh. Now, the snow is all gone and we've been having +25 days, with not a cloud in sight. It's beautiful!!

In other news:
-One of the guys here just got a gun (a 12 gauge), so he took another guy and me out to shoot it. So cool!! We used skeets (sp?), which are clay disks that you through in the air to practice for duck hunting. Out of 8 rounds I shot, I hit 2... so I still have some practicing to do, but considering they were moving targets with a gun that weighs as much as I do, I was pretty proud.
-Also!! I got my hands on motorbike!!! It felt SOOOO good to ride again. I still remembered how to ride too, so I didn't make a fool of myself. :P
-The mud around here is amazing as well, and Rhonda (my house mate) and I had a huge! mud fight... we were covered head to toe... including up the nose, in the ears, and in the teeth. We had a blast.


Everyday God challenges me in a new way. He strengthens me, guides me, and teaches me...
I love it here.


Gotta go to Church though....
Loves you all!

One Life...

Well, no matter how much patience I have, I just can't seem to get any pictures up...
I'm pretty mad.

Oh well.

So, training is officially done.
In fact, today was my first day of "programming".
But let me back up a bit.
On Wednesday we had our Rockclimbing training,
Thursday was Biking. It was a blast. We did a bit of downhill - definitely some adrenaline there.

Then Friday was our Canoeing training. One of the important things we had to learn was how to "self rescue". That means that when/if you tip you need to be able to get yourself, two paddles, your canoeing partner, and the canoe safely to the side of the river. Learning how to do this requires you to actual tip. So we were forewarned that the training would involve tipping... well what you need to understand about tipping in the North Saskatchewan River this time of the year is that there are still 2 meter high ice/snow walls on the river sides. I couldn't breathe.
But it was actually a pretty good day. There were some nice little rapids that we made it through fine, and in the end had to tip on purpose.

Saturday was kinda a day off, except that I got asked if I wanted to go on a half for fun half for work canoe trip. They had to scout out a lower part of the North Sask River for an upcoming group. Of course I said yes. (If any of the Goossens are reading this these names are for you: "Sonders" "Devil's Elbow" "Briarlys" - do you recognize any of them? And did you go over any of them?) This time I was forewarned that the rapids were quite a lot bigger and harder and that there was a chance I would tip again (though this time at least by accident)... Not gonna lie, it was an intense day. We were on the river for like 5 1/2 hours, the rapids were huge, and my arms hurt so bad. But! We made it all the way without tipping and! My canoeing partner (Migges) and I surfed on a wave!! Oh boy... it was a rush.

Today, as I said before, was my first day of programming. We've got a group of 16 in right now. Pretty small group, but good for our first of the season. I was on Climbing today, which meant that I spent almost 5 hours belaying kids up and down the cliff. It was fun though... it's a good group.

The next two days I'm on canoeing...

I'm so beat though.... I gotta hit the hay.

loves you all.

Where Mountain Peaks are Tall, and the Sky is Blue...

Here I am.
Frontier Lodge.
A Wilderness Adventure.
Christ Centered Outdoor Education.

So far so good.
The weather has been amazing.
The training has been long and tiring.
I love it.

I don't really have a lot of time but to give you some quick highlights:
-Snow.
-First outdoor rockclimb!!!
-Lots of hiking.
-Knot tieing (love it).
-Only one other girl.
-Spiritual growth already.

Some prayer requests:
-Courage and Boldness to share my faith.
-An unconditional Love for everyone.
-ENERGY.
-(This one I'm cautious to mention because I don't want it to seem like I'm asking for it... cause I'm not... but ..yeah) Pray that I would trust God for finances for equipment that I need. (again, I am NOT asking for money... I want God to provide in His own way)

I love you all so much and miss you already!!!


Please, Please, Please email me.
I know I won't always reply back, but yeah.

Loves you.

The Adventure Begins...

My AMAZING friends and family:

My journey has begun. 

We drove to Canmore last night (got here at like 12:30). 

There's snow. 

Stupid.

The closer I get, the more excited I get.

And yet...

A part of me is torn apart at the thought of not being with you guys for another 5 months.

You guys are the most amazing friends EVER.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU ALREADY!

Well, 

I gotta run,

The other half of our journey is before us.

Funny story though:

My parents are taking $100 off my loan for every month that I don't talk about boys.

:D

It came and went...

K wow.

I have the most AMAZING friends/family EVER.

Seriously.

The 15th was my birthday.

I had a pretty busy week so I just planned a small "party" with 4 other girls, on the 14th.

It was a blast!

We basically played dress-up the whole time:

-went to Value Village

-bought our dinner clothes (a farmer, a "punk", an 80's mom, a "prom queen", and a leathermen)

-went out for dessert

-wents to Behns

-scared them all speachless

-took tons of pictures

(Here's a few of my favs from the night)

Then, on the 15th my mum told me not to plan anything because it was going to be our family party. Fair enough. So we went to Eastside Marios and had a nice little family dinner. After I got my free dessert we decided to head home. As we were driving up the hill I noticed a lot of cars and was like "wow, someone must be having a party". I walked in the house and right away noticed something out of place, Rebekah's camera sitting on the ledge. I barely had time to think about it though, cause right at that moment like 100 people jumped out and yelled suprise! Haha, was I ever suprised. I had no idea! Wow. Well, after peeing my pants and trying to run away, the party started. We played games and stuff... it was really fun.

THANK YOU to everyone who came! THANK YOU to everyone for the money and gifts! You guys are AMAZING and I LOVE YOU!!!!

...Or so they say...

The phone rang today.

I didn't answer it.

My mum did.

It was for me.

It was a man.

I was scared.

Haha.

It was Frontier Lodge.

They "would love to have me come." (!) So yeah, I guess I'm pretty happy about it. Kinda nervous though.

New experiences, new trials, new growth...

I leave on the weekend of the 25th (April) and get back in either August or September. They were pretty pumped that I was willing to stay longer then just the normal "summer season". So for now I've commited to the end of August with a "play it by ear" for September and an invite to stay forever. Heh. We'll see. Actually I'm starting to get really excited... it'll be hard to leave here and maybe hard to be there, but I really feel God blessing this whole experience. So yeah...

Some pictographs to express our/my feelings:

Us waiting and waiting for the phone call ----^

Sad to hear that I'm leaving ----^

Us being us, because that's all we'll ever be, whether I'm here or not----^

I LOVE YOU ALL HEAPS AND HEAPS!!

He will find me...

So, my little stocker boy has resurfaced... He sent me the postcard (pictured above) telling me about the cruise he just went on, and how he wished I was there. *shiver*

To quote Starwars - "I just can't shake 'im!"

Lanny Day

Yesturday we celebrated Lanny Day - The day that Lanny became part of our family 4 years ago. (If you happen to read Josh's blog, he got a few details mixed up... but that's alright... we only figured everything out after he had written it.)

We started doing foster care for Lanny a week after he turned one. We were doing full time care, so he was with us 24/7. Of course we fell in love with him right away. And of course his first words were "Scores!" and "Shoots".

But yeah, without getting all sappy and stuff... Lanny has added a lot of Joy and Laughter to our family as well as Noise and Energy. I don't know what we would do without him.

We love him to pieces!!

Petals, Eggs, and Sunshine Rays

I can't even explain how much these few days of bright blue skies mean to me... Seriously, as Winter fades in to Spring, it's like something inside me changes with it.

Hmm... I got distracted there for a minute, and now I don't remember anything I was going to say. Oh well.

The Phone That Never Rang.

So basically, the title and picture have nothing to do with anything.

I finally finished my application for Frontier Lodge. Yes, I know, it took long enough. Now all I can do is hope that my references filled out their forms, hope they said nice things about me, and wait. I was kinda nervous before... but now I'm not really... cause you know, I could go either way. Stay here, or go there. Both would present challenges and both would reap rewards. The interesting thing is... for the first time in many moons I am not feeling restless to get out of Kamloops. Like I would actually be ok if God called me to stay here a bit longer. Hmm... I guess it's up to Him though.

I don't really have all that much to say... feels like besides applying for camp, nothing has really been going on. Well... there's lots going on in my head, but nothing that I could describe (or that you would even want to hear about anyway).

Um. Wow. K, as I was typing I got an email from an unknown sender, so I checked it out and.... well you can read it yourself:

"Hey Liz,

thanks for faxing your application to us. We are really excited that you are applying for spring/summer program staff. My name is Migges (oficially Michael) and I am in charge of hiring staff. I am German and came over two years ago. Just that you know who you are dealing with.

How have you heard about us? I don't want to brag about this ministry but God is doing some really cool things here at the moment. Right now we are building three new cabins, our camps are growing, we get more staff (my goal is to make it really international!) and we are excited for what God is going to do in the future. And your application is a real answer to prayer because we are usually a litlle short on female staff :-) It is looking much better for this year. We just hired a girl for the summer just half an hour ago.

We would liek to have an interview with you a.s.a.p. so it would be great if we could get the references in quickly. Maybe you can remind the people doing it for you not to wait for too long. They can also fax their references. Your criminal reference check.

By the way, I grew up with the Torchbearer movement. My parents were on the board of Bodenseehof in Germany, and I went to Bibleschool there. They are having an awesome ministry an have impacted the entire world over the last decades.

Hope to hear from you soon. In Christ,

Migges

Michael Koenig
Assisant Director/Discipleship Pastor

Frontier Lodge
Box 1
Nordegg, AB
Canada

phone: +1 (403) 721-2202 ext.125
fax: +1 (403) 721-2204
mail: miggesk@frontierlodge.ca

"Using God's Wilderness to Reach, Teach and Train Youth and Adults for Jesus Christ."

I just officially got really nervous.

Ag.

But I do have to head off to work now so... later days I guess.

So I was reading my mothers blog and she was saying that she would be giving an update on me next... and I was like... what the heck, shouldn't I be the one giving the updates? And what could she possibly have to update that most people wouldn't know yet? Heh. But then I realized that I haven't really written a post in a while about what I'm doing and how I'm doing and stuff like that... so yeah. This will be it. I think.

.............................................................................................

Yesterday we ("young people" from VV Church) went on a hike up at Red Bluff (is it actually called that, or do we just call it that?). The beginning was pretty hard I have to admit... but then again, apparently I'm a pretty big wimp. I had a lot of fun though, and I think we have plans for an over-night trip up there (maybe involving paintballs and war tactics!!) The weather was perfect for a hike, though we weren't really expecting there to be as much snow as there was.

We looked like a little army invasion or something.

The View

Josh being his normal self

Kelsey, Beautiful as always

The Group

The Beautiful Day

.................................................................................................

But as for updates guys... er, pardon me... ladies and gentlemen (*), I don't have much to offer except for a bit of not so happy stuff that only a few people know.

Basically, the short story is:

I've been pretty low for the last month or so- unmotivated, unenergetic, unhappy, dissatisfied, confused, hypocritical... and all that "good stuff". Of course getting rejected from CBC didn't help and then on Saturday I got another blow to the already low self image. My boss at Coast Mountain pulled me aside and basically said that I sucked at selling (which I already knew) and that when I came to work next week I needed to come with a "different attitude"... which I really didn't understand, cause I go to work everyday with a cheerful and open attitude. So maybe I'm supposed to go with an aggressive and competitive attitude. And then he sent me home early. So basically now I feel like an academic failure as well as a occupational failure.

In other news... an opportunity has come up for me. Actually it has resurfaced. My dad had sent me a link for a camp a few years ago when they needed some help and though I looked into it, it wasn't really the thing for me at the time. Well randomly a few days ago I started thinking about this camp again... but I couldn't even remember what it was called. I searched for like 2 hours on the internet trying to find out about it, but couldn't find it anywhere. Finally I had little nudge in the back of my mind to check my mums email. I did, and I found a folder she had been saving for me. In the folder was the email from my dad with the link in it! I checked it out and they are looking for spring/summer program staff. It's a pretty sweet camp from the looks of it, and is totally up my ally. (Check it out: http://www.frontierlodge.ca/index.html ) I've printed off the application form and am slowing working through it. It's hard though, cause part of me wants to stay in Kamloops and settle down... but the other half is screaming for adventure, new things, and new places. I don't really feel a particular call to Kamloops though. I will, however, keep looking into all my options and if that involves staying here for a bit longer, so be it.

Well, now I think you've had a bit of an update... but if you want to know more definatly/obviously let me know...

(*) Apparently (according to a "Dear Abby" article) I'm not supposed to call a mixed group of people "guys", I'm sposed to say "ladies and gentlemen" or "guys and gals". I looked it up though, and dictionary.com says that "guys" used informally is "persons of either sex; people."