Roseau River

After four days of hard paddling and sleeping outdoors on the canoe trip, it was refreshing to finally sleep in a bed and take a nice hot shower and Roseau River Bible Camp. It was especially nice to have the whole group back together again and being able to share all the funny stories from both canoe trips. But more importantly we got to hang out with some of the Anishinabe people from Roseau.

Our first day with them on the reserve was very rainy and cold, but the warmth of their greeting and hospitality seemed to push aside any gloom from the weather. Each day we had the opportunity to sit around a fire, listen to their stories, eat lots of delicious food, and learn about their different traditions and rituals. Throughout the week we also got to visit a few landmarks which are sacred to their culture.

On our last day with the Anishinabe people, we had the opportunity to participate in a sweat lodge. While some decided not to participate, the rest of us (including myself) decided to see what this experience was all about. So the guys all changed into their bathing suits and us girls changed into some scandalous ankle length skirts (which we rocked by the way). Inside the sweat lodge we sat in a circle around a pit of hot rocks which initially makes the lodge a decent temperature until you start poring water on the rocks... And then its like a wall of instant sweat that hits you! So we sat in the lodge praying and singing some traditional songs (in which we didn't know the words to but sang along anyway... Or at least tried). During one of the songs, they asked out to shout out as loud as we could, so we did that two or three times and then on the fourth time we all shout out and then there was a slight pause... And someone from our group yelped out "Kikaw!" Naturally we all started laughing, and Peter who was leading us, started laughing along with us and said "That was a good one!"

After the sweat we were all invited to a Pow-Wow demonstration where we all made fools of ourselves attempting to dance to the beat of the drums (which, by the way, looked hilarious).  It was a lot of fun and a great honor to participate in something that is so important in their culture and to their people. The sense of openness and community was clearly felt in the air and will not be forgotten.

Thank you Anishinabe of Roseau River!
 

Christina

Canoe Trip!

Paddles digging into the water, waves crashing against canoes, voices singing out multitudes of songs.  These are but some of the sounds and sights experienced on the three night canoe trip we went on.  Our site was split into two fearless groups of 15 students who paddled through many waters.  Group A was the sightseeing travelling group and went exploring into the abandoned gold mines around Shoal Lake and paddled through various lakes, while Group B powered through 65+ km of canoeing.

On day one a canoe overturned in the waters, causing wet items and people.  However our fearless trip leaders rescued and encouraged us all.  We paddled through giant headwinds and larger waves than most of us had ever been through.  But we decided to work smart and not hard, when the wind was with us we rigged a sail and flew down four kilometers of water instead of having to paddle. While some of us had colds and leaky canoes, nothing could stop us from singing out many a song on the water.

The trip was an incredible opportunity for us to just relax and be natural.  We left our watches, deodorant, toothbrushes, and makeup (for the girls) behind.  Waking and sleeping when it felt natural we made the most of our nature experience.  Each and every day we saw the beauty of God's creation, on the sunny and overcast days.  Our meals were delicious, with dirt gracefully added to the mix; the additional protein was always appreciated.

Beauty was certainly seen on these canoe trips, as was the brokenness our trip leaders pointed out.  Beauty in the brokenness is what life is all about. Our adventures will continue long after these canoe trips, just maybe now with cleaner forks and dryer clothes.

- Raymond

Group A with trip leader, Troy. (Clara absent from photo)

Group B with trip leaders, Dantz and Steph.

The first 4 days!

Wow, it’s only day 4 and, while I can’t speak for everyone on Outtatown, I know that for me it already feels like I’ve been here for so much longer. I feel that I’m well on my way to forming some amazing friendships. After leaving CMU, our parents and the comforts of home behind, we arrived at Bird River Bible Camp just in time for a delicious supper. (the meals that have followed have been just as wonderful) Later that evening we had A.N.C.H.E.R (Announcements. News. Concerns. Humour. Encouragement. Reflection.) which will happen every Sunday. The next day we had a few icebreaker-type-games and a mini-session with the leaders. In the evening we were blessed to hear Natalie’s life story.

Class with Wendy Peterson

On Tuesday we had a speaker come out, Wendy Peterson, who described herself as a pigmentaly challenged Metis. She took us through 4 amazing sessions about Indigenous people in all corners of the world. We were challenged to rethink the ideas and stereotypes we have about Aboriginal people. Personally, I found her lessons extremely refreshing; she spoke from a Western worldview and then from an Aboriginal worldview. The only knowledge of Aboriginal people that I have has come from what I learned in school. Most of the teachers I had stressed the negative things that Aboriginals experienced. While I can understand that it’s important to know the struggles these people have gone through, I felt that teachers often over-stress the negative and had nothing positive, no glimmer of hope, to offer concerning Indigenous people. While Wendy gave us the true, sometimes difficult, facts she also had so many positive stories to tell us. Over the years she has met many different aboriginal people and seen the positives that are so often overlooked. Because of that, she was able to show us the hope that there is within the Aboriginal communities and in the communities that Aboriginals, in turn, impact. She also gave us a look at the difference between a Western worldview, which is often seeing the material value of things, and an Aboriginal worldview, which is much more community and relationship based. I think that being able to get a glimpse into how Aboriginal people view the world helped us understand more about a people group that we don’t know as much about and shed a light on aspects of Indigenous culture that we can definitely learn from. At our last session with her we had a talking circle, where we all shared what we appreciated about her presentation. Many of us commented on how we were really impacted hearing positive stories that gave us hope that things are changing for aboriginal people. It may be a slow process but there is hope. One point she made that I found amazing was that there are a number of aboriginal people who are missionaries. Hearing her speak was such a blessing to our group.

On Tuesday night we had a night of worship and got to hear James’ life story. Afterwards we continued singing and I felt so blessed to hear all of our beautiful voices raised in song. I often connect with God through song so that was definitely a highlight.

These first four days have been incredible and I know I’m excited to see what God has in store for us this year, and I’m sure that many others feel the same way.

By: Kelsey Friesen (Edited by Elysha Roeper)

Our New Blog

Welcome to our new blog. We are Outtatown Site 1 Guatemala and over the course of the next 8 months please follow us in our travels, our discoveries and our learning here on this blog. We are excited to start this year and we know this is only doable because of the support and prayer of our parents, relatives and friends. Over the course of this school year we will try to update this blog as frequently as possible (hopefully at least once a week). Come here if you are looking for stories, pictures and videos of our life as Site 1. So make sure to follow us and to check this site often.

Rafael