Boy is summer almost done already!?
We got back a few days ago from our summer ministry tour of Canada and I figure it's about time I report on a bit of it!!
Week 1 of camp
Week 1 was spent in Timber Bay Saskatchewan- about 1.5 hours north of Prince Albert, SK. We have been to this camp several times before and their invitation to come speak was the genesis of our trip north for the summer.
It was an interesting week. Stanley Mission is a reserve north of la Ronge and that is where the kids came from that week. There are no missionaries there, no church and only a few genuine believers in Jesus.
The temperatures were pretty cold- it felt a bit like winter to us acclimated Mexicanos, but thankfully we had a warm place to sleep with a comfy bed! Our boys were at Silver Birch Bible Camp that week- the first time all 3 could be campers- and the first time any of them had been there without us! They had a great time and still talk about the fun they had!
That gave us the time we needed to prepare messages for the camps. We came with ideas and topics- but kind of unsure how we were going to flesh it out. So we spent a good deal of the time doing this and giving the messages in the chapels. Sharlene gave 5-10 minute sessions of "kids of courage"- kids in other countries who face persecution and possible death for their faith and yet continue to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This was a great teaching tool- as many of these kids go back to hostile environments if they choose to follow Jesus!
The kids were quite hard at first. In my 15+ years of camping ministry- probably the hardest kids I've seen. There were a lot of hurts, much fear and an amount of spiritual warfare going on.
God is faithful though and in the process of presenting His Word to the kids- there were a few who responded with repentance and faith in Jesus. There were many others, we found out, who were being attacked spiritually- feeling things, seeing things and hearing things. Satan has quite a hold on these communities and was spending time reminding these kids of who he and his minions are.
Praise God- He gave me a message about the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light that exposed the manifestations for what they were- attempts to keep the kids in bondage- to steal-kill and destroy them! But that the King of Light had come to give them life- and to the full! over the course of a few days- a few more kids responded to Jesus offer of reconciliation through faith in His sacrifice and repentance from sins! Praise God!
It turned out to be a good week, overall and was a learning experience for many of us!
Week 2- Timber Bay
Week 2 we had the boys with us (after going to Loon lake to get them- then to Martensville to share a bit- then back to camp). This week was unique as well because the local Montreal Lake Alliance Church was there to assist us. They will be running the camp next year as they take over the whole Timber Bay Bible Center this fall. They shared a few things with us on better reaching First Nations children- and it was a great week. What a difference it is with a strong functioning church and transformed believers in a community! These kids were eager and hungry for the Word and the church was ready to do follow-up and discipleship. There were many kids this week who surrendered their lives to Jesus and it is great to hear that the church will come alongside them and walk with them in the coming days and years!!
Week 3- Turtleford
Turtleford camp (Island Lake) was a teen camp- made up of mostly churched kids from the surrounding farming communities. This camp excels in music- so for a small camp- the music was incredible! I spoke on the book of James and Shar did a kind of kids of courage aimed more at teens. It was a very good camp as we challenged the kids to live a life worthy of the calling that they have received! There were many good responses to the offer of salvation and many of the other kids entered a deeper relationship with Jesus! Praise God!
Week 4- Steeprock Bay, MB
This was the first time we'd ever been here- though we'd heard about it before. We only had one short chapel session so it was a challenge to condense the messages down and still try to be effective! God is not limited by our planning or difficulty in preparing and He touched many kids lives with several responding to God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. The extra time gave us more opportunity to hang with the kids- and that was nice. These were a great group of kids from the pas- a small town in north Western Manitoba. The drugs and gangs there make it more like a little inner-city though and these kids were obviously more "urban" than the ones we'd worked with in northern Saskatchewan!
On the weekends between camp we spoke at Cornerstone community church in loon lake, Martensville Baptist Church, Turtleford Baptist and Swan River Pentecostal. We visited with old friends and met new ones. We visited and were encouraged by faithful supporters and we connected with many people. It was busy, but a blessing to be able to serve in this way!
