DAY 53 JULY 9 FORT YUKON TOUR

Day 53. We woke up to much cooler, almost chilly, weather in Fort Yukon. A cold front came through overnight with much rain. The high today we in the mid 60's and there was a stiff southerly wind. We were bothered by no bugs on our afternoon walk because of the wind. Very nice. This evening we were given a driving tour of Fort Yukon by Bentley Solomon, son of Rev. Mardo Solomon, who arranged the tour. For a bush community with no roads to the outside world, Fort Yukon has an incredible number of roads. Miles and miles of roads. The town is actually spread out quite a bit. Every native family has an outer allotment of 160 acres from which they cut firewood for the winter. In addition, they have a smaller parcel of land in town available to them to build a house (usually log). There is, of course, an airport (which is slated for a $15 million expansion to begin next week). There is a power plant, sewer (about half the town is on city sewer with more every month), and water works. Only one store, though, one convenience store with gas, and one post office. All gravel roads. But miles and miles of roads. Before coming we wondered if people had vehicles, this being a bush community. Everyone has vehicles, be they ATV's or cars/trucks. Many have boats. It is a bustling community, just one a different pace from what we're used to.
Today is our last post for the week, with the Tribal Office closed for the weekend. We will make our last post from Fort Yukon on Monday, because we leave Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. for Fairbanks. We will be in Fairbanks Tuesday and Wednesday next week before starting the trip home on Thursday. Have a relaxing summer weekend and uplifting worship. The Lord be with you!

DAY 52 JULY 8 FISH AND MOOSE

Day 52. Today is the last day that the native Alaskans can run fish wheels for the next ten days. The United States has a treaty with Canada which provides for 50,000 king salmon to migrate into Canada. This is necessary to protect Canadian fish populations because the Yukon must travel 1,000 miles through Alaska before entering Canada. Unfortunately, the king salmon counts are down this year so fewer fish are being caught, and that's true also in Fort Yukon. Native Alaskans rely on king salmon and moose as the staple in their diet. Salmon shortage is a significant concern. On top of this problem, the moose population is down due to an increase in the number of bears. There is encouragement to shoot bears in hopes of boosting the moose population. In Alaska, where many of the people live pretty close to the earth, these inbalances in nature come pretty close to home. The people in Fort Yukon always have Fairbanks to fall back on, but money for many is scarce and transportation costs are signficant. What is needed, said one woman at our weekly Bible study Wednesday night, is an increase in the Athabascan tradition of giving to those in need from those who have more than enough. I hear echoes of St. Paul in those words. Wednesday was thankfully cooler than Tuesday with some hint of rain in the air. We have begun to make a list of things to do next week in Fairbanks before we begin our trip home on Thursday, July 16.

DAY 51 JULY 7 FOREST FIRES

Day 51. The air in Fort Yukon today is thick with smoke. There are two forest fires in the general vacinity, one of which has over 150 fire jumpers working on it. Actually, forest fires in Alaska are a common thing and a major summer employer of native Alaskans. Some are the result of careless use of fire, but the majority are naturally occurring. Alaska is mostly wilderness, and the vast interior of Alaska gets very limited rainfall. For instance, the dust off the roads in Fort Yukon (no roads are paved) is a major problem. One full time job in town is watering the roads twice a day. Today had quite a bit of activity. At the laundry we finally met the televsion cable guy who said he was coming today to hook us up. (After no television for eight weeks this seems almost superfluous.) When we got home we met Rev. Mardo Solomon, the pastor of St. Stephens. He had just returned after an absence of three weeks, during which time he had been attending his terminally ill son-in-law in Houston. Mardo is a fine man and most gracious. He was more than pleased that we were here and invited me to conduct worship one last time this coming Sunday. After Mardo left we got a call from our daughter Abby, who was bringing us up to speed with events back home. Later in the day Laurie Thomas, church administrator, came by to deliver some mail and introduce her father, Dennis, who was visiting from Rapid City, South Dakota. We watched the ten o'clock news for the first time in forever and went to bed. All in all, a full day.

DAY 50 JULY 6 RADAR STATION

Day 50. Today we had a most interesting experience. Last Saturday while sitting by the Yukon River we met two men working as contractors for the Air Force. It seems the Air Force maintains one of its 15 Alaskan long-range radar installations in Fort Yukon. They invited us to visit. Today we took them up on the offer. It is an impressive installation on the outskirts of Fort Yukon. With only two staff the installation provides strategic radar coverage, along with the other 14 installations, for the entire northwestern United States. The technology is sophisticated and the facility modern in every way. Gail and I commented that it was like walking into the 21st century from our accomodations these past two weeks in the 19th/20th century. They invited us to stay for supper which we gladly accepted: chicken breast in a tomato sauce, pasta, fresh acorn squash, fresh spinach salad with tomatoes and zuchinni, toasted bread, chocolate milk, and brownies with Alaskan coffee for dessert. Best meal we had had since my birthday dinner two weeks ago. They work three months straight away from family before having six weeks vacation back home. It would be lonely work at times but they are generously compensated. Glen, the station technician, showed us some footage of the northern lights, which are out from October to February in Fort Yukon. Spectacular. We won't see them with our own eyes this trip, but perhaps on a future trip during the winter. It will take a while to screw up the courage to come here when its 50 degrees below zero!

DAYS 46-49, JULY 2-5 INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 2. The big news for Thursday was the arrival of a care package from our daughter, Hillery. We had mentioned the previous Sunday about how expensive groceries were in Fort Yukon and that we were economizing by getting only the basics. She loaded a flat-rate priority mail box with all manner of goodies--food, personal care, and reading. It was a great lift! Later in the day I continued my writing by completing another devotion. These may be published later by LAMP-US.

July 3. Today is the legal holiday so most public offices are closed in Fort Yukon. The streets, usuall busy with ATV's, are quiet in anticipation of the Fourth of July celebration, which is a big thing in Fort Yukon. Later in the day as we were sitting at a picnic table along the Yukon River we met two men with an interesting story. They are contractors working for the Air Force manning the long-range radar installation at Fort Yukon. This installation is one of 15 operated by the air force. Together they provide comprehensive radar surveillance for the United States. They invited us to tour the facility, which is on the outskirts of Fort Yukon (and which we did not know was there). We plan to do so on Monday, July 6.

July 4. Today was a big day in Fort Yukon. At noon there were sirens as the ambulence, followed by ATV's decked out with balloons, drove down main street. The parade ended up in "downtown" where burgers and hotdogs were being grilled and a big luncheon was being laid out. On main street the big event for the day--races--were being prepared. There was race after race by all ages. Running, three-legged, gunney sack, bicycle. They raced for cash and soda prizes. It was quite the sight. The egg toss and nail driving contests were especially fun. While we retired from the festivities at supper time, we could hear dancing going on until the wee hours of the night. Quite the celebration. Later in the evening I paid a pastoral visit on a member of St. Stephens who was flying into Fairbanks tomorrow (Sunday) for a colonoscopy.

July 5. Today begins our last full week in Fort Yukon. Church attendance was light--17--probably due to all the celebrating. I preached on the Gospel reading, Mark 6:1-13, on "Honoring Your Prohets." We have made some wonderful friendships at St. Stephens and in Fort Yukon. They have a deep and abiding faith in Jesus despite some incredibly difficult circumstances. One friend has four children. However, two have died (cocaine and alcohol) and two are in prison. Yet he remains positive in disposition and rooted in faith. We can learn from them the power of faith to carry us through even the deepest valleys. The deacon of St. Stephens, Theresa Thomas, expressed appreciation for the clear and simple Gospel that I have shared. I told her in the end it is the only message that matters. For it endures to eternal life.

DAY 45 30TH ANNIVERSARY

July 1. Today is the 30th anniversary of my ordination and the occasion which inspired this sabbatical. On July 1, 1979, I was ordained and installed into the Holy Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Isle, Minnesota. At that time I was a 27 year old graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was accompanied by my wife of four years, Gail, and two small children: Hillery, age 2, and Nathan, age 6 months. That was a long time ago. Much has happened in these past 30 years. And while they have had both some very great highs and some very deep lows, I am confident in saying that God has been faithful to his promises to us. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Reflect on that freedom as you celebrate the fourth of July. We will be "off the air" until July 6 because the Tribal Office will be closed Friday for the July 4 celebration. Be safe. We plan on enjoying all manner of races that will be held on main street in the village. When we blog again on Monday we will have only one more week in Fort Yukon. We're beginning to make our plans for the return drive. More on that to come. Oh beautiful for spacious skies...

DAY 44 JUNE 30

June 30. Today we visited with the superintendant of the Yukon Flats School District. The district educates 270 students in ten villages, the largest being Fort Yukon. The big issues for the villages in having ten students in order to maintain a program in the village. Less than ten students means education via correspondence courses or relocation to another village. The schools provide much of the social structure to the village. During the long winter months basketball is the glue that holds many of the families together. After supper we discovered a sheltered picnic table perched on the bank of the Yukon River. It was very peaceful and reminded me of the Mississippi River. The Yukon is as much as two miles wide here at its northern-most bend. From here is bends to the southwest on its journey to the Berring Sea. The village is gearing up for its 4th of July celebration on Saturday repleat with many races. Then next week the fish (king salmon) may be running. Life in the Alaskan bush.