A Rainbow Welcome

We left Prince Albert yesterday morning and met Father Mark at his church in La Ronge. The soccer team arrived shortly after having driven all the way from Edmonton. The soccer team is made up of four young men named Andreas, James, Dan, and Stephen. They travel into communities with LAMP VBS to work with the older kids of each community. We traveled to LAMP lake to leave our cars and connect our trailor to Father Marks car.


As the parents unloaded, the kids took a "barefoot trail" with "Barefoot Mick" who believes in the health benefits of walking everywhere barefoot. We spent some time in the water and then hopped in the cars for the last stretch. Along the rainy drive, we saw sheep, deer, fox, and a beautiful rainbow that welcomed us just before we entered Southend! That was the biggest, brightest rainbow that Father Mark had ever seen and he reminded us over the walkie talkie that the rainbow is the symbol of the first covenant between God and man. When we arrived in Southend, we were also welcomed by excited kids waiting to see us!

                                                          ~Amanda and Angela

"I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant  between Me and the earth"  Genesis 9:13

Father Mark and the mission team kids at the Churchill River

Learning about the benefits of being barefoot by Barefoot Mick!

Southend Bound !

We left Estevan and continued north through Regina to Prince Albert.   It was  an 8 hour drive with a few stops along the way.  In Regina some of the team members had the opportunities to witness and give out our "Jesus Is My Rock" coin.  We enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti dinner with homemade pies that were provided by the members of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Prince Albert.   Then we spent the night at a hotel, getting a good nights rest before heading into Southend.

We will have another 8 hour drive today.  We are meeting Father Mark in La Ronge and will then transfer all of our  personal things into a  taxi van.  Our trailer will be pulled by a vehicle that has tires suitable for the gravel roads.  The last four hours  of our drive will be on a coarse gravel road into Southend - we are so excited!

Thank-you for your continued prayers.

Witnessing to a street musician - then he sang a special song for  the team..."I saw the light!"

The Piper families - they housed and fed our team of 17!

The team kids getting ready to leave Bethel Lutheran Church in Bismarck

We're Back at the Pipers!!

After a stop at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bismark for lunch (thanks to Vernice's family!), we made it across the border and safely to the Piper Family's home in Estevan, Saskatchewan.  We experienced safe and fun travel and are thankful to the Lord.  Our journey of 13 hours took a little longer than anticipated because we took the Lewis and Clark scenic byway (God's plan!!  And we liked it!!).  This gave us an opportunity for a practical joke involving running out of gas.  Just kidding, Brian!  We were delayed at the border briefly.  The border guard happily accepted the coin we gave him which says "Jesus is my Rock" and "My strength in whom I will trust."  (Psalm 18:2).  The entire verse says, :The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my Rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  So very very good and God is great!  Once our passports were returned to us we were sent on our way by a big gust of wind which we believed to be the Holy Spirit! 

 It is so wonderful to connect with our friends, the Pipers and we are so grateful because we know there are not many families who will host 17 people.  They are family to us and hopefully you will have a chance to meet them when they visit Minnesota!  We are looking forward to seeing Laura's parents, Nat and Joyce this morning.  The Messiah kids love their time with the Piper kids!

Today we will head to Regina for groceries and Prince Albert for dinner at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.  Thanks so much for all your prayers!  They are the fuel for our journey for Jesus!

Ready to Roll!

One  more sleep and we're off to Southend.  The trailer is full...really full!  We had a pizza and packing party at the church tonight and joined together in prayer.  It's been a great year of preparation and team work.  We're grateful for the people God has put together once again this year; just as He has in the past.  We are grateful for all the support we receive from the members of Messiah, our friends and family.  We are thankful for Pastor Bob and Beth who have encouraged and supported us and modeled for us the love of sharing Christ with others!  Thank you for praying for the people of Southend and for us. 

I will praise You, O LORD, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonders.

I will be glad and  rejoice in You;

I will sing praise to Your Name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2

Southend Team for 2012

These are the people going to Southend in a few days (2 more sleeps)! 

We are all looking forward to seeing the kids and Father Mark!

THE CREE

The Cree are the First Nation of Canada.  They are special people that have characteristics and values that are often different from those of our own Midwestern ways.   They value relationships over tasks as we tend to be task oriented.   They don’t let the clock control them…time doesn’t mean the same to them as it does to us.  They are a culture that shares everything and they are not materialistic, much of their property is communal.  They would much prefer story telling over reading, or being read to.  These are some of the differences we recognize but more important is what we have in common….that we are all children of God and He loves us and gave his Son to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life.  THIS is the message that we are going to Southend to share.  May God Bless the Cree and open their hearts to receive his Word!   

              

These are some of our friends from our 2011 VBS....look at the joy on their faces!