The New Website Has Been Launched!

Check it out everyone, Beyond's new website is up and running at last. Head on over to beyondmalibu.younglife.org and have a look around.  We've been working hard on this for months but we're sure it's not perfect.  If you see anything that seems a little off, send us an e-mail and let us know. Otherwise, enjoy all of the new pictures and videos.

Losing the Trail

“’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God reveals His power to me in new ways on every trip I lead as a Beyond guide. For instance, on my most recent trip we lost the trail in the forest on the first day. We were off track for a full hour before I realized we needed to turn around. So we lost two hours by the time we got back on the right trail. It was definitely a bit humiliating for me as a second-year guide who has been on that trail multiple times to miss such an obvious turn. It happens, it wasn’t the end of the world, but it was frustrating. Even though it was unfortunate in the moment, God was able to use that moment to teach a lesson to some participants. Getting lost ended up being so significant to one girl in particular that she mentioned it again at the end of the week. She likened the part where we got off track to how she turns away from God without even realizing it. Many times in our lives we get lost; by the time we even realize we have been away from God we have wandered way off track and have wasted so much time. But He always welcomes us back. The participant made this connection to her own life, and throughout the course of the week realized that she wanted to return to Jesus and not continue off His path.

I had my own impactful moment on the summit of Zion on that same trip. It was a complete whiteout and we weren’t able to see the route down. I was a little nervous about the path down and really couldn’t see anything. I asked God to provide a clearing so I could have a better idea about how to safely get off the mountain. It doesn’t always happen this way but within minutes the clouds lifted and the route was totally exposed. I took a quick picture to capture it and almost immediately the clouds swallowed us and we were back in the whiteout. No need to worry though, with that picture we had not problem safely navigating where we needed to go to get to the campsite. We were in a position of weakness and God was able to reveal His awesome power. He was definitely looking out for us. It was an incredible moment to experience how easily God can change a tough situation into something that was a piece of cake.

God is so big and His vastness is made obvious in this huge wilderness that we get to play in. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to guide young people into these mountains and facilitate their encounters with the Creator.

Living the journey,

Brian Louchis

2^nd Year Mountain Guide 

Monumental Work by Monumental Hands

By Kati Tremayne

“How many tons of sky can I see from the window? It is morning: morning! and the water clobbered with light. Yes, in fact, we do. We do need reminding [that] we are created, created, sojourners in a land we did not make, a land with no meaning of itself and no meaning we can make for it alone ...We sleep to time’s hurdy-gurdy; we wake, if we ever wake, to the silence of God… [It’s] time to toss things, like our reason, and our will; it’s time to break our necks for home.” –Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard wrote Holy the Firm while living on the north end of the Puget Sound, an area not unlike the Princess Louisa Inlet. Her backdrop was the Cascade Mountains of Washington and mine is the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia, two stretches of the same, rugged band that stands guard over the western rim of North America. We have both found ourselves hemmed in by these peaks for a season, overwhelmed by their unforgiving faces and raw summits. Theirs is a beauty threaded with wisdom and violence, and it is as terrifying as it is humbling.

Kati is a first-year mountain guide 

As Dillard writes, these hard places are reminders not only of our smallness but also of the absolute sovereignty of the one we call “Lord”. Our trite and petty pursuits sputter to their manufactured end where the rock rises from the sea. The spheres that I once fancied to control have spun violently out of my grasp to reveal microcosmic glimpses of a monumental work being forged by monumental hands. This here – this brutal exposure and deep repentance –is reality. I feel it profoundly in this place, but it is my prayer that each of us could feel this reality no matter our location. May the presence and power of our Maker always weigh heavy on our hearts, and may we always break our necks for home. 

Social Media

Although the summer is in full swing up the inlet, there's been a group of us in Seattle tasked with promoting Beyond and we've been hard at work.  This summer we're busy designing the new website, updating our blog and Facebook pages, and writing this summer's Route Notes email.  All with one goal in mind: sharing Beyond with you! 

This blog post is meant to give you a full run down of ways in which you can stay connected and get involved with Beyond via the internet.  We know that browsing pictures on Beyond's Facebook page will never compare  with the views on a trip, but we hope it will help you pass the time until you're in a kayak or on the trail with Beyond.  Here's what we've got. 

1.      Blog:  A place to read stories, view pictures, and get updates on whats going on with Beyond.

-          blog.beyondmalibu.org

2.      Facebook:  Find daily updates from Base Camp, browse hundreds of photos from Beyond over the years, and share your photos/experiences with the greater Beyond community.  We're excited to see the other ways that Facebook can get us all excited about the Beyond ministry. 

-          facebook.com/beyondmalibu

3.      Instagram:  We want to see your favorite Beyond photos.  If you have a smart phone, tag us at #beyondmalibu.  If you don't know what Instagram is, you probably haven't bought into the smart-phone business yet.  That's ok too-- you can see Instragram photos on our Facebook page. 

-          instagram/beyondmalibu,

-          hashtag #beyondmalibu

4.      Twitter:  140 characters of pure Beyond.  If you're a twitter user, get our Instagram/Facebook/Blog updates by following us on Twitter.

-          twitter.com/beyondmalibu

5.      YouTube:  We've got a handful of videos here for your viewing pleasure.  Stay tuned for a new camp video sometime this year.  

-          youtube.com/user/BeyondMalibu

6.      Website:   Here you'll find all the essentials about Beyond.  Look for a fully updated website coming in August. 

-          beyondmalibu.younglife.org

A Day in the Life of a Food Packer

By Meredith LeVan

As the sun shines brightly through the windowsills of the pack shack I receive a pack sheet of the upcoming week’s food needs. A smile spreads across my face as I think about all the campers I will be reaching. My daily routine includes packing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the campers. It is a very routine job, but I love putting on some music and getting together all the meals that are going to nourish the bodies of campers. When I was heading to Beyond I knew that it was in God’s plans for me to be challenged this summer but I didn’t know how. God has challenged me so much just in a small little pack shack. I have been able to become more confident as a leader and individual and working in the Pack Shack has even helped my organization skills. I also have been challenged in the way I connect with campers. Usually on Summer Staff, we get to interact with the campers a lot, but here my job is more behind the scenes. This has taught me how Christ wants us to work and serve. It only matters that He see’s our hard work and being a food packer has really shown me that. It is so special to see the participants’ faces on a Sunday morning as they are about to go meet Jesus in the mountains! I never realized how excited that would make me. One of the most special moments I’ve had as a food packer was just last week when a girl from one of the trips ran up to me and gave me a huge hug thanking me for all of my work! That was totally Jesus showing me the fruits of my work and it made me feel so special!

Stories from the Fly: Beyond the beginning

By Ben Creelman

Many people ask us why we do it.  Many people are bewildered why we return, put our lives on hold, and put ourselves into situations where we aren’t sure if its sweat, rain or both that is dripping down our foreheads.  The real sadness is when we start asking ourselves these same questions, and we can’t remember the answers.  I have been blessed to be involved with Beyond in one way or another for the last few years. Even with this continuity of service, sometimes I question the sacrifice.   Well this week I was reminded that the answer lies in the McKinley Fly.

The fly isn’t pretty.  It makes one think that somewhere out there roaming the highways is a circus that has lost the top of one of its tents.  In wind storms the fly acts more like a parachute than a weather break.  Its stated purpose is to repel the rains, but often the condensation that forms inside its walls can rivals the persistent drizzle outside.   But it was within this square-ish sanctuary that I was reminded of why we travel into the waves, forests, storms and sunsets of British Columbia.

Mountain 10-day this year was the ideal training trip.  Rope systems were set up, crevasses were jumped into, and the unending oral tradition of guiding was handed down to the wide eyed first years.  But almost as if by clockwork, when the day was wrapped up and camp set, the clouds would unleash torrents of rain sending everyone scurrying into the fly for the serving of dinner, studying of scripture, and telling of life stories. 

The time spent in the fly this week was the same as any other trip that ventures out at Beyond—but its context was different.  I knew that the guides sitting around me weren’t hesitantly emptying their hearts in a once in a life time chance at vulnerability, they were emptying their hearts in preparation.  They were preparing for a summer of modeling vulnerability.  They were like Peter getting out of the boat to walk amidst the waves of their own lives in hopes of meeting Christ…so that they might lead others to Him.  These were stories of fear, joy, brokenness, laughter, and abandonment—stories of life.  But the beautiful thing was they were all unfinished stories.  It seemed as if the men and women surrounding me in the fly were not telling these stories as an end all explanation of what locks them into who they are, but rather as a setting of the stage in eager anticipation of Christ showing up this summer--in their lives.

Redemption is the part of the story of life—for our participants, for our leaders, and for ourselves.  Ten-day set the stage in a mighty way.  It will undoubtedly be a full tough summer just like it has been every other summer at Beyond.  But the guides on the mountain and sea have walked into vulnerability, humility, and hope.   

The summer is in full swing... and new stories are being written.

And it begins...

Max and the Base Camp crew.  Photo Credit: Stacie Murray

Greetings from the beautiful Beyond base camp. We are just finishing up our 10-day training period, and things have been chugging along smoothly. We are in the process of building a large extension to our barn that will provide us much more shelter when it rains. We have also constructed a new campsite, built desks for the red house, organized the equipment storage, and done the typical all-camp cleanup tasks to have Beyond looking picture-perfect for campers who come in on Saturday. We have been incredibly blessed with a hardworking team that fits together to form a loving, Christ-centered family. Each staff person and guide brings a joyful uniqueness to the table, expressing characteristics of different walks of life and quite different hometowns. We have our native Canadians, like John—who wears suspenders and a belt over his red flannel shirt (seriously); our southeasterner—including Blythe, Meredith, and myself who are extraordinarily out of our warm element; and we even have our own penguin—Stacie, our phenomenally talented cook who usually spends her summers in Antarctica. But no matter where we come from or what we’re accustomed to, we are all in absolute awe of the beauty of God’s creation in this place. The Spirit is thriving in every nook of the forest and inlet, and is being even more cultivated in the relationships that are already in full bloom here at base camp. We have all been sharing our life stories one by one after meals and doing group devotions every morning; the Lord is preparing each of us for a fruitful, fun, and fantastic summer.

The barn extension. Photo Credit: Stacie Murray

Meanwhile, the guides have been up in the mountains climbing Sun Peak. They spent solid team time getting to know each other, having fellowship, and growing in community just as we did here at base camp. Each of the three teams had great success in the mountains practicing their skills and getting a feel for the trails this year. Please keep all the guides in your prayers this summer- for safety, strength, endurance, energy, and guidance on trips, and that the Lord would be present in content and speak to the heart of every camper during their Beyond experience.

Our beloved sea kayakers are doing wonderfully as well! During their 10-day training they paddled all over the Jervis and Princess Louisa Inlets, stopping at and checking up on campsites along the way. We even had the delight of having them here at base camp one night for dinner and worship. They camped at the Point campsite for the evening and paddled out early the next morning, so we didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time together. Nonetheless, we were ecstatic to see them and to be able to have fellowship and pray over them. They are already out on their first trip, so please keep them in your hearts this week and pray for a very successful journey.

We are all so very excited for campers to begin piling in today (!) and for them to experience the incredible adventure of coming face to face with the Lord. Please keep the hearts of campers in your prayers- that the Lord would do big things during each of the sea kayaking and mountaineering trips. Here at base camp, we would love prayers for energy, provision, health, and a servant’s heart throughout the summer. Also, a few prayers for nice weather would be greatly appreciated by both the base camp staff and all of the guides. 

Beyond- over and out.

Heading out for Ten Day. Photo Credit: Stacie Murray