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A SELECTED "NORTHERN LIGHTS"
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #492)
PADDLING FOR JESUS
 As
this magazine edition arrives, our Mission is well into another busy
summer of camping ministry.
It's exciting to see youngsters respond to Christ's
love and offer of salvation. But there's more! We could call it icing on
the cake (or maybe syrup on the pancakes?).
It's when some of these campers come back ... to help!
Take Alex Smith, for example.
Alex is from north-central Saskatchewan,
and attended his first Higher Challenge Wilderness Adventures canoe camp
when he was 13. "I laughed a lot and met new kids," remembers
Alex. "I heard about God, but didn't really pay attention," he
admits.
The next summer Alex attended two HCWA camps -- a canoe
trip and a mountain trip. "That's when I started thinking about God
a little more because that's when I met another camper about my age who
was an example to me," he says. "Every morning when he got up he
read his Bible."
Life wasn't easy for Alex back on his Reserve, or even
at home. However, the following winter he attended a "SnowBlast"
youth retreat at Timber Bay Bible Centre. That weekend Alex made a
decision that changed the direction of his life.
"This guy was teaching and I learned
about heaven and hell," Alex says. "He quoted Scripture ... and
that really got me thinking. I waited until after everyone left and prayed
with someone. Then I went home and phoned up Tom Cnossen (Higher Challenge
leader) and told him I wanted to accept Jesus."
The following summer Alex attended HCWA camps again -- in
fact, he attended three camps! He's thankful it was made possible by his
Reserve paying for one camp, and his mother paying for the other two.
"Tom noticed I was going to church and living as a
Christian," explains Alex, "so he asked if I would become a
leader at camp. I was really happy about that."
Alex is happiest when he's holding a canoe paddle in his
hands, but he soon found out that being an assistant canoe camp leader
wasn't all fun. He wasn't much older than most of the campers, but he
had extra responsibilities, like getting firewood. And he says that some
of the campers, especially the ones who knew him from "back
home," weren't always cooperative. They still thought of him as
just one of the guys.
But Alex has recognized that through camping he can lead
and influence others toward Christ through his lifestyle. And this can
happen the rest of the year, too.
For the past three years he has been staying with
relatives while attending high school in the city (he
graduated in June). Since he moved in with his uncle and aunt, both have
committed their lives to Christ!
Alex has been attending New Life Indian Alliance
Fellowship faithfully, assisting in various ways. He's helped out with a
weekly children's program, and competed as a member of a Bible quiz
team. He doesn't just "attend" the Friday night Youth Group
events -- he almost always finds someone to bring along.
Alex knows better than most that, just like HCWA has
"challenge" in its name, so life has its challenges. But Alex
keeps a positive attitude. "That's just the way I was brought
up," he says. "At my grandma's house I wasn't allowed to
complain ... and Jesus coming into my life has made me a lot happier. That's
the reason I'm so joyful."
Alex's plans include attending Bible school in the fall. And this
summer? He's more than happy to again be canoeing on Higher Challenge
camps, and encouraging other teens to paddle for Jesus, too.
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