All of the girls from all three of our sites came together for a week of self reflection and self realization to learn about womanhood and what it means to be a women in God's eyes. The topic of the week was Imago DEI (myself, others and the dirt). We were fortunate to have Sharon Peters as our speaker for the week. Along with her she brought her adorable little boy Elliot. Throughout the week we were encouraged to ponder the following question: Who are we as women of character and faith? A question that I have personally struggled to answer or understand.
The following day we read through Genesis one. In groups we picked out phrases, ideas or images that resonated with us. There were a couple of verses that stood out the most, representing the overall topic of the week. Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image... male and female he created them." In his eyes we are the most beautiful of all his creations. For he created us and it was very good, to which neither a flower or a sunrise can compare. As Kristin put it, we are like a piece of art that was carefully crafted by God. But we, the art, have severely critiqued ourselves. If you were an artist and created a masterpiece and your art was critiqued, how would you feel? What we forget to realize is that we are not only hurting our selves but God as well. I never really thought about it that way. It creates a whole new perspective about how we view ourselves. It is truly powerful. God created each of us as special and unique. Though we are different, God's beauty shines through all of us. His love for us is unconditional and ever lasting. Only from him do we find our true value, for we are all equal in his eyes.Society however paints a different picture. "Unless we value ourselves and feel good about ourselves we will not be truly happy." As result most have turned to seek acceptance from an outside source to determine their value. By doing so we are losing more of our selves, over concerned with meeting the expectations of others. For better or worse theses are some of the things that shape our view of ourselves. We discussed the different types of relationships and the importance of keeping relationships with other women. In our site groups we were given an outline of a women, inside it we wrote words describing who we hope or aspire to be as women. These are some words that we got: adventurous, loved, and driven. These words are women that God created us to be.
By Alida Santos
All of the Site Girl Leaders strutting their stuff.
Don't we look excited to be in class?!
This is our speaker Sharon enthusiastically talking to us.
Awww, this is Sharon and her baby Elliot. Charissa loved him so much!
Christina, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Alida- roomates.
Kristin, Melodie, Rachael and Rebecca participating in Mini Golf.
Janine, Kendra, Charissa (photogenic as always) and Marisa Mini Golfing.
Shanin and Lindsay sporting very cool Go-Karting helmets.
Marisa and Janine getting ready to go.
Nikkita- Ya Baby!
Charissa is terrified at the thought of Kendra driving the Go-Kart.
Linda in action!!
Jill driving a moment when her go-kart was actually working.
Lindsay with the wind in her hair.
Shanin having the time of her life. Jill is not having the time of her life because her kart broke down a couple of times and she had to be rescued a few times.
Christina coming to the finish line.
Linda and Elizabeth at the end.
Our fearless leaders all decked out as the Pit Crew.
All the girls from Site 1!!!
Holly posing in front of the sign where we hiked- Johnston Canyon.
Rebecca, Melodie and Lindsay on the hike.
Marisa enjoying the amazing view.
Waterfall.
The dance studio where we went for a hip-hop lesson.
Rebecca, Linda, Marisa, Charissa and Kelly looking fabulous as they sport 80's outfits at hip-hop class.
Carefully observing the instructors so that we properly executed each step.
A bunch of the girls feeling great after an evening of exercise and fun!
Kelly, Linda, Rebecca and Jenna posing in their beautiful outfits!
Carolyn, what a babe!
Shanin, what a look of concentration for putting make-up on Rachael.
Nikkita, Shanin and Lindsay all dressed up for Site 1 girls supper.
Holly and Kristine smiley and cute.
Looking good Ashley!
Heather and Holly showing the rest of us how to hold chopsticks.
Emma, Ashley, Alida and Kristine posing at the Japanese Restaurant.
Kristine and Kristin in costumes provided by the restaurant in celebration of their birthdays.
Holly nicely sharing chocolate with an excited Emma.
Spa Nite: Ashley giving Kristine a hand massage.
Emma giving Holly a wonderful hand massage.
Rachael applying a clay mask on Linda.
Careful Holly! That's your eye! Peel off the mask slowly!
Toes, toes and more painted toes.
The wonderful massage train during a break from class.
Charissa, Linda and Kendra having a great time during PMG Day. We spent the day in Banff and walked around downtown. Our mission was to have fun, hang out and to buy a present for another PMG.
The leaders from all 3 sites dressed up and sang Christmas Carols for our PMG (Peer Mentor Groups) Christmas Party (a little early ladies?!)! After we exchanged gifts and sang more Christmas Carols.
