Tsawout Winter Trip 2018 - Day 1

Hey guys. Belated merry Christmas and early happy new year! Once again, we're back on the island for our annual winter trip. Ferry ride here was really windy and wet, for once, the team was actually split up,luckily no one got left behind. Aside from that, today was a fairly chill day, card games, Jenga, tag, hide and seek, crafts, 4-Square, McDonalds runs, jam sessions, the usual.


Today was mostly just chilling and free time

An intense game of poker

More intense card games

Coup seemed to be the most popular car game today

Go, Go, STOP was poplar with some of the younger kids

Rainbow Looms are a Tsawout classic

Risky Jenga move

The Leaning Tower of Jenga

Blog/Photo guy even got his hair done

We then had dinner, wonderfully prepared by our chef.

Behind the scenes ft. chef

As you can see, the dinner is very good

Looks good too!

Good memories were definitively made tonight

We ended the night off with some worship. The photos speak for themselves

He is Alpa and Omega, Beginning and End. I think it's important to remember that in knowing this, God has a plan, not just for the Tsawout community but for all of us.

To end off, here is an interview with culinary expert/previous blog guy.

Q: What keeps you coming back to Tsawout?

A: That's a hard question... I'm not too sure... I want to say it's the relationships I've built, but I wanna say it's something else. The relationships I want to build motivates me to come and because I want to come I take the responsibility to serve so I end up going because of those responsibilities, so it's like a cycle that God creates. And when I arrive at Tsawout, God reminds me of how much love I have for the community, and how much love they have for me and the place I have in their heart and vice versa, it's like a viscous cycle that God creates but it isn't viscous, it's reckless, it's lovely and I feel loved, and I'm tired.


Q: Any God lights from today or any other trips?

A: During the summer trip I got to learn from the designated chef and follow under his guidance and sorta just blindly serve. But this trip, I was the head of the cook so it was very different. With every step I take when I take a dish, it feels intentional and it feels meaningful to me, especially with all the guest that join me in the kitchen. Whether they want to accompany me or if they're there for conversation, it feels good being able to have a tangible display of my purpose serving and the reason why I continue to serve. This opportunity has really solidified my understanding of why I serve. And it has given me confidence for the future and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.


Q: What's something you have learned from coming to Tsawout after 6 trips?

A: It takes time to really see God's work within these kinds of situations and it's really a long term commitment when you come 'cause when you come for the first time you don't really see the change you make, but I finally see the fruits of the commitments I've made and the opportunities I've taken to create long lasting friendships within this community. And it has taken me 6 years for me to see how God has truly worked through me and one thing that I finally understood from it is that God works in His own time, it may not seem like it adds up in the moment but we can never fully understand how God is working and what we should do is just trust blindly in God and serve unconditionally


Q: What is something you would tell a new comer/first timer?

A: The big guys are the friendly ones and the small ones are the scary ones, haha! In all seriousness though. My advice would be to just come. I know it might be scary your first time. Leaving your normal life for 2-7 days, living in a church and hanging out with people you don't know. But from my experience, once you make a connection, you'll want to come back and you'll want to serve and you'll enjoy it because in the end, it's all for God and bringing his children back to Him. So yeah, my advice would be to just come.