Thank you so much for taking the time to support our team in prayer! We could not serve effectively without your support and prayers! We would also like to invite you to hear about our experiences when we return! We will have a community sharing night on Tuesday, April 7 @ 7:30pm at the Boissevain MB Church, everyone is welcome.
**UPDATES from the team will be posted at the bottom of this page**
What on earth is SOAR Heartland?
I'm glad you asked! SOAR Heartland is a program that happens in the North End of Winnipeg each spring break. Youth come for 10 days (March 26-April 4) seeking to GROW in intimacy with Jesus, KNOW God's heart for the world and GO join in God's mission. SOAR has three main stages: training, service and debriefing.
During the training time we learn about the issues that people in the North End face on a daily basis as well as how to effectively minister to them. During the service time teams partner with local ministries throughout the week to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in Winnipeg. Each morning and evening all of the teams gather together to share experiences, worship together and learn more about what it means to serve God and share the love of Jesus with the world around us. Lastly during the debriefing time teams spend time together as well as individually discerning what God has done in each person and through each person over the last week.
SOAR is an amazing program that has been changing the hearts of it’s participants as well as those in the North End for 13 years now. If you would like more info visit: http://www.mbmission.org/soar/heartland/overview
SOAR Heartland 2013 from MB Mission on Vimeo
Where are we serving?
During SOAR our team will be partnering with the Indigenous Family Centre. The IFC is in the heart of the North End of Winnipeg. The IFC aims to provide a safe place for the people of their community to explore Christianity through traditional Indigenous practices. You can find more info about the IFC at: http://www.ifcentre.com/
Throughout SOAR we will be running a VBS program at the Indigenous Family Centre. Pray for our team as we lead the VBS program. Pray that God would give our team wisdom and compassion to show the love of God to these kids. Pray that stereotypes would not get in the way of our ministry. Also pray that we would come with open hearts and minds, knowing that we do not have all of the answers, but that we have our own traditions and ideas of what it means to follow Jesus.
Also pray for the staff at the centre as they aim to bring the love of Jesus to their community. Pray for the children who come from diverse home situations and have many struggles in their daily lives.
How can you pray for us individually?
Clayton Tufts
Grade: 10
My hobbies/ interests are-
Lego, trains, farming and hunting.
I am excited to go on a
mission trip because I have
never been on one before. I
am nervous about what we
will be doing if it's out of my
comfort zone. Please pray for
everything to go smoothly and that we are able to
do what God sent us to do. I hope God teaches me to
become better at spreading His word and stuff like that.
Darcy Richards
Grade: 11
My hobbies are Music and Sports.The most exciting thing I am looking forward to is meeting new people and helping people. I am ready for something new, I am never nervous! Through SOAR I hope God teaches me how to be thankful with what I have, and how I can start helping other people around me.
Dylan Mills
Grade: 10
Hobbies: Sports and Youth
During SOAR I am most
excited for meeting new
people, and serving God by
serving others. I am most
nervous about safety, as well
as not being brave enough to
go out and talk to people.
Please pray for our safety and that I would have
the courage to talk to people. Something I hope
God teaches me through this trip is how to serve
others in my every day life.
Emily Turner
Grade: 10
From: Souris
Hobbies/Interests: horses,
reading, hunting, good music.
I am the most excited for
getting to work with the kids! I
am nervous about joining an
already well established group.
Please pray that God would use
us in any way possible and that we would shine
his light. Also that everyone would bond well.
Something I hope God teaches me through this
experience would be how to be more open, more
compassionate, more caring, as well as how to
share my faith more.
Jenna Farmer
Grade: 10
From: Souris
Throughout the SOAR program
I hope to learn how to be a
better leader while living out
my faith. I am excited to try
new things and I am also
excited that we get to show
love to the kids! I am nervous
about going with a group of people that I don’t
know very well yet. Please pray that our group
will become united and supportive of each other.
Justin Reimer
Grade: 12
Interests: Biking
I am excited to experience the
worship each night. I am nervous
about learning more about the
Aboriginal culture and their
practices and participating in those
practices. Pray that we have a safe
trip there and back as well that we learn a lot
about God and serving others, also that we have
fun. Pray that I and our team would learn that
taking risks can make you a stronger, more
spiritual person.
Kadence Morrow
Grade: 10
Interests/hobbies are baseball,
piano, ukulele, violin, riding horse.
I'm most excited for working
with kids and teaching them
things. And being with God.
A prayer request for me is to
be able to be a great influence
for the kids. For me to be able
to teach them something. And
for the kids and God to teach me something
through out the week. Prayer requests for the
team is to be able to be there for the kids and for
us to be awake when we are with them. To learn
something within the week and to be able to take
it home with us and share what we know to the
people in our community. I hope God teaches me
how to always be teaching people through his
love.
Randall Buhler
Grade: 10
Interests: Lego, farming, quadding
During SOAR I am most
excited about doing
something new and fun.
Pray for me during this trip.
Pray that we as a team will
make a difference for the
people that will be spending time with. Also pray that
I learn more about God and how to live for God.
Steve and Bethany Buhler
We are very privileged
to lead this
enthusiastic group of
youth. Pray for us as
we lead. Pray that God
would give us
wisdom and
discernment as we aim to lead and equip the
youth as well as to serve the children we will be
ministering to, as well as serving the Indigenous
Family Centre in Winnipeg in their ministry. Pray
that God would give us strength as we minister
and that He would ultimately pour out His Holy
Spirit on us as we pour ourselves out into this
ministry! We are excited for all God is going to
do during this time in our lives, the lives of the
youth, and those that we will be serving in the
North End of Winnipeg!
Thank you so much for taking the time to support
our team in prayer! We could not serve
effectively without your support and prayers! We
would also like to invite you to hear about our
experiences when we return! We will have a
community sharing night on Tuesday, April 7 @
7:30pm at the Boissevain MB Church, everyone
is welcome!
Clayton Tufts
Grade: 10
Lego, trains, farming and hunting.
mission trip because I have
never been on one before. I
am nervous about what we
will be doing if it's out of my
comfort zone. Please pray for
everything to go smoothly and that we are able to
do what God sent us to do. I hope God teaches me to
become better at spreading His word and stuff like that.
Darcy Richards
My hobbies are Music and Sports.The most exciting thing I am looking forward to is meeting new people and helping people. I am ready for something new, I am never nervous! Through SOAR I hope God teaches me how to be thankful with what I have, and how I can start helping other people around me.
Dylan Mills
excited for meeting new
people, and serving God by
serving others. I am most
nervous about safety, as well
as not being brave enough to
go out and talk to people.
Please pray for our safety and that I would have
the courage to talk to people. Something I hope
God teaches me through this trip is how to serve
others in my every day life.
Emily Turner Hobbies/Interests: horses,
reading, hunting, good music.
I am the most excited for
getting to work with the kids! I
am nervous about joining an
already well established group.
Please pray that God would use
us in any way possible and that we would shine
his light. Also that everyone would bond well.
Something I hope God teaches me through this
experience would be how to be more open, more
compassionate, more caring, as well as how to
share my faith more.
Jenna Farmer
Throughout the SOAR program
I hope to learn how to be a
better leader while living out
my faith. I am excited to try
new things and I am also
excited that we get to show
love to the kids! I am nervous
about going with a group of people that I don’t
know very well yet. Please pray that our group
will become united and supportive of each other.
Justin Reimer
I am excited to experience the
worship each night. I am nervous
about learning more about the
Aboriginal culture and their
practices and participating in those
practices. Pray that we have a safe
trip there and back as well that we learn a lot
about God and serving others, also that we have
fun. Pray that I and our team would learn that
taking risks can make you a stronger, more
spiritual person.
Kadence Morrow piano, ukulele, violin, riding horse.
with kids and teaching them
things. And being with God.
A prayer request for me is to
be able to be a great influence
for the kids. For me to be able
to teach them something. And
for the kids and God to teach me something
through out the week. Prayer requests for the
team is to be able to be there for the kids and for
us to be awake when we are with them. To learn
something within the week and to be able to take
it home with us and share what we know to the
people in our community. I hope God teaches me
how to always be teaching people through his
love.
During SOAR I am most
excited about doing
something new and fun.
Pray for me during this trip.
Pray that we as a team will
make a difference for the
people that will be spending time with. Also pray that
I learn more about God and how to live for God.
to lead this
enthusiastic group of
youth. Pray for us as
we lead. Pray that God
would give us
wisdom and
discernment as we aim to lead and equip the
youth as well as to serve the children we will be
ministering to, as well as serving the Indigenous
Family Centre in Winnipeg in their ministry. Pray
that God would give us strength as we minister
and that He would ultimately pour out His Holy
Spirit on us as we pour ourselves out into this
ministry! We are excited for all God is going to
do during this time in our lives, the lives of the
youth, and those that we will be serving in the
North End of Winnipeg!
Thank you so much for taking the time to support
our team in prayer! We could not serve
effectively without your support and prayers! We
would also like to invite you to hear about our
experiences when we return! We will have a
community sharing night on Tuesday, April 7 @
7:30pm at the Boissevain MB Church, everyone
is welcome!
We have had our first night and first full day at SOAR! Today we had the opportunity to take the learning tour, walking throughout the Noth End and going to various ministries and hearing about the issues as well as what is being done to help the people here. It was a lot to take in in one day. When asking the youth about the day here is what they said:
It surprised me how friendly the people were. Even though they looked rough, they just wanted to talk.
It is extremely difficult living on social assistance. (as a team we had to find supper for $2 each, about tue meal allowance of someone on social assistance)
Ask people what they want prayer for, don't assume you know what they need.
These people are labeled as one thing by what we can see, but their story is much more complex.
The sense of community within the North End was very surprising.
When I saw people on the streets my heart broke. I am so grateful for what I have.
Please continue to pray for us. Every day is jam packed, and we need God's strength and patience! Thank you for all your prayers, we wish we could explain more, but you will just have to come to the sharing night! Blessings to all of you!
Update #2: Sunday, March 29
Saturday was a day of team building. We got to go to the Indigenous Family Centre where we will be doing the vbs all week and got to plan things out and prepare. For the afternoon we were able to time travel back to the 70's and 80's to Wheelies roller rink! It was a blast to teach the youth how to rollerskate, and the SOAR team from Winkler showed up and we all had a great time, although it was stressful for some.
On Sunday we went to CMU and had a session on listening prayer and then we were fortunate enough to have a group pray over our team and pray over us individually and encourage us and listen to God on our behalf. It was a great experience for our team, and both encouraging and challenging! All afternoon we were able to go to different workshops about different ways to pray, worship, or share or testimonies.
Sunday marks the end of our training weekend and Monday morning marks the beginning of our vbs! We are all excited to meet the kids and share God's love that we have personally experienced over the past few days here! Continue to pray for us as we begin vbs tomorrow!
UPDATE #3, Mar 31
We have now completed our first two days of VBS. Praise God for health on our team. Our team is gaining momentum, our youth's comfort zones have been bombarded since the moment we arrived last Thursday. Those comfort zones are slowly by surely expanding.
The youth have been leading every aspect of the vbs, and it has been challenging for some, but they have done a great job so far.
Monday we were expecting 10-15 kids for our vbs, but only 4 came. But we perservered and some youth went out and put up posters, and today we had 10 children. They know little about the Bible, but they have an openness to talk about what they believe. Pray that God would open their hearts and that he would prepare their hearts.
On Thursday and friday we will be presenting the gospel in different ways, so pray for a hunger and a response to that!
Also pray for energy for our team and a willingness to rub to God when it is difficult!
FINAL UPDATE, Apr 4
We are back home safe and sound! After a wild ten days full of fun, adventure, and God! We have all experienced God in new ways, and learned more about God and ourselves. Please come and join us on Tuesday night at 7:30pm at the Boissevain MB Church to hear all of our stories and how God has radically changed each one of us!
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