Tadoule Lake AIA Baseball Camp 2010

Tadoule Lake - AIA Baseball Camp 2010

TADOULE LAKE 2010

The north wind was already blowing and we were still in the ‘south’. We started our 8 ½ - 9 hour drive from southern Manitoba to Flin Flon, driving into strong winds and heavy rain. This was Day One of our Athletes in Action “Faith Adventure”. Walter is a great driver and would rather sit behind the wheel of the vehicle than scrunched into the back seat, so his first assignment was to get our team of seven safely to Flin Flon. In the Ford Expedition with him were his daughter Stephanie, her friend Allison, Diane Reimer, Rick Bettig, Edna and myself. The trailer hitched to the vehicle held the majority of ‘stuff’ that we would need in Tadoule Lake.
An overnight in the Victoria Hotel in Flin Flon refreshed us and after a quick breakfast we headed for our airport – Wings over Kississing. Our trailer had been unloaded straight into the Turbo Otter and our pilot was waiting for us when we arrived. All we had to decide was who would be co-pilot and all the rest of us climbed into the back with our luggage. Every piece of luggage is ‘carry-on’ in this case. We carry it on, we carry it off. With a refueling stop at Lynn Lake, we made the trip from Flin Flon to Tadoule Lake in 3 ½ hours. The strong north winds had added almost an hour to the length of the flight. We arrived safely, the plane riding up onto the beach and all the passengers climbing down onto the pontoons and into the water to make our way to shore. Forming a line, some on the pontoons, some in the water and some on the sandy beach we quickly got all our baggage unloaded from the plane onto the beach.
We watched the plane leave…we were left standing on the beach with all our stuff! I quickly set out into the community and within 15 minutes I had rounded up 3 trucks and helpers to transport our belongings to our apartment which would be our headquarters for the next 7 days. The next few hours were spent getting settled into our apartment, getting some lunch together and then sitting down to plan the order of the week. This was Day Two of our adventure. It was Sunday so the Band office and Northern store are closed. Aside of walking around the community and greeting people we had already come to know in previous years, there was not much else to do this evening. We did go and check out the church and it was in good shape – a lot of our activities would be happening here.
We have gotten to know the people of Tadoule Lake over the past few years and have learned to appreciate so many of them. It was a good feeling to be back among them once more.

Day Three began with breakfast and a devotional time as a group. Stephanie and Allie were assigned the job of posters to get handed out and put up at the Band hall and in the Northern store. We would be starting our children’s program that afternoon with singing, story time, crafts and baseball. If the weather would get warmer we would also take them swimming (which did not happen during that whole week). We had a great turnout for the kid’s program and were encouraged.

Day Four was Tuesday and we had advertised Movie Night with popcorn in addition to the day’s program. However, between the kid’s program, sports and Movie Night we had also invited all the ladies for an afternoon tea party at the church. Edna had collected beautiful china mugs along with cream and sugar sets, table cloths and serviettes for this occasion. The girls baked some cakes to go along with the cookies. This tea party was a new venture and we had no idea what to expect. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome 45 ladies for tea! Diane and Edna told the ladies that the mug was theirs to take home with them after the tea. And as the ladies left the church, each one was given a gift bag prepared by ladies from our church and by Edna’s co-workers at the hospital.

Day Five began with a men’s breakfast – pancakes, sausages and bacon served at the church. Again, we had a great turnout with about 25 men, and some of the men stayed around awhile to talk.
The afternoon was again taken up with the children’s program, and that evening we offered a church service for the community. We were so blessed to see some couples attend as well as other men and women.

Day Six – kids program and a movie night for the kids.


Day Seven – kids program as usual. Early supper for our team, followed by a wiener roast for the whole community and ending that evening with fireworks on the beach.
I had gone to meet the Chief and had invited him to come and have supper with our team. It was so great to have him come to our apartment and share with us about the history of the Sayisi Dene people and where they are at today. He also expressed his appreciation for what our group was bringing to his community. Before he left, he thanked each one of our group and gave each one a warm hug.

Day Eight – breakfast, pack our stuff into a truck, clean up and wait for the plane to circle overhead. At that point the truck heads for the beach and we follow on foot – about a 3 minute walk. Again, our entire luggage is carry-on – through the water, onto the pontoon and into the plane. A 2 ½ hour flight, followed by a 9 hour drive saw us back to our homes. After dropping off the passengers at various locations, Edna and I were in our driveway about 2:00 on Sunday morning.

Special experiences:
- Helping saw off the moose antlers for the men’s special one evening. (I did not stay to taste the meat from the moose head that was boiled over an open fire.)
- caribou stew and bannock at Julie’s home prepared by her for our team
- Brian entertaining us with flute and drum as we ate the meal his mother had prepared
- Visiting a gentleman who had lost his leg to necrotizing fasciitis.
- Learning from the Chief of the community
- Running 5 laps around this community to complete my 42nd full marathon. Diane joined me on the last lap.
- Fish fry for supper – caught, cleaned and prepared by Pastor Rick!
- Getting the know the kids and seeing them come back each day for the lessons and for the sports

Very special experiences:
- A lady asking Jesus into her heart after the ladies tea
- Reading the Bible with a gentleman and praying with him. As we prayed the trembling in his limbs completely quieted down. It was an amazing experience.
- The Chief sharing how he and his wife Annie offer Bible studies to the people of this community. He has been Chief since June 2010 and only ran for the position because the younger people urged him to do so. He got in by a strong majority. What a blessing to see a born-again man in this position. He wept for joy when we shared the lady’s experience with him.

Were we exhausted when we got home? Yes.
Would we go back – YES!
Was it worth the trip? Absolutely!

Our Power to Change Director often speaks about “Faith Adventures” for Jesus. Our trip to one of the most northerly communities in Manitoba is truly a faith adventure. How exciting when people ask for spiritual food and when they come to know Jesus as their personal Savior. What a joy it is to be able to encourage people in this way.

Albert Martens
Athletes in Action
August, 2010