By Betsy Ryan
Farmer Staff Writer

As the Christmas season amps up, people all over McKenzie County feel a push to share their resources and give to those not quite as fortunate. One couple has taken that charge to a whole new level for the third year in a row.
Kathie and Jim Konsor of the Bakken Oil Rush Ministry have gone above and beyond once again.
On Dec. 4, the Konsors joined with 36 volunteers to provide a Christmas party for 189 people and Christmas gifts for 89 children.
Jim Konsor traveled up to North Dakota from his home in South Dakota in 2012 to drive a payloader and make some money. While in McKenzie County, the needs of so many in the oil patch touched him. When he returned home to his wife, he could not shake the feeling and he and Kathie got to talking.
Jim had met people who had lost their houses or businesses, who had relationship issues or other hardship which had brought them to seek out a better life in the oil field. But, he noticed, just showing up in McKenzie County did not mean that a person was set. Many struggled to find housing here, were lonely, or were suffering in their new climate and culture. As he spoke with his wife, they felt like those were areas wherein they could lend a hand.