July 2024: When You Walk Through the Fire (Isaiah 43:2)
When I was a little boy, I remember being very afraid of fire. One time, I plugged in a lamp in the living room of our house...the plug sparked in the socket and a small flame with some smoke appeared. I quickly vacated the house, shouting to my family that there was a fire and that they should also exit the building. It turned out to be a short in the wiring and no fire followed. We were safe! My early aversion to fire was revisited this month in a close encounter with a forest fire...I'll tell that story at the end of this post if you have time and interest. Before that, I have to tell you about the great times I spent with LAMP VBS teams this month in various locations. Where I could, I helped out in the background, cheering on the team leaders and their teams. Here are some highlights...including pictures of the VBS teams in each location.
I began the month with the LAMP team in Easterville, Manitoba. I stayed with the team at the mission house which was attached to the Anglican Church there. We had a great week teaching the kids there about some parables of Jesus. We also enjoyed singing, crafts, games, and snacks. Here's some photos...
After my time in Easterville, I drove to The Pas and stayed overnight there. I did a quick stop the next day in Moose Lake, Manitoba to check on arrangements for an upcoming LAMP VBS before driving to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. From Prince Albert, I headed up to Southend, Saskatchewan (which, despite its name...is quite north). The VBS team for Southend had van trouble in Saskatoon so I waited for them in LaRonge. The next day I headed out for Southend. My rental vehicle ended up getting two flat tires, including the spare, so the team had to rescue me. I was able to get my tired fixed. I joined the team at the school where they stayed and also where they hosted VBS. Their VBS theme was the "Armour of God" based on Ephesians 6: 10 - 18. Here are some pictures...I loved the colourful "Welcome Back" sign that the community made for the team.
I met my next LAMP VBS team in Grandmother's Bay, Saskatchewan. These good friends of mine from Bethel did a great job of hosting programs for the children and for the women in Grandmother's Bay. We stayed at the school and hosted our events there. I helped out where I could and also hosted a men's night while I was there. The VBS theme was Stellar: Shine Jesus' Light. I liked the space theme in the decorations and the skits. Fun stuff! Here's some pictures...
One of our friends from Grandmother's Bay showed us something special when we were there. He brought in a photo album filled with pictures of past LAMP VBS team members and the kids they worked with in Grandmother's Bay. This community has a long history of LAMP volunteers visiting and it was great to see the photos and learn more about this. I think I'll write an article for our LAMP newsletter about this when I get back from my busy summer. Here's a sample...
I had hoped to visit the LAMP team at Sucker River, Saskatchewan on my way to my next stop but my schedule needed to shift and time did not allow for it. I drove to Flin Flon, Manitoba and stayed overnight there. From Flin Flon, I drove to Thompson, Manitoba to meet Pastor Randy (LAMP missionary pastor) and Andrew (LAMP pilot). Andrew and I flew from Thompson to Flin Flon to get some airplane gas (there has been a shortage in some places this summer) and then we flew to meet the team in Brochet, Manitoba. We stayed at the rectory for the Catholic church there and hosted VBS at the youth hall on the Barren Lands Reserve (across the bridge from Brochet). Here's some pictures....the team was also using the "Armour of God" VBS theme.
From Brochet, I flew with Andrew to Lynn Lake. The LAMP VBS team there had some relatives on the Brochet team so it was fun to meet more people from that family. We stayed in the youth hall for the Lynn Lake Friendship Centre and also hosted our VBS there. We had planned to visit the local Marcel Colomb Reserve that week as well but it was evacuated over forest fire concerns. This team made a late night trip out to see the Northern Lights one night...beautiful!! Here's some pictures...
The photo above shows Bethany helping the kids tie-dyeing the shirts they decorated as we talked about the "breastplate of righteousness". One girl named Maisie did such a beautiful drawing on her shirt that they decided not to dye it. Check it out!!
Another neat story from Lynn Lake were the four VBS team members pictured below. They are a grandmother, her son, and her two granddaughters. The son is almost finished his seminary training to be a pastor. It was wonderful having three generations from the same family serving on the team!!
My trip to Lynn Lake ended in an unusual way. LAMP's pilot Andrew was concerned about the weather on the day he was planning to pick me up. Instead of flying the plane, he drove a truck to Lynn Lake and drove me back to Thompson. This allowed me to get back on time so I could prepare for my next adventure at the next VBS in Saskatchewan. Tune in next month to hear more about that.
As promised earlier, I wanted to write briefly about a pretty scary event that happened as I was trying to travel from Southend to LaRonge, Saskatchewan. I had already had two flat tires on the way up to Southend...I was hoping I could get back to LaRonge with no other tire problems. About 155 kms north of LaRonge, though, my tire went flat again. I had already worn out the spare tire and had no other options...I was stranded. A kind stranger stopped and let me use his satellite phone system...my cell phone had no signal on its own. I called for a tow truck and they asked me to call back later. I was stuck!
After some more time passed, I decided to drive the vehicle very slowly a little further down the road. I knew this would wreck the flat tire but I also did not want to stay where I was. I eventually found a small gas station / restaurant beside the road. The sign out front said that they sold tires so I hoped I could buy one and keep going. Unfortunately, they didn't have the tire I needed. I called the tow truck again and even tried to get a taxi cab to come pick me up. This would have happened if other things did not follow.
The owner and operator of the little roadside gas station / restaurant invited me to wait with him on his porch as I thought about next steps. As we talked, he drew my attention to a faraway column of smoke across the road. He had been watching it all day and was concerned that it was a forest fire. As the evening progressed, his concerns proved to be correct...there was a huge forest fire growing and it was heading directly towards us. He set up sprinklers on his property and we watched as the fire grew. I called my wife and a friend from work, telling them about the situation. The power went out, taking out his phone. My cell phone had no signal. The fire appeared to be spreading down the road in at least one direction and we later learned that it also moved all the way around the lake behind us. We waited as long as we could before the flames, smoke, and heat got to be too much...then we headed down the hill to his little boat and headed out on the water. We could see very little as it was now dark and there was thick smoke covering the water like fog.
We carefully circled on the water and realized the fire was all around the lake. There was nowhere safe to land on the other side. He spotted a light flashing and we followed the light to a small island in the middle of the lake. His neighbour had found the island and had heard our voices...he flashed the light so we could find him. We spent the night in the boat, tied up on the safest side of the island. Eventually, rain started to fall and lightning flashed.
After several hours, it was starting to get lighter and the fire seemed to have died down close to the gas station. We headed back there in the boat, expecting everything to be burned...including my rental vehicle. We were so thankful to discover that the sprinklers had worked and that his buildings were spared. A cabin next door and a hotel down the road had both been burned to the ground. Several other cabins around the lake had also burned down. Very sad!
When the road finally opened (they closed it because of the fire), the tow truck came and my rental vehicle was towed back to LaRonge. I was able to get the tire fixed and I headed to Prince Albert for a much needed shower and some sleep. I was so thankful to be safe and I was so thankful for this man named Vincent who had taken me in and helped me. I don't want to think about what might have happened if the fire had surrounded me when I was broken down on the road far from the lake and far from help.
The firefighters arrived the next morning and helped put out some remaining hot spots, including a fire in the trees next to the gas station. I'm hoping everything is okay now but I was told that in the past these fires could remain burning for weeks at a time. I continue to pray that Vincent and his home are safe and I thank God for his kindness! Here's some photos...
Comments
Post a Comment