Day 4 - July 28 - Play days at Limbrick

 It's Tuesday July 28 and today we had our first day at Next Steps, and also Play Days at Limbrick housing.

So how are you all feeling today?  As a team we are kinda tired but excited at the same time.  Our usual routine is up by 7, out by 7:30, breakfast at the office around 8:15 and then start the day at 9.

Did you know you can bake your eggs instead of boiling them? In needing to do hard boiled eggs I decided to just bake the case of 30 instead of boiling all the water.  Just put them in a muffin pan, bake at 325 for 30 minutes and then ice bath for 10.  Only "problem" is they sometimes get a burn mark where they were touching the pan. In the end, an easier way to make so many hard boiled eggs!

Today we were introduced to the Next Steps team.  This team of 3 people can often see 100+ participants in a 3 hour window at the Next Steps program.  Jasmin, Anton, and Steve.  A small team but a mighty one!  What is Next Steps?  Glad you asked!

Next Steps is a program that NWFM runs Tues-Thurs and provides clients with coffee, tea, juice and bannock (think bread with butter, jam or other toppings) It is a safe space for clients to come in from the cold, and the streets to get a warm drink, something to eat and just a space to rest or get support. Our team is able to help them in getting the drink ready, serving our guests and just talking with them if they want. Some of our clients might still be struggling with alcohol or addictions and needing just a space to be for a little while. This is a space for only adults to be present. 

Our youth were preparing some activities for the play days - making more balloon butterflies, and also preparing a craft we will do to present to the Northwind staff after we leave. Lots of team laughter today.  Although people are tired, everyone is bonding well as a team.

Limbrick was where we held play days. A large complex, and one which has historically been one of the "roughest" housing complexes.  Definitely the grounds were not as well maintained as at Academy; there was much garbage around and more graffiti on the playground structure. However the kids were fairly happy, and we saw more families coming out today than yesterday!  We gave out over 100 hot dogs today, and likely had over 120 people come out to play games, get snow cones and hot dogs. The community was welcoming and I think that's a change from over the years. The people were very welcoming and kids were out playing! I think in the past I felt that there was less community between people.  I do hope that is changing for the better. We did see more families and those family units coming out to play today.

We asked people to talk about a "rose, bud or thorn" from the play days so far.  Some logistics came up as thorns - with this feedback we can make some minor adjustments.  Many of the roses or buds were about the people. Great to see some families come out.  Northwind knocked on a door and no one answered; but they had a camera and so the staff told them that we had the playday today and invited them to come - and they did!  I had one gentleman say he needed a hot dog for his girlfriend in the house - and that she wouldn't come out - turns out it was true - but I invited him to invite her to come out and she took a chance and did!  We had a chat and I told her glad to see her out here. She said she has a lot of social anxiety and it's not easy to get out. So glad she made it!  Many of the kids who came out were very cute - wanting to play, eat hot dogs and snowcones. Some just stood and asked with their eyes while others were more outgoing. They'd look out for each other; I believe most of them did have a sibling at home when they asked for another hot dog - and often the sibling came out eventually and had a good time!  It was the best when a little boy came up to us and thanked us for coming and said that all his friends want was to just have some fun - and they did!

The trip is over half done.  We have 2 more locations to visit this week before heading home.  We return Sunday. If you want to hear more from people about their experiences I do encourage you to reach out to them to chat!

Day 3 - July 27 - Play Days - starting at "Academy"

Hello and welcome to our Day 3 edition! Honestly it feels like middle of the week already.  It's Monday!!  Today was our first day of Play Days.  Today we met with David (team lead), Sydney (summer student), Elena (summer student). They are the leads for the play days this year!  

We started our day early, leaving the Cove around 7:30am.  Breakfast was set for 8am.  Simple breakfast for toast, bagels, cream cheese.  David led our devotional and reminded us about how important it is to read the Bible each day.  We might do this in different ways and at different times, but to hear from God daily, and to be reminded of his guidance daily is so important.

Today was to be Play Days at Academy - this is a housing complex on Academy Rd. We usually setup right next to the playground and run our activities in a fairly small area.  Academy spreads out quite a bit so we were told that we will put up signage around the entire neighbourhood.

They planned to do different carnival games than had been done earlier in July. Our job in the morning was to prepare for the games, prepare for our skit/bible story at the end and prepare the balloon animals (butterflies) we would hand out at the end.

So many fun things happened in the morning. The team is getting along really well.  Lots of laughs and ideas. From harmonizing "Ba-na-na" to laughing about different parts of our skit. Lots of great ideas for everyone!

Our caterpillar team!

I noticed today, that even though there are not events happening at 138 May St, Northwind's side for programs like Next Steps, and the Gathering, people would still come by to see if there was support available. Unfortunately, we have to turn them away as there are no programs in the office on Monday.  Next Steps runs Tues-Thurs.  

So for the week, the games were ring toss (try to get the ring on the pegs), castle crash (knock down the cups stacked using balls), fishing pond (try to hook the floating fishies!) , face painting, sponge toss (throw a wet sponge at the person standing behind the wall - there's a hole in the wall for their face!!), zipline activities (inflated balloons on large straws to race when the air is let out), photo booth (bring your own phone!), along with snow cones and hot dogs.  

 

I felt that the complex was much busier this year!  We likely had over 40 children come out to play for about 2 hours! They registered with Northwind and played the games at no cost, winning small prizes along the way. Many parents asked about supports, schedules for when Northwind runs programs and also how to get social services.  I noticed the kids and families were all very supportive of one another.  They'd help each other out where they could. They waited their turns and played nicely at the games and with one another.

Before we began, we first tried to clean up the area from trash. Making sure the area was safe and there were not things like discarded needles or glass. Garbage was picked up at the start and throughout the event.  Incredibly one older gentleman would walk around picking up garbage throughout the event for the community!  He just went about with a reacher and a bag and picked up garbage that he found. 

The diversity in the community is also changing.  Yes we had people of First Nations descent, but also others including from Chinese and others from South-east asia. More people have immigrated to Thunder Bay - but they are also in need of support. 

The play day was very well attended.  We are glad for that but I also wonder about how many more people with children are needing support.

At the end of the event we did some raffle draws and then shared the Bible passage on Romans 12:1-2.  Talking about how God transforms us - just like the way a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.  This is how the First Nations version of the new testament talks about it.  So with this in mind we did a little skit where caterpillars were bullying other caterpillars.  Some butterflies came along and it didn't bother them that those caterpillars were trying to bully them too.  They spoke to the bullied caterpillars and brought them to the farmer (God) who would show them that that is not something that should matter to them and not to be influenced or to conform to their ways.  The caterpillars then cocooned and transformed into butterflies!  They then shared this good news with the bully caterpillars who chose then to go to God.  A simplification of the story but wanted to share with children there that God can do so much more than we think - if we will trust him and listen to him.

Asking people how they felt today went and overall they were happy, it went well and while many did not know what to expect, things were smooth! People were tired however; on a 1-5 scale, many were a 3, some were even a 1 or a 2.  So after a yummy dinner, prepared by our cook Demerai, we headed back to the Cove to settle in for the evening.  

This then involved a light hike around the property before coming into journal, and get ready for sleep.

I am excited to see what tomorrow brings. Our 2nd complex is Limberick. I'm curious to see changes there from the years past.  Take a look at the blogs from the last few years and you'll get a sense of what I'm thinking

For now, thanks for following along and keep praying for our sharing of the play days, showing positive ways to interact and play and to introduce people to Northwind and their supports, all done because God cares for us.

Day 2 - July 26 - Church, Safe people and places, The Gathering

 Hello!  thank you for following along with us!

It's Sunday and we are finishing up for the day.  People are journaling and recording their thoughts from the day.  It is rather incredible how much we have done over a 2 day period already.  It's starting to turn into a blur from when we arrived to now.  2 days, yet it feels like 3-4!

Early Bonita left for the airport to fly to Fort Hope.  This is the place where many residents have been evacuated, but many more have not yet been evacuated for whatever reasons. The goal from yesterday if you remember was to pack the items, equipment, snacks, games and even water for them  to bring up. Bonita was even preparing to bring the food she needed for the week as well.  When I travel I don't think about needing to bring food with me, assuming we can buy food, whether restaurants or grocery stores. Did not even think that we wouldn't have access to food.  She is gone until next week Sunday. She needs to bring food for the entire week!

Our prayer was that the team going (not our team, but Northwind) would be able to get the plane there, and to also be able to bring all the equipment they wanted to.  She texted and let us know that they were the only passengers. All their luggage and bins would also be able to go with them!  Praise the Lord! No worry and stress about getting everything there! She sent us a photo of theme on the plane, and also unpacking all the supplies and figuring out their play days!

So back to the team. Got up early and put into the oven the breakfast they left for us.  A special creation that they use at Christmas. It's like their Christmas breakfast tradition - which they have shared with us. It's like Christmas in July!  Bread, eggs, ham, cheese topped with corn flakes and butter!  Yum.  Recipe linked here:

So after being fed, we made our way to the city, and to go to Redwood Park Church, Thunder Bay. Here was a contemporary service, and with a growing First Nations population. Very welcoming!  Their current sermon series was on the Nicene Creed.  Think of this as a road map - "What is a Christian, anyways?"

Following church we went to the office where we will do our work for the week.  Today we have to go through "safe people and places" training. It is important that we follow this policy, not just because insurance demands it, but also to make sure we stay safe, the organization is protected, and it's just the right thing to do. Safety truly is everyone's priority.

Tonight Northwind hosted "The Gathering." Here they serve a meal - it's a safe space for people to come.  The people coming have asked for bible study as well and so starting at 4:15, they begin with an activity. 4:45 they serve dinner.  At 5:15 people move to the bible study, while they clean and reset for dinner again at 6pm.

Each dinner sitting served over 40 people.  We had over 80 or 90 people tonight come for a meal and to hear the gospel shared with them in a practical way. Chicken, mushrooms, bread, and a butter tart. Along with some juice, coffee, tea to drink.

Standing at the door, Justin (works for Northwind) would register attendees - he knew almost all of them by name and sight. We would welcome them in and record their names. He did turn a couple people away - if they were intoxicated or seemed under the influence of drugs. Most understood; we want this to be a safe environment, and kids are present. One gentleman was not so gentle and stormed off, swearing at him. A few others were also turned away but everyone was also offered coffee, tea or juice. We had to refill the coffee carafe 3 times each sitting! We asked Justin about the community - the shelter house offers dinner at 7pm so if they were turned away or came late and we were full, at least they could go there. He did say that there were more community resources around town which is good. But it seems that there may be more street adjacent than in the past.  I did recognize some of them from our trips in the past and had some conversations with them about things I remembered. There was steady busy all evening!  Before we left, someone was knocking on the windows while we were having our debrief. They likely wanted some food (but service was over) and we could hear her yelling in the window she would jump in front of a car. The staff did not know who she was; but we prayed she would find the help she needs. She did walk away and the staff checked - she was not on the street and had moved on. Other team members I believe saw her later and was in the midst of a number of men - perhaps they were trying to manipulate her to go and get things.

Tomorrow we go to the housing complex and start to run play days. David, staff who is working with us reminded us that everyone wants to belong, feel loved, feel a sense of belonging. Pray that we can have an environment at play days that is warm and welcoming, help people feel they matter and belong. We want to help in true reconciliation and that they can know they are loved by God; no strings attached.  We are also challenged to learn what God is trying to say and teach each of us this week.

It is late. People are still up... and we need to sleep because we need to leave by 7:20am tomorrow.  good night everyone! Thanks for journeying with us!

Day 1 - July 25 - traveling mercies and updates

 Hello and greetings from Thunder Bay!

The team has arrived from Toronto and we have done LOTS already!  Our team is 15 people right now - Bethany will join us Monday (Cornerstone has outreach sunday night in Toronto).  Flights were out of Billy Bishop Airport and it was all smooth sailing!    So thankful that first stage was nice and easy.

When we arrived we picked up our rental cars.  We were a bit delayed because they had to get one of our cars from a different location.  Not a big deal.  The airport was so quiet it did not matter!  Dodge Durango to seat 8, Ford Explorer to seat 6, and a VW Jetta for another 5 - if needed.  A bit tight for luggage but it'll be fine once we store our bags at the Cove.

First stop - Walmart!  We had ordered bedding for use in the cabins, including comforters and pillows.  These will be left for future teams at the Cove.  Oh wait.. we need lunch.  Yes by now it was 2pm.  So first stop was actually Burger King!  If you've been with us before, it's the one next to the Walmart on the way to the Cove.  Then Walmart... and of course the urge to buy some snacks was strong.  Fortunately we don't need to worry about buying foods for the week.  We did need bug spray and sunscreen.  

OK so it's a little later than I originally thought it would be.  That is okay. We were not in a rush but we did want to get settled.  So off to The Cove!  You quickly realize how dependent you are on cellular data when you lose the signal and your map cuts off and you have no idea where to go!  Good thing for offline maps!  Those who didn't just had to follow.  But we made it!

Arrival at the Cove was met with a wonderful greeting from Bonita! We have arrived!  The sun was shining and it's about 26C.  

Some have asked about the wildfires in Northern Ontario - did you know that thousands have been evacuated and are in Thunder Bay - but more are being moved to other areas like Barrie, Toronto, Niagara Falls and more.  So Northwind got a call from one of the Reserves being evacuated.  At this time they weren't being evacuated but they wanted support up there.  So instead of an evacuation they are being supported there.  Northwind has been called to support in the community.  Mental health support, counselling and more.  Can you imagine living across the lake and seeing the forest burning around you.  I'd be worried and afraid about it stretching out and burning around the lake or jumping across the lake on the winds to the forest around.  But they can't get evacuated as there are either not enough planes or the timing did not work out.  It is hard to understand the logistics around this but this is their reality.  So Northwind is sending a team of 5 people for support to go.  Bonita has packed 3 large bins to bring to support.  Games, snacks, foods, prizes and more.  It was a game of Tetris to pack as much as we could for her.  It was good timing that we arrived when we did so that she had the help to pack and arrange.  She will be leaving tomorrow to fly out from 7am.  Pray for to be able to bring all those bins on the plane!  This is a small plane and so if it's full they might not be able to carry the luggage or baggage.  You pack an essential bag.. and if the other bags are able to be loaded they will... or they will come later.

People are tired.  It's time for sleep.  Pray for the team for unity, health and good spirits.  Energy for the work - tomorrow we will go to church in the morning, have Safe People and Places training, and then serve at The Gathering.  

I am thankful that the team is getting along well, we are here ready to serve and are able to do so!

Good night!

2026! New Year, new team!

 Welcome to the 2026 edition of the Cornerstone Thunder Bay missions team blog!  Follow along with us as well journey this year from July 25 to August 2, 2026 on our missions trip to Thunder Bay, serving alongside of Northwind Family Ministries. We will work with them to support and share with their indigenous neighbours and friends.  Our primary task is to serve in the low income housing complexes in the city to run a play day for the kids.  

Our theme this year is "Soar with God."  We will be sharing a Bible story and the transformation that can happen when we walk with God.  We will play games with the kids - think Carnival like games, face painting, hot dogs, snow cones and create butterfly balloon animals for them to take home!

Share this blog with others (https://tbcccc.blogspot.com) and follow along!

We are running a few fundraisers - now and in the future

First, Sunday July 19 at Cornerstone - our annual bake sale and Bubble Tea fundraiser!  Come with your cash or a card and support the team!

Christmas in July - July 26 - a card making fundraiser.  Hope you can make it!

Day 8

  And here we are. This is the final day here in Thunder Bay. We spent the last day here doing a little bit of sightseeing.

First we brought Bethany to the airport so she could get home in time to rest and get ready for Honduras. She will join the Roatan team on Tuesday. (Here is their blog. https://roatanalive.blogspot.com/?m=1)

Today the team went to Fort William Historic park (https://fwhp.ca/). A new adventure we have not done before. Just taking a bit of time to be a tourist and learn some history of the area at the same time. This was a nice adventure as this week they did the Great Rendezvous. From the website: 

Hundreds of re-enactors from across North America converge to re-create the annual summer gathering held at Fort William over 200 years ago when it was the inland headquarters of the North West Company! The historic re-enactment will include artisan workshops and demonstrations, guest speakers, a grand canoe arrival, contests, and more!

This was fun! We managed to get on some touring and saw a variety of events in the Fort. 

Returning to the Cove, we did a final debrief with Bonita. Look at all we did this week!

Do you feel tired just looking at that? I do! We reflected on how we were all feeling. A lot of picture cards to choose from. Mine was a stream with all our things along the side leading to another river with some rapids and then into another lake. We setup, we come with all our own baggage and stuff. We serve and get involved. It gets a bit rocky at times but it all comes together to a bigger picture in the end. 

I met the other team who had to pivot and came to Northwind today because the organization they were with was to go to a community further north but had been evacuated due to the forest fires. So they will serve here. Luckily they can use up some of our food too!

I had a good chat with them about their ministry as well as ministry they are involved with back home. Some of it includes inter-cultural ministry as well. I think we hope to connect in the near future after they finish their work here.  

We will leave Thunder Bay first thing in the morning. Heading to Sault Ste Marie again. Pray for safety and quick travels. We will pack and get going for 8am hopefully!

See you all soon!

Day 7 - work day and farewell dinner

 Today is Friday, July 11.  We have a different schedule today.  Able to allow people to sleep in a bit longer and then get some work accomplished.

Keeping to a simple breakfast (e.g., cereal, oatmeal, fruits) and French Toast! that was a nice addition - although I think we used 20 eggs for that batch!

Today we were to do some work around the Cove.  Tasks to be done included

• Staining of the deck of the 2nd house to protect the wood
• Waterfront clean up - making sure it is clean and safe for kids
• Weeding and plating around the main house
• Weed-whacking around the property
• Planning games for play days 

It was actually quite a warm and hot day today! That can drain a lot out of you when working in the sun. It was good to do some work that was just activity based.  Helping to maintain the property is important for the long run. This allows Bera and Bonita to focus on the work of supporting the people.  Our support helps them focus there. They will have campers or clients up to the Cove and this is a part of their ministry. When cleaning the beach front, there was a lot of goose poop (A family of geese decided to nest there at first, and we saw them during our time here.) As well, there were some deck screws in the sand due to previous construction.  Wanted to make the beach safe for kids!

They often do trail and yard work by weed whacking, but Gabe noticed they had a tractor and a mower. They were trying to get the machinery up and running so that this task would be easier in the future. They managed to get it out of the weeds, but still could not quite figure out how to get it to work. Hopefully Jon and figure this out in the near future (Bonita’s son in law)

Alison and Sandra got to work on the weeding of the area around the house and pulled out a full wheel barrow full of weeds! And that will make it easier to finally plant some nicer plants in the near future.

And the deck is painted (all the spindles and rails, and half the deck itself)

Bethany and Eve worked on getting some more play day games ready for design and building.   That was a very productive morning!

We often say that on mission trips we need to be flexible.  Guess what… pivot!  Another team that was coming up to Thunder Bay Area , with a different missionary, contacted NorthWind.  Apparently the community they were coming in to serve at was being evacuated due to the forest fires in Northern Ontario.  We can tell there are fires nearby as the air is hazy, and the sun and moon appear reddish. So this team is unable to go up to the community. They will now be working with Northwind. This team is from Kitchener area (Mapleview church). They were due to come in tonight (although will instead come in Sat morning). They will use the other two cabins - we swept and checked that they were ready for them. We will live with shared spaces like the dining hall for a day.  As we leave Sunday this will not be a huge issue.

After lunch we took some down time by allowing people to use the lake and water craft (canoes, kayak) or swim and have some free time.  It was nice to just enjoy the nature and the Cove.  We headed in around 4pm to join with the NorthWind Staff a final appreciation dinner.  We ordered in Shawarma and it was a big hit!  Enjoy for 50!!  We are so appreciative of the staff there and allowing us to come into their space for the week.  We have learned so much from them and hope to continue the partnership.

Final task was adult street outreach that evening.  A team off 7 adults went out in two groups with staff and volunteers to serve the people on the street.  The youth were brought back to the camp to just relax and also begin packing and cleaning.  The team returned around 10pm. They met many on the street; seems that there are many more people on the street who are using drugs, addicted to various things, or in prostitution. It is so unfortunate to see people who have to do these things - many times it is to cope with the traumas in their lives. It is unfortunate but Jesus did say we would always have the poor.  We can live our lives to help and support as much as possible.

Tomorrow we will take some time to see the area of Thunder Bay. Last day - always hard to say good bye.

We leave Sunday morning for the 2 day drive back home.