As fall is well under way, I pause and reflect on my summer. My summer reminds me of a time in my first grade. My teacher invited me to read with the advanced reading group. I felt so good about myself that day. That’s the same feeling I had this summer.

In comparison to last year when people did not know me, and I wasn’t sure how to support the VBS teams, this year I was welcomed and conversations picked up where we left off the last time we met.  This was especially evident when a team switched their menu around so I could have Mrs. Becky’s famous Mexican food because I was not going to be with them all week!

This summer, again, God worked amazingly through the teams and people that help make LAMP’s ministry possible in B.C. The numbers of kids were up, and the new addition of a team brought LAMP back to the Kincolith community.

The first week of VBS was busy. The Christ Lutheran Yuma team came a day before Canada Day (July 1st).  We participated in some of the communities’ activities by singing VBS songs during the breakfast in the park. Some of the young guys ran the fun run up the hill, and then we attended worship at St.Peter’s Anglican church in Old Hazelton. The next day, I assisted with their first day of VBS before leaving for Kitamaat Village to join the team from Bethel Lutheran in Sherwood Park.

The next two days, I spent with three energetic ladies and the vicar’s wife from Redeemer Lutheran in the town of Kitimat. This was our first year using the recreation center which provided more space and room for the kids to run in the gym. My time with them was short as I needed to fly home to speak at the Oregon LWML convention.

For weeks, I had prepared my speech, and for several days worked on my PowerPoint for this convention. Not that I’ve had a bad experience, but there are two groups of women that I fear -- preschool moms and LWML women -- a reverent fear and note to self to never mess with either! So I went in prepared, dressed in my best and used all the manners taught by my mother and outdoor school.

 I attended the Friday evening worship where President Rev. Dr. Paul A. Linnemann led the service. During his sermon he asked a question, one that you answer in your head, but out of nowhere a lady in the back gave an answer which made everyone laugh and to which President Linnemann responded.

As the weekend went by, I soon discovered that this group of LWML women were more casual than I had originally thought, yet very serious about mission work. My presentation went very well, and I later found out that LAMP would receive a $6500 grant! Praise be to God and thank-you.

While home for an extra day, I gathered more supplies and spent time with the family. Then I flew back to Terrace to meet with a brand new team from Surrey, B.C. This was their first mission trip to Kincolith.

I love my job and the different groups and communities I work with. When someone says they might be too old to attend a mission trip, I share about the group of women in their sixties and seventies who travel for two days to serve in their community. They even have programs that run late into the evening.

When people mention they are not sure they can relate to kids or youth, I share about the Kincolith team. Nearly half of the group struggled to speak English, but that didn’t stop them. The kids had a great time, and the team was already talking about what they want to do next year! Praise be to God.

 On Friday of that week, I had to leave the Surrey team early to be with my home church in Gitanyow. Late in the evening, the team from Christ the Vine arrived. We spent the next day visiting Salmon glacier in Alaska before getting ready for a very busy week. My wife and I taught the Bible lesson. Afternoons consisted of sport camps, and the evenings were filled with different activities for different age groups and people.

One activity that we added and were pleased with was the women’s evening tea and devotions. Christ the Vine and the Surrey B.C. teams borrowed this idea from another team.  Both events were well attended. All three teams have discovered that women from the village share more about what is going on in their lives when it’s only women present.

The week flew by and before I knew it, my family was heading home, and I was heading back to Hazelton to be with the group from Barrhead. On the Sunday night, the team arrived late. Lise’s husband came for the first time, and we immediately hit it off because he drove up in a 1996 Dodge 12 valve turbo diesel. Whoa. As the week progressed, the temperature rose to nearly 35 degrees Celcius (about 95 degrees Fahrenheit)-- it was hot! But, the warm weather didn’t slow the group down.

 In addition to the VBS program, they ran evening programs, which were mostly outside. Several of the nights, I was able to help lead them with music during the devotion times.

That time I was invited to read with the advance readers in first grade, the teacher and I knew to, that I wasn’t reading for that level of reading. Likewise with mission work, on my own I am not very successful but God works through me despite my in inadequacies. I am truly blessed to be serving through LAMP with a very important and much-needed ministry. There are many more stories from the summer. Depending on where you live (naturally), I’d love to have a beverage and share more with you. Call me! I look forward to hearing from you.