Each year the Act Five Gap Year Program begins by pushing canoes loaded with students into the water. They disappear into the wilderness, led by their RLs and the Coldwater Canada team. When they return, it is with stories of resilience, meeting God and seeing their community grow closer. This year, Cullen Vandeburgt, one of our RLs, tells the story of the canoe trip along with some student reflections:
The Story of a Canoe Trip
“Our trip began with a challenge issued by the Coldwater director to Lean in to the experience and invest ourselves. He challenged us to Trust those around us; to Be Ourselves and allow ourselves to feel our emotions. We are to be open with others, and allow both the good and bad of ourselves to be seen and known.
Next thing we knew we had left technology and most signs of humanity behind and we had subjected ourselves to one rhythm. Wake early, cook, devotions, paddle, paddle, paddle, portage, paddle, portage, portage, paddle, set up camp, sleep. Repeat. Physically we had our work cut out for us. The goal of each day was quite clear: work hard and lean into the discomfort of long and full days.
“God met us in these places and wrote His strength over our weakness.”
The truth underneath this though is that there was a lot more going on than this simple goal. Through some combination of being stuck in the wilderness as a small group with only each other, having endless time to get to know each other, and beginning the day with God, the physical work that we were doing was made smaller, and the spiritual, relational, and personal conquests became bigger. One of the students upon reflection of the trip put it this way, ‘I expected to canoe lots and have some moments of God time. Instead I got to spend lots of time with God and canoe in-between.’
The last day of the trip came with an opportunity to say what we had seen grow in each other. One of the students remembers that moment: ‘This is the day we’ll arrive in civilization, when we’ll canoe to the takeout point. Full of anticipation, we have paused, mostly packed, ready to go, in order to fellowship. It’s time to affirm and strengthen one another. In the next half hour, each of us will both affirm and be affirmed by one another. We hear praises and truths that overwhelm us with joy. We pray for each other, and few eyes remain dry. Finally we finish off with a trust exercise, each of us being held in turn, by the others. We are stronger and more joyful for it. It is a fitting end to our trip.’
The trip was filled with moments of yelling at trees for existing, watching each other turn into puddles of exertion, and – what I found most inspiring – seeing the willingness to meet challenge in others’ eyes. People hurt at times and there were moments we needed to ask for help or take a break. Yet over and over I witnessed one and then the next rise to the challenge. Self-doubts and evil narratives were broken. Through the seemingly simple concept of carrying a bag, maybe two, or a canoe through the forest, God met us in these places and wrote His strength over our weakness. He showed us our beauty where we saw a corner of us we’d rather ignore, and filled us with hope and joy where we couldn’t see endings.
Over the course of 9 days we ended up traveling 160 kilometers and portaging 16 of those kilometers.”
