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.