Bearspaw Christian School

BCS and Our Kids

The spring that Kornelia was finishing grade 6 and Erik was finishing grade 2, we heard an advertisement for an 'open house for new students' for Bearspaw Christian School (BCS) on the local Christian radio station.  We thought we'd all go check it out.  On the way, the kids were 'meh' about this idea.  'Why do we have to go look at this school?'  On the way home later that evening though, they were very enthusiastic about the idea of attending there the following year.  So we enrolled them.

Looking back, this was a great experience for them.  They both graduated grade 12 from BCS.  Ewa and I as parents have no regrets we made this decision.  You can read some of their experiences in the following link:  Remembering the Kindness of God in Raising Our Kids

Volunteering

You have been treated generously, so live generously.  

Matthew 10:8b

Parents were required to volunteer some time at the school as part of the commitment in being involved.  For the last 6 years of their time there, I volunteered leading one of the four student worship bands.  This involved weekly practices with the band on Thursday afternoons, and then we'd lead worship for a school chapel once every 4 weeks or so.  I really enjoyed this experience.  I organized Christmas band parties for my team, and end of year picnics, and we lots of fun and interesting experiences in chapels.  

Setting up and sound check for our of our last chapels

Fun Experiences Volunteering

Here's some highlights of volunteering at BCS that I can share now since the students involved are adults:

• An acoustic worship chapel where we had set up an atmosphere like a campfire.  At the end we ramped up the intensity of the songs and everyone was dancing (400 students and teachers) singing Bethel's song 'I've got a River....'.  Looking back, the picture I have in my mind is students and teaching singing, smiling, and busting moves for God.  I was so wrapped up in leading/playing that I had literally strummed the guitar until my fingers bled, and it made a mess of the guitar.  It was definitely a day where God met us.  When I bump into people now who were there that day, they still say 'remember that one acoustic chapel..?'
•  One practice, I had no new songs for the band, but really wanted them to 'go deeper into true worship' with the songs we were playing.  I prayed about this, and God gave me the idea to turn the lights out while we practiced.  The kids knew the songs well enough to play them in the dark.  With the lights off, no one had to worry about what anyone else was doing, and we could really focus on the words we were singing and truly worship.  Again, this turned into a special time - God's presence was there.

Christmas Worship Band party - Using toilet paper
to decorate people like snowmen

The Lost Girl

At the end of my second last year volunteering, I organized a 'year-end worship team picnic' at a nice local park, on the edge of the Bow River.  We had done this the previous year and it was a hit with the kids, so we prepared for 'the sequel.'

The evening arrived and we all met around our designated spot and built a large campfire.  After cooking and eating some hotdogs and chips, we brought out our guitars and sang some worship songs.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time.  Unbeknownst to me, one of the girls had previously had an argument with her mom that day, and decided to 'show her!'  After we had sung some songs, the girl told me she had to leave for the bathroom and I said 'fine.'  But she never came back.  

'Has anyone seen <girl's name> lately?' I asked, getting concerned after what seemed an inordinate amount of time to be gone to the restroom.  No one had.  We started to look for her.  After some time doing this, we called her Mom, and then called the police, as it was getting late.  The police took the issue pretty seriously, and in a short while had 3-4 cruisers at the park AND the police helicopter involved.  By this time I was sweating bullets and doing a lot of earnest praying under my breath and with the family.  

With the police involved, we were drawing some attention from other people passing through the park, and they volunteered to help.  It was probably close to 10pm when one of these people - a fellow on a mountain bike - ended up seeing the girl walk out of the bush at the far end of the park.  He confirmed who she was and then beelined it back to us to inform us she was OK and on her way back.  WHAT A RELEIF!!

When she arrived, I think she was a bit shocked to discover the intensity of searching that had been going on for her, with the police presence and participation.  When everything wrapped up, and we learned that she was 'trying to teach her mom a lesson' (sigh, teenage girls), I drove home VERY thankful to God that she was fine and found.

 Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

An Overland Odyssey - Kyrie, Eleison

January 1991

In January 1991 at 19 years old, I had one year of college behind me.  The previous summer saw me recommit my life to Jesus Christ (more about that here), and that fall I'd just finished a ten week 'intensive Christian training' school in Texas (see this link about an experience there).  I was not ready to back into any kind of formal schooling at that time.  I felt I needed to learn more about God and serve him.  So I'd planned to head back down to Texas and continue the learning I'd started there while volunteer working in the print shot they had.

There was a fellow named Kevin from Sandpoint, Idaho who had gone through the fall training with me, and he was also going back to Texas to continue his learning journey there - and he planned on driving down.  We previously agreed that I would join him so we could travel together, but I had to get to Sandpoint first.  My Mom, brother, and cousin decided to drive me to Sandpoint - about a 8 hour drive from where we lived in the interior of British Columbia.

The Odyssey Begins

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 

even there your hand will guide me.  Psalm 139:9-10

January as it was, we had winter driving conditions which weren't really too bad until we were closer to Spokane.  By that time, we'd already crossed the border into the US, and had been driving in Washington state for a couple hours.  My mom had gotten tired of driving and I had taken over.  It was snowing and the roads were snow-covered and I was doing the speed-limit, which Mom informed me was 'too fast for the road conditions and traffic.'  I silently disagreed in my mind, and barely started to slow down when a dog about the size of a coyote ran onto the road from the right.  I couldn't swerve because there was traffic coming at me from the left and the road was too slippery for sudden moves.  Braking fast was also not an option because of the icy road.  As a result, I hit the dog.  The whole episode was over rather fast, but adrenaline spike and subsequent verbal grilling I got lasted for a while.  Cars were made pretty solid back then, so there was little physical damage to the car itself.  God protected us, and I learned a lesson which I remember to this day.  

Kevin in TX

Unscheduled Stops

The next morning I was dropped off at Kevin's house in Sandpoint and my family started their return journey home.  We left for Texas the following day.  Kevin had a Subaru with florescent pink trim, as I recall.  He had driven it to Texas for the ten week training we'd done in the fall.  We began our trip and drove the length of Idaho most of that first day, but later in the afternoon, the car broke down a ways past Weiser, ID.  We left it on the road and walked to a house nearby.  The Zaugs lived there - they were an older couple and were happy to help us out in our quandary - providing us with a place to stay for the evening and letting us use their phone so Kevin could make alternate arrangements.  In the end, the car wasn't going to get fixed.  We caught a Greyhound bus from Weiser to Boise, to Salt Lake, to Denver, to Dallas, and finally to Tyler, Texas.  It was a really long trip, with a lot of unplanned stops and lay-overs at bus stations on the way.  We were exhausted when we finally arrived at our destination a couple of days later.  But God protected us and we were no worse for wear.

Reflection 

Thinking about that trip now, how old I was when I did it, I can only imagine the concern of my parents.  It brings to mind one of my favourite radio tunes of that era - Kyrie by Mr. Mister.  At the time, I didn't know what the words meant, but knowing what they mean now, my thoughts immediately think of this trip.  Kyrie, Eleison is actually the beginning of a Greek Orthodox prayer.  It means 'Christ, have mercy..'  The words of the chorus of the song were very appropriate for that time in my life: 

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going, will you follow?
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

A map of my January 1991 overland odyssey