Dear friends,

I love the Winter Olympics. My first memories are from Calgary '88. The Battle of the Brians, Elizabeth Manley, Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican bobsled team are all memories that have stayed with me. Every four years I refresh my understanding of the rules of luge, biathalon, moguls, and ski jumping. I especially love figure skating and the highlights for me were watching Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier win bronze and Alyssa Lui win gold. But my favourite moment of every Olympics is the closing ceremony, when the athletes march into the stadium together. At the end of the games we are reminded that while everyone plays for their country, they are humans together in the end, celebrating commitment, excellence, resilience, and sportsmanship.

From the time I was a camper at Kintail, there has been a saying that gets repeated, "Everyone's a winner at Camp Kintail." After a competive camp wide game, there is a lot of cheering by the winning team, but that does not change the premise of the saying. At Camp Kintail, we want every child to know that they are loved (by the staff and by God) and that they are unique, necessary, and incredible just the way that they are. And not only that they are precious, but that everyone around them is as well. They are all humans, children of God, winners and participants in all that we do at camp and in the world.

In this moment, I think all of us can use some time at camp to be reminded that we are human together. I hope that everyone will be able to come to an event, camp, service, or trip to Kintail this year to get that reminder.

Peace, Theresa McDonald-Lee