"Me?"

A view of the town with "the Ice" in the background

When I entered the Glad Tidings Church this morning, I immediately felt uncomfortable. Being surrounded by only four other members of a congregation is something I am not certain I will ever be accustomed to. The man leading the service played a bunch of praise music at the beginning and then there was an offering. The praise music made me more at ease, although without a bulletin, I had to stumble through some of the songs. Then, out of the blue, the man leading the service looked at me and said, "And now, we'll have our sister share her testimony." I looked at him, bewildered, and stammered, "Me?" I was very glad I had experience sharing my testimony before, because otherwise, I would have felt even more uncomfortable. After my awkward sharing time, the man gave a sermon, which consisted of flipping to a verse and listening to him summarize the verse in one or two sentences...for about twenty verses. It is interesting how differently people worship here. I cannot help but wonder if the rest of the congregation was as utterly uninspired as I was.

After the service, I headed to the pancake breakfast. It was delicious! However, as I sat alone at my table, I could not help but think of the differences in hospitality here and back home in the southern United States. I know for certain that the next time I meet someone who is new to a community, I will make an effort to welcome and befriend them, because it is a terrible feeling to be alone in a foreign place without someone to talk to.

I attempted to go to the seal skinning competition later today, but couldn't find the location. Evidently, there are multiple places called "the Ice" in Camridge Bay. : ) Instead, I watched some of the ski-doo races. It got pretty cold, so I went back home to watch a movie called Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. It is the first film entirely in Inuktitut, which is the other Inuit language besides Inuinnaqtun. The movie is based on an Inuit legend (and too complicated to explain here). Unfortunately, some of the story was lost in translation and I had to read a synopsis afterwards to understand parts of the plot. However, it is a great view into ancient Inuit life and culture and has as much drama as any soap opera you would see on modern television. I definitely recommend it (as long as you realize it is rated R for a reason)!

A boy watches the ski-doo races