MT Mission Update – Sunday, July 27

Last night the team landed in Great Falls, Montana around 11:30 PM, but we didn’t leave the airport until around midnight. As we headed to the Blackfoot Reservation we realized we had gotten off course. Thank God for the Garmin GPS we purchased before we left for this mission. It has more than paid for itself. We eventually rolled into our base camp at around 4:00 AM Montana time. When I finally went to bed I could see the morning sun light beginning to peek over the mountains, and I’m not even kidding!

Needless to say, I allowed the team to sleep in this morning because they were exhausted. We had a delicious breakfast together at around 10:00 AM, and then we took a tour of Browning. For the students who have never been on a Montana Mission with us, it was important for them to see the community here in Browning. There is much poverty.

After we ate lunch at Subway we spent some time doing a little team-bonding at Cutbank Creek – a beautiful spot at the base of Glacier National Park near St. Mary. We crossed the freezing creek in our bare feet – we skipped rocks, looked at animal tracks in the mud, and enjoyed God’s creation and each other’s presence.

After that we headed back to base camp to hang out and relax. The Reichard family from Southern Maryland drove out to join us for this mission. They will spend the week serving with us then have their family vacation in Glacier National Park. Larry and Diane Reichard were former Youth Leaders to Stephanie and I when we were in High School. They are here with their two teenage daughters (Kelsea and Britney) and their two sons (Joshua and Nathan). They’re an awesome family! I’m so glad to have them with us on this mission.

We all had a huge mexican dinner together at our base camp. After dinner Shannon and Kaitlyn helped me do some grocery shopping. We needed to pick up groceries for the brown bag lunches for each day.

At 9:00 PM we all came together for a campfire meeting. Jake was the man when it came to the fire. As we sat around the fire, each person shared why they are here on this Montana Mission and a little bit of what God is doing in their life. After that we spent some time singing to God and then ended with a heartfelt time of prayer.

I am very thankful for the group God has brought together for this mission. I believe God is going to use them to make an eternal impact in the lives of people here on the Blackfoot Reservation.

Everyone on the team is doing very well, and that is the update for Sunday, July 27, 2008 from the Blackfoot Reservation in Northwest Montana. Keep praying for us and for those we interact with. Thank you for your prayers and for all the financial support many of you gave to make this mission a reality.

Gladly Serving Him,

Pastor Jason

PS . . . I miss my wife and kids bad! Love you guys. Also, I will have more video to come soon – so keep checking back on the site!

~ by jasonstrainingblog on July 28, 2008.