Arriving in Whitehorse in the middle of the afternoon, Walter and I rented a car and found our way to Tony and Janet Ens' home.  They live in a subdivision outside the main part of the capital city of Yukon Territory.  Their duplex backs onto a walking path, and Tony and Janet took us for a wonderful walk that took us to a lookout spot.  From there, we could see the Yukon River. Although mostly frozen, an open area in the river attracted some ducks, gulls and trumpeter swans!  We gazed down on the sight and enjoyed the sounds of the birds.  Mountains surrounded us and the vista was surreal for this prairie girl!
The next couple of days we spent visiting with our dear friends, whom we have known since Bible College days.  We shared meals and their evening devotional times as a family.  Their sons have been raised in the north and they regaled us with many hilarious and crazy tales of their adventures!  Did we laugh!
Saturday afternoon, we drove the lovely 45 minute journey to Carcross, YT.  A couple from Whitehorse had spent a couple of years praying about the little church that was sitting empty, and the little town that needed a Gospel witness.  With a small team of folks, they are holding services on Saturdays in the little log building, no running water but a sturdy foundation.  A Baptist group built the church, but it is now under the ownership of NCEM, so we wanted to meet the pastor and his wife, (Wade and Josephine Holmes) and encourage them in their outreach. Years ago, our mission did have missionaries serving there but the current ministry is starting over. 
Carcross is a tourist town with two First Nations villages (the Yukon does not have reserve lands as most of the provinces have) on the outskirts of the town.  Mountains surround the community and the river separates the town from the village on one side.  The church service was very casual, with the core group and only two kids.  They hope and pray for connections into the Native communities and are exploring the possibility of partnering somehow with NCEM in their ministry now.
On Sunday afternoon, we attended a new church planting initiative in the city called "Northern Collective" under the C2C outreach ministry in Canada.  Using a Baptist Church after their regular morning services, the young pastor, Harrison Kwok (and his wife Kaitlyn) reminded us of ourselves 20+ years ago. They have two preschool daughters, who keep them busy while they try to carry out their ministry!  A small core of 6-8 adults sat in a circle at the back of the sanctuary.  They served coffee.  I actually got to help our friend, Tony, lead worship as Kaitlyn was away.  I borrowed her guitar and we sang a few songs from a newly printed songbook. It was only their 4th Sunday service and they were still praying and seeking ways to reach out to those who are not necessarily feeling a "fit" into the traditional church culture.  They had a sharing time, and it was strikingly similar to our Healing Hearts early days: people sharing hurts and prayer requests in a transparent and vulnerable way. 
That evening, we had supper with a retired NCEM couple who also live in Whitehorse.  They served mainly in Buffalo Narrows, SK during their 20+ years of missionary service.  Ron has Parkinson's Disease and has become limited in his mobility and energy levels.  Wendy works at a local grocery store.   We shared a wonderful meal and evening together hearing their stories on the mission field.  We wanted them also to know how much we appreciate their part in the ministry and bring them up to date on the changes and developments in the mission these days.  They seemed genuinely glad we stopped in to see them and we pray their ministry will continue to have ripple effects for the Gospel's sake.
The Lord gave us the opportunity to check out a couple of museums and to enjoy a drive on the Alaska Highway towards Haynes Junction.  We also spent a couple nights at a hotel in downtown Whitehorse and wandered around the shops and restaurants.  There weren't many tourists, but the cross-section of people ranged from business professionals to street people in the downtown core.  Much like Regina. Tony works with the Salvation Army as part of his ministry and Janet volunteers occasionally, as well.  They gave us a tour of their new shelter/transitional housing and dining facility.  There are many needy folk in the community and they make many connections there.
On the last night, Tony and Janet came to our hotel room and brought ice cream treats for us to share!  It was sad our adventures were coming to a close.  We had an early flight the next morning, so we would drive our rental car there and hop on the Air Canada plane for Vancouver at 5:30 am.  Although the sun was just rising about then, it was still too early for our old bodies!
We always seem to leave before we have seen everything we could possibly see, leaving us hungry to come back again.  But it really is the people, the missionaries, whom we will miss, as we just catch a small glimpse into their lives.  And some friendships will truly last a lifetime!
                                                          Driving to Carcross, YT

                                                         

                                                     The Lookout - Yukon River