The local Catholic school put on their annual food drive for us, and as always it was a great success. But this year something beautiful happened. One of the volunteers who came to help us sort the food was a homeless man who comes regularly to our door to ask for food. Not often sober, he walks the streets during the day and stays with various people at night.

When the priest said at Mass this morning that some people live in winter all their lives, I thought of this man.

Anyhow, he arrived sober at the beginning of the drive, promptly at 6:30, and he was the last to leave at 10:30. I consider this a not so small miracle, and it increased my faith.
We encounter so much struggle, tragedy, and hopelessness in this corner of MH. It is events like this that remind me that, no matter how things seem to us, God has the whole picture in hand and he forgets no one. He is the light that cannot be extinguished, and he is bigger than any problem. With him, anything is possible.

We hosted three young members of the NET team (National Evangelization Team) for ten days when they came to Whitehorse to give a retreat at the local high school.

A radio station held a drive to collect hats and mitts for us to pass on to those in need. (In our sub-arctic climate, these are essential items that do not often come in donation.) Kate and I were up at the crack of dawn (well, it felt like it) to go down to the studio to be interviewed. That station does something every year for a good cause, and this year we are it.

Many Mexican families have moved to the Yukon recently, so many that the high school population increased by a whole classroom. Even remote Whitehorse is slowly becoming multi-cultural.

Sometimes we get the opportunity to see who we are through the eyes of those who come to us. One of our friends, who is taking a course at Yukon College, wrote a paper about our house. It is humbling to quote her words. “At Maryhouse, love is freely given. The warmth, understanding, and kindness are so hopeful. In their own quiet way, the people there are teaching me how to love my fellowman.”

May we always recognize that it is Christ’s face that we show and Christ’s light that we shine.