June 2024...wrapping up my first year with LAMP in style!

June 2024 marks the last month of my first year serving with LAMP! Just like the year past, June was full of fun times with friends and opportunities to travel. I started the month with a quick visit with the good people at Grace Lutheran Church in Drumheller. They invited me to come and speak about LAMP during their Sunday morning worship service. Aside from some minor technical problems (Powerpoint, I'm looking at you!!!), things went well. It was also really fun to stay with old friends Brad and Sharlinda T. Great to catch up with them after several years apart! Here's some pictures of the church, Brad and Sharlinda, the very unique hills around Drumheller, and the river that runs through it.

From Drumheller, I drove back to Edmonton to catch a plane to Winnipeg. At the airport, I saw this wonderful balloon art cheering on the Oilers, our local NHL hockey team. Most of June was filled with some very exciting playoff hockey as the Oilers went all the way to the final game of the final series. It was a great run and we're all hoping that next year will be the year that the Stanley Cup finally comes back to Canada.

I met up with Gordon G, former LAMP missionary, in Winnipeg and we headed up north, hoping to drive to Thompson, Manitoba that day. A mallard duck had different plans, and flew right in front of us. The bird made impact right in the middle of the windshield on the driver's side causing terrible damage. We had to turn around, head back to Winnipeg, and rent another vehicle. The next day, we headed out again.

Our journey was more successful on our second attempt and we had a good trip to Thompson. On the way, we got to enjoy a local treat...a club sandwich made with bannock. Very tasty!! You can find this treat at the Esso gas station restaurant in Grand Rapids, Manitoba. Five stars out of five.

In Thompson, Gordon and I were able to connect with some local pastors and priests from various churches. They appreciated visiting with us and hearing about LAMP's plans for work in the communities that they serve.

From Thompson, we drove to Flin Flon, hoping to meet up with LAMP's pilot and plane. We were able to stay at a house owned by the Lutheran church in Flin Flon. This house has served as a summer base for LAMP staff in the past. Here's a photo of the house and the church beside it.

Bad weather kept our pilot from being able to fly in so we needed to carry on with our trip. We headed next to The Pas, where we had a wonderful visit over lunch with a local Catholic priest. Following this, we drove out to Moose Lake. Moose Lake is a community that had a LAMP team for many years...there has not been a team that has been able to go there for a number of years now. We're excited to have a new team heading to the community this summer. It was good to meet with the school principal Sandra L. and make arrangements to have the team use the school for housing and possibly for the VBS program. We also connected with Ann H, a local leader in the Anglican Church. Ann was glad to hear that a team is coming this summer. Here's some pictures of the school, the Anglican Church, and the house next to the church in Moose Lake.

After Moose Lake, we headed to Cormorant, another community that will host a LAMP team this summer. It was good to meet with Edie, who is both the school principal and the mayor of this village. I liked the "inukshuks" (helpers) set up by the school. In the far north, these little structures can be used for directions and other important information.

Our last community visit on our northern Manitoba included a quick stop in the community of Easterville. We were able to talk briefly to Michael C, a retired Anglican priest who continues to live in that community. He has been a great host and help to our LAMP teams over the years. Here's a picture of the Anglican church in Easterville with the Band Office in the background and a picture of many, many pelicans down at the dock area of the lake close to Easterville. 

Gordon and I had a safe trip back to Winnipeg (no more ducks!) and then I flew home.

After a few days at home, I headed out to Montreal to attend the annual meeting for the Canadian Society of the Study of Religion (CSSR). As a Religious Studies graduate student, I've appreciated being able to attend these conferences and even present papers at some of them. Our conference was to be hosted at McGill University as part of the larger Congress of the Humanities, but some concerns were raised about student protests on campus as well as some strike action happening there. We ended up moving our meeting to the University of Montreal. I presented a paper on Jacques Derrida, hospitality, and the Bible. It was great to see so many colleagues and hear about their work. Here's a photo of a great panel of Religious Studies scholars talking about teaching today, and another photo of a student presentation. 

A visit to Montreal would not be complete with the chance to sample some of the great local cuisine. Here's a photo of a very tasty Montreal smoked meat sandwich along with dill pickles and poutine. Yummy!

After returning from Montreal, our LAMP pilot Andrew and I attempted another visit to a northern Manitoba community (we had to cancel the first attempt due to poor weather). This time the weather was great as we flew from Camrose (where our plane is stationed) to Flin Flon and later to Brochet. We had a good meeting with one of the local leaders as we confirmed details of our LAMP team's visit to Brochet this summer. It was good to hear the kind words and warm welcome this local leader shared as he discussed the LAMP team's previous visits in the community. Here's a few pictures of Brochet...

A quick trip home with Andrew in the little red LAMP plane and then it was time to help lead worship music at our home church. I had the chance to play and sing with Martin and Isabel and it was so fun to sing with them. Martin and Isabel are getting ready to head to Grace Lutheran Church in Drumheller (where I visited earlier this month) as he will be serving there as a vicar for the next year. We'll miss them!!

After a few more days at home, it was time to get ready and head out to meet my first team. I drove back to Easterville and met the team there. Here's a picture of the team as they headed out from their homes in Wisconsin. I'll share more about our further adventures in Easterville next month!!

Thanks for your interest in my travels and adventures...and thanks for your prayers! Stay tuned for more!!