VBS Day 1 - God Promises to Love and Care for His Children



Waiting for VBS to begin!!!

 We were blessed with the attendance of over 95 children; many were waiting before the doors were open!  The day included music - some songs from prior years as well as some new ones.

The Bible story today was about Noah and the Ark.  The verse of the day was "I am putting my rainbow in the sky as a sign of my promise to you."  Genesis 9:13  We opened with an introduction from Kristin and the puppet, Scottie (Dave).  The Messiah kids took over and presented the Noah story in skit form.

Southend kids were not afraid to answer all of our questions!

One of the focuses this week is to teach the Gospel in a nutshell by memorizing John 3:16.  Each day we are leaning a part of this verse.  By Thursday, we hope they all will be able to say the verse by memory.  We are giving the kids a wristband each day with the daily Bible verse and one of them is John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16        

After Bible time, we split the kids into 2 groups and the younger kids played parachute games and the older kids played "Sheep & Shepherds" and other tag games.

The kids worked up a thirst after playing games, so we all took a break and served a snack of watermelon and animal crackers with water.  We ended with more music and the craft of the day which was a salvation necklace.

After a break of clean-up and swimming, we prepared to host our first teen night.  Our team has never hosted one in past years.  We were pleased there were about 15 Southend teens that joined us.  They had fun playing soccer and other games and shared a devotion together.  We brought blue t-shirts for everyone that say "Jesus Loves Southend".  This is the same logo we used last year for the VBS kids and the teens had wanted to have one as well.

We provided lots of pizza, watermelon, cookies & lemonade as well as a campfire.  We hope these teens and more come back on Wednesday night which will be our 2nd and final teen night this year.



Playing "World Cup" soccer game in their new T-shirts!



Playing soccer in the un-mowed fields at the school. 

We thank God for a GREAT Monday!!

Sunday - Fun Day!

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

We worshipped with Father Mark and his congregation.  This is the last time we will get to hear him give a sermon here because he has been re-assigned to Edmonton where he will have different responsibilities.   The message was about the treasures that God has given each of us and maintaining a balance in giving and receiving these gifts.  Afterwards we had food and fellowship with the congregation and members of the community in the yard outside of the Church.   We distributed flyers that provided information about the Vacation Bible School, Teen Nights, and the Women's night that we are hosting this week. The Messiah kids interacted with the Southend kids and they made lots of braided bracelets and the God's eye craft.  We also shared wristbands with Bible verses.



Enjoying coffee, tea, cheese, meat, crackers & cookies



Getting to know the men of the community



making God's Eyes



making braided bracelets

We headed to Reindeer Lake and the Southend Rocks where the Messiah Kids went swimming with the Southend kids.  The water was a bit chilly but not as cold as last year.  It didn't seem to bother them as they had a great time!  We walked back to the school and played with the Southend kids.  We played Kick Baseball, Battle Ball, painted fingernails and made beautiful pictures with sidewalk chalk.



having fun in Reindeer Lake



swimming at the rocks
 

A storm cloud moved in so we moved into the school to prepare for our first day of VBS.  Everyone worked together to prepare snacks, music, and Bible story skits.  Before we knew it, it was 10:30 pm and time to go to bed!


We're Here!

Today is the day the Lord hath made - let us rejoice and be glad in it!  We are much more than glad to be here- so excited!   We arrived around 8:00 last night and got to see lots of our Southend friends.   After a great night of sleep and a big breakfast we are off to Church and then are hosting a community gathering.   Looking forward to a great day! 

Southend Bound!

On Wednesday night, we had a packing party at the church to bless the trailer and team as we prepared for an early morning departure on Thursday.  Pastor Vic and Becky arrived with a Canadian flag and even provided the lyrics to “O Canada!”  Pastor Matt and Sarah also came and it was fun to have the time to get to know them better. 

 

The team left the cities at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday in two vehicles and a trailer.  God blessed us with a beautiful day and clear roads.  Vernice’s parents and sister, Bonnie, and her family blessed us with prayer and a delicious lunch at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bismarck.  We crossed the border uneventfully and with much thanks and praise!  As soon as both vehicles were clear, Kristin sang “O Canada!” over the walkie talkies (with lyrics supplied by Pastor Vic the previous day).  Our team was being hosted for the night by Scott and Laura Piper.  We felt at home the moment we arrived!  They feel like family as it is our fourth year staying with them!  We are very grateful for their generosity and friendship.  Laura’s father, Nat, took many of the team members up in his Cessna, 4-seater airplane and some even got to pilot the plane.

 

 

 

Today included a stop at Regina to pick up groceries for the VBS and then off to Prince Albert where we are spending the night.  Some of the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church were again gracious enough to provide dinner for our team for the fourth year.  We will be leaving early Saturday morning and will meet Father Mark in La Ronge to transfer vehicles and head to Southend.  The excitement is growing as we are getting closer to our friends on the south end of Reindeer Lake.  

 

“I AM the LORD, your God Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

 ‘Do not fear, I will help you.”  Isaiah 41:13

 

 

 

 

 

Our Mission

We are so excited to continue our journey for Jesus to Southend Saskatchewan!   We are working with LAMP ministries and this is the fourth year that Messiah has sent a team there as part of a five year commitment.   Some of our team members have had the privilege of serving the Cree for each of the trips.   The mission work continues to grow and evolve.  What began as the teaching of Vacation Bible School to the children has expanded into the rest of the community.  In addition to VBS we will be hosting a community gathering, two teen nights, and a women’s tea.  The theme for VBS this year is God ALWAYS Keeps His Promises. 

LAMP is the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots which has provided Christian witness and nurture in communities in northern remote areas of Canada since 1970.  Each year over 5,000 children, youth and adults are impacted by the ministry of LAMP in 60 communities across northern Canada.

Beautiful Southend!

The bay outside of Fr Marks House

Southend is a village in northern Saskatchewan that is located on the south end of Reindeer lake which is the 9th largest lake in Canada.  It is about a 23 hour drive from Minneapolis. We will be serving the Cree which is a First Nations people of Canada.

The population of this village is approximately 1,000 and about half of them are children under the age of 12. There are a number of facts about this community.  The Cree are special people that value relationships over tasks. In contrast, we are conditioned to be task oriented with goals and accomplishments defining our success. They prefer story telling over reading or being read to. They are a culture that shares everything, and they are not materialistic. The community functions much like an extended family and many homes have multiple generations that live there.   We expect to continue to learn a great deal from them.

Preparing the way of the Lord!

We are well on our way to a great trip:) We have been preparing our skits twice a week for a couple weeks, and are excited to share them with the kids! We have 5 different skits, along with 5 puppet shows. We have costumes and props for a better experience. They are a great way to spread the Word to the kids of Southend!

                                                      ~Angela Dabu:)