Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Tour to Four Inuit Communities from July 27 to August 17, 2020
From July 27 to August 10, 2010, a Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Manitoba Team will be doing youth meetings and healing the land events in three Inuit communities in Nunavik (Puvirnituq, Salluit and Kangirsujuaq), and from August 10 to 17, they will be doing a healing the land process in Cape Dorset in Nunavut.Below are bios of some of the team members that will be travelling together.
Isi and Tessa Masi--Isi is from the beautiful island of Kadavu in Fiji, and Tessa has been living in Steinbach, Manitoba, which she loves, for 10 years. They met in Brisbane, Australia, through Youth With a Mission in 2001. Isi moved to Canada where they got married in 2005, with Silina born in November, 2008. Isi and Tessa have served as YWAM DTS staff in Australia, and they are now excited to be pioneering an Island Breeze ministry in Manitoba.
Jullius and Naomi Malama -- Jullius and Naomi were born and raised in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and are of Samoan heritage. They are an extremely gifted couple in Polynesian dance and music, and have two beautiful daughters, Gabrielle (born August, 2005) and Jaida (born December, 2008). It was while on a tour to Canada in 2004, with the Island Breeze Australia Production Team, when God had placed it on their hearts to come back to Canada. They moved to Manitoba in October, 2009, to pioneer Island Breeze Manitoba along with Isi and Tessa.
Ray Totorewa -- Ray is a New Zealand Maori, and has been working in full-time ministry since 1989. Ray assisted in the pioneering of Island Breeze New Zealand (IBNZ), and has been with this ministry since that time. Ray delights in cross-cultural ministry, and loves to encourage the nations to develop the God-given strengths that are in each one. He has recently made a trip into the heart of the Amazon jungle with a team from Island Breeze International.
Steven Carleton is a young, 21-year-old man from Ottawa with an Inuit heritage, and a deep passion for God. He not only played the Inuit drum along with the worship at the Forgiven Event in Ottawa from June 11-13, 2010, in which many Inuit, First Nations and Metis released forgiveness to the government of Canada in response to the Prime Minister's apology for the residential school policy of the past...
...but he also played the Inuit drum during the Welcome Ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February of 2010, when the Inuit, First Nations and Metis welcomed the nations to Canada.
Steven also led the Inuit delegation in procession during the Forgiveness Event in Ottawa on Saturday, June 12. There, to receive the forgiveness, on behalf of the Canadian government, was the Hon. Chuck Strahl, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.Other team members with the Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Team going into four Inuit communities this summer include Fotu Taimani (from Tonga), Rona Malama (from Samoa), and Ashley Bomberry, a First Nations dancer from Ontario.
So the entire team of 12 people will be cross-cultural, and will consist of people who have been reconciled and connected from at least six different nations--the Maori from New Zealand, Fijian, Samoan, Tongan, First Nations, and Inuit.
Near the end of the Forgiveness Event in Ottawa during the late afternoon of Sunday, June 13, Island Breeze Manitoba and the Island Breeze Alberta teamed up, and captured the Gathering by storm with a very dynamic performance.
Of course, there were many Inuit in the audience, and they were thrilled to realize that Island Breeze Manitoba would be coming to some of their communities this summer. We will now describe a little bit about the past history of the communities to which they will be going.1. Puvirnituq, Nunavik (July 27-31, 2010).
Puvirnituq is on the eastern side of the Hudson Bay at the 60th parallel. It has known major moves of God's Spirit in the past, and has been featured in the Transformation II video.
This picture was taken at a Conference in Puvirnituq in September of 2004. Peter Awa from Igloolik is the speaker.
During that Conference, youth went to reconcile with the parents after they heard a strong message on the need for forgiveness from one of their fellow youth.
Love was flowing freely like a liquid river during that Conference, and much healing took place.
Here, the community leaders from Puvirnituq are praying on site with insight in November of 2008 at a site where much innocent blood had been shed in the past. They are repenting for the sins of their forefathers which opened the door to negative influences that continued to influence future generations. There were testimonies afterwards of a change in the environment, with better quality and quantity of fish and other forms of wild life which are so essential to Inuit survival.
Salluit is an Inuit community along the Hudson Strait near the very northernmost part of Quebec, or of Nunavik, as the Inuit refer to their homeland which comprizes the territory in the part of the province north of the 55th parallel.
In this scene from the Salluit Conference during Easter week of 1998, you can see Mayor Qalingo Angotigirk on his knees during worship (second from right), bowing to an authority in Salluit much greater than his own.
The mayor's wife Ida is active in the leadership of the Anglican Church in Salluit. I had a chance to minister in this new building during the Taivititut (Davidic) Gospel Music Festival in October of 2007. The Youth responded to the challenge to organize a prayer meeting right in their school. 
Kangirsujuaq was a community that used to have a 95% alcoholism rate among adults. While the community is certainly not perfect, it has come a long way from where it was, and is moving in the right direction.
Kangirsujuaq was also a Nunavik community that was featured on the Transformations II video. Transformation is a process, and it is continuing to take place. In fact, a man who once was one of the leading drug pusher of the North lives here, and just a few years ago, he was wonderfully set free by the power of the gospel. He is now on the board of a growing men's ministry that is seeing fathers and husbands healed.
Puvirnituq is on the eastern side of the Hudson Bay at the 60th parallel. It has known major moves of God's Spirit in the past, and has been featured in the Transformation II video.
This picture was taken at a Conference in Puvirnituq in September of 2004. Peter Awa from Igloolik is the speaker.
During that Conference, youth went to reconcile with the parents after they heard a strong message on the need for forgiveness from one of their fellow youth.
Love was flowing freely like a liquid river during that Conference, and much healing took place.
Here, the community leaders from Puvirnituq are praying on site with insight in November of 2008 at a site where much innocent blood had been shed in the past. They are repenting for the sins of their forefathers which opened the door to negative influences that continued to influence future generations. There were testimonies afterwards of a change in the environment, with better quality and quantity of fish and other forms of wild life which are so essential to Inuit survival.The Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Manitoba Team that will be in Puvirnituq from July 27-31, 2010, will build upon these foundations, and go further. There is a very real possibility that Puvirnituq will become a centre for the Healing of the Land in Nunavik (northern Quebec) and beyond.
2. Salluit, Nunavik (July 30 to August 4, 2010)
Salluit is an Inuit community along the Hudson Strait near the very northernmost part of Quebec, or of Nunavik, as the Inuit refer to their homeland which comprizes the territory in the part of the province north of the 55th parallel. Back in the spring of 1998, the first major Bible Conference hosted by Salluit took place. Just a few months before that, I had received this letter of invitation and welcome from Mayor Qalingo Angotigirk.
In this scene from the Salluit Conference during Easter week of 1998, you can see Mayor Qalingo Angotigirk on his knees during worship (second from right), bowing to an authority in Salluit much greater than his own.
The mayor's wife Ida is active in the leadership of the Anglican Church in Salluit. I had a chance to minister in this new building during the Taivititut (Davidic) Gospel Music Festival in October of 2007. The Youth responded to the challenge to organize a prayer meeting right in their school.Even though there have been different mayors in Salluit over the past 12 years, Mayor Qalingo Angotigirk is the mayor there today, and he has extended yet another invitation for a team to come into Salluit to help them go further with the healing process. It is in answer to that invitation that we are bringing in the team with Island Breeze Manitoba to Salluit this summer.
Working closely with the mayor has been Putiluk Papigatak, one of the community leaders. Putiluk stated in a recent e-mail:
"God is good...ALL THE TIME!!!!...It's been a most rewarding blessing since we started this project...Of course we have prayed and will keep praying for the Holy spirit to do His will during these events. He is the only One who is in control, and who will help us to achieve the blessings for our community...in Jesus' Name...It just keeps getting better, the more we dig into the works of the Lord. Praise God!!!"
3. Kangirsujuaq, Nunavik (August 4 to 9, 2010)
Kangirsujuaq was a community that used to have a 95% alcoholism rate among adults. While the community is certainly not perfect, it has come a long way from where it was, and is moving in the right direction.
Kangirsujuaq was also a Nunavik community that was featured on the Transformations II video. Transformation is a process, and it is continuing to take place. In fact, a man who once was one of the leading drug pusher of the North lives here, and just a few years ago, he was wonderfully set free by the power of the gospel. He is now on the board of a growing men's ministry that is seeing fathers and husbands healed.Pastor Annie Tertiluk annually hosts a Youth Conference in Kangirsujuaq during the first week of August, and this year, she is especially anticipating a wonderful time with the coming of Island Breeze Manitoba. She has been making announcements on Nunavik radio, as youth from the entire region will be coming to Kangirsujuaq for this strategic youth event. In the words of pastor Annie, "I believe that we will see the moving of God like never before!!!!!"
Kangirsujuaq has also been the scene of a bowhead whale hunt during 2008 and 2009. This picture was passed on to me by the Mayor of Kangirsujuaq, Mary Pilurtuut, who has heard the reports of the healing the land process in other northern communities, and does not want her community to miss out on this blessing so that increasingly, the land and the sea will support the inhabitants who live here.
Putting this picture of radiant of the Youth from Kangirsujuaq, taken during a Conference back in 1997, together with the previous picture of the abundance of the sea, it reminds me of the scripture from Isaiah 60:5, "Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy, because the abundance of the sea shall come to you, and the riches of the Gentiles shall come to you." 
Cape Dorset will be the final stop of this Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Tour of the North. This community has given a strong welcome and invitation for a healing the land process. Among those who gave their blessings to this process during a meeting that I had in Cape Dorset last November are Carry Merritt, the Mayor of Cape Dorset, Pitsiulaq and Siitarata Nivaqsi, leaders in the Anglican Church, Martha Jaw and Udjualak, Full Gospel Ministers, Lao Ottokie, member of the local Municipal Council and Anglican Woman's Auxillary leader, Pinwartuk Ottokie, Anglican Treasurer, Annie Lampron, Alcohol Committee, and Qupiqkualu Palluq, Elders and Recreation Committee.
In April of 2010, Isi Masi and Jullius Malama of Island Breeze Manitoba, joined me for a meeting in Cape Dorset with some 25-30 of these community leaders for further confirmation of their desires. Those attending this meeting included the mayor and the police officer, who together with the others, all took time off work on a Wednesday afternoon to meet at the Community Hall, and to show their support for the Healing the Land process to come to their community.
This is Pitsiulaq and Siitarala Nivaqsi, leaders at the Anglican Church in Cape Dorset. In the YouTube immediately following this report, you will hear Pitsiulaq saying words to this effect:
Kangirsujuaq has also been the scene of a bowhead whale hunt during 2008 and 2009. This picture was passed on to me by the Mayor of Kangirsujuaq, Mary Pilurtuut, who has heard the reports of the healing the land process in other northern communities, and does not want her community to miss out on this blessing so that increasingly, the land and the sea will support the inhabitants who live here.
Putting this picture of radiant of the Youth from Kangirsujuaq, taken during a Conference back in 1997, together with the previous picture of the abundance of the sea, it reminds me of the scripture from Isaiah 60:5, "Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy, because the abundance of the sea shall come to you, and the riches of the Gentiles shall come to you."4. Cape Dorset, Nunavut (August 10 to 17, 2020)
Cape Dorset will be the final stop of this Canada Awakening-Island Breeze Tour of the North. This community has given a strong welcome and invitation for a healing the land process. Among those who gave their blessings to this process during a meeting that I had in Cape Dorset last November are Carry Merritt, the Mayor of Cape Dorset, Pitsiulaq and Siitarata Nivaqsi, leaders in the Anglican Church, Martha Jaw and Udjualak, Full Gospel Ministers, Lao Ottokie, member of the local Municipal Council and Anglican Woman's Auxillary leader, Pinwartuk Ottokie, Anglican Treasurer, Annie Lampron, Alcohol Committee, and Qupiqkualu Palluq, Elders and Recreation Committee.
In April of 2010, Isi Masi and Jullius Malama of Island Breeze Manitoba, joined me for a meeting in Cape Dorset with some 25-30 of these community leaders for further confirmation of their desires. Those attending this meeting included the mayor and the police officer, who together with the others, all took time off work on a Wednesday afternoon to meet at the Community Hall, and to show their support for the Healing the Land process to come to their community.
This is Pitsiulaq and Siitarala Nivaqsi, leaders at the Anglican Church in Cape Dorset. In the YouTube immediately following this report, you will hear Pitsiulaq saying words to this effect:"My name is Pitsiulaq Niviaqsi, and I am the leader at the Anglican Church in Cape Dorset. We need your help through prayer, because we face hardship in Cape Dorset right now, and we would like to bless our land. We reach out to you so that the devil will not have a stronghold anymore in Cape Dorset through suicides, etc. We need to overcome these hardships through Jesus Christ. So we are asking for your prayers so that we will have a better future."
Also on the YouTube immediately below this report, you will see Tiivi Qiatsuk, the Conservation Officer at Cape Dorset, translating for Pitsiulak, and also adding these words of his own:
Also on the YouTube immediately below this report, you will see Tiivi Qiatsuk, the Conservation Officer at Cape Dorset, translating for Pitsiulak, and also adding these words of his own:"I grew up here for the first sixteen years of my life. We are asking for your help so that we can move forward in blessing our land. In my experience in growing up here, I grew up with violence at home and at school. From grade one until grade seven, we used to fight with the other kids twice a day, and I didn't know what that was all about. When I was growing up, these are the things that I went through.
"At a very young age, people, even men, would try to go after us sexually. I got into pornography, which affected me when I was growing up. My respect for women wasn't where it was supposed to be.
"These are the things that we face today--rage, lust and adultery--and I know that these are the things that we need to get rid of, so we can have a better future for our kids. We need to forgive those who did those things to us."
I encourage you all to watch both Pitsiulak and Tiivi share something of their heart with us all on the following YouTube. Hear their heart cry! Hear their sense of desperation! They are saying, "We need help! We need prayer! Please reach out to us, and stand with us!"
After you have heard their brief pleas for prayer, I would also encourage you to watch the YouTubes right after that as well, as they convey songs in the form of a prayer that cry out for the Healing of our Land! On the final YouTube just below that, there is an expression of support for this process from Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk, the bishop of the Arctic.
Please raise your voice with ours for the God of Heaven to be freely and voluntarily welcomed into the communities of the earth to come and to heal our land!
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Roger and Marge Armbruster are bridge-builders and advocates of reconciliation and social justice between people groups and cultures. They both minister cross-culturally -- Marge by teaching English to new immigrants in rural southern Manitoba, and Roger by helping to build relationships between various indigenous groups who understand the connection that there is between people and land, with a special focus on the Inuit of Canada's North.
