"I have set you to be a light?, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." (Acts 13:47)

For as long as I can remember, I have associated the words "to the ends of the earth" with the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP for short). For those who may not be familiar, LAMP "is a cross-cultural ministry sharing Jesus Christ with God's people in remote areas of Canada." This is LAMP's mission statement. However, I would like to share with you a story about LAMP that is far more personal.

When I was 16 years old, I was privileged to be part of a LAMP VBS team. These are teams (usually of 3 people) who go into a remote Northern community for a week to teach Vacation Bible School. In many communities, this is the only Christian education which the children will experience all year.

In my case, we had a team of 3 people who were all from the same congregation. We spent several months preparing to teach and learning about native culture and customs. We designed our own curriculum based on some of the parables that Jesus told and included songs, games, and crafts. Our pastor helped us to do this.

When the time came to get ourselves to Thunder Bay and fly into Muskrat Dam, ON for VBS, we gathered up all of the supplies that we would need and headed to the Toronto airport to embark upon our adventure. We soon discovered what it means to be adaptable and flexible.

First of all, although we all arrived in Thunder Bay safely, Mary's luggage did not. It would be several days before her luggage would get flown into Muskrat Dam. In addition, our scheduled departure for Muskrat Dam was iffy at best due to thunder storms in the area. As I recall, we arrived a day late and had to figure out how to fit in all of the lessons that we had planned. I also had my first introduction to air sickness in the tiny LAMP float plane that took us from Thunder Bay to Pickle Lake to Muskrat Dam. Once there, we adjusted to life without running water, eating when the supply plane hadn't brought any fresh food for a while, and burning a mosquito coil every night to kill all the mosquitoes in the house!

Yet, all of these things paled in comparison with the enthusiastic children who came day after day to participate in VBS. They loved to sing. They eagerly listened to the story each day. They amazed us with their creativity in the crafts. Best of all, during the review at the end of the week, they remembered in surprising detail the parables that had been shared.

The whole time that we were there, the children wanted to be with us. They would ask questions, come and see what we were doing, or just plain hang around hoping to get their picture taken. In this community, they didn't see very many "white people."

By the time that we left, we had been treated to a moose meat dinner, shared in worship that was led almost entirely in Cree, and were sent off by almost the entire community. Surprisingly enough (or perhaps not), two of the members of our team eventually became pastors.

It was a privilege to participate, and I gained as much or more than any of the children. We will be supporting LAMP through our yard sale this year. May the gospel continue to travel to the ends of the earth!

In Christ,
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore