EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S CORNER

Rhonda Kelman

Over the fall and winter season it has been very inspiring to be able to travel again to meet with people and to hear their mission trip stories, and to also share stories of what God is doing in the communities we serve. The BC Mission Boat Society (BCMBS) has always been about community and bringing people together, and as we come out of Co-Vid, we are trying to build that sense of community again. We have people who have gone on a mission trip, people who pray for us and people who financially support us all throughout Canada and the USA.

This year we are taking time to pray and plan before we pivot. All through the pandemic, we had to keep pivoting as restrictions continued to change. Now, we have a chance to create a solid foundation in several areas. We are going to take the teams and volunteers who can come in 2023. We are also recruiting some volunteers who can serve as facilitators who will travel with teams to support them throughout their mission trip. We are looking for volunteers who have gifts in different areas who can help us over this next year. People who are strong in data entry (we have to change to a new database system), social media posts, crafts (ideas and putting kits together), writing cards, and who have ideas for little gifts of encouragement that can be given out in the communities and to our volunteers who go on a mission trip. If you are interested in helping us in one of these areas, please let us know.

You can fill out a form by using the qr code or by going to: https://forms.office.com/r/TDUmLenRnP

Instead of doing a separate monthly update and a separate prayer email, we are going to combine them and send it out to everyone starting in April. It will be sent out on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. We will attempt to send a PDF format that can be printed for congregations to share.

We are planning and preparing activities for this summer. It is exciting that some people in the communities have been asking for more Bible studies and a church service, so we are adding more of those activities to our plans. There have also been a few other opportunities to serve and connect with youth from the communities, and those stories are in this newsletter as well. I hope that you find these stories inspiring as you continue to pray and support our ministry.

The Compass– Spring 2023

Seeking Mission Teams for 2023 & 2024!!

Interested in joining us to share God’s love with one of the communities we serve?

Please contact us to start planning, fundraising, and to receive support as you create a team to come. We have how-to plan, a mission trip brochure to help you along the way, and some training guides for you and your team.

We are open to more teams for summer of 2023 and are starting to book mission teams for summer 2024. We would love to book your team!

Yes! I want to partner with BC Mission Boat Society to share God’s love to remote BC coastal communities.

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Address: ____________________________ Email: __________________________

City: ________________________ Prov./State:___________ P.C./Zip:___________

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Please sign me up!

 MonthlyEmailPraise/PrayerUpdates

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 Volunteer/MissionTeamInformation

Vancouver Island Youth Retreat

Julie Bellrose

In February, the youth group from Bethany Lutheran Church in Campbell River organized an Vancouver Island Winter Youth Retreat. Being a member of Bethany, I asked the leaders if we could invite the youth from Ehattesaht, one of the communities we serve which is across from Zeballos. Being a community that can be accessed by road, it would make the arrangement and travel easier. The leaders were excited about the idea so I proceeded to connect with the youth leader in the community. She passed the information along and we had 6 youth who joined us for the youth retreat in Duncan, BC.

On the Friday we met up in Campbell River and several cars made their way to Duncan. To break the ice, we went for a game of glow in the dark bowling.

The weekend was filled with morning devotions, and fun activities. After devotions on Saturday, we made our way to the indoor pool. Then some youth from Duncan and Campbell River joined us in Nanaimo for a mall scavenger hunt and to go to the Air Park. Everyone was pretty tired on Saturday evening, but we gathered energy to play some group games.

Through the long car rides God blessed a few of us with some meaningful conversations with the youth. It was a blessing to be able to share God’s love and comfort one on one with some of the youth.

The leaders are hoping to do a summer retreat and would love to see the youth from Ehattesaht join their group again!

Prayer Window

“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:4-6

 Pray for the community members who have loved ones that struggle with addictions on the street of Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Campbell River.

 Pray for the BCMBS staff and volunteers as they prepare for mission teams this summer.

 Pray for all of those who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, and for healing for those who are ill.