Arctic Update

Hi Everyone,

We were so close! :(

The Northwest company offered us positions in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. A place that both Dan and I were very excited to go to. They wanted us as soon as possible, everyting was in place. We had spoken to them months ago and felt that we had been clear that I (Simone) was looking to work part-time in order to be there for our children and manage the home. (So that we would be free to do ministry, even if it was only attending a small group or bible study to start).

But the offer that came in was for both of us to work full time. We went back and reminded them of what we had decided months ago, and they tried what they could. Unfortunately, in this case they really needed two full-time people. We prayed about it, (we were so close we could taste it) but when it came right down to it, Dan and I felt that we needed to be good stewarts of our children and not bring them to this far away land to stick them in daycare 5-6 days a week. We ARE called to the north, but we are also called to be the best parents we can be. The money looked great, but the cost would have been too much. We know that we would have fallen into the trap of going and just working...and this isn't what we are called to do. We are called to the north and her people, not to the Northwest Company. So we prayed and prayed and both felt that we needed to turn down this offer. They are still considering us for other places, they know now that we have certain things we are not going to compromise on, so we will see what comes of this.

What a blow! This has been extremely difficult, but we know that God is faithfull, and that this is HIS call, and that He will bring us there in His timing. We really felt that if we compromised in order to get there, that we would have strong consequences to face. Please pray for us, because we both feel like we've been through a terrible physical battle, our bodies ache and we are weak. This is the closest we've ever been, the temptation was huge, and now we are having to deal with the emotional fallout. Frustration, anger, hurt, the desire to completely walk away and just give up on this whole Arctic thing in order to protect our hearts. We don't want to harden our hearts to God's call, we don't want to stop hoping and we certainly don't want to give way to discouragement. We know that God is good, and that He knows the plans He has for us, that they are good and that His heart is not to harm us. Please pray for us.

Blessings,

SC