Week 14 - Still in Idaho

This time last week, we were recovering from our many miles in the Tetons. Our legs were shaky and our knees creaky, which is funny since we were once considering hiking the PCT, (a 5-month-thru-hike). I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but we’d really need to put in the work.

We transitioned back into the bus after our car camping adventure and started making our way north to what I quickly realised…was still gonna be Idaho…Logan makes a disclaimer often that I’m not from this country. Someone we had met while in the Tetons happened to find us on the road and followed us for a few miles!!

After a night in Missoula, we landed in Coeur d’Alene - a city right on the border of Washington state.

The last time the Lost Bus was up this way, Cain, Josh and Davis (crew #6 and builders of the current bus) got connected with Pastor David Nolls and Redeemer Lutheran Church. David then sent the boys to a nearby Lutheran Camp - Lutherhaven, where their timing was perfect for building a pergola. When Logan and I took over the Lost Bus socials and started blogging, one of the first emails we got was from David Noll inviting us to the PNW! He is a big reason we are in this part of the country right now, and it has not disappointed.

We pulled into Lutherhaven and were warmly greeted by Rebecca, Camp Director. It was quickly apparent not only the incredibly vast operations of the camp, but what a visually stunning camp it was (impressive considering its 80 years of existence). I was so happy to see a whole stack of paddleboards by the water, and so you best believe I’ve been out 3 times already.

Though the “camp season” never seems to truly end here, there is a seasonal transition. Logan and I worked on packing up the medical room and preparing it for some full-time staff to move into. I was out on the water today winterising the epic inflatable water park, which we’ll hopefully pack down later this week.

When we first got in contact with Rebecca, she told us about a “climbing tower project,” and Logan’s eyes lit up. He wondered what exactly this entailed and whether his abilities were being overestimated, but replied: “Sick, sounds awesome”. Now that he’s seen all that needs to be done, it seems to be in his wheel house. Logan has gotten the ball rolling with preparing the base and will continue to work on it throughout this week.

What we often tell people we are connected with is that we’d love to get done what you just don’t have time for right now. These aforementioned projects have been sitting on the back burner for the team here at Lutherhaven, they have a full on program to run and a list of other priorities to work through. We are tickled by the opportunity to get them done.

On Sunday we were up BEFORE the crack of dawn to take the bus to Redeemer Lutheran in Spokane for the morning services. As we crossed statelines we could only watch in horror as the gas prices jumped up yet another dollar … $7.39 a gallon and counting.

We were excited to finally meet Dave, who arrives at church every Sunday at 4am!!! Arriving early gave us the chance to sit down with him, and it was so cool to hear how excited he was to have the Lost Bus back in town. He described a great shift that took place in the congregation the last time the bus was in town. He had us share during service why we were there and had set up a kiosk for anyone to come by afterward. There were 2 lists: service needs in the community and a sign-up sheet for working alongside the Lost Bus crew. Henceforth, we will call Dave the “great connector,” as from the moment we walked in the doors he had us meeting all sorts of people whom he thought we could serve. And now that we have these lists, not only will he be helping us coordinate the projects, but he’s also facilitating the involvement of others. WE LOVE THIS!!

For us, a big piece of this experience is relationship, taking time to meet and get to know the people in our path. To quote David’s sermon on Sunday, “the gospel travels on the platform of relationships”; it’s obvious this is just as important to Redeemer Lutheran.

This week we plan to dig into life here at Lutherhaven, getting the rock wall up, helping with season turnover, and eating dessert at every meal!!!