What an incredible past few weeks! These past days at Qwanoes have been so jam packed I have so much to share with you all. First and foremost, the students have officially graduated and are now moving into the next season of life. That is why although the program has come to an end here, the journey for them is really just beginning. We talk all year how the program does not just exist for the year itself, but rather for every year that follows. So it brought us great joy to see everyone finish so strongly, and we are so excited to see where God will bring them all next.
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| Kaleo Program 2014 |
I put together a short film showcasing some of our memories from the year.
On thursday the 17th last week at 3pm all of the students graduated! It was an amazing time of celebration, and also bitter sweet because we knew our time was coming to a close. We are so excited to see what God has next for these amazing leaders, the potential moving out of the program this year alone is massive. This is truly a group who allowed God to do some transforming work in their lives, and will go forth and serve many in love for the glory of his name.
I am going to share a few pictures from our grad day, and then share some of our last moments together in the Kaleo program.
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| Wednesday we held a reception to meet all the parents of the students. |
Worship for the ceremony was led by Ian Friesen alongside Kelsey Pettinger and team of other students. It was great to see them lead together representing the many times throughout the year we had come together to worship.
This years graduation address from the students was from this years Valedictorian Stephanie Pauls. The other winners of awards were as follows; Community Award was received by Riley McRae, Leadership Award was received by Ian Friesen, Ministry Award was received by Jonathan Loper, Adventure Award was received by Cara Tetro, and the Academic Award was received by Stephanie Pauls.
Later after the ceremony we took a few pictures outdoors despite the rain!
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So to finish off this post I am going to share a few pictures giving a snapshot of some of our adventures in the days leading up to graduation.
We went indoor and outdoor rock cimbing!
The students also helped to run an amazing Jr's Retreat!
The weekend right before graduation we had a closing retreat to reflect on the year, and also encourage the students going forward. We stayed at a beautiful cabin called The Knoll.
We also visited the world famous Kinsol Trestle.
I will cherish and value this year and the students for the rest of my life. The amazing opportunity to walk alongside this group of young men and woman, who continue through all things strive to surrender their hearts to the shaping work of Christ, has brought me immense joy! The students of Kaléo 2014 have blessed me greatly with their immense creativity, immeasurable passion and most importantly their zeal for the Lord.
I could write pages and pages of our amazing adventures, the incredible things we have all done together throughout this year. The amazing things God has done in the lives in each and every one of these students.
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| Levi VanderKwaak, a Kaleo Program intern and the writer of this years blog. |
So thank you so much from all of us, myself Levi, and the whole leadership team over at Qwanoes. Thank you for following our journey this year! It has been an incredible 8 months and God has been working in every step of the way. We have appreciated all of your prayer and support throughout the year.
Until next time,
Levi
Kaleo program intern.
It was truly wonderful to come out to Qwanoes and share in the Graduation celebration for the Kaleo 2014 Grads and to meet some of the Grads who we heard about all year long through conversations with Chris and through your blog. Thank you so much for sharing these awesome pictures and the commentary that tells some of the story of Kaleo 2014. Keep up the good work!
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