Fireworks and forests

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

The morning starts with coffee with Dr Joe. It's a warm and encouraging time with a respected former colleague. In the lodge, many animal heads hang from the lobby walls.

One encounters many cultures - and this one values hunting for meat and displaying the trophies of a kill.

A stuffed raccoon sits on a stairway ledge. There are also fish preserved in the stairwell.

Our cabin is cool due to the trees that have grown around it.

In the evening, we celebrate birthdays. K is turning 13 later this month. L turns 11, the others are 2 years behind.

We light the appropriate number of candles on each child's piece of cake. Thanks R for buying them and the cake! so we can celebrate as a family.

We pray together and call it a night.

Thursday - USA Day

In the morning, we head to the Historic Point for the annual family pictures. Our tradition is that whoever comes to the cabin will take that year's photo.

Kirsten is the first to leave. I drop her at the airport so she can fly home to Texas. She has a layover in Chicago, making a long loop for the airline convenience.

The camp hosts a parade in the afternoon. Bikes and golf carts loop around the main streets. The grandkids decorate their bicycles and senior dress up their golf cards to celebrate their country.

A walk takes me along the banks of the Flathead River.

The river is still too high for the gravel bars to be exposed. A few more weeks and people will be sitting and fishing on them.

There's a great variety of cabins, from old shacks to modern log homes.

I spot a Harley, one of many we've seen parading through the Canyon. The public roads are beautifully maintained so many bikers cruise between eastern and western Montana, admiring nature.

There's July 4 madness in the canyon, an event renowned for shooting off fireworks at night. Our family has done this for nearly 30 years. I went the first year and declared myself off limits for the flashing lights and booming explosions. The kids love it. They go off to spend their allowance with their dad and come back excited to participate.

Our son T takes videos of their enjoyment. "It rivals professional shows in intensity and color, if not in art," he remarks later. 

They're home before midnight but the booms and flashes end shortly before 1:00 a.m. I relax in our warm bed, thankful I don't have to get any closer to the "fun."

Friday

A minor earthquake shakes the cabin at 3:45 but I'm awake already. Two or three trans-continental trains rumble along the far hillside over the river in early morning each day. Their whistles oscillate across the valley.

Jer and R leave before noon. We say goodbye before we head into the last session of "Ephesians with Dr Joe." It's a good wrap-up of the apostle Paul's advice to love deeply - God first, worshipping him through prayer and understanding. Then we can love people through thoughtful service and kindness.

I'm late to the cabin for lunch after a conversation with the next generation of global workers. We encourage each other to persist and persevere in good work. Then I crash into an afternoon nap as usual. I wish I had energy to hang out and do the mom-and-pop things with the family but I need sleep. 

The kids and their mom splash at the pool in the next town (more work for their mom and fun for the kids). W and T run errands. In the evening, their family packs up to leave in the morning. W and I catch up on work and messages at the park across from the Lodge. In Indonesia, we have long-needled pines on the hillsides. But I miss the short-needed firs on the mountain slopes of Western Canada and USA that smell like Christmas all year along.

The Roomba vacuum circles the rooms, picking up lint, dust, and scraps that our sweeping leaves behind. When it runs out of power, I empty the full bin, plug it in to charge for another round, and send it off in another area. It goes back to Seattle in the morning, too.

We enjoy Snack Stand burgers, tater tots, and huckleberry ice cream. Golf carts line up so the elders can hang out in the big tent, too. At one point, I count 16!

Saturday

The meetings are done. The camp is leaking participants who are going home. Plenty of campers are spending a few extra days or months in this beautiful area. I've gone nowhere for a week and don't know if I'll explore or just relish the quiet time. 

M packs and loads up the car, T affixes the bike rack, and 

T and Opa help a little girl whose bike chain has fallen off. The chain is dragging but there are a few more adjustments before she pedals off. The young boys gather around to watch - a new skill in process for them. (The next day, she swings by to tell me her bike is working very well.)

Once the house is quiet, laundry takes up much of the day. I remake the beds so the rooms are guest-ready for the next group. I may dislike housework when I have to do it alone. But with the family buzzing around and lots of helpers during the week, we washed up together and it was a fun chore.

Extra bedding is returned to a donated cabinet that was so sturdy that I couldn't toss it. But it was also so ugly that I customized it by cutting white "Mac-Tac" into birch trees 25 years ago.

On another side of the room are books and games from our family's childhood collection. When Blockbuster video stores closed, we acquired a $25 shelf that works just fine.

I fill a big cup with water and walk outside the cabin with scissors in hand. It's 5 minutes to a wildflower bouquet ... quick and satisfying.

My priority 25 years ago in drawing cabin plans was maximizing usable space. There are 2 bunk rooms with 4 extra-long twins in each. As hoped, the youngsters claim those when they're here.

But I probably should have planned a staircase for people aging and those with physical challenges. Instead, there is a big storage closet under the steps, Most of us acclimate to the alternate treads but there's a creak-creak as we run up and down. W has a solution: he replaces the 15+yr old wooden braces with angle irons. He drill holes in the metal. Then he sands the pine treads. Before:

After:

Can you spot the 5 finished steps? The rest will be done soon. He seals the pine with water-based poly-crylic.

We attend a weekend service at the Canvas Church in Columbia Falls in the evening. 

It's a small but enthusiastic Gathering.

Sunday

We sleep in and watch our Indonesian church service online. The congregation is saying goodbye to Shibli, who has served on the IES Bandung team for more than a year. He is returning to Uganda this week. 

Before noon, we head for the Whitefish weekend art show. I'm surprised by what's available - this is no craft fair.

The boutique and specialty stores on the main street have prospered in the years we've been away. Look at this kitchen store!

We visit a few galleries. The skill level of artwork is stunning.

Someone wants almost $800US for a block of wood with oil paint slathered on it. We'll pass.

The window boxes are full of nursery flowers and wildflowers.

We eat hot pizza for lunch and cold pizza for suppertime in the cabin.

The sun's still up when we wrap up the day after 8:30 p.m. We catch up online and on calls and pray for those who request prayer.

Read more:

*Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. Ps41:1

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16

Moravian Prayer: O listening God, we confess that too often we overlook the needs of the poor, caught up in the web of our own challenges and concerns. We ask for the brilliant light of Christ to break the darkness of our selfishness, discovering that happiness is found in meeting others’ needs, just as did our Lord Jesus. Amen.