Running the Race

Arctic Circle Race

   Our town, Sisimiut, just hosted their 16th annual Arctic Circle Race. It is said to be the hardest cross country skiing race in the world. We had about 140 skiers from several different countries come here to compete. Our town hosted folks from a total of 15 countries. They came from Greenland, Denmark, New Zealand, America, Russia, Germany, and other countries. The racers were of a diverse age group also, the youngest being 14 and the eldest being 67 years old.

Click to enlarge

   They left the starting line on Friday at 10:00 AM. They had to travel a total of 100 miles in 3 days, arriving back in our town throughout the day on Sunday. We were able to go out Friday and watch them leave, cheering them on for this harsh competition. There was a big turnout and beautiful weather as they began their trek. Masey and I agreed that we would have died of exhaustion before the race ever got underway! They were doing something that we couldn't physically do and it was impressive.

   The racers started arriving back before noon and we were there to watch them arrive by about 1:30 PM. Some came back all alone and others in groups of two, three, or four. We got to see the only American in the race, Leslie Hale, arrive back. I was able to speak with her for a few minutes before she went to rest and warm up. The race was an utterly exhausting experience.

Flag wavin' Maryanna!

   There were a few upsets during the race. One of the main male contenders hurt himself shortly into the race and was out per doctors orders. Some others couldn't handle the race and quit. A few didn't even show up for whatever reason and were disqualified.

   You can view the professional pictures and articles at: www.acr.gl. Click "read more" to see some of the pics of the departure and arrival of the racers. Also below the pictures I have some thoughts from my observance of the race and how it relates to missions.

Meat & fish market

   Here in Sisimiut we have a small building between our department store, Brugsen, and the TelePost.  For the first few weeks we lived here I wasn't sure what it was.  It had cut out pictures of animals all over the outside, but I didn't notice a name or anything.  One day I got the nerve to go in there and found out that it is our local meat & fish market.

   Most hunters & fishermen bring the meat that they wish to sell here to have it handled for them.  We have found all kinds of meat in here.  They have had everything from rabbits, ducks, various birds to whale, seal, and I think walrus too!  Our kids love to go here and get muskox and reindeer for soups, stews, and roasts.  To me, the muskox and reindeer are just as good frozen as they are fresh, so we can buy the frozen there year round.

  They usually have plenty of fish, most fresh but some frozen.  We can get the things that aren't too strange like cod, salmon, and arctic char all the way to things like stone biter and rose fish.  You can also buy what we would call the innards (liver, roe, etc).

   One thing that we have yet to try is halibut.  They really brag on the halibut here and I hope to get to try some this summer (either buying it or catching it myself ^_^)

   They have hanging in the store is a long piece of whale baleen.  I thought that was really neat.  Click "read more" to see the following pics that I took today while browsing the store.

Ilulissat trip news

For those that receive our prayer letter, I mentioned prayer about a possible trip to Ilulissat.  For those who don't get out prayer letter, the other missionary family, the Shulls, have asked us to pray about moving up there.  We would be helping them with some new ministries in their church and both families would get some much needed fellowship.

Ilulissat

The news that I wanted to announce was that we stepped out by faith and purchased the tickets! The purpose of the trip up to Ilulissat is to visit with the Shulls, see their town, and to better be able to pray about moving there.  We will be travelling the last part of April and are very excited!  We are REALLY looking forward to this trip!

Please be in prayer for us as we make these decisions regarding moving and working with the Shulls.  Loneliness is one of the biggest things that our family deals with here in Sisimiut and we would love to be able to work with another family.  We just want to be discerning and cautious in making decisions and doing God's will and not base our decisions on what we want or desire.

The Shull family has a blog, if you would like to check it out click here.  Thank you for praying for us about this decision.

Getting out and about

We have been very cold lately, which means that we are spending more time inside.  The other day we went out as a family to the Timersortarfik (Sports Hall) to get a meal.  We don't do this often so it was a nice treat for all of us.  Here are a few pictures of when we were there.

Eli is excited about his hotdog!

Our sweet, goofy girls 

Our kids are getting so BIG!  Eli is excited to have more teeth in, so he can eat more (or so he thinks).  To be so scrawny this boy can eat!  Some days he manages to eat more than me.  Maryanna & Eryn are still sweet, but goofy.  They love to joke and play around.  Some days they pretend they are mommies, on other days they are teachers or explorers.  We love our kids!

Masey's ginormous cheeseburger 

Good hamburgers are hard to find here in Sisimiut unless you make them yourself, but Masey really enjoyed her cheeseburger with tomato, cucumbers, and cabbage.

Beauty and the Beast! :)

Getting to sit by my wife.  After over 9 years or marriage, we still love each other!

Our main road - Aqqusinersuaq