Joy in the beauty of life :): July 2013

Where do I start with all the things that have gone on these past two weeks! I ‘ve had some fun opportunities! First of all I got to lead a sports day event with 100 kids….CHECK completion! It was CRAZY but so much fun! I had my juniors (grade 7 & 8) students help me! There was 10 stations kids could go to with their leaders on a roation system I made up! It worked out so well! The juniors stepped up and led SO WELL! I was happy with their initiative and enthusiasm to take charge and lead their fun game at their station! Games such as sponge bucket race, water balloon volleyball, balloon around the ankle, tarp races to name a few! I ensured things were going well walking around and participating here and there to make sure the juniors weren’t over whelmed with their stations! All in all the day ended and I felt accomplished and proud of what I had planned! It was a great experience and I was happy to lead the day!

Since than we’ve gone to the beach which was also a fun adventure!
I mostly just chilled with this one girl Michelle. I’ve been hanging out with her a bit this summer! She has autism and it’s been really fun to be around her and play at the park and hangout! She is a gem and such a cutie! She is funny! She LOVES belts! I usually wear a belt to work and each day she comes up to me and says Alivia where is your belt? So I show her I have it on and she proceeds to tuck my shirt in so she can see my belt more. It’s funny and I always laugh with her doing it.

Lately I’ve been also hanging out with a lot of the younger little girls at camp! They are 5 & 6 years old! They are such a bundle of joy! Last week we sat at park time and threw goldfish into each others mouth and sat and chatted. They are wonderful! Kids says the funniest things here are some quotes:

Kid: My moms farts smell like cupcakes,,,but she doesn’t even eat cupcakes….annnnnd my dads smell like garbage…..

Kid: my mom was sick yesterday so I couldn’t make it camp…

Me: Oooooh! So did you stay home and cook her some chicken noodle soup than?

Kid: NOOOoooooo I’m onlt a kid! I’m 6 years old! I can’t cook!

Gotta love kids! I’ve been learning which age groups I really enjoy. Before the summer I might have said there was a broad range but working with kids of all ages ranging from grades 1-12 I have learned more of which age group I may prefer over another.

I lead devotions everyday Tuesday and Thursday morning! The kids are very quiet and I wonder if what I speak has any influence on them but I am reminded that even though their quietness is present it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a seed perhaps being built by the Lord. So as they sit there and I ask questions and out of 40 kids no one responds my prayer is that the Father at the end of it would have spoken through me to them in some way to have impacted them. That I may have spread the gospel in some tangible way and walk away having confidence that my words are just words but that the Lord would take them and mold them to what these kids need to hear in that moment. :)

On a side note I had the chance to visit Seattle the other week! It was loads of funnnn!! I went to the pike market place, which is pretty neat! There are lots of booths set up and fish markets etc. Kind of like a large craft/food show!

Oh yes and I bought the most lovely bunch of flowers only 7$ for a beautiful bouquet that probably would have been 50 at a store! It indeed brightened up my room! There was also some good live music jamming away that I sat and listened to for a while! We spent most the day at this market and than went to the gum wall! Yes folks it’s a GUM wall! How cool is that? Yucky maybe but really neat! It is this ally way that is filled with colorful bubble gum! I had to take part so I bought some gum and chewed it! Once mushing it up in my mouth I put my name on the wall! It was my favorite part of the day!

Yummy funny goodness! I love exploring! It was a beautiful sunny day! Speaking of sunny days were going on 30 days of sunshine in Vancouver and my heart is happy with it! I do like some rain but I’m happy with more sunshine than rain! The brown is starting to look very bleak and brown but were going strong on no break of rain for just about a month now! :)

Well folks I must be off to bed now but I hope you enjoyed reading whats going on in my life lately and Ill try to update sooner! It’s hard to find time to sit down these days and relax when I feel like so much is going on! OOooh I forgot to say I felt very accomplished last week I went on a 20km bike ride with Carissa my friend downtown to the C-wall! It was a glorious freeing bike ride! Yahoo! I feel like I fit into this hippy vintage bike riding movement down here haha! Anywho thanks for reading! I’ll post some photos in a few days!

Much Love,

Liv

Prayer requests:

That I would be willing in all I do

The student leaders would lead well & continue to take initiative

Some of my juniors Erika & Emma

SPORTS DAY FUN! :)

Just chilling in Seattle out of the first ever starbucks...kind cool.

More of the gum wall!

Some of the kids I work with :)

20 km bike ride.....check!

Safety first...right?

Tea party celebration fun!

I got a perm....maybe?...

One of the Interns it was her birthday so we celebrated on the beach!

Tea party in honor of a staff :) It was lots of fun!

Day at the lake :)

Fireworks on the beach with music to them! It felt like most of Vancouver was there! Festival of lights its called!

Ending off the week with a comfy cozy hammock hangout :)

Hey y'all ;)

Sorry I’ve been so delayed on posting! I always want to write so much and get carried away! Here is my thoughts over these past 2 weeks!

ENJOIII!

My oh my time has been passing by SO quickly! Camp is going into it’s 3^rd week here in Vancouver and it’s been so busy and full of up’s and down’s! I’ve been challenged quite a bit this past week with living in community; loving others unconditionally and seeing the significance it is to impact these children around me each day. As I see these things in front of me the Lord is softening my heart and challenging me in good ways to seek him first. Community is a beautiful thing, it really is! Although it can be beautiful I love “my time” away from the busyness and that is hard to find sometimes within the constraints of a home that is a office and a house to us all. I have been running and taking trips down to a lake called Trout Lake in the area and it’s been such a beautiful experience being able to escape into the beauty this lake offers to my soul. The sunshine has been soothing to my heart and exercise has indeed been great for taking runs with blasting beats! YAYY! On another note I’ve been thinking a lot about how children are SO important to the Lord, we are to yes, but children can represent faith in Jesus differently than we as adults can at times. Children have an innocence and willingness to love others, they are teachable, moldable and trusting. Their faith in God can be such a great role model because their trust can be so huge in the Lord. I remember back to when I was a child and when things might have been tough but my faith in the Lord was huge knowing and being so confident that God would redeem a situation. It still is huge but in my adult ways I can try and lean on my own strength sometimes more than when I was a child and I have to remind myself that I need not lean on my own understanding or strength but be in continued conversation with the Father who knows me best.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that adults can’t have this same approach but I do believe we can be looking on children to also see their faith budding and growing in ways as adults that is not always the same. Children have things to teach us just as we have things to teach them!

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

No matter what age you are the Lord can give you wisdom to lead a life that is glorifying to him in many shapes and sizes!:)

SOooo CAMPPP!!
A typical day in my camp life starts off picking up kids from a church about 10 minutes away from the actual church is held at. These kids get picked up and brought back to camp. Than we have morning program which consists lots of songs! We head to the park for a while and play games, skipping, football and much more! Than activities start for the day such as bible class, art, discovery (science experiments class), imagination (story telling class), and cooking class J I usually hop around to each of these activities and ensure the leaders/counselors teaching are doing well with the kids and help where needed! Last week I painted pyramids, made mummie fruit, played duck duck goose and basketball to name a few! After lunch we have more of these activities and than option time! I take break with the junior leaders who are in grade 7 & 8. We sometimes go get slurpess from Macs or we hangout and have water fights! This next week we are planning sports day! It should be exciting! I’m in charge of heading it up with my 16 Junoirs streetleaders!

Thoughts...

On another note lately I’ve been thinking a lot more about the homeless in this city around me. I’m not surrounded with this thought often enough because I live in my bubble town of Caronport in Saskatchewan! There are so many people who wander the streets without homes around this city especially just within a few blocks of our home. I spoke to this kind gentleman last week who was living on the street. I was waiting for a friend at the bus stop for a while and saw this man sitting in front of me. I decided to partake in conversation with him, there was something inside of me probably the Holy Spirit leading me to speak to him. He was friendly and very kind, from Labrador with a thick accent. It was rather hard to understand him but I tried to intently listen as he spoke. I was curious about his story, how he got there, what is he up to and does he have family. He told me he had two sisters in Montreal and one brother in Quebec if I remember right. He loves travelling and works berry picking on and off. He said he was in Vancouver for a few days longer than he was headed back down to Montreal to visit with his sisters and go party! Haha! He never asked me for any money as I feel that usually happens; I was just looking for a good conversation with a stranger hoping to bring some light to his day. He did however have a hat he was collecting money for which he pulled out his mini propane tank and told me he uses it to cook his food. OOOOH I remember he also was French! I told him I was a little bit as well and he started to speak a little bit of French to me! I answered back in une petite peau? My French is broken very much so! Hehe! In the meantime my friend showed up and I realized I never asked this mans name, so I did! His name was Michelle (say it with a French accent). Kind man, sincere heart and had a gracious smile. I wished him a good evening and parted with my friend. I walked away being more drawn into the homeless society that surrounds me here in Vancouver. I am aware that many people are on the streets due to mental illness but I know that is not the only case by any means. There are many more reasons behind them living on the streets.

As I worked in Calgary last summer I saw the opportunity that homeless people have to get meals, a bed, shelter, programs etc to help them out if they seek it within Calgary specifically. Although I feel there is a lot of hesitancy towards these programs for people who live on the street sometimes. Is it their illness or addiction holding them back from seeking help? The bondage that holds them so tight they don’t want to seek these places out and further their living on the street? Is it their pride of not wanting a meal and fighting back to try and fend for themselves? Many people have the ability to make up stories but many can tell the truth that they need help and they are reaching out for someone that will care. Many ask for money but I am hesitant to give money because I get nervous what they might spend it on. I would rather go and buy them a meal, which I have in the past. Some of them may not even be aware of the opportunities for these resources necessarily. In the end there continues to be a mass amount of homeless people and it sucks. I am curious the statistics of the reasons for homelessness. Is it economic downfall and mental illness the leading causes? Or are those just two things to many reasons of why many are without homes living on the street. It’s a sad thing, and I pray the Lord would open my eyes more to these things.

Prayer requests:

* I would find joy in all I do!

* Communication is so key in everyone’s life! Would you be praying that me and others around me that I work with, that we would be able to communicate well to each other!

Kindly,

Liv

Picta time :)

(Some of them are from a few weeks ago when I visited the Island :)