A Base Camp Prayer

“Have I mentioned how much I love this place?

I love this place. It is magical.

Your peace rests over it, coddles it like a fresh-out-of-the-dryer blanket.

Your grace settles like the rain: unobtrusive, subtle, gentle. Here you are at work. Everywhere you are, but here I am less blind to it.

I feel your peace in my soul. I feel tangible renewal. I feel the hot coffee slipping down my throat, warming my body. I feel the cool breeze tiptoeing over my skin.

It is euphoric.

It demands my attention.

I am aware because all the things I cram on my plate, heaping and ugly and messy, are wiped clean. All I have before me is to serve you, this community, and campers on trips.”

-Madi Krueger 

Paying Attention

Ali Savage is a second-year mountain guide who will graduate
 in the fall from Western Washington University.
She studies education & political science,
and is passionate about freedom, the mountains,
and Jesus. 

I see two types of people in this world: movie-talkers and everyone else. For better or worse, my mom is the former. I grew up with her elbow perpetually jabbed into my side, always accompanied with the question, “Who is that?” or, “What did she just say?” Utterly committed to understanding a plot line, she’s never been afraid to ask questions, even in a very crowded movie theater. She is, in one word, engaged. I’ve found that this same binary exists in every other arena of my life as well. The breakdown I see is as follows: there are those who pay attention, and everyone else. The Gospel demands that I pay attention; to others, to the movings of the Holy Spirit, and to myself.

Jesus paid attention to the ones most vulnerable to being ignored. Jesus paid attention to the voice of the Father compelling him to listen to and love the broken and the cast-off. Jesus was, and is, unyielding in his desire to pay attention. In order to emulate Jesus, I must pay attention.

As I prepare to finish my second summer of guiding, and thus my time commitment to Beyond Malibu, I believe that this is one of the greatest things God has taught me during my time here. I live in a world where my brain is addled by stimuli, everything vying for my attention. As a Christian, particularly a Christian who does ministry with high school kids, I often believe falsities. Sometimes to my peril, I believe that if I just yell the Gospel louder I will be heard. I believe that if I listen to more sermons, read more books, and have more or louder or better worship, then I will hear the voice of God. In reality, what I actually need is to be stripped of excess so that there are fewer things distracting me from paying attention to the voice of God. Beyond Malibu is a place thick with that presence. I am given the time and the space to be engaged with others, with the movings of the Holy Spirit, and with myself.

Because of this space given to me to pay attention, here are some things I’ve come to know:

I know the soft and powerful movement of air overhead, heron’s wings beating a divine rhythm.
I know more shades of green and blue and grey than language can put form to.
I know the slow breathing of the Inlet, tides rising and falling like the chest of some sleeping aquatic giant.
I know bare feet on green floors and 5:30 AM belly laughs.
I know the sight of hot, holy tears in the eyes of a participant as the clouds open up and they get their first view of the mountain that they’ve spent the last three days climbing.
I know what it means to love, because He first loved us.

Because of Jesus’ example, and because of this tiny corner of the map named Beyond Malibu that so many have called home, I know what it means to pay attention to the presence of God; not because I have more of what matters, but because I have less of what doesn’t.

With love,
Ali

“What does it mean to pay attention?

And by this, I mean, what does it mean to be alive?”

- Mary Oliver

We Need More Staff!

We have hired a stellar guide staff and base camp staff for Beyond Summer 2012. To give a snap shot, the first year women guides will blow your mind with awesomeness and Jeff the jukebox will be back rockin’ the guitar. Our maintenance staff is ready to maintain, and our guy Nate from Wisconsin is taking up the reigns as the assistant cook in the kitchen this year. But here’s the thing. We still have some serious vacancies and we need all the help we can get filling them.

For starters we are still looking for a Head Cook– you’d get to work with Nate– and a Boat Driver. The Boat Driving position requires a special certification so we’re looking for someone who’s willing to hold that spot down for this summer and next summer.

Next up are our coordinator positions: Guest Services and Base Camp (formerly Female and Male Base Camp coordinators). These are base camp leadership positions so if you know how to get things done and know how to get other people to get things done (or know someone who does), you should definitely look into one of these positions. We like to have a balance men and women on our leadership team so we usually hire a lady for the Guest Services Coordinator and a guy for the Base Camp Coordinator, just so you know. Whoever takes these spots will be joining our Food Service Coordinator Amanda, from Virginia, on the leadership team.

Last but definitely not least, we are still on the hunt for two (a lady and a guy) Guide Team Leaders to join Amanda and Co. on leadership. These positions require a hefty amount of previous Beyond experience– like two years as a Beyond guide– and some pretty exceptional leadership skills. We’ve perused all of the usual subjects but feel like we’re forgetting some people. If you are or know some people who fit the bill, we’d love it if you or they were brought to our attention.

Check out our website for more detailed job descriptions and an application. Don't hesitate to call us (206-525-0791) with any questions or suggestions. Our first training weekend begins in exactly one week. We are so pumped for the start of this new season and we’d love it if our leadership team could join us as soon as possible. Be praying for us please.

Community

Shane Besmer began serving at Beyond when he was just 19. He has worked as the boat driver, male base camp coordinator, a guide, maintenance man, and eventually just as The Shane. He is in grad school now studying third world community development. Here are some of his thoughts on community in the Beyond context.

Living with forty other staff members in an isolated wilderness camp has given me a rare view of what close community can be like. Sharing the most mundane and extreme of life’s experiences, we were given a glimpse of the tremendous possibilities of community.

Beyond Malibu is an adventure camp with the purpose of removing kids from their everyday lives in hopes that they might see themselves, and Christ, more clearly. The staff at Beyond is almost entirely volunteer, and many staffers are required to make a two year commitment. Operations are run out of a small base camp that is accessible only by boat or seaplane. Running water and electricity are very limited. Absent constant contact with the outside world and electronic entertainment, the staff naturally develops a very close community. Each member plays a very important role, serving one another along with our campers, and inadvertently painting a beautiful picture of the body of Christ.

The jobs of the staff range from mountain or sea-kayaking guide, to food packing and maintenance. Each member is completely dependent on the others to continue with his or her job. If one person becomes ill, the impact spreads throughout the community. If two members are not communicating well, the rest of the body is aware of it and often affected. In the evenings when the work is finished, co-workers and bosses become friends and family, and look to each other for the love and support they need. Nearly all aspects of the life of one person are tied in one way or another to the lives of others, creating a micro-example of the definition of community.

I loved the years I spent at Beyond and I cherish them even more now that I am more removed from the experience. I have come to realize that this kind of community is nearly impossible to duplicate in the chaotic obligations of the city, and to attempt to do so can become incredibly frustrating. Despite the rarity of the Beyond base camp experience, it has been a challenging, yet joyful experience to see my community grow and change and settle into the ebbs and flows of community life in the city. We cannot live as in tune with one another, or with God, here as we did so far away from the distractions of the world. Instead, we struggle, and mostly succeed, to intentionally seek out relationship amid the business of everyday life. More significantly, we are challenged to learn and grow through the process of integrating our family of friendships with the various communities we intersect as we go throughout our lives. The result is beautiful and messy. We fail often, and just as often we accept grace, get up, and try again. This is community. I praise God daily for my time at Beyond, and for beginning this life long adventure.

The New Boat Arrived!!

The new boat arrived at Beyond Base camp July 22nd, 2011. What a celebration. After several years of fund raising we were able to purchase the new 12 passenger Stanley landing craft water taxi. Production of the boat started at the end of March and it arrived just in time to pick up the week 4 trips from the trail head. After picking up the first trip we knew we had the perfect boat for Beyond. The participants relaxed in the spacious cabin and the backpacks loaded into the open bow with ease. Powered by two 150 horsepower Yamaha outboards the loaded boat cruises comfortably between 27 and 30 knots making our trip pick up and drop off schedule run very smooth. The final test came when we did our first Frankenstein beach landing. The Frankenstein pickup went so well that we also changed the Pearkes pickup to be a beach pick up and drop off as well to avoid the risky dock.

Thank you to those of you who helped us purchase this boat. It is a fantastic addition to the Beyond Malibu ministry.