Sunday, July 22, 2007
I know it is sometimes difficult to sit through a presentation on something that you weren’t involved in – so we want you to know
how much sending the Canada Team to Oak Lake, Manitoba involved you. Our church family is involved in the things that God
actually started back in the book of Acts and we are continuing to Live for This! – to live for God’s Kingdom and God’s purposes
– as we send out people and finances to various parts of the world. God is working all over the world and it was and is our
privilege as a church family to see what He is doing 900 miles to our north.
I want to take us back to Acts 11 as we start out today. A brief passage that we read a couple of weeks ago really applies to our
trip to Oak Lake. By the way, thanks to Brad Young for his excellent handling of the Word of God last Sunday. I hope that
if you missed the message on smooth sailing in relationships that you will listen on the website or get a CD to hear it. It was
taken from 1 Peter 3:8-22 and Brad did a great job of teaching. And thanks to Brad Prall and the worship team for
leading our church family in worship, too.
Before we open up God’s Word today, let’s ask the Lord for His help as we read and seek to apply it. PRAY
Turn to Acts 11:21-23. READ. As the church started in Acts there were people who began to take the message of salvation
in Christ to areas other than Jerusalem. And it says there in verse 21 that the hand of the Lord was with them and a great
number believed and turned to the Lord. In a little town 250 clicks (as they say up there) west of Winnipeg, the hand of
the Lord is with a group of believers. Back in the mid 1980s an American pastor named Eugene Enns was contacted by a
cousin and asked if he would have any interest in starting a church in Manitoba. Eugene and his wife Marsha prayed about
it and sensed the Lord calling them to do it. So they moved to Virden, Manitoba, a town of about 3,000 people in the
west central part of the province. After about a year, Eugene and Marsha were burnt out and were considering coming
back to Nebraska. But they got a call from a friend in the little town of Oak Lake, population 340, which was 17
kilometers to the east. There was a group of people meeting who needed a pastor. Eugene went and met with them and
liked where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. So the Oak Lake Berean Church started in a funeral home in
Oak Lake.
Eugene and Marsha’s family were becoming youth, so Eugene had the idea of starting a Bible camp for kids to attend during the
summer. On the day that Eugene told the congregation about his idea of a Bible camp, there were 3 visiting families from the
community, with about 12 children between them. One of the families was Lou and Deb Schwindt. Lou had not been following
the Lord, although his parents were part of the Oak Lake Berean Church. At the right time, God moved Lou and Deb to
step out and trust Jesus. Lou and Deb are the people Connie and I know from Berean functions over the years. Every
year they attend the Berean Convention at their own expense and represent their church family to the rest of the fellowship.
Lou is not the pastor, but a dear believer, committed to the Lord Jesus. In fact, I would describe him as Acts 11:24
describes Barnabas. READ.
Since that first visit, Lou and Deb and many other families have poured their lives into the work of the Gospel in west central
Manitoba. From their little community of 340 people, God has built a church of around 70 people. While we were there,
they had us start an outreach at the lake, which they want to continue in the future. This lake area has around 400 camp
sites and numerous permanent dwellings. While we were there, there may have been as many as 1500 people around us all
the time. Unfortunately our advertising that we sent didn’t arrive until the day we started, but God still drew children to the
VBS at that location.
their children during the sessions. They have asked if we would be coming back next year. We may, which you will hear
their children during the sessions. They have asked if we would be coming back next year. We may, which you will hear
more about later. But WE were very encouraged by the graciousness and love we received from the brothers and sisters
up there. We went up to encourage them and I feel like WE were the ones encouraged.up there. We went up to
encourage them and I feel like WE were the ones encouraged.up there. We went up to encourage them and I feel like
WE were the ones encouraged.
Things that caught my attention while we were there were as follows:
- it is light until 11 PM
- it starts getting light at 4 AM
- Canadians think 80 degrees is really hot
- Canadians really do say “Eh” a lot
- no one really knows how to exchange US for Canadian dollars
- everyone ought to go see the amazing valley just to the northwest of Oak Lake which extends from Winnipeg in the east into
British Columbia in the west – and maybe let Lou Schwindt drive you there, eh?
- our Canadian Berean brothers and sisters love the same Jesus we do and are seeking Him with all their hearts and would love for
us to come back and see them again next summer
That brings up what we will do. The number of people we took this year was almost too many for them to handle. So if we go
back next summer, we may have to limit the number to 12. We will be talking more about this as time goes on. One thing to do
if you want to be involved in ANY mission trip is to get the process of your passport started now. Starting in January of 2008 a
passport will be required to travel anywhere outside of the US. At this point they are as much as 16 weeks behind, so the
sooner you start on the process the better.
Well, when we came to Oak Lake, much like Barnabas when he came to Antioch in Acts 11, we saw the grace of God. We did
encourage them to continue with the Lord with purpose of heart. We saw the that the hand of the Lord was with them and the
Lord is doing great things in their area of the world.