Monday night...
The weekend flies by too fast.  We fit in friends, family, church and some home projects.  But tonight I am feeling like some unfinished tasks, some un-visited friends and family are calling out to me:  what about me?  Don't forget me!  
My bag is packed, open and waiting for the last-minute items I will throw in tomorrow morning.  I am thinking through how many days, how many meals, what food can I pack quickly before we leave?
One precious thing is that I enjoyed wonderful mornings on our back deck, coffee and Bible and journal, to meet with the Lord.  I am so thankful for our routines at home that truly do refresh me.  This week will be short up at the office in Prince Albert.  We have an Executive meeting on Wednesday and that is the focus of our time there.  And an interview with a potential missionary candidate during that meeting...so we have some amazing opportunities and God will give us strength as we need it. 
His mercies are new every morning.
"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

Friday night...we are blitzed, watching Netflix and giving ourselves permission to do as little as possible!
The past couple of weeks have been very different than what we had planned.  Our plans included a Native Ministry Leaders Gathering for three days, then one night at our suite in Prince Albert before heading home to Regina for some R & R.  In God's orchestration, we were in P.A. for that evening and attended a prayer meeting with some NCEM folks.  While there, we received a text of a tragic death and immediately went to the hospital to be with the family.  Thus began a journey of grief, filling in the gaps and being part of a support team for our friends.
More and more I am seeing how we need to rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  We cannot predict tragedy.  We cannot control circumstances.  But we CAN trust in the God of heaven and earth who knows all before it happens and can bring good out of despair. 
For the past two weeks, we have spent weekends at home and weekdays at the NCEM office.  Several times, people have thanked us for being available to support the family who lost a loved one.  They have been appreciative and we certainly don't feel we did anything special or out of what we ordinarily do in the course of ministry.  Still, we receive these encouraging words because it would be easy to feel disappointed at life and circumstances and not see God in the midst.
Next Wednesday, we have a long-overdue Executive Meeting, which has a very full agenda.  Then we have a four-day Leadership week to prepare for in mid-June.  Maybe after that, we may carve time out for some "home therapy" - time at home - and time to reconnect with friends and church family and our own family!
Just so people don't get the impression that "missionaries" and pastors and other full-time Christian workers are somehow perfect and sinless, I am here to tell you we do get weary, tired, disappointed and yes, even frustrated when things don't go our way!  I also want you to to know, we are held in the hands of our loving heavenly Father and can trust Him to sustain when we are weak and to prepare times of rest.  Psalm 23 is filled with the beautiful imagery of the Shepherd making His sheep lie down in green pastures and leading them to quiet waters.  He even prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies!  The Shepherd knows our needs and can give us peace in the midst of the battle. 
I pray for rest this weekend and strength to rise on wings like an eagle...

Arriving in Whitehorse in the middle of the afternoon, Walter and I rented a car and found our way to Tony and Janet Ens' home.  They live in a subdivision outside the main part of the capital city of Yukon Territory.  Their duplex backs onto a walking path, and Tony and Janet took us for a wonderful walk that took us to a lookout spot.  From there, we could see the Yukon River. Although mostly frozen, an open area in the river attracted some ducks, gulls and trumpeter swans!  We gazed down on the sight and enjoyed the sounds of the birds.  Mountains surrounded us and the vista was surreal for this prairie girl!
The next couple of days we spent visiting with our dear friends, whom we have known since Bible College days.  We shared meals and their evening devotional times as a family.  Their sons have been raised in the north and they regaled us with many hilarious and crazy tales of their adventures!  Did we laugh!
Saturday afternoon, we drove the lovely 45 minute journey to Carcross, YT.  A couple from Whitehorse had spent a couple of years praying about the little church that was sitting empty, and the little town that needed a Gospel witness.  With a small team of folks, they are holding services on Saturdays in the little log building, no running water but a sturdy foundation.  A Baptist group built the church, but it is now under the ownership of NCEM, so we wanted to meet the pastor and his wife, (Wade and Josephine Holmes) and encourage them in their outreach. Years ago, our mission did have missionaries serving there but the current ministry is starting over. 
Carcross is a tourist town with two First Nations villages (the Yukon does not have reserve lands as most of the provinces have) on the outskirts of the town.  Mountains surround the community and the river separates the town from the village on one side.  The church service was very casual, with the core group and only two kids.  They hope and pray for connections into the Native communities and are exploring the possibility of partnering somehow with NCEM in their ministry now.
On Sunday afternoon, we attended a new church planting initiative in the city called "Northern Collective" under the C2C outreach ministry in Canada.  Using a Baptist Church after their regular morning services, the young pastor, Harrison Kwok (and his wife Kaitlyn) reminded us of ourselves 20+ years ago. They have two preschool daughters, who keep them busy while they try to carry out their ministry!  A small core of 6-8 adults sat in a circle at the back of the sanctuary.  They served coffee.  I actually got to help our friend, Tony, lead worship as Kaitlyn was away.  I borrowed her guitar and we sang a few songs from a newly printed songbook. It was only their 4th Sunday service and they were still praying and seeking ways to reach out to those who are not necessarily feeling a "fit" into the traditional church culture.  They had a sharing time, and it was strikingly similar to our Healing Hearts early days: people sharing hurts and prayer requests in a transparent and vulnerable way. 
That evening, we had supper with a retired NCEM couple who also live in Whitehorse.  They served mainly in Buffalo Narrows, SK during their 20+ years of missionary service.  Ron has Parkinson's Disease and has become limited in his mobility and energy levels.  Wendy works at a local grocery store.   We shared a wonderful meal and evening together hearing their stories on the mission field.  We wanted them also to know how much we appreciate their part in the ministry and bring them up to date on the changes and developments in the mission these days.  They seemed genuinely glad we stopped in to see them and we pray their ministry will continue to have ripple effects for the Gospel's sake.
The Lord gave us the opportunity to check out a couple of museums and to enjoy a drive on the Alaska Highway towards Haynes Junction.  We also spent a couple nights at a hotel in downtown Whitehorse and wandered around the shops and restaurants.  There weren't many tourists, but the cross-section of people ranged from business professionals to street people in the downtown core.  Much like Regina. Tony works with the Salvation Army as part of his ministry and Janet volunteers occasionally, as well.  They gave us a tour of their new shelter/transitional housing and dining facility.  There are many needy folk in the community and they make many connections there.
On the last night, Tony and Janet came to our hotel room and brought ice cream treats for us to share!  It was sad our adventures were coming to a close.  We had an early flight the next morning, so we would drive our rental car there and hop on the Air Canada plane for Vancouver at 5:30 am.  Although the sun was just rising about then, it was still too early for our old bodies!
We always seem to leave before we have seen everything we could possibly see, leaving us hungry to come back again.  But it really is the people, the missionaries, whom we will miss, as we just catch a small glimpse into their lives.  And some friendships will truly last a lifetime!
                                                          Driving to Carcross, YT

                                                         

                                                     The Lookout - Yukon River

The sky was blue, dotted with light clouds.  A little wind reminded us that winter was clinging to the north lands.  Snow patches remained in the shadows of the dwarfed evergreen trees.  Spring...in the Arctic Circle.
Walter and I rode in the 15-passenger vehicle with Paul Hanthorn navigating the Dempster Highway from Inuvik to Fort McPherson, NWT.  He brought his adopted daughter, Grace, along for the ride.  She and her twin sister, Hope, have been part of the Hanthorn family since birth, and are now almost 8 years.  Shy and quiet, I thought all Inuvialuit children were subdued, especially around strange white people!
The road was gravel and in pretty good shape.  We had heard nightmare accounts of the Dempster but it was relatively dry and pothole-free.  After an hour and a half, we came to the Mackenzie River.  The road curved and came to a sharp angle downwards to the ice.  We could see the wide "ice road" cleared across the frozen river and also intersecting to make a highway up and down the river.  This was the "north"; we would be crossing here to get to our destination!
I sucked in my breath as we drove down to the river.  We saw a few spots of water, but Paul assured us the ice was several feet thick and it was only surface melt.  Nevertheless, I prayed!
The Hanthorns live in an older house, added on to over the years as other missionary families had resided there in Fort McPherson.  NCEM has had ministry efforts in this community for over 40 years.  Paul and his wife Lynn came to the community nearly 25 years ago as professionals and then joined NCEM to minister full time.  They are raising 6 of their own children and have fostered many others over the years.  They now have 3 adopted daughters of Inuvialuit background (their biological families are not from Fort McPherson).
Walter and I stayed in the church building, two doors down from their home.  A team of folks had come up from the U.S. to help build the spacious church and we slept in a nice room off the kitchen.  We had modern shower and bathroom facilities.  The building had infloor heating and was toasty warm.  Staying in the church allowed us to have our own space in the evenings so they could settle their children down for their nighttime routines, as well.
Another name for the community of about 800 people is Fort "Mud-Pherson" and we wondered if our running shoes or city-slicker boots would be adequate for the spring conditions!  As we walked around the community with Paul, the ground was frozen enough to make a firm walking surface. On the days when things were melting, the ice/snow/mud did become tricky to navigate.  My socks got a little damp!
We joined their family for breakfast and Lynn asked both Walter and me to share in their morning devotional time before their homeschool routine.  Then we went to the church with Paul and he would tour us around and visit with us about life and ministry.  On one evening, we participated in the weekly Bible study.  The next afternoon, we took part in the Awana Bible Club program.  The Hanthorns' daughter led in some games and Lynn served a snack.  Walter got a chance to share one of his kids' stories.  It was noisy and chaotic and fun!  We remember now why we aren't actively doing a kids' club ministry anymore!
On a little drive with the family, we went on the ice crossing on the Peel River, which is a smaller system that links with the Mackenzie.  We traveled the Dempster to within a few kilometres of the Yukon border and needed to return home for the Awana club.  On the way out, the crossing was pretty solid with a bit of water on the surface.  On the way back, we were shocked - and so were the Hanthorns - at the amount of water we had to plow through to reach the other side!  Back in the community, talk was that they may be closing the crossing within days as "break-up" occurs.  Whew!  It was clear God's timing for this trip worked out best for us and our transportation needs.
Sitting on the plane of "Air North", lifting off from the Inuvik Airport, I felt sad to leave this lovely area of the Mackenzie Delta within the Arctic Circle.  With the sun rising at 4:30 am and setting at 11:30, I loved the daylight hours and the warmth of those we met.  My heart was full as I saw how God is at work among people in remote places.  My commitment to prayer for our NCEM missionaries in these communities is heightened now that I have seen and experienced a glimpse of their realities.
Stay tuned for the rest of this adventure...