We have almost reached the halfway point of our program here in beautiful Colorado and I think that most would agree that tremendous amounts of growth have already taken place.  For one, all of us have created new relationships with fellow Calvins (what they call us here) and people from other programs.  The largest contingent of staff is international workers from all over the world, such as: Colombia, Thailand, China, Turkey, and Ukraine, to name a few.  The vast majority of from these countries do not share the same beliefs that we do.   I work with many of these people in housekeeping; personally, they have caused much growth from me.  I have been put in a place where my beliefs are among the minority.  This can be intimidating at times, but also a great opportunity to be a witness to many who know very little about Christianity.  Along with several others, from Calvin or elsewhere, I have been able to have some good conversations with people of other religions about what they believe as well as what Christians believe.  In talking with my roommates over the past couple of weeks, I have found out that many of us from Calvin are taking advantage of the opportunity to share what we believe with others.

I also want to speak of the great beauty that we are experiencing here in the mountains.  Even from the middle of camp we are surrounded full circle by a panoramic view of the mountains.  On one side, is the continental divide with its snow capped and rocky peaks, and on the other are gentler, green-capped mountains.  We have been graced with moose, foxes, beavers, and I think there was a bear sighting.  All of this shows the wonderful picture that God has painted through creation.  We have experienced campfire worship as the wind blows through the trees and the mountains are silhouetted by the setting sun.  We have all seen incredible sights and I’m sure that more are to come!

Andre Otte

Greetings friends, family, and other loved ones!

I cannot wait to share my experiences with the program here with you. First, I'll share a bit about myself. My name is Cari Vos and I will be a Junior in the fall. At Calvin, I am studying Psychology and English-Linguistics. I have the honor of serving as an RA in the residence halls this coming school year (RVD will take down SE no matter what Emily says). Even more joyous in my life this summer is the chance to serve as a small group leader.

In the three weeks I have been here, I have been blessed immensely by the experiences and relationships that have already occurred. I find a great amount of joy and pride in Calvin because it has chosen to support and sustain a program such as this. I could not even begin to explain all the things that I have learned--and have yet to learn--about myself and my role as a leader.

In the first week, Chris Klein talked to us about the importance of intimacy in a relationship. This isn't just sexual intimacy, but also the deep both and relationship that is shared between two people through communication, confession, and living life together in fellowship. This is never a concept I paid much mind or attention to. It challenged me to focus more on learning to become vulnerable with people and allow them into my life through confession and conversation; in this I can produce and create more fruitful and meaningful relationships with those around me.

In the next week, Emily shared with us how she--in broad strokes--viewed leadership. Through this she shared her life story. In this, we were given the opportunity to embrace the importance of sharing life stories with each other. The idea of giving someone 20 minutes of undivided and intentional attention to speak freely about their life is an elusive concept these days. By allotting these precious minutes, it invites the rest of the group into the life of the speaker in a way that we are often incapable of doing in everyday life and conversation.

Finally, last week, Rick Baez came and shared with us his workshop on Leadership and Communication. The biggest thing I have to say about this is: boy, did I take notes. This workshop could not be more applicable to my life. Between being a small group leader, a future RA, an employee, a friend, and a human being, everything Rick said had some applicable place in my life. I relished in the opportunity to speak one on one with Rick; it was a chance to speak with him about I think things are going here at SMR (which is great!) and how I think his workshop personally affected me. The chance to speak with him about his life and how he came to be where he is was also a great blessing.

I wish I could say so much more to you all. I truly do. However, I can already tell this is going to be a long blog post (woops...). But I've learned that when you are passionate about something, you shouldn't hold it in. You should let it shine forth from you like sunbeams so the whole world can know what makes you joyful. For me, it is this opportunity, this chance, these experiences, and these relationships. And I cannot wait to keep sharing it with you all.

Thank you all for your support and love, we are most thankful and gracious for you all. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures and seeing photographic evidence of our excellent encounters.

Cari Vos :)

"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot." -David Herbert Lawrence 

Monarch Lake

My small group after the Monarch Lake hike

Camping trip Day 2: hiking Adams Falls

We've got an adventuresome bunch here

We spent a night at the Foundry to see Man of Steel and do some bowling!

My roommates and I at the Foundry (they are truly a blessing in my life, cheesy, I know)

We went to Winter Park for the, and I quote, "Chocolate Festival"--it was AWESOME

The village at Winter Park has a giant scrabble board!

Bradon, Joey, Andre, and Nicole participated in the pudding eating competition and all lost...

Chaco tans are our goals this summer. And they're coming along swell....

Communication

This past Monday we worked with Rick Baez from the Broene Counseling Center and learned about effective communication particularly in the work place. What I found to be most challenging was the section on asking and receiving feedback. I personally am really bad at both of those things, being told that I am doing something wrong is not usually something I take well. So talking in depth and having break out sessions where we discussed how to ask and receive feedback was very beneficial to me. It even went a step further when we were challenged to identify a certain aspect of our work environment that we were going to ask for feedback on. We were to identify both a person to ask and a day on which to ask. I plan on asking one of my supervisors how I am doing in terms of my interactions with the guest and other guest services employees. Hopefully she has all good things to say :)

Good Gifts

                                                                        Good Gifts
 (Photo taken by Nicole Steiger)

Fresh cool morning air and a sunrise that highlighted the beauty of the Rockies began the day . The way the sun began to peak over mountains was gentle yet powerful as the heavenly halo light poured over the valleys and peaks.

My roommate and friend Nicole had the creative idea of getting up and hiking to a prime location for watching the sunrise. So one morning at four a.m three of us (Nicole, Hannah and myself) pulled ourselves out of bed. We grabbed jackets, flashlights and headlamps ,disregarded our body's cries to return to our deep slumber and headed out . As I trudged along half awake, my eyes focused on the gravely ground. With every few heavy steps I told myself that this "early morning hike",which felt more like a death march in darkness, would be worth it.

It was.When we got to our destination we sat in comfortable silence for a long time taking in the beauty of the sunrise and all the other glorious sights and sounds of an early morning in the Rockies. Throughout this time, I kept on thinking about how much of a gift this morning was. I was so blessed by having the privilege of being the audience to God's morning routine of illuminating His creation with light. It was even more astounding to me as I realized that I had the opportunity of witnessing this every morning , whenever I wanted to.

God gives His children Good Gifts. A sunrise in The Rockies is just one of the countless blessings He bestows on us. Praise Him!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows"
James 1:13(NIV)

-Juliana Moore  (6/19/2013)

Week 1: Confession and Humility with Chris Klein

We have been here at Snow Mountain Ranch for a couple of weeks now. We are working at our summer jobs, building relationships within our group and with others, and participating in occasional recreational activities. The summer is off to a great start, although not everything is easy; it is often challenging, for example, to learn the details of our jobs and to find times to do group activities when we each have different schedules.

The first Monday evening session took place on June 3. Chris Klein, the director of Calvin's Leadership Challenge Institute program, spoke to us about confession and humility. According to Chris, confession involves telling the truth about where one is at without being judgmental or condemning. In addition to allowing ourselves to get an honest idea of where we are at, confession can be a way to hear from God. To be humble, according to Chris, is to make a space for others while keeping a space for ourselves. In order to do this, we must know where we are at. But if we look at ourselves judgmentally, we push ourselves to the side and do not leave space for ourselves.

At the beginning of the evening, we participated in an exercise that showed us that when we confess to each other, we can better relate and support each other. Many of us learned from this exercise that the challenges we face going into this summer are similar to those faced by several others in the group. We would not have known this if we had not participated in confession.

At the end of the session, Chris asked each of us to write down some goals for our personal development this summer, and we discussed these in our small groups.

On the next Monday, June 10, Emily Colledge, resident director of SE and someone who will be with us here for most of the summer, spoke to us about servant leadership and shared her story with us. When talking about this summer, she also shared this quote from The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis spoken by Aslan:

Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.

Many of us here at Snow Mountain Ranch are seeking to learn more about who we are and what we want to do with our lives. We hope to gain some insight this summer about who God has made us to be through the LCI sessions as well as through the other things we participate in here.

We are looking forward to what God will do this summer and the ways that He will stretch our imaginations! Keep checking this blog for more updates and pictures.

Summer 2013 begins!

Welcome to Calvin's LCI blog for Summer 2013!

To begin the program we spent 3 days out in the Rocky Mountain National Forest...camping, hiking, singing, playing, praying, reflecting, wondering, laughing, freezing, breezy-ing, preparing and bonding...a great beginning!

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" Isaiah 52:7

To God be the Glory.