Kotzebue - Week 17 (31)

I hope you're all doing well as this special week concludes.

No doubt you're still deeply reflecting and thinking of this past Friday with the celebration of the Lord's Evening Meal and your own appreciation of the offering of Jehovah, and His only son as a sacrifice in each of our behalf.

You will be happy to know that after another full week in the field of inviting others, on Friday we held the Memorial here in Kotzebue. Ironically, it was also the 1st ever meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses that was held in the community.

We held it in a modest meeting room of a small hotel here in town that is used for the local community events. We had 5 visitors to make a total of 7 in attendance for our program. (please see attached pictures)

One of them was my Return Visit named Harriet. She is an elderly woman about 89 years old very kind, warm hearted and hospitable. Earlier in the week I visited Harriet in her home to invite her and her family and friends to the Memorial. After talking for almost an hour there in her home, I picked up on something very notable about her. What was it? She has a genuine love for the Bible.

This is something I would later recall on Friday evening when she attended the program and spoke one on one to me.

Why do I say this? Well, after expressing to me how many different translations of the bible she has and how many times she has read the entire bible over, she stared in amazement at my New World Translation. I handed it to her and watched as she turned each of the pages carefully examining it's contents and touched the words on the leather with a respectful reverence. After I showed her the features of it and why it's a special translation I offered to get her a copy which she agreed to with tears in her eyes.

She has a mild and gentle personality having endured many trials, including various of her own health problems and losing her husband in death to Cancer. Through it all, she has maintained her faith, which she told me gives her an inner strength, enabling her to cope with the challenges of life.

She listened intently as I gave the discourse and afterward expressed to me that she wasn't going to attend at 1st as she wasn't feeling well earlier in the day but that she had prayed and felt that she needed to be in attendance because of her appreciation of Jesus' Sacrifice.

Also in attendance was Alice and her 3 children who we met in the door to door minstry. They also were encouraged to attend from Harriet. Most families in town know each other, or are related thru blood or marriage. This gives them very close bonds that enable them to have close contact with each other.

They too seemed to enjoy the program and all 5 of them, including the little ones took our literature and expressed interest in the message. We look forward to continuing to cover this territory and reach many, many more with this life-giving message.

I am glad to share this brief update with you regarding our Memorial. Thank you for your support, thoughts and prayers in behalf of each of us. What a joy to be unitedly serving with you from this vast and distant land!

You all continue to be in my expressions of sincere appreciation to Our Father. May Jehovah be with each of you in the days to come.

With Warm Love and Greetings,

M. J. Penfield

Alaska Fact of the Week: Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers, ranging from tiny cirque glaciers to huge valley glaciers. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is the Malaspina at 850 square miles. Five percent of the state, or 29,000 square miles, is covered by glaciers.