The following week Mary Kichman and her teenage daughter Hannah joined me in Deline on Great Bear Lake. This village of 600 was also very happy we could include them for the first time. We had 30-35 smiling children join us each afternoon for three hours to act out Bible stories, sing new songs, play games, do craft projects, and have snacks. Again, the community was very supportive of our presence. OEW is an ecumenical Christian outreach program to children. The children are delightful but their parents and grandparents have many concerns for their futures. These villages are remote; there are no roads (only in winter when they have the ice roads). But they do have TV and computers. In their culture children do not go out into the world “to seek their fortune.” Families stay together!! For thousands of years they have lived this way. The village of Deline has only existed from the 1960s; the people lived on the land and followed the caribou. The parents believe their children need a strong faith to face their futures. That is why they have asked On Eagle’s Wings to come.

Mary, Hannah, and I believe we received more than we were able to give. The children are very loving and made us promise to return. It is a very valuable mission for Trinity to support. Trinity has a continuing presence on the board of OEW. I have replaced Bill “Bucky” Walters and I will be attending the fall board meeting in Edmonton, Alberta in October.

Please think about joining a team for July 2007 to teach Bible school in the North!! I will be going – call me at 697-3928.