Come one come all to the second edition of our monthly newsletter, where we share the details of our ministry and adventures living at Frontier Lodge. October has been an eventful month here at Frontier, as we’ve begun to transition from Explore season to a new season of strategizing and maintenance. On top of that, Emilie and I have been taking every opportunity to hit the trails and get out for some adventure, and we have some sweet ideas to share today. Let’s get into it:
Take a Hike Y’all: Em and I have recently had the privilege to hit up a bunch of Nordegg’s classic hikes, from Coliseum mountain east of town to Vision Quest, a ridgeline scramble on the shore of the famous ice bubble lake, Abraham lake. We’d recommend Coliseum and Vision Quest to anyone looking for a quick way above the tree line, but would issue the caution that both are quite steep, and feature a fair amount of exposure at the top. We had a blast ripping up into the alpine for some top notch views and a world-class workout! We also hiked Crescent Falls on one of our rest days, when we needed an easier and shorter day out with less exposure. Pics below!
Vision Quest:
Coliseum:
Baptism, Baby!: A quick congratulations to my brother Salem for getting baptized in style this month at Celebration Church! We had the opportunity to witness his day and let me tell you, it was a real treat! We love you Salem!!
Changing Seasons: As fall turns steadily into winter, we at Frontier encounter another kind of seasonal change as our Explore students depart for Prairie campus in Three Hills. As we undergo this transition, we begin to focus on a new season of strategizing and maintenance. We have less programming to do and more wrenching, and because of this my role changes substantially for the months of November and December. I’ll be taking on more site maintenance responsibilities, working with the maintenance team here to make sure the water lines don’t freeze and winter tires get put on vehicles. I’ve already helped with a large repair of the Lodge’s ice climbing wall, which involved hoisting a 20 foot beam into place:
All that said, Frontier does still have some programming going on, including our annual
Women’s retreat happening this weekend, which you can still sign up for on Frontier
Lodge’s website! You may get to join my lovely wife on an adventure or two!
Foot-Washing as Leadership?: Something I’ve been thinking about and wrestling with as my role changes for this season is the concept of biblical leadership, and how it applies to my current position. I came to Frontier Lodge to practice leadership and ministry, but as I take on more maintenance responsibilities and less programming, it is sometimes difficult to understand how my new responsibilities tie into this goal. However, I was recently reminded of John 13 whilst attending Nordegg Community Church, in which Jesus demonstrates his style of leadership by washing his disciples feet. This would have been unheard of at the time, as it was a service commonly undertaken by servants, unbefitting for a Rabbi. This reminds us that biblical leadership is underscored always by selflessness and servanthood, and is best practised by leading through example. This encouraged me to see my new roles as training in leadership by example and servanthood, the underscoring qualities of a kingdom leader, and one I’m sure will help me when I’m back in the field.
If you’re able to and would like to contribute to our journey and ministry here at Frontier Lodge, you can send Frontier a donation via their website (frontierlodge.ca/donate) and let them know you’d like it to go to mine and Emilie’s compensation. Frontier Lodge is a non-profit organization and as a result, a lot of our salary has to come from donations such as this, so the support is greatly appreciated! You’ll receive a tax receipt on your donation to boot!
Thanks for tuning into this month’s newsletter! If you enjoyed it please let us know, and if you know anyone you think would like to receive these updates, let them know they can send us their email and we’ll add them to the mailing list. Newsletters will also be able to be viewed on our blog at Thanks again for checking this out!
Big Love, Ariel & Em.
P.S. Our Wedding Video is out!!! You can see it now on Clayton Jackshaw's YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/cB05KXATkRI. We also got our wedding pictures back, and you can find a few of them below!
