The trip

I just read the Hope news letter. Thanks for praying for our safety. We needed it. We drove into La Ronge only to find out that they closed the road due to the fires. So we hung out and camped. It turned out to be a good thing because it let some of the people who had never canoed practise before we set out.

The next morning we went on a hike and called the appropriate people every half hour to see if the road was open. The fire was not where we were camping, we just needed to drive through it to get to our spot. Actually it was pretty close to where we were.

Finally we got word that at 11:30 there was a pilot vehicle going through. That was at 11:00. So we all ran through the return portion of the hike and piled into the appropriate vehicle and off we went.We are driving as fast as we dare through LaRonge and we pull up to the main road to get us to the highway, stop at the stop sign to turn; and at that exact moment a parade of little people turn that corner. And this parade is LONG. We have less then 5 minutes to get to the highway so we can get through. Fortunately Dave found us a different route and we made it in time.

Dave was the guy who lead Sue to the Lord. He was just the most amazing man ever. He was Sue and Chris' right hand man and he served with the greatest servant heart I have ever seen.

So we make it to the place where we put our canoes into the water, after driving through forest devestation, only to notice that it is very windy out. Wind equals waves! So Grant and I hop into a canoe and off we go. We were not told that it was a 6K paddle. There are some stories to be told about that trip!

So we all made it safely to camp, put up our tents and slept the sleep of people who had just paddled six kilometers.

The next day we got up, learnt a few more techniques and off we went to the rapids. We all paddled down them and most of us hopped in with our life jackets and down we went. There are more stries to be told here too.

The next day we went to Otter Rapids and paddled down them. I went with Grant. He steered. It just so happened that he was in the right place at the right time. I said " I trust Grant, lets go!" He just grinned. So off we went down a long and big section of white water. It was not pretty but we made it. I took praying on my knees to a whole new level through the course of that peticular trip.

Then off we went to go home. Nothing like looking up and seeing a tree burst into flame right beside your car. I told Chris that he was making this an adventure right to the very end. He said "thats all Gods doing". Boy was he right.

So we all made it back, safe and sound.