Sunday In Southend

Sunday was our first day in Southend and it was a busy one! Here is a recap of some of the activities of the day:

• The Church and residence where we are staying are located on the lake. Early morning Rock exploring took place by all of us.
• We attended Church where we heard the service in Cree and English. It was really interesting.
• A few of the local kids came home with us after Church. We shared lunch with them and the kids played.
• The men went on a boating/fishing outing for the afternoon.
• The moms and kids took a tour of town. When we returned there were seven kids waiting for us. They wanted to go swimming in the lake with our kids.
• Not only did they swim in the lake....our kids experienced what the local kids do for fun....Cliff Jumping! The kids loved it - the moms were very nervous. Pastoral counseling was required for them. It is interesting how protective we are of our kids yet there was not any parents around for the local kids.
• After swimming, about 10 kids came to our place for hot tea. They ended up playing Kick Baseball which is what we call kickball. Our girls had also brought along nail polish so they spent some time polishing everyones nails. Fun was definitely had by all!
• Father Mark made a big batch of Banock to share. Banock is a traditional staple...similar to bread. It was really good.
• In the evening we went out into the community to deliver VBS Flyers to the homes. The condition of the homes and the lifestyles certainly make us appreciate what we have.
• The night ended with us practicing music and skits for day 1 of VBS....the anticipation is building!

It was a successful day of relationship building with the local people...it should provide a solid foundation for our VBS program. Pictures from the days events are posted below.

~Vernice~