Canada Update #1

Wet and muddy. That is how the first four days of our trip have gone. According to EVERYONE we talk to, this weather is uncharacteristic for this time of year. The rain has brought challenges but our team has met them with grace and steadfastness. The first two days we were here the team had to go door to door in rain at times. When they passed out invitations to our dinner and movie event on Beardy Reservation they had to traverse A LOT of mud. Monday, many on the team purchased rubber boots so that we could walk through ankle and calf deep mud to reach houses that we would have had to skip otherwise. This "at any cost" mentality has been amazing to watch.

Today, we had to change our plans entirely because the rain came shortly after breakfast and set in until after lunch. We took the team to the mall and spent time prayer walking and engaging people in conversations. Two of our teens spent the entire time talking to a First Nations shaman (witch doctor) about the gospel. We still were able to go into a school after classes were over and spend time with some of the children. The gospel was shared with them and they were able to make crafts to take home to remember what they heard.

The weather is not our biggest obstacle here. It is the hard hearts and distrust of religion that is giving us the most trouble. The picture on the right tells a story that I will share in a later post, but the contrast is clear. The man in the middle is known as Almighty Voice. He is a hero to the First Nations people. He stands between their culture and way of life on the right and the white man's culture and way of life on the left. Because of their past encounters with men who did horrible things in the name of Christ they are very suspicious and distrusting of any religion besides their own ancestral and spirit worship.  So far our team has been cursed at, doors slammed in their faces, our materials kicked back at us and scattered across the ground, and phone calls have come in to tell us to keep that religious stuff out of their community. Good times!

Despite all of that, the Lord is really working. Everyday we have been here Jason has received a phone call from someone asking questions and wanting to know more about the information we have left on their door. Several new families are coming to his bible study this Saturday. Despite ridicule and persecution from coworkers and some in the community, the school teacher who invited us into the school still allowed us to work with the kids. She admitted that she was scared and confessed that she even backed off a little because of the pressure. We are loving on her as our sister in Christ and taking the opportunity to encourage her to stand firm. God sent us an encourager as well. Today, when we were not sure if we were going to be able to get into the school, a bus driver pulled up and got out to speak with me. She asked if we were with the group coming to work with the kids. I told her we were and she said that she found out about it because a student left a flier on her bus. She said she had been praying for us the last two hours and thanking God that he had sent us to that community because it really needs the gospel. Wow!

We need you to continue to pray for God to break down these barriers and to soften hearts. Tomorrow we will spend more time going door to door in the morning and working with the kids from the school in the afternoon. Pray especially for our teen boys and the men because we have challenged the local teens to a game of street hockey...I assure you this will not go well for us but we intend to go down fighting like true Texans. Finally, pray for our last dinner and movie event tomorrow night from 7:30-8:30pm your time. We will again host adults and children in a community center and have the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Thanks for lifting us up as we advance the kingdom of God.