Spring Fling 2023
Three years ago, I was on the phone discussing with two other team leaders what we might be doing if COVID-19 really does spread, and we have to cancel the Spring Fling trip. Two days later, it was clear we needed to “postpone” our trip. Two days after that, the Canadian/U.S. border was closed.
The “postponement” finally happened on March 27th, 2023, when five of us gathered in Hazelton, B.C. to hold a five-day program. Three team leaders joined me–Kathleen Galbraith-Robertson, who serves Kitimaat Village, and one of her team members, Nadine Lung; Josiah Schultz who will be serving Old Hazelton, and Tina Schmidt who will be serving Gitanyow.
On Tuesday, we spent part of our day in Old Hazelton so Josiah could meet the community contact and get an idea of what is available for the summer. After a quick visit, we left for Gitanyow. Vicar Dan from Redeemer Lutheran in Kitimat joined us.
Fifteen children and five teenagers, who hung out in the back, came out for an afternoon of kids’ ministry. We also visited with a few adults after the program. Wednesday was a travel day and visits with two different First Nations artists.
On Thursday, we gathered in Kitimaat Village for an afternoon kids’ ministry. Although only two children showed up, they were the same kids the team had the summer before! The girls could not wait to come when the dad told them about the program.
The Holy Spirit was at work. When we needed a song to close at the end, Josiah flipped through his songbook and chose “This Little Light of Mine”. The girls did not know the song, but when the dad came in to pick them up, he told his daughters that this was an important song. He had learned it as a child and explained that those words (along with others) helped him get through times of his addictions. [This is the same dad that shared with us last summer regarding how the songs he learned as a child helped him get through living on the streets while on drugs. You can read more about it here. Scroll halfway down the page.]
