Good Morning,
I hope this reaches you reading this doing well in your respective locations and assignments.
I'm very sorry for not writing to you all sooner. Things have been quite busy caring for certain necessary matters in connection to my assignment. I also was able to take a break from the long, dark and bitterly harsh winter with a small vacation earlier in the month.
Some may or may not be fully aware of the rather challenging circumstances that would be faced being assigned above the Arctic Circle at the beginning of the winter as you can imagine. In the month of December when it's dark for about 22-23 hours out of the day, the cold reality is the Sun will not be rising more than just barely the horizon. The temperatures are usually 30 degrees below zero or more.
During this unique time of year, the town and it's residents are dealing with some of the more difficult realities of life they have to face. Usually this would be issues within the family and some very deeply complicated social matters.
As you can imagine, the Sun has been a welcome sight for the residents of Kotzebue, as well as the surrounding hunting villages of the Northwest Arctic Borough. (Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Shungnak)
With a total population of over 7,600 the Northwest Arctic Borough is 85 percent Iñupiat Eskimo, making it the largest concentration of Iñupiat people in the world. Subsistence activities are an integral part of the lifestyle; caribou, moose, seal, whale and fish are important daily foods. This area boasts some of the most pristine, unperturbed wilderness in the world. During the summer months (which I'm looking forward to) from what residents tell me, they enjoy unparalleled boating, fishing and hunting.
The Borough has been occupied by Iñupiat Eskimos for thousands of years. "Qikiktagruk" (now known as Kotzebue) was the hub of ancient Arctic Trading routes. Most of the villages have also existed for thousands of years, but some developed as supply stations for interior gold mining.
The Northwest Arctic Borough has no roads connecting it with the rest of Alaska, and no roadways connecting any of the villages with each other. However, in the winter, once the Kotzebue Sound and the Kobuk River freeze, a road is plowed through the snow on top of the ice connecting Kotzebue with the Noorvik and Kiana along the Kobuk River.
Having no natural harbor, the Sound is ice-free for only five months of the year. Deep draft vessels must anchor 15 miles out, where cargo is transferred to smaller barges and transported to the shallow docking facility in town here. Supplies are then air lifted to the villages.
With about 14 hours of Sunlight a day now our activity in the minstry has been in full swing here in town this week. Along with each of you, we are busy preparing for the celebration of the Lord's Evening Meal here in Kotzebue. Our time has been spent with inviting all locally and from the surronding villages to the Memorial. I have observed a noticeable difference in people and the town as a whole as a result of having actual Sunlight. People have been exceptionally kind and friendly to us and the message of the Kingdom we are bearing. At almost every door we are invited in to talk to them and the entire family about who we are, why we are here and what we think of the town and Alaska as a whole. We hope and pray that some of these earnest ones will attend this important observance with us.
Interestingly there are certain things that will be unique to our celebration this coming Friday. One is that we won't exactly have an "After Sundown" here to pass the Emblems.
Here is another: Alcohol consumption is limited by local ordinances. With the exception of Kotzebue, the sale and importation of alcohol is illegal in the villages of the Northwest Arctic Borough. In Kotzebue, alcohol may be imported, but cannot be sold within city limits.
So that raises an issue as far as the Wine is concerned. We are still trying to find a working solution to that.
More importantly it will be the 1st ever public meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses held in the village and area of the Northwest Arctic. This is a momentous occasion for the history of Theocracy in remote Alaska. What an honor to have a role in sharing in that increase! (Isa 60:22)
I continue to keep you all in my thoughts and prayers on a daily basis here in the Northwest Arctic. May Our Father Jehovah continue to be with each and every one of you.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I look forward to writing to you again shortly.
With Warm Love and Best Wishes,
M. J. Penfield
Alaska Fact of the Week: The Northwest Arctic Borough covers approximately 40,762 square miles in Northwest Alaska. It is the second largest Borough in Alaska and is roughly the size of the state of Indiana.
