Serving in Colville, Washington
[gallery size="medium" link="none" ids="2967,2966,2965,2969,2968,2964"]Last weekend we had the privilege of serving at an event near Colville called Bonfire. The founders of Singing Waters Ministries host Bonfire each year as a way to introduce teenagers to vocational ministry. On their large property they set up 8 challenge courses. After registering and getting organized in the lodge, the kids eat their sack lunch and get ready to start the challenges, which take the rest of the day. In teams, the teens go through the courses, practicing team building and working together to accomplish each challenge. At a few of the challenges, the teens sit down to hear from a missionary. Chris camped out at a friendship chain, cheering teams on as they linked arms one by one and tried to walk on a wire from a platform to a tree and then to another tree. When a student lost his balance, he had to go back to the end of the line and the teammates had to fix the connect their chain.
Sometimes it feels like our testimonies are unique among missionaries. We came to the game kind of late, we don't have seminary in our background, and we weren't involved in church planting prior to the call to missions. But as Chris shared his story, or God's story in his life, with the teenagers, it struck me that God may be using our unique stories to call others to ministry. The fact is, we weren't walking the path. Nobody, least of all us, expected this path. And even as we walk it, so many unexpected things have happened. But we were willing, which is what Bonfire is all about - reminding students that if they are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, they will be willing to consider how God wants to use them to advance His kingdom. It might not be full time ministry, but it absolutely will involve supporting missionaries, evangelism, and sacrificial living of some kind. I can only hope we played a role in diminishing fears or doubts for students.
After the challenge courses were completed, everyone went to the lodge for chili dog dinner and a speaker. Finally, the night ends with a bonfire bigger than a house (not kidding!).
Some MK perks our kids experienced on this trip included a family road trip, stopping at a rest stop near Blue Lake to study the map (homeschooling on the road!), exploring the beautiful property that belonged to our hosts, and making new friends everywhere they went.