Sorry - been a very busy two days!
Every group has 5 stages it goes through - forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. We were definitely into the performing stage on Thursday. The groups were just going along well. From concerns we had about the boys running all around, girls getting into small fights with each other, kids feeling home sick, and team members figuring out their roles, we have all move into the performing stage where we have kids knowing and following cabin and camp rules, kids all getting along, and every team we have just performing and doing their tasks with speed and energy! We have sorted out the routines and kids are having a blast! We have staff devo's at 7am, with staff breakfast at 7:30. and kids arrive for 8am. Guess what.. the boys' cabin are the first to arrive, usually by 7:45am!! Friday they came at about 7:35am! All the kids have really gelled with their cabin leaders and everyone still seems to be getting along! There are no complaints from the kids!
The Chapel time is also going smoothly with our talking about Jesus on Thursday, followed by redemption on Friday. Kids are engaged. They're asking questions. It's amazing watching them learn and listen. They're singing camp songs with enthusiasm (this is a repeat after me song!) and they're humming/singing the songs throughout the day!
What's really good in all of this is that they're making connections. There is space and time to hear stories and share stories. We know that some have difficult family backgrounds. We know some have trauma. But we are here to support and love on them. You can see that they are more comfortable with these strange people from Markham :-)
In sharing the message of Jesus, and discussions in the cabins, all the boys accepted Jesus as their friend and Saviour. Two of the girls also did this! Some were rededications, and others were first time. It is an honour to be able to share in this way, sowing seeds of the Gospel.
Friday was the day to get ready to go home. Some did not want to go home. It took longer to get to things because they were tired and I suspect also they wanted to stay longer. The night before we were up to midnight - movie night! With our theme of Living Water, we watched Finding Nemo! We had a fun time!
After breakfast kids had to pack. We loaded them into cars at 10:30 and drove kids back to the housing areas. Having been there before reminded me of last year's trip as well. I am so glad that Cornerstone connects in a long term way with Northwind so that we can connect year after year. It is a testament to Northwind because as we pulled in, and they saw the Northwind van, the workers there asked if we needed an extension cord expecting it was another play day!
Now onto the new adventures...
At 3pm, we had elders from the town of Fort Hope, who were evacuated a week ago, come to spend some time at The Cove. Why were they evacuated? Because their water treatment plant had a fire and there was no safe drinking water there! For a town of about 2000, the first few hundred were evacuated about 4 days after the fire, while others are still waiting almost 2 weeks later. I cannot believe this is happening in Canada! It's shameful that we can give so much attention to something like a football player having a heart attack on the field, yet we seem to ignore the plight of indigenous peoples. So these elders were so cute! A school bus came with about 20 elders from the community. Some had walkers or wheelchairs or cains. We shared stores. We asked them about their lives, what happened and so on. They took boat rides on the lake and came back with beaming smiles! Others sat around the camp fire and enjoyed some tea and bannock. Dinner was a simple spaghetti and salad. Around 6:30 they headed out - imaginging having to live at the motel/hotel for a long time and you have nothing else to do. I heard there were some 400 young children at the hotel, with nothing to do. Come on Canada. We have to do better!
The youth took the opportunity to dive into the lake, while the adults may have had a shower or a rest. At 8pm we gathered for a team debrief. We shared stories from the week. What impressed us the most. One word. We praised God, we laughed and cried. We will remember these children. I hope that we can see reconciliation in our lifetime - reconciliation with the Indigenous, and reconciliation with God. We have an opportunity to restore the intended gospel the way God intended it. We have the opportunity to serve people.
Tomorrow is Saturday and we will take some time to tour and see the beauty of nature here in northern Ontario. See you all soon and thank you for your support.
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