There And Back Again

There and back again.... well I’m home again and I’m typing this blog as I sit and watch the beautiful yet very different scenery of New Brunswick. I can’t say enough how odd it feels to be home. Everything is so familiar, yet I have left a very familiar place and beloved community. I can’t really say that the year felt as if it went by super fast. The feeling that has set in is an eternal one. I feel as if Kaléo just always was. In some degrees I think that is probably true. Kaléo has been a community that I have never experienced before; one that displayed what eternity is going to look something like. I have tasted what the Kingdom of the Heavens is like that Jesus speaks of in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is something I will not soon forget (because I will not let myself do so). And now I write to you to say thank you for making that happen.

The community that I have experienced would not have been the same without all of the many prayers that have been prayed. God has met us time and time again over this year, from chapel to the top of Mount Washington; he has not ceased to work in and through us this year. We have seen him change hearts in a place that he was not welcome (Olympics). We watched our fellow Kaléo’s become free of burdens and become soft-hearted to his call. We have seen homeless men laugh with joy and ask, “What is the Word?” Our eyes have been opened to revelations that great teachers and men of God have taught us. God has displayed his glory and we have sung praises to him on mountain tops. God has named us with new names and equipped us to go back into the world. The list could go on and on; God has worked mightily this year. So I thank you for praying, I thank you for the support you have given for all that has taken place would not have happened without it.

Now after this journey, I am back again. This time I am more prepared to meet the challenges that the world has set before me. I have been taken out of the green house where I have grown all year and been placed out in the garden to see if I will take root. The Lord willing, the growth that has happened this year will continue and I will see more fruit bear in my next few years. But I’m sure that you are curious as to what is next. Now that I have stepped out of this rock tumbler called Kaléo with a few less rough edges, what next? My plan is to continue schooling for one more year. I will finish an Associates Degree in Global Studies to continue my background for a life of global missions. After this I am not exactly sure where I will be heading but I shall take things one step at a time. I have some vague plans but you’ll have to ask about those, there isn’t enough room to talk about those here. Hopefully one more year at Briercrest will enhance my knowledge of the word of God and show me how to love him more.

Thank you again for all the support that you have given throughout the year. Hopefully I will be able to sit with many of you who read this blog to continue to share my experiences with you. In case I do not see you I would like to say, good day and thank you. This will be the last post for this blog because I have been there and back again. Good bye Kaléo I have loved thee and will miss thee dearly, until we unite in eternity once more, Adieu.

Nick VanSnick

nvansnick@gmail.com

After the Grad Ceremony, I won the Excellence in Christian Ministry Award