“Out of the north comes golden splendour; around God is awesome majesty.” (Job 37:22)
This past February, my friend Ron and I set out on an evangelism trip to the Northwest Territories.
We loaded our truck with 70 boxes of Bibles and Scripture magazines—half to be distributed and the other half to be used as ministry tools in Yellowknife this summer. It was by much prayer that God opened the door for us to go and minister to people living in Northern Canada.
We had no idea what each day would look like. God provided us with places to stay and churches to visit, but only He knew the details of what would take place. The story of our first ministry day is a testament to that.
We were on our way to a town called Hay River, but we decided to stop at the community of Meander River beforehand. As we visited with some of the community members, we soon realized the town was grieving. They had just suffered the loss of a very influential young woman and the funeral was that afternoon. Discovering this tragedy, we remained for the day. We prayed with the people, encouraged them in their anguish and gave Hope magazines to many. It was wonderful to share Scriptures with those who were in this time of hopelessness.
As we drove away, I realized it was only by God’s timing that we had visited that community—on a day when they desperately needed to hear the comforting Words of Christ.
Later that week, we stayed with friends who have been ministering in the Yellowknife area for over 40 years. They serve alongside a team of amazing missionaries, all humbly working for the Lord. It was such a privilege to be able to help them in their work. I hope we were just as much a blessing to these faithful men and women as they were to us.
We were given opportunities to present in local churches, encouraging membership and GCP (Global Church Partnership). It was so special to join in fellowship with pastors, missionaries, and church members. They work so hard. Some areas have very few Christians, often only one or two. One missionary couple shared that they feel very alone at times, and are so thankful to have Bibles and Hope magazines for their evangelism ministry.
I cannot help but think about how good our God is. He has faithful servants planted everywhere we travel. And each and every one of them is a light in their community—meeting the spiritual needs of their neighbours. It was an honour to serve with them for a short while.
—Stan (Paraphrased)