Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Update from Omak











Wake up! It’s Tuesday and we are still adjusting to the time difference. BUT it is getting better each day. By the time we come home, we will be adjusted and then you guys will have to live with us while we readjust!

Today we almost finished painting the boy’s dormitory and it is beginning to look very nice. Pictures to come. The deck attached to the boy’s dorm is still a work in progress but we made good headway on it today. Some of us had a chance to go to Nespelem to sing at various places. The prison was where some of us went to start off the day. We also sang for a community center while they ate lunch as well as a nursing home. All three singing opportunities were blessed in that we had a chance to talk to the natives and they were very open and appreciative of us visiting them. On the way back from Nespelem the team from Vancouver wanted to visit a lady whose house they worked on the first year they came to Omak. They have been back to visit her every year since then. Some of our team got to go visit her as well. She has quite a few grandkids and pets! Some sightseeing was also done on the way back. You can see the pictures of Sasquatch and Chief Joseph’s grave.

VBS was also held this morning and went really well. The kids have already attached themselves to the VBS workers and we have lots of stories to tell once we return home.
Part of VBS includes a skit for the kids. Ashley, Marilee, Katie, and Chris are four of the members in the skit and the kids really enjoy watching the team members joke around and have fun. A lot of these kids do not have a chance to laugh, and they enjoy the laughter our team members have brought them. Many of the kids do not have stable family relationships and come from broken homes. The fact that our team members are there every day is a great constant for the kids to look forward to each day.

Also, the woodshed that was started yesterday was finished today, and new woodsheds have begun going up. About 6 of us went out to an elderly couple’s house today to start building a woodshed, and finished the entire frame – we will finish the roofing (attaching tar paper and shingles) tomorrow, but everything else on that shed is complete. The elderly couple was really excited to be receiving a woodshed, and gave us a tour of their house. Both of them enjoy oil painting, and told us the stories behind most of the homemade artwork throughout their home, which was very interesting!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear things are going well! I love checking in each day to see what all of you are doing. God bless all of you!
Love,
Mrs. Reams

Anonymous said...

Enjoying all the updates! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know what you all have been doing. We especially enjoy all the pictures. May God continue to bless your ministry there! Mike and Megan, we miss you!
Love, The Larsens in Raleigh

Anne Lukhard said...

Wow it sounds like you are accomplishing such a variety of many different things there... I see all the construction and wish I was there. Emily says hi to Daniel. We can't wait to hear all the stories... We miss you !!

Love the Lukhards

Dr. Mike said...

Final Blog entry for Omak (REVISED 24 SEP 09)

It has been over a month since we returned from Omak, WA and the Colville Indian Reservation. Internet service was spotty at best while we were there and upon returning to Raleigh the realities of daily life (work, school, family) has kept us from completing a final summary note.

However, the experiences we had in Washington are neither far from our minds, nor are the people that we worked with far from our hearts. This is one of the most relational trips that Calvary has participated in to date. We continue to be in contact with some of the kids from VBS, the families who now have a place to keep their wood dry, and the chaplain and prisoners at the Okanogan jail. We also built new relationships and friendships with our fellow servants of the Lord from New Jersey, Philadelphia, PA Vancouver, WA and the full-time staff of Mission to the World (MTW) working with Native American tribes in North America.

During the week we spent in Omak, we were privileged to construct and roof three woodsheds, paint the boys’ dorm at the Omak Longhouse campus adjacent to the Paschal Sherman Indian School, stain the “Catholic Longhouse” in Nespelem, help paint two other homes, have visitation and fellowship through music at two different prison facilities and three senior citizen facilities, attempt to trace down an electrical mystery at a home, build a wheelchair ramp for a needy veteran, while daily touching the lives of the children of the Colville tribes through VBS. We encountered heat (though it was “a dry heat”) that we did not expect (over 100 degrees F for two days during our stay!), and learned to be flexible in planning and executing the tasks we were assigned by the MTW leaders in coordination with the tribal elders. We were able to share Bibles and Gospels of John, as well as other religious materials, to those who we served on the reservation. We heard the moving testimony of the chaplain at the Okanogan jail and witnessed his sacrificial love to those God has called him to serve. We learned what it is like to visit the prisoners, give to the needy, and encourage the downhearted (Matthew 25: 34-40).

On August 16th, we had the opportunity to share with the Calvary family and friends the many ways that God has changed not only the people of Colville but our lives as well. The youth shared how they saw hope and the freedom of Christ in the eyes of those who are in jail. They told of learning how to look outside themselves to the needs of others and how easy it seems to be to be deceived into mixing culture and popular beliefs with the truth of God’s word. They explained how they saw God stretch them into doing things they did not think possible and gave glory to God in the results. They spoke of the challenge of reflecting Jesus in what they said, thought and felt.

Many members of the Calvary PCA Omak missions team look forward to when God calls us to return to the people of the Colville Indian reservation. Who knows where God will call us next to serve? We are assured, however, that the experiences of this year will change us and the people of Colville Reservation forever.

Dr. Mike said...

Final Blog entry for Omak (REVISED 24 SEP 09)

It has been over a month since we returned from Omak, WA and the Colville Indian Reservation. Internet service was spotty at best while we were there and upon returning to Raleigh the realities of daily life (work, school, family) has kept us from completing a final summary note.

However, the experiences we had in Washington are neither far from our minds, nor are the people that we worked with far from our hearts. This is one of the most relational trips that Calvary has participated in to date. We continue to be in contact with some of the kids from VBS, the families who now have a place to keep their wood dry, and the chaplain and prisoners at the Okanogan jail. We also built new relationships and friendships with our fellow servants of the Lord from New Jersey, Philadelphia, PA Vancouver, WA and the full-time staff of Mission to the World (MTW) working with Native American tribes in North America.

During the week we spent in Omak, we were privileged to construct and roof three woodsheds, paint the boys’ dorm at the Omak Longhouse campus adjacent to the Paschal Sherman Indian School, stain the “Catholic Longhouse” in Nespelem, help paint two other homes, have visitation and fellowship through music at two different prison facilities and three senior citizen facilities, attempt to trace down an electrical mystery at a home, build a wheelchair ramp for a needy veteran, while daily touching the lives of the children of the Colville tribes through VBS. We encountered heat (though it was “a dry heat”) that we did not expect (over 100 degrees F for two days during our stay!), and learned to be flexible in planning and executing the tasks we were assigned by the MTW leaders in coordination with the tribal elders. We were able to share Bibles and Gospels of John, as well as other religious materials, to those who we served on the reservation. We heard the moving testimony of the chaplain at the Okanogan jail and witnessed his sacrificial love to those God has called him to serve. We learned what it is like to visit the prisoners, give to the needy, and encourage the downhearted (Matthew 25: 34-40).

On August 16th, we had the opportunity to share with the Calvary family and friends the many ways that God has changed not only the people of Colville but our lives as well. The youth shared how they saw hope and the freedom of Christ in the eyes of those who are in jail. They told of learning how to look outside themselves to the needs of others and how easy it seems to be to be deceived into mixing culture and popular beliefs with the truth of God’s word. They explained how they saw God stretch them into doing things they did not think possible and gave glory to God in the results. They spoke of the challenge of reflecting Jesus in what they said, thought and felt.

Many members of the Calvary PCA Omak missions team look forward to when God calls us to return to the people of the Colville Indian reservation. Who knows where God will call us next to serve? We are assured, however, that the experiences of this year will change us and the people of Colville Reservation forever.