The following article describes some of the work and needs in the Canadian territories of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, where the fields are white unto harvest, and the need for labourers to come and plough for God is great. There are no assembly workers in either of these regions, nor in Alaska, which neighbours the Yukon.
The Northwest Territories are mostly Arctic tundra; a vast region of small communities, with huge distances between. Yellowknife is one quite modern community, with diesel generators for power, and many small villages. Some other communities are only accessible by boat in summer, for a short period in winter via ice roads, and by air. Many of the residents are ‘first nation people’, and some of the communities can be wild. Drink and drugs are plentiful and, sadly, a lot of suicides are the result. These areas are huge distances away from any assembly, and they are wild and dangerous, particularly at night. The roads have permafrost heaves, and most of the dwellings have permafrost issues. We soon realised that preservation is of the Lord. In the dead of winter, boiling water freezes before it hits the ground, and frostbite affects exposed flesh within minutes. Temperatures have been recorded below -70 degrees Celsius. Our second driving trip was only -40 degrees at the time, but there were warm hearts, open to the Scriptures. The Northern Lights are always beautiful, expressing God’s handiwork. Summers are the land of the midnight sun, and are warm, with black flies and other bugs.
Some brethren have recently been working in the communities that are accessible by ice roads during the short freeze-up period. Our own involvement in going to Yellowknife came through a believer transferred there for a two-year period, who requested that we bring the wonderful Gospel message to that place. One could say that we received a Macedonian call to “Come over … and help us” (Acts 16.9). The Lord opened up the way for us to rent a very suitable room in the town, so we drove up at the end of September, during incredible early snows, and took the ferry across the McKenzie River. The entire area was visited with literature and invitations before the commencement of the meetings, and a very good number attended nightly. During those meetings an engineer started coming. The Lord was working in his life, and he was saved before the close of the meetings. Prior to coming, while in the field surveying, he was severely mauled by a grizzly bear. Events in his life were traumatic, to say the least, and his wife left him, not wanting such a scarred man any longer. Sadly, the woman does not understand what love truly is. The Lord had been ploughing, and it was a joy to see the peace and comfort of salvation in his soul. In February of the following year we drove up again, using the ice road to cross the river, and had a baptism for him. During that particular trip, an RCMP officer was killed by a drug dealer.
In the village of Rae, below Yellowknife, the population is mostly first nation and, when going from door to door, we noticed that there were about 19 homes with a lot of boarded-up windows. It emerged that a crew of drunks with rocks were on a destruction mission, and they tried to burn down the health clinic. In some villages there are no RCMP officers and, where they do have officers, there is usually only one per shift. To our surprise, unless folks are being injured the police do not step in to stop the issue. The apparent mentality of law-enforcement officers in the United States, ‘When in doubt, take him out’, is not the policy in Canada.
As time moved on, one of the pilots who came to meetings in Yellowknife was flying in Whitehorse in the Yukon, about 1,200 miles west of Yellowknife, and contacted me, requesting Gospel meetings there.
After a period of time, the Lord enabled us to rent a very suitable room in Whitehorse. A mailing was done to the whole of the Yukon Territory by the International Bible House, reaching a little over 30,000 souls. As a result, a lady in a village called Old Crow wrote, seeking salvation. She asked if we would provide airfare and lodging in Whitehorse, but we said that if she got a suitable room for meetings there in Old Crow, we would bring the Gospel message. She got saved after the first meeting whilst alone and, on our last trip a couple of months ago, we found her still rejoicing in salvation. How we are often reminded that the seeking sinner and the loving Saviour always meet. It is thrilling how the Lord brings circumstances across folks’ lives so that they can hear and believe the Gospel message. Old Crow is very isolated; a very small village above the Arctic Circle, with no access by road, meaning that we have to fly in, or take a river boat for days. Most who live there are subsistence hunters, mainly hunting caribou, and they daily face the danger of black and grizzly bears. Fish and berries are gathered to help with food, as the prices in the little store are sky high, the supplies having been delivered by plane. Many heat their homes with a wood stove, and virtually all homes have two sources of heat. The northern way is to have a backup for every situation, because of the extreme cold and remoteness. Whitehorse is quite modern now, compared to our first time there, over 40 years ago. There are some in the area with assembly backgrounds, and others seek the right paths from the Scriptures.
Several brethren have joined in helping in the Gospel, from as far away as Newfoundland, which we have deeply appreciated. Gospel meetings through the years have now been held at a couple of different locations. Yukoners can at times be a very independent breed, and the self-reliance and love of being in the great outdoors is often a great hindrance to an interest in spiritual things.
On our first visit to Inuvik, a town with a population of 3,400, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle, I was told by a pastor that we were the first evangelists to visit the place. We were also told that it would be too dangerous to be there for more than a few days. Religion can have a very strong hold on people but, oddly, they would only accept a KJV Bible, which we packed many of, for free distribution.
Dog sleds are not used too often now for transportation, having been largely replaced by the snowmobile in the winter months, and the four-wheeler vehicle or flat-bottom river boat in the summer. Drink and drugs are there, even though it is a ‘dry’ village by law. Lodging is very limited, so costs for lodging, as well as for food, are very high. The homes have tanks for water and waste, both of which are collected by a town truck. With the permafrost in the ground, the use of pipes would be very difficult, if not impossible.
When Inuvik opened one season, we began driving from Dawson City, Yukon on the Dempster Highway. We travelled about 450 miles in a four-wheel drive vehicle, on a dirt and gravel road that gets bad in mud and snow. While we slept in the back of the pickup truck shell, camping en route, we observed a wolf keeping an eye on us at night.
The Lord helped us to get a room for meetings in the library, and three of us covered the whole town with Gospel literature and invitations. We rejoice that some from the dark stronghold came out to hear the sweet tidings. At nights, a roaming band of drunks went around breaking windows, and trying to set a propane bottle on fire under a car. The Lord’s protection was, and is, very real, especially since the RCMP mostly turns a blind eye.
I would like to emphasise that there are many open doors for labourers in these pioneer regions, to labour for the glory of God. In Alaskan villages, one would find many similarities and needs to those in the Northern Territories and the Yukon. The methods used in the areas where the Lord has opened up doors are prayer, door-to-door knocking and engaging in conversation as the Lord leads, along with meetings in homes or rented rooms. In some villages in the USA and Canada we have mailed in Gospel papers for all the occupants, rejoicing in God’s promise that His Word will not return unto Him void (Isa 55.11). It has been a great joy on our trips to bring the unsearchable riches of Christ to the regions beyond, and we say “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam 7.12).
