Christmas

We've been fortunate to spend this Christmas with two families, the Hanthorns and the Halls. We returned to live with the Hanthorns on December18th after a brief hiatus housesitting. The Halls, friends of the Hanthorns and now our good friends as well, arrived this past Tuesday to celebrate Christmas. In attendance this Christmas: Ben and Barbara with their four teenagers, the Hanthorns with their 8 children + 3 foster children and our family of 3. To more easily identify the Halls: one picture has Ben adjusting the collar on his son's coat. Another photo has Ben sitting with his wife; the other 3 teenagers are not shown because they were not keen on having their picture taken.

The Halls are from Fort Nelson, B.C. and Ben is a residential and commercial builder; good news since he's been a driving force to help complete some priority items for the church building. Soon we'll vacate our 200 sq ft quarters (as seen in these posted pictures) for the church apartment.

Copland

The Sgt of the local RCMP and his family left for Mexico a week ago and we've been house sitting ever since. The family will return on December 18 and we have a lofty goal of relocating to our own accomodations by then. This may be an ambitious goal since the apartment still needs: 3 coats of paint, light fixtures connected, carpet and tile installed, unpack all the boxes and assemble all the Ikea furniture. I've lost count on the number of times we've moved but on the positive side, it's always been a move a short distance away:)
The RCMP quarters are subsidized and maintained by the Federal government. The house is large at approximately 3500 sq ft with 4 bedrooms and a large family room in the basement filled with toys. The dwelling rests inside an RCMP compound and it is comprised of 3 houses for members and the RCMP building itself. The perimeter of the compound is secured by a metal fence.

Although there are many advantages of living here, there is one challenge - the dogs. They're both high maintenance mutts. Jack is younger and has a good temperment; however, Sady is an old, eccentric dog set in her ways. Sady needs eardrops twice per day for an infections she's currently fighting. Initially, it took both of us to administer the drops but I can now do it on my own. They need to be fed twice per day, let outside 3 times per day and walked at least once per day. I know this sounds like typical care most animals receive, but there's an added layer of complexity when man's best friend absolutley refuses to eat unless moist dogfood is carefully mixed into the dry food. Letting the dogs out always lets in cold -20 degree air and the only way to execute this taks is by luring them both outside with a special doggy treat. Walking dogs in these temperatures is even less desirable.
Although we were warned that Sady bites, we have all been bitten. My altercation with Sady occured when I found her trying to rip open the second bag of garbage. She miticulously spread the trash bag so evenly that not much of the floor was left exposed. I mistakenly grabbed her by the scruff of the neck when her head quickly spun around to sink her teeth into my forarm - yes it did hurt and skin was broken. At first glance it would appear adorable how Sady follows me everywhere I go but this also means I constantly the putrid odour of her ear infection in my nostrils. Finally, we discovered that Sady loves to relieve herself in two rooms of the house so we need to be diligent in shutting the bedroom door and always keep a watchful eye when she's in the dinning room. All that said, I'm not complaining, just explaining, because we truly are blessed living here in the interim.

Rangers

As I walked to the church yesterday morning morning around 10 am to continue drywalling, several ski-doos passed by. I noticed they were congregating in the church parking lot. Then I remembered Paul had rented the church to the Rangers. There must have been 20 people with their "sleds"(term youth use for a snow machine). As I approached the scene, I was met by Sgt. Bill Budd, pictured in the bela clava. The Sgt. said he was an active member of the Canadian Military and based out of Yellowknife. He was alone in his efforts to train local volunteers from this community in search and rescue missions.

The church was the rendez-vous point prior to leaving for the 3 day, 2 night training exercise "on the land" (term used to describe any area outside of the community). More specifically, this crew of volunteers and their military leader will exchange trade secrets while weathering the elements.
The Sgt. will instruct the volunteers on how to search and locate a missing person(s) as well as health and safety. The citizens of Fort McPherson will show Bill strategies and techniques on how to keep warm, set up shelters and navigate the many lakes and creeks that exist here in the Delta. The Rangers have always played a vital role and are a valuable resource in types of dangerous missions.

Cardboard Boxes

Back in early September our household belongings arrived from Ottawa but our accomodations were not yet secured so everything remained in a storage unit. By late September, there was a permanent blanket of snow on the ground and my summer clothing proved insufficient for the harsher climate. In August I took only what was needed for the trip north, whereas, Heather packed as she always did - a little more on the heavy side. This would explain why for weeks I was wearing a thin Nike running jacket in sub-zero temperatures and Heather and Ruth had cozy winter coats. (Nike apparel in the cook out photo)

Near the same time in Late September, we happily accepted the Hanthorns' gracious offer to live with them (and we continue to be thankful for their warm hospitality, patience, kindness and fellowship -loving it!). In early October, I finally contacted the moving company in Inuvik to deliver our boxes containing winter clothes, boots and other key school materials.

Since we didn't have our own place yet, Paul offered the church sanctuary as a temporary area to spread out our boxes and remove the essentials. I agreed and the movers arrived on a Tuesday. That day, as the movers carefully carried each box, one man approached bashfully and said, "there was this crazy squirl that ripped opened one of your boxes". Apparently the squirl had a weakness for microwave popcorn.

Workhorse of the North

November 4th was Take Our Kids to Work day across Canada; it's an opportunity for grade 9 students to do some career exploration for a day. I was assigned with the task of taking pictures of these students in action at their work placements.

On the same day I was required to transport an educational consultant from the airport to the school. However, when I arrived at the Fort McPherson airport, I was told the flight was delayed due to weather. A twin Otter was warming up for a take-off - Top picture.

Aircraft is the only way to ship people and cargo and this will continue to be the case until the end of the month.

The Twin Otter has been the aircraft of choice for decades. The inside can be reconfigured to accomodate cargo by folding some seats while the remaining chairs are for passengers. People are always prioty one partly because airfares command a higher pricetag. Bush pilots typically load and unload cargo and baggage.

The local Sgt recently mentioned the Pilatus, pictured above (Google Image) is currently used by the RCMP to transport prisoners, VIPs and cargo. It can fly from Yellowknife to Fort McPherson in 2 hours. It is considered a very reliable aircraft, can reach a speed of 300 miles per hour and travels to all the delta communities.

Ice Breaker

About five days ago an anxious young man decided to take his chances and drive on the yet-to-open ice road at the 8 mile ferry crossing. (8 miles away from Fort McPherson). Thankfully, this individual got out alive because others haven't been as fortunate. The vehicle was brand new and will never function again. The ice road is scheduled to open at the end of the month. That said, if temperatures continue to hover around the -18 degree mark it could open sooner.

Ice Walker

It was a cold dark and snowy morning as I embarked on my weekly Thursday treck to Tsiigehtchic. There was no traffic that morning because the ferry was pulled out of operation the weekend before. Road conditions were poor at best because of the several inches of snow on the ground, the roads were not yet graded, some unsheltered areas of the road had snow drifts and visibility was low. I was more vigilent than usual and drove slower while keeping a lookout for any four-legged creatures that may venture onto the road. To make matters worst, cell phones don't work out here and I still have summer tires on with very little tread. There are winter tires sitting in storage. It's very difficult to have your vehicle maintananced witht the closest garage in Inuvik. I tried several times to book an appointment but there always a 1 week wait. I found out everyone works on their own vehicle in McPherson. The RCMP said I could use their garage for an oil change and a local said he could change my tires but he's been out of town for a while. In case of an accident I keep an emergency kit in the back of the truck that contains items like: tire chains, shovel, candels, flashlight, blanket.

As I pulled up to the ferry crossing I notice the sign for the ferry was removed; this was not good since it was a land mark to find the off road trail to the Arctic Red River crossing. I searched on foot for a while in the cold, using the truck headlights to shed light on the situation. The posted pictures provide a visual of the trail and parking lot.

Once I parked the truck I walked to the river and to my surprize the first few meters where not yet frozen the entire length of the river! I walked for a while contemplating a return to McPherson when Ken, a teacher from Tsiigehtchic Parked his truck on the other side of the river and made his way over. He said, "You can cross over there on that log" (picture posted of the log and another picture is of Ken holding a board). He mentioned he saw the local "dance" across the log. I threw my laptop and backpack over to Ken and proceeded to use the log as a bridge to the ice. Once on the ice we had to cross one more time to make it onto land because we faced the same watery scenario on the other side of the river; it was even more trecherous. There were several square boards lined up in the icy water to get onto land. Ken said the key was to run and not walk across and to make sure my foot hit the middle of each board. As I ran across, each board dipped down into the water and then bobbled up again as my weight shifted onto another board. It felt like an obstacle course! By afternoon the boards had become more stable as ice formed around them; the video clip is from the afternoon ice walk on the return home.

In the afternoon there were many locals ice fishing and the posted picture has someone pulling a wood box on skis full of white fish. There are no contaminants in this river and so the fish is healthy and delicious. They pull the boxsled full of fish right across the semi-frozen ice and then uphill for about a km to the doorstep of their house.

Birthday

Ruth's Birthday was October 17th; we celebrated with the Hanthorns. Present was our family, Paul and Lynn, their seven children + four foster children.

Talk of the Town

In Ottawa hot topics can include but is no limited to: the Senators hockey team and their players, political scandals at all levels of gov't, and in a few more months the amount of snow that was shovelled.

The conversations everywhere in Fort McPherson for the past week has revolved around the ferry closure.

In actual fact, the McKenzie river ferry was closed two days ago. People here can no longer drive north to Inuvik. In another week the Peel River (at 8 mile) will close so it will be impossible to drive south as well. We will be locked in and the only way out is a $200 flight to Inuvik one way.

A 24 hour notice was issued on Thursday so Truckers in Inuvik wouldn't be stranded for the next 6 weeks. The subject is important because it affects everyone's life. Take for example the cost of food - some product doubles in price and other items close to triple!

Here's the way it works: Everything from paper clips and vehicle parts to food items and furniture is flown to Inuvik by large aircraft and from there delivered to communities like McPherson by smaller aircraft. There are no extra flights to compensate for everything flown in. Instead the airlines reconfigure the space by removing seats and replacing it with cargo .

The exception is larger items like furniture; these are delivered by truck to the river where locals will risk their lives on the semi-frozen river with small boats. They load the boat and push it across the ice; if the ice breaks they jump in the boat! They do get paid quite handsomely for this unique job. Mike Row from "Dirty Jobs" might be interested in this one.

This past Thursday the ferry ride to Tsiigehtchic which is normally 10 minutes was actually closer to an hour because the ferry had to behave like an icebreaker! The captain had the throttle on full steam as we all watched the boat crash into huge chunks of ice. Several times the ferry simply stopped because it couldn't continue forward. In response the Captain (from NB) backed the ferry up about 100 meters or so and then gave it all the engines could muster and charged ahead again to break new ice. He did this several times. I had mixed feelings about this because although I was having a blast and wish I had my camera with me, I kept thinking of the Exxon Valdez fiasco.

It will be early December before the ice is thick enough to drive over. However, I found out I can actually continue to visit Chief Paul Niditchie School on Thursdays without interruption. At the vehicle wait point seen in the posted picture, there's an off-road trail about 20 meters back and off to the right; it's a makeshift path across rough terrain for a half kilometer. This "road" leads to the Arctic Red river and is not as far to cross as the McKenzie river but is still a couple of hundred metres. I'll be able to park the truck at the side of the river and walk across the ice. Apparently an elder in town walked across the ice about 2 weeks ago with a canoe in hand of course - just incase. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile to get a job done but I'll litterally go the extra distance just to get to work.

Substitute Missionaries

The Hanthorns left for a conference about 10 days ago in Whitehorse. It felt lonely without everyone around but we're looking forward to their return tonight or tomorrow.

We certainly had large shoes to fill in their absence. I'm not complaining, just explaining because I thought people would like to know what missionaries do or what a typical week looks like. We actually enjoyed the challenges and task and we've been left with this question: How do they do it? They've done this for the past 18 years! A very dynamic and hard working family who are great embassadors for God.

Here's what we did while they were away:

1- Looked after 3 dogs; two small and one large. The small ones were really adept at locating mud puddles despite frozen ground. I wipped up their muddy tracks several times and Ruth and I even gave one of these little critters a bath. These little characters are highly esteemed by Ruth who kept trying to sneak special doggy treats to them even though we advised her not to. The large dog was easy, but difficult to find the chain link in the dark of the morning to secure him because a chain link kept falling off.

2- We fed someone elses dog in the community who was away in Yellowknife and I really felt good about myself for doing these good deeds until I found out that someone else was feeding as well. No wonder the dog didn't seem hungry:)

3- Someone called and asked if I would take a prayer request regarding a very difficult situation. I said yes, thinking I could do this later but then they said "Please go ahead now over the phone" I did so precariously, mainly because it took me off guard.

4- I installed curtains for someone else who called this week; felt like I was making a difference.

5- We took purchase orders by some local people and passed the message on to Hanthorn's to pick up while they were in Whitehorse. The prices are much better in Whitehorse; many do their shopping there.

6- We answered many other calls for the Hanthorn's as well - very popular family and held in high esteem here!

7- I drove a lady and her mother to "8 mile", which is a place located 8 miles away from Ft. McPherson. It's a ferry crossing that also has a small number of camps on this side of the river. The posted photo shows the 92 year old elder and her daughter at the camp. The elder was going to stay there for the week and I was told there's much less chance of catching a flu bug when out on the land or at a camp. Makes sense.

8- A man dropped by and explained he was terminally ill and wanted to return some money he borrowed. He said he didn't want prayer to Heather but received some anyhow.

9- We enjoyed making fires in the wood stove even though Grace was very concerned about a house fire.







We look forward to their return; Ruth loves their children.