Day 7 - Aug 15

Here we are! This is the last day here in Thunder Bay. An emotional day of farewells and thanks. We thank Bera and Bonita and Sue and Wes for their hospitality all week. Thanks to Brenda, Ami and Edric for their cooking all week. 

We finished off our work for the week, walkways are done, painting was done, and any finishing touches. After lunch we went off to the Sleeping Giant and took some time to be tourists in the city of Thunder Bay. 

Hopefully the photos say it all. Time to sleep.

Day 6 - Thursday Aug 14

Today was the last day of play days at the housing complexes. The event went well and people were into the groove! Even Nathaniel was able to man a booth (plinko) and give prizes and run the game!

We saw lots of kids although we found this one to be a smaller group than previous ones. Each person I am sure had a different experience than others based upon their involvement and interactions with the people there. One lady even brought out a whole tub of beads for us to use at this and other play days. She wanted to contribute in her own way to such a great cause/event! 

We have found a great connection with Bera and Bonita, Dan and Renata, and Sue and Wes. They are a great team and we hope this can develop into a longer term partnership. 

One question we had for them was "what happens next ?"  Now that play days are done, what happens with the connections for the future?  There are many things they do, such as after school clubs, programs and things geared towards the youth. 

One school I was told is a school just for First Nations students. Bera drops by informally there; they had programs at the camp before. Now with new situations hopefully they will be able to do something still. 

All the youth worked really hard today. We finished the walkway, up to the last 2 stones. We needed more sand and gravel which we couldn't get until later in the day. This will finish Friday. We started and finished the other side which was weeds and grass. Graded, leveled and placed down white rock to clean it up.  The pickup was extremely useful getting all these materials with several trips to the landscape store. I was a regular!  Never have I had so much weight in the truck as with a 1/3 yard of white stone! 

The other teams were painting the dining room, the back shed, and at Dan and Renata's home.  

Friday we will finish off and tidy up and then head off for a little tourist visit to the "Sleeping Giant." 

In the meantime time to sleep (and it's 5C in the tents at night!!)

Day 6, Aug 12

We have now passed the halfway point of our trip

The morning was spent on various service activities - helping at Bonita's house, cleaning and prep... Dan was helping move electrical so that Bonita could make an office area in the basement. John from SK has been the main handyman who has built the walls and will frame the office next. Pastor Kevin along with Nathanirel helped set the garden stones while Junior, Ethan and Ryan were working on the path

 I  really hoping tomorrow finishes the path and we also finish grading the other side of the house.

Erika and her team spent the day preparing for the fun fair and working out a smoother way to operate.  This helped us get the games running smoother and faster. 

At Dan and  Renata's house, Gen and Tracey spent the day painting, preparing another room for general use. You will see from photos the precious owner was a bit of a hoarder. Lots to fix and clean - and they have 3 kids!  Daniel Nelson spent the day designing layout changes , fixing electrical and pulling wire. Ian and Marcus did the brave job of climbing into the attic to pull wire up as we fished it to them so that they could put more electrical upstairs. Right now they only have one single plug up there! We spent a lot of time just filling the trailer with scrap to take to the yard and I took a load on the truck to habitat for humanity's ReStore. 

The play day went really well and we met many new people - both adults and children. People here we're very friendly and seemed more open than yesterday. But it does strike you the poverty both financially and emotionally that many of these children and families face. Things that many of is will not experience.  We hope and pray that Bonita and Bera, Dan and Renata, Sue and Wes, will be able to help these people in the name of Jesus

The evening we went down to the marina but with an event going on we went to a higher point to see the marina, grain elevators and the Sleeping Giant

Enjoy the photos.  Thank you for your prayer and financial support of our team!

  

Day 5, Aug 12

Hi everyone!
Long day with work in the morning and play days in the afternoon and evening.
A few highlights:
- work has progressed in the house and the structural support is in place!
- play day was a success and the community had a good time. Connections with Bera and Bonita were reestablished
- construction materials removed to the landfill, household improvements continue

Tomorrow we continue with some construction in the morning and a different housing area tomorrow. We are also meeting Bera and Bonita's neighbours and having some good conversations too!

Continue to pray for weather, safety, and unity. We also have many tasks to be done and pray they are quickly and appropriately done by everyone involved (especially the youth involved as some of these tasks are new to them)

Day 4. Aug 11

With Monday came new jobs and work to be done. We divided into several teams and began the work around the houses for Bonita and Bera, and Dan and Renata.

We started with a delicious breakfast again and gathered for a time of singing, worship and devotional.

Then one team went to Dan and Renata's to do construction. Their house needed serious rebuilding. They moved in 3 weeks ago, and the precious owner seemed to be a hoarder. Wow... 3 kids and the youngest is about a year. I couldn't imagine but they are used to it and are working hard at fixing it up. Some went to paint, Dan went to design, some of our youth went to fix and build the chain link fence.

One team went to Sue and Wes's to review our play day games and prizes, organize and prep for the days ahead.

Another team stayed behind to work on Bonita's house. Pastor Kevin worked with the remaining youth to remove the patio stones and stones around the garden. They finished this in no time flat! Kevin K went to a local garden centre and brought back a cubic yard of gravel, while Bonita went to another store and bought new patio stones.

Inside one from the SK team began to remove a wall between the dining room and hall to expand that space. By lunch the wall was mostly removed in clean sections. They will move the duct work and electrical, put in a supporting beam so the wall can be completely removed.

Dinner and then teams went out to the low income housing where the first nations people are. The goal was to let them know and invite the families to the play day. We will run these from 4-6 pm, and do a story time at 6-7.  Jonah and the whale, and the parable of the lost sheep will be our themes, along with a craft.

Time to sleep. Lots to be done tomorrow!

Day 3, Aug 10, 2014

It's Sunday!
We went to church this morning at Redwood Park church. Wonderful to worship with another congregation when we are away! Lively worship and preaching. My kids went to the children's program where we signed them in and were given a printed label with their names and a number if we should need to get them early. They enjoyed the program, watching a video and doing other activities.
The sermon was on Daniel 6 - the Lions Den. Even when doing everything right, Daniel still ended up in trouble. Sometimes we need to go to our Lions den so that God can do His work for the next stage.

The afternoon we spent in a bit of the sights of Thunder Bay. We had a wonderful lunch at Bera and Bonita's and then head off to see Kakabeka falls. Some great history here too, retracing the portage that would happen from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods.

But of course before Kakabeka we had to stop at the Shake Shoppe for some fabulous ice cream!

We met the team from Saskatchewan at the falls by coincidence! We chatted and met them back at the house for dinner.

Evening prep time was spent preparing for tomorrow's work and activities such as reviewing Fun Fair activities, supplies and games (need to build a plinko board). We have construction to do (fix ups around Bonita's house, tear down a wall, build an office, fix Dan's house. LOTS! Bonita had a leak in the basement and so Pastor Kevin and some of the boys will be digging the front walk and garden to regrade the land.

Tuesday-Thursday will be fun fair!! For now it's to sleep - it's raining right now so we pray our tents are waterproof!
Continue to pray for the unity of our team and partnership with the team from SK. Pray for the ministry with the first Nations people as this is embarking on a new ministry now. Pray for healing and the power of God to work in and through the Ledua (Bonita's family) family and Dan and Renata who work with them.  Pray also for health and safety as we being work and construction!

Night all!

Day 2. Aug 9, 2014

Praise God we have all arrived safely. I write this from the comfort of my air mattress and tent!
The 5 who flew in arrived safe and sound but almost missed the flight! Seems Pastor Kevin and Ryan were just on time... Liquids in one bag of luggage delayed them and almost made them miss it!
The driving convoy (3 cars) arrived around 8pm without incident. We all felt it was a glorious drive and a magnificent view of lake superior and of creation!
Bera and Bonita had dinner waiting for us. We were so thankful for their hospitality allowing part of the team to sleep in their home, and another part with others who work with them. The girls have gone to the other house, inside and warm. The boys are camping out back of Bonita's house.
After setting up we are settled in to sleep.

Tomorrow we will attend church, get to see Thunder Bay a bit and plan for the week. Another team of 8 from Saskatchewan join us tomorrow evening.

All for now!

Day 1. Aug 8, 2014

We have arrived in Sault Ste Marie! Our first day has been an uneventful ride and we made good time driving out to our half way point.  Daniel and Kevin left Markham first this morning with Junior leaving Oakville around noon.

Finished off with a quick Dinner at a local Thai restaurant and a little birthday cheesecake for Ethan who celebrated his 13th birthday today!

Off to sleep and rest for our drive to Thunder Bay tomorrow!

Sorry...photos are not working from my phone. We'll try to post tomorrow!

Traveling and Arrival

Cornerstone First Nations Mission Trip to Thunder Bay-Part 2

As you remember in July we sent our first team to minister to the First Nations in Thunder Bay.  This week we have a second team arriving to follow up our ministry.

Please take some time this week and commit to pray for our Team . Twenty-two of us will arrive in Thunder Bay Saturday (including our Pastor Kevin) This week we will be running a Fun Fair at some of the Low Income housing projects in Thunder Bay in conjunction with some local First Nation ministries.  There will be another team from Saskatchewan from another church who will be helping out as well. . Pray for team unity and that we will be able continue the work we started in July with Bonita and Bera.  Please pray for our safety as we travel. Pray for the health and strength for all those involved.  Pray that we will have the wisdom and discernment to minister in the way that God leads us. And most importantly pray for those who we are ministering to.

Preparation for Trip!

Welcome! This is the blog page for the Cornerstone Christian Community Church's Thunder Bay missions trip!

As we put our final preparations together, we will identify our daily routines, schedules and especially where you can focus and pray for what we are doing.

Thank you for supporting us, whether through supplies, encouragement, prayer, and financial contributions!

There have been many changes leading up to this trip and details are still being finalized!  At this time, please pray for our team members who will be

• Driving to Thunder Bay, leaving Friday (3 car loads, 14 people)
• Flying to Thunder Bay, leaving Saturday morning (5 people)

Prayer for our ministry there - to know how to best support Bera and Bonita in Thunder Bay who organize and run the work being done there.

We'll keep you updated!