Two Heroes

I just talked to my friend Vera Penz, who helps her husband Dave run the Kako retreat center for villagers in the vast, lightly populated Yukon-Kuskokwim delta of western Alaska. In summer, the Penzes get their supplies via Yukon River barge or by air. Winter travel is by bush plane or snowmobile.

The Penzes have help from volunteers who come from other areas of Alaska and across the lower forty-eight, but “winter is hard,” Vera says. They are mostly alone then. At age eighty, she is the sole bookkeeper, letter writer and paperwork person for the mission enterprise. Dave is battling a form of leukemia. When I called, he’d been out all day plowing snow from the runway and clearing paths between the buildings. It had “warmed up” to 11 degrees from last night’s 16 below zero. As we talked, I stood at our window, looking out at a light mist falling and rubbing goosebumps. It was 40 degrees outside our house. And I thought I was cold?

Within a radius of 160 miles of Kako there are fifty villages. Many are afflicted with alcoholism and attendant social evils. The subsistence lifestyle is as hard as it ever was, and there are few paying jobs, so many people live below the poverty level. Kako offers hope, through summer camps for children, teacher’s retreats, marriage seminars, men's and women's retreats, and short term Bible seminars. Most of the attendees are flown in, as are workers, speakers, and everything needed for their stays.

“In two weeks, we have a speaker from Moody coming to teach about forgiveness,” Vera told me. 

 Forgiveness is an appropriate topic in a place where abuse goes hand in hand with alcoholism.

“We’re so glad for the warmer weather and plenty of snow. The trails are good for those close enough to come by snowmobile, but we’ll have to fly people in from farther out.”

Dave and Vera both came to Alaska in the early ‘60s. They married after having lost their respective spouses and have since spent the last thirty years at Kako, reaching out to the people of the delta. Did I mention that they are two of my heroes?

A Good Day for Birds

A flock of snow geese with Mt. Baker as backdrop

A large proportion of this flock are gray-feathered young birds. Note one wears a collar.

    January and February are soggy months in northwest Washington. The ground gets so saturated the bluffs and hillsides slide under their own weight. Rainwater can’t soak into the flat fields of the Skagit and Stillaguamish Deltas, and it can’t run away, so it lies in a silver sheen beneath the sprouting grass or between furrows.

    The birds love it. Fields become shallow lakes where flocks of ducks preen and dabble. Harriers swoop in search of field mice forced from their burrows. Blue herons hold solitary vigil along the drainage ditches while hundreds of swans muddy their plumage foraging in plowed fields.

    We aren’t expert birders, but we’ve noticed some birds are doing things differently this year. Only a few snow geese spent the winter around Stanwood, compared to the usual thousands. There are far more trumpeter and tundra swans than usual. But we’re told that there are plenty of snow geese in fields farther north. Maybe they just don’t like to share their territory.

    Be that as it may, when the first day of February dawns sunny and bright, we join dozens of other motorists and cyclists on the narrow back roads of the Skagit Delta. Spring is in the air although a chill wind blows streamers of fog inland. New growth is sprouting, pussy willows blooming, alder catkins heavy tasseled with about-to-be-released pollen. Birds and birders are out in force.

    Nearing the village of Edison, we see cars stopped along both sides of the road. Spotting scopes and telephoto lenses aim toward the leafless alders. Eagles, so many I lose count, perch in the trees and pose for the cameras. Why so many? Next weekend Edison holds a birding festival. Maybe the eagles got word and are awaiting the festivities. (For more about the festival, go to http://edisonbirdfestival.com/2013-calendar.)

Of the 5 eagles in this shot, 4 are young ones.

Marching for Life, 2013

l. to r.: Robin Crager, Marv Greenland, Hank Husby, Bob Burkart, Sam Crager in the Capitol Bldg. Photos courtesy of Dick Morrell

Listening to a speaker on the Capitol steps and at the nearby Temple of Justice

Last Tuesday, January 22, was the 40th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s devasting decision to make Roe vs. Wade the law of the land. Over the last four decades we have lost more than fifty million children, little ones who might have brought joy to childless families. We mourn the tragic waste of potential those lost children represent.

On Tuesday, along with an estimated 3,500 other people, Hank traveled to Olympia for the annual Washington State March for Life. Shortly before noon, the crowd gathered on the steps of the Capitol building. The participants’ purpose was to remind legislators that they are watching. Some legislators took part in order to let their constituents know what they are doing to reverse Roe vs. Wade. Hank was thrilled to discover that we do have a number of strong leaders in state government who are working hard to push back against the culture of death.

Our new state governor is not one of those leaders. According to recent newspaper articles, he supports the abortion mandate presented in Senate Bill 5009. This morally objectionable bill requires insurance companies and employers that provide maternity care to also pay for elective abortions. Representative Brad Klippert of Kennewick led the crowd in a call and response chant about fighting the bill and then led them in singing, “God Bless America.”

The crowd heard from other legislators as well. Senator Mike Paden of Spokane Valley called for support of House Bill 1259, which declares that life begins at conception.

Two new bills regarding parental notification before young girls undergo abortion are Senate Bill 5156 and House Bill 1257. Senator Pam Roach of Auburn said that not giving parents and guardians time to talk to their girls and prepare for their post-abortion care is inconsistent with other laws that forbid giving even an aspirin for headache in school or that forbid those under age 16 to get a tattoo, even with parents’ permission.

After the crowd heard from legislators and the March for Life board, they dispersed to visit with their representatives, senators, and the governor and let them know where they stand on the issues. Hank and his group met with Representative Norma Smith of Clinton. Ms. Smith thanked the group for what they are doing. She said, “Your efforts will have an effect because legislators do pay attention to what their constituents say.” She also asked them to pray for the continued progress of the Right to Life movement.

The Washington State March for Life commented, “Women and children deserve better than abortion. We all do.” Taking part in a March for Life is one way to work for something better.

Bad Decision

Most homes in Shageluk burned wood to keep warm, and Dave and Vera Penz’s was no different. Wood was free, and it was plentiful, if you went far enough away from the village. Early in the fall, Dave went with some villagers to cut their winter wood supply. They took a boat ten miles up a slough to a nice stand of trees and made camp on the shore. For the next couple of days they cut and limbed trees. They dragged some trunks into the water, tied them together into a raft, and piled more wood on top until they had a twenty by twenty foot stack. It was evening when they finished, so they decided to spend one more night at camp...a bad decision.

It froze hard that night. When the woodcutters woke, an inch of ice covered the surface of the slough. Their boat was frozen in. They broke the ice to clear a wide area around the boat, started the motor, and proceeded to ram the shelf of ice, using the boat like an icebreaker. Another bad decision. To Dave’s surprise, the sharp ice didn’t break until it had sheared through the bow of the boat as if it were a knife. Water poured in. The men scrambled into the rear of the boat, lifting the bow out of the water. Someone bailed frantically until they got it to shore. They pulled the boat out of the slough, turned it over, and rebuilt its front. Then they motored down a running creek and returned to Shageluk.

The men had to look elsewhere for their winter’s wood supply. All their previous hard work remained frozen in the ice until spring’s high water dispersed it down the slough and into the river.

Shageluk on the Innoko River, with sloughs. ⓒcommerce.state.ak.us

A Memorable Moose Hunt

Our friend Dave Penz has spent most of his life taking the good news of the gospel to the native peoples of western Alaska. One of his first assignments was in the village of Shageluk. He tells this story about one of his early hunting trips.

One of his neighbors, Charlie Wolf, was the son of a white prospector and a native mother. Many offspring of such parentage were energetic and ambitious, but not Charlie. He had a beautiful wife and three children, but he barely managed to keep food on their table. Unfortunately, he was an alcoholic.

One mid-winter day Charlie wanted Dave to go moose hunting with him. He owned three scroungy dogs. Dave had a sled and a good team of dogs, so they hitched up all the dogs and headed into a wooded area where few people went hunting. They set up their camp when it got dark.

Next day they spent the four daylight hours trudging through the woods. Snow fell steadily. Just at dusk they came upon six moose clustered together in a thicket. They shot two of them. They skinned and butchered them and hung the pieces in the trees to keep them from animals. By the time they had finished it was pitch dark.

“I know a short way to get back to camp,” Charlie said. Dave hoisted a large chunk of meat atop his backpack, picked up his gun, and followed Charlie through the foot deep snow. It was so dark he couldn’t see where they were going, but something seemed wrong, especially after Charlie had stopped several times, then started off in a different direction.

The meat grew heavier and heavier, and the gun, too, seemed so heavy that Dave considered leaving it behind. If only they could see where they were going. Suddenly he remembered something. “I think my flashlight might still be in my pack,” he said. He dumped the contents. Sure enough, there was the flashlight at the bottom.

Charlie had refused to admit they were lost, but when Dave flashed the light through the woods, they could see their own tracks circling around to where they stood. They were the only people within many miles, and Charlie couldn’t deny it now. Later Dave would use the story in many of his sermons, telling his listeners that most people don’t know they are lost until they have the light of God’s word in their lives.

While Dave repacked his belongings, he prayed aloud, asking God to help them find their way back to camp. Then he stood watching snowflakes fall in the beam of his flashlight. They fell at a slight slant, telling him the wind was from the north. He knew he had to go east to get to camp.

Dave started out, in the lead this time. Now Charlie thought he heard noises in the woods. Wolves! Maybe they had smelled the meat Dave carried and were following them. He was so frightened he kept stepping on Dave’s heels. He continually asked Dave to shine the light behind them to see if it reflected from the eyes of hungry wolves. There were no wolves, but the last time Dave swung the flashlight around to the front, he caught the faint, snow-covered impression of old sled tracks running across a frozen lake. Now he knew where they were. They followed the tracks across the lake and were soon greeted by the dogs they’d left tied at camp.

The next day they took the dogs and sled back to where they’d left the meat. They were amazed to find the long, heavy front leg of a moose a quarter mile away from the rest of the meat. A wolverine had helped itself, and was probably not far away. The two men hung the leg in a tree and Charlie set one of his traps beneath it.

It took several trips to get the meat and hides back to Shageluk. Oh yes. They also hauled home Charlie’s wolverine, which had come back for its prize and got caught in the trap.

Happy New Year!

The spiders left a gift last night on the neighbor's fire hydrant. It was 22 degrees this morning. I hope they survived their party.

Promise Kept

Photo: Free Bible Images

Have you thought that it takes the entire Bible to tell the Christmas story? From the first promises in the book of Genesis to the great climax in John’s Book of Revelation, it’s all setting for the angels, the shepherds, and the baby in the manger.

The Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi, who proclaims God’s promise: “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.” (Malachi 3:1, NIV)

God’s chosen people, Israel, knew the Old Testament promises, but they expected their coming King to be a conqueror who would vanquish their enemies and set up a powerful kingdom that would rival or exceed any contemporary kingdom. When the Lord came to his temple, it would surely be with great pomp and ceremony. His coming would be glorious. Unmistakable.

After Malachi, God seemed to be silent. Israel endured years of oppression under one foreign ruler after another. Then one day, after four hundred years of unfulfilled expectation, a young country mother and her husband brought their firstborn baby boy to the temple in Jerusalem. Following the law of Moses, they came to present him to the Lord and to redeem him with a sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. No one in the crowd that day particularly noticed Mary and Joseph. Young couples were always bringing their firstborn sons to the temple.

But two people recognized this baby as their King. Both were elderly. Both were righteous and devout. And both were looking for the consolation of Israel.

The Spirit of God had revealed to the first, Simeon, that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. When he saw the baby, he knew him! Imagine his joy when Mary allowed him to take the child in his arms. Imagine the people around him, turning puzzled faces as they heard him exult:  “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,  which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32, NIV)

Simeon spoke a few more words to Mary, words she would ponder in the years ahead: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)

A widow named Anna came up just then and heard what Simeon said. Anna was eighty-four years old and had spent most of her life serving in the temple, fasting and praying. When she saw the infant, she began giving thanks to God, rejoicing and speaking of him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Israel.

Simeon and Anna represent the two ways we should respond to the receiving of our deepest longings. Like Simeon, we can respond with absolute gratification. Like Anna, we can respond with great joy and sharing.

Many people in Israel longed for their King to come to his temple. Was the fulfilled promise less important because only Simeon and Anna recognized him?

No. God does his work through individuals. The words of Simeon and Anna confirmed to Mary and Joseph that the overwhelming events of recent months were truly God’s promises being fulfilled. Mary had to wait thirty-three more years to see the plan worked out. Her heart would be pierced as she watched her Son die on the cross. At that moment, did she think God’s promise had failed? Was she as surprised as anyone when the angels rolled the stone away and she saw her risen Savior? Perhaps it was at that moment the ponderings of her heart at last were satisfied. Her eyes too saw God’s salvation. Her little boy had become the light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people, Israel.

Does it seem that God is slow in keeping his promises? Israel waited four hundred years after Malachi to see the Lord suddenly come to his temple. And then most people didn’t recognize him.

Mary pondered the events of Jesus’ birth and the words of Simeon and Anna for more than thirty years before she really understood what God was doing. We too get impatient to see our deepest longings fulfilled. We wonder if God is at work or if he really will do what he says. We wonder why evil seems to win, and we wonder why good people suffer.

What comfort to know that God is the promise keeper. He promised that Jesus will come again, the triumphant and victorious King that Israel still waits for. When he comes, he will make all things right. And we will know the answers to all our questions.