Hello, my dear friends and family!
We have now been at JWI for four months. We have also completed “week one, take one” of Hume Lake Winter Camp 2023!! Woohoo!
My roommate, Baylee, and I worked as referees for the girls’ broom hockey tournaments. That included the Kurth Cup Final Championship! I felt a lot of pressure, but it turned out to be a pretty fun gig. The girls teams played the whole eight minutes of the final game without scoring, so they went into “sudden death”. Finally one team scored, winning their team a spot on the 2023 Kurth Cup. After that, Baylee and I were runners for the Boxsled Blitz. There were some pretty awesome creations, such as a Lightning McQueen Croc and The Transformers’ “Bumblebee”. It was an amazing first weekend of camp, and I am looking forward to the next few weekends.
Monday was CRAZY with a capital “Z”! In the morning, the rain began pouring down and it started seeping into the Joshua building, so we had to get a few students to help quickly dig a path in the snow to direct the water away from the building. Then, we started a fire in the fireplace without opening the flue, so smoke filled the entire building and the fire alarms went off. This happened twice! After that, we had a family meeting to assess how we were doing in the program. Let’s just say we really needed that meeting. During it, we learned that our speaker could not come because the road was closed. Why was the road closed? That’s because the rain was pouring so much, it washed out the earth under the road, causing it to be unsafe to drive on. Not only that, but main camp flooded, causing the lake to become a river and the streams to become rapids. I don’t know what happened the rest of the day because I took a long nap after dinner. That was the whole of Monday.
On Tuesday, I was sick, so I laid low the whole day. I don’t have much to say except that I know we had another family meeting. Some expectations were clarified, and new consequences were established. I’m not so excited about it all, but I know it was done for our good.
On Wednesday, we had our first Biola classes of the new semester! In the New Testament class, we went over the Intertestamental Period. In Foundations of Christian Thought, we talked about the mind’s role in spiritual formation. We also had book discussion, where we talked about putting on the new identity of a Christ follower. During free time, I helped bake banana bread with my friends. So far, this week has been an interesting one. I wonder what next week has to offer.
– Cambria Gerrits (current student)
We are less than two weeks away from our first international trip: The Dominican Republic! It’s going to be my first time off of the continent and I am beyond thrilled. It’s crazy to think that we are already halfway through Joshua. I feel like I’ve already created so many memories and grown so much in my walk with Christ.
I think the most fascinating thing about Joshua is how frequently my mood shifts. One day I am on cloud 9 and am praising God wholeheartedly, and the next day I am indignant or woeful and am wishing I could be anywhere but Joshua. The best example of this comes from my last two weekends of work. Our first weekend back from break was New Years. I was assigned, for the fourth consecutive time, to be a host in the kitchen. Hosting is the worst. We start work at 5 am and end around 8 pm (with a couple of breaks of course). It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Anyway, New Year’s Eve was on Saturday. We worked the normal host shift, 5-8, and were off for the actual New Years event. I was really looking forward to enjoying New Years with my Joshua friends, but I was unable to because I had work the next day at 5 am. It was egregious and exhausting. The following weekend, however, was a lot different. It was the first weekend of winter camp and I was working activities. My job was to ref broom hockey, which, at first, didn’t seem like anything special. The environment was legendary. I was out on the ice with a bunch of blood-thirsty campers, all who craved the glory of winning the Kurth cup, while surrounded by a booming crowd that filled the perimeter of the ark. It was an experience I will always remember. Reffing the Kurth cup was the best. As soon as a team was close to scoring, my helmet would shake because of how loud it was. The excitement, suspense, intensity, and competitiveness was unmatched. It was easily the most fun and engaging work experience I ever had. In the span of two weekends, I had experienced the lowest of lows and highest of highs. This is what Joshua is all about. In life, we undergo many trials and challenges, but we also experience things that bring us enjoyment and cheer. The important thing is that we hold the same view of God through the highs and lows. It is not easy, but being at Joshua has helped me trust God in all circumstances.
-Seth Ondo (current student)