This year Christine Berry was our missionary to the Northwest Territories as part of the On Eagle’s Wings Mission. Christine along with two ladies from Mechanicsville, PA went to the villiage of Deline.
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Deline is a Dene Village of the the Satchu Tribe on the Great Bear Lake. The native language is Northern Slavey and the villiage of Deline is pretty remote. Deline has a population of 550, and it is the only village on Great Bear Lake which straddles the Arctic Circle.
It took 3 airlines, 5 flights and 2 days for Christine to reach Deline.
Christine said of her trip, “I have a mosaic memory of the kids. The Bible school theme was Splash-Show, People Love and Shared Happiness. From Logan who cried the first day until the very end when I let him wear the white hat (aka the skit headgear). The rest of the week he came and had a huge smile. 5 year old Tayla told me she knew “Our Father” and asked if I wanted to hear it – it is the Lord’s Prayer. Layla and Noaka led the snack prayer with “Our Father” in Northern Slavey, all the kids bowed their heads, the kids running around the arena rushed back to their seats, bowed their heads, and the prayer volume kept rising. It gave me goose bumps. The kids rushing to comfort a little 5 year old who was frequently teary. She had just come to live with her grandparents because her mother is having problems.”
Christine also went on to say how much Paul’s letters helped her. “I have a better lesson of those letters. It was a lesson this year for me to not let fear of the unknown and pain prevent me from carrying on and trusting in God.”
Messiah Lutheran Church has been supporting the On Eagle’s Wings Mission for many years. Throughout the year we conduct several fund raising events to help support the mission. This year’s fund raisers have included a Spaghetti Dinner and Talent show as well as a Auction.
On Eagle’s Wings serves more than 30 remote communities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut from a base in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The people of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are Inuit, Metis and First Nations people who come from five different tribal backgrounds. The area is served primarily by the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in partnership with On Eagle’s Wings