Mission Scribbles and Scratches

The month of October for me, as I hope to illustrate, could easily be sponsored by the letter "C". Let's get started!! (my thanks to my friend Gwen for this idea!) C onferences - As I mentioned in last month's blog, October started with the chance to attend the BC Church Workers Conference in Sorrento, BC. Nathan, my fellow LAMP missionary, and I were able to address the conference during a panel focused on various ministries and missions in Lutheran Church - Canada. What a good time!! The good times and good connections continued at the Alberta Church Workers Conference hosted at the Providence Retreat Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The featured speaker was Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller from Texas...he spoke to us about spiritual warfare and the Christian life. We also enjoyed a presentation from Lutheran Bible Translators missionary Pastor Michael Kuhn. He talked to us about his work in particular and also the work of LBT in general. The organizers were also kind enough to g...

September started with a trip to the mountains as we met family near Banff for a family gathering. The mountains are always a special place for me and it was good to be there with my wife Lynne and other family members. Thanks to my mom and to Clay for planning and hosting the event. Here's some pics... Our LAMP pilot Andrew and I wasted no time after the long weekend, flying up to Flin Flon, Manitoba. We were grounded one day due to weather but still managed to visit the remote communities of Wollaston Lake, Tadoule Lake, and Lac Brochet. We had a wonderful visit with Father Joji, the Catholic priest in Wollaston. Andrew and I took a picture in front of the new church there. We had a great visit with the principal of the school in Tadoule Lake. We haven't been able to send a LAMP team there for a couple of years now and they are excited to hear that we might be back soon. We also had a wonderful visit with the chief and a band counselor at Lac Brochet. The LAMP team that goes ...

 The month of August began with me travelling from Thompson, Manitoba to Flin Flon, Manitoba and then to Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan. I met one of our newest LAMP teams there in Deschambault and we spent some time together as they connected with the community via children's ministry. We stayed at the elementary school and hosted the Vacation Bible School program there as well. We also showed some movies in the evening to those who were interested. Karen and her talented teammates did a great job and I look forward to their future years of ministry there in Deschambault! Here are some pictures... From Deschambault Lake I headed home to Sherwood Park so I could volunteer at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. I've been volunteering for this festival for many years and currently serve as one of the coordinators for the Music and Merchandise - Performer Product crew. What we do, in essence, is try to run a music store with a crew of volunteers that sells lots of tshirts and CDs a...