The week of March 15 - 22, myself, Andrew Miner (who is from Christ the Vine and serves in Gitanyow) and Doug Weinrich (who is from Redeemer in Spokane and will be serving in Laxgalts'ap or Greenville this summer) helped with the Junior All Native Tournament in Kitamaat Village, B.C.  We had offered to help where and when needed and were we put to work.  It’s been 25 years since Kitamaat was the host.  Each year during spring break, First Nation youth under the age of seventeen travel to different communities in British Columbia to play basketball, and these kids can play!

 The three of us arrived late on Friday in Kitimat and were kindly hosted by Vicar Travis of Redeemer Lutheran. The next day started early in the morning preparing vegetables for the stews that would be served to 600 plus people. Around dinner, we returned to the sports complex and helped served this stew and an array of desserts to the hungry crowd.  Later that same night, we helped unload a U-haul stuffed with merchandise. We counted and folded (and counted and folded some more) t-shirts, sweat-shirts, and other merchandise for sale during the tournament.

The next day, the three of us headed to a small elementary gym. From 8:30 am until 6:00 pm, we did not move from the elementary sized bench.  As you can imagine, it was a long day of game after game after game. Our original job was supposed to be keeping stats; however, not everyone showed up to run the scoreboard and/or maintain the score book. Hence, at one game, it was the three of us in charge.  Two teams had warmed up and were ready to start but no refs, no one to keep the scorebook and no person to run the scoreboard! I told the teams to keep warming up as we tried to figure out what to do. Thankfully, the refs walked in, and the games continued. About 6:30 pm, we tiredly left for dinner only to be reminded we had been assigned as security for the fireworks show. It was a long day.

The next day was a beautiful drive to Laxgalts’ap (Greenville) where Doug questioned our community contacts about his church’s forthcoming summer VBS trip. We met our contacts at the church, information was exchanged, and Doug was able to have most of his questions answered. We learned the Nisga’a people are no longer part of the Indian Act, and do not have a band office.  They are their own governing body with a government office. Learn more here about Nisga’a government. Their government manager helped Doug find housing for the summer.  It was an excellent visit, with Doug going home relaxed knowing the answers to his questions. If you have been following my blog, you will know that Laxgalts’ap (Greenville) is a new community to LAMP.  Doug’s church in Spokane is also new to LAMP.  I am very excited to see what God has planned for both groups. Doug left later in the day for Spokane while Andy and I relaxed and watched a couple of basketball games.

 The next day, Andy and I were back at it; this time in a larger gym. I ran the scoreboard most of the time with Andy handling the stats for both teams. The people who came to keep the scorebook were the same ones from the first day so our conversation just picked up from where we left off. Although it was another long day, it was fun to be around our new friends. As we left the school building, I heard someone call my name. Rhonda Kelman from the BC Mission Boat Society was also in attendance. A friend of mine who went on a mission trip to Klemtu and also LAMP had mentioned her name.  LAMP and the BC Mission Boat Society share similar ministries with First Nation people. We had a great visit and hope to support each other more in the future.

The remaining days were spent at the merchandise table organizing and selling shirts. We were security for the final games and stayed to the end to help move the remaining merchandise to a storage unit.

It was a blessing to be part of the Junior All Native Tournament. Andy, Doug and I were the only volunteers from outside the Haisla community. We felt encouraged serving in the many ways that we were able. It was really cool to recognize people and youth from the other communities LAMP serves such as Kincolith and Hazleton. I spied the tournament shirts everywhere I went.

Despite the way some parents can treat each other at games, I was impressed with how the teams at the end of each game would gather together at mid court to do a cheer for each other. When a player fouled out, the other team's bench would come over and high five the player to acknowledge their efforts.  Even though there was a distance in the miles the teams traveled, there was a definite feeling of community among the youth.

 Although I don’t know what seeds God planted that week, I know it was a very worthwhile experience, and I’m glad I was able to contribute.