Reflecting and Remembering
As I am writing this connection, it’s Monday morning and our youth mission trip team is currently spending some extended quiet time debriefing the past week at our campsite in Jasper National Park. On our drive in yesterday, we got to drive right next to Mt. Robson with is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It stands at nearly 13,000 ft., and it’s rockface goes straight up. I’m confident it is one of the prettiest mountains I have ever seen! We have already seen two small grizzly bears, one of which practically touched our van as we were checking into our campsite. And if this wasn’t enough, Hannah was the first person on our team to wake up this morning, and as she stepped out of her tent, she found herself in the middle of a herd of elk chilling in our campsite. I think it is safe to say we are all marveling in God’s creation right now!
I know it might be hard to believe, but our time in Jasper so far has not been the main highlight of our trip. There were many tears shed on Saturday as the campers left and even more yesterday as our team said our final goodbyes and departed Rock Nest Ranch. People were saying they didn’t want to leave because of the friendships they had built and they ways they had seen the Lord work throughout the week. I heard a couple of our teens share in the van ride that they are having a hard time envisioning what the rest of their summer will be like after feeling like their work was so purposeful. This isn’t to say this week has all been a breeze. The work we were a part of was exhausting and there were some hard conversations had, but it was so rewarding being challenged and seeing the Lord use our efforts for his glory.
This is why we are spending some extended time debriefing individually and together as a team. Simply experiencing incredible things God has done for us is not enough. We have to learn to reflect and remember the goodness of the Lord. There are 15 different times in the book of Deuteronomy that God tells His people to remember the things that He had done for them. God’s people had been in moments where they had clearly seen the Lord and moments when they questioned his presence. As our team concludes a week of clearly sensing the Lord’s working in our lives, it’s important for us to reflect and document what He has done: both the moments of encouragement and the moments of conviction as we prepare to return home.
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ~ Phil. 1:3-5
Jacob Abrahamson
Youth Pastor
PS: Below is an update from Jacob that we received this morning at 7am after they evacuated because of the fires last night. Praise God they got out in time and are all safe. Continue to pray for them as they make their way home today and tomorrow!
I walked into Tim Hortons this morning for a much needed coffee. I had only taken two steps in the door when an older lady touched me on the shoulder and said, “You just came from Jasper didn’t you?” I responded by saying, “Yes, do I look that tired?” And she replied, “You just have that shocked look on your face.”
Last night our team was having a late dinner in downtown Jasper when some really strong winds hit. Despite the smoky haze that had been present our whole time there, the sky started quickly getting darker and the sirens we heard leaving town quickly changed the mood of the evening. Our phones were not giving us any information, but after speaking to a park ranger at our campground, I discovered that two wildfires had just started close to town blocking two of the three highways leading in and out of Jasper. They had not called for an evacuation yet, but I learned a few campsites had already been evacuated and the fires were spreading quickly. We immediately began to pack up camp close to 9pm, and by then there were white flakes falling all around us. We notified those we could, but we all lost cell reception as the towers in the area were impacted. Nearly an hour after we left, we received the alert that all of Jasper was being evacuated.
Somehow that was just the beginning of our night’s adventures, but we can share more about that later We are thanking the Lord that we already had full tanks of gas in the vans, had dinner, and have food in the car. We can definitely see the Lords hand protecting us through the whole night.
Our travel plans have obviously changed. We are back in BC heading south on highway 5 at the moment. There is another fire close to Cache Creek we need to avoid on our way down.
Our team is running on very little sleep and is feeling pretty worn out from everything. We’d appreciate prayer and wisdom on how to spend our time today as we continue our journey home. I’ll keep you all updated on our ETA for tomorrow.
Thank you all!
Categories: Evergreen Connection