We are SO thankful for you! Henry Blackaby in the "Experiencing God" Bible
Study teaches "How you live your life reveals what you believe about God."
As I've been pondering this and thinking about it I've been challenged by
the truth of it. Being in full-time ministry brings that home on a daily
basis. How often we catch ourselves relying on our understanding and
abilities when Arctic Barnabas is all about what God is doing in Bush Alaska
and not about what the Harris' want to do for God.
Things have certainly gotten busier for the Women's ministry side of things.
Two other local ladies and I will be making a trip to Chignik Bay and King
Cove April 10-14th. As always, your prayers are coveted. I spoke with the
missionary wife from King Cove today about our trip. It broke my heart to
hear how lonely she gets and that there is no one there she feels is of like
mind spiritually. I'm very anxious to get to King Cove and meet her face to
face and love up on her for a couple of days. I covet your prayers for
insight, wisdom and a sensitivity to God's leading. These trips are all
about encouraging these missionary wives so they can serve next to their
husbands with a heart that is overflowing instead of running on fumes.
The Women's Ministry team, Amy, Marylil and myself, is also
working on contacting all the missionary wives we minister to via the
telephone and letting them know we are starting a correspondence ministry to
them. Amy, Marylil and I have committed to writing these ladies every month.
Many of them use e-mail and enjoy receiving messages via e-mail-that will be
the easy part. But several of the ladies don't have a personal e-mail
address so we will be sending them a letter via "snail-mail". My vision for
this is that the ladies will feel more of a connection with Amy, Marylil and
me and will take advantage of our desire to be there for them when they need
someone to talk with. Once again, I truly covet your prayers for wisdom,
insight and sensitivity to God's leading. And, although we would much rather
be there in person, it is SO EXPENSIVE to fly. Gary told me that a round trip
ticket commercially to King Cove could cost two people about $1000! So and we are
always in the "do whatever we can otherwise mode".
Gary continues to keep those administrative wheels well oiled and running
smoothly, with his heart split between making it run smooth and wanting to
be in the villages more with our dear friends. His idea of a great trip would
be just to go out and work his way around from village to village, catching a
flight here, and getting stuck there - - always loving up on those "front-liners"
along the way.
Since I am not a detail person, I often get overwhelmed when Gary tries to explain
to me all that he is doing. But I KNOW that ABM runs so
well and is more effective because of the hours he spends keeping things
accurate and efficient. On top of all that, God has truly placed a passion
and desire in Gary's heart to encourage the missionaries in Bush Alaska. He
is very diligent and constantly looking for ways and opportunities to
encourage, while I often lose sight of the need when I get caught up in my
roles as wife and mom. As a matter of fact, because of his diligence, we
were able to spend a day and a half in Anchorage last week during the Native New Life
Musicale and connect with three missionary families, in town from the Bush for various reasons.
What a blessing! One I would have, no doubt, missed were it not for Gary! We
were so blessed by the sweetness of our time together and deeper level our
relationships with these families went as a result of spending a little time
with them. Truly our God is AWESOME!
Well, I'm reminding myself of Gary....WORDY (-: Until next time...remember,
we love and appreciate you more than words can tell.
Kris
JUST CAN'T LET THIS GET OFF WITHOUT ADDING NOTES (from Gary):
1. Why does Kris always worry about being so "wordy?" I love what
she has to say, don't you?
2. I will be in the village of Koyuk for a week in Early
March. Pray for a good time with pastors from villages in the area.
3. Kris and I will be attending the Family Life seminar in Anchorage in mid March
(Thanks, you-know-who, for providing the finances to make it possible. Other ABM staff
will be transported out to a village to stay with kids so missionary couple can come in
for the conference. Isn't that neat!? We just GOTTA develop this more next year.
3. I will be preaching at a local supporting church on March 23rd. Cool!
Kris
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Monday, February 10, 2003
Plane! 2/10/03
I know this is "hot on the heels" of a previous update, but I just had to pass this on immediately.
Prior to bringing our new plane to Kenai, I was encouraged by a friend of our ministry to make sure the local paper knew about the grant we received and what we are doing in the bush. This is not an exact quote, but he told me "People NEED to know about this fantastic ministry and the tremendous grant and donations you have received for the plane. Our local community needs to know!"
Now, I know that goes without saying - - Public Relations is a key ingredient. But frankly, we had been immersed in this effort for better than a year and a half, and when it came to pass, we were in an immediate "crunch" to acquire the plane and we just didn't think about it too much. Until this friend put us back on track!
Joel was making final preparations to leave, so he told me to "Do it." "What if they interview me?" I said. "Well, get it right." he responded
I went down to the Peninsula Clarion Newspaper just hours before I was getting the cashiers check ready so Joel could go pick up the plane. I talked to someone in the press room. I prayed beforehand - - - because how do you convey what you are doing In Christ to someone who just "might not get it?"
They took down information, and then called me back later in the week, the day after the plane came in. I went through a phone interview, and then asked the reporter to PLEASE call the Director of ABM (Joel) and interview him as well, since he was now back in town.
Joel did the interview but was unavailable for the picture. We had decided a long time ago that our ministry was about PEOPLE nor about PLANES or PLACES, so Kris and Cassie and I got in the picture. The last thing we wanted was a picture of nothing but the plane!
Now, consider this as well - - - we are having our first ever fundraiser banquet to raise money for our general and airplane fund this Friday evening. What better way to start off the week than with a front page article in today's paper? Isn't that cool! God is so good.
Read the article at the newspaper's website below. They did a great job. Praise the Lord!
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021003/new_0210030003.shtml
See ya!
Gary
Prior to bringing our new plane to Kenai, I was encouraged by a friend of our ministry to make sure the local paper knew about the grant we received and what we are doing in the bush. This is not an exact quote, but he told me "People NEED to know about this fantastic ministry and the tremendous grant and donations you have received for the plane. Our local community needs to know!"
Now, I know that goes without saying - - Public Relations is a key ingredient. But frankly, we had been immersed in this effort for better than a year and a half, and when it came to pass, we were in an immediate "crunch" to acquire the plane and we just didn't think about it too much. Until this friend put us back on track!
Joel was making final preparations to leave, so he told me to "Do it." "What if they interview me?" I said. "Well, get it right." he responded
I went down to the Peninsula Clarion Newspaper just hours before I was getting the cashiers check ready so Joel could go pick up the plane. I talked to someone in the press room. I prayed beforehand - - - because how do you convey what you are doing In Christ to someone who just "might not get it?"
They took down information, and then called me back later in the week, the day after the plane came in. I went through a phone interview, and then asked the reporter to PLEASE call the Director of ABM (Joel) and interview him as well, since he was now back in town.
Joel did the interview but was unavailable for the picture. We had decided a long time ago that our ministry was about PEOPLE nor about PLANES or PLACES, so Kris and Cassie and I got in the picture. The last thing we wanted was a picture of nothing but the plane!
Now, consider this as well - - - we are having our first ever fundraiser banquet to raise money for our general and airplane fund this Friday evening. What better way to start off the week than with a front page article in today's paper? Isn't that cool! God is so good.
Read the article at the newspaper's website below. They did a great job. Praise the Lord!
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021003/new_0210030003.shtml
See ya!
Gary
Saturday, February 08, 2003
The Seneca Has Landed 2/8/03
Wednesday of this week was a very important day for us here at Arctic Barnabas Ministry. The Seneca III plane that we were able to purchase thanks to the gifts of many supporters along with a grant, has come "home." It landed at Kenai Airport at a just about 5:30 pm, flown back to Alaska from Boise, Idaho by Joel and a close friend of the ministry, Dave
What does this mean? Well, it means that for the first time in our 2.5 years as a ministry, we now have our own plane! Everything the Lord has allowed us to do up to this point has been with leased planes. It also means that we will be able to get through in weather conditions that would have turned us back in both the Cessna 206 and the Cessna 310 we had been using. This plane has all the de-icing features that pilots drool over. It's a nice compromise between a larger twin-engine plane that is designed for doing full scale charter service (and thus very expensive to fly) and a smaller, single-engine plane that just cant fly some places because of the fact that it only has one engine! In a twin, fully loaded, one engine could quit and the plane can fly and land normally. So the safety factor is quite reassuring. It seats six. But the weight limitations mean we will probably never travel with more than 5 and full gear. (There are modifications that can be made to the plane that will help us carry more - - but we still have to deal with the amount of space available).
You can see pictures of the plane on our website at http://www.arcticbarnabas.org and then go to the Prayer & Praise page.
Please pray for our daughter Cassie this next week. She will be traveling to Iliamna and Pedro Bay to help ABM with two concerts that we have "booked" for Dave Beegle. Dave and his wife Sandy come to us from Colorado. They were with us at our Ministry Family Retreat last fall. Dave will be providing our music at the Love and Caring In Action Fundraiser ABM Fundraiser in Soldotna on Feb 14th. He will also be doing a "Coffee House Concert" at our church on February 15th. Dave is a wonderful guitarist and loves to honor the Lord with his incredible guitar skill. It's going to be a busy week!
Cassie has friends that she met from these villages while she was in training for Child Evangelism this last summer. She will helping with the concerts and renewing some friendship with some kids in the village.
Kris and I will be in Anchorage at various times in the next two weeks, trying to spend time with some of our friends from various villages who are coming in to Anchorage for some medical reasons, as well as to participate in the Native Musicale that takes place there every year.
I will be traveling to the village of Koyuk in early March to participate in a conference being held by some churches in the YK Delta and Norton Sound area of the state. Kris is busy organizing another Village Tea that she will be doing in two villages in late March to areas that we simply could not get to without our Seneca! (On anything other than a perfect day of flying ). More details on this as things get organized.
I have been busy in the office over the last month or so, and I am looking forward to getting out more in the next few months. We all do what we have to do to keep the ministry rolling, but our hearts are with the people we serve. I am also continuing to work on revising our policy manual.
Of course, we would love to be out in the villages as often as we can go. But we are always limited by funds. Part of the reason it's so difficult to do what we do is because it's so expensive! As God gives us opportunity, pray that the money needed to make things happen will be there.
Please also continue praying for our own personal support. It's frustrating at times - - - but part of the frustration is probably just me trying to make it all happen. You think I would learn, huh?
Gary
What does this mean? Well, it means that for the first time in our 2.5 years as a ministry, we now have our own plane! Everything the Lord has allowed us to do up to this point has been with leased planes. It also means that we will be able to get through in weather conditions that would have turned us back in both the Cessna 206 and the Cessna 310 we had been using. This plane has all the de-icing features that pilots drool over
You can see pictures of the plane on our website at http://www.arcticbarnabas.org and then go to the Prayer & Praise page.
Please pray for our daughter Cassie this next week. She will be traveling to Iliamna and Pedro Bay to help ABM with two concerts that we have "booked" for Dave Beegle. Dave and his wife Sandy come to us from Colorado. They were with us at our Ministry Family Retreat last fall. Dave will be providing our music at the Love and Caring In Action Fundraiser ABM Fundraiser in Soldotna on Feb 14th. He will also be doing a "Coffee House Concert" at our church on February 15th. Dave is a wonderful guitarist and loves to honor the Lord with his incredible guitar skill. It's going to be a busy week!
Cassie has friends that she met from these villages while she was in training for Child Evangelism this last summer. She will helping with the concerts and renewing some friendship with some kids in the village.
Kris and I will be in Anchorage at various times in the next two weeks, trying to spend time with some of our friends from various villages who are coming in to Anchorage for some medical reasons, as well as to participate in the Native Musicale that takes place there every year.
I will be traveling to the village of Koyuk in early March to participate in a conference being held by some churches in the YK Delta and Norton Sound area of the state. Kris is busy organizing another Village Tea that she will be doing in two villages in late March to areas that we simply could not get to without our Seneca! (On anything other than a perfect day of flying ). More details on this as things get organized.
I have been busy in the office over the last month or so, and I am looking forward to getting out more in the next few months. We all do what we have to do to keep the ministry rolling, but our hearts are with the people we serve. I am also continuing to work on revising our policy manual.
Of course, we would love to be out in the villages as often as we can go. But we are always limited by funds. Part of the reason it's so difficult to do what we do is because it's so expensive! As God gives us opportunity, pray that the money needed to make things happen will be there.
Please also continue praying for our own personal support. It's frustrating at times - - - but part of the frustration is probably just me trying to make it all happen. You think I would learn, huh?
Gary