Praising God for many blessings...

We are back home in Uxbridge after an incredible time with new friends in Red Lake and Pikangikum. As it was difficult to find the time to update the blog, and to access a computer, we were unable to write throughout the weekend, so here is a summary of our travels.

The day in Red Lake was filled with activity. We arrived at the mission house at about 1:30pm, unloaded, met the leaders of Living Hope Ministries, and set off to do some shopping for Colleen, our ladies' luncheons in Pik, and our own meals. We had supper with our Red Lake contacts and hosts, and then headed off to pick up Cheryl Bear from the airport. We spent the rest of the night planning and preparing for our time in Pik.

Early Friday, we loaded the van with cargo and a couple of us headed with load 1 for the airport. Margot drove back to get the rest of the team, while Katie and I worked with the admin to figure out how we could get all our cargo to Pik. The main administrator told us it would require a MIRACLE to get it all in! I assured him that if Jesus could feed the 5000, maximizing much out of little, that He could also minimize our cargo to fit! We prayed for a miracle...and guess what? God performed one! The gentleman couldn't believe it! Praise God!

We arrived in Pik by 10am and were happy to be greeted by Colleen in her pickup! We headed to the Eagle's Nest, our accomodation place, to unload. After an orientation session with Colleen, we dispersed to our first activities: Margot, Jen, Kylie and Katie taught volleyball skills to Gr 6,7 and 8 classes; Bonnie met with the Principal and delivered gifts from the Durham Board of Education. She also taught a Grade 5 class on the theme "YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE"; Nancy, Chantal and Sara began preparing food for the Saturday luncheon.

After a quick supper, we headed to the Community Centre to set up for the YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE Gathering with the ladies of Pik. About 30 attended the Friday coffee house, enjoying snacks, handcrafts, manicures, hair-cutting, music by Cheryl Bear, in a candlelit environment with quiet music playing. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting such special women and children, and spending time doing these activities together.

Saturday morning was filled with baking cheddar-garlic bannick, and setting up for the afternoon of activities. Several ladies from the community joined Nancy in the kitchen preparing home-made chicken soup. Sara set up a photo studio which allowed moms and daughters, sisters and friends to have group pictures taken, printed and pasted in a photo card. Throughout the day we also played musical chairs and did a balloon stomp which created lots of laughs. About 40 women and children joined us for the luncheon, and then stayed for the afternoon, many participating in handcrafts, manicures, make-up, hair-cutting, and photos.

Saturday evening was well-attended (over 50 women and children) beginning with the handcraft of modelling clay. Everyone participated -- young and old, and many beautiful creations were made. We shared the legend of the sand-dollar which fascinated everyone, and packaged one for each woman to take home. Cheryl sang and spoke for about 30 minutes, engaging the crowd. We ended the evening creating night-light lamp coverings made with beads. Each woman went home with a gift bag with an iron-on label "You make a difference". We encouraged women to take a second one to share with someone who was ill, or not able to attend, so that they could "make a difference".

Sunday morning, we prepared the potato salad and sloppy joes for lunch, then went to set up the community centre for the activities. Many women made tissue paper flowers. We encouraged them to make extra ones to deliver to friends and family who could not attend. During lunch, our team presented the Lamps of Motherhood, a drama sharing the importance of letting our "light" shine in our role of being a mother, through the various stages of life, right up to being a grandmother. It ends with a special moment of remembering and realizing that our source of light is Jesus.

We closed off about 2pm, which gave us just enough time to clean up from these activities and set up for Cheryl Bear's concert at 4pm. The concert was well-attended and well-received. Her witness to the power of Jesus in her life was clear, and people thoroughly enjoyed the variety of her music.

Following the concert and supper, we had a wonderful time of fellowship with Colleen, Linda (a new worker in the community), and Cheryl. We praised God for the opportunity to bring joy to so many women in the community, to build friendships with the women and children of Pikangikum. We thanked Him for the way He brought us all together "for such a time as this".

We are truly grateful to so many who have prayed for our safe travels, good health, and a rich time of fellowship in Pikangikum.

Heading north

We had a wonderful day Wednesday visiting our friends in White Dog. Austin arranged a pickup volleyball game after school, and about 25 students participated. We had a lovely supper with Austin and Rachel at their home in Minaki, got to meet their 2 beautiful daughters, celebrating life with a baby shower.

We enjoyed the stark beauty of Northern Ontario, including sightings of a red fox, black bear, bald eagles, and several deer. Our verse of the day, Psalm 23:2 ...He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. We look forward to celebrating our Creator and Friend, as we drive continuously by still waters on our way to Red Lake today.

We're really looking forward to meeting Cheryl tonight, and gathering our groceries for our trip to Pikangikum.

Arrived safely in Winnipeg

Good morning Winnipeg!
We arrived last night just before midnight (11pm Winnipeg time). Everything went very smoothly picking up our 16 bags of luggage, but packing them was our first big challenge. Under the incredible direction of Margot, Nancy and Chantal, we successfully fit them in our 12-seater van at midnight in the rain. The weather is wet and cool but we're excited to be on the next leg of our journey. We are definitely going to be cozy on our 4 hour ride today. When we arrive in White Dog, we will visit with Austin, walk around the community, and then run a pick-up volleyball game at the school. Bonnie, Jen, Katie and Sara are looking forward to renewing friendships of our visits from years past. Following that we will "BABY shower" Austin and Rachel at their home in Minaki for supper, and then head back to Kenora to sleep. Our verse of the day is Psalm 23:1...The Lord is my Sheperd....I have everything I need. We truly feel God's blanket of protection and provision as we move forward into the day.

The W2W Pikangikum Team

One more sleep....

Our team of 8 women is almost packed and ready to go! Travelling are Nancy Loraine, Margot Peck and her daughter, Kylie Barwise; Bonnie Noble and her daughter, Chantal; Jennifer Wilson and her daughters Katie and Sara. If you don't know what w2w stands for...it's women to women. We hope to bring love and joy to women as we celebrate mother's day together in Pikangikum, as well as sharing our love with the Taylors on the birth of their new daughter.

It's hard to believe that the months of preparation are over and we are leaving tomorrow. God has shown His power to us so clearly over these past several days. As only God can do, we know He goes before us, is with each one of us, and will guard behind us. This morning, I opened an email from a dear friend, who has helped us so much in our preparations. Little did she know that this song was the final prayer at my wedding 25 years ago, so holds a very special place in my heart. We will hang on to these words as we travel such a long distance and face new experiences and challenges along the way.

We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe,
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.

We are thankful for so many friends and loved ones who are praying faithfully for this journey.

Jennifer