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.

Day 6 bonus

 Trips always hold many new experiences and challenges, but our team has not shyed away from anything that has come our way, and today was no different. 

Today we faced a big challenge from some of the most vital members of our team - our lineup of instapots. These cookers have been a saving grace for our food prep team this week, but today we had a massive challenge... Figuring out which pot belonged to each cooker. 

Many would back down when faced with such a puzzle, but luckily our strongest agent took the challenge head on. Alice was determined and ready.

She lined up the pots, looked each one over. Compared them side by side. No detail was missed by her detective eye. She was confident, but it wasn't easy. 

To an untrained eye, they seemed exactly the same. But no. Several minutes of careful examination passed and we couldn't leave our teammate to face this challenge alone, we work together.

So soon Gabe joined, then Allison, then Donny, then we called in our fearless leader, Kevin. My role? Laughing hysterically in the corner, of course. 

Each person had a different technique, each person had some wise words to share, and each person brought their own life experience. And after about 10 minutes, the team was confident the puzzle had been solved. We headed out confidently to the cookers... Where we again questioned everything. 

But then, like Cinderella's glass slipper, sliding perfectly on, each pot fit perfectly, each owner smiled wide - and just like Cinderella attending the ball, there was much rejoicing! 

There was dancing and shouts of glee, tears of happiness and big bear hugs. Okay... Everyone just kinda smiled and laughed, but still, those instapots never stood a chance! There may have been some big challenges that were overcome this week, but this may be out greatest feat. This is teamwork!

lol

By the way… where do we cook? In the office of course!

Day 6 - Academy

 Hello.  Day 6 of our trip and almost done. It is hard to believe that we are almost finished this mission trip to Thunder Bay. This trip has been more tiring than in years past. I think when I look around, many things have changed here in Thunder Bay with respect to the community and services available, as well as the people themselves. So many people are here trying to do good things to support the families and people in need. But there seem to be more in need than in the past. Services seem to be less, yet the needs are more. 

Thursday is our last day for play days.  The weather has cleared and the rain in the forecast seems to be diminished or gone!  People are tired and so we have started a little bit later than usual with breakfast at 7:30 with a departure of 8:30

OK… it is getting harder to remember each day and what we did, the feelings that go along with it etc. But we were looking forward to Next Steps where Sandra and Donny would share their testimonies and Kevin would share some music.  At Next Steps there are now public health nurses who come alongside and support the team there. I witnessed two individuals who came in and sat down and fell asleep. Staff check in on them to make sure that they’re ok.  It’s one thing to be sleeping, but want to make sure they are not in distress. It was a busy morning - I don’t have an exact count, but likely about 50 or so people came in through the doors looking for some coffee, bannock, and a safe place to be. Some stayed to talk, do some colouring pages or word searches, meet with friends and be part of the community that has formed here. It is nice to see that they have met others and feel safe with them - but not everyone is in that same boat. Some just come and leave, perhaps not feeling like they fit in or want to hang around with people. 

At the end, for the last hour we shared some music and testimony with the crowd gathered there. We sung a few songs - my theme was to simply express God’s love for us all, and that we have a place with him in relationship.  Sang “Here I am to Worship,” “Made to Worship,” “Lifesong,” and “The Blessing.” Donny shared his story about his growing up, his relationship and connection to God that sustained him. He included his own journey and where he is now.  Sandra shared about how she has a “Martha” attitude in doing so much and has learned to be still and present with God. This reminds me of the line from “The Chosen” TV show where Matthew talks with Gaius - he says to Gaius that even though he wakes up and begins to think on and is worried by many things, he then remembers that he only has one thing to do each day and that is “Follow [Jesus]” and then everything falls into place. That is what God calls us to. For my own sharing through song, one of my favourite songs is “Lifesong” by Casting Crowns. It’s one of those songs that defines me.  You know how sometimes you hear a song and it can express what you are thinking or feeling at a given time and in certain circumstances? This is one of those for me. It reminds me that I need to stay true in all that I do to God. That if my actions do not align with my faith then I sing in vain. 

Sometimes we get asked “why should I go” or “what can God do with me” on mission trips.  Well the answer is that we just don’t really know. However during these times we see exactly why God did bring each person here. During the Next step program many of our people connected with the participants there. Perhaps they have altered some thinking, provided encouragement, or simply planted or watered seeds. Kids have connected with other kids to bring some fun and enjoyment in a day for a few children.

At each play day, and especially today at Academy, the children just played together.Running and laughing, playing games, going up and down the slide.  It was so fun and amazing to see. Some families signed up to come to Northwind’s Family Days at the Cove later in July. Kids were asking when we would be back - pray for the team in early August that is coming up as they will be running play days again and the kids are looking forward to it.

We came back to the office to enjoy a meal cooked by our team of spaghetti with a cream sauce and chicken. Some cooked veggies or a salad.  (We thought we could boil water in the Dutch oven to get things going faster… but you can’t get it to boiling!  So that took a while longer to do.  Oh well, we all had a good time and just took some time to relax before eating.

So you might ask what’s up next?  Well we will do some work at the Cove and do a thank you or hosting us dinner with Northwind staff Friday night. (You’ll have to guess to see what we bring for dinner!)  

So stay tuned and we will share ore tomorrow!