Arctic Hope

Today we get an update from Michelle. Enjoy!

Paulatuk, “on top or the world,” as our daughter Jennifer remarked is a quaint community of about 330 people situated on the Beaufort Sea about 200 miles east of Tuktoyaktuk. As we flew in over the beautiful blue-green water that surrounds Paulatuk on three sides, we could pick out the Catholic Church building which was originally built in 1934. In the 80’s the original was replaced by a Quonset hut built directly behind the original structure. From the people we met as we walked and prayed, we learned that the priest does not live there but visits periodically. Most people in Paulatuk consider themselves to be Catholic. (more…)

“Inuvik is the largest Canadian community north of the Arctic Circle and the regional government center for the Mackenzie Delta area. The site was selected by the federal government to replace Aklavik, and a hospital, school and airport were built over a period of six years, from 1955 to 1961. Both Gwich’in and Inuvialuit families moved to the new community, located on a navigable channel of the Mackenzie Delta.” (excerpt from the Gwch’in website) (more…)

Fort Good Hope is the oldest settlement in the lower Mackenzie Valley. Although established in 1805 by the Northwest Company, Fort Good Hope moved several times before it reached its current location on the east bank of the Mackenzie River, about 90 miles northwest of Norman Wells. The settlement is known for its unusual church, Our Lady of Good Hope, which was decorated with murals by a Catholic priest in 1878 and restored in 1993. Most of the residents still trap, hunt and fish for their livelihood.The primary access to the community is by the Mackenzie river in the summer and ice road in the winter. Most of the approximately 600 residents of Ft Good Hope are part of the Dene (pronounced Den - eh) Nation. (more…)

“Aklavik is located on the Peel channel of the Mackenzie River Delta 113 km south of the Arctic Coast. There is no summer road access, however, in winter, an ice road stretches across the Mackenzie Delta to Inuvik.”(excerpt from the Gwich’ in web site)

In 1914, Aklavik began to grow into a permanent community when the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post at a traditional trading location between the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit. Both the Anglican and Catholic churches had established missions there by 1926. Over time Aklavik grew into the regional government center for the Northwest Territories. (more…)

Over the last few weeks we have had the opportunity to get into eight of the ten communities plus several others. My next few blogs will attempt to share what we have learned.

Old Crow is located inside Arctic Circle in the northern part of the Yukon Territories less than one hundred miles from Alaska. The community is located along the Porcupine River (named for the large number of porcupines in the area). Most of the 300 people in Old Crow are Vuntut Gwich’in (people of the lakes). The Vuntut Gwich’in have a long history of trapping and hunting this area of the Yukon. (more…)

A few days ago we completed a ridiculous road trip that we had no expectation to finish without significant difficulties. We traveled by air from Ft Simpson, NT to Terrace, BC to Dawson City, YT. From there we picked up a truck to drive to Ft Nelson to meet our travel trailer and return to Dawson City. Our last leg took us from Dawson City to Old Crow, YT and on to Ft McPherson by air. It took five days, 1800 air miles and 1800 ground miles.

We met many great folks along the way and enjoyed the incredible beauty of the Canadian Rockies from the air and from on the ground. We finished the trip exhausted but grateful that God had allowed us to take such an incredible journey without a single roadside or airport breakdown. WhooHooo! (more…)

Sometimes we underestimate. Sometimes we overestimate. Sometimes it makes a big difference. Sometimes it doesn’t.
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While thousands of miles away, we received a great blessing this week. Our friends in Colorado Springs, Johnny and Nancy Whitaker, took our newly purchased travel trailer and secured it, worked the paperwork, cleaned it up, made some minor repairs, richly provisioned it, and prepared it for a long journey to Ft McPherson. They worked through a number of minor and potentially major problems that could have created great difficulties. (more…)

Yes, we’re there. Yesterday we flew into Ft McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada. We had an amazing trip on our final leg from Watkins Lake, YT. Here are some of the photos we shot while flying over the mountains. The photos do not do justice to the incredible beauty we were blessed to witness.

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God is awesome and has a great sense of humor too! How so? This week he provided the gift of a place to live in Ft McPherson. He gave us great progress as we flew into Calgary AB. And He reminded me that sometimes my attitude makes me somewhat like an unmarked grave. (more…)