wonderful ...

this week has been nothing short of that.

we broke off into our girls and guys nights on thursday, and it was a really amazing and encouraging time... and from what I heard the boys had an amazing time as well!

the girls enjoyed a lovely evening at the guest house - a beautiful old house owned by the camp with king sized beds, bathtubs, and a gorgeous view.  it was an evening which began with wild dancing and food, and then progressed to encouraging one another, sharing our struggles, prayer for each other, and being united as a group of women.  it was a night of being refreshed and celebrating together, and there was just so much love in that place.  

youth group on friday night was slightly discouraging.  it was 'connect group' night, so as a group we were to decide a week before what our group wanted to do.  the purpose is to get to know each other on a more personal level - as the entire group can be as large as 120 kids.  unfortunately, my we were confined to a small classroom with a couple of games, however my group was extremely hyper and it was a real struggle to be able to teach them rules to a game, let alone try to have them play it.  by the end of the night I ended up just taking them outside to disperse some of their energy, and then putting on a movie for them ...

 

on a different note ... Sunday morning bible study went really well!  I mentioned earlier that I had been frustrated with the curriculum, and had hoped to bring some more of what I had been learning to it... 

to give you some background on some of the girls, they are grade 7/8's and there thoughts very much revolve around boys, whom they refer to in code names such as "jellybean" and "sneakers".  I have found that they do not often pay attention, and it is hard to get them interested in what we are learning about.  in the spirit of the Valentine's dance they all went to on Friday night, I decided to leave our bible study open for discussion.  we read various passages in the bible on love, and discussed the difference between sacrificial love, and the way the world has perverted the concept of love.  we had a great discussion, and after bible study one of the girls shared a bit of her past with me and I was able to pray for her.  it was really encouraging for me, because I feel like in the past couple of weeks things have just been okay, and my girls did not relate very well to the content of the bible studies, so I was able to see some fruit!

in valentines day news, ONE OF THE KALEO GIRLS SHANNON GOT ENGAAAAAGED !!! so there is much celebration around here!  it is an exciting time!

this thursday at 4 o'clock in the morning, I am leaving for a youth conference at Briercrest called youthquake.  I am very excited, although at the same time feeling the weight of all the homework we have to do.

thank you for keeping me in your prayers!

blessings,

Erin