Our back yard

I would like to share some of the beautiful sights we see here in Greenland. The Lord did an amazing job when he made our little corner of the world. Hope you enjoy what we see everyday! 

This is out our front door during the winter!

The ocean!  I love how blue/green it is.

Picking berries! One of our favorite summer activities.

You have to beat the bugs and the birds to the blueberries!

This is by our favorite picnic spot.

Part of our town in the summer.

Our town in the winter.

Another beautiful spot where we like to picnic at.

This is our view out our windows.

The bay

The lake

The river

Homesickness.

Being thousands of miles away from all that is familiar can be overwhelming at times! We have been in Greenland almost a year and a half, and I still deal with homesickness on a daily basis. I know some will say that I shouldn't still be homesick, but there are some days I just can't help but be homesick for the States! Or that I should be trying to make Greenland my new home. I have tried and tried my best to do that and I will keep on trying!

I miss my church, my friends, and my family. I miss seeing my parents and celebrating birthdays and other special days with them. This is hard for me to talk about without tearing up! I know the old saying "Home is Where the Heart is" but what if my heart is in two different places at once? I like being here in Greenland and I'm thankful the The Lord has paced us here. It can just be overwhelming, feeling like you are alone. We are in a country where there is only one other family doing what we are doing! Talk about feeling outnumbered!  We are moving up to work with the other missionary family and hopefully I can deal with being away from America better.

For those that might think that moving to Ilulissat is not a good one, I would like to challenge you to come up and experience Greenland and the daily oppression we face.  If you REALLY want to experience Greenland come in the winter, not the summertime. We face not knowing the language, the culture and many other things. We have tried and tried to learn those things, and hopefully we can get the help we need with the Shulls.        

I am not writing this for sympathy, I just needed to write it! If you ever wonder what to pray for for your missionaries, pray for strength dealing with homesickness!  Many, if not all, missionaries face it.

My Dad

 Father’s day is just a few days away, so I thought I would take a moment and talk about one of heroes-my Dad. I have to confess that I don’t talk to my Dad as often as I should, but I love him with all my heart!

My Dad

 My Dad is one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He is an excellent provider for my Mom. He may have a “tough guy” exterior, but he is just a big teddy bear on the inside! J 

 I would like to share two of my favorite memories I have with my Dad.

When my parents adopted Jason and I my Dad was in the Air Force. My Mom was a beautician and had a small shop just around the corner from our house. When we got out of school we would go and hang out at the beauty shop and wait on Dad to get off work. I know we were a sight! Using the haircutting capes as superhero capes, and any other kind of mischief we could get into!  Anyway, my Dad had a motorcycle he would drive to the air base. One of my favorite times was when I could ride on the back of the motorcycle with Dad when he got off work. He would cut across the yard to the house, which, as a little girl, I thought was great!

I love my Dad!

Another one of my favorite memories I have was when my Dad came home from a tour overseas.  He was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm for a year. I remember going to get him from the airport. My Dad has always had some kind of facial hair. When we first saw him when he came off the plane one of the first things my Mom said to my Dad wasn’t “hi” or “I love you” it was, “Grow it back!”  J  He looked so different with out his mustache. But my favorite part of Dad being back was on the way home Jason and I leaned over and slept in Dad’s lap. Talk about one of the most secure feeling in the world. Dad had been gone for a year! We missed him so bad. One of the things that went through my mind when he was gone was if he was ever coming back. I’m thankful for the memories I have with my Dad and I hope to make many more!

I love my Dad and can’t wait to see him when we go on furlough! I hope that you can hug your Dad and let him know how much he means to you this Fathers Day! 

The Lord's protection!

For the most part I feel pretty safe here in Greenland.  But today the Lord was watching out for me.  I wanted to share with you what happened this morning.  I had gone to the little store next door to our house to pick up a few things.  As I was checking out a drunk guy came up and (in very slurred speech) said "Hi".  He looked familiar so I said "Hi" as I went to go get something else I needed.  I get back to the counter and he is still standing there waiting on me.  As I get ready to pay he says "I pay, you get your things and go."  I told him that I would pay for my own things and handed the cashier the money.

He then asked where I was from and I told him America.  He was so drunk he then asked what country in America!  He said that he was a prawn fisherman.  He had just returned from being out on a fishing boat at 8 o'clock this morning.  He was so drunk that he couldn't even stand upright! (This happened about 10 AM our time)  I was scared because it was just me, him, a little old lady, and the cashier in the store.

He proceeded to ask if I wanted to go party with him.  I told him "No, I'm going home to my family!"  I got out of there as fast as I could!  As I stepped out of the store I saw a taxi sitting there with a load of men staring at me (his friends I guess).  I was so thankful that the Lord kept me safe today!!

Things are different here.

I thought I would take this post and talk about some things here in Greenland are very different than what some are use to in the States.  



The first thing that comes to peoples mind first is the weather!  And yes, for this ole southern girl, the weather here has taken some getting used to!  We get LOTS of snow in the winter and into the 50's in the summer. I know some of you are thinking, "50 is not warm!"  but when you have been below 0 for several months, it is roasting!

This is in front of our house a few moths ago!

In Ilulissat, Greenland

Another thing that is different, is the dogs.  The dogs here are not pets, but work animals. The puppies are cute and cuddly, but when they are around 6 months old they are chained up. And after that you don't go near them. They are used in the winter for the dog sledges. A lot of people use snowmobiles, but there are still some that stick to the dog sledges. 

One mean looking dog!

A dog sledge in Ilulissat

One of the biggies here is the language!  They speak Danish and Greenlandic.  Danish is easier for me to read than to speak, and Greenlandic is a total mystery for me! There are little to no resources for learning Greenlandic. The learning tools that are available are Danish to Greenlandic, not English to Greenlandic!  

A road sign in Greenlandic. 

Some kids playing in our yard. 

  Most of the kids here are left to themselves. We have seen little ones as young as 3 running around with not a parent in sight. The other day in the news here, some children were caught stealing from one of the local bakeries. They said they were sent there to steal some stale bread, because they had nothing to eat! It is sad to see the state of the homes here. We have seen little kids cross the roads here by themselves. My heart drops out every time I see one try to go across. I think the term "crazy taxi" got it's origins here in Greenland! I have seen several kids almost get hit by the taxis that drive way to fast, and barely stop for anyone.  

This is a little shed in front of our house that kids constantly climb on. 

A supply ship.

The last thing I would like to point out is everything is shipped in!  We get all our supplies: food, clothing, toys, and anything else you can think of, is shipped in from Denmark. Some of the only things that Greenland grows here is potatoes and a few herbs. They are grown in south Greenland, where the temperatures are a little warmer. Because everything is shipped in that means that it is all very high priced. Eli was wanting some corn on the cob the other day. We looked in the store and saw that ONE ear of corn was around $6! Our grocery bill for a week runs us around $200, sometimes more.  And we don't eat anything fancy, just basic meals.

So, there is just a peak at our little world here in Greenland.  

In everything give thanks!

My "washer" for those 3 months! 

I was thinking earlier how sometimes I'm not very thankful for some of the little things.  As I was folding laundry today, I was thinking back a year ago I didn't have a washer!  I washed clothes by hand for 3 months. I hardly ever got caught up, and it seemed I was doing several loads a day.  I am not complaining , I just wanted to share how good the Lord has been to me!  I had never owned a new washer in the States, but The Lord blessed and we were able to get a brand new, still in the box, washer. We got it about a year ago and, it has worked beautifully!   The Bible tells us in everything give thanks! I am truly thankful for those 3 long months of hand washing. I know it sounds odd, but I truly am.    

My new washer!