Still time to submit Staff Applications for 2010 Summer

Are you looking for an opportunity to serve this summer?  What if you could combine that opportunity with the adventure of a lifetime?  How does paddling through the coastal inlets of British Columbia sound?  Or does climbing to the summit of glaciated peaks in BC's coast mountains sound more like your thing?  Beyond is accepting applications for the following positions:

• Guide Staff Positions
• Mountain Guide 
• Kayaking Guide

• Base Camp and Leadership Positions
• Female Base Camp Coordinator
• Male Base Camp Coordinator
• Food Services Manage
• Head Cook
• Assistant Cook
• Food Packer
• Equipment Manager
• Boat Driver
• Office Assistant/Laundry
• Maintenance 

Guide Staff applications are due by January 1, 2010 and Base Camp Staff applications are due by January 15, 2010.  If you have any questions please call the Beyond Malibu office at (206) 525-0791.  More information and applications are located here.

Please feel free to pass this announcement on to anyone you think might be interested. 

Merry Christmas

Christmas at Beyond.

At the end of each summer, Beyond Malibu's staff takes one night to scrub the dirt off, comb their beards, sit down to a feast and exchange gifts. The night is often full of laughter, singing and overstuffed bellies. It is Christmas in August.


As tradition has it, this is the time when gifts are exchanged. Don't be fooled though, this is no ordinary gift exchange. Without a shopping mall near by, most of the gifts are created in Base Camp by hand. In the weeks before "Christmas", you will see staff carving the word "Beyond" into a rock, fashioning a box out of scrap wood or knitting a wool cap by hand.


The remoteness of Base Camp gives us the opportunity to view a simpler Christmas time. Not having to worry about the price of gifts and the busy shopping season allows time to enjoy those around us and focus on how faithful God has been. And when all the pies have been eaten, gifts exchanged and the night finally comes to an end, we find a similar feeling within ourselves that we experience at our December Christmas; a feeling of gratitude and remembrance of the year gone by. Our hope is the same for you this Christmas.

As the next summer approaches, we're getting excited about new staff and new trips in the mountains and on the water. We're looking forward the coming year and trust that God will continue to faithfully walk (or paddle) along side us.

(Here's a little Christmas wishing from some of our better behaved staff.)

A Visual Reminder

When stuck in the middle of winter, it's sometimes good to get a little visual reminder of what summers look like at Beyond. This snapshot should be familiar to many of you. (Click on it to get a full size version for your desktop).

Bear Grylls on Beyond Staff 2010

Prepare to be amazed.

Fantastical things happen here...

Beyond Malibu is looking for Guide and Base Camp Staff for the 2010 summer. Could it be you? Could it be someone you know? Applications are due by January 1st for Guide Staff and January 15th for Base Camp Staff.

Contact the office today to more information on Beyond Staff!

Gift Ideas...Beyond Malibu Limited-Edition Posters

Looking for a few good gift ideas? How about these Limited-Edition National Park Style Posters?

The Barn
The Barn has been upgraded from foundation to roof, but now a copy of this treasure in all its former "back-in-the-day" glory can grace the walls of your home or office.

One Eye
Reigning over Princess Louisa Inlet and a stones throw away from Base Camp, the sheer face of One Eye has never been scaled. Plot your first ascent from the comfort of your favorite chair with this detailed four-color abstract.

Image Size: 15-1/8" x 19-1/4"
Sheet Size: 17-3/4" x 22-5/8"
Screen Printed on acid-free paper.

To order, please contact the Beyond Malibu office.

“The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done”

By Jill, a participant from Lynden, WA

I would say that the hardest part for me was definitely the first day when I literally thought I wouldn't be able to make it and realizing there was no way of getting out. Then each day, even though nothing really got incredibly easier, God gave me strength to meet each challenge at the perfect time I needed it. There is no way you can't feel His presence when being surrounded solely by His beautiful and amazing nature. Seeing all that beauty and realizing that God called that good - and me great, is still incomprehensible to me. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done physically, mentally, and spiritually and one of the best experiences I have ever had. I would not trade that week for anything.

Breaking Walls

By Tyler Thralls, Guide 2008-2009

It was my third trip of the summer and I was excited to go with a leader, Ernie Fraser, who has brought trips to Beyond for the last ten years. Right away he told my guide partners and me that life stories took high priority on his trips and would be told and listened to even if we had to forfeit “making it to the summit.” I liked the sound of this from the start.

This trip consisted of three families who were ready to jump into an adventure together. Most folks had never told their life story before, and by the end of the week, I was struck by the incredible depth of love dwelling in each person, much like God’s love for us. God’s love was felt tangibly and everyone walked away from the trip closer to each other and closer to God.

In the wilderness and Beyond context, the walls we have created in previous relationships are quickly broken down, which leaves room for hearts to be touched and impacted by the Holy Spirit and by others on the trip. It is a phenomenal and extremely unique experience for anyone willing to embrace the adventure and live life to the fullest.

From our guide manual:

“On Walls”

-By Mike Wolford

Everybody has them.

It is said that people are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.

I have walls. What do they look like?

They are high, but thin; strong, yet brittle;

And they are transparent. Why are they there?

To keep from being hurt.

But my walls are vulnerable;

Not to a bulldozer or a bazooka or a hand grenade or a hammer.

My walls want to crumble; they will crumble.

At the touch of someone who cares enough to gently knock.

Once the walls have been penetrated, treat the stuff inside with tenderness and care;

For not many have ever been where you are and not many may ever follow.

For your time inside my walls will determine if

And how my walls will be built again.

Interested in hearing more about Beyond?

We've been busy getting some new media avenues together and we'd love to share them with you. One of those is our new quarterly e-mail "Route Notes". We're going to be releasing it next week. If you don't think we have your contact info fill out this form to get clued in on Beyond's Newsletters.

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Eight Mountains

Rachel Longton was a first year Mountain Guide this past summer and wrote this reflection.

Eight Mountains
As the Radio Room “duty” of scheduled rest and reflection week 8 provides moments to remember Beyond, there were eight mountains that stood in view. At Beyond there are eight physical routes and in my personal adventure from the summer there have been eight mountains as well.
The first mountain was WAFA (Wilderness Advanced First Aid) where my knowledge of both the human body and God were challenged; words I thought I knew, such as "vasoconstriction" and "the body of Christ" were suddenly questioned, and my personal textbook of both the world and Christian intellect seemed to have errors and imperfections. Maybe this meant it was time to edit. Though WAFA was hard, the seeds of community for our first year guide class were planted that week and our roots are still growing deep.
Down from this mountain and on to the next, we had a moment in base camp, or shall I say “glimpse of heaven”, before the ten day trial: a turn towards truth and testing. This second mountain began with joyful suffering, rain rehearsal, and long trail talk. Before long my pride was broken through a sprained ankle, or so I thought. I thought I was physically fit, but realized God wants real fitness: dependence on Him. Although I slowed everyone down, the laughter ceased to fade and asking for help was one thing I couldn't do without. The attention was drawn to my brokenness. By the time we reached basecamp I was faced with the fear of sharing my life story. Through facing this fear I came to realize the many ways God has blessed my life with joy, tears, and laughter; and the chance to now have experienced them all at once.
The third mountain was hidden in the fog around the corner and didn't seem to be anything but a flat road. As I walked, the rain let loose and the truth of brokenness poured for four weeks. In base camp I came to face the pain of an injury and the impatience that blisters up in the boots of disappointment. Probing to find purpose in work projects and coveting the mountain goats, my positive position began to perish. When I thought I was strong again, I broke even more and was forced to let go of my idolized mountain guide position. My sin stood out and not much was left...for I was a guilty woman whose own strength was my god. When I couldn't see the top and was forced to keep walking my foot became braced by Christ alone. With some rest and the support of Christ and community embracing me, a mountain of hope began to shine in the near distance.
With some disappointment left inside, I walked on towards this smaller mountain number four that was filled with the freedom of God's honest children journeying from Capernaum. On this mountain my burdens were lightened and the life of Christ came through a larger glimpse of clear skies. Servant hood became a theme and helped detach my soul from selfish thoughts, idolatry, and greed. Still struggling, but with new hope, I marched to train for the next mountain ahead. Up the express route and into God's Word my new strength is found, may the Sabbath abound.
Frolicking up Frank, mountain number five, my Jesus was found- a lover who seeks, sings, and sweats even with the bugs. Sickness was the challenge to greet, but with dependence on God our group was never defeated. My opinions and pride hindered my service and speechless with tears I walked to the summit.
Mountain six was a new day of throwing away our sin stones off the top and being baptized in Crystal Ball Lake. Baptism through bathing set a pattern of dipping our hearts into God's endless streams of life, the refreshing streams of water that to our group became God's voice.
Arriving back in the valley of clouded reality, I began to make out mountain number seven while running to welcome my family at the dock. From guide to daughter I learned to pray “Lord, humble me” and soon the tears of truth were released. With my brother Carl on Pearkes, and the rest of us on a canoeing “Combo” to Chatterbox, we all climbed closer to God and walked away with re-fueled engines.
Goodbye to the family and hello to a group from Spokane, lead by Jamie Mann. The longest mountain was covered by the guiding cloud of God and his good Spirit of detail and determination. A glacier rappel and midnight hike brought fellowship further and God’s promised provision for life. And praise God for we were surprised by a new hope for home while hiking down mountain number eight.

Gratitude

Our pastor often reminds us, "The only thing we can give God is our gratitude." I believe that. And I am deeply grateful for the chance to be a part of the Beyond community.


Cyrus and I (Abbie) had the priviledge of leading the guide team this summer. We spent our days planning for trips, briefing guide teams, debriefing teams and meeting individually with guides when they were in basecamp. It was an honor to walk alongside individuals as they were striving to know God themselves and to share His love with participants in the mountains.

And each week we had the honor of meeting with the trip leaders on Friday afternoon, when they returned from the mountains. As the rest of their group continued swimming and relaxing, leaders would join us on the Red House porch to debrief their trip over a cup of coffee. Week after week we listened to stories of God using Beyond Malibu to meet the needs of the people who came. It came in many forms, but a few of the ways God was faithful to us included; the perfect route, weather, group dynamics, participants, leaders and guides. By "perfect" I do not mean "easy". But that perfection that only God can bring because He knows our deepest needs and desires before we can speak them ourselves. One of the female guides I met with this summer said she felt most known by God when he provided for needs she didn't know she had. How true that was this summer.

We collected the following notes and quotes from our weekly leader meetings. If you've been to Beyond, picture yourself on the Red House porch, on a Friday afternoon and listen to the wonders God has done. If you haven't had a chance to visit us yet, listen too, I hope you join us soon.


"It was what a Beyond trip should be - a challenging deep experience with God."

The content we studied was "exactly what we wanted".

"I don't know what my expectations were, but they were blown away!"

"I wouldn't know they (our guides) had been here all summer; we felt like their only trip."

"The trip lacked nothing."

"I have never seen a trip led with such wholistic excellence."

"Vigor and excellence."

"Childlikeness, not childishness."

"Exceeded all expectations."

"They made everything fun!"

"It was the right amount of difficulty."

"We loved the mountain...there are no sissy mountains up here!"

"The guides got involved right away and build quick trust. They were able to be conversational as well as deeply relational."

"We accomplished something big as a group and we will take that unity home with us."

"We loved memorizing scripture together."

"Fantastic route and physical challenge."

"We read lots of scripture and the activities really helped us apply it to life. It was all very cohesive and deep."

"The content made us think and reflect."

"The guides were incredibly solid; both personally and spiritually. The kids really looked up to them."

"We shared deeply with one another."

"The guides were encouraging, helpful, serious and funny all at the right moments."

"We pushed our minds like our bodies were being pushed. We pursued truth together."

"We were pushed out of our comfort zone. We focused on God and we experienced a lot of growth."

"Each kid was filled with wonder at the beauty of this place."

"We had a great guide team, we were confident in their leadership the whole time."

"Another awesome week at Beyond!"

It was a great summer. From all of us; thank you for your prayers, for your participation, for your support. We were grateful to be a part of Beyond Malibu this summer. May we continue to give God our gratitude.

We Are Fully Staffed!

We are very thankful to finally have completed the staff selection process for this summer. Our summer starts in less than 2 weeks, so we filled the last few positions just in time! Thanks to all who prayed for us and supported us through this process. We are excited to see God work through us this summer and to see what happens in the lives of staff and participants over the course of the summer. We'd love you to keep us in your prayers as we head into this summer.

All Staff Weekend

What do get when you combine the 2009 Guide Staff with the 2009 Base Camp Staff for a weekend of fun and excitement in Anacortes, Washington...?

...Sea Kayakers honing their amphibious skills,

...Mountain Guides getting at it with rope systems...

...and trying to embrace their inner mountain goat,

...and the long awaited Base Camp Staff and Leadership Team ready for some adventure.

Having the 2009 Staff all together for the weekend was a great time for community and team building. It was really fun to see the group come together over the three days. In just six short weeks, base camp opens and the whole staff will join again for a summer of leading trips in the mountains and on the water. We can't wait!!!

The NEW Beyond Trail Manual

This year, the Beyond Malibu Guide Staff was handed the new Beyond Malibu Trail and Sea Kayaking Manuals printed on sweet waterproof Rite in the Rain paper and bound in 6-ring binders.  

The 3rd edition of the manual was in serious need of some updating after being last printed in 1997, so after months of effort by dozens of people the manual is now in the hands of the guide staff.  

The hope for this manual is that it would help the guides learn the skills topics we teach during the spring trainings better and that, it would in-turn, yield better, more meaningful trips for participants during the summer.  

Meet Beyond's New Guide Staff

As always, the training season snuck up on us again and here we are, going into the third training weekend. At each training weekend both Sea Kayaking and Mountain Guides gain the skills needed to lead trips on the water and in the mountains for the up coming summer.

At the last weekend, guides learned the skills necessary to navigate the Beyond wilderness. Guides fine tuned skills on using a map and compass and how to read topography. A great weekend.
On May 1st, the whole staff for the 2009 summer meets for the first time in Anacortes, WA. We're very excited to see how the community begins to form itself again this year. Sea Kayaking Guides will spend their first training days on the water while the Mountain Guides will spend the day honing their rock climbing skills on Mt. Erie.

Alumni Memories

• fond memories of community life
• a desperate prayer for direction in a whiteout, followed almost immediately by a small break in the clouds which allowed me to see some mountian goat tracks leading the way over a rocky trail
• the people and relationships from Beyond that have profoundly affected my life
• mounatin top sunrises
• participants growing in love with God
• faith stretching moments in our journeys with God
• banging my head on the beams in the upstairs of the barn
• Cafe Beyond
• my favorite times at Beyond were the hurried prayer meetings when a need or crisis came up. To see everyone drop what they were doing and lift up a need to God was very encouraging.
• swimming around the island
• singing around the table
• stretching myself
• findig more of God
• sharing in creation
• laughter
• tears
• simplicity of life
• the thing from Beyond that has most affected my life is the opportunity to be able to know Christ as He expresses Himself in His body and through the incredible majesty of his creation.
• rescue trips

The Gift

Dave Taylor (Guide) 1978

Reflections broken by a soft wind,
as I try and understand.
Mountains and the lake before me,
offered as a gift to Man.

Heather Meadows flecked with color,
ice blue sky and sky blue ice.
Silver water on a boulder,
peaks which mirror the evening light.

No shame I'd feel if I deserved them,
bought them, owned them, paid the price.
But Creation is not mine to purchase,
no more than the grace of Christ.

Interested in Being on Beyond Staff?

Are you or someone you know interested in being on staff at Beyond Malibu?

We are still accepting applications for the summer of 2009 for guides and base camp staff. We need mountain and sea kayak guides. Qualified guide applicants are 21 or older with two years of ministry experience. We also need base camp staff who must be 18 or older. Being on staff at Beyond is an incredible opportunity to love people and serve God while living amongst a Christ-centered community in the midst of his glorious creation.Consider this opportunity and tell others about it too! If you or someone you know may be interested, check out the website and contact the Beyond Malibu office.

A Note from the Office...

By Tessa Thralls, Beyond Malibu Office Manager

Greetings from the Beyond Malibu office! This is my second year working in the Beyond Malibu office, and I am constantly reminded of what a blessing it is for me to work in this place. Part of my job is promoting the ministry of Beyond Malibu to others who may be interested in going on a trip or being on staff; I have found it is never hard to be excited about the ministry and encourage others to become involved. I had a passion for Beyond Malibu and loved the work of this ministry even before I began working here. However, over the last year, I have gotten the chance to learn so much more about the ministry; I have talked to dozens of trip leaders and heard the stories about how lives were changed on trips; I have served with other guides and seen how God uses their service to change their own lives; I have lived in the midst of the Beyond Malibu community in Seattle and witnessed how its members support each other incredibly well; and furthermore, my own life has been affected greatly through my time with Beyond Malibu. It constantly gets easier to promote Beyond Malibu’s trip and staff opportunities to others because I continually experience God working through this ministry in the lives of his children.

Not only does God choose to work through the ministry of Beyond Malibu but he also chooses to bless the ministry. One example of his blessing this year is the new office space that we moved into. We are thankful to Concordia Lutheran School for the office space they provided for us over the past few years. However, this fall we needed to move out of the space; it was a stressful time searching for a new office; Rob sent out countless letters to churches and surveyed Seattle for any place that might work. Being rejected time and time again, the process became quite discouraging. However, suddenly one week before we needed to move, we discovered the opportunity to move into a church in NE Seattle. The staff at Discovery House church graciously allowed us to move into their office space and have supported us throughout the process. We are now located in a prestigious corner office overlooking Hollywood Video and Dicks, and it is an especially good situation for me because I live one block away from the church.

So, although the summer is the season that we are able to see God’s work in and through this ministry most clearly, Rob and I are also reminded throughout the year of his blessings and provisions, and we are thankful to be involved in the ministry of Beyond year-round. During the long winter months, it can be easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing; however, through conversations with trip leaders, alumni, current staff, and friends of Beyond, I am convinced that every minute I spend serving this ministry is valuable, and for that, I thank God daily.