Stand Firm...

We're going to do our best to trust in what scripture says about God and how He cares for us...we are not birds or flowers in the field...we are His children, so we are going to try (with a whole lot of grace from Him) not to worry about tomorrow. We are going to trust in the fact that we belong to God, we've been purchased by Christ's blood, because of this we can't allow someone else to try and claim ownership over us through fear and control. God is the one who provides our housing and food, and ultimately, he is the only one who can transfer us out of here...so we're going to stand in Him... as Tina said in her blog recently...this is a Coram Deo = "In your face God!" kind of thing we are talking about.

So very practically, this is what we are going to do: I am going to inform the store manager tomorrow that Friday is (still) going to be my last day. If he restates his current position I am going to ask him if this is really the route that he wants to go. If he says that he will not change his position, I will ask him to state his position on paper and the options that he is giving us, then any further discussion regarding the discontinuation of our housing and food benefits will have to be made with our lawyer present. Dan in the meantime is already planning on spending his lunch hour at the legal aid office...he spoke to them today and they encouraged us to persue this.

All in all, this is very difficult. I am tired and Dan is very frustrated and stressed out. We thank you all for your prayers and your support. It makes a world of a difference to know that we are being lifted up by our family. We haven't spoken about this around the girls...but we know that it is affecting them. Last night, Julia burst into tears after she had already been in bed for a while. We couldn't figure it out because she had a great night, she and Elisabeth went out with some friends to the pool and played. When we got her calmed down and asked what was wrong...it turned out that Elisabeth and her were playing a game called "if you could have anything you wanted, what would that be?" Elisabeth had her turn...mentioning a bedroom of her own, and some toys...then when Julia had her turn her answer was " my friends, I would have my friends from Cambridge back!" and then she broke! Ugh...what a blow to our already wounded hearts! With all of the stuff going on, we sure do realize how much we were carried by those we love back home. And to hear one of the girls break like that is just fuel to the fire...

Oh Lord, please let us know when it's time to leave...we only want to be doing this if You're the One leading us into it...As Dan said to James yesterday when he asked him where we wanted to be "We just want to be in Your will" We are so weak right now, but we will say we are strong because of what You are doing for us! Please lead this battle Lord...we don't want to budge unless you go before us!

Should I stay or should I go?

We have a choice to make. It's not one that we thought that we would have to make for a while...but here it is! I have gotten an offer for another job, one that pays almost double what I make at Northmart and has much better benefits. So I resigned from Northmart to go to the new job.

Today we had a meeting with the store manager, he wanted to meet with both Dan and I. He proceeded to inform us that if I chose to go to this other job and leave the store, that Dan would loose his housing benefits and food subsidy. If he didn't want to loose his housing and food benefits, but I still chose to leave the company, he would have to transfer us to a new community, (where I would obviously not be able to work at this new job) Conversly, if I stay with the company, our housing and food benefits will be safe. He is totally serious...even though I don't have a contract with the company, and even though it doesn't say anywhere in Dan's contract that these benefits are conditional on the both of us working.

So now we have a decision to make...do we submit, and just stay with the company, in order to keep the housing that we have here? Do we fight and threaten back with a lawyer, saying that this is a breach of contract? Do we do what exactly? (Right now, my first reaction is to take my mom up on her offer to bring us all back home safe and sound!!!)

There are many emotions that come with this. We are battling a fear of failure, the idea that if we went home right now, we would have failed...(we are battling our pride on this one!) We are battling a fear of letting James and Looee down...what if we get transfered, or have to leave because of this? Causing us to be unable to do whatever it is we are trying to do here. We are battling a fear of being out of God's will...what is it He wants us to do right now? Are we in His will now? What does He want? Mostly we are battling confusion and stress... What are we supposed to do? as the song goes "Should I stay or should I go, I really want to know; Should I stay or should I go?"

We really need prayer right now...please pray for us!

Simone

The check out island!

Here is the nicer of the two stores that I work in!

This is one view of the inside!

I thought that I'd send some pictures of the stores that I work in. This is the small store. The white building with the brown strip in the background is our apartment building!

SANTA SIGHTING!!!

I was outside this evening when I heard an unusual noise...I looked up and sure enough, there was a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer! Driven by , you guessed it....The Jolly man himself! I managed to squeeze off a quick picture before he flew out of sight...It isn't very clean, but trust me! Santa must have been out for a short rip in his sleigh, no doubt working out any bugs in all of the new modifications for this season!

Can we go home yet?

Lonely, frustrated, odd-man out, uncomfortable, tired, lost. These are some of the feelings we have been coming up against the last little while. Questions like, "what are we supposed to do here anyway?" and " Where do we fit in this picture?" and "What made me think I was needed here in the first place?" are some of the many questions that are stopping us in our tracks. We need our friends to be praying for us...that we would be strengthened, that we would have wisdom and discernment, that we would have clarity. Mostly though, please pray that we would be (remain/know) in the Lord's will.

Blessings,

Simone

Julia's new friend...as yet un-named. She misplaced Starry, so mom decided to try her hand at knitting teddy bears.

My Julia is sick...she's got strep throat and it is agravating her asthma. Please pray for her!

Dan's parka that I made for his birthday...if you scroll down you'll see the seal skin mitts I made for him and the Honda tuque I knit...Dan got almost all homemade gifts this year for his birthday...I love you Dan...Happy 29th birthday!!!

Side of Dan's parka

Back of Dan's parka

Dan's honda hat

the inside of Dan's mitts

Dan's seal-skin mitts

Our First School Closure!

Good morning!

I woke up this morning to blizzard warnings and a white out as I looked out the window! All schools and daycares are closed this morning...to be updated as the day progresses. What a blessing! I am soooo tired and had to drag myself out of bed today...so now I'm sitting here in my comfy hang around clothes instead of packing the kids up to walk to school. Ahhh life is good right now! I think I'll spend the morning knitting and maybe reading a few stories to my girls. Maybe indulge in some hot chocolate with marshmallows and do some baking...who knows, the morning is mine! Thank you Lord!

Bye for now from the frozen (and windy) north!

Simone

Adoption...

When we first moved here I felt so different, so lonely, so out of place among these people that I would often weep during worship, not as much out of a sense of worship as out of a "Oh God, this is where I'm at, this is what I'm feeling...what am I doing here? Please help me Father!" During that time, I felt the Lord say to me that He would make me a part of these people...that I would be adopted. I told Him straight out..."Well if that's what's going to happen, I'm not saying anything to anyone about it...I'll wait till I see it!" (what great faith huh?) I kept that little bit to myself and tucked it away...

On Saturday Julia and I went to Looee and James' for Eunice's 1st birthday party. When we arrived, Looee's dad, greeted us by saying to Julia, "there's my grandaughter!" All day and evening he kept calling me his daughter and Julia his grandaughter...In fact Julia got a little upset at it and came to me saying "mom, I have grandfathers! He's not them!" I explained to her that he wasn't saying that because he didn't want her to have the grandfather's that she already had, but that he was blessing her by saying that she could be a part of his family too...she wouldn't be loosing anyone, but gaining a spiritual family. She accepted that, and even went to him and explained what I had said, then told him that she accepted this blessing he was offering her. (oh to be 6 again, seeing things so clearly and trusting so completely...no fear or guile) I didn't really say anything about him calling me daughter, just accepted it... When we arrived at church on Sunday, Dan was with us...and Looee's dad greeted him by saying "Here's my son in law!" and I realized that he wasn't just kidding! So I guess in a way, I have been adopted...not because I said anything...it just happened!

Thank you Lord...I know that you can make anything happen...that I can trust you when you speak something to me in the secret place...I don't have to worry how it's going to happen, just believe that it will...because you are a faithful Father! Please bless this new family of mine...with its faults and its blessings...be with them...In Jesus' name, Amen.

Pray for Protection

Last night (Friday) Dan was assaulted while he was at work. He asked some teenagers to stop loitering around the convenience store, they argued with him a little, which is not out of the ordinary...these boys have been around before and were under the influence. When his coworker came out to see if everything was alright, one of the youths lost his senses and attacked him. (Not smart considering Micheal is straight out of the navy and specialised in hand to hand combat!) Dan pulled the boy off of him (Mike) but was pushed down the stairs by another boy and the group of them started kicking him and punching him...fortunately he got up quickly...the amazing thing is that the whole time he never lost his temper and felt complete peace! Micheal didn't fight back either, he said later that he was following Dan's lead, so didn't get violent with the youths either...they got back into the store and called the RCMP. Dan's got some bad bruises and stuff but is fine. Now though, one of the boys who tried to punch him and missed (hitting the wall instead) is going around saying that his hand is badly hurt because he got stabbed. (instead of admitting that he hit the wall) This could be very bad as retaliation is very common in Iqaluit and there is a high rate of violent crimes. Please pray for protection for Dan and our family...also for Micheal who was working with Dan. They did the right thing by not fighting back, choosing not to turn it into an all out fight...but now they have to watch their step around town. This is upsetting for me...and highlights the bad neighborhood that we live and work in. Thank you for your prayers!

Simone

Little moments...

Since we've been here in Iqaluit, I've attempted to share as many events as possible via this blog. It really is difficult to convey all that is happening to us...especially since many of the little moments that make up the day are often the most significant. In fact, if we don't step back and look at what's been going on day to day, we run the risk of missing much of what we are walking thru...

An example; the other night I was talking with Tina Brown on the phone and shared a little story revolving around my learning to stretch and soften the seal skin...and she just burst with excitement at a detail that I had found special...but not significant enough to blog... as I shared it with her though, she almost wept at the depth of it...something I had not thought would move anyone else but me...so I learned a little lesson; Stop and listen to the sounds of your life, to the little whispers of life around you, and most important of all, share them with the ones you love; often you have no idea of their significance until you share them...only in the act of sharing does the penny drop. So here is my little story...

I had just finished softening and stretching my seal skin. This had taken much effort and was a great accomplishment for me. One of the things that was most special to me was the affirmation that I received from the elder women who were teaching the class...they really built me up and gushed over my skin and what a great job I had done...I must say it totally filled up my need to be affirmed and spoken into by mother figures. (you can't get much more mother/grandmother figure than these women! They are weathered by the sun and wind and the land and have learned from the generations of women before them how to teach and mother younger women...they just live for it...it's amazing!) I was as excited by my accomplishment as my kids are when they bring home a craft that they've worked on at school! The next day I went to James' and Looee's home for dinner and I brought my skin with me to show Looee how well I had done (like a 6 year old girl!) and her mother was there visiting from Pangnirtung. Her mother is an elder who grew up doing these things and still makes beautiful kamiks and other handcrafts in the traditional ways...when she saw my skin she took it, she touched it and looked it over carefully and then turned to Looee and said something to her in Inuktitut with a very serious but affectionate look on her face. Looee turned to me to translate. "She said "you're a woman!" It turns out that you are not truly a woman in Inuk culture until you can stretch and soften a skin to make clothing out of it! So over and over she said "you're a woman".

This at first was very sweet and it met something deep in my heart, but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was... then after speaking with Tina it hit me! In our north american culture, we as women are so busy trying to be women...but we don't really know what that is. Is it being a mother? Is it being a professional? Is it being a good wife? Is it being able to be all of those things all at once? Is it being a man? Is it being what? What is expected of me? What is a woman? We want to hear some sort of affirmation from somewhere...from our mothers, the media, the church, the culture...the questions inside are often "Am I there yet? Am I doing enough? Am I too much? What am I doing again?" But here...here I am at the ends of the earth...with a people who have just come off of living on the land in the last 50 years...their definitions of being a woman are set and strong...they are the ones who help determine surivival for their families... So now among these women...I am also a woman And being a woman is a good thing!

So the big thing, the small big thing that meant so much to me, that moved me and affirmed me and touched something deep inside of me was to hear my friends' mother say over and over with complete sincerity that I am a woman, like it had been a question until that moment...that small little moment!

Blessings,

Simone

Be Lifted Up...

I've had one of those weekends again...just sort of blaaahhh. Feeling frustrated, lonely, bored, stressed, homesick...then numb...It was time to stop everything again and just be...no more sewing, no more keeping busy, no more classes or work or anything...I didn't even go to church today...I needed to just be.

So I'm sitting here with my worship music on and this song keeps ministering to me hugely...this is what it's about...I need to lift my gaze again in order to be lifted up...and remember why I'm here, what/who gives me life...and the message that is burning in my heart...so here it is...if you have the cd go listen to it again...it's awesome!

King of Glory - by Chris Tomlin (cd Arriving)

Lift up your gaze
Be lifted up
Tell everyone how great the love
The love come down
From heaven's gate
To kiss the earth
With hope and grace

Sing;

Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty

Lift up your hands
Be lifted up
Let the redeemed
Declare the love
We bow down
At heaven's gate
To kiss the feet
Of hope and grace

Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty

There is one God
He is Holy
There is one Lord
Over everything
There is one King
He is Jesus
King of glory
Strong and mighty

You are the King of Glory
The Lord, strong and mighty

Thank you Lord that You are the King of Glory...the Lord strong and mighty...thank you that I can trust you, that you are the King over everything. There is none other like you...or over you. You are my Lord and in control of my life...thank you that I don't have to be buffeted by everything that comes into my life...my anchor...I love you! Help me to keep my gaze lifted up toward you. Grant me the grace to walk out what you've brought me to walk out here in this place...to declare the Love that you've sent down to us...to tell everyone of your hope and grace. Thank you that you are here...I know you are...remind me of it please Lord, when I get overwhelmed and when I stumble in these strong northern winds...Help me Lord...I know you are my help! "Mountain Maker, Ocean Tamer..." You are the King of Glory. The Lord strong and mighty...I will trust you!

Baby it's cold outside!

Well...they keep saying that this is just the beginning! I just want to say brrrrr! Here are some local stats for all of you in the sunny south (meaning Ontario!).

Sunrise: 7:24
Sunset: 15:11 (3:11 pm) Which means that when I leave work at 3:30 to pick the kids up; it's dark! I bought a flashlight to use when we walk home! Sooooo strange!

Temperature: -14 C
Windchill: -27 C Last night walking home from work with the kids, my legs were BURNING because they were so cold with the wind...today, I'm wearing Dan's long johns! I'm going to need to buy some for the girls and myself...this is going to get pretty crazy!

Have a good day!

Simone

Please pray for us

Hi Everyone.

We would really appreciate your prayers. We are really having a hard time this week with work and everything. Dan is so frustrated and feeling very vulnerable. I am also feeling vulnerable. I'm not quite sure what is going to be happening. Please cover us...

Blessings,

Simone

Mama Bear is on the prowl!

lol...that's how I feel right about now! Elisabeth went to her friend's house and when I picked her up I realised that they had been left pretty much unattended. This was irritating enough...but then I noticed that she had a strange look on her face when we went home, so I asked her what was wrong. "Nothing" she said! So I said "I can see it in your eyes." then she ran to me and said that "we watched the movie "Saw"...I made them turn it off, but not before I saw some really scary parts!" I was quite upset, knowing what kind of gory movie "Saw" is and that it is absolutely not appropriate for 8 year olds...so I told her that she wasn't allowed over there anymore if that's the kind of supervision they got and the kind of movies they had access to! Of course now she's tossing and turning and having nightmares because of this darn movie which she should never have seen! She's too innocent for those kinds of things! GRRRRR!!! I'm so mad!!! We've prayed with her and soothed her... but she still needs some snuggling...so that's where I'm off to...but if you think of it, please pray for her! And for me that I don't freak out on the kid's parents more than is needed!