Dear Friends,

After many hours and three plane flights we arrived late on April 23rd in Fairbanks, Alaska.  The Lord brought us and our luggage through with no serious issues.  Thank you for your prayers!  We spent a couple of days in Fairbanks, renewing friendships, and also spoke at McGrath Road Baptist Church.  Then on Friday morning, April 26th, we flew up in a private missionary plane to Fort Yukon, just one mile north of the Arctic Circle.  I had the fun of riding in the co-pilot seat on the flight up, but was told not to touch anything!!!  I got to wear a cool headpiece with earphones and mike.  The ground appeared white and frozen as we traveled above the rugged wilderness below.

Fort Yukon is located on the point furthest north for the Yukon River.  Strangely, this river flows north at first, then takes a turn south and flows to the ocean many miles from here.  Fort Yukon is located at the point of the turn from north to south.  This village was settled by Russian fur traders before the United States bought Alaska from Russia.  Ultimately, it became largely populated with Native Americans.  There are two main Native American groups in Alaska.  The most famous are the Eskimos.  Fort Yukon is made of the other group known as the Athabascans.

Upon arriving in Fort Yukon, the ground was covered with snow with some very deep drifts.  If you stepped off the areas people were walking, you could sink into the cold wet stuff up to your knees (or higher).  The temperature each day would range between 0 and 35 degrees with a couple of mornings below 0 (slightly).  It snowed several times in the first few days.  Now, the snow is starting to melt.  The temperature is climbing up into the 50’s with a couple of days in the sun being warmer than that.  The big excitement that everyone is talking about around here is the ice breakup of the Yukon River.  Some time in the next couple of weeks that will happen.  Flooding may occur when it does breakup.  We would all appreciate your prayers that this will not be a year that happens.

Another interesting reality about spring here are the bears are waking up, and they are hungry with very little to eat yet.  We have been warned by several to be alert to the possibility of meeting one if we go for a walk.  They have been in the village before.  In fact, the first day I arrived in Fort Yukon on my first visit two years ago, I saw a black bear on the edge of the community.  They also tell me that wolves have come into the village, but that usually happens only in winter.  It is never boring serving the Lord!!

For the first couple of days we were here, we worked through many details with David and Heidi Craig, the missionaries that we are taking over responsibilities from (while they report back to churches and have their daughter’s wedding in “the lower 48 states.”)  Then the Craigs flew out to Fairbanks, and we began our efforts to become involved in the lives of the people here.  The culture is very similar to what we experienced during our ministry in Utah with an additional emphasis on Native American culture.  Many of the Utah people we worked with were the outdoor type with love for the wilderness.  There is a lot of that here in Alaska, but there are also serious issues here in the village that many Native Americans face on the reservations elsewhere in the western states.  (Sadly, many of these issues are now world wide in many cultures as well as intercity communities.)  But here, north of the Arctic Circle, in the middle of this isolated wilderness, there is alcohol and drug abuse as well as physical abuse caused by reasons we are still learning.  The people here are highly intelligent in so many ways.  We have had challenging conversations where deep biblical truths are explored and understood.  However, alcohol and drugs are taking their toll on the lives here, including many children who are born with alcohol syndrome.  There is a sense for some people of feeling trapped with no solutions.  The human need is great and somewhat desperate at times.  With all that said, the believers here are opening up to us more each day, and we are starting to enjoy a special warmth of fellowship among them.  They are becoming very special to us.

I am speaking and leading four services a week (Sunday School, Church AM & PM, and Wednesday night prayer service).  Beabea is teaching a children’s program during Church AM & PM.  She also does nursery for Sunday School and Wednesday night.  We have been holding a children’s night on Thursday each week with an average of a little over 25 children.  We are also encouraged and helped each service by Dan & Cheryl Sastic, a Christian couple that moved here from New Jersey to help in the ministry.  Dan is a medical doctor and has been hired to run the local clinic in Fort Yukon.  Cheryl plays the piano and is involved with the village children, giving piano lessons and helping with their home work.  They are a precious couple with a giving heart – and a God sent.

Dale, a young Native American gentleman that lives here in the village, believes the Lord may be leading him into possible full time ministry.  (We first met Dale at his baptism during our trip up here last year.)  We are having Dale come over once a week for dinner and fellowship as well as discussing spiritual truth.  Our plans are to help him get involved in doing different ministry opportunities.  Dale would very much appreciate your prayers.

Finally, I would appreciate your prayers for my dad (who is 90 years old).  He is back in the hospital with pneumonia.  He knows the Lord, and I know he is looking forward to heaven someday.