as the fire weed grows 2/8/10
Well time seems to be moving faster than normal, I cant believe I've been out of Winnipeg for 7 months already but I guess only a slim majority of that time has been here in Homer, as I did a fair amount of traveling. The fire weed is blooming here telling us that summer is on its way out(not that we really had a summer anyways), it also tells me that I'm going to be home soon. I am arriving in Winnipeg on August 22nd until the 31st and then I am back up in Alaska until late November when I'll have to renew my “visa”. I again want to thank you for all your support and prayers through these hard but good months.
From July 10th to July 24th me and a team of 6 others the first week and 14 including 5 kids the second week we were in Ouzinkie, Alaska at a mission house owned by Kodiak Baptist Mission that YWAM Arctic Mercy is partnering to reestablish as a base of village ministry. The house was built in 1938 served at a orphanage, preschool, clinic, church, most of all I think it served as a place to build relationships. The first week was a really intense work week, we put up about 96 sheets of drywall the first 4 days, while doing a little demolition. We muded and taped the next couple days into all hours of the night usually after losing time due to a villager insisting on sharing a meal or fellowship with us, it was all welcome. From listening to a elder talk about how Jesus had met him and his family time and time again, to hearing a young teenage girl cry out in her frustration we experienced many deep heart wrenching conversations. The second week we installed 11 windows, continued with muding and taping, textured primed and painted the kitchen, installed cabinets and counter tops, and finished off some electrical work, installed counter tops at the house of a woman who just lost her brother( he was going to install them but he passed away suddenly). There is something about a old house, something about a weathered community that has put a spark in my heart.
I think this YWAM experience has taught me something about the body of Christ and how it is working. Vancouver during the Olympics, Haiti after such a disaster, even here in Homer in the face of church splits I am finding people willing to humble themselves to their brothers and sisters in the name of Christ. I ask myself why cant this be the normal church, it seems like in the face of disaster or when Christians know the spotlight is on them they can rise up above such pride and be the hands and feet and eyes and mouth etc they were made to be. Its kinda fun looking at different denominations and the different strengths they have, in Haiti I saw this with the 200 plus people from all over the world. Its cool to hear other peoples opinions on Mennonites too, we are notoriously hardworking and steadfast servants.
This past month has been really busy, I have often been working on stuff until the sun was going down which is around 11pm here now. The “projects” on my plate while in Homer have been doing the groundwork for our hockey camp this fall: advertising, website work, researching event sponsorship. Helping pioneer an Adventure DTS slated for spring-summer 2011: researching cost, seeking out the vision, making a promo video, trying to get to a place where we can get a website up. Lately I've been heavily involved with staffing a mini DTS which is a 3 week version of our 3 month lecture phase which has been good, and we just had 30 youth drop in for a couple days who were part of a different missions group called teen mania.
Colossians 3:1-17 have really been my life verses recently, I'm realizing how God doesn't want us to just avoid sin but to actually clothe ourselves with His own qualities.
Thank you,
Chad Reimer
3838 Bartlett st., 99607, AK
http://withgracealone.blogspot.com chad.reimer@gmail.com
