Arrival into Skagway

Well...

3 planes and 4 days later. We have finally made it to our assignment here in Skagway, AK and what an adventure it was!

We awoke to rain and very, very dense fog. Apparently, the clouds decided that they were going to sit down on the mountains and valley that surrounded us in the Channel of Juneau and the Chilkoot inlet that will be our home for now. This weather and lack of visibility meant that there was a good chance that there was a rather good chance that we wouldn't be able to head north about 80 miles to Skagway. Smaller planes such as the one we would be taking, don't fly well in limited visibility because they fly in a lower altitude than a commercial plane. However, we packed our things and left the Klepinger home for the airport. We also left certain bags with them for the time being, because on smaller "bush planes" (which we will be using quite a but in this assignment of Alaska) weight is an issue that will factor in how you will be able to fly out to where you need to get to.

After a few last minute stops, we made our way to the airport to see what we would find with regard to the flight. Arriving before 12PM, initially we were told that all flights from Juneau had been grounded and that our flight would not go up. This was a little disappointing as we were anxious to get to our assignment and we were to meet with about 60 friends that had come into town on the NCL Norwegian Jewel. We decided to check or bags and just wait and see what would happen. The clouds continued to remain, and we were told that our plane was going to "give it a try" (not exactly what you want to hear right? Lol) and go up. If it was too much we would "bring it back down." (I think I will have to get used to those rather "common" words here in Alaska) We walked to our plane, a rather normal single engine propeller plane. We got seated (I took the seat directly behind him. I figured let me face this head on lol) and took our instructions from our rather wacky and very "socially awkward" (people are very interesting here) pilot. They do a roll call of all the passengers and tell you what to expect thru the flight. He told us that it would be very rough coming in and that we would need to hold on if we had never been up in that kind of a plane and into Skagway. We were told that because of very, very high winds in the Inlet that the plane would have to overshoot the runway and make a very sharp 40 degree bank turn into the runway to land. (Uhhhh....ok?)

We took off and it was not fun going up at all. The plane shook and rocked like it was a small toy that a child was tossing around. The winds pushed and rocked the plane back and forth thru the air. We all kind of held on for dear life. Lol I said my prayers (obviously) and I would guess my partner did as well. We got up finally and it smoothed out a bit for us. After my stomach and nerves settled a bit the scenery was quite amazing, breathtaking and awe-inspiring. The reality of the fact that we were finally on the last plane into our assignment was in front of us (literally). After about a 35 minute flight we began our unique descent into Skagway. Before doing so, the pilot again turned to us and told us to "hang on" for what we were about to experience. It got bumpy indeed (bit of an understatement) as the Pilot earlier indicated (he wasn't making it up) and he made the sharp turn into Skagway. He put the plane down on the ground and I immediately Thanked Jehovah not only for being back on the ground (Lol) but for the privilege of finally being in my assignment, to serve others and to teach them his Love and the Grand hope that is available to them. I also had to thank the Pilot for a job well done.

We got our bags and were greeted by the friends traveling on the NCL Jewel that was in port that day. They were previously made aware of our coming in. We were very thankful for them and the love they had to come and see us. The 4 of them and us 2 walked about 15 minutes with our bags to the Westmark Inn. This is the place we will be staying temporarily for the time. The Branch has asked us to look for housing in the area. This will be rather difficult here, because Skagway is a very seasonal town that relies on Tourism very heavily. Cruise season is over in another week or two. Sooooooo.....we are coming in at a rather unique time that will test our reliance on Jehovah. We are already prepared by the Branch Office that we will likely receive another assignment to another area to serve from here rather soon.

In any event, after taking our bags and settling in, we walked around for a while. We met about 60 friends from the cruise at the Port where they were docked at. They too were informed of the "2 Special Pioneer Brothers who have been assigned to the remote town of Skagway." They wanted to meet us and take pictures with us. The love and appreciation they showed us was amazing and will stick with us as we go forward to further. They will likely be the last witnesses we see again for a long time...some of them were crying to see us and the fact that we had come from so far to serve. We talked and gave them some details on what we were doing. We thanked them for their love and they boarded the boat to their next destination.

We then walked to a local grocery store and bought a few things to eat. We returned to our very modest and simple accommodations and that was it. Was a little sad but we had joy in knowing that the love of the brothers will be an impelling force for us in the future.

Well....I am in Skagway. (It's real now) It's official, the journey really begins from here. The cell service is a little patchy and not as fast as normal (Actually we are just grateful that we have any kind of signal here) but I will continue to write each day. It may be a bit delayed at times, but please know that I love each of you and am continuing to pray for you all. Thank you again for reading and thank you for your support of my endeavors. What a joy it is to serve the Most High and take the good news to the "most distant parts of the earth" (Acts 1:8)

M. J. Penfield