Winter Activities

Here are a few pictures from last evening and today. This afternoon we had Lois and her girls here for lunch. Dallas and I took the girls snowmobiling and sliding. Edith played a game with them and the girls and Dallas joined in after we got back from sliding.

Here is Elaine trying out here new skates last evening.

Here is Arianna on the snowmobile and Dallas and Hannah on the sled behind it.

Here is Arianna and Hannah after a trip down the hill. Schnappsie loves to run after whoever goes down.

Here we are back at the house playing a game with Lois, Elaine and Edith.

Tomorrow evening we are having an evening of activities and a watch night service with people from the church. I think the children are looking forward to staying up until after midnight again this year.

Holiday Activities

Last evening we had the church youth out for an evening of activities. It was about -20 C but we went to the gravel pit sliding anyway. It was dark since the moon didn't come up until after 10:00 PM last night. We had a good fire at the bottom of the hill, and I lit a lantern at the top of the hill. They seemed to enjoy taking snowmobile rides too. After sliding we came back to the house and Edith had made hot chocolate and soft pretzels. We had a good time.

This evening the children are going skating with some of their friends in town. Elaine is eager to try the new ice skates she received for Christmas. We are going in town to get some groceries, clean the church and then take them skating. I think I will take a book along to read while they skate. I'm not much of an ice skater.

Dallas and I are making progress on the train he is making to sell at the school benefit auction. We need wheels. I ordered some that will be shipped here from Southern Ontario. We hope that they arrive on Thursday. It would be nice if we could have it finished before his Christmas break from school is over. When we get it done I will try to post some pictures for you to see it.

Our dinner at the homeless shelter was very interesting. When you step into the doors there you step into another reality. The homeless people tend to be at the bottom of the social ladder in town, but inside the walls of the shelter, they have their own social order. The most respected man there was the one who has been on the street the longest. He sat in his recliner in front of the TV and we brought him plates of food. The other residents there said that he is the Mayor of the shelter. It was good to interact with them there in their own place.

Christmas and Boxing Day

Yesterday we had a good time on Christmas Day. We played some games and went sliding at the gravel pit. Morley and Reta Beardy came and visited for a bit as well. Today is Boxing Day in Canada. Everything is closed in town today. We are doing some things around home here again today.

We are having the church youth group out here on Friday evening, so we are working on getting some trails packed down in the snow for sliding. We probably have about two feet of snow on the ground now.

Today Dallas and I finished fixing the wood room door at the church and helped Joe Ice with a few things this morning. Then we worked on the toy train he is making to sell at the school auction next month.


This afternoon we went sliding at the gravel pit again. We are getting some good trails made and even have a jump or two built into them.

Tomorrow the church is serving a meal at the shelter for homeless people in town. We are looking forward to creating an opportunity to be with them in their setting for a bit.

Embarrassed By Parent

This afternoon I took Elaine and Dallas sliding (this is called sledding in the States). They wanted to go to Blueberry Hill in town. We arrived there and took our sliding equipment to the top of the hill.

When we got to the top Dallas said, "Ah, Dad, you are kind of embarrassing". I ask him why. He said, "Ask Elaine". I ask Elaine if I am embarrassing to her. She said, "Yes". I ask her why I am embarrassing. She said she can't say exactly why.

I looked around the hill and thought about myself in relation to the other people. The only conclusion I could come to was that I was the only person sliding down the hill that was over 50 years old. As a matter of fact, I was the only one over 15 years old. Oh well, I had fun sliding anyway.

It is always the case that at some point teenagers find their parents a little embarrassing. I guess we are at that stage. I don't take it personally and hope that they will grow up to be the kind of people who will go sliding with their children or grandchildren when they are 54.

Alcona Gold Mine

There is an old abandoned gold mine close to our place. We had seen it last year when we were out with the snowmobile. This summer Dallas and I tried to bike there, but we gave up before we got there. Plus, we weren't really quite sure where it was. We had been following a snowmobile trail when we found it in the winter. Everything looked different in the summer when we were biking.

Today we headed out with the snowmobile and followed the trail. We found it about ten kilometers from our house. There has been some activity around there this past summer. There is a new lock on the gate and a new chain link fence around the mine site itself.

Last time we were there we could walk around inside the building. This time we couldn't get in to it. I'm a little nervous getting too close anyway, because I don't really know where all the openings are into the mineshaft or how deep it is.

While we were there a trapper came by on his snowmobile. He said it is called the Michaud mine. He thought it was operating in the 1930's.

After exploring around the mine we followed the snowmobile trail another few miles until it came out to a lake.

Here is Dallas looking in at the actual mine shaft. The trapper said he threw a rock into it one time and it sounds really deep. Now all you can see is a hole in the ground with some rusty cables going down into it.

Here is the end of the mine building. This is the opposite end from the mine shaft.

This is about the best view we could get of the mine shaft. It would be interesting to meet someone who know more about it and what it was like when it was in operation.

Cornerstone Christmas Program

Last evening Cornerstone Christian School had their annual Christmas program. They sang some Christmas songs and did some Christmas readings. It was a good program and well attended.

Tomorrow the children have their Christmas party at school. They will be finished at noon. They start their Christmas break then and go back to school on January 7.

We are in the middle of Christmas activities now. We have our church Christmas feast on Sunday at noon and then will go Christmas caroling in the afternoon. Next week our church is doing a Christmas lunch for the homeless people in Sioux Lookout.

Here is a picture of a nativity scene that Edith made with her Sunday School class. The basic building materials were Styrofoam balls and toilet paper rolls.

Aunt Elaine and Uncle Dallas

Last night Elaine and Dallas became an aunt and uncle. Their sister Charlotte gave birth to a baby girl. She was born after 10:00 PM last night. She weighed 10 lbs. 10 ounces. Today the aunt and uncle went to see their niece. The baby is named Angel.

Here is Charlotte with the baby.

Here is Angel herself.

Here is Aunt Elaine with Angel

Here is Uncle Dallas with Angel.

What do you want for Christmas?

Friday I went to International Falls, MN and met with a few people. Saturday morning I spoke at the community men's breakfast in Emo, Ontario. There were about 30 men at the breakfast. After the breakfast I spent some time with Phil Friesen and John Rempel from the Stratton Mennonite Church. I returned home last evening about 10:00.

This past week I had devotions at the school. I have been thinking since that about the question of what I want for Christmas. What we say we want for Christmas depends on who is asking. For our children, if one of the school friends is asking it will probably be something small. If their parents are asking it will be something larger and more expensive. What if Bill Gates or Warren Buffet asked you what you wanted for Christmas? The value of what you ask for would be determined at least partially by the person's ability to give what you are asking for.

In the Gospel of Mark we have the account of Jesus asking blind Bartimaeus what he wanted Jesus to do for him. He wanted to receive his sight. He asked Jesus to do for him what no one else could do.

This Christmas I want to come to Jesus and ask him for the things that only he can do for me. I know that nothing is impossible with God. He wants to give us the desires of our hearts. So, what do you want Jesus to do for you this Christmas? The best gift he has to give is the forgiveness of sins. No one else can give us that.

Hunting

I am still hunting. I have a tag for a calf moose. The only problem is, since I had to purchase the tag back in May in order to register for the Adult moose tag draw, I have since lost the tag. So, I won't be shooting a calf moose. My moose hunting will likely be restricted to hunting for my moose tag.

I also have a tag for a deer in wildlife management unit 5. It can be either an antlered or an antlerless deer. I know where my tag is located, so that isn't the problem. The problem is finding a deer. Most of my hunting has been a Northern style of "hunting safari". This could be called "road hunting", but I prefer the "hunting safari" label better. This means that every trip to town, or to Dryden, becomes a hunting trip.

Now, I consider myself to be making the deer a very gracious offer. If they will stand where I can see them from the road, I will provide them with a warm, safe place for the winter. My freezer is warmer than it will be outdoors here for about the next three months. Also, in my freezer they will have no worries about how to stay away from the wolves and other predators. You would think they would be lining up and taking numbers to be the first to accept my offer. But, they are not. None have showed up as volunteers so far.

I actually have spent part of a few days doing real hunting. Real hunting is when you dress yourself up until you kind of resemble the Michelin man, and take your gun and walk around in almost knee deep snow. I usually have a mental picture of the deer standing in the thick snow-covered evergreen trees, holding one front hoof over their mouths as they snicker and nudge one another, "look at that one, have you ever seen such a short one, with that many clothes on trying to walk through this much snow?". Real hunting is supposed to work better than the hunting safari. For me, I have seen the same number of deer using both methods, zero.

One of the benefits of being a pastor in Northwestern Ontario is that hunting can actually be classed as pastoral ministry. You see, the ladies of the church have elaborate, candlelight Christmas dinners with sharing and prayer times. They find this setting conducive to sharing and hearing from each other's hearts. We men don't do the candlelight dinners as well. But give us a gun and lots of clothing. Put us in a vehicle together for an hour or two. Let us walk through the deep snow and get so tired we can hardly lift our feet for another step. Give us a glimpse of a deer or two so we can fire some random shots. Let us do those things, and in the process we talk about our lives, our marriages, our children, the church, and a lot of other important things. None of this is a serious, formal pastoral meeting. It simply happens in the process of being together.

So, I am still hunting. The deer and moose season close after Saturday the 15th. Then my hunting will be over until next Fall. My freezer will probably be without any deer or moose meat, but I will have had some really great times hunting.

All in a Saturday

Today Elaine and Dallas took a snowmobile operators course. They both passed and are now licensed snowmobile operators. Nate Hochstetler asked them if they are safe now. Elaine said, "We are legal". There is a difference between being safe and being legal.

This evening we were at the Ashawaabic Ministries Christmas feast and fellowship. It was a good meal and a good program. Morley Beardy has a number of good Native singing groups there for the weekend.

Here are some pictures from the feast and fellowship.

The Stockings are Hung by the Fireplace with Care...

When we moved to this house and it had a fireplace, I dreamed of having a mantel. Merle arranged for one for a Christmas present one year. This is our first Christmas having it installed. Now I can hang the stockings even though the older children won't be home this Christmas. Without trying, I seem to be collecting Snowmen that fit on top of the mantel. ~Edith

Close Encounter

This evening I was coming home from a church leadership meeting at about 10:00 PM. As I was driving my car headlights reflected off the eyes of an animal on the right side of the road. I thought it was a deer.

When it came up over the snowbank onto the road, I saw it was a wolf. I hit the brakes and was shocked to feel the back of the car coming around to the right side. As I slid down the road toward the wolf I must have freaked out the wolf scrambled to get out of my way and fell flat on his left side.

Then the back of my car slid around to the left side. As I continued to slide down the road almost sideways the wolf got to his feet and then promptly fell on his right side. By this time the car had slowed down considerably and I was able to get straightened out. The wolf scrambled to his feet and plowed headfirst into the snow bank on the left side of the road.

I think we both went away from the encounter feeling like we weren't very graceful! I however, and I assume the wolf too, was very grateful that I didn't hit him or wind up in the ditch.

Getting to tell the story

This morning at our prayer time at church, someone gave the prayer request that we would have opportunities during the Christmas season to tell the story of Jesus. This is one season that Jesus is central to the celebration.

We do have many chances to tell the story of Jesus at this time of the year. This afternoon we were at the Festival of Carols choir program. The message of Jesus was so clear in the songs. The choir is made up of people from many of the churches in Sioux Lookout. The audience is from a wide spectrum of the population in Sioux Lookout. It is a great place for the story of Jesus to be told.

After the choir program, we went to the extended care home and sang Christmas Carols for the residents there. We had four First Nations people join us so we could sing songs in Cree. OR maybe I should say they could sing songs in Cree and we could imitate their sounds and try to sing something recognizable. I love when the song has repeating phrases so that I can sing the same phrase two or three times in a row!

Again, it was a blessing to be able to sing about the story of Jesus and see the older First Nations people with their black Cree song books singing along. Some of them have been faithful believers for decades.

My hope is that in the next few weeks, I will have the chance to tell the story about Jesus a number of times. Maybe you have some ideas about how you will share the story of Jesus this month. I would welcome any suggestions or ideas you have about how to take advantage of the opportunities we have this month to talk about Jesus.