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It was another great weekend with the Vanguard Booth, this time here in Edmonton at Missions Fest Alberta. Missions Fest here in Edmonton is always a great time for people who are passionate about ministry to come together and share what God is doing in the world. This year was no exception and we were so glad to talk with so many people who are actively getting involved in the work of the Gospel. Of course we also had a lot of fun as we gave away coke and took entries for the last stop on our Missions Fest tour. The Alberta finalists for our Missions Fest Draw are Russell Teasdale from Edmonton who is our third finalist in our $100 missions trip bursary draw, and Amelia Stevenson also from Edmonton who is our third finalist in our Travel Pack draw. We will be doing our draw for the grand prize winner later this week so stay tuned.

This past summer Vanguard Alum Julie Rohr Rice was in Peru with her sister working with young children and teaching them how to paint and take photographs. This simple missions trip has culminated into a book showcasing the art and photography from their trip a project which they are now selling to raise money to help more orphans at Casa De Paz in Peru. You can read more about this great story in an article featured in the latest edition of Christian Week, www.christianweek.org, or visit the Rohr sisters website where you can purchase their book, www.papercastle.ca.

Well… the time is drawing near and we’ll soon be heading back to Edmonton. Last night we had a great time in Cambelton, hometown of our fearless leader…Lorne! Many Showed up and it was an awesome service. Youth from Lewisporte, Cambelton, Birchy Bay,  and Embree came out. Afterwards, we all camped out at Lorne’s aunt Edna’s. It was a pretty sweet night.

 In the morning we had one last feed of bacon and eggs and decided to spend the day on an excursion. Myself (Mike), Lorne and Rick decided to put on our skates and skate out on the bay in Cambelton. As the girls took the van, they met us on the opposite side of Cambelton, about six kilometers away. What a HUGE town eh?

 Right now, we’re in Point Lemington at my house. Earlier we had a nice “cooked” turkey dinner with all the fixings. Who says you gotta eat bad on ministry trips. Afterwards we took the quad out to the bay, and tied two tires to the rear of the quad. You kinda gotta be there to picture it, but only small cuts and bruises came out of it!!

Tomorrow morning we’ll be doing the sunday morning service here in Point Lemington, then heading out to Corner Brook for the sunday night service. Following that, a semi-night sleep and flying out around 5:50am the next morning….hopefully we won’t be late for the flight this time. Thanks for your prayers and we’ll see you on Monday!!

 There are some pics posted up on the gallery…check it out!!

So right now we’re in Clarenville for the night. Just finishing up a fantastic service with the people of Clarenville.

Last night, we were blessed in doing ministry in Botwood (my hometown). About 200 people, young and old, came out to the church. After Lorne’s message, many people responded and many lives were changed.  Of course you cannot complete a night without food, and fellowship. So that we did, having hot dogs and chips. It was great to hang out with so many youth, some of which we all knew, and some we didn’t. After packing up our gear, we headed out to Clarenville for the night…and arrived around 1:30 am. SOOOO tiring!!!

After having a huge breakfast (who says you can’t stuff your face on ministry trips) at Shauna-lee’s house, we continured further east, in which we had the awesome priviledge of going to the Whitbourne Youth Correctional Centre. There we ministered to 10-12 guys and the staff. The guys, aging from 16-18 years old were very attentive, and as we spoke and did some improv and drama, we could feel God’s presence filling the room. Afterwards, we got the chance to simply hang out with them. Most of them didn’t want to leave the chapel, and the staff mentioned that after 16+ years of working there, they have never seen the residents eager to stay after the dismissal. One guy even wanted to do some more improv with us, and so we did more. We had some great feedback from the staff that were working there. Some said that they had never had a group come and do such crazy improv and relational ministry. Nonetheless we are greatful of how God blessed us with such an opportunity.

Tonight, after a very healthy meal of PIZZA, we prepared to do a service at the  Pentecostal church in Clarenville. Once again we had a great time. Pastor Baine Andrews opted to video tape us making fools of ourselves during improv, and is attempting to post it on YouTube. None of us are very excited about that, but oh well….I mean after all, it IS off the top of our heads. It was a great night… and now it’s lights out!!

 Tomorrow we are heading to Cambelton for one of our last ministries. We are all pooped, but excited. Pictures will be posted up as soon as we get them all together, and on my computer!!

Well, it’s already Tuesday night, and we are just getting to get some sleep. We are currently in Botwood (my hometown) for the night, in which we will be doing ministry here tomorrow night. We are having an awesome time, little sleep, but still awesome! We have done ministry in Corner Brook, Springdale and Gander.

 We really enjoyed our time in Springdale. After arriving and setting up, we dug into some delicious Mary Browns, which in turn, had it’s bad effects. But nonetheless the night with the youth went amazing, and one young lady gave her heart back to God. Praise God!!

 In Gander, we had the chance to hang out with about 30-40 youth that were so on fire for God. Their pumpin’ youth chapel offered a great environment for music, drama, and food afterwards.

We have been so fortunate so far to have great weather while traveling. Now that we’re on the island, we haven’t face much complications, and Lorne has learned to tell a 24 hr time clock…(inside joke). This week has flown by so fast. But we really excited for Botwood tomorrow, and having Clarenville, Whitbourne, and Cambelton to follow!!

 We’ll try our best to keep you posted! And having pics too!

Once upon a time there was a ministry team from Vanguard College that dreamed up a ministry trip to Newfoundland.  In hopes of turning their dream into reality, they packed up their belongings and musical instruments and started the trek out east.  Well, to make a very long and funny story short, this team arrived for their flight 24 hours late and somehow managed to get to their first ministry destination (Corner Brook) two days late (God Bless Air Canada!).  And somehow we managed to arrive there with all but one piece of luggage! But thank God that he is a God for even late people too!Our first weekend in Newfoundland was spent in Corner Brook doing a Mid-Winter Youth Retreat and God did amazing things in the lives of the youth. We also had a great time hanging with the kids going cross-country skiing and skating (not to mention the good ol’ newfie hospitality we all got to experience while staying with billets).After a jam-packed weekend of God, fun, and changed-lives we still have a whole week of ministry ahead of us.  We cannot wait for what God has in store! We’ll try our best to keep you posted, but we do not always have internet access. We have some awesome pictures to follow soon!  

February 1st YMIT had the opportunity to start the month off with (I can’t remember the name of the church). Let’s just say it was an amazing way to start the shortest month of the year. The night started of with laughter, and it definitely ended that ways too. That youth group brought out the best in all of us.

Rick’s message was about meaningless things, such as giant purses, which had a giant effect on all of us. The drama went very well and also had a great response. During pizza time a game started up, it started with about 6 or 7 people, and then it escalated to almost everyone who was there. Who knew marshmallows and quarters could be so exciting! There were so many awesome teens there, they really know how to have fun, and they also broke out some awesome drama skills! There were so many there who had great talents, drama and there were people there who were starting a band. This group was so awesome; it felt like family, real family.

A Shout out to all the youth in Lloydminster!

Just a few days after our trip to Lloydminster, Ymit travels ALL the way to West Edmonton to West Meadows Baptist Church. This second outing for February was on the sixth,  and it was a Wednesday night which was a little different for us. But that group was so awesome! It was way too short, but it was so fun. I am sure that the majority of us now have bruises, but it was totally worth it. The game was called Lord of the rings, and involved great muscle strength in order to win. The second game on the other hand was so hard! But the youth did an awesome job of keeping us Vanguard students on our toes. If only we would have had more time, but the time that we did have was great!

There are so many different people in that youth group, yet there is so much of a unity. There was also a high amount of energy in the group; it was amazing that the games didn’t tire anyone out. It’s hard to imagine how we can have so much fun on a school night!

The message was awesome, it seemed like everyone in the room really understood and was touched by it. After the message, Rick encouraged everyone to write their thoughts in their journals, which was really cool.

A Shout out to the youth of West Meadows!!

PLEASE NOTE:: BOTH JOBS BELOW HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED

There are two exciting positions open at Vanguard as we make our way out of winter towards the spring.

We are looking to build a strong team to carry us through into our next great year at Vanguard.The first position is for a CFM (Children and Family Ministries) Coordinator. Brian Kim will be leaving us when the school year is through, after serving the college well in this role.The second position is for a Promotions and Recruitment Director. Tim Bratton will be leaving us as well this summer, moving towards a continued education in Vancouver.

While we are sad to be losing these fine members of the Vanguard team, we are excited to see who God has lined up to continue these important roles.You can download the full postings here, and find out how to apply.

Please feel free to share with those who may be interested as well, and continue to pray with us for the right people to fill these positions.CFM Coordinator Job PostingPromotions & Recruitment Director Job Posting

The Vanguard College promotions booth was in Winnipeg this past weekend as we took part in Missions Fest Manitoba.  It was another great weekend of talking with people about their passion for ministry and about the great things happening  here at the college.  More friends were made, more Coca-Cola was given away and two more finalists were chosen as part of our Missions Fest Draw.  The Manitoba finalists are Jun Wei from Winnipeg who is our second finalist in our $100 missions trip bursary draw, and Theresa Dokken who is our second finalist in our  Travel Pack draw.  There is only one Missions Fest left before we choose the winners in our draw so be sure to come out and visit us in three weeks at Missions Fest Alberta at the Shaw Conference Centre from Feb 22 to 24. Until then stay warm and God bless!