“Adrianna, wait for me…this bag is…heavy.” Nine year old Deacon plopped his backpack from the last train step onto the wooden platform in Churchill, Manitoba Canada. The Muskeg Express blew its whistle. Oh no--where’s my ball mitt from Grandma? His stomach tickled when he thought about losing it, and he started to climb back on the train.

There it was…under the step! “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost that mitt,” he said to himself.

"Adrianna…” Now where was she, and how could she move so fast? His eyes flicked back and forth. Pink backpack….there! He saw her halfway down the sidewalk and ran to catch up.

“Are Mom and Dad here yet? They were supposed to pick us up from the train?” Deacon wondered.

“Not yet. And Dad said to wait right here, so don’t even ask me if we can walk, Deke.” Deacon frowned. Sometimes with Addie as a sister it was like having a second Mom, even if she was only two years older than he was.

“Addie, it was fun visiting Grandma, but I’m glad we’re home with Mom and Dad now. He stopped for a minute. Addie…,” Deacon almost felt a little shy talking to his sister about this. “do you like being missionaries here? I mean, doesn’t it seem kind of sad and boring sometimes, with not a lot of friends? There are so many kids at Grandma’s church back home in the States.”

“Yes, Deke, but you know God can bring us friends if we just talk to Him about it.” Addie rubbed his arm. Addie always said something like that, but he still wondered. “Do you really believe that, Addie, or are you just trying to sound like Dad?”

“I do believe it, but sometimes I forget,” Adrianna admitted. “But Deke, just like God found a home for us and a place for Dad to start a church here, He can take care of the things we need. Maybe he thinks we don’t need a friend right now. Oh look—here’s Dad!” as a tall man approached. She dropped her backpack for a hug.

Deacon buried his face in Dad’s coat as well. The familiar outdoor smell made his eyes prick in the back, but he made himself blink very fast. I don’t want Dad to see me crying, he thought.

“Where’s Mom?” Adrianna asked as they climbed into the truck.

“Oh, your mom fell while she was helping me do some repairs at the church.”

“Is she OK?” “Can we see her?” “How did she fall?” “Is she unconscious?”

“Hold on, you two—let me finish. She tripped over a box of tools and twisted her back and leg when she fell. She’s at the clinic now, and I’m going to bring her home later if she’s OK. She feels pretty silly about it, since it’s always the two of you she gets after to move your things.”

“How long does she have to stay?” Deacon asked. “Can’t she just get better at home? And I promise I’ll never leave my toys laying around again if Mom might trip over them and have to go away.”

“I’m going over to get her later this evening if she’s doing OK. She won’t be able to do much around here, though. Do you kids think you can help me run the house for a bit?” Dad asked as they pulled up to it.

“Of course, Dad, I’m 11 years old. You don’t even need to come into the kitchen.” Adrianna stuck her chin into the air.

“I can help too, but I don’t want to eat cheese sandwiches every night.” Deacon said.

“I can make a variety of things, Deacon. Remember, Grandma taught me how to make freezer jam” Adrianna glared at her brother.

“Well, you’ll find all kinds of berries around here to make your jam,” Dad said. “Just don’t share any with the polar bears.”

“Dad, tell us the story about the polar bear who came into town and the man who tried to feed meat to the bear and the bear chased him.” Deacon tapped Dad’s arm.

“You just did, Deke.” Dad smiled. “That was one very foolish man. It was this time of year, too, before the ice freezes over. The bear was hungry and followed the meat’s scent and the man couldn’t get away fast enough. He didn’t pay attention to the bear siren.”

“You mean he…” asked Deacon.

“Mm-Hm.” finished Dad.

“Ewww, stop—I don’t want to hear about it again.” Adrianna covered her face.

“OK,” laughed Dad. “Lets haul your bags into the house and get something for dinner.”

“How about Taco Time?” Adrianna laughed.

“Hey Dad, Addie begged Grandma to take her to Taco Time almost every night!”

“I did not beg--Grandma asked me. She knows it’s one of my favorite things to eat, and besides, we don’t have one anywhere near Churchill.”

“Well then, how about some raw seal liver?”

“Dad, that stuff is awful.” Adrianna rolled her eyes.

“Oh, can we, Dad? Tell us about the time you went out hunting for walrus and seal with the Into its…”“Inuit”

“OK, Inuit, and came back with raw seal liver and they ate it for dinner raw!”

“You just did, Deke, but I think we’ll settle for some salmon.” Dad headed into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Adrianna, Deacon-- I’m driving over to see about getting Mom.”

“Aren’t we going with you?” Deacon asked.

“Not this time, Deke. Mom will need to stretch out in the back seat, and I’d like Addie to tidy up a bit before Mom gets home.”

“Leave everything to me, Dad—I’ve got it under control.” Addie smiled and reached for the broom.

“I’m going to go play with my new mitt and ball in the backyard.” Deacon grabbed the present.

“Stay close to the house, Deke, and take care of your sister.”

“Dad, I’m not a small child,” Addie gave her father a quick hug.

“I’ve got to give Deacon some kind of job while I’m gone.” Dad followed Deacon out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There—Mom will be happy with this,” Adrianna talked to herself aloud, looking at her work. “All I need is a vase of flowers.” She found a jar in the cupboard and wandered outside, glancing at the setting sun.

“Deke, it’s almost time to come in. It’s getting dark.”

“Addie, watch what I can do with this ball.” He threw it high, spun twice, and caught it.

“Nice, Deke,” she said, her eyes roaming for some wildflowers.

“Aw, you weren’t even watching. Here—let me do it again. Watch this time, Addie.”

“Deke, I’m trying to find some flowers for the table before Mom gets home—just wait a minute.”

“Who needs flowers. They’re just dead when you pick them, anyway.”

“They’re still pretty, and then you can dry them or press them when you take them out of the jar.”

“Who wants some mashed flowers?”

“Deke…”

A loud siren sliced through the air. Adrianna dropped her jar, which shattered on the hard ground.

“Get inside, Deacon—that’s the polar bear siren.” Adrianna yelled.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Deacon said, rushing to beat her to the stairs.

“My mitt!” Turning to run back, he crashed into his sister. Adrianna fell backwards, putting out her hands to catch herself.

“Ow-w-w,” She yelped.

“Hurry up, Addie—what happened?” Deacon turned in the darkness to help her.

“I fell onto the broken jar—I’ve got glass in my hand.”

“Here—I’ll grab your arm—try to get up.”

“Thanks, Deke—but hurry. When the siren sounds, we’re supposed to go to a neighbor’s house if Mom and Dad are gone.”

Halfway down the street, they stopped.

“The lights are all off—I think they’re in town. Let’s go back to our house—we have to get off of the street.” Soon they were stumbling up the stairs and scrambling into the living room.

“Bolt the door, Deke.”

“Why? Bears can’t turn door knobs.”

“Just do it—I’d feel safer.”

He turned the lock. “Let’s see your hand, Addie. Oh-oh—I can see the glass—it looks bad.”

“Don’t tell me about it-- it makes me sick. You’re not supposed to pull it out. Just get me a cloth or something to wrap it with.”

Deacon ran to the towel drawer in the kitchen.

“Deacon!” He heard Adrianna yell softly.

“I’m coming—what…”

“Deacon, turn off the light!”

“Why, Addie…”

“Just turn it off!” Her voice was a strong whisper. She was looking towards the living room window. Deacon looked, too.

“Whoa…that’s the biggest bear I’ve ever seen, and he’s steaming up our window!” Deacon couldn’t look away. When he did, he looked at Addie. She was curled up on the floor, hiding her head under her good arm. He scooted closer to her and prayed.

“Jesus, there is this really big bear on the other side of our window, and I’m afraid he will break through. I think Addie is really scared and she is usually the one who takes care of me.

I have to take care of her now, so please help me to do the right thing. Amen.”

“Addie, I’m going to go call the Bear Patrol like Dad showed me. Wait right there and don’t move.” He was surprised that Addie didn’t object.

“Don’t worry—I’m not going anywhere, Deke!”

Staying flat on his stomach so he wouldn’t attract the bear’s attention, Deacon pulled himself into the kitchen and reached for the phone. His fingers slipped and the first two numbers he pressed were wrong. He had to read the numbers aloud to help himself find them on the phone. Soon he was talking to the dispatcher.

“Hello, this is Deacon and there is this really big polar bear looking in our window and my sister is bleeding and my parents are gone and we need help!” He stopped to listen, then had to give the dispatcher his last name and address. Someone would be there soon to get the bear.

Deacon crawled back in to where Addie was curled up on the floor. He whispered close to her ear.

“Addie, someone is coming. Don’t move.”

“OK, Deke.” She was crying.

He looked up to see the bear walk away from the window. He could hear it going into the backyard. Deacon put his head down and prayed again.

“Jesus, it’s Deacon again—I’m glad you know my last name. I called the bear patrol—I couldn’t remember it when they first asked me. Thank-you for helping me to remember my address—I almost forgot that, too! Please help them to come fast. Oh, and please help Addie—I think she’s really scared.”

Deacon put his arm around his sister. What if they were stuck there all night? Had Adrianna’s hand stopped bleeding.

Deacon remembered the memory verse he had learned in Sunday School at Grandma’s church- “But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 4:19). He had practiced it a lot and had said it very fast to beat his friend, Marty. But Jesus had helped him remember the verse now, and had helped him take care of his sister.

The scratching sound at the back door made Deacon’s mind freeze and tickled his neck. Something crashed outside and slammed against the door. The bear was coming after all. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Something touched his back.

“ADDIEEEEE!”

“Deacon, it’s me--Dad.” Deacon opened his eyes and shielded them as he looked into the sudden light. As he got up, his legs felt like they were walking on Jello. Dad hugged him so tightly that Deacon could barely breathe. Adrianna ran to him.

“Where were you, Dad?” Adrianna asked. “You were gone so long.”

“I was just helping Mom into the car when the patrol called me. I left Mom at the clinic.”

“Dad, Addie is cut, and I know we were supposed to go to a neighbor’s house if no one was home but the house was dark and so we just came back here.”

Dad uncovered Adrianna’s hand, then quickly wrapped it again.

“Addie, we need to get you to the clinic to get this glass taken out.” Dad led her to the door.

“Dad, I don’t want to go outside—the bear is out there.” Addie shivered.

“The bear is not going anywhere now, except to bear jail. They darted him—he’s in the backyard, and he’ll be sleeping for awhile so they can move him. We’ll see him on the way to the car.”

The bear looked like a mound of snow to Deacon as they walked by. The man from the bear patrol was there.

“Are you Deacon?”

“Yes.”

“You did a brave thing by calling us. Would you like to pet him?”

Deacon touched the white fur. The head was as big as his backpack.

“What happens to him in bear jail?”

“He’ll stay in a cage, then when the ice forms here on the Hudson Bay, we can let him go so he can hunt.”

“Deacon, time to go,” Dad called.

“Oh—wait…did you see a ball and mitt around here?”

“That must have been what he was chewing on when we darted him,” The man said. “Sorry, Deacon.”
Deacon laughed as he ran for the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While they waited at the clinic for Adrianna, Deacon talked to Dad.

“You know, I was feeling sorry for myself about not having any friends here. But now, I think that if the Lord can keep me from becoming a giant kid-burger for a polar bear, then He can bring me a friend if He thinks that I need one.”

Dad squeezed his shoulder. “I think you’re right, Deacon.”

“But there is one thing I’m worried about.”

“What’s that?” asked Dad.

“How to get the kids in the States to believe me when I tell them that a polar bear came into my backyard and ate my mitt.”

Questions:
1. Where does the story happen?
2. How is Churchill different from where we live?
3. What bothered Deacon about where they lived?
4. Did Deacon change in the story? How?
5. Did his prayer mean that he would have friends right away?
6. What other problems might missionary kids have?
7. Have you ever had a problem like Deacon’s? How can the Lord help you with it?

Look up some interesting facts on this website: http://www.geocities.com/mikepolarbear/eat.html

Also read at http://www.gfamissions.org/field-stories/