5000 Miles from Home for Christmas

by Harry Muller

Luna and I will be spending our 3rd Christmas in Canada this year. We are really looking forward to it. We are excited to catch up with all our friends we have neglected during the semester, and we love to put on a Christmas dinner and invite others over who are away from home.

Ever since we came to Abbotsford there have been many lovely people here who have made us feel welcomed and loved, and who invited us over for dinner. There is something about this act of hospitality, about this opening your home and welcoming someone into your family that warms the heart and builds deep relationships.

Our first Christmas here was not easy. After a very busy first semester at Columbia Bible College, we finally had some time at our hands. Suddenly we realized how much we missed our families and friends back home. The next year was easier; we had moved to a different, homier place and our friends were more like family than the year before. 

“Home” for us is vague concept in any case. Luna was born in Croatia, but moved to Germany when the Yugoslavia War broke out in the 90’s. That is where I am from. My parents live in a small town outside of Berlin. However, since I am married, my parents’ place obviously does not feel like “home” anymore.

Home has to do with family, of course. I think for God’s family ‘home’ has two dimensions: One is the here-and-now, the fellowship of love, and houses of warmth that we invite others into, and that can be a refuge for those who only know the brokenness and ‘homelessness’ of this world. The other dimension is that we are not home in this world either. We experience pain, suffering, consequences of sin, and we lament world-wide disasters like war, famine, and natural disasters. This world is not like our God created it; it is not the same ‘home’ that he made for humans to enjoy. But he will restore it to; he will make it “homey” again. 
 
So for me, that means that my wife and I want to help others experience a glimpse of ‘home’ already in this age. Columbia is doing the same by emphasizing ‘community’ and putting lots of effort into building it. The great thing is that every student can contribute to this ‘community away from home’.

If I had to choose one thing that I am most thankful for at Columbia, it would be this community. That being said, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas; enjoy the glimpses of ‘home’ you will have and invite others in to share our hope for a fully complete home with them.




Harry is in his 3rd year of a BA in Outdoor Leadership. He is married to his wonderful wife Luna and will be enjoying Christmas in the Fraser Valley. To learn more about Outdoor Leadership at Columbia visit www.columbiabc.edu/outdoorleadership. 

SOLITUDE

This ridge I walk
Seeking its majesty and to stand atop

My Creator smiling as I indulge in
what he handcrafted and created
Like a father smiling as his child
opens the gift he gave him
The gifts he wishes to give me

Everything I have in this life
is a gift and what’s more is it’s free 
How could this not be something
I realized in my heart

Long ago from the beginning from the start

I couldn’t do a thing to deserve 

what you have in store for me

So all I can do is be still and wait on you 

You are the silence in the noise

And in the silence you are the voice  

To carry me home to the kingdom of heaven

The state of my heart not a place we go to in the end

I reach back as you extend your hand

Lord you are my compass, my guide, my friend.

You made me ferocious, protective and wild

Yet still you humble me like a child

You give me what I need and what it takes

The stakes are high and I accept your invitation

And now we move forward together

I give you these hands, these feet forever

To learn more about Outdoor Leadership visit www.columbiabc.edu/outdoorleadership.

A PASSION FOR OUTDOOR MINISTRY

 by Neil Zandbergen

 

Neil on top of the world.

Outdoor Leadership at Columbia has given my dreams a firm foundation. A passion for outdoor ministry resonated in my heart throughout high school. Having researched schools that offer outdoor programs, I found that most agencies that train outdoor leaders match industry standards but lack the ministry component. Likewise, I found that Christian agencies that train leaders lack the skills necessary to meet outdoor industry standards. The Outdoor Leadership program at Columbia effectively does both. Ministry skills are taught along with the tools necessary to safely lead groups in a wilderness setting. My passion and belief in this ministry is based on its incredible effectiveness. I personally have learned so much about God, creation, and people by spending time outside the confines of urban life. Consistently, strong relational bonds are built along with huge personal growth when people take part in outdoor adventures.

By completing my degree in Outdoor Leadership, I learned valuable skills that cross over into every aspects of life. The program taught mental toughness, organization, communication, problem solving, and so much more. I now have the skills necessary to follow my dreams; to lead and teach people about God and the wonderful world He has placed us in. I give credit to this program for shaping me into who I am today.

Neil graduated with a BA in Outdoor Leadership in 2005. In addition to working in the outdoor industry Neil works for his family roofing business. To learn more about Outdoor Leadership at Columbia visit www.columbiabc.edu/outdoorleadership.

OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP: 2nd Year Mountaineering Adventure

Training to guide in the outdoors can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences. Integrated into the Outdoor Leadership program at Columbia Bible College are modular skill courses that allow students to acquire hands on experience and use the skills they have learned in a practical way. These courses offer valuable learning experience and give students a chance to develop their guiding resume to better prepare them for careers in the adventure industry after graduation. Each year students from the second year OL class embark on unique trips that take them across North America as they log hours and sharpen their outdoor guiding skill set. Here is video footage put together by a current OL student recorded from two mountaineering trips in Red Rock, Nevada and Banff National Park.

Aaron Johnson is in his 3rd year of the Outdoor Leadership program at Columbia. Interested in learning more about your career in OL? Visit www.columbiabc.edu/outdoorleadership.