Praying Friends,
Cassie's Ministry
Thank you for praying for Cassie. She had a great time "just being part of the gang" with some kids in the village of Quinhagak. It went great. She will report to you next update!
Christianity Today Article
I have been told that there is an Article that refers to Arctic Barnabas Ministries in the April 2003 edition Christianity today, Page 23.
There are no copies here locally, but I can order some through Good Books & More bookstore. But the first person who faxes me a copy will get an extra orange in their stocking this Christmas! (Not really, but I would really like to see the article before I decide how many to order!!)
ABM fax number is 907-283-3347
Women to Women Ministry At It's Best
A couple from Dimond Grace Brethren Church, one of our supporting Churches in Anchorage, are traveling to the village of Allakaket. Allakaket is on the south bank of the Koyukuk River, southwest of its junction with the Alatna River, approximately 190 air miles northwest of Fairbanks and 57 miles upriver from Hughes.
This couple is going to spend time with one of the missionary families they were introduced to by way of Arctic Barnabas Ministries' Women to Women Program that Kris heads up. We are so excited to see people with the vision of encouragement and support that has gripped our own hearts! Praise the Lord!
Whadaya Think About This?
I will be attending a open panel discussion on the influences of Christianity on Native Culture in Anchorage. I know some of some of the panelists. I also have an idea of the type of audience that will be there. I'm just going to observe. Like our brothers and sisters in IRAQ and similar areas, Christianity is often viewed as OUR religion that we brought to THEM. It doesn't help that, In Alaska, kids were sent off to boarding schools and children would be punished for speaking their native tongue in the "Missionary/Schoolhouse" model that was used here in the early 1900's, and people were wiped out because of TB brought to their villages.
I think of one native brother, an older man in his 70's, who starts out his testimony with "I thank God for the missionaries who first brought us the Gospel!"
What follows is the Press release about the program. I'll end my part here.
God Bless you!
ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE CENTER EXPLORES THE INFLUENCE OF CHURCH AND
SPIRITUALITY ON ALASKA NATIVE PEOPLE
(Anchorage, AK) - The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) is exploring
the influence the church and spirituality had on the Alaska Native
people. The program will be held on March 29, 2003 from 12pm to 5pm.
Church and Spirituality Day is one of the continuing series of
Celebrating Culture Saturdays sponsored by BP.
Spirituality has always been an integral part of Alaska Native people's
lives. Their beliefs and ceremonies were often centered on their
relationship with the earth, sky, sea and animals. Songs, drums, dance
and masks as well as other cultural objects and traditional healing ways
all played a part in their spiritual beliefs. Native ways of healing
were also part of people's spirituality.
When the Alaska Native peoples came in contact with the Christian
missionaries, some of the valued traditions and ceremonies were
forbidden and eventually lost. Many Native people became Christians and
were educated by the missionaries. The missionaries' ways of healing in
many cases replaced the Native healing ways. The relationship of
missionaries and Natives was complex and often involves mixed emotions.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center will be hosting a mini-symposium with
representatives of Christian churches that have worked with Native
peoples for a long time. This program will provide a sharing of the
beliefs and spirituality of Native peoples, Christians and Christian
Alaska Natives both ancient and current. There will be a discussion and
question and answer period.
Panel members include: Pastor Nicholson from the Moravian Church, Mary
Koch, Reverend Koch's wife from the First Congregational Church, Pastor
Wilson from the First Native Baptist Church and Reverend Elliott the
Rector Emeritus from the All Saints Episcopal Church. Pastor William
Nicholson has served in Dillingham, Bethel and now at the Moravian
Church in Anchorage. He is the only Moravian pastor who is Alaska Native
and graduated from the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania in 1977. Pastor Jonathan Wilson has been a minister for the
First Native Baptist Church for the last 10 years. He has spent time in
many rural locations such as Mekoryuk, Kobuk, Dillingham, Tetlin and
Tanacross. Reverend Norman Elliot came to Alaska in 1951 and became a
ordained priest in 1952. He has traveled extensively doing missionary
work from Point Hope all the way to Southeast Alaska. Choirs that will
be performing will be the Moravian Fellowship Choir and the Anchorage
Native Assembly Church.
See ya!
Gary
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Cassie in Quinhagak 3/20/03
Please pray for our daughter Cassie as she travels to the native village of Quinhagak. Quinhagak is a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the Kanektok River on the east shore of Kuskokwim Bay, less than a mile from the Bering Sea coast. It is about 70 miles southwest of Bethel.
Cassie has been through extensive training with Child Evangelism fellowship her in Alaska, and will be traveling there as part of a CEF tem that was been working with people in that village doing VBS and training for Sunday School. ABM works very closely with CEF. We consider their ministry a vital part of training up disciples in the villages. Cassie will be renewing acquaintances with some of the kids she already knows from that region, and will be part of the team ministering there.
As you all know by now, we consider our ministry with ABM to be a family ministry. Cassie, our youngest daughter, 13 years old, is very much a part of the ministry. Please pray for her. As you probably also know, she has Cerebral Palsy. We decided long ago as a family not to allow this to get in her way when it comes to ministry. But we would appreciate your prayer coverage for he tomorrow and Saturday.
Thank you!
Cassie has been through extensive training with Child Evangelism fellowship her in Alaska, and will be traveling there as part of a CEF tem that was been working with people in that village doing VBS and training for Sunday School. ABM works very closely with CEF. We consider their ministry a vital part of training up disciples in the villages. Cassie will be renewing acquaintances with some of the kids she already knows from that region, and will be part of the team ministering there.
As you all know by now, we consider our ministry with ABM to be a family ministry. Cassie, our youngest daughter, 13 years old, is very much a part of the ministry. Please pray for her. As you probably also know, she has Cerebral Palsy. We decided long ago as a family not to allow this to get in her way when it comes to ministry. But we would appreciate your prayer coverage for he tomorrow and Saturday.
Thank you!
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Koyuk Trip 3/12/03
Thank you for praying for my recent trip to Koyuk, Alaska, where I attended the annual convention of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska (ECCAK). Koyuk is located on the South Eastern Edge of the Seward Peninsula, where the Koyuk River meets the Norton Sound. If you follow the Iditariod, Koyuk is where the mushers come back to land after crossing over a large frozen expanse that is part of Norton Bay.
The Evangelical Covenant Church has about 20 churches in Alaska, and the majority of them are located in either the Yukon-Kuskoquim Delta or the Norton Sound area of the state. They rotate their yearly conference between the Road System (anchorage, Eagle River, and Fairbanks), the YK Delta and Norton Sound. An annual conference is always a big logistical challenge, but you can imagine how the challenge compounds when the conference is hosted by a village, where no one can run to KFC to pick up chicken or SAMs to get some paper cups.
Koyuk has about 300 people in it. The Evangelical Covenant Church of Koyuk in the only church in town, and has about 35-40 regular attendees. A very healthy church in a very friendly village. The weather was pretty warm, somewhere around zero, but the winds in from the sea were pretty ferocious.
Arctic Barnabas Ministries focuses in on a few Covenant Villages in our ministry and we are considered by the them to be "Friends of the Covenant." As I have said many times before, it is SO Expensive to do everything up here, including pastoral care. They welcome our assistance and we are pleased to help.
Most of my trips out are to visit single families and to spend time doing whatever I can to encourage and assist. That means alot of listening and praying, dreaming and crying. But this trip was simply a joyful time of fellowship, singing, and challenge from God's word (and most of it was even in English, although I enjoy a familiar tune sung in Yup'ik just as much - - even though I can't understand 99.9% of it!)
What this does for us in our personal ministry is to remind us of the importance of a healthy local body, and the role a local meeting place plays in the health of a community. As many times as I am in places where I do not see that, it's exciting to be somewhere where I see it flourishing! Praise the Lord for Pastor Chip Swanson, his wife, and the people of the Koyuk Evangelical Covenant Church for their gracious hospitality. I got my fill of Muktuk and even some Black Muktuk. But thanks to a fine host named Grace, I also got sourdough pancakes and bacon!
Kris and I will be attending the Family Life Conference "Weekend to Remember" Conference this next weekend. Please pray that it will be a great time for us as we focus on or marriage for a few days. We are both looking forward to it.
Also, our Pathfinder is acting up. Our Van has almost 150,000 miles on it and just isn't worthy enough to take out of town, and now our Nissan Pathfinder (with nearly 100,00 miles) seems to be having transmission problems. So, pray that we will continue to get where we need to go!
Please also pray for our staff meetings on Thursdays. If only you could see all the stuff we cover in two hours. And to complicate things, we aren't always there all the time. The nature of ABM is that everyone of us are traveling at different times. It's a real challenge to keep us all on the same sheet. But praise be to God for bringing the organization this far. Please pray for his continued guidance.
Gary
The Evangelical Covenant Church has about 20 churches in Alaska, and the majority of them are located in either the Yukon-Kuskoquim Delta or the Norton Sound area of the state. They rotate their yearly conference between the Road System (anchorage, Eagle River, and Fairbanks), the YK Delta and Norton Sound. An annual conference is always a big logistical challenge, but you can imagine how the challenge compounds when the conference is hosted by a village, where no one can run to KFC to pick up chicken or SAMs to get some paper cups.
Koyuk has about 300 people in it. The Evangelical Covenant Church of Koyuk in the only church in town, and has about 35-40 regular attendees. A very healthy church in a very friendly village. The weather was pretty warm, somewhere around zero, but the winds in from the sea were pretty ferocious.
Arctic Barnabas Ministries focuses in on a few Covenant Villages in our ministry and we are considered by the them to be "Friends of the Covenant." As I have said many times before, it is SO Expensive to do everything up here, including pastoral care. They welcome our assistance and we are pleased to help.
Most of my trips out are to visit single families and to spend time doing whatever I can to encourage and assist. That means alot of listening and praying, dreaming and crying. But this trip was simply a joyful time of fellowship, singing, and challenge from God's word (and most of it was even in English, although I enjoy a familiar tune sung in Yup'ik just as much - - even though I can't understand 99.9% of it!)
What this does for us in our personal ministry is to remind us of the importance of a healthy local body, and the role a local meeting place plays in the health of a community. As many times as I am in places where I do not see that, it's exciting to be somewhere where I see it flourishing! Praise the Lord for Pastor Chip Swanson, his wife, and the people of the Koyuk Evangelical Covenant Church for their gracious hospitality. I got my fill of Muktuk and even some Black Muktuk. But thanks to a fine host named Grace, I also got sourdough pancakes and bacon!
Kris and I will be attending the Family Life Conference "Weekend to Remember" Conference this next weekend. Please pray that it will be a great time for us as we focus on or marriage for a few days. We are both looking forward to it.
Also, our Pathfinder is acting up. Our Van has almost 150,000 miles on it and just isn't worthy enough to take out of town, and now our Nissan Pathfinder (with nearly 100,00 miles) seems to be having transmission problems. So, pray that we will continue to get where we need to go!
Please also pray for our staff meetings on Thursdays. If only you could see all the stuff we cover in two hours. And to complicate things, we aren't always there all the time. The nature of ABM is that everyone of us are traveling at different times. It's a real challenge to keep us all on the same sheet. But praise be to God for bringing the organization this far. Please pray for his continued guidance.
Gary