Ohh turkey break, you defeat the purpose of my runs…

So we are 1/3 the way through first semester, and I cant believe how fast it’s all going. So much has happened, and there is still so much more to come. We finished our class on Theology which was good, but it also just gave me a bunch of new questions, and more thing to be confused about. Although it was challenging and really good. After our class we headed out for our 4 day canoe trip, and man was I out of my element. I canoed with my good friend Josh the whole time, and at times I didn’t know if I was going to make it. The first day our leaders told us we would have to turn back because we wernt going to make it to our campsite. We has just paddled 4 hours, and the thought of going back killed us all. The waves were crashing into our canoes and we all felt we weren’t going anywhere. The second day we were again paddling into the wind, although the third day we had a break with the sun shining and the water calm. The last day we only had to paddle 2km, although it was pouring rain, and the wind was super strong. All together we canoed around 25km, and I for sure worked some arm muscles! It was a challenging thing for me, we didn’t have any bathrooms, or showers. And I was stretched out of my comfort zone for sure. We had another class on peace and conflict which came at the right time since the canoe trip forced us to be with each other the whole time, with no where to go. So tensions were high and the class came at the perfect time! Wendy taught us how to stop conflict and as well how to deal with it. I really enjoyed the class! We then went on out Urban Plunge in Winnipeg, which was really good. We were staying at Vineyard Church, which is in the North end of Winnipeg (which is the East Hastings of Manitoba). The first day we went to different outreach places and learnt a lot about living in community, giving up our lives, and what its like to be homeless in Winnipeg. We were given three dollars to find ourselves dinner, and my group decided to join another group and put our money together. We found a little grocery store and got all we could get for 18 dollars. We figured we could buy a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jam. We would eat, then give the rest of the sandwiches to street people. This was hard, because we found out really quickly that a lot of people didn’t want food, they wanted money for drugs. But the people that did accept them were grateful so that was nice. The hardest part of the day was learning about child prostitution. In Winnipeg girls start selling themselves at age 12, and for me to walk around the city and see this broke my heart. The next two days we were split into groups where we went out into the city and helped local ministries. The first day I was working with a group called Walls of Freedom, and I was going door to door handing out flyers about their Church. We were working in a very high risk area, and I was a little nervous about it all. I don’t like the idea of going around trying to get people to come to Jesus, although this was such a positive experience. People loved us coming to their door and talking with them. They responded so well to us coming and sharing what we were about, and lots of people told us they were going to start coming to the Church. On the second day I was at a place called House Blend, which is a house in another high risk area. There are three people living in community with each other while they minister to the people in their neighbourhood. I went into both days not knowing what to expect, but not expecting much. Although both days I was changed. Seeing the love these organizations have for the North end of Winnipeg, and the passion they had for helping people just blew me away. They are so passionate about serving God, and it was really inspirational. After the Urban plunge we came back to Camp Arnes and had our third class, it wasn’t as impacting for me. Although she was a super passionate lady and loved talking!! On my birthday we went to the local pub, which was fun. Then me and Alanna went swimming in our hot tub fully clothed..We thought we were funny!!! We had our last week at Camp Arnes, and had our speaker Gerry Michalski. Which is my pastors brother from GT!!! He was sooooo good. He challenged me everyday with something different; I really got a lot from him.

Today is the last day of Turkey break! Im staying with my friend Julie in Winnipeg! Tomorrow we leave for Banff for girl’s week! Im super excited to spend time with all the girls on my site. I love the boys but a week away will be so nice.

Anyways guys, things are going amazing. I love everyone so much, although living in community is hard at times. These people are my family. There is no better way to describe it.

Love you all

L