From Alaska in July

This week's TPE carries my Alaska story, plus we have TPExtras, a podcast here, and a slideshow here.

Simon Francis, a Resident of Fort Yukon, Alaska

Fort Yukon Pastor Jeremiah Niemuth

On the site of a roofing project with Master's Commission North Pole during my trip there last July.

Fireweed, Fort Yukon, Alaska

Ken With John Maracle at Beaver AG

Here I am with my good friend, John Maracle in front of the vacant AG church in Beaver, Alaska. One of the goals of Ron Pratt and Master's Commission is to place a pastor here.

John, a Mohawk from New York, is chief of the AG Native American Fellowship and was recently elected an executive presbyter of the AG.

Village of Beaver Graveyard

Was interesting to find this name in an Athabascan graveyard. We had a Billy family in the first church we pastored in Healdsburg, Calif. They were Pomo, the dominant Northern California tribe in our area. The first funeral I ever conducted was for Tilly Billy.

The Famous Smiling Cat of Beaver, Alaska

Ken Presents Chief Paul Williams With Silk Road Stories

When I was in Alaska this July, I gave Chief Paul Williams, the traditional chief of the Village of Beaver on the Yukon River, a copy of Silk Road Stories, my favorite of all the books I've done, which I did with Mark and Lynda Hausfeld.

It is customary to "gift" village elders when visiting. The Athabascan culture is strong on story and I felt the compelling stories in this volume would be of interest to Chief Williams. He and his family have become family to the Master's Commission kids I was there with.

Fairbanks, Alaska

I am working on my Alaska article this weekend for a December issue of TPE. Lots of photos to come. I love Alaska.

Favored by the Chief's Son

In one of the villages we were in on the Yukon River, I made a breakthrough with one of the sons of the traditional chief of the village. He opened up to me and later, he honored me, though I didn't realize it at the time. They had been catching lots of salmon on the chief's fishwheel, cleaning, drying, and smoking it for the winter. This is how they live when the harsh winter comes. In one batch they caught a large sheefish. I sat nearby as he cleaned the fish, the last of several he had cleaned. "Here, try this, it's good," he said to me. He was holding a raw egg-sac from the sheefish. "Sheefish caviar," he said. I later learned they treasure this as quite a delicacy. So I ate it. "Yum," I said. The taste stayed with me for three days. But still, it was quite an honor.

Bear Attacks

A bear entered the camp of the MCNP students near the beginning of the Yukon River trip and ripped open a new Cabela's tent. When the bear became aggressive and refused to be run off, Ron Pratt, director of MCNP, fearing for the students, had to shoot him. Later, in Fort Yukon, we ate black bear backstrap and ribs. Ron gave most of the bear meat to a native village, for which they were very grateful.

At an Athabaskan fish camp we stopped at, there was a "bear dog," a dog kept just to keep bears from stealing the fish.

Later, in a store in Anchorage, I saw a bear spray on sale, along with this (redundant) promo: "Stops harmful attacks." Are there any bear attacks that are NOT harmful?

North to Alaska

The Blog will take a rest as I travel on assignment to Alaska. I will be boating down the Yukon River and stopping with Master's Commission kids for ministry at various Native American villages. The first Sunday, I'll be preaching in North Pole. In the meantime, feel free to post comments to any of our entries. I return Mon., 7/23.