This Week's Story
click here to play audioWinters above the Arctic Circle confronted the King family.
This Week’s Story relives American history and the Bible through brief inspiring stories presented on mp3 audio recordings and text for reading.
Dwayne King - You think I like being cold? part five
“Carolyn, you know I was the hot-rod kid in high school! My work was spiced with fun and speed. We lived in upstate New York where we had winter and snow, but nothing like this place where we now live as Christian missionaries. Bettles, Alaska! Imagine! We live thirty-five miles above the Arctic Circle and have four months of winter every year!
“Winter is an obstacle course! Cold penetrates every crack in our old log house. Sure, I try to stuff the cracks. Sixty or seventy degrees below zero has been common in the winter since we moved here in 1981.”
“Dwayne, on the topic of winter in Bettles, I’ll help you build your case against winter there. Add snow and ice to the cold temperatures. Your body has learned painfully that getting work done outside is a task either for a superhuman or someone with the right clothing, equipment, skill, and help.”
“During winter the days are dusky and the nights dark. It feels strange to me, Carolyn. I see people struggle in darkness and isolation.
Some get depressed, gossipy, and negative. Some feel torn between what has to be done and what can go wrong.”
“I notice that you are often helping other people. You fly to their villages; they visit you; you work together. Sometimes you get frustrated with not having time to do maintenance work with your equipment. I think your informal times together are wonderful opportunities for friendship and ministry. You don’t have to wait for a scheduled meeting at church. People, young and old, enjoy being with you.
“Dwayne, I tend to be the one in our marriage who likes order and predictability. You are the perfect person for expecting the unexpected. You delight in creating fun surprises. Now our Bettles winter weather challenges us and we miss opportunities.”
“You know me well, Carolyn. Living above the Arctic Circle for three years is not always an exciting adventure.”
“It takes getting used to, by you Dwayne, our four kids, and me. We have been pushed beyond what we have experienced. God is teaching us.”
“I hear you, Carolyn. We do have pluses. We have the Ketschers who encourage and help us, with their Bettles Trading Post and Sourdough Outfitters, their purchases of furs and sale of dogsleds. They came here knowing Bettles was pioneer territory. They challenged me with their heart for the Eskimo-Indian people of the villages. They set up the Brooks Range Bible Camp in 1978. We have been able to organize a church.
“Here we have more friends, the Manns. Their recreational gold mine for tourists is the same place where we have the summer Brooks Range Bible Camp. We have our friend the Postmistress Jeanie Stevens. We live in a town of eighty-nine Eskimo-Indian people.”
“Dwayne, let’s keep counting the blessings. We can see the magnificent Northern Lights in the winter. We have wonderful weather in the summer, perfect for hiking and fishing.”
Our next story will take us to our conclusion. Today our recording team is Todd Warren, Nathan Thomas, and Barbara Steiner. Enjoy thisweeksstory.com.
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