It is amazing to see how God continues to work in unexpected ways as we have had to think outside the box to be able to continue ministry and support to the communities we serve. So much of the ministry of BC Mission Boat Society is about relationships and being present in people’s lives in person and in their community. It has been so difficult to not be able to be there.

We have had to continue to adapt and respond in various ways. Throughout the summer we were able to connect with people in the communities we serve by providing a couple of “Kid’s Club in a Bag” for the children and a bag of encouragement for the adults. By the end of August, we realized we would need to adapt and pivot again for the Fall, since communities were still closed to outside visitors. Since we had such a great response from the summer, we started to brainstorm what we could do with the CLBI Impact team that was planning to come out in November 2020 and February 2021.

We planned to make Advent/ Christmas kits, and our small project turned into a big project once we contacted the communities. I contacted all four of the communities we serve (Ehattesaht, Kingcome, Klemtu, and Kyuquot) to see how many families we should plan for and they asked me if we would be willing to create a kit for each household. How amazing is that! We were able to get the nativity and story of Jesus’ birth into every household of all four communities we serve, as well as into Oclujce (near Ehattesaht) and some families that live off reserves as well.

We had some felt Advent calendars which made a Nativity scene that were left over from a project that was sent to us by some ladies in Michigan, but not enough for every household. In September, we put out a call asking volunteers to sew backdrops for Advent Calendars, and to cut out the felt characters needed to make the Nativity scene. We had many volunteers who put in many hours of sewing and cutting so that we were able to assemble the calendars with the CLBI students.

We had pastors from across Canada write devotions that corresponded to each day of Advent and created a family devotional book.

On November 7, plans changed again as we decided not to send the students through the Lower Mainland (Vancouver area) and to Vancouver Island as restrictions were increasing for the Lower Mainland. The next plan was to meet at Pines Bible Camp in Grand Forks, and that got delayed by a snowstorm, so we ended up meeting in Kamloops and travelling to Grand Forks the next day. That is where we spent twelve days putting the advent calendars together, and filling the bags with an advent calendar, devotional booklet, booklets from Lutheran Hour ministries, some crafts, and goodies for each household to enjoy. We also created videos to go along with each day of Advent that were posted on Facebook.

I left Grand Forks in a vehicle filled with 250 Advent bags and travelled to Vancouver Island. Julie and I were able to drive up island to drop off kits for Ehattesaht, Oclujce, Kyuquot, Kingcome, Klemtu, as well as for a few families in Port Hardy and Campbell River. It was hard driving through Ehattesaht/ Oclujce just to drop off kits at the Health Center, but they were on lockdown due to positive cases of COVID-19. My hope and prayer were that these kits would bring joy at a time of fear and anxiety. We stood in the pouring rain to visit with a couple who was working at the Ehattesaht Band Office, and we were able to pray with them and encourage them in a time that was challenging. We dropped all the other kits at safe locations so that they could be brought into the other communities via the ferry or a water taxi.