Carrie DeJong

Listening In: Understanding the Mind–Body Connection

Carrie DeJong is a therapist, author, and former Young Life staff member whose work has always been rooted in relationship. With nearly thirty years of experience in trauma and addiction, she integrates neuroscience and somatic approaches with a faith-informed understanding of healing. She believes that our capacity for healing is grounded in how we have been created by God. Her upcoming book, Listening In, explores interoception and how listening to the body can support emotional and mental well-being.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made—yet we often overlook the quiet signals our bodies send. Interoception is the sense that helps us notice and interpret what’s happening within us, including changes in breath, heartbeat, muscle tension, and gut sensations. This introduction explores how our internal experience shapes our emotional, mental, and relational health. At times, we may miss what our body is telling us, worry about certain sensations, or find them confusing or uncomfortable. This informative and interactive session invites a closer look at these inner experiences—and how interoception can play a role in anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and health concerns such as IBS and chronic pain.

Cori Wensley

Treasures in Trials

Cori has been part of Young Life since her teen years, when her faith first began to grow at Malibu camp. The greatest joy to Cori and her husband, Mark, are their two married children, their spouses, and three active, awesome grandsons. Cori and Mark enjoy cruising the BC Coast on their boat, as Cori captures the beauty of creation through water-colour paintings. 

Creating spontaneous family memories and teatime visits with friends reminds her to live life – on purpose. 

As Cori’s family has walked through some difficult, painful seasons, their faith was shaken and their hearts were crushed. Yet, over time, hope was renewed and faith restored as they began to see the beauty and hidden treasures within their trials. Come and be encouraged –  with God, “all things work together for good.”

Marella Ironside

Seasons of Singleness, Seeds of Purpose  

(Delighting in God’s promises as we discover our divine purposes)

Marella was born in a small town in southern Alberta in 1968, the daughter of a pastor and a music teacher. She married at 21and soon welcomed three  beautiful children – Chantelle, Brendan, and Alisha. Faith and family have always been her foundation, but she also finds joy in sports, the outdoors, writing, podcasting, and photography.

Life eventually led Marella back on the road of singleness, raising her children and later grandchildren. Her journey has become a source of hope for those walking through loneliness, brokenness, and darkness. Alongside a few close friends she helped launch “Real Life Ministries,” speaking at women’s conferences for several years. Marella now lives in Penticton, BC, where she enjoys being close to family in such a beautiful setting. She recently completed her long-awaited book, “Sleeping with the Enemy – A Spiritual Awakening,” based on her life’s experiences that were not only painfully personal but deeply spiritual. Copies will be available at her workshop for a special price of $7.99 and she will also be drawing a couple of names to receive a free copy. 

Marella’s story is both powerful and deeply relatable for anyone walking through a season of loneliness, brokenness or singleness. She looks forward to sharing her journey and trusts that your time together will open hearts and minds to the greater plans and purposes that God has for each one of us. If you are struggling with broken relationships or being single, you will find hope and encouragement as you join this workshop.

Dawn Thomas

Funky Chicken Paint-Along

Dawn grew up in Vancouver and Burnaby and was very involved in the South Burnaby Young Life group as a teenager. She recalls fond memories of times at Malibu and Beyond Malibu (another other Young Life Camp).

Dawn and her husband, Ed, are in their 50th year of marriage – and still in love!  They have 2 children and 6 grandchildren. For many years they were in the Christian Camping ministry, at Camp Sagitawa in the Peace River district, and at Camp Kawkawa in Hope, where they still live. 

Although they have been retired for a number of years, they are busier than ever. They both love to paint and attend a weekly painting group. Dawn serves as Treasurer on the Hospital Auxiliary and takes part in Communities in Bloom. She is also on the  committee organizing the 4th Biannual Hope Art Crawl, which will take place August 15 – 16. 

Enjoy a  quick and easy paint-along – no experience needed!  Come have fun creating your own funky chicken painting!  We’ll provide all the supplies along with simple, step by step instructions that anyone can follow.

Marika Morley and Amy Chapoton

The Hidden Work of Healthy Relationships

(Finding freedom through offense in marriage and every close relationship) 

Marika and Amy are passionate about building strong, honest, and life-giving relationships, starting with the ones they live every day. Between them, they bring 24 years of marriage experience (17 and 7 years respectively), along with plenty of real-life lessons in communication, growth, and learning how to show up your best. You can find them chatting about life and faith on the Cultivate Connection Podcast. Outside of the studio, you’ll likely find them coaching or training CrossFit, spending time with friends and family, or enjoying good coffee and the outdoors. They don’t claim to have it all figured out—but they care deeply about helping people take ownership of themselves, show up with intention, and build relationships that are both healthy and deeply fulfilling.

What if the tension in your relationships isn’t the problem – but the invitation? The Hidden Work of Healthy Relationships looks at the internal work behind offense and how it can lead to real freedom, deeper connection, and lasting change. Our goal is to move you from the question “Why do relationships get hard?” to “What is happening inside me, and how do I grow through it?”. We will dig into this question, with hands-on tools that you can take with you, to continue growing in healthy relationships.

Linda Mott

Learning to Say No Without Feeling Guilty 

Linda is a wife and mom of two grown kids who has somehow survived years of sports practices, volunteer meetings, and “Mom, can you…?” requests — which might explain why she is so passionate about healthy boundaries. Over the years she has worn lots of hats: chair of the Medical Committee for the National Special Olympics, longtime speaker at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, organizer of Paddle for Kids, raising over $75,000 each year for BC Children’s Hospital. She has coached ringette and soccer, served on her church’s missions, drama, and youth teams, created amazing videos for the Firefighters Burncamp for kids, and helped plan this very women’s camp — along with many other volunteer roles over the years. After a lifetime of saying yes to just about everything, she has learned (sometimes the hard way) the power of a well‑placed no — and she loves helping other women discover that same freedom.

Many women say “yes” out of guilt, obligation, or fear of disappointing others — even when it drains us of our time and energy. This session explores why saying no feels so hard and offers practical tools to set boundaries with confidence and kindness. You’ll learn how to let go of guilt, honor your limits, and choose what truly supports your well‑being.

Kelly Frampton

Keep Calm & Bath Bomb On 

Kelly Frampton was born in Newfoundland, and cherishes the memories of traveling across Canada in a motorhome with her parents and big brother. From the time she was three until she turned eleven, their family made the cross country trip, sparking her lifelong love of creativity and adventure.. 

A creative soul from the start, – she began sewing at just four years of age – Kelly’s passion for crafting only grew once her family settled in Cranbrook BC. She picked up new hobbies constantly, often a different one each week. In high school, she began experimenting with  bath bombs, a process that proved far from simple. After years of trial and error,  Kelly finally landed on a workable recipe in 2011, and  finally perfected it in 2022. She makes and sells hundreds of bath bombs each year, and she’s proud to say she has never had a single complaint!

In this workshop, Kelly will provide you with a kit to make your very own batch of bath bombs! You can choose your colours and scent, making it a fun experience tailored to your preferences! She will guide you through the process, ensuring your bath bombs turn out just right, and you will get to take home several small bath bombs. Come enjoy this creative venture!

Carola Meerkerk

Scrumptious Cookies 

Carola has been married to Vern for almost 40 years and together they have 4 adult children. A couple of them are married and one of those couples has three young daughters – precious grandgirls that give “Grammy” great joy. Carola grew up baking alongside her mom, a tradition she has carried on with her own children and now her grandchildren.

The key to truly great cookies isn’t just the ingredients, it’s knowing how long to bake them! In this workshop, you’ll get to choose from a couple of delicious varieties then mix, make and bake your cookies completely from scratch. You’ll also receive a handout with tried and true recipes of cookies that produce melt-in-your-mouth results every time. We hope to bake enough cookies for all our campers to enjoy.

Shenae Meerkerk

Creative Earrings

Shenae is an artist from Burnaby. She has just completed a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Music. She enjoys trying new crafts, making functional projects. She has taught crafts and music at Summer Day Camps for years. She has also spent three years as a University Teaching Assistant at SFU. Her other hobbies include biking, crocheting and baking gluten free desserts.

During this workshop, you will have a chance to make beautiful and creative leather earrings.

You can customize the color, shape, size and decorate it in a variety of ways, using your own creativity.