by Peter Siemens
I’ve lived here in Behchoko, Northwest Territories most of my life. It’s a little over 2000 people, and it’s the biggest town in the Tlicho tribe (or Dogrib is the English way to say it). It’s about an hour northwest of Yellowknife. There’s another community close by called Edzo. It’s just a small town of 200 people, but it’s got the big high school, so kids go from here to Edzo.
I’ve lived in a couple other places for short periods, but here in Behchoko it’s great in the summer when the sun is up until about midnight. The winters can be pretty long and cold. It’s just the way of life up here.
I was raised with parents who knew the Lord. As far back as I can remember, they were telling me Bible stories, Bible lessons, Bible songs and stuff like that. My parents have always been involved in a church, and taught me how to trust the Lord.
I graduated from Chief Jimmy Bruneau High School in 1997. After high school I didn’t really do much right away. I just started kind of floating around, looking for little jobs here and there. At the time I wasn’t living in a way that was really smart. I wasn’t really doing things worthwhile.
Not Serious About Anything
I was getting more independence from my parents, doing whatever I wanted. I wasn’t rebelling against God or actively rebelling against my parents. But I just wasn’t serious about anything in life. And the Lord didn’t like me living like that. And so He let the results start to show.
I know that there’s probably a lot of young people out there who are right now going through that same thing. And many of them don’t have the “real life” in their lives – which is Jesus.
In 2001 I was working in one of the diamond mines up here, but I wanted to do something other than driving equipment at a mine. It’s very good money, but it wasn’t a career that I wanted to do for a long time. Some guys like it, but it’s not for me.
I was attracted to the idea of being a pilot, and Prairie Bible College (Three Hills, Alberta) has an aviation program. So I attended there and got my private pilot’s license, and also two years of Bible school on the side.
When I came back to my community my finances fell through. I had a private pilot’s license, but I was very much in debt, so I went back to work at a diamond mine. As a single guy with no family, I was able to pay off a huge debt within a year, and after that I did a little bit of traveling. When I came back from my trip I took a job as an ambulance driver and took training as an emergency medical responder. I enjoyed it and did that job for another four years.
A Heart for Young People
Since then I’ve been working at the high school in Edzo, substitute teaching. The money is not as good, but I have a heart for young people. They’re fun to be around. The reason I have a heart for them is because I think of the things I went through as a youth. It helps me relate to them and understand them and the things they might be going through. It’s just a natural fit.
So I hang around and have fun with the young people here. It’s hard to find things to do in this town sometimes, but we try. We provide activities for them. And when it’s time to sit down and do Bible study, it’s time for everyone to be quiet and listen. There’s just so much to enjoy with these friendships.
In fact, four of us went on a trip all the way to the Philippines a couple years ago. We were there for about three weeks and it was an unbelievable time. We went places and gave our testimonies and shared the Word. We talked about northern Canada, too. The Filipinos were very hospitable and very interested in what we had to say. Anytime you can talk about God, it’s a great opportunity!
Jesus Christ is very important to me. I know that Jesus is God’s plan for salvation.
This article was adapted from our Tribal Trails video interviews with Peter.
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