In this issue:

Six Weeks In...
By: Paul Kroeker, Director, Outtatown

On the Tuesday morning following Canadian Thanksgiving, shortly after 6:00am, more than 100 students and leaders in the Outtatown Discipleship School left the CMU campus and headed for Calgary, Alberta. It was cold and dark when they left, but the group was energized and eager to continue the journey. After circling in prayer for the day, they jumped in the vans and headed west. When I looked at my email that morning, we already had an additional person praying for our program. The email said:

I was driving into work this morning, on the #1 Highway headed west, when three of your vehicles passed me between Austin and Carberry, MB. I had never seen your logo before and I made a point of remembering the web site address that was on the back of the van. I looked it up this morning and just wanted to let you know that there is now one more Christian person praying for you as you take these young people into the world. I think this is an awesome experience for all those young people. Keep up the great work… the world needs more strong minded, Godly Christians.

Thank you to all who are praying for us.

The first few weeks of the program have gone very well. We have excellent students, and remarkable leaders. All three sites have looked at issues of simplicity and care of the earth during a canoe trip in Lake of the Woods (with Wildwise and Pioneer Camp). The sites have had several weeks of instruction with various speakers, which included Ray van der Zaag and Pierre Gilbert from CMU. An intensive urban plunge program was led by Lloyd and Carol Letkemann (MBMSI), with the help of the Winnipeg Vineyard Church located in the heart of the downtown Winnipeg district at the corner of Sutherland and Main Street.

Our Winnipeg urban plunge is an invitation for students to see the inner-city in new ways and to gain new understandings - both of what is, but also of what could be. It is one thing to look at something, another thing to understand what you see, and quite another to do something about it. Prior to the event, Ray van der Zaag introduced our students to the idea that poverty actually presents itself in many different forms. Not all poverty is a lack of food or money - many situations are actually the result of many other issues, including financial, physical, natural, social, and spiritual poverty. Lloyd and Carol, Regional Mobilizers with MBMSI, then guided the students through a series of exercises that were designed to open their eyes to see the inner city in ways that would lead to greater understandings of the real people who live there, along with the issues that they face in day to day life.

Students found this challenging, energizing, and at times disturbing as they saw things in more complex ways, some of which created a sense of hope and others which looked insurmountable. And in the midst of it all was the Church - Christians who live in the inner-city and are there as a witness of the transforming love of Jesus. Students came away from this experience with a great deal to think and pray about - having offered something of themselves at the moment, and a few of them, thinking about greater commitments that may come in the years ahead.

Recently, the students have been split into two locations for guy/girl week, a chance to talk about some of the unique needs and issues that come with being young men and women of character and faith. Blayne Greiner, director of Youth Unlimited in Seattle, will be the speaker for the young men, and Sharon Peters, director of the women's residence program at Trinity Western University, will be the speaker for our young women.  The reports from this past week indicate that both groups had an excellent experience, and that some valuable ministry took place as well.

We encourage parents, family members and friends to follow our students through their blogs which can be accessed on our website, and to pray for them as we go through this adventure together.

The Foggy Uncertainties of Christian Witness
By: Justin Krushel, Former Site Leader, Outtatown

What are we getting ourselves into? I asked myself as Outtatown's Native Ministry week rapidly descended upon our site. How are we ever going to engage with these First Nations communities in a way that is utterly respectful as a group of chaotic, LOUD young people, while maintaining a humble mindfulness of the grave errors Christians have dealt to so many First Nations people?

Without calm to my internal storm, the week’s events commenced in the former St Mary's Residential school, a haunting reminder of the sins of our Christian past. Brander "Standing Bear", an inspirational and gifted speaker, was the first face representing the First Nations people. Brander stood up in front of us, a tall, slim man with long dark hair and deep facial features, welcoming us enthusiastically and traditionally with song and drum.

As a First Nations man, Brander is also a practicing Christian and an ordained pastor, searching for and attempting to bring harmony between Christianity and First Nations people. He spoke boldly about how historically Christians have pronounced all Native spirituality, tradition and culture as wrong and adverse to the ways of God. At one point he lifted his hand drum and, thrusting it towards us, asked, "Why are you so afraid of this?" His message was strong and simple—respect, repentance, and the essential need for us as Christians to become learners of that which we have so narrowly pronounced as evil.

As Brander toured us through the former Residential School, he discussed the governmental legislation that literally forced First Nations children from ages four and up to attend Residential schools. The premise behind these institutions was to erase all First Nation culture, language, tradition and way of life. We were all astonished to learn that the Residential School we were touring was operating up until 1984, when it became the last of the residential schools to be shut down. There was not a whole lot to see at the now empty residential school, but there was certainly a lot to feel.

Brander’s words cut like a knife, that helped plow a way through the foggy uncertainties of Christian witness. How is the love of Christ offered through such an oppressive institution of education that robs children from their families, quite literally locks them into a school behind huge metal doors, and physically beats them into the submission of the European "right" way?

Brander's mission was not to characterize all residential schools and European influence as wrong or sinful. However he pushed us to think critically about other ways in which Chris tianity and the Canadian government could have created healthier relationships with the First Nations people.

One of the more significant experiences our Outtatown site had during the week was the opportunity to participate in a traditional healing circle performed by Native Elders. Historically such a practice would have been seen as ungodly and something Christians should have no part in. However the more we were able to learn about what a healing circle represented, the less apprehension many of us felt about it.

The practice of the healing circle consisted of an Elder lighting some sage on fire then creating a bowl of smoldering incense that was brushed over each participant with an eagle feather. The practice was a symbolic act of cleansing an individual from anything that hindered them from seeing good things, speaking good things, thinking good things, acting in good ways and also a cleansing from anything bad others have done to you. As our group began to file into the small room for the healing circle, the four Elders anticipating our arrival were astonished to see the turn out. The Elders kept repeating how amazed and honored they were that thirty-three Christians would come out to learn about a traditional healing circle. The night turned out to be an incredibly successful event.

We soon realized that the Elders were not just being polite; they were genuinely overwhelmed by our presence. In fact one of the Elders, Norbert, actually had to excuse himself because of his emotional state. In a real way it became a healing experience for us all. A healing produced through the silence and humility of thirty-three primarily white, Christian students who simply came to learn and respect the culture of the First Nations people.

When reflecting on our Christian witness, what would have been the best action we as Christians could have taken in this situation of the healing circle? Would it have been better to refuse to be present in the traditional ceremony from fear that we were doing something evil? Or would it have been better to critically think and pray through the situation, and use the opportunity to show our love for other people by learning from them and not being closed to traditions that in ways resemble Christian thought?

I would certainly argue that we as Christians must be very cautious not to compromise our faith in trying to befriend other cultures. However, we must also not be afraid of cultures different from our own, and instead seek relationships with non-Christians founded upon humility, mutual respect and communication. If Christians can obtain the respect of non-Christian cultures because we respect their cultures, I'm forced to believe, as the experience of the healing circle testifies, that the possibility for us to share our faith with the world will increase greatly and in a way much more in line with the love and attitude of Christ.

I've gotta say...these last few days have been amazing...I'm learning SO much! Last week we had a speaker come in and talk to us about idols and the lives of those on the street. During these last 2 days we've been able to get a glimpse of some of the harsh realities. Our job every day has been to find beauty in the brokenness. It's been challenging...

Today was the second day of our Urban Plunge. In the morning we went to the law courts. At first we sat in on cases that were just for petty things. These went quickly - like a new person every 2 minutes. What struck me was how the people these concerned were just addressed by case number and referred to by the judge as "mam" or "sir". The judge was pretty rude and not very understanding. The guy that took us to the courts - Harvey, who works a lot with youth on the street, - was telling us how justice doesn't always happen in the courts. Those who can't afford a lawyer still can have one; it's just that the lawyer they get looks at their case 2 minutes (literally) before beginning. Most of the petty things were done by low income people so they didn't have many options. We also sat for a while in a murder trial (which was VERY interesting) and heard the testimony from one of the witnesses. I couldn't believe the technical language that the prosecutor used. It was confusing to understand.

In the afternoon Harvey took us on a drive around town, showing us the different areas and the contrast between them. He told us story after story of people he knows living in these low income areas or on the streets. The amount of pain that exists is overwhelming - prostitutes, addictions, crime...Harvey told us about a 14 yr old girl he knows who saw her uncle get murdered, but had already seen so many murders that it ceased to bother her. She was desensitized. And we were just hearing the stories of some of the people in Winnipeg!! Never mind the rest of the province, country, or world!!

My way of thinking about homelessness has definitely changed. A week ago I would have never just talked to someone begging on the street but now I have been looking for these opportunities all the time!