His Oil in Pelican

Our time in Pelican Alaska was always exciting and full of new adventures, both natural and spiritual. The seclusion of the village in its Southeast Alaska wilderness environment almost assured us of some daily excitement. It was in the spring of our third year on the Island that our next adventure came in the way of what began as a very serious situation.

That spring we ran out of heating oil.  In our first year on the island I was able to find two broken down diesel heaters that by combining the parts produced one workable heater for our living room. That heat would go up the stairs and also heat our bedrooms in the attic.  The diesel oil was delivered by the man who ran the boat repair shop in town. He would drive a small truck with a large tank in its bed up the dirt trail and pump oil through a long hose into the tank that sat on the hillside behind the church. 

With the constant rain and moisture in the Southeast air, we ran the heater all day long much of the year. Even in the summer, although setting it on low, we would keep it running. In the spring of that year, we ran out of oil.  This meant not only the heater in the parsonage, but also another heater in the sanctuary.  There was no “credit” from the oil delivery man, and we had no immediate prospects for money. I went into the sanctuary late that Friday evening to pray, asking the Lord what we should do. After several hours of intense and admittedly worrisome prayer, the Lord gave provided some direction. He reminded me of a vacation cabin just up the trail from us that a friend and brother in Christ named Ted owned. Ted would visit for a week or two each year and we would often fish and fellowship. The Lord reminded me of Ted and his cabin, then told me something I did not know. He told me I could go under the cabin and find the fuel tank Ted used to heat his cabin.  I was to take a five-gallon bucket and fill it with the oil from that tank. (I didn’t even know if there was a valve to allow me to do this.)

The next morning with a bucket in hand, I walked up the trail to Ted’s cabin. Making my way under the cabin, I found the large fuel tank. As the Lord had said, I was able to use a valve on the bottom of the tank to fill my bucket. To keep it from sloshing out, I filled the bucket with about four gallons of oil. Four to five gallons a day was our normal consumption in the winter to keep the parsonage and the church warm. It was April and still a bit chilly so by this time we were beginning to feel the lack of heat in the parsonage.  We did have a couple small electric heaters we used sparingly in the bedrooms, but that did not heat the downstairs family area.

After dumping the four gallons into the 500-gallon tank on the hill behind the church, I waited until late afternoon that Saturday to start the heaters so that we would have a warm sanctuary for church on Sunday.  We woke up Sunday morning to a pleasantly warm parsonage and sanctuary. The parsonage heater continued to run all day Sunday. Monday came and to our amazement it still was putting out heat. It continued to heat all week as we were daily praising God for this miracle of the enduring oil. Friday night found me once again on my knees at the altar in our church, first thanking the Lord, but also looking for further instructions. He again instructed me to go to Ted’s and get another bucket of oil. I put that oil in the tank on Saturday, and the heat continued through the next week. One days worth of oil was lasting seven.

Three times over the next three weeks the Lord directed me to go get oil from Ted’s fuel tank. During those three weeks we were more than aware that the Lord was working a miracle for us. However, that process of getting a bucket of oil each week that would last seven times longer than it should was coming to an end.

I was scheduled to travel to Anchorage that year to our denominational district council for my ordination The trip would involve me catching a ride on the float plane that served as mail carrier and transportation to our village.  After flying into Juneau, I would then ride the ferry eight hours up to Haines Alaska. In Haines, I would meet a pastor and another couple who together we would drive the 800 plus miles up through Yukon Territory and then back into Alaska and down to Anchorage.  We would be gone for almost two weeks.

I prayed earnestly during that time about being absent that long while leaving my family in this heating oil predicament. I essentially told the Lord that I was not going to go, only to receive a stern rebuke. The Lord said to me, “you say you have faith, but you do not trust me with the wellbeing of your family?”  I was in turmoil, I knew I had to trust the Lord, but I also knew that if my family was not taken care of it would be a serious jolt to my faith. I made an agreement that Friday night with the Lord. I would trust Him with the most precious gift he had given me in this life, and He would “provide all my needs according to His riches and glory”. 

I went to Anchorage for my ordination.  During that trip I called home numerous times to be sure the Lord was keeping His part of the bargain. The heaters kept heating. Almost two weeks later I came home to a warm parsonage and church. Our gratitude and awe of God’s loving care overwhelmed us. As I knelt in prayer that first night home, I made a vow to the Lord. I told Him I would trust Him by never putting oil into that tank again unless He specifically told me to do so.

We were in Pelican for another three months before the Lord called us off the Island and into another ministry. During all that time, the heaters kept heating.  We never put another drop of oil into the fuel tank. When in August we loaded up our belongings on a cart to walk down the trail to catch the ferry out of Pelican, I went back in to shut off the heaters. I did not need to. That day they ran out of oil. 

Testimonies like this seem so insufficient to express our wonder at God’s continual provision in our lives. All I can say is we have learned that whatever our needs, physical, financial, etc. “God is able”.  To the God of Creation and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, be all glory and honor and praise!