www.arcticoutreach.org --- e-mail rinker@arcticoutreach.org --- phone 403-989-3715
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year....2025! This January was the warmest January we can remember here in Alberta. We continue to have good involvement from teams and helpers with our ministry. But it has been a day to day volunteer effort and we don't know very far ahead, and sometimes Karen has to do a Sunday School, youth group, or Ladies meeting by herself. A primary prayer request is for help with our weekly ministry events. I've been involved mostly with our Charity annual reports and bookwork, trying to make spreadsheets work on the computer. Karen has been scheduling summer Vacation Bible School camps, the farthest being in the Yukon at Old Crow. She has help to go with her and they already have their flight tickets. I can't go because someone has to stay to hold the fort here. January began at midnight with the local custom of everyone going around stopping at homes and setting down to a New Years table of food. We didn't have nearly as many as we used to, but the ones that came stayed for a much longer visit than they used to in years past. I'll fill in comments on the pictures we got below. We encourage you to give us a call to keep in touch. Our landline is on the page header at the top. I'm trying to plan an outreach trip to Old Crow by snowmobile from Ft. McPherson in March. It will take a lot of work to get ready, as I have to pull a trailer by Pickup truck to Ft. McPherson with the equipment.
This was the first family to stop and celebrate the New Years custom here of visiting homes after the New Years midnight bell. It continues for only a couple days now, but it used to go on much longer.
Just a cute picture of our only child at home now. More on her later....
The lady beside Karen and her grandson, came to help Karen with Sunday School from her home about an hour and a half north of here.
The ladies in this picture that helped Karen are from the local O'Chiese Reserve. We are trying to get as much local involvement as possible, and they were a great help.
The adults helping in this Friday youth group, came from the village of Caroline, about an hour and a half south of here. These folks have been here numerous times in the past year.
The picture below is of one of the Korean teams from Calgary helping with the youth. We have a few more pictures of them also.
We like to add a portrait from time to time to give you someone to pray for!
Below is a group picture of two Korean teams here on a Saturday. They worked with youth on both Sunchild and O'Chiese Reserves on this day.
In one of the Ladies groups the project was learning to bake pineapple upside down cake.
Karen got this picture of her student doing art work.
This is a visiting speaker Sylvia, from Rocky, speaking to the youth about healthy and unhealthy relationships on a Friday night.
Our dog Nanuk, was off galavanting somewhere and got caught in a coyote snare. She was gone for most of two days, and we prayed for her. The snare latch failed to lock and kill her and eventually she broke the wire by twisting and breaking it. When she got home the broken snare was still on her neck. The way these snares work is when the animal gets caught, the harder they pull the tighter the snare gets and chokes the animal in a minute. But since the lock would slip it's grip she eventually broke the wire free and we still have our dog safe and sound. She looks pretty ragged here when she just got home. It was another dog miracle we have to add to our list. Dogs have always been a big part of our family life out here and we have many stories to tell. God Bless and remember to keep this ministry in your prayers. Rodger & Karen Rinker
