Monthly Archives: July 2011

Confined space entry  watch. It’s what i did for 10. 5 hours a  night, 25 nights total over the two months I was in Gibsons this May/June.

Hanging around work

When i was offered the job for the mill shutdown in my town running May 26- July 7 it happened to fit perfectly around my others plans for this year (including the Circuit Riders seminar July 7- Aug 13 and YWAM Kauai’s second DTS starting Sep 8 ). Now I wouldn’t necessarily consider this my dream career (sitting in front of a confined space on a large pulp mill vessel, making sure you write down the names and times of welders and scaffolders going in and out of the vessel and radioing supervisors for up to date gas checks so no one passes out or dies inside your vessel) but I actually really really enjoyed it! I would get to know the crews at my vessel and often have lengthy conversations about their families, beliefs in God (or lack there-of) and our love for different countries. Sometimes the foreman would bring me a chocolate bar or a cup of jujubes. Good conversations plus those small acts of kindness would get me through the drudgery of sitting in front of a vessel watching men weld things together for hours. Jujubes, and Jesus, of course. Having no means of entertainment (phones, music, sudoku and books were all huge no no’s) meant me and JC had a lot of time to converse. I don’t even know how many hours of worship went up from HSPP between the watches of 6pm and 4 30 am. The drives home were absolutely beautiful. Each morning the sun was coming up as i was driving home to go to sleep and i was never not in awe of the splendor God has placed in my little town.

A heron chilling in lower Gibsons, waiting for the sun to rise.

Besides work i had an amazing summer (or half summer) of hanging out with my friends and family. When I wasn’t working (i was doing 4 nights on 4 off)  I was either away in Vancouver visiting with my family or I had friends come from out of town visiting with me.

Betty and Veronica reunited at last.

The timing of everything was perfect! Both of my brothers happened to be moving during those two months I was there so i was stoked to help them pack/unpack. It was really awesome seeing the church plant Jon and Kat are a part of. I hopped on board for a few of their meetings and it was neat to see the inner workings of a pioneering work of God right there in Vancouver.  They were baking banana bread for their neighbours, prayer walking their streets and intentionally building relationships.  Sound famililar? Turns out that pioneering can look pretty similar around the world, whether it be a centre of people loving Jesus in Vancouver,  or a house of people loving Jesus in Hawaii. It was encouraging to see the strategy God has for reaching the nations is the same wherever you go. Simply, pray and love.

Stay tuned to find out where I am now and how God is rocking my world through a little school called Circuit Riders.

And no, I am not riding horses.