You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2009.
Well, spring has officially ended at Frontier Lodge with the conclusion of the last of our group retreats and camps coming on last Saturday. Summer then officially began for us on Monday with the beginning of staff training. Monday was full of logistical information, much of which we had previous knowledge for. It was primarily for the two new staff as well as a short review for us.
Tuesday started the fun stuff though. We began by loading the canoes and going to the lower section of the North Saskatchewan River to do some whitewater canoeing and whitewater rescue training. It was awesome. There were eight boats and most made it down the 24 km without going over. However, there was the select few that tipped. The first were two of our female staff, Laura and Ari. We were on a flat section of river and Laura was trying to do a headstand on the gunnels of the canoe, but she fell forward, kicking Ari in the back and out of the canoe causing it to tip. It was quite the sight to see and the staff definitely enjoyed watching the two gasp after emerging from the coldness of the water (and the embarrassment). The only other tip was with Jonas and Ben, who tipped after the bow paddler lost his paddle midway through the most technical rapid. But all was good. They both enjoyed a cold dip and kept going. But the whole experience was fun. I was able to learn a lot about reading whitewater, currents, and depths, and was able to put it into practice by paddling the stern for the day. I must say, it is quite different than whitewater rafting, which allows for more error because of the boat design and width. With canoeing, too much water intake through the waves spells disaster, somehow our boat stayed pretty dry (most by bailing after each successive set of rapids).
The next training exercise was a overnight hike and camp set up on Wednesday to Thursday. It was a beautiful night and we got a great view from Mt. Coliseum of the surrounding area and even Fish Lake. We learned skills such as proper hiking safety and communication, bear precautions, and group camping while leaving no trace. But one of the main things about the overnight that was beneficial was the amazing time to be with the staff. Upon the start of camps, staff bonding time will be at a minimum and it was good to be able to sleep under the stars with some of the guys before that happens.
Friday was simply a work day. We cleaned a lot to get ready for the upcoming camps and made sure the cabins were in top shape. When that was done, so was my week. Since then it has been a lot of laying around with the occassional run or bouldering workout. However, the intensity of the summer camping schedule is now in full force. Even while writing this campers are arriving for our first of two camps, Senior High Wilderness Camp and Level 3 Downhill/Freeride Mountain Biking. The staff is excited and we are ready for this! The training week was nice and relaxed, but it is nice to see students coming again. Seeing them green and not knowing what to expect will be humorous after tomorrow when they face the rappeling cliff or huge waves of the river. But that is what we are here for, so we can teach them through those experiences. That is what I most look forward to.
So, in closing please pray for these two camps. I will not be working heavily with these ones, as much as the coming weeks, but I will get a few days in with them. Please pray for the staff that they will know what to say to the questions and topics that ask or bring up and that there lives, perspectives, and eternities will be changed this week. Thanks so much in advance and for reading the blog. Check out the pictures if you get a chance! They are on the links to the left.
To Christ within,
Craig
Well, another week has gone by and it gets faster and faster as the summer wears on. This week went especially fast as I was out backpacking from Monday until Thursday. It was great. I guess the only downfall to going was not being able to spend the entire week with the students that were here from Colorado, but I’ll get to them later. The backpacking trip was a scouting trip for a camp that Frontier does later in August called Heli-backpacking. The camp will fly the participants and staff up to Michelle Lakes at about 2500 meters and drop them off. From their they will go over mountain passes, through dense forest, and around beautiful alpine lakes. Mine and Alan’s (the guide for the trip) goal was to try to find the trails over the passes and good places for the group to make camp and eat. However, we did not get the luxury of being flown to the top. So, our journey started on Monday from the roal at about 1300 meters. We followed a canyon and then valley up through what was forest, but in the past month had succumbed to a prescribed burn from the forestry department. That is all fine except for the fact that many places were still either smoldering or flaming and much of the trail was covered in fallen timber which made it difficult to navigate and weave through with a 40 lb pack. However, we made it to tree line at about 3 pm (we started at 9). Then we had to continue going up until we dropped over the first day’s pass and down into Michelle Lakes (the starting point for the group). Here we made camp (about 6:30), but it was not comfortable. The lakes were frozen and all around us were fields of snow that was beginning to melt, causing the ground to be soft and wet. Everywhere you stepped your footprint immediately filled with water from the ground and being above tree line there was no firewood. So, the first night was cold and wet and occasionally filled with the nearby boom of an avalanche, but we survived.
The second day of our hike was easier, but still no cake walk. We began by breaking camp and then immediately we were faced with a long wet stream crossing. Seeing as my boots are not waterproof after submersion, I decided to put on my camp sandals and wade across. It was only about anke deep, but the water was probably snow just a few days or hours before, so it wasn’t pleasant. After that we booted up and ascended our second day’s pass. This was even higher than the first and required a little bit more technical decision making. But after topping out we had a great view, mountains as far as your could see and waterfalls coming off cliffs in every direction with the snow laying between the trees in the valley. We quickly descended into tree line to meet a lot of snow. Waist deep snow. But we eventually found the trail that led us to our second camp site, halfway up the next day’s pass.
The next day was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been backpacking. The pass before us consisted of a huge snow field with many streams running underneath. It made it quite nerve wrecking walking on top of the snow and wondering when you would post hole up to your waist. Then, when that happened many times your foot struck snow melt streams and was instantly cold. In fact, there were some streams the snow was so shallow over top and the streams were so wide that we had to cross on our hands and knees so we wouldn’t fall through. It was one of the sketchiest things I have ever done. But once we got past the snow fields we moved quickly over the pass and into the valley where we met a trail that took us to Pinto Lake. At the lake we had one last obstacle. A river crossing coming out of Pinto where the water was about knee to waist deep. Once again, we took off our boots and had to wade across, finishing on the other side of the bone numbing water we made camp for our last night.
The last day was probably the easiest. We had to climb a few hundred meters out of the valley and into the boundary for Banff National Park. The only real obstacle on the trail was one section of snow cliffs. Here the snow was steep. Steep enough to call a scramble if on rocks. So we lowered our trekking poles and had to kick steps into the snow. After that it was smooth sailing into the park and down to the parkway finding our car on the other side. It was quite the adventure and some of the most challenging yet rewarding terrains I have ever seen, and now know intimately.
But as I said, while we were gone, there was a group from Colorado here. And when we returned on Thursday we got to spend some time with them. They were awesome! Every night they did a camp fire and three students would share their testimony and then after that all the other students would give them encouragement either about their testimony or about the courage they displayed in the week’s activities. It was a really cool time to see students so passionate about God and each other. It really excited me about the impact we are having and the impact that I will get to have soon being a youth pastor.
So, there is another week down. It was the last week of the spring retreat season and next week starts summer staff training. It will be a low key week with one day on the river and one day doing an overnight somewhere in the area with the other staff. Other than that it should be restful so the staff will be restored for the senior high camp that starts the next week. After that it’s in high gear for the remainder of the summer. So please pray that I and the other staff will be restored during the next week so we can maintain the demanding schedule that will come after training. Also pray for Megan and the family back home that they will know God’s comfort while I am gone. Thanks in advance for the prayers.
To Christ within,
Craig
Hey everyone, as I said earlier this week things have been busy. However, since Thursday, it has been relatively slow at camp. On Thursday I was off with Jonathan, one of the German staff members and there were no groups in so we were able to go down to the dock on Fish Lake (the lake on which the camps sits) and relax. It was a beautiful day here, sunny and warm (about 75 degrees) but the water was cold. It was nice though to relax and lay in the sun. It reminded me a little of laying on the dock at South Holston save the jetskis and motorboats. We did get to hear other sounds though. There was quite an orchestra of trout jumping, loons calling, and the occasional splash of an osprey swooping down to catch its dinner. The scenes were quite amazing to watch.
Friday was another slow day at camp. A men’s retreat came for the weekend, but they don’t require too much attention and seem to be content on their own without staff around. That makes it nice because even on work days we can come back to our rooms and relax, and not have to worry about spending time with students until 11 pm. Not that I am complaining about that, it just gets wearisome sometimes. But for Friday’s work I was able to relax as well and do something I love. I actually was able to design the new camp sweatshirts. It was good to get my creativity working again and maintain the computer skills for design. So that was fun.
Next, today came. In the morning I worked in the kitchen and this afternoon I went with the men’s group on a bike ride. Let me tell you, these guys were fast. I was the sweeper as usual and we were moving through the trails. We did some cross country, but mainly just singletrack and downhill which has done a number on my legs. I’m sure tomorrow will come and my quads will tell me not ever to do that again. But all is well.
The summer is definitely coming fast. Next week will be our last group for the spring and then next will be summer staff training. Actually Monday will be the one month mark being up here. Gosh, time has really flown. However, it’s too bad because next week is a group from the states but I will be scouting new trails. Actually it will be quite fun but I will miss out on the campers. Alan, the backpacking guru of the camp and I will be scouting a trail that will be later be used for heli-hiking camps. It is where a helicopter will drop a group off above tree line and they will then hike the ridge for three days and nights. However, Alan and I do not have that luxury. We start Monday morning at the road, hike up to the helicopter landing site, and then procede to hike what the campers will do, ending on Thursday. It will be tough, but I have seen pictures and if they are anything to go off of, it should be beautiful alpine scenery.
So, thanks for reading. Please continue to pray for me. Sometimes it’s tough to be here and away from home. Pray that God will give me focus on the task at hand. Also pray for me this week with the backpacking for safety and fun. Lastly, continue to pray for Megan and all the family back home that miss me. Pray that God will comfort them until I get back. Thanks so much in advance.
To Christ within,
Craig
Hello everyone, I hope this finds you all well. It has beeen a very busy week in Canada. We have had two groups and will have three this week. But before I get into the groups I wanted to talk a little about last Monday. That Monday at Frontier Lodge was prayer day. We packed up our backpacks with some lunch and our Bibles and journals and went to a recreational area close to here and dispersed. We were encouraged to do what our director calls “SWEEPS.” It is sleep, Word, eat, exercise, pray, and lastly serve. He gave us an example from 1 Kings, when Elijah, after defeating the prophets of Baal went and did this process to renew his strength for ministry. So, SWEEPS is exactly what we did. We went off on our own and slept, ate, exercised, prayed, and read. It was exactly what I needed. I was able to speak to God about things that were on my heart, and He was able to speak tome through His Word. It was very refreshing. So many times we pray and read, but for no purpose or without the fervency that is deserves. Monday was a day where I was able to focus totally on the communication between me and God and it was great. I encourage everyone reading to make time and spend with God doing the SWEEPS method. Take time to rest before God and then listen for His voice in the stillness of your day. He will be faithful. Will you?
Now, on to some of the groups. Our first groups this week was from West Edmonton Christian School and they were all ninth graders. It was a fun group; however, I only got to do one day of programming with them. On Friday, we went to Wapiabi caves about thirty minutes drive away from camp. It was a long hike and our group set the camp record for the fastest time up the mountain, 1:47.33. They were moving! At the top of the mountain there is a cave. We all suited up and went down. At the bottom of the cave, we turned off all the headlamps and it was utter darkness. We also ried to remain as silent as possible. It was a very powerful experience. You could not see anything and it was silent. It reminds me of the darkness that we all are or were once a part of. We were all lost completely in our sins and were hopeless to save ourselves from it, just like in a dark cave without light. Then Jesus saved us! It reminded me of Colossians 1:13 which says, “For He [God] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” While we were in that moment, one of the other staff, Phil, shared how Jesus is represented by our headlamp, being our guiding light our of darknesss. It was great for the campers. It was also great for the staff because on the long hike down we were able to talk to them about their stories and how powerful our salvation really is.
Our second group was even better. They came on Friday and left on Sunday. I hosted the group so I was with them all of the time and they were great! It was a public school seventh through ninth grade group that came in green to outdoor sports and left proud and accomplished. They had some great kids and they were all participating in everything which is very nice to have. On Saturday, I was even able to share the gospel with them in the morning before we all left for the day. Sunday, however, was the best day. We went on a moderate hike that was quite a stretch for some of the students. In fact, two of the girls stayed back with one of the staff about mid-way through the hike because they were just so tired. But after returning to camp, Jonathan, the staff member that stayed back said that these two non-Christian girls were talking about how they were glad they got to stay mid-way because they could enjoy God’s creation. How awesome is hat! It is great to hear that the things we are doing and saying are making a difference in the lives and hearts of these students. Other students talked about how this was one of the greatest experiences of their lives and that they loved the challenges and accomplishments they made. This is so encouraging to hear and makes it so fun to be around the students. Some of them even expressed interest in returning to some of our summer camps.
So, as I wrap this week’s report up, I would just like to ask you to pray for some things. First, pray for the Christian groups that came that their faith would be real and exciting to them. Secondly, please pray for the public school group that came that their hearts would be open to the gospel and they would realize their need for a savior. Pray especially for Jaclyn and Barbara, the two that stayed back and “enjoyed God’s creation.” Just that simple statement means they at least caught on to our goal and purpose here at Frontier. Pray that they would come to know Jesus as their personal savior though. Lastly, please continue to pray for me as the longevity of my stay is becoming more and more real and the ongoing nature of camp ministry is beginning to take its toll. I also don’t have a day off until Thursday (which will make one week straight of work without a day off) so please pray that God will renew my strength. Also pray for Megan and my family as the longevity of my stay is becoming more real to them as well and that God would comfort them in my absence. Thank you all in advance for your prayers.
To Christ within,
Craig
