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www.arcticoutreach.org --- e-mail rinker@arcticoutreach.org --- phone 403-989-3715
Dear Friends,
Yes, life has been so full that it is a number of months since I've been able to get out a newsletter. In our last letter I mentioned that I was struggling to get off on a trip to see my Mom. I finally got the van loaded and was trying to get away but I had a meeting with the Band council that day and last minute details kept delaying me. But just before I got out the door to begin the four day drive home, I got a call from the Crossroads church in Red Deer. They wanted to provide airfare to fly instead of drive and just 24 hours later I was at Mom's side. Reuben, myself, and my niece Bev stayed up with Mom all night and the next day she passed away. Her mind was clear and we got in a lot of visiting and holding hands. It was truly a miracle of God's compassion to us...so dramatically obvious.
We are still waiting for God to work out the situation concerning our house. No one lived in it all summer and we were promised, at one point, that within a week the Band would have a lease for us to sign on all the property. But instead, the people moved back in and we are still waiting. What God is asking out of us as to patience and testing is far beyond anything I imagined. Having such crowds for church, S.S., and youth groups in the same facilities we live in and have all our earthly possessions is so stressful on the college team and ourselves that some can't come as often as they would like, and we hope desperately that we can build this summer. This is the heaviest concern for prayer.
The bright spot is how the college team is growing and putting their heart in the ministry. I can't begin to convey how involved they are. They have been taking responsibility all on their own to enlarge their involvement and often come during the week and not just on Sunday. A donor from Red Deer purchased and donated an almost new van for the team's use and it is being kept at Three Hills and is used solely for the team's travel to Sunchild. They are experiencing the suffering that goes with ministry also. Yesterday, one of the teen girls the team had worked with and loved so dearly, was killed in Saskatchewan. On March 7th, we are having a special day honoring five years that the team has been coming every Sunday. The Rocky Mt. House newspaper has agreed to come and publicize this.
Since I began full time mission work in 1966, it has been the churches back in my home Western Maryland that have been the most consistent, faithful support to see us through materially. Because of their support in the last several months we have had so much of our financial load lightened and been able to do more than usual in supplying needs and equipment. This takes a lot of stress off of us as well. Our son Reuben lives almost next door to the church I grew up in and is pastoring the Mt. Top Holiness Church just out of Cumberland. Recently, among other generous help, they made it possible for us to replace our personal van with an almost new van some friends of ours gave us a special deal. This is so when we travel any distance we can accomplish the purpose of the trip without breakdowns. This allowed us to put our old van in service here on the Reserve gravel & mud roads, to finish it's life with the S.S. and youth ministries where it was badly needed.
We want to emphasize that right now, in spite of the unique struggles of the last two years, our ministry equipment is the best we have ever had along with the largest numbers we have ever worked with, both in ministry personnel and people responding to the ministry. It seems so strange...as a general principle, when you loose everything for Him – God replaces it with something better!!
I also mentioned that a Japanese man was coming for a three month internship. Well, he has fulfilled that and has been accepted to pastor a mission in the Northwest Territories. He also got his ministerial credentials. We flew him to the Northwest Territories in November to help him work things out. We can't offer much for permanent workers here in the way of facilities until we can build. We can make room for someone who can adjust, and one of the ladies who came to hold VBS last summer is planning on coming back to help Karen for several months. Also, Gabriele has had a good opportunity open to her in Germany and is experiencing God working things out for her since returning home.
Our schedule now is our four S.S. Groups and adult service on Sunday, Tuesday Ladies Bible Study, Wednesday teen group in Rocky where we combine ours with the Nazarene youth group, and Fridays teen group here which we have help from two families in Rocky and the Rocky Alliance Church.
In Jesus, Rodger & Karen
Below we have three pictures of some of our classes the first Sunday of the month. This is the Sunday that the Prairie Tab Church Youth Group comes to help as well. First is Lanelle teaching the grade 10 class.
Number two is Rosalee teaching the teen girls.
Number 3 is Ryan teaching the teen boys. Pictures of other students didn't turn out this day.
Below we are taking some neighbor kids for a snowmobile ride in the sled.
Below is our Friday night youth group. This night the Rocky Alliance Church youth group came out to help us.
Below is the same Youth Group outside by the fire having devotions.
Home | Sunchild Mission | Outreach | News Updates | Devotions | Pictures of the week