IMPACT

Remember when you were in high school and God grabbed a hold of your life at that big youth event? I've heard so many stories of God changing lives at these events. It's incredible to think that I got the chance to be a part of something like that. IMPACT is a weekend youth event put on by SBC, run mainly by the youth ministry students like myself. 100 kids. 3 days. Embrace the Chaos!

I find it so interesting, the people that God places in my path. On the first night of this event during a traditional slurpee run to a nearby 7-11 I had the most incredible conversation with a high school student who was asking the same kinds of questions I've been asking. We had a great conversation about social justice and what God calls his followers to in that area. I got to hear his story and encourage him to keep pursuing God. Wonderful.

Enjoy this video of the highlights of the event!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVibX34zg2o

MX North Journal Entry

I hope you have enjoyed reading about what God is doing in Manitoba's Northern communities. I'm posting the last of my journal entries today. This weekend my school is hosting a youth event called Impact, so look forward to seeing some pictures and hearing some stories about that!

January 17, 2012. Last Day.

            Today was a really short day. We woke up in time to say good-bye to Brian before school and then after saying our last good-byes to Winston we headed over to Sophie’s to have breakfast as a team. When the York Landing team showed up we were a little sad that our time had come to an end. Meeting more people from SBC was a shock to the system as well because I think we were just beginning to adjust and we were sad to see that come to an end.

            I’m excited to process this experience and look back on what God has done, both in my life and in the lives of my friends at SBC and in Split Lake. Already my heart has been touched by the people of the North and I’ve left a piece of myself in Split Lake. This trip will always be fondly remembered.

            My prayer today is “God remember your children in the North. Love them. Send them encouragement and hope.” 

MX North Journal Entry

Sorry for the long delay. Life gets busy. Here is another entry from my trip North.

January 16, 2012. Last Day in Split Lake.

            Today was our last day in the community. We head out tomorrow morning. We woke up earlier today and spent all day at the school again. We switched up our program a little from what we had done on Friday and this seemed to go over really well. Our team is really connecting well with the kids here. With today’s classes being slightly older we started with a camp song and did an origami frog craft with each group. The kids responded really well and we had an absolute blast with them. You could tell though that our team is starting to get tired.

            After school Jeff and I head back to Winston’s home for supper. We had some great conversation with him about God and life. Jeff shared the full gospel with him and left Winston his Bible as well. Winston seemed really touched by that gesture. He is definitely someone we want to keep praying for. I think God is doing something in his life and he’s headed in the right direction but he’s not there quite yet. Spending time with him though has been really good and I think we’ve definitely encouraged him. We also gave him a book on various questions about Christianity. “God bring fruit from these seeds”

            When we finished our supper we went back to Sophie’s and spent the evening laughing and talking with her and Mary-Jane. We had  a fantastic time with them and we shared so many laughs. Those ladies are over the top hilarious. They have brought new perspective to what it means to serve God in the hard times. I’m so encouraged and challenged by the real-ness of their faith. They have definitely left a lasting impression on my life. 

MX Journal Entry

Here is yet another snippet of my journal from my time in the North. Enjoy! Thanks again for reading and for your prayers!

January 15, 2012. Third day in Split Lake.

            Alarm clocks are great to wake up to but a recent study has found that drunken death threats are 100% more effective. Interesting fact: Jeff and I are the subjects of the aforementioned recent study. Life in Split Lake got much more exciting this morning and it kicked off with a bang. Literally. A banging at the door followed by one of Winston’s old friends, who was drunk and still drinking, making his presence very known through some colourful language with an “I’m gonna kill you” or two thrown in for emphasis. Needless to say, sleep was no longer an option. Apparently quitting alcohol and turning down an invitation to be in a mutual friends wedding has some serious consequences up here. After a quick shower Jeff and I beat it to Sophies to let that situation cool down.  We were a little shaken up that day. Looking back it makes for a great story though, which is always a worthwhile bonus. And the guy was drunk out of his mind at 9 in the morning, so it was probably a little less serious than it sounded.

            After spending the morning doing team devotions and prayer we went to church with Sophie. Church here starts at 1 pm. It was a fascinating English/Cree Anglican service. At this time you can also add “Having my first alcohol” to the list of things accomplished today. And you thought these journals were going to be boring. It was communion Sunday and let’s just say those Anglicans don’t mess around when it comes to the blood of Christ.

            After church our team ran a Sunday school for about 25 kids. We sang some songs, told stories, did a puppet show, and did crafts. This was a huge success, and Winston, who isn’t a believer, keeps telling us that the way to reach the community is through reaching the kids. Sunday School was definitely a step in the right direction.

            In the evening we went back to Sophie’s and visited with her and her friend, Mary-Jane. We talked, shared songs, and Scripture. The ladies shared very openly about the obstacles the church faces and about the decline of the church in Split Lake. Apart from the abuse suffered in the residential schools there were two men, one a pastor and one a principal, who sexually abused boys in the community. These men where both white. Some of these boys committed suicide and the men never went to jail. Because of this the church has been steadily declining ever since. That, along with the church building burning down four years ago and the mistrust associated with the church and especially white Christians has done a number on Split Lake. When we visited Margaret yesterday she said her children were “hiding because they were scared of the Christians.” While we laughed at the time I have no doubt it is in large part true because of these events. The church faces much distrust built on a long history of misdeeds done to these Native people. I wonder if there is a place for training leaders from in these communities and using those leaders, who face much less distrust, to build the church and reach these people?

            Faith continues to connect with the believers here on the level of their pain. While far too many drown their hurt, those who have believed have a way to deal with the many hurts they have experienced. Jesus the Healer is a huge connecting point with the believers here.I’m disgusted by all the horrible wrongs committed in the name of the God I love and serve with all my life. How could these white leaders pretend to be believers and do so much damage to these Native communities? How will these people ever recover? The injustice I’m seeing is infuriating and overwhelming. I know I serve a big God and it’s a good thing because this is a big stinkin’ mess. 

MX Journal Entry

Yet another journal entry from my trip to the North.

January 14, 2012. Second full day in Split Lake.

            I think I’m still adjusting to a different pace of life and the impact that adjustment plays on my expectations of what ministry looks like here in Split Lake. Coming in I had certain expectations of what it would look like. In southern Manitoba we would have done a whole list of activities already and a schedule would have been absolutely essential. Up here though, life is different. I’ve been trying to adjust to the realization that likely our most effective ministry here will be our contact with the Christians here. It’s hard not to feel guilty about sitting around at our host homes when in our culture we would be doing something.  But I’m beginning to see that our ministry here is living in the moment and building relationships with whomever happens to be around at the moment.

            Today was a pretty laid back day but it ended really well. With it being Saturday we enjoyed the local culture and slept in. We headed to rink around noon and watched the community high school team play a team from Thompson. Split Lake killed them, 13-3. I thought this was actually a very effective way of connecting with kids. We ran into a few from the school and got some exposure in the community as well. After lunch we spent a good chunk of the day at Sophie’s house. Eventually we decided to drive around the community for a bit and drive over some ice-roads as well. I’m proud to say that I’m officially Canadian now. Ice-road driving I’m pretty sure is an essential requirement for that. Our team is getting stronger every day and I’m encouraged by them. We had supper with Sophie and played some Blitz with her as well. She is a hilarious lady.

            After supper we went out to visit some of the local Christians. We stopped at the home of Margaret Keeper. We sang some songs for her and prayed with her. We prayed for her health and for her husband, who is a believer but is addicted to alcohol. It was definitely an eye-opening experience of seeing God at work here. Her husband, Walter, came in drunk while we were singing and sat and watched us. When we were leaving everyone shook his hand and introduced themselves. When I told him my name he paused and said, as only a drunk man can, “That’s a stupid name.” It was excellent.

            Following that we stopped by the home of the local pastor, Eli, and his wife. The Anglican church he pastors is the only church in the town of about 2500. He and his wife were really encouraging. They are a vibrant example of serving God no matter the cost. Everyone here is very genuine and their hurts are never hidden. This particular culture trait I think has much potential for Christianity and faith takes on a new perspective through that lens of authenticity as well. Much could be accomplished in the North American Church if only everyone was genuine and authentic. 

MX North Journal Entry

Hey Guys!

Here is entry number 3 from my journal taken on my recent trip North. Bonus. Here are a few pictures of our group and our time up there. 

                                         A few of the kids in the school with the frogs we made

                                               The girls with Sophie, our main contact

Our team with Sophie and Mary Jane

January 13, 2012. First Full Day in Split Lake.

            Today is officially day #4 without a shower. Party hats are on and even tilted sideways for emphasis in the sticky body department. In other news, the shaggin wagon our team drives is an absolute hoot. It’s essentially a tin can tank, which is its new name now. What’s not to love?

            The events of the day revolved around Sophie, our host, getting us into 8 different classrooms in the school for about a half hour each. We did fun camp songs, skits, stories, and games, or a variation of all of the above in each class. It’s been neat to observe the people oriented culture as we did our program in the classes. We pretty much went into each class without a solid idea of what exactly we were going to do. We had a list of things that we were prepared to pull out but we did not have an order of events. For a list-maker like myself I was surprised at how well I handled it. We calmly came up with a game plan that fit each particular class really well on the fly. This allowed us to read their interests and I think we were able to direct each session more successfully as a result.

            After school we headed back to Winston’s for supper. Talking with him has been challenging and fun. His hurts are real and he doesn’t hide them. The beliefs he has been sharing sound like a mix of Christianity, universalism, and a little native spirituality as well. It’s tough to find a balance between listening  and jumping in when he says things that we know are wrong and we can prove them so with Scripture. So far though, our approach has been to listen and build our relationship with him without condemning him or his views.

            Faith has definitely been connecting with him in the area of guidance for his life and in the area of God’s calling on his life. He talks freely about being where God wants him to be and about finding his way or his path. I think this could prove to be an excellent connecting point for the Christian faith to his life.

            My personal experience so far has been somewhat surprising. Driving up I was definitely nervous and would have been willing to turn around at any point. Those feelings have since disappeared and although I probably won’t be sad to go home I’m loving how I’m learning to appreciate these beautiful people and their culture. I think I was a little down because I didn’t know what to expect and our flexible preparations are becoming even more so. Being here I’m slowly grasping the idea that our biggest impact will likely be on our hosts and the established Christian community. As such it isn’t a waste of time to spend much time Winston and his two sons Brian and Anthony. Even though I feel like we should be planning or doing events with kids instead of hanging out with people I think this is likely our goal and will be our biggest impact. 

MX North Journal Entry

Hello World.

Here is the second entry of my journal on my recent trip North. Enjoy!

January 12, 2012. Travel to Split Lake.

            Already this trip has been interesting, challenging, frustrating, growing, stretching, and adventurous, along with a few other ‘ings’ I’m probably forgetting. Today we packed up our bags at the Thompson Bible Chapel and hit the road for Split Lake Cree Nation. After a brief stop to shop for food we were on our way just after lunch. The drive was about an hour and forty five minutes, mostly over gravel road, highlighted most significantly by impromptu pee breaks and an icy breeze blasting through the front of the van every time the lever moved to the defrost position. Upon our arrival in the community we were smacked in the face with the culture of the North. With no road signs to speak of and directions that went like ‘When you get to the community center you are about a kilometre from the house’ it took about an extra hour of driving around in the community before one of our hosts came and flagged down our van and lead us to the right house. Talk about being baptized by fire. This was a great icebreaker for the team in the community though.

            After dropping off the girls at the home of their host, Jeff and I headed to our own host’s place, Winston Roulette. We were made very welcome and most of the evening was spent having conversation. Right away its easy to see the emphasis placed on spirituality in Native culture and the effect that has on the Christian message here. Within three hours of our arrival we were watching a documentary on evil subliminal messages in popular media. The devil and his minions are a fearful reality here. It seems to me that maybe too much credit is being given to the devil, but that’s a first impression.

            I’m finding in myself an overwhelmedness and a worry that this trip will feel wasted because our time is so short in a place with such great needs. It’s going to be challenging to remember that we are only here for such a short time and because of that we will play a different role than we would in the South. My prayer tonight is “God free these people. Give me strength and love.”