Arctic Hope

One of our objectives for our summer was to get confirmation that God had called us to relocate to Ft McPherson, NT to partner in helping establish churches in the remote communities of the region.  As I mentioned in my last blog, most of the communities have an ongoing evangelical work. Our previous vision hinged on the great ‘need’ for a consistent gospel witness in multiple communities.  The plan hinged on building relationships in each community with the hope of planting a healthy church in each place. (more…)

Today I was reading about a celebration in heaven, the celebration over one lost person who is found. In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables highlighting the efforts expended seeking to find that which is lost. A shepherd diligently sought a lost sheep even though there were ninety-nine left.  A woman diligently sought a lost valuable coin even though there were nine left. A man diligently watched for a lost son even though he still had a son left at home.  In each case, that which was lost was found.  In each case this led to an amazing celebration.  You see God is very interested in finding the lost and when He does, there is a party in heaven. God knows how to celebrate the win! (more…)

Tsiigehtchic (prounounced sig-eh-chic) is located on the Dempster Highway where the Arctic Red River meets the Mackenzie River. It is reachable by car much of the year by using the Mackenzie river ferry or an ice river crossing. The community is also located approximately a one hour drive down the Dempster northeast of Ft McPherson.  Formerly called Arctic Red River, the community officially changed its name to Tsiigehtchic (Mouth of Iron River) in 1994 to honor it’s traditional name. This location has a very long history as a summer fish camp for the Gwichya Gwich’in (”people of the flat lands”) and was the site of many gatherings and trade (both friendly and not so friendly) between the Gwichya Gwich’in, Slavey and Inuvialuit. Many of the families in Tsiigehtchic have relatives in Fort McPherson, Old Crow and Inuvik.

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Tulita means, “where two rivers meet,” in the Dene language. Tulita is located on the south bank of the Bear River and east shore of the Mackenzie River approximately 40 miles upstream (southeast) of Norman Wells. Just across the Bear River from Tulita stands Bear Rock, which is a spiritual place held in high regard by the Dene people. Tulita was founded in 1810 by the Northwest Trading Company as Fort Norman and maintained that name until 1996.Today Tulita has approximately 350 resident whose homes are generally well maintained and whose morale seemed as high as any community we visited in the region. (more…)

Fort McPherson is one of the more accessible communities of the arctic region. Located just off the Dempster Highway approximately 170 miles south of the regional capital Inuvik, Ft McPherson and can be reached by car most of the year. There are however short periods during the fall freeze in October, and the spring melt when it is cut off because the ferries cannot run over the Peal and Mackenzie rivers and the ice bridge is either not formed or is melting. During this time all supplies are flown in prices increase dramatically at the two stores in town, the Northern and the Co-op. These stores carry mostly groceries and a few other items and are about the size of a typical pre Wal-Mart rural grocery store in the US.

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Tuktoyaktuk, (Inuvialuktun: it looks like a caribou) or Tuk, is located approximately 60 kilometers east of the mouth of the Mackenzie river where it flows into the Arctic Ocean. According to Wikipedia, “the settlement has been used by the native Inuvialuit for centuries as a place to harvest caribou and beluga whales. In addition, Tuk’s natural harbor was used as a means to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements.” Most of Tuk’s current 900 population is made up of Inuvialuit people. (more…)

Just an update. Michelle and I completed our goal of exploring the ten communities of the Arctic that we had targeted. We have been stretched, pulled, amazed, encouraged and occasionally discouraged. We found that the people generally have a knowledge of God but few really know Him. We have posted some of the things we have learned and will continue adding our summaries of the communities over the next few days.

Additionally, we have met wonderful people in each these communities as well as Ft Simpson, Watson Lake, Ft Nelson, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Whitehorse, Dawson City, Worsley, Fairview, Grande Prairie, Cochrane and Calgary. We hope to refresh some of our new and old friends as well as be refreshed as we work our way south.

We praise God for His answers to your prayers as He has sustained us, protected us and granted us amazing grace. We trust God will continue to do so as we travel to Orlando. We owe each of you a deep debt of gratitude and appreciate your continued prayers.

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…)