Maimie The Eskimo Woman
( ALASKA )
This is the story of an Eskimo woman who lived far up in the Arctic.
The Arctic Circle is determined in the world where, on June 22, the sun doesn't even set at all. North of that is Arctic, whether it is in Russia or Finland or Norway or Alaska, that is the circle. In the summer months the sun doesn't set and in the winter months you don't see the sun for weeks at a time.
This woman was troubled about her salvation. She was living in a very remote spot and her closest neighbour on one side was 14 miles away, and on the other side 75 miles. At that place 2 people lived and at 14 miles distant 12 people lived, but no preacher and no church. She dreamed a dream and says it was more than a dream, like a trance.
She walked and walked and was weary and got to where the light was and there was a door. As she approached the door, it opened a little way and a voice said, "What do you want?" and she said, "I want to come in." The message she got was, "Look at yourself, you are unclean, and no one unclean can come in." and the door quietly closed. She stood and beheld herself and saw that indeed she was very unclean, so she turned back wondering how she might be clean. It seemed that she was defiled, and she walked back from where the light seemed to be and went back into darkness.
With this she began to be concerned and prayed. She didn't know how to serve God, so she thought perhaps if she quit her smoking (which she did and had a certain sense of well being). She wondered what else. Of course there was no church service to attend, so it came into her mind that she would let her hair grow. It seemed to her that that was in the will of God, and from that day to this she has never cut it. She knew nothing of ever hearing about that or reading it.
This woman's husband's people had heard the Gospel but her husband has been away from home long. It was at this time, when the woman was concerned and had accomplished these things in her life, that the dying request of the man' s mother was that her son could hear the Gospel. There was some correspondence and we received a message, and we started corresponding with the Eskimo lady and her husband.
It would take about a month and then we would receive a reply, because of the distance and because the mail only went in there once a week. At first they gave us an invitation to come, particularly the husband, and then when he found out we were serious in coming, he wrote a letter and told us not to come! He said, "We are poor candidates for Christianity. I am a very busy man. Maimie feels the need of being baptised, but she doesn't understand and it isn't worth your while in coming..."
The letter was lost and I didn't know it was lost and so my companion and I made plans to go! We flew in a very small plane and just at the time of our going I had to go alone because my companion's father had died. So I went in on a Piper Cub, just a two person plane on skis.
As soon as I arrived he said, "Did you get my last letter?" and I said yes. But he didn't tell me when the last letter was written and that the last letter he had written was lost. But the letter preceding that was the last letter I had received. He said, "It's a strange thing that you have come when you received my last letter."
At the place where we received our mail, the snow would pile up as high as the mail box and by the spring of the year, which was probably about 5 months later, the sun melted the snow away from the mailbox - and there was that letter lying upon the ground telling us not to come! I have the confidence to believe that God is well able to hide a letter and that it might be kept as a witness that God was able to keep that letter from us, and then later that we also might see it as a confirmation.
We had meetings every night after my companion arrived about a week later. It wasn't until he arrived that Maimie was assured that we were the very ones her mother had told her about. Her mother, who was an Eskimo of course, could neither read nor write English or her own language, but she had told Maimie that the time will come when the messengers of God will come two together. They will have no home of their own, neither will they charge for the Gospel, and will travel from place to place and Maimie believed that would happen. But that wasn't confirmed to her until my companion arrived after I had been there one week myself.
God would make one family of all nations. The Eskimo people are very oriental. It would be very easy for them to migrate across the Bering Strait . That is a very narrow distance between Russia and Alaska. You could walk across in one day. It is frozen over 9 months of the year. It is 28 miles across.
In 1909 workers first went to Alaska, and were there for 1909 and 1910 but they were very disheartened because of the conditions of the people. There was a family of friends who moved there in 1933 with the interest of having an open home. In 1933 Jack Carroll and a brother from New South Wales, Harold Gibson, went up there with the glorious Gospel. A little work was done and a few folks established. And since that time there has been a work continuing. There are 10 workers in that state and 2 conventions, about 800 miles apart. A small convention and a larger one at Anchorage about 600 people.
Maimie's strong desire was that she might be cleansed so she would be ready to go where that bright light and that door were. As we were having meetings, Sunday came and it was our second Sunday there, and I asked them if they would like to have in the morning a little study of how the Christians met together on the first day of the week. They said they would like that so we had a little study of I Cor. 14, how one by one each would pray and testify, prophesy, singing hymns in the spirit and with the understanding.
The next week, which would be our last week there, Sunday came and we asked them the night before if they would like to have a meeting. I knew we had talked about it and they said they would. Before this, one evening I said to them, "It is very possible that we are wasting our time here. We have been here nearly 2 weeks and it might be that you are getting an education about the Bible and about Christianity and if that is so we might as well leave because we don’t want to waste our own time or your time either. There will be a plane coming in 2 days and I am afraid that maybe all you are getting is a knowledge of the Bible."
She quickly spoke up and said, "For the first time in my life I feel an inward feeling like I did from my father and mother. I have a family feeling for you men. It is altogether new, there is a warmth in me about you and the words you speak that I have never felt before." He also expressed a similar thought so we said, maybe this is entering your hearts and not just your heads, so we will stay another week." So that led us to have that Sunday am meeting.
I said, Our brethren in Fairbanks (the closest church which would be a few 100 miles away) meet there at 10.30 am and we could meet with them at the same time before the Throne of Grace. We can pray for them and they can pray for us." They thought that would be good. She said I will get up a little earlier tomorrow so all will be in readiness." She usually got up at 4.30 so she got up at 3.30 this time. By the time the chairs were done and the dogs were fed and breakfast over everything was in readiness and 4 chairs in a circle in that little log house it was 7.30! 60 below zero is a very poor time to go for a walk and we were ready so we took our place in that little circle of 4 chairs.
There wasn't a word said, not a sound made until 10.30. We were there 2 hours. I read the book of Romans part of Hebrews, and half of the hymn book! They were also reading scripture, meditating. I wouldn't recommend such a long period of time but on that particular occasion that was how it was.
I don’t know if I have ever seen a person so overjoyed; her countenance was like the countenance of an angel. She was all aglow. She said, "All my days I have felt that God was unrighteous, that the only people who could worship God had to live where there was a church and a preacher. I didn't think that was right, that God would cause people who are isolated like we are, far away from a church building or a minister, to be excluded from worship." She said, "Today I knew that God is righteous and I have been wrong about this all my day. That we can worship in our own home without the church building and the minister." She was excited and thrilled to know the reality of that. That was a glorious day for us too. It became a mutual thing - her joy as well as her husband's was imparted to us also.
We said it was necessary that we leave on Wednesday, and all Tuesday they were out looking for wolves. That was their occupation in the winter months, out flying in a little plane. He said to her, "It seems that we are not going to have very much help as soon as those men leave," she said, "I am confident that before they leave they will give us a little study of some kind of mid-week meeting. I am sure there will be some arrangements and they will give us a little outline of what to do in the mid-week and some maybe even oftener."
They came back that Tuesday night and after supper I said, "Well, we are leaving in the morning and we would like to give you a little study list that we've got for Wednesday night meetings. She said "I was telling Errol about this, and maybe even another little study list." (We had one for Sunday night meetings) When men and women are childlike and trusting, God is well able to impart understanding aforetime to understand the way things would be.
After some years Errol died and she was alone. There was a road put in but not open for the public. It was for large trucks only. Finally they opened the road and as soon as it was open I saw our chance to drive 600 miles the round trip. Fuel had to be taken too. We tried to let her know we were coming. Every night at 9 there is a news broadcast all through the Arctic for 15 minutes regarding a death or emergencies, or problems. They have no news papers or magazines. Maimie always retired early, so she didn't listen to it. Like I said she was up at 3 or 4 am, so went to bed by 6 or 7 p.m.
This night she woke just at 9 pm which wasn't her custom to do! She thought well here I am awake I might as wall listen to that little Program "The news of the Arctic." She turned it on and the first message she heard was "Maimie at Creak, Stuart and Robert will be coming tomorrow". She turned it off and said, "God is well able to awaken me!" She hadn't listened to that program for several years! She didn't think it any great wonder. Felt God is well able to do things.
We found after about 14 hours on the poor quality gravel road she had a tent pitched and 2 cots in for us and everything was just like the sister workers would have done it for us! She thought of everything for our comfort; it was like the finest Hotel to us, such gracious care. We regret we haven't opportunity to labour among the Eskimos as we'd like, distances are great.
That man when he was alive would have opportunity most of the time to have flown us in that light plane, but it is very difficult to get there now. Maimie is now moved to Fairbanks, although she does spend 3 months of the year at that place still. We rejoice in the mighty way that God can open doors.