GOD IN THE (EXTRA)ORDINARINESS OF MISSION | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2021

Author: Joshua Jacob

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bOvEroxuBnHkzxYtMYSnU

Intro: The mission to Northern Canada to serve the people there became more than he bargained for. Joshua Jacob shares the story. 

On a Tuesday in early June 2025, I sat all alone in the dark rectory, the wilderness of Northern Canada around me. The power had failed, a forest fire was closing in, and I had no idea whether I'd survive the night. Everything I'd learned about faith over the previous fourteen months crystallised into one terrifying, beautiful truth: I was not in control of anything. 

This is my story of how I went to Canada expecting to be a missionary, only to come home realising God had been the missionary all along. 

A Vagabond's Journey 

Hi friends, I'm Josh, a Jesus Youth from Chicago. From May 2024 through March 2026, I served as a full-time volunteer, visiting and supporting communities across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Each place discipled me, deepening my self-discovery and trust in the Lord. 

After a year of participating in different missions, my one-year full-time placement was Pukatawagan, a remote Cree First Nation community in Manitoba, Canada, reachable only by an 8+ hour train or, in winter, a 4-hour drive across 11 frozen lakes, where temperatures plummet to -45°C and the night sky comes alive with the northern lights. Our internet is only available via satellite since no cellular towers reach that far. Jesus Youth had made annual trips here and was experimenting with placing a full-timer in such a community for a longer term. 

A Process of Unlearning 

Coming from Chicago with a city mindset, I found that formal structure crumbled in the face of community life. The advice Archbishop (of Winnipeg) Murray Chatlain gave me beforehand was simple: ‘Come with an empty cup.’ There's ‘regular time,’ the rigid schedule I knew, and ‘native time,’ the rhythm that governs how life actually unfolds. My carefully laid plans – prevention programmes, youth groups, even a pilgrimage to Rome – all surrendered to this different pace. 

Real ministry looked nothing like my plans. The classes and youth groups met real needs, but what actually transformed lives, including my own, happened in the margins, where programmes don't fit: giving rides to elderly parishioners, hearing their stories; joining the parish priest, Fr Dhana, to bring Holy Communion to the sick; learning indigenous arts and crafts from elders, attending a sweat lodge ceremony, stumbling through Cree lessons as an elder patiently corrected me and smiled. 

One such moment became the most meaningful of my mission: a grieving family I'd only just met welcomed me onto an 8+ hour train journey as an honorary family member. That ride taught me more about belonging, compassion, and being present to suffering than any programme could.

I was beginning to understand the empty cup. Coming without an agenda frees you to be present and to love the people you serve, making each moment a sacred chance to encounter Christ in the other. 

Trial by Fire 

Then came 2nd June that rewrote everything. 

A few hours after dropping off Fr Dhana for his pre-scheduled vacation and returning to the rectory, he messaged me about a forest fire nearby that could threaten the community. Over FaceTime, he walked me through the emergency protocols. These fires move fast because of the warm, dry air and wind. The community warned that the flames could reach the power lines within an hour. 

Just as predicted, the power went out. Returning from the long gasoline queue, I sat alone in the dark rectory, thinking: If something happens to me, no one will even know. Our only way out was the 8+ hour train, or a plane. 

The next morning I reached Fr Dhana by satellite phone and got the Starlink working. I was moved to learn that Jesus Youth back home and across Canada were praying for us; parishioners called the landline to check in, breaking the lie that I was alone. 

I started helping out at the Community Youth Centre, doing what I could as the situation unfolded, and when the fire chief arrived, I joined the efforts on the front line. After sitting through many men's talks about Catholic masculinity, responsibility, and courage, that ride on the back of the truck to the front line wasn't theory anymore but something real, about showing up where it mattered most despite the risks. The fire was unlike anything I'd imagined, flames reaching three stories high. The train was no longer an option – the station was too close to the blaze; planes couldn't land either, the fire only 2 km from the airport. 

I returned to the rectory, called my parents, and quietly said goodbye. Yet amid the danger I was reminded of Jesus present in the tabernacle next door, and a deep peace came over me. Kise-manito (Creator, in Cree), who made this world, will care for His people. It was a complete and literal surrender of my life to Him. 

By evening the wind began to shift, pushing the fire away. I returned to the rectory past midnight, too exhausted to start the generator, and went to bed with a bag of essentials and a canoe ready in case I had to evacuate by lake. 

Thanks to Fr Dhana and Barbara, an elder and church leader, by morning a spot was arranged for me on a helicopter rescue. It was surreal to watch the fire from the chopper, praying for those still behind. 

The next day, something felt unsettling. I felt like a coward, fleeing like Jonah from the people I'd come to serve, and a strong urge to return stirred in me. Scripture steadied me: Do not be afraid... for I am with you (Acts 18:9-10). My dad was ok but told me to seek my mom's blessing also. She hesitated at first, but to my surprise called back and gave the ok. Psalm 91 had come to her in prayer; she thought of all the mothers who had cared for me while I was away, and felt it only right that the son they once nurtured be there for them now. 

With my parents' blessing, I asked to return despite the risks, but was refused for safety reasons and diocesan protocols. In the days that followed, the whole community was evacuated; a handful of first responders stayed behind. 

The Good Neighbour Response 

I made it to safety, but the work continued. Across Canada, 40,000 people were displaced. Jesus Youth answered by mobilising the ‘Good Neighbour Response,’ bringing pastoral care and practical support to evacuated families. Alongside other missionaries, priests, and local Jesus Youth in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Niagara, we were present with our First Nation friends – listening, praying, and facilitating Mass and Rosaries at the hotels and centres housing them. Online, JYs from Chicago, Ontario, Philadelphia, and South Florida live-streamed Eucharistic adorations, and we joined daily Divine Mercy Chaplets for the people and the land. By the grace of God, most of the key infrastructure was kept from harm; within months, the repairs were completed, and people started moving back. In the interim, I was sent to Ecuador for the remainder of my full-timership. 

God Works in the Quiet 

Toward the end of my commitment, I was blessed to return to Pukatawagan for our annual Jesus Youth mission trip, where we help with Confirmation and First Holy Communion preparations. On earlier visits, I had often wondered whether any real change was taking place, but on returning I could see it: slow, yet visible in the trust built within the community through consistent presence. After two weeks of preparation, eighteen children were confirmed by the new Archbishop of Keewatin–Le Pas, Most Rev Susai Jesu. I left with profound gratitude for the community that had opened my heart and taught me lessons of faith, love, and belonging I'll carry forever. 

A Calling for All of Us 

Two themes stand out from these two years of my full-timership: a deeper self-discovery and a growing trust in God. These encounters and challenges shaped my understanding of mission: the joy, cost, and the humility it demands. Coming home, my world looks different, in the way a life of mission and prayer uniquely reveals. Though my formal commitment has ended, the call to mission continues. 

The world needs Christ, and Christ thirsts for souls. If you're young, you have the flexibility to go where others cannot and the boldness to share the Good News radically. Empty your cup, and He will not just fill it, but overflow it. If you're older, support and encourage young people to go on mission, for the Church is calling such young witnesses. Whatever our age, we are all called to be missionaries where God has planted us; dare to take the next step. 

Author ProfileJoshua Jacob served as a full-time missionary volunteer for Jesus Youth from May 2024 through March 2026. He currently resides in Chicago, USA.