07/08 YEAR IN REVIEW, FIRST HALF

 

I was talking to Blake the other day and he was telling me that he couldn't wait for the fall, for Battalion to begin again and I totally agree! Here are some pictures from the first half to wet your appetite for next year!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN GFI SIGN

 

This is the sign that will be on the fence in the outfield at the GFI. We have never really advertised before, we'll see what happens. It kinda makes you feel legit. Hopefully it will get some new guys to check us out and even if only one guy comes because of the sign then it will have been worth it. Anyways I hope that you like the sign.

THE CAPTAIN

P-DUB

 

Didn't do one of these last week because of the May Long and yah this is the P-dud and not a V-dub, but it's a sweet logo. There is no theme or formula when it comes to picking the passage of the week, my hope is that you will be encouraged, ready for another week.

Galatians 6:9,10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

1Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Sometimes when you are doing something for God it feels like you are not getting results and it is easy to get discouraged. I wonder how Noah must have felt, he was preaching for 120 years(Genesis 6:3)and the only people that went into the ark with him was his family. The key is to continue working hard and not worry about the results, leave them up to God.

1Corinthians 3:7,8 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

If we leave the results up to God and remember that our labor in the Lord is not in vain, then we will not get tired of doing good. Remember we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN 3739 MEMORY WORK LEGENDS

 

I promised a list of guys that have finished the memory work over the years, so here it is. When I first showed Ben the list with its title he laughed. "Legends?" In my eyes everyone that finished the work deserves credit and is a legend. Some might say "yah but anyone could do that" and this is very true, but very few do! Enjoy the list!

1999-00 DEVAN ENGLAND, CALVIN PETERS (MONSTER TRUCKS, SPOKANE)(LEADERS, JEREMY MARTENS, LANCE MARTENS)


2000-01 DEVAN ENGLAND, JUSTIN BEKKER, OWEN SPISAK, BRAD PAULS (WAKEBOARDING, ABBOTSFORD)(LEADERS, JEREMY MARTENS, LANCE MARTENS)

2001-02 DEVAN ENGLAND, BRAD PAULS, JOE KRAFTCHICK (B.C. LIONS, CALGARY)(LEADERS, DAN TRITHARDT, LANCE MARTENS)


2002-03 DEVAN ENGLAND, JOE KRAFTCHICK, OWEN SPISAK, BEN JEPSEN, TYLER FRANCIS (B.C. LIONS, CALGARY)(LEADERS, LANCE MARTENS)

2003-04 BEN JEPSEN (CREATIONFEST, THE GORGE)(LEADERS, OWEN SPISAK, JOE KRAFTCHICK, LANCE MARTENS)


2004-05 BEN JEPSEN, JASON HAYASHI, CHARLIE LANGIS, DEVIN CHURSINOFF (CREATIONFEST, THE GORGE)(LEADERS, JEREMY MARTENS, LANCE MARTENS)

2005-06 BEN JEPSEN, JASON HAYASHI, CHARLIE LANGIS, DEVIN CHURSINOFF (CREATIONFEST, THE GORGE)(LEADERS, LANCE MARTENS)


2006-07 JASON HAYASHI, CHARLIE LANGIS, DEVIN CHURSINOFF (CREATIONFEST, THE GORGE)(LEADERS, BEN JEPSEN, JEREMY MARTENS, LANCE MARTENS)

2007-08 DEVIN CHURSINOFF, NATHAN BALL, DREW BROWN, DAVID PODOVINIKOFF (CREATIONFEST, THE GORGE)


As you can see, Devan England, Ben Jepsen and Devin Chursinoff have all completed the memory work four times, that is the record. Jason Hayashi and Charlie Langis finished it three times and Joe Kraftchick, Owen Spisak and Brad Pauls all finished it twice. The most we have ever had on a trip was five, lets break that record next year!

THE CAPTAIN

Top Ten Things That Do Not Exist At Maylong

well i was asked by the captain to do up a post on the ol blog so i hope you enjoy yet again another top ten list brought to you by Ben Jepsen, I now present to you the top ten things that do not exist at the maylong camp out.

10. Seriousness

9. Rain (apparently)

8. Sadness/Bad times

7. Healthy food choices (for the most part)

6. Rhinos Driving Motor Bikes

5. Girls

4. Time

3. Common sense

2. Regard for the body

1. Calories

-bent ;)

MAYLONG 08

 

Well another Maylong is in the books and what a weekend! The weather was amazing, I don't remember a Maylong that had that much sun with so little wind. There wasn't one tarp being used on the beach besides the one under the hot tub.(That has to be a first) The beach was full again from one side to the other. The Alumni showed up in big numbers, which I am totally thankfull for! Seeing all the older guys around reminds me why we work so hard at Battalion! All together from what I can remember there where around fifty guys, which is big numbers. Drew and Devin both finished their verses bringing the total of guys that have completed the verses to four, good job guys, I'm proud of you! Because Drew finished the verses for the first time he received his Battalion Medallion.(Remember guys there are two ways to get a Medallion, graduate or finish the verses) Saturday we had a poker tournament, sixteen guys played so we started with two tables and ended up with Jeremy and Jordon heads-up. Jeremy came out on top, winning a pile of fishing lures, congrats to Jeremy! Sunday morning Fred led us in worship and Geoff led the Bible study. Geoff talked about King Josiah and how the Book of the Law was found. Amazing how the Book of the Law could be lost, I geuss in our lives sometimes we lose the Word of God, not that we can't find it, we just haven't made time for it. Sunday night at the Maylong is the Cribbage tournament and we had twelve teams of two. We pulled names out of a hat to make the teams and the brackets. Alot of games were played and in the end Calvin and Ben were in the final against Abe(defending champion) and myself. It was over in two games in which neither of them were very close, Dad and I beat up on them.(Don't feel too sorry for Calvin and Ben they have four Btln Ping Pong Championships, Two Olympics, Two Wrestling Championships and two Boxing Championships between them.) Late on Saturday and Sunday nights were spent in the hot tub(thanks Devin), good times. We had visitors Sunday night that wanted to try the hot tub but that wasn't going to happen. There were alot of good times, Paintballing, DQ fries and even just hanging around the fire, can't wait until next year!

THE CAPTAIN

Do Ya Know When To Hold EM.........

So this the sarg, Devin chursinoff. Maylong is this weekend,sure came up quick, we will be having poker chips there and there is a buy in, the buy in is a fishing lure, around 5 bucks for one, go to homehardware or new fishing store by radios shack. SO thats the buy in, one fishing lure, if so many people coe that we need 2 tables, then so be it.

this is the sarg..signing off

BTLN TATTOO!

 

Owen has now joined Dan as the only two that have a Battalion 3739 Tattoo! Nice work Owen it looks sweet! Now the question is who is next? Joe or Ben?

THE CAPTAIN

HELMET WINNERS 07/08

 

Thought I would post the pictures of all the Helmet Winners. I am missing one picture of Zac(I think it was the week that Jonathan was born)but besides that all the pictures are there. I also threw in the picture of Drew with Winston and Mike from the Alumni night. Enjoy!

THE CAPTAIN

D-POD AND BALL

 

 

I am happy to report that David Podovinikoff has joined Nathan Ball as the first two to have finished the verses! Way to go guys I'm proud of you! Drew Brown and Devin Chursinoff should finish it off this weekend. After Maylong I will post a complete list of all the guys that have finished the verses over the years. This year is the ninth year that we have done the verses. Three days until Maylong and seventy-one until Creation!

THE CAPTAIN

P-DUB

 

I'm never sure what I am going to write when it comes to Passage of the Week, but I hope that the verses that are written here will help give us a positive outlook for the week. Life has enough problems, the last thing that we need is to have a bunch of negative thoughts written here. I think that a real knowledge of what Christ has done for us and the gratitude that will follow will produce better results in our lives than anything else.(Galatians 4:24-27 Hagar represents the Law and Sarah represents Grace, verse 27 shows that Grace has better results than the Law.)With that thought in mind let's look at the passage.

Ephesians 3:17b-21 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

This passage has alot to say about the Love of Christ. We as Christians are rooted and established in Christ's love, his love is our foundation and it is what will cause us to grow. Paul wants us to understand how great Christs love is for us. In a world that has such a shallow view of what love is, it is amazing to hear Paul talk about how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is for us! And when God hands out the love he fills us up! After all Christ has done for us he still wants to do more, more than we than we can ask for or imagine! After writing about God's great love for us, Paul can't contain himself anymore and he starts praising God, "to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN BIRTHDAYS / MAY

 

Sorry that this is late, but better late than never right? May is a big month for Battalion with eight birthdays. How sweet would it be to have your birthday on the Maylong every year?(Dalton Shore)Happy Birthday guys!

Brian Burdikin May 3
Tyler Hanson May 7
Derek Taylor May 7
Brad Pauls May 9
Dalton Shore May 19
Joel Feenstra May 21
Cody Harp May 29
Sam Schiesser May 31

THE CAPTAIN

MAYLONG PICS

 

I thought a few old pictures would get us pumped for the Maylong, that's if the weather predictions don't. It's looking like 27 degrees for the daily highs with 0 percent chance of rain all weekend long. Enjoy the pictures!

THE CAPTAIN

D.Q. FRIES

 

I was telling Bill at Dairy Queen about my new Coleman Deep Fryer and he asked me where I would be getting the fries. I told him that I wasn't sure where I would be getting the fries, so Bill offered to give us some D.Q. Fries for the campout! There won't be any Dilly Bars or Blizzards but we are going to be snacking on D.Q. fries!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN WEATHER

 

Well I was looking at the 14 day trend for Christina Lake on May Long Weekend and it looks like we are going to have above normal temperatures!(around 25 degrees) Yah I know it's only a trend and it's still nine days away and I'm not a meteorologist, but it's a good trend, something to smile about! So start shining up your camping supplies, it's only nine days away!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN 3739 VERSES

 

With seventy-eight days until Creation and thirteen days until all of the verses have to be in Nathan Ball is the only one that has reached 200 points. My calculations may not be correct but as it stands Devin Chursinoff has 197 points, David Podovinikoff has 171 points(I know David actually has more but I didn't mark down his last two passages and I can't remember what they were)and Drew Brown has 161 points. You are not going to hear me beg very often but here goes, PLEASE FINISH THE VERSES! Come on Drew and David you are almost done, finish it! You will never regret it, Creation is totally worth the effort!

THE CAPTAIN

MR. PRESIDENT

 

 

Last Night Jeremy and I met John Launstein the new President of Christian Service Brigade. John was on his way home from the Tough Guy weekend at the coast. We talked for a couple of hours last night and after talking with him for a while it felt like we were talking to an old friend.(I geuss this is how it is supposed to work in the family of God) The board at C.S.B. has picked a good man to be President, it looks like C.S.B. is headed in the right direction. John was really interested how we do things here at Btln 3739, he took alot of notes. I think there will be some good changes coming. John liked all of our Btln merch and asked for a Battalion Medallion so I gave him one. (Was I going to deny The President?) Anyways add John to your prayer list.(Don't forget to pray for Howard Pike, our B.C. rep.)

THE CAPTAIN

P.O.W.

 

Can't believe another week is over and it is again time for Passage Of the Week. This week like every other week has had it's share of ups and downs. Last Night is always exciting, I am always flying high after Last Night, but there is always the realization that Battalion is over for the year(besides Maylong and Creation)and that is a real downer. How can we deal with these ups and downs, where can we go for help?

Hebrews 6:19a - Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,

As Christians when life gets tough we have to remember that we have hope as an anchor. Just having the anchor isn't good enough, we need to use it. If sailors were in a bad storm and didn't use the anchor to steady the ship what good would it be to them? Having an anchor that is sure and steadfast is great, but we need to use it.

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Words like sure, steadfast and certain have to give us confidence and make us feel like we can make it through another week. We have been saying all year long that your faith is only as good as the thing or person that you have faith in. There is no better place to put your hope or faith than in Jesus. Jesus and his Word is our anchor.

Ephesians 4:11,12,14 - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Once we are grounded in God's Word we will be able to use it as the anchor for our soul. If we are not sure what God's word is saying to us we will be tossed back and forth and blown here and there everytime we have a problem in life. We need to study God's word so that we can be sure, steadfast and certain! Then we will be able to make it through the storms of life.

THE WRAP

 

What a night, I'm not sure where to start. Lets begin with Winston, congratulations to Drew Brown, he is our overall Champion!(The first ever Winston Champion) Drew had the lead in the point standings so all he had to do was make sure that Devin, Nathan or Cam didn't win. Jeremy, Drew and Cam had the biggest collision that I have ever seen! Jeremy and Drew were chasing Cam from opposite directions. Drew and Jeremy ended up head butting each other and Cam had the wind knocked out of him. It was amazing! Congrats also goes out to Steven on his second Helmet win!

Final Winston Standings
4 Drew Brown
3 Devin Chursinoff
3 Nathan Ball
3 Cam Thompson
2 Steven Feenstra
2 Sam Schiesser
2 Zachary Gobbett
1 David Podovinikoff
1 Kevin Hayashi
1 Sammy Jepsen
1 Parker Steadman
1 Owen Knopp
1 Nick Deboeck
1 Brian Burdikin
1 Kaleb Horkoff
1 Dalton Shore
1 Jake Hachey
1 Josh Burnside
1 Andrew Novokshonoff

First thing on the agenda was Murderball. Devin unloaded on Charlie and then like a big dummy I nailed Kevin in the face. Totally not on purpose, sorry Kevin. After my team lost Charlie and Jordon(Jordon had to leave for worship practise) my team got schooled. I think the teams were even before they left, anyways murder ball is always good times.
Next up was the Party Sub, and then the Grads got their Bibles! Again congrats to Devin, Cam and Nathan. You guys will really be missed! You would think that I would get used to losing guys when they graduate, but it hasn't gotten any easier. By the way you are welcome back anytime! I love watching the Grads eat the paper. After the Grad ceremonies we wrapped up the night at the gym with B-DOG. The final chapter of the night was written on our Last Night Road Trip. Eighteen guys loaded into three vehicles and made the trip to Castlegar for Boston Pizza. We had ten large pizza's, there was alot left over at the end but better to much than to little. Devin asked the waitress for her name tag but was denied.(join the club) Spent a couple hours at B.P. with a quick trip to 7-Eleven. We were going to stop at the potholes but decided against it. When we got back to the church Ben, Jason, Nathan and I talked for around an hour, we didn't want the night to end. Another good year! But this isn't the end, we have the Maylong campout,
(May 16-19)and possibly a raft race in June. In July is Creationfest at the Gorge and that is only a month from the beginning of a new BTLN season! The Blog will continue through the summer so come back and check us out for Battalion updates!

THE CAPTAIN