To paraphrase Shakespeare, ÒThere is a tide in the
affairs of men when it becomes evident that it is time to fish, or cut bait, or
miss the boat all together.Ó Well I believe that this is the time for me to
work at number one or two, IÕve been at this too long to miss the boat, so in
that regard Ôtis far better do go down with the boat than to linger in port.
Over the next couple of weeks or so, I will pass on some
of my thoughts about the move over to NE Washington. Why I think this is
important, as a significant segment of my life, and also about making some sort
of mark that you once were here, taking up some space on this earth and trying
to leave it a better place for having visited. I suppose the Bible verse that
is appropriate is, Òwell done good and faithful servant.Ó
Ecclesiastes says that there is a season for everything
and a time for every purpose, which we have also adopted verbatim as one of the
Seven Principles of Enterprise Symbiosis. Well, in a couple of weeks fishing
season opens in most of the State of Washington, what better time to talk Ôbout
fishinÕ in a spiritual sense. In that regard I will just list some points and
when I run out of space for this week, we will pick it up again next. Then when
all is said and done, I can organize it in some fashion, see what bait seems
good for the season, and feed the rest to the worms.
Since Easter has just past, the most significant point
from that seems to be we have such a better lure than those of the Old
Testament era. Job said in Chapter 19:25-27: For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I
know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes
shall behold, and not another, How my heart yearns within me! Job looked by faith forward in time to
such a day an believed it would become true. In Jesus Christ, our Redeemer has
walked this earth and we can truly understand how He will one day return and we
shall see Him in the flesh, and in our own flesh, we shall stand along with our
Brother Job, in the wonder of it all. If that is not a reason to go fishinÕ you
sure must be lookinÕ to miss the boat.
I left last Thursday to go over and look once more at the
property at the Little Dalles, a prime fishinÕ hole for walleye and sturgeon is
just across the railroad tracks and down the bank. More about that place later,
but first I want to share what was the great unanswered question about the
trip, and it centered up the road about 17 miles.
I pulled my rig (that is what my neighbor over on the
Kettle River calls pickups and other vehicles that men drive) into a parking
space in Rossland, British Columbia. Rossland and Trail (about six miles away)
make up the population center of the region north of Spokane, pretty much until
you come down some where in Russia. Rossland has about four thousand souls,
Trail about ten, the rest of the region totals to about twenty five thousand if
the real estate agent is correct. Rossland sits on the side of a mountain and
is the first town in Canada heading in from the states. I drove my rig into
town from the Canadian side because I wanted to see how the other (back) road
into Trail was, and check it out before heading to Rossland. When I crossed the
border at Waneta, the Canadian customs agent ask, ÒWhere in Canada do you
live?Ó After seeing the puzzled look on my face she said, ÒOh, are you an
American?Ó After nodding the affirmative,
she ask a few more questions, before telling me to proceed.
As I got out of the rig, the sun was shining, so the
strong warm wind from the south (the USA) almost startled me. As I took a few
steps a flurry, of beautiful white snow seemed to come out of nowhere. After
getting everyone on the streetÕs attention, it seemed to pass and a sunny but
crisp spring day returned. I canÕt remember ever doing anything but driving
through Rossland. In high school, sometimes after church we would drive up to
Trail and have dinner, before driving home by another route, but to the best of
my recollection, I never actually walked any of the streets or even got out of
the car. The reason for all this set up is my real intention upon coming to
Rossland this day was to see how it felt as a potential site for starting a
church.
From the people IÕve talked to, in a well churched town
in Canada about two percent of the population attend church on Sunday. Which is
about as many people who attend church in Seattle on a given Sunday. To put it mildly Canada is not really a
Bible belt. While not specifically looking for churches, I do remember seeing
just three as I drove through Trail and walked in Rossland. In contrast driving
thorough Northport, population 308, the closest town to the property on the US
side, I think there were five.
My criteria in Rossland was quite simple, does this town
feel like a town the Lord would like me to start a church in, and are there any
buildings available close to, or in the center of downtown where a church could
be established? My answer to both questions was yes. One three story former
Bank of Montreal building for sale with the basement leased, was advertised in
a real estate window for about $175,000 US. It looked like a great potential church building, and I do
not know of any town in this country where it would be any less than the
Canadian price, in US dollars. So
this was the answer to my fishing question. Combined with my understanding back
down at the Little Dalles, I believe that it is time for me to begin in earnest
to seek support for a fishing trip in this region.
I got back in my rig and headed out of town toward Lake
Christina, Orient and my place on the Kettle River. A few miles down the road
from Rossland is Red Mountain, a world class ski facility. In a distinctively Canadian way,
Rossland reflects that alpine heritage. When I was in high school or college I
think they had a World Cup race there one year, and I think CanadaÕs most
famous woman alpine skier was from Rossland and Red Mountain. When I was working
in wheat harvest while going to college, the only place in North America that
my boss would ski would be at Red Mountain. Every year he would spend a month
or so in the winter skiing in Europe, but in North America, Red Mountain was
his only destination. He eventually met and married his wife from the area. So
if you like to ski, and would like to help start a church come on over, we will
keep the light on for you and maybe we can establish some ways to reach those
skiers with the gospel.
When I got to the US Customs at Laurier, the customs
agent ask me, ÒWhere in the US are you headed?Ó ÒIÕm headed down to Orient, I have a place on Boulder
Creek,Ó I responded. ÒWell where do you live?Ó she ask. I responded that I lived in Seattle. To
which she replied, ÒYou are a US citizen then?Ó
Sometime next month I will have been writing these weekly
messages for two years. I really started doing them as a way to bring a word of
encouragement or teaching to missionaries overseas. This seemed as the only way
I could come up with to help in there labor, since I didnÕt have any money to
send them. At least they would have a weekly something from back in Seattle and
the states that might ease the time, or bring some news, or just think that
someone would take the time to put something together on a weekly basis, would
mean they were not completely alone.
I was thinking last night about Dan and Christine Bushy,
for I have an email in my Inbox from them that I havenÕt read yet. How they
have been out in Nepal and India for such a long time and have gone through so
much for the cause of Christ. Then there is Dan & Melanie Machado in Mexico
trying to bring families to a close and safe short term missions location, so
that others can see just how great our God is. Then I thought of Kim Riley in
Northern Ireland, the nation of my name heritage, and how I have learned so
much more about that troubled land. How impossible the solution to those
centuries old problems are without the Lord. I have decided just to mention
those three, not that all those in Russia and elsewhere are not important in my
eyes, or in the eyes of the Lord, it is just that I have to stop someplace and
this is where I shall stop.
I brought up our missionaries, for I believe that the
facility at the Little Dalles, is primarily to be a missionary support
facility. A place to do things that they might be able to adapt to their land.
Or a place to give some of us still in the USA and Canada an opportunity to get
a glimpse of a culture or a way of life closer to what man has done through out
history and still exists in most of the world. Also a place to get beyond our
controlled world, and know that the God that created the universe is in control
out there as much as He is in our own self centered world of enterprise.
To bring this section on fishin to a close, when I got
home last evening I had a message from my friend Jim in Minot, North Dakota. He
was talking about how he had been thinking about learning how to fish. Over the
Easter weekend, he had the opportunity to spend some time with some of his
relatives and accompanied them when they went fishing. After a few hours they
had about a half a dozen Northerns (pike) and as Jim was watching the cleaning
process, he was wondering how a city kid could ever learn how to clean a fish.
This sounded strange to me, but I then added, ÒHow about getting the carrots
for dinner from the ground, not a plastic bag, and the milk from a cow or a
goat and not a plastic lined box or bottle.Ó
The actual discussion of what I see needed at the Little
Dalles will have to wait until next week. Please intercede along these
lines. I do believe that the Lord
is leading both to start a church in Rossland and create the Little Dalles
Guest Center, of the Ministry of Creation. (A restart of the Ministry of
Creation, I started in 1988 and ran until a few years ago.) At the bottom of the sign or the
letterhead, Fishers School, Sustainable Agriculture, Third World Development.
Fisher School coming of course from the saying: Give a man a fish, feed him for
a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. All of which are subject
to change and the LordÕs leading.