Week 3 update from Skagway

How is everyone doing? I hope all is well and each of us is busy in the ministry.

I am now settled in to my temporary residence of the Mile Zero Bed & Breakfast. And now it is just a matter of getting settled in a bit further. We work hard not to get too comfortable here because we know that we will be receiving a brand new assignment from the Branch Office shortly. So it's an adjustment of sorts to make and to ensure that we are prepared. We are almost completed thru our 1st full month on this Project. Looking forward to seeing the hand of Jehovah on this endeavor.

It has been a very interesting and event filled week here in town and in the minstry.

There have been some more bears that have made their way into town for an "extended visit". (Go Figure) Now we have already come across the Brown Bear as you already know...but to add to that, now a Grizzly Bear and some Black Bears have decided to venture down the mountain and spend some time before hibernating. This obviously poses some challenges to the ministry and working the territory as they come into the very areas that we work. We have to be especially cautious and use discernment as we got about the ministry. We have to walk everywhere so we usually are prepared to make a dash if necessary. I will keep you posted on this unique development.

Now to the ministry. This week has been very, very interesting. We have spoken to many people...covering about 1 quarter of the town. We have divided it into quadrants and are strategically covering the territory. We have to also be very cautious about the way we approach the streets, the houses and the residents of the town, the people because the word is spreading very fast about us being here. This has elicited many varied responses here with people. Some ranging from Angry to Curious to Interested to Drunk (Lol yes. I will explain shortly) to Inquisitive.

We have been using a very simple approach with the jw.org tract. Initally, we basically tell people that we are directing their attention to our website and helping them to find the answers to life's and any answers to questions about the Bible in the privacy of their home. This approach has been effective in most cases. We use this to cover the territory the first time around and gauge the householders interest. From this we are getting Return Visits and will follow up with perhaps a more focused approach using another tract that focuses on a specific Subject like: "What Is The Kingdom of God?" We will see how this approach will continue to work along with Jehovah's Holy Spirit.

At the rate we are going, we will have covered the territory and outlying areas in its entirety by the middle of October. That will be the approximate halfway point of the assignment and we will have been able to reach all of the homes in the area. We will know what our Return Visits are and then we can concentrate on what interest will exist there.

We have reports to prepare for the Branch office each month regarding the progress made here and certain guidelines that they detemine.

Going back to the comment I made regarding Drunkenness (lol)...Alcoholism is a very big issue here with locals and in the state as a whole. We have seen this in some instances and encounters in the ministry. The reason it is such an issue points toward the nature of the town changing in mood and Cruise season closing down for the rest of the year. And especially we are told, the seasonal winter darkness. I may have mentioned it before but we are heading into a time in the winter where we will only have about 4 to 6 hours of daylight and as you can already guess this causes many emotional and mental distresses and issues with people. We too are asked by the Branch to give particular attention to this matter regarding the lack of sunlight.

In any event, I am doing well and miss you all. I love each of you and look forward to seeing each of you again.

Thank you for reading. For your love and your continued prayers.

Hope to talk to you all soon.

M. J. Penfield

Alaska Fact of the Week: The State of Florida could fit into Alaska 10 times. (For all my Florida Family :) out there)