Several Days in Pikangikum Moccasins - July 14, 2017

A Day in the Life of the Burkholders:
Dave and their son, Lynn

The following is a newsletter written on October 1960 - a day in the life of Dave, Elva and their 2 year old son, Lynn.

Sunday, September 4

10:00 am- Morning Worship Service consisting of two Sunday School classes with Elva teaching one class and Brother David Strang, the chief, the other. Dave brings the morning message assisted by a native sharing devotions.

12:00 noon - Our family eats lunch at the church house, saving both gas and time by not going home. (to the reader - they lived on an island and had to use a canoe, obviously with a motor, to get to the reservation)

pm - Dave goes visiting a seemingly indifferent brother, but all is found to be quite well. Next he goes to Bro. Checkakamash's house, an old Indian man who has been sick for almost two years and now has contacted a type of flu. Never have we seen anyone so thin and yet still alive. It is difficult for him to grasp the Bread of Life we try to share with him.

5 pm - Evening Service with several native speakers.

Monday, September 5

Too much rain to saw logs, so try to catch up on odd jobs.

Tuesday, September 6 - (morning) Getting ready to go sawing, as we have two men hired for the day...then there is a knock on the door. It's Booshoo Witliam (Keeper), "Have you heard that Cheskakamash died yesterday?" "No, but we will go and visit the home as soon as possible."

am - We visit the home, try to comfort the wife and middle aged daughter. Funeral plans are made for tomorrow (perhaps in afternoon) at church house.

-assist three natives in starting to make coffin with boards cut from the mission sawmill.

-an airplane is seen landing, and will need our assistance to dock as the lake is very rough due to strong winds. The school teacher has come! Well, praise the Lord! He is a Christian, a Mennonite, and even a Burkholder - A. Lorne Burkholder from Eastern Ontario. We help them unpack and get situated when at 4:30 pm the chief notifies us of a change in plans, the funeral is in one hour instead of tomorrow! So with 10 to 15 minutes to prepare a message, we all met with approximately seventy-five people at the graveside (about 10 or 15 rods from the family house).

The dust returns to dust and the spirit has already left.

Well, no logs sawed again today, perhaps tomorrow.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." Matthew 6:33 and  "You are not your own, you are bought with a price..." I Corinthians 6:19, 20.

Were you praying for us then?

Dave, Elva, and Lynn Burkholder