Last month we introduced the idea of “becoming” in the Inuit world. For the team living in the arctic this means not just learning about the Inuit way of life but living it ourselves. It means making the effort to understand and speak Inuktitut until we are fluent.
At the very foundation of our desire to effectively and clearly communicate the story of reconciliation is the character of our Heavenly Father. Throughout history, the LORD has revealed himself to mankind and preserved his communication so we may know him, personally. Since God created all languages and longs for all people to know him, we are convinced that sharing truth in heart languages is essential. It is with this in mind that we enter the Inuit world, to live humbly, trusting God we will earn the right to share the hope that comes from Christ.
For the team in the arctic, the journey of stepping into the Inuit world has been through relationships with individuals. Our language helpers have spent many hours with us, painstakingly repeating themselves so we can hear each and every sound in a word. They have listened for hours as we struggle to pronounce Inuktitut sounds that we do not use in English. They laugh with us as we make silly mistakes in speaking. They rejoice with us and encourage us in our growth in the language.
Our language helpers have created a little space in the Inuit world for us to connect and relate to others. This space has allowed us to ‘become’ a bit more knowable. Now, we can go beyond participating in everyday life activities like hunting, fishing, and sewing to communicating about these things on a basic level. As we grow in our understanding, listening, and speaking ability, we hear comments like:
- “Did you just speak Inuktitut?”
- “You speak better than my kids!”
- “I’m so proud of you for learning to speak our language.”
- “See, you’re doing it!”
These comments communicate the value of learning Inuktitut.
Our language meetings are more than simply listening and speaking Inuktitut as an academic exercise. Our language meetings have given us the privilege of sharing life with our language helpers. We have the honour of hearing the life stories that have shaped our friends into who they are today. As our ability in the language grows, we trust our relationships will grow, too. Deep personal relationships are motivating us to continue learning Inuktitut. As these relationships grow so does our desire to share the Good News.
Pray that the LORD would give them endurance and strength for the language learning journey. Praise God with us for providing individuals to help us learn Inuktitut and connect us to the Inuit world.
Learn more about the ministry of Ethnos in the Arctic at ethnos.ca/indigenous-ministries.
