This trip actually began about 3 years ago. Because of the influence of my parents and youth advisers back in the day, I developed a passion for youth having the opportunity of going on missions trips. About 3 years ago I realized my children are at/beyond the age I was when I went on missions trips and the opportunities just are not there for them. I was amazed to realize our church's current youth group has never even been on a chorus tour! In my opinion, they are missing out on life and something needed to be done. It drives me crazy when people talk-talk-talk but no one takes initiative to make it actually happen. We started exploring possibilities and eventually focused on Canada, and on making it happen for more than just our own children.
In my typical style, I went blazing ahead with a lot of energy and zero idea what I was getting us into. Let's just say we hit a few snags. There were misunderstandings and drama that was not part of my original vision. There was a resistance I still don't understand. We struggled to discern whether it was God trying to close the door on this trip or whether the devil was trying to discourage us from moving forward. We came extremely close to cancelling the trip. All the excitement & passion were gone. Giving up would've been the easiest thing in the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." We learned first hand how hard that is! We invested hours upon hours in prayer and meetings. We learned things -like you find out who your real friends are when you're going through a rough patch, and it's not always who you think they are... that God's grace is sufficient when you have to take the blame for mistakes and to open communication on touchy subjects (something we are decidedly not good at)... that God can show Himself strong despite disgruntled people standing in the way.
6 weeks before the trip, we still didn't know if we were going to go through with it or shut it down. But piece by piece details began to fall into place, and dollar by dollar the funds trickled in. And little by little God confirmed that He wants this trip to happen. In fact, it was a mere 2 weeks before D-Day till we knew for sure it really was going to happen. Through it all, God gave us goose bump moments like the beautiful rainbow during a fundraiser that said loud & clear "My promises are still true- I've got this!"
We crammed fundraisers, like this sub sale, into those 6 weeks. Believe it or not, we raised all the funds we needed in that short amount of time. I wouldn't recommend doing it that way, but God bless all those who forgave our mistakes and supported this trip!
This trip didn't happen at all the way I envisioned or felt comfortable with, but in true Antrim-style, it all came together at the last minute.
When you are taking a very long trip, you get to do this quite a few times...
...and you see sights like this (Chicago)... ...and like this (sunrise over Lake Superior)...
...and lots and lots of this...............
...while everyone tries to cope with boredom as best they can...
The brave couple who agreed to chaperone the trip with us have a little fella who would not have tolerated that long drive in a carseat, so mother & baby flew to International Falls. Here we are waiting for their flight to come in. Everyone completely forgot about crossing a time zone, so we had an extra hour to "kill" in I.F.
Then we arrive at the border. This was the part we aren't sure about- taking 17 people across the border, some who are minors and some who have never been out of the country.
But the process is easy and painless. 45 minutes and we're rolling again!
(Thank God, because it was very warm and the a/c in the 15 passenger van didn't work when it wasn't moving.)
Then you get to see another 4 hours of nothing but rocks & trees...
And then suddenly, just when you think you can't take any more...
How cool is that?! We haven't even arrived yet and we can cross off one item on our bucket list.
And this, just after one of the girls was adamant that you haven't really seen bears in Canada until you see them in the wild; bears at the dump do not count!
28.5 hours and nearly 1300 miles later...
We received a warm welcome (literally. it was warmer in Canada than at home) and a home cooked meal.
Since we were too tired to make even a simple decision, our hosts graciously sent us off to bed early and took responsibility for getting 12 very tired youth settled, too.
On the way to Sioux Lookout where we were lodging...
Item #2 on our bucket list! All within the first couple hours. Very cool!
(We saw moose a couple more times after that but no one ever got a good picture. Photo credits to JR for this shot.)
Sunday we attended the little mission church in Hudson. Warm weather + no a/c + sleep deprivation = heavy eyelids. A Sunday afternoon nap never felt so good!
In the late afternoon the guys had the privilege of helping serve a meal to the homeless. They jumped right in making soup & sandwiches.
In the evening we heard about the culture and about being flexible. Then the youth did some teamwork exercises. For the first one, they had to keep the tennis ball balanced in the center of the strings...
while they maneuvered into the house...
through the house, out the other door, over a rock pile, etc.
Challenge #2: figure out how to get the rope across the sidewalk and stretched out on the other side without crossing or touching the walk.
Sometimes the answer to your problem is easier than you might think.
Lesson- work together to get the job accomplished.
Challenge #3: Lowering a broom handle to the ground while balanced on 15 fingers is harder than it sounds!
Lesson- be willing to take advice from someone with a better perspective than yours.
Challenge #4: How do you get a group from this...
...to this? Without letting go of any hands.
Something like this!
Lesson- sometimes you have to be stretched out of your comfort zone for the good of the team.
(And those bright UFO? Those would be bugs! They came out in droves after the rain shower to feast on American blood!)
The youth did quite well with all the challenges. I was proud of them. It felt like after everything we went through to get there, we were prepared to work together well.
Monday started off in a rather epic way. First there were a lot of police cars in the vicinity. We didn't think much of it. Then there was a teenager hopping the fence and running across the yard, saying "Sorry, guys, just passing through". Then there was screeching tires and the teen retreating, and police in full gear rounding the garage, asking "which way did he go?" Dumbfounded us pointing. Suspect apprehended behind some bushes just out of our view, but not out of earshot. Police informing us to stay indoors because there is still a suspect on the loose, who is armed with a knife. Okkaayy, so I prayed for cultural experiences on this trip, but this isn't quite what I had in mind!
Flexibility 101, as we waited until it was deemed safe to venture outside to load up for Kids Club #1. We got off later than planned due to the police chase, but everyone pitched in to get set up and rehearse, so we were golden [quoting one of the guys].
Kids Club consisted of singing...
...a puppet show lesson on kindness...
(the kids loved the puppets! we had to confiscate them to do the show!)
...a craft -making bead bracelets...
(the kids took to it like ducks to water! At our church VBS, the kids just strung beads randomly, but even the youngest ones here instinctively did color patterns. Very cool!)
...games...
The girls won tug-of-war all 4 times! :)
Water balloon toss...
...evolved into water balloon battle...
...and escalated into an ongoing water fight when the balloons were gone.
And a hot dog roast for lunch.
While we were cleaning up, the kids brought out some sumo wrestler suits.
2 tall slender guys in fat suits? Now that right there, that's funny!
JS waddled when he walked and needed help getting on his feet when he fell over.
We laughed until our sides ached!!
When we returned from kids club, we heard all robbery suspects had been apprehended by the police and we were free to move around outside again. Just a little freaky to think they were hiding out overnight & breaking into houses right around our host family- a house bursting at the seams with girls. Thanking God for his protection.
The guys cut & split firewood...
R got in a little maintenance...
...while the girls cleaned the church
For supper we were treated to bannock pizza.
Delicious!
We got rained out before we got to the s'mores.
(This when graham crackers cost nearly $4/box!)
So we went inside and played "Pass the Pillow". A simple but epic game!
We laughed again till our sides ached.
When the rain stopped, we went down to the lake bordering Hudson...
...and the train tracks
I am breaking this trip report into several installments because of it's length. Keep checking back for more of our adventures!!
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