Arizona here I come

The day of my return from Fond du Lac, my parents told me they had received a call. This call was from my aunt Stephanie, she told my parents she received a call from my uncle David, who had received a call from GCC. I got accepted!! I'm moving down near the end of July, which is extremely exciting and nerve racking. I am absolutely exstatic to be spreading my wings, but saddened by the thought of leaving my family, sometimes growing up is hard to do, but in the end it's all worth while.  I will be staying with my Uncle David and Aunt Steph, they have two children a young girl and boy [ super cute ] and two dogs. I will be kept busy I hope, with school and family time as well as church responsibilities I should be too distracted to be missing anyone... right? Well I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. All I can say is YAY! I'm growing up and I'm ready to go!

                                                  -Emma

Concrete Life

London Ontario-----Fond Du Lac Saskatchewan  what's the difference? One is based around noise and media while the other is based off old traditions and peaceful days. As the sun rises in London the noise grows, as the sun sets in Fond Du lac the land grows more silent. I once asked how far North is North, well not far enough. I feel if I kept going north the more beautiful it would get and the more peaceful I would feel. I am honored to be here with my youth family. Sherri my roommate has become a dear friend and sister. The other youth in our family include: Ahmed, Dan, Meghan, Sherri, Matt, Jared, Diana, Natalie, Taylor, Eddie, Marissa and myself. We've grown so close over the past couple of days and are saddened by the thought of leaving this Northern beauty.

We've spent so much time with each other, meeting the Native people of Fond Du Lac it's been an absolute pleasure to learn their culture and traditions! We've had such a blast. I personally cannot believe that we leave the day after tomorrow. We still have so much to do here. For example, we all went Ski-dooing for the first time yesterday, what a treat! It was honestly the coolest thing, I definitely recommend it. The new friends we've made along the way in our journey up North, are incredible! They try so hard to be like people down "south" that they've lost a lot of their heritage and culture. On the other hand the elders of Fond Du Lac are so awe inspiring that I would love to come up and teach here! What a pleasure and honor that would be for me! Other activities we've had the opportunity to do are de-scale fish, dry meat, hare snare, beading, make a poster, soccer, musical chairs and a dance. Tomorrow we might even get to snow shoe!  I am absolutely exstatic!   

                                                     -Emma

The apple doesn't fall far...

My family, what can I say? We laugh with each other, cry with each other and all in all love each other.  I can honestly say that I would give up everything for my family. They help me succeed in all I set out to do, and let me tell you I am always getting into something!  As a kid I was always adventurous, loud and overwhelming. So I'm thankful that my parents didn't just give me away. I also have three younger brothers, Jon, Jared and Aaron. I love them so much and although as brother they get on my nerves, I wouldn't give them away either. I've notice recently that as I prepare to go my family is preparing to not have me, in which case my brother Jon is jumping for joy. I realized that they were going to be alright with out me. I guess I always had this notion that if I left they would fall apart, how self-centered and totally unaware was I. In actuality it will be me that has a hard time living without them!  My family has alway taken care of me and I in return have tried to do the same, but sooner rather then later I will have to take care of myself and fall ... from the tree.

                                                                                                                      -Emma

                                                          

Follow the Prophet he knows the way....

Today April 3rd 2011, is a day in which The Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saint will speak to us and teach us more of the restored gospel. I am so thankful for this opportunity to learn more of my saviour and how I can return to him. The prophets and those who spoke this weekend have inspired many, they speak of the spirit, by the spirit inspiring us of what we can do to better focus our lives on what is good, better and best.

Some of my favourite talks were  Quentin L Cook speaks on remembering who you are....

Some quotes that we use in our home which help us keep scared covenants are, "Remember who you are", "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" & "love one another!" These statements help remind us of these wonderful talks and to make good decisions in my daily life.
 In this world of dispair and grief the gospel gives us hope and light, full of truth and love.
                                                                               -Emma

How far North is .... North?

I've been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for my school, as we travel up North to beautiful Fond du Lac Saskatchewan. It makes me wonder how far north, north really is.  If you've never heard of Fond du Lac. when you're looking on the map set your eyes on the boarder of the Northwest Territories and move your finger south by a centimeter. And there you have where I will be spending the next week.

Fond-du-lac is a settlement located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Situated on the east side of Lake Athabasca it is a remote fly-in community. The current population is less than 700 inhabitants, mainly of Dene and Métis descent.
Founded as a community over 150 years ago, by native peoples in pursuit of furs, fishing, hunting and trapping the community has seen little changes. Many in the community can trace their ancestral roots of the area to the early 19th century. "Living off the land" is still a way of life in Fond-du-lac.
The main enterprise today in Fond-du-lac is working in the mineral and other resource extraction business. Others follow a tradition of fishing, hunting, and trapping as well as provide guiding services to the many fishing camps in the area.                        

This exchange program will encourage stronger relationships between the teens from the Reservation and those from the City of London. I am excited to finally meet my "twin" we have been  corresponding with  each other via facebook. I am thrilled to learn more about her Native culture. Some of the activities they have planned for us include: snow shoe races, fishing, hunting, dry meat making, trap setting, rabbit snaring and how to make caribou hide.
A week after we return, we will host our new friends here in the 'South' We are planning some amazing events including Niagara Falls, a pig roast, dining at Stadtlanders where we will participate in a service project. 
                                                     -Emma