Arctic Hope

A few days ago we completed a ridiculous road trip that we had no expectation to finish without significant difficulties. We traveled by air from Ft Simpson, NT to Terrace, BC to Dawson City, YT. From there we picked up a truck to drive to Ft Nelson to meet our travel trailer and return to Dawson City. Our last leg took us from Dawson City to Old Crow, YT and on to Ft McPherson by air. It took five days, 1800 air miles and 1800 ground miles.

We met many great folks along the way and enjoyed the incredible beauty of the Canadian Rockies from the air and from on the ground. We finished the trip exhausted but grateful that God had allowed us to take such an incredible journey without a single roadside or airport breakdown. WhooHooo!

As we traveled down the Alcan Highway, we observed moose, elk, caribou, bison, beavers, black bears, grizzly bears, arctic fox, muskrat, porcupine, stone sheep, mountain goats, rabbits, and white tail deer. We took a dip in the Laird and Tahkini hot springs. We celebrated Canada Day (July 1st) and Independence Day. We even shopped for food at a WalMart in Whitehorse, YT.

Most importantly, we prayer walked the communities of Ft Nelson, Watson Lake, Dawson City, Old Crow and FT McPherson. Many of the communities along the Alcan are drying up because of a trade standoff between the US and Canada over lumber. Other communities are drying up because of the high price of fuel and the reduced number of tourists traveling the Alcan. Several of the communities had shuttered churches.

We sensed a great deal of economic pain among the people of the area. Many businesses were closed or for sale at amazingly low prices. (For instance a huge RV camp with great facilities in Johnson’s Crossing, YT available for $530,000.) We are asking God to bless these communities economically and by drawing these people to Himself through these difficult times. We are asking God to provide for His children affected by these economic realities.

Oh yes, we even transported our home (travel trailer) as part of the process. We would be living in that home now except for one tiny detail. The Dempster Highway between Dawson City and Ft McPherson washed out. The trailer is parked in Dawson City awaiting the last leg of it’s journey. We will be a couple more days before our home reaches us.

Thanks for your continued prayers. We are learning much as we travel to each of these communities. In future blogs, we will further document what God has done in each community we have visited. We trust God that He will continue make His direction for our lives clear as we go. We are asking God to bless each of these communities with an outpouring of His Spirit.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 22:52 and is filed under Summer of Exploration, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.