Dear praying friends,
This letter is being written from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territory. It is a warm summer evening and although the clock indicates 12:05 AM, the sun is a good 20 degrees above the horizon. It is tough to sleep in a room that is being invaded by beams of light, so this letter comes in an attempt to make good use of the sleepless evening.
Our trip North was fairly uneventful, a flat tire on the camper in Grand Prairie, Alberta, and some rain on the way up the Alaska Highway were really non-events. (Although the road washed out shortly after passed through the rain soaked area.) We attribute our travelling mercies to your faithful prayers and the Lord answering them accordingly.
The annual Alaskan youth camps at Rock Crossing Bible Camp were outstanding and our fellowship with friends in and around the Fairbanks area are always the highlights of the year. Upon our departure for Inuvik and eventually Tuk, we heard the Dempster Highway was washed out in places and was in rough shape. So in an effort to lessen our chances of problems, we decided to leave the camper in Fairbanks instead of dragging it up the 450+ miles of gravel road that is the Dempster highway. It was a wise choice as the road was a muddy, slimy mess.
As we turned the truck’s engine off in our driveway in Inuvik, I quickly tallied up the total distance we travelled on furlough. 65,226 kilometers or 40,529 miles! We were safe for every mile and the Lord provided for every need along the way.
I hit the ground running as six days after we got to Inuvik, I preached a funeral with well over 200 in attendance. 15 or more people responded with heads bowed and eyes closed in admission of their need of a Saviour and thus asking for prayer concerning their souls.
This is day 10 of our return North and I’m in Tuk! Tomorrow is a Sunday and at 7PM a few souls will gather to sing praises to God and hear the precious Word of God preached. There are very few churches of any stripe above the Arctic Circle anywhere in the world. To think God even cares for a tiny speck on the map called Tuktoyaktuk is mind boggling. But to think he cares about me as well is beyond comprehension. I must tell the people of Tuk of His tremendous love and plan for eternal redemption. I’m here! I can! I will! Thank you for making that possible. Our partnership makes this venture of ginormous proportions possible. As you give and pray, you are here as well in the economy of God.
Welcome to Tuk!
In His cold but easy yoke,
Steve and Lois Donley
