“And I heard the voice of the Lord
saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am!
Send me.” ~Isaiah 6:8
Be ready for a novel sized blog
post. I sure hope you are not thinking that the other posts have been novel
length, if so here comes the encyclopedia. Quite a few days have gone by and in
each day, I’ve intended to write, but to no avail. Thus, here is a extensive
update on the last few days.
On Friday, Ben (the cook I mentioned
in a previous post) came to dinner. He also brought his roommates, Jesse (also
works at the Eco-Lodge in the kitchen) and Kota (a graduate student from Tokyo,
Japan, working on his research thesis). Zach, a supply teacher (what they call
substitute teachers) has also been eating dinner with us and attending church
regularly. All in all, there were 8 of us. After dinner, we had a great time
playing Catch Phrase. It is so much fun to play that game with such a diverse
group of people. At home, I never consider myself an American, nor do I see
myself as everything American, however, when placed in a group that includes 1
from Japan, 2 from Ontario, 1 from Montreal, 1 from Philly, and 1 from Atlanta,
I quickly realize that I am 100% from Pittsburgh (and am proud of it!) Despite
several language barriers, the game was a huge hit.
On Saturday, the girls (Kristen,
Alaina, and myself) baked many desserts for our food booth for Canada Day.
Kristen and Alaina, using the most entrepreneurial facebook group called
FoodFight, have begun participating with other members on the island. FoodFight
is a facebook page that allows people to post home-made foods (dinners,
desserts, ect), provide a starting bid price, an ending time for the auction,
and whether the item(s) are to be picked up or delivered. Anyone interested,
simply bids on the item. This concept is exceptional and has limited localities
where it could be successful. Based on the encouraging response to their food
posts, they had decided to open a baked good booth for Canada Day. I invited
both Jasmine and her friend Mya to come help us bake. Jasmine and I baked
several things early on and we played games most of the afternoon. I taught the
girls how to play Spoons and they loved it, especially when I lost! We also
played Pit.
Saturday evening, we celebrated
Lorraine’s birthday with the entire Jolly Family. Allan Jolly, the head of the
family, has been our Moose Factory contact person since we have begun
ministering on the island. It has been a wonderful privilege and opportunity to
spend quality time with him, Lorraine, their children, and their many
grandchildren. Besides that, dinner was most excellent! The Jolly family knows
how to throw a party, even on an island that seems somewhat limited. (Just for
a fun fact, two Butterball turkeys on the island come to $140!!!)
Sunday was my first official Canada
Day! But, just like in Pittsburgh, when events are planned, the rain attempts
to thwart them. Unlike Pittsburgh, on the island, they can literally postpone a
HUGE event until the following day because of a stormy weather report. So, my
first official Canada Day was postponed…
One of the many reasons I was looking
forward to additional time on the island was to experience a typical church
service at the Cree Gospel Chapel (without 30 white Americans running the show,
like we do when our team is here). However, for the past two weeks that I have
attended church at the chapel, I have taught Sunday school and have not been
able to sit through a service. I love it when my plans are altered and I have
the opportunity to serve.
I was able to sit through the Sunday
evening service at the church; unfortunately, I do not have the gift of
speaking in tongues and did not understand one word of the service.
Occasionally, they hold a Sunday evening service entirely in Cree. The ladies
behind us were kind enough to tell us exactly where Allan was teaching in
Scripture because when he said, “Hebrews niche bipishonpisn”, it just didn’t
help.
Monday was actually my first
un-official Canada Day celebration. First, we offered to help an organization
cook, serve, and clean up a breakfast for the island. Alone, I toasted 10
loaves of “brown” or wheat bread. We washed over 300 plates. But, this was just
the beginning of the day’s adventure. After setting up our booth, it was time
to get involved. Alaina and I ran the foot races for the youth. Canada Day has
such a great turnout on the island and the youth seem to really look forward to
the celebration. It is so exciting to see that even in the midst of facing
endless trials and heartaches, the community unites to celebrate a random day.
My goal for the day was this: “If I do not have a valid reason NOT to attempt
something, I am going for it.” This mind-frame led me to participate in the
following:
- While being timed, I put on a fireman’s suit from head to toe (actually, literally from toe to head), crawled through a long black tunnel, put on a heavy oxygen tank, carried a wound house from one end of the field to the other, drug the water hose, and sprayed a target. Once the target was knocked down, the clock was stopped. My time was 2.02 minutes. Although I was not in the top 5 places, I feel that I could have gone significantly faster IF I had a helmet that fit. I ran the course with my helmet in front of my face and my eyes entirely covered. But, who is making excuses? Haha.
- Again, while being timed, I was given 3 long nails, a hammer, and a round log. Seeing as how my first nail was driven into the wood almost sideways, I didn’t bother even asking for my time. Carpentry is not in my near future. And I am certainly NOT fireman material.
- At the end of the day, I signed up to pull a vehicle with a towrope. After watching several women fall to the ground after the vehicle began moving, my nerves slowly, but surely increased. Honestly, I was questioning whether or not I could even MOVE the vehicle, let alone pull it 100 meters. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” Slowly, I was able to pull the 3,845 pound Kia Sorento 100 meters in 37 seconds. I was 9 seconds behind the first place winner (and I do not feel the need to mention how many other people came within those 9 seconds. Besides, they had experience with pulling cars last year, but again, who is making excuses?) Overall, Canada Day was so much fun and I was blessed with getting to spend the entire day with a 14-year-old Cree boy, Drayton, who loves hanging out with our team. I was thankful to introduce him to Josh and Kristen. Drayton is a Christian and has a solid, strong faith, but for a 14 year-old boy, it is a lonely journey to stand for something so far removed from the norm. I love being here to encourage him to stay strong and to fight the island “idols.”
Even though the fireworks display
(which I listened to from my bedroom) did not end until 11:00p.m., we decided to
go forth with our first day of summer camp! 90 minutes after the start time,
our first two youth arrived! Hallelujah! Arianna and Sereena came to check out
camp and then, they never left. They stayed with us the entire day, helping
with the younger age groups after their session. We taught them and the 9/10
year olds to play Fax Machine. Some of the end results were hysterical.
Somehow, the first fax was a picture of Poutine (oh, if you are not familiar
with Canada, poutine is French fries with gravy and cheese… how can that
possibly go wrong?) But, by the end, the fax turned into an “angry person.” I
LOVE the way children think!!!! With our Tuesday and Thursday class, we are
studying, in depth, the book of Daniel. Daniel portrays the characteristics that
are needed for survival in such as place as this. Daniel was steadfast,
courageous, trusting, wise, and fully relied on the true God for his every
move. In the next month, I want to strongly encourage our students to “Dare to
be a Daniel.”
Now can you see why I have not
written to you since Thursday? I appreciate your faithfulness in reading about
the way God is blessing us each day on this journey. And even more so, I
appreciate our “pray-ers” and your diligence in remembering our requests. Thank
you for being senders, as we are the goers. I will be the first to say that
there are many moments that are far from enjoyable or positive, but just as we
are teaching that God provided for those who trusted in Him, He is providing
abundantly for us in ways that we would never expect.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for continued attendance at summer camp. Pray for our energy and thoroughness as the groups increase in size and liveliness. Pray for our wisdom as we address behavior needs while ultimately showing them love. Pray that we would be attentive to those needing extra encouragement and support.
- Please pray for our general health as several things have come up more recently. Our systems are being taxed as our schedules vary and we are removed from “normal” life.
- Please pray specifically for Alexandrya’s older sister, Allison. (Alexandrya is the young girl that took her life one week ago). Her older sister gave her life to Christ and is just beginning her walk with the Lord through many tough trials ahead. Pray that she would be open to receiving our care and affection.
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