FASD

We brought the atlatl sprear throwing and archery to the reservation yesterday. Kids of all ages were eager to get into the action. Even adults came to shoot. Many of the kids remembered how to do things: proper grip of the bow, knocking the arrow with the index feather facing up, etc.. Then there were the poor FASD kids. These are the children that received some level of brain damage because their mother was drinking alcohol while pregnant. It is a birth defect, and it is totally preventable. They can learn, but it takes a gentle and patient approach to teaching. The FASD person needs to see and feel the action over and over before it settles into real learning. So, over and over again, we would encourage and coach those frustrated kids; frustrated with themselves because they want so badly to be able to do it, and yet they know that they struggle more than others. FASD is a horrible thing to give to your kid. They will live out their life with the problem, and it could have been totally preventable.

It has been a while since I posted an entry in the blog. I got side tracked with the death of my mother in law. Jannie was away in Holland for the funeral; and I was going through grieving here at home. I fasted for a couple of days, and looked at family photo albums. The pictures helped confront my memories and feelings for Anna. It had its hard times, and yet it was a good exercise. Grieving has to be done. It doesn't go away if you cover it with other busy things of life. It is always there, under the surface, to re-emerge and usually at a time that is neither convenient or expected.
After Jannie returned home, we were busy with work. Slowly, we are getting back on track. Jannie is over the jet-lag. We have an archery program for the local reservation this afternoon.
On Saturday, we are running a canoe race for a reservation 30km away. So, after the archery today, I get to begin to ready everything for the canoeing.

Teach us to number our days

Psalm 90 has the line, "Teach us to number our days...".

Last night, Jannie's mother, Anna Ferweda, 88, finished her days on earth. She was a grand lady and like a queen to me. What a Godly wife, mother, and blessing to the Church she was. She loved flowers. She loved her husband, children, and grandchildren. She was a gifted seamstress, and could make such complicated knitting projects. She loved to knit wonderful jackets and hats for her grandchildren.

One one shared vacation trip that we had with them, Anna got sick. She had a throat infection. It gave her throat pain, headaches, and a fever. She never complained or let her condition become the focus of attention. I can still see her smiling in the lawn chair, waiving as we rode away on our bicycles. I had not clue how she was suffering.

In later years, Sjoerd (her husband) and Anna would go and visit the "old people" at the assisted living quarters. They were in their 70's at the time. Still eager to serve and be a blessing, they would bring flowers and chat with those dear friends who were older than them.

I thank God that He drew me into Jannie's family. Sjoerd and Anna have been such a big blessing in my life. I love the brothers and sisters as though they were my own kin.

Teach us to number our days, Oh Lord. May I finish my course with the patience and faithfulness that I have witnessed in Sjoerd and Anna.

Baskets

We collected some birch bark yesterday. We learned over the years to take the fresh bark and mold it into the basic shape that it was gathered for. We made the mistake of harvesting the bark and stacking it in the garage for future use. The bark becomes quite stiff when it is dried out. It is much easier to work with when fresh.

Jannie is shaping the bark into baskets of various sizes. After the basic shape is achieved, it can be set aside and finished later.

Birch Bark Harvest Time

We went up the mountain to harvest birch bark. In the lower elevations, the temperature was right for t-shirts.
In the high country, we were in the clouds, and eventually, snow.