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
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.
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