One morning, while refilling my cup during coffee break, I stared out the huge windows of the lodge at Big River Bible Camp.  The camp is situated on the beautiful Delaronde Lake, and when we all arrived for our candidate training a week earlier, the lake was still covered with ice.  But that morning, I couldn't believe my eyes - the ice had completely disappeared and liquid flowed in its place!

Another day, when the temperatures had risen to +28 degrees Celsius, you could almost see and hear the leaves of the aspens literally popping as they burst forth in the spring sunshine!  We took a drive in the countryside and marveled at the handiwork of God.  Seeing that delicate green fringing the slender trees lifted our spirits and filled us with a sense of hope.

What a difference a few days makes!

When the candidates began arriving on May 1, each one came with some expectations, some hopes and some trepidation.  What would they learn?  Would they enjoy the classes?  Would they make friends?  As the days turned into weeks, those who were previously strangers began to develop appreciation for each other. Each morning, we began our day with someone sharing their story, or their testimony of finding Christ and being led into full time ministry.  Through worshiping and praying together, a spiritual bond was also forming. 

Not only through spiritual activities, but through sharing in class, we all grew in knowledge and through veteran missionaries' experiences, learned so much about what a life on the mission field could look like.  As we interacted with the instructors, we grew closer to one another.

Walter challenged the new recruits to prepare and present their 2-minute and 10-minute presentations on their ministry.  As each one overcame fears and shared their hearts, the gentle critiquing by fellow-classmates helped to improve their content and time management.  We saw growth in confidence and graciousness.

As we did a final debrief, we all took turns sharing what had been most impactful of the three week orientation and training.  Some shared about the suicide prevention and intervention seminars.  Others mentioned the impact of learning from First Nations Christians about their culture and traditional religion.  Still others commented on the movies we watched that depicted some of the historic tragedies of residential school and battles to put Indigenous people on reserve land.  

We spent three weeks together, living in close quarters, sharing every meal and working side by side in the dish pit.  We learned together, cried together and prayed together...as a family!  As far as I know, no one fought or had any major conflicts, except the two 3-year-olds had some over-exposure to each other!  But they had a break from each other occasionally and ended up still being friends at the end.

I'm thrilled that we could hold the training in 2021!  Now we have 12 new missionaries equipped, encouraged and empowered to finish building their support teams and begin their active ministries.

What a difference 21 days makes!