Kairos Intern

Dear Friends:

We kicked off new programs this year for young people just out of high school (or a year into college). The summer program is call Kairos Adventure Guides (KAG). During the summer, the KAG participants helped lead our summer adventure trips for young people in grades 7th—12th. It was a full summer; the Guides were only in Lansing for a total of seven days—just enough time for a good night’s sleep and to do laundry!

We also have begun a Kairos Internship Program (KI). This program is similar to our former Stand in the Gap, but allows the participants time to take classes or work a parttime job. Thomas Bielejeski, from Minnesota, shares with us a bit of what he has experienced and done so far as a Kairos Intern.

“I decided to do KI because I wanted to take a year off after high school and do a mission year somewhere. The Kairos Internship Program  offered me a chance to live in Christian community and have Christian support and fellowship as I serve on mission. At the end of this year, I will then spend the summer leading Kairos adventure trips. Both give me the opportunity to grow in my faith and confidence in leading people. 

“A challenge for me was not knowing what my year was going to look like when I moved to Michigan. I didn’t know many people in Michigan, and somehow I didn’t feel like I would fit in very well with them. So, I was a little apprehensive about the year ahead.

 “However, I have discovered that even if you don’t know anyone in Lansing, after a month or so you’ll feel like you’ve known them forever! The people here have been super welcoming and are always willing to do anything with and for me. 

“I am currently working part-time at Chick-fil-a and working part-time for Kairos. I’ve also been participating in the University Christian Outreach (UCO) Formation Program and helping with their outreach to students at Michigan State University and at Lansing Community College. One of my biggest highlights has been having morning prayer at the UCO men’s house and being able to spend a lot of my time with the guys living there.

“For the future, I’m considering staying in Lansing for another year to serve more with UCO and live in UCO household next year.”

 

Thanks for supporting young people like Thomas who are stepping out of “comfort zones” to grow in the Lord and serve him. We are delighted in the “yeses” young men and women are offering to the Lord. Please keep them in your prayers. Thank you for being a partner in mission!

Boys Summer Trips

Dear Friends:

 

We had three great boys trips this summer. Our veteran trip leaders, Stan Mathay and Brian LaLonde, were joined by our Kairos Adventure Guides, CJ Peine of Minnesota, and David Ludwig of Michigan. We also had some great dad volunteers who joined us. Brian tells us of some faith adventures, three of which he refers to as answers to “pavilion prayers.”

 

“Our 8th grade New York canoe trip was very rainy this year,” says Brian. “It was mostly OK, because we are out on the     water most of the time. However, on the final day, we usually do a steep hike and then end with a campfire and honoring of each other.

 

“It was pouring down rain and quite cold on the last day, so we needed to improvise. We were not going to be able to pull off the hike, so we drove into the nearest town, which was Lake Placid—the site of the 1980 Olympics, where the U.S. beat Russia in hockey! (The adults were a bit more excited about this history than the boys were.) What we needed was some sort of pavilion to have our final dinner, prayer, and honorings to wrap up the week.

 

“So, as we were driving into Lake Placid, we prayed our first pavilion prayer: ‘Lord, we are going into town and we need a place to spend this day.’ As soon as we pulled into town, we spotted a beautiful band pavilion. We spend part of the day there. Then, we drove to a trail head and took a short hike. We all got soaked and were quite cold.

 

“We returned to our campsite, knowing the site would be flooded. We drove to another small town and prayed our second pavilion prayer. We drove into town and—boom—there it was! A beautiful pavilion where we could do our whole evening. Many of the boys brought in their sleeping bags to stay warm.

 

“Our 9th grade trip to Wyoming was the place of the third pavilion prayer. Normally it is very dry and we sleep outside under the stars. However, at our first stop, the wind picked up and there was lightening. We ran everybody back to the van about 11 PM. We did not want to set up tents because there was no grass; it was just turning to mud. We drove two more hours and prayed another pavilion prayer. We drove into a little mountain town, looking for fairgrounds. Once again, a great pavilion was spotted at 3 AM. We all pulled out sleeping bags and slept soundly on the concrete.

 

“The 7th grade boys trip to Virginia did not include a pavilion prayer but the boys (and us) had faith-building experiences. One happened on the last day. We hiked two miles to a river swimming hole. It is a favorite spot for us to swim and get a bit cleaner for the ride home. On the hike back, one of the boys realized that he had left his knife at the swimming hole; he was crushed. He wanted us to let him walk back the two miles to get it. Well, that was out of the question, but we all prayed that the knife would be there the next day when we hiked back by that spot on our way out. The young man was really shaken and just could not believe it would be there. He said he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. Turns out none of us got much sleep because it was a windy night (the kind where the gusts of wind blow the tent down in your face).

 

“The next morning, the boy hiked ahead with me. When we arrived, the knife was right there. This was a miracle to the young man. He was joyful and encouraged, even jumping around with joy. The rest of us were a bit dragging from the sleepless night!”

 

We hope that many of the 7th grade boys will return to do the 8th grade trip next year. Brian is sure the “knife story” will be one that the boys will use to increase their faith when the going gets hard. Thanks for being a partner with us in bringing youth at all stages of life closer to Christ. We very much appreciate your prayers and financial support!

Allegheny Ascent

Dear Friends:

 

What a summer we are having! Over 100 young people participated in our Kairos trips this year: a new record. This month we are reporting on our 7th grade girls trip to the Allegheny Mountains. This trip was the first with just the 7th grade girls. Instead of setting up camp each evening, they stayed in one place and did hikes during the day.

As a special bonus, two former “gappers,” Katherine Kebe and Olivia Harvey, helped staff the trip. It was really fun to have them both back serving in Kairos together. Here are a few of their comments and observations from the trip.

“The trip was so good and very, very blessed,” says Katherine. “This   mission was dear to my heart because I can attribute the foundations of my own faith to a trip just like this. The goal of this trip was to set and build those faith foundations, and to plant seeds in the hearts of these girls of what being in community with other Christians can look like. We wanted to foster relational foundations for these girls with each other, but most importantly with their Lord. I sometimes forget the way that the Holy Spirit works in our daily life, but this trip was living proof of the impact He makes in our lives! There is no other way that thirteen 7th grade girls from all over the country would be so tightly bonded within a matter of a few days except by the Holy Spirit.

“I am convinced more and more of the value of being together with other Christians; that the work the Lord is about in our world will be moved forward by Christians together. It was truly an honor to serve and love these young women and I certainly pray that they will continue to draw near to the Lord and the life He has for them! What a gift to be a part of such a mission.”

“The trip was great,” Olivia says. “The girls had a lot of fun, and they bonded really well together. Of course, there were some unforeseen challenges, but the Lord was definitely guiding me and the other leaders through them, and it was such a grace-filled trip!”

We are hoping to expand to more trips next year, especially on the girls side.  We are planning for an 8th girls grade trip, along with having trips and events for each high school grade. The goal is for the youth to form strong bonds of friendship and support (as well as having lots of fun), that will sustain them through their college days.

We owe you, our faithful partners, many thanks for being supporters of this mission to young people. God is calling a new generation to know, love, and serve Him. This summer has been a fruitful season in this work. May the Holy Spirit be withyou, ever drawing you nearer to the One who saves!

 

 

Your brother in mission,

James Munk

Kairos Director

 

Kairos in the Summer

Dear Friends:

Summer is upon us and our long-awaited trips are beginning this month. Our new “Kairos Adventure Guides” begins June 13. This program is for college-aged people who wish to serve as staff on Christian adventure trips.

For our first year, CJ and David will be paving the way for our future Guides. In between trips, they will be living in household with other men and receiving training. They will be staffing all four boys’ trips, serving in a “big brother” role for the boys and as models of Christian men. They will be joining our veteran leaders Brian LaLonde and Stan Mathay, along with other adult volunteers.

Another first this year is our “Kairos Summit” in June, being held outside of Atlanta, Georgia. This long weekend retreat/adventure is for juniors & seniors in high school. They will hear presentations from University Christian Outreach and Saint Paul’s Outreach, be given talks about vision for living their lives in fellowship with other Christians, and how to discern what the Lord might want to do with their lives post high school. Another goal is to equip our youth to engage the “world” intellectually by looking at some main “thinkers” throughout history. There will also be day adventures and service projects. We currently have 18 youth signed up for this first-ever event.

From the end of June into July, the 8th grade boys’ “Adirondack Adventure” will happen in upstate New York. This is our second year doing this trip, which took the place of our annual Algonquin canoe trip. It worked really well last year, as Covid restrictions meant we could not travel from the U.S. into Canada. This new trip includes both canoeing and backpacking. We have 20 youth registered from six states, which means we have to split the trip into three groups to respect the wilderness environment.

New this year is our 7th grade girls trip also from the end of June into July. This trip is dubbed “Allegheny Assent.” As of this writing, 14 girls are participating. We will stay at one location for sleeping and hold day hikes. An important goal for the trip is that the girls meet and get to know other Christian middle schoolers. We hope they will form relationships that will help build for their future YES retreats. Elements of the trip will also include prayer together, scripture meditations, and personal sharing. Two GAP alumni are running the trip, along with Kairos staffer Molly Kilpatrick and other staff volunteers from five states.

In the middle of July, we have a canoe adventure for 8th – 9th grade girls; they will travel to Minnesota to canoe the beautiful Boundary Waters. This trip is led by veteran Sandy Buchner. We will also be splitting the group in three to respect the fragile environment of the north country. Currently, 13 girls are going to embrace adventure and Christian fellowship.

 

Concurrently, another trip we have long held in July is the 9th grade boys “Rocky Mountain Jamboree.” This is our most rugged trip, wilderness hiking in the Rocky Mountains. We currently have around 20 guys attending from eight states.

Finally, at the end of July, we have our classic 7th grade boys Virginia trip: Appalachian Rendezvous. On this trip, we are bound to encounter both rain and cool wildlife (including wild ponies). We have many pictures of boys hiking in rain ponchos as well as welcoming ponies into their campsites!

This is the first summer we have nearly 100 youth participating. Next year, we plan to expand further and add a couple of trips; we are especially planning for high school girls. Our 9th & 10th grade girls’ program will begin next year.

The two Kairos vans will see lots of use. Even with two vans, we will be renting more to meet our needs. This is a great problem to have; the Lord has been good to us!

We are very excited to be able to hold youth trips that seemed out of reach a year ago. Thanks so much for your support in our efforts of reaching youth via these high impact trips. Having these “stretching” adventures with other Christian youth and with phenomenal staff is life changing. Young people remember these trips and the impact they had for their whole lives. Thanks again!

Your brother in the Lord’s service,

James Munk

Kairos Director

Thy Kingdom Come

Dear Friends:

Greetings in the Lord! After the great disappointment of needing to cancel the 2020 Youth Equipped to Stand

(YES!) Retreat, our staff was determined to make a “live” event happen this year. Two years in the life of a teen is an eternity. We had a “virtual” retreat in 2020, which was certainly better than nothing, but does not compare to the power of praying together and being together. Stephen Giles, our YES! Re

treat director, filled us in on YES 2021.

“Our theme was Thy Kingdom Come! It turned out to be a very timely theme for 2021. In our staff prayer before the retreat, we sensed that our youth needed to hear the Lord and by touched by Him; that it was time to re-engage after the ‘pause button’ that was the past year. We felt that the youth needed to be moved toward ‘wanting to want’ what the Lord had for them. To move towards being loyal to Christ and not to the world. Only in the Lord is our hope.

“We had 160 youth (about 2/3 of a ‘normal’ YES! Retreat) in person, and about 30 more participating online. Travel was not possible for teens from some states, and not at all for Canadian youth. Michindoh Camp, where we held the retreat, had Covid protocols, and we were able to use those to make as safe a retreat as possible. We could be outside without masks, and when indoors we masked and kept to our ‘pods,’ which were distanced from other ‘pods.’ The pods worked great for housing, meals, worship, talk sessions, discussion groups, and prayer ministry.

“All the kids were repeating how great it was to be there, but the happiest group had to be the sophomores—they missed what was supposed to be their first YES! Retreat last year. They were really ready to engage! The teens were right there, participating in worship, and attentive during the talks and breakout sessions.”

Here are a few of the comments that the youth wrote on their evaluation forms:

“For most of high school, I believed the lie that I was only ‘tolerated’ and not actually loved by anyone. During the prayer session, I asked for prayers to deal with this lie. As soon as my small group started to pray over me, I felt a very strong sense of love and fellowship from God and from my group.”

Before YES, I was having a difficult time worshipping and really seeing the Lord as the King…worship had become foreign to me. With COVID restrictions, it had been so long since I was able to do praise and worship. Coming into YES Retreat 2021, learning the theme was ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, I knew I was in trouble. But during the first praise and worship session, everything just clicked. As I sang, I thought about all the struggle of the past year, and it just hit me. I suddenly saw all the victories the Lord has won in my life; I realized that he has won THE victory; that he is powerful and mighty. And all I wanted to do was lift my hands and praise him and worship him and sing to him. My soul cried out, ‘You are my King and my God.’”

“Although I come from a very faith-based family, where my parents set an amazing example of having Christ on their ‘thrones,’ during my junior year and the beginning of my senior year of high school I had lost a lot of my faith. I didn’t really care about my relationship with the Lord, and I went to church only because my parents made me. I love riding and training horses, but I put horses and school on my ‘throne’ rather than God. During YES 2021, I was able to realize who should be King of my life. I was one of the people who stood to say that I wanted to give my life to Jesus and set Him on my throne. It will be a daily choice, but the retreat gave me exactly the push that I needed to turn my life around in the right direction: toward Je-sus.”

“The YES Retreat in one word: phenomenal. In two words: life changing. In five words: best weekend of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so at peace with my life and whatever plan God has for me than during the retreat. I don’t think I can describe the pure fulfillment I felt in the Lord and how many things changed in that moment. And that feeling didn’t just go away when I went home. I intend to carry what I learned at the YES Retreat into the rest of my life and grow upon it.”

Well, that makes all the work worth it! Many thanks to Stephen and his staff for making this retreat happen. Thanks to the Lord for all the answered prayers for the retreat. It is humbling to be used by the Lord to reach his precious young people and see them respond to the call to follow Jesus, for their lives, for the rest of their lives. Thanks so much for being part of this ministry. The Lord is blessing our partnership in reaching young people!

Your brother in Christ,

James Munk

Kairos Director