February 2025: Adventures in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta

February began with a chance for me to meet with some of the LAMP team leaders and team members who work with some of the communities that I am responsible for. It was good to see some familiar faces at the online meeting and hear about their plans for the upcoming summer. As a LAMP staff, we are excited to see the new VBS curriculum from Group Publishing called "True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World" (VBS - Vacation Bible School 2025 Themes | True North | Group). We are thinking that the kids and youth in our northern Canadian communities might really enjoy this theme. 

Later that week, I got the chance to attend the Edmonton Circuit Conference in St. Albert. Pastor James Avery from Bethel in Sherwood Park led the discussion topic on the church and politics. We had a very lively and thoughtful conversation on this challenging and timely study. I was able to enjoy lunch out with my mom and her husband Clay before heading home to pack and prepare for my trip to Winnipeg.

I arrived in Winnipeg late on Thursday night and made some plans to get a little extra rest on Friday morning before heading to Missionfest. Some plans don't always work out...there was a fire alarm at the hotel on Friday morning and the entire building had to be evacuated. It took some time for the staff and local firefighters to check the building before we could all go back to our rooms. Thankfully there was no fire!

Missionfest is hosted each year in Winnipeg at Church of the Rock (Missionfest Manitoba - Home). I set up our exhibit table and spent the weekend talking about LAMP and meeting new people. In addition to the many attendees, it was also good to catch up with some old friends (I'm looking at you, Stephen!) and make some new connections with various ministries and publishers. 

My time in Winnipeg also allowed me to connect with our LAMP team for the community of Leaf Rapids in northern Manitoba. It was good to see these friends with servant hearts from St. Aidan's Anglican Church in Winnipeg. Here's a picture of me with a few of the team leaders and members. 

After Missionfest wrapped up, I hopped in my rental truck and drove north to the community of The Pas. I was glad to be able to meet Father Shantha for lunch in The Pas. He is responsible for some of the Catholic churches in the communities where LAMP teams serve including Cormorant, Manitoba. It was good to hear about how things are going for him and his work. My next stop was Thompson, Manitoba. It was very cold when I was there so I was thankful for heated seats and a heated steering wheel in the rental truck. I was able to drive up to South Indian Lake the next day. This is a community that I have not been able to visit yet so it was good to go there and meet some of the local people. There is a ferry that runs all year round going into the community so it was interesting to ride across open water in the middle of winter. I was glad to meet with the school principal and the band chief. Our LAMP team has not been able to been in South Indian Lake for a few years...we are very hopeful we can have a team return there this summer. Here are some pictures of South Indian Lake, including the ferry, the band office, the Catholic Church, the health centre, the Northern store (a common feature in many northern communities) and the school.

I returned home after a busy and fruitful time in Manitoba. The following week, LAMP staff had some fun with an online visit with a school from the US. Here's a picture of the zoom call screen. We will sometimes discuss the novel "Hatchet" (a young adult novel about a teenage boy who is riding on a plane that crashes in the north) and then we answer questions about our work in the north. The teacher and kids were a lot of fun and asked great questions.

February wrapped up with a trip to the West Coast of Canada for me and my wife. We took some time to look at properties in Abbotsford, BC and found some that we really liked. We're looking into the possibility of buying one of them. We had also planned to head to Vancouver to celebrate our granddaughter's third birthday...unfortunately, she and her parents were all very sick and celebrations needed to be postponed. We look forward to seeing them soon. We are making plans to sell our house in Alberta soon. Prayers for all of this would be appreciated.

During the final days of February, I also had the opportunity to attend a graduate student conference for the History, Classics, and Religion Department at the University of Alberta. As a PhD candidate in Religious Studies, I was glad to be able to present a paper there. I was also glad to hear other students and scholars talk about their work. Two highlights in particular were a presentation by fellow graduate student Nakita V on Islamic memorization practices of the Quran and a presentation by three scholars (two indigenous ones) from the Stoney Nakoda nation on their efforts to track down artifacts from their community that have been displayed in various museums. Here are some pics...

I wanted to wrap up my notes for February with some pictures from the community of Deschambault, Saskatchewan. I am often asked about people in the northern communities that LAMP serves and their awareness and knowledge of Christianity and its teachings. I am happy to report that there are many indigenous Christians in the communities where we serve and it is an honour to connect with and support them in whatever ways we can. Here's some pictures from our contact Jonathan B highlighting some recent baptisms and confirmations in the community there. It's good to see these things!!

Thanks for your support and your interest in the work that I am striving to do with LAMP. I appreciate it and I appreciate you!