Grace Lutheran Church

BC Boat Mission

Click to go to BC Boat Mission Web Site

February Update from Rhonda Kelman

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." Psalm 32:8 ESV

We are excited to go on a mission trip in person into Kyuquot at the end of March! The community of Kyuquot has confirmed our week with the grade 8 students of Hope Lutheran School. We thank the Lord for He is good and faithful.  Rhonda is starting some in-person training with the students this week and Julie will be able to join in the training later in the month.  We are thankful to God as most of the details of logistics are coming into place since the dates were confirmed.

We praise God for raising up many volunteers to help with the Pocket Prayer Project for Easter!  We have ladies across Canada sewing little pockets of hope to send into the communities this spring.  We are creating a family Easter Devotional and encouragement bag to send into the communities. It will be a blessing to deliver the ones in Kyuquot in person!

Our Virtual Sunday School (VSS) lessons are are going well and  they are being posted every Sunday on our VSS Facebook group. We hope and pray this will continue to be an encouragement and a useful tool to support the families in the communities and strengthen their faith.  Rhonda is booking for in person presentations this spring, If you would like her to come and share about how God is leading and blessing the BC Mission Boat and the communities we serve, please contact our office.Please contact Rhonda or Julie if you can help with this project. We would love to know how many you can make and we will send you the instructions and the crosses.

We are seeking Mission Teams for 2022!Interested in joining us to share God’s love with oneof the communities we serve?Please contact us to start planning, fundraising, and to receive support as you create a team to come. We have a mission trip brochure to help you along the way, plus some training and planning guidesfor you and your team.We are starting to book Mission Teams starting in the Spring and Summer of 2022 and we would love to book your team!We have applied to the Canada Summer Job Program and will be looking for 2 Summer Students for 16 weeks for this summer.
We will have a job posting out for these positions later this month.

Contact Us: emailto :info@bcmissionboat.org

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“We put our hope in the Lord.He is our help and our shield.In him our hearts rejoice,for we trust in his holy name.Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,for our hope is in you alone..”- Psalm 33:20-22 NLT

We Enter this Year with Thankfulness!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."Psalm 100:4-5

We are so thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness, guidance and protection during this past year.  We give thanks and praise for the doors and opportunities He opened and are excited as we look forward and trust Him for favour as we join Him in His mission in this  23rd year of ministry! As always, we give thanks for each of you and the integral role you play in praying and praising God for all He has done and is about to do! 

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:1-2

We praise God for supporting the communities of Ehattesaht and Ocluje during the winter storms.We praise God for all the leadership in communities as they continue to navigate the pandemic and keeping their communities safe. We praise God for the comfort and time of grieving for all families who have lost loved ones. Praise God for the comfort and support for P's family during the funeral and throughout the Christmas holiday.Praise God for healing of the minor injuries from a car accident for C. Praise for S as she is healing from a loss of a loved one and has remained sober and in a healthier place to take care of her children. Praise for C as she reached one year of sobriety and being in a healthier place to finish her Masters.Praise God for T as she off the streets and staying with her parents. Please continue to pray for her to overcome her addictions. 

Pray for protection for all the families and communities that are dealing with positive cases of Co-Vid 19, for quick healing for positive cases, and for reducing transmission to others. Pray for Rhonda as she continues to navigate the pandemic and for safe travels for upcoming meetings and conferences in February.Pray for our teams who are praying about going on a mission trip with us to communities for this Spring and Summer.Pray for R's family as he passed recently and surround friends and family with love and comfort during their time of mourning. Pray for A  as she battles addiction and is struggling with sobering up and staying in a treatment center. Pray for J and her family as they mourn the loss of her daught R. Bring them comfort during their time of mourning and help them to turn away from their alcohol addictions. Pray for M's family as they struggle with alcohol addiction, for courage and wisdom to overcome their addictions and start their sobriety.Pray for J and K as they are caught up in addictions and choose to live out on the streets.Pray for M and J as they care for their baby boy and give them the patience, rest and guidance as they are new parents.Pray for J's family as they mourn her recent passing. Surround her friends and family along the coast with peace and comfort during their time of grief.Continue to pray for people who are bound in addictions that they would be set free.

Updates from the Executive Director!

With the New Year starting, we are eager to continue to join God in His ministry amongst remote First Nations communities along the BC Coast. As we enter yet another year under the cloud of the pandemic, We pray that the communities, our supporters and volunteers will be protected with the armor of God and strengthen with the joy of the Lord. When we look at the beauty of the mountains that surrounds us, we ask where does my help come from? We are so blessed to know that our help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm121)We turn to Him for comfort and renewal.We look forward to continue working with Hope Lutheran Christian School as the grade 8's prepare for a mission trip in April.  We are continuing to work on the logistics with the School and the community to make sure that it is safe to travel at that time. We are planning more mission trips for later in the Spring, and in the Summer and we are hopeful that we will be able to go in person to continue to share God's love and encourage people of all ages in their faith.Our Sunday school lessons are starting this January, they will be posted every Sunday morning on our Facebook page. We hope and pray this will continue to be an encouragement and a useful tool to support the families in the communities and abroad in their faith.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19 NIV

Please contact Rhonda or Julie if you can help with this project. We would love to know how many you can make and we will send you the instructions and the crosses.

We are seeking Mission Teams for 2022!Interested in joining us to share God’s love with oneof the communities we serve?Please contact us to start planning, fundraising, and to receive support as you create a team to come. We have a mission trip brochure to help you along the way, plus some training and planning guidesfor you and your team.           We are starting to book Mission Teams starting in the Spring of 2022 and we would love to book your team!

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I lift up my eyes to the hills.    From where does my help come?My help comes from the Lord,    who made heaven and earth.

 He will not let your foot be moved;    he who keeps you will not slumber.Behold, he who keeps Israel    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day,    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;    he will keep your life.The Lord will keep    your going out and your coming in    from this time forth and forevermore.

".Psalm 121 ESV

Updates from the Executive Director!
https://youtu.be/0Lilyh3I2og
December Update from Rhonda Kelman

 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. […] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:2, 6 NIV

 

Advent season is a good reminder to stop and to be intentional in taking the time to wait in prayer and seek the one who is coming, Jesus. Looking back at the year, we have seen God move through so many change of plans to keep us connected to our brothers and sisters in the remote coastal First Nations communities. We are thankful for His faithfulness and grace as we remember His humble coming into the world, as a baby in a manger, this Christmas.  Here at the BCMBS, we started doing in person presentations again and it's been a blessing to be able to share how God has been moving through the BCMBS through the pandemic and how God's love is being spread amongst the remote First Nations communities we serve. We have had lots of volunteers from returning teams and local churches help us prepare crafts, make kits, and record videos for the 325 Advent/Virtual Sunday school kits that we just sent to the communities. The letter attached to this email shares a couple more stories about our recent ministry.

We want to take this time to thank all of our faithful supporters who give of their time  through prayers and volunteering hours and for your generous donations to enable us to continue to serve and encourage the remote First Nations of the BC coast. We wish you an Advent Season filled with the Hope, Joy, Peace and Love that comes with walking with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas! Rhonda and Julie

 

Please consider joining the BCMBS with your Prayers, Time or Gifts this Advent Season! Here is the link to our Advent Appeal letter: https://bit.ly/3ohZhg2

You can also check out our Facebook Page for our Advent Daily Devotions
https://www.facebook.com/BCMBS Here is the link to our Advent Devotions Boo

 

We are seeking Mission Teams for 2022! 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 a mission trip brochure to help you along the way, plus some training and planning guides for you and your team.  

          We are starting to book Mission Teams starting in the Spring of 2022 and we would love to book your team!

 Contact Us

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Advent is Coming"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "BEhold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the widerness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." Mark 1:1-3

This Fall has been flying by and it has been busy with connecting with people in communities through social media and texts as we wait to travel again next Spring. We are thankful for the volunteers who have helped prepare parts of our kits that we will be sending to communities in a few weeks. Our hope and prayer is that these kits will be a blessing and reminder of the hope, peace, joy and love of Jesus as we prepare for Christmas, and they also contain twelve more weeks of Virtual Sunday school that will start in the New Year. 

Praise God for Rhonda to be able to do some in person presentations at churches.Praise God for the teams who are willing to film lessons for our Winter Virtual Sunday School, and for the technology we have to create and share these videos.We Thank God for all the pastors who wrote devotions for our Advent devotional, for the students of Hope Lutheran School who help pack some of the supplies for the Virtual Sunday School and for the volunteers who put some Christmas crafts together for the kits.We praise God for safe travel and family time for both Rhonda and Julie.We praise God for all the leadership in communities as they continue to navigate the pandemic and keeping their communities safe. We praise God for the comfort and time of grieving for all families who have lost loved ones. We praise God for the recovery and health of H and her family from CoVid-19. We praise God that J can start walking and that her ankle continues to heal well.

Pray for the preparation of the Christmas and Virtual Sunday School kits. That the items in these kits will bring encouragement and joy to all the children in each community, and that they can be delivered safely to each community. Pray for safety for travelling on the logging road to and from Ehattesaht and Kyuquot with the winter storm systems we have recently had. Pray for A as she battles addiction. Pray that she is able to go and stay at a treatment center for the duration of the program. Pray for P who was sent to the hospital in Bella Bella that she recieves good care and recovers quickly. Pray for G for healing from an injured back and hip from a fall. Pray for M's family as they struggle with alcohol addiction, for courage and wisdom.Pray for the communities of Ahousaht, Bella Bella, and Klemtu who have positive cases currently and for any other remote communities who are experiencing an outbreak.Pray for J's Dad who is struggling with dementia.Pray for J and T as they are caught up in addictions and choose to live out on the streets.Continue to pray for people who are bound in addictions that they would be set free.

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“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.."
2 Chronicle 7:14 NIV

Updates from the Executive Director!
July Update from Rhonda Kelman
Save the Date and stay tuned for more information about our Fundraiser on Sept. 18!
We are thankful that we have now entered phase 3 of the province of BC recovery plan from the pandemic. The recent restriction change allows us to be able to go into some of the communities this summer.  It is a big change in plans and is requiring a lot of adjustments and logistics for these trips to come into place. We have been blessed to be able to form a staff team to travel into Ehattesaht, Kyuquot and Klemtu since it is such short notice. There is much to consider as we enter the communities after almost 2 years of not being there in person. Please continue to pray for us as we navigate the summer and see how we can share God's love through Kid's Club and activities while we are in the communities.

 We welcome our other two Summer Staff, Elianna and Brittany! Elianna, arrived mid-June and was able to quarantine in the house we rented in Campbell River.  She is finally out of quarantine and has volunteered some of her time with us until her position started on June 28th. Our other summer student, Brittany, came to deliver kits to the North Island on June 25th with our BCMBS summer crew and is staying at the house with Elianna and Rhonda.You can learn more about the summer staff below.

We just saw the end of  our spring Virtual Sunday School and have started our Online Kid's Club on the Fruits of the Spirit. We pray and hope that it brings joy and encouragement to all those who are watching the lessons. 

The last week of June, the 6 of us delivered over 300 Kid's Club kits to children in 8 different communities!  It was a lot of traveling all over the Island to the various drop off points and there was also some fun exploring for the team as we marveled at the beauty of God's creation!

Our summer staff is finishing the filming and editing of the Kid's club videos.  Please pray that God's peace and guidance be with our staff as we balance between filming, editing and getting ready to go into the communities.  We are also hoping to start to organize kits for our Virtual Sunday School to continue in the Fall. 

If you are interested in joining us in prayers, you can click the link below to receive our monthly Praise and Prayer email.
From left to right:  Brittany Hosmer, Elianna Rose, Isaac Johnson, Braeden Anderson
Summer Staff Bios:
Brittany Hosmer:
Hello, my name is Brittany, and I was born in Langley, B.C. and have lived there my whole life. I grew up with my Mom, Dad, and 3 siblings. I graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley last year with a diploma in Library and Information Technology. I currently work at Maple Ridge Christian School part-time as a Library Technician. Some of my hobbies include reading, yoga, playing the ukulele, going for walks (especially with the family dog, Sophie), and spending time with family and friends. I wanted to work for the BCMBS because I wanted to work somewhere where I felt I was making an impact in people's lives. Through working with the BCMBS, I feel I am making a difference by sharing the love of Jesus with everyone.

Elianna Rose:
Hi, my name is Elianna Rose. I currently live in Winnipeg MB, and I am going to the University of Manitoba. I have 7 younger siblings, 5 boys and 2 girls plus myself. My family is living in Harrold Texas USA since last November. I love reading books in my spare time and I also enjoy riding horses and working with animals. I wanted to come work with the BCMBS so I could work with people and share God's love!
 
Isaac Johnson:
Hi, My name is Isaac Johnson, I’m 19 and from Toronto, Ontario. My home church is Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Toronto, Ontario. Currently, I am attending St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario for their Music Theatre Performance Program. Some of the activities I enjoy doing for fun are swimming, singing and cooking. I applied for the BCMBS because I wanted to make a difference. I believe that it’s our duty as Christians to share God’s love. I believe that the BCMBS accomplishes that goal by interacting with the communities and providing services to them. 

Braeden Anderson:
My name is Braeden Anderson. I am going into my first full time year as a student at North Island College. I am hoping to complete a Marketing/Accounting degree before continuing to Seminary studies. My hobbies include reading, writing music, and running. I joined the mission boat to be of service to the communities we work with and to show Christ’s love through my actions. I am also using my time with the BCMBS to better myself as a leader in service to the church. I hope to continue my time with them so that I can continue sharing the Gospel with remote communities here in BC.
The BCMBS Staff Delivering over 300 kits to 8 First Nations communities and additional families in Port Hardy, Campbell River, Nanaimo and Vancouver.