Anyways, This last week has been INSANE!!! As stated in the last blog, we have three girls who flew up from Houston that play on the Rice University basketball team. THEY ARE SO COOL! When they arrived here in Anchorage, we were in preparation to leave for a basketball camp in Tok (Pronounced like "toke"), Alaska. Tok is in far East Alaska about 85 miles from the Canadian border, EH. Myself, Aaron, The three girls (Maya, Elena (Pronounced like "elaina"), and Christal), and their BSM (Baptist Student Ministry)Director left on Monday to make the 400 mile safari.
Now SMAK does not typically lead these types of missions, but through divine intervention, and links built by the Lord Himself, this team came up through SMAK in order to share the Gospel through their (Incredible) baller skills. You have to understand, In Tok (And Much of Alaska), the temperatures during the Winter are FRIGID, and more or less unbearable. This means that there is literally nothing for people in the villages to do during these months, so, typically the school gym is opened up and the kids play basketball ALL THE TIME! In other words, they are a bunch of little ballerz!!! So, when we went into these villages, they were more than happy to play some ball with these fantastic ladies.
When we arrived in Tok, we headed up the MRTC, or Missions Resource and Training Center. This facility, that was a Baptist church in its past life, is currently used as a place for missionaries to stay and train that are stationed or traveling in the area. It also serves as a place of study, fellowship, and GREAT COFFEE to anyone; doors are always open. But, with all of that going on, their prime focus at the MRTC is to act as a makeshift seminary for men in rural Alaskan villages.
----Quick sidenote: Why would these men need seminary??? Well, lets be realistic... no matter how hard we try, what tactics we take, or even how deeply hearts are changed.... the gospel message is almost ALWAYS going to better penetrate these people's hearts if it comes from someone of their own culture. So, basically what they are doing is scoping out potential candidates to possibly undergo their training and discipleship courses in the hopes that they will further lead these villages to Jesus. ----
The MRTC is directed by an AMAZING family. Allen and Babs Dial are former African Missionaries that have dedicated their lives to following the path of the Lord. They, along with their two adopted African boys (12 yrs old, and are the coolest cats around), have heavy hearts for the Lord. They told me that "never in a million years did they plan to be sharing the Gospel with the native people of Alaska" (I mean, who would actually plan that?). They welcomed our team with open arms and smiling faces! I am going to miss them, and I cant wait to see them again!
So when we got settled in at the MRTC, we were told that we would be further traveling to two different villages outside of Tok to put on camps. Then, we determined what we were to do with our down time away from camp ministry. We shortly after noticed that the Dial family at the MRTC was running low on wood to burn in their home, and they had a HUGE stack of trees waiting to be chopped in the backyard...so for the next three morning before camps, we were out there (chainsaw in hand) pretending to be lumberjacks. When it was all said and done, we had about 8 cords of wood chopped and ready to burn. In the winter, that would last about a month AND a half or so. We were excited to prep the family and the MRTC for future temperatures. I even wore my flannel shirt for the occasion!!!
The camps on the other hand were incredible. Our target people were the Athabascan Natives of eastern Alaska and western Canada. The first village we pursued is called Tanacross. This is a village of about 150 people. The kids were really receptive to everything the Rice girls taught them, and they were also eager to try their luck at competing against some division 1 athletes! It was a great experience, and the love of Jesus was definitely exerted upon those kids.
Two girls in particular made such great relationships with the Rice girls that they desired to join us the following day in the other village. The second village we hosted a camp in is called Mentasta. this village has a population of approximately 200 people. For some reason, this village was a bit more of a success in terms of gospel sharing. The camp went great, and the 25 kids that showed up (GREAT NUMBERS BTW) were stoked to play ball...but were also quick to raise their hands when asked "do ya'll know who Jesus is" (SIDENOTE: these kids though the word Ya'll was HILARIOUS!! they mocked us for using that word the entire time!!!)?
To be completely honest though, I did not spend a lot of time at this camp..... what I mean is, Aaron and I went walking the one road through Mentasta in order to knock on doors to let people know about the camp that was going on that was free to the kids. Well, we went to the last on the street, I entered their home told them about the camp, and that was it. That was honestly the extent of our conversation. So Aaron and I go back to the school for the start of the camp, and for some reason...the Lord was telling me to go back to that house. I DIDNT EVEN CATCH THEIR NAME!!! I had no idea why the Lord was tugging my heart to go back to that specific house, but He was.... So I went and asked Ms. Babs to come with me.
We walked down the street to the house I had entered, and the two people I had originally met were gone, but their daughter was home, and she told us that her parents were next door. So Babs and I went next door and briefly talked with the people I met, but then it was revealed to me why we had to come back. The two people I met left the home, and we were alone to converse with two other guys sitting on the couch. These two guys told us their life stories...and they were incredible people. One of the guys has Faith like a Rock and became a potential candidate for the MRTC seminary... and the other guy really confirmed why we needed to be there at that exact time. He shared with Babs and I that he was relapsing into alcoholism and drug abuse. He knew who Jesus was, and He had previously dedicated himself to living his life for Him, but he fell off of his faith platform, and he desired to get back up. He expressed to Babs and I that he feels as if he had fallen to far this time, and that the Lord has turned His face from him. He said he felt too filthy to be accepted by the Lord.....
Yet, 1 John 3:1 states "See what great LOVE the father has lavished upon us, that He should call us Children of God; and that we are!" This means that Yahweh has literally ADOPTED, and just like adoption today, if you are adopted, you can NEVER BE DISOWNED!!! Babs and I shared with this man that hope is present, and that because he is drenched with the blood of Jesus, He is Beautiful and pure in the eyes of the Father. And, through the Father, he will find the strength to turn from substance, and focus on his relationship with God. We got to pray with him and encourage him, and laugh with him, and just show him that he IS worthy... that he IS beautiful...and that he IS a child in the ONLY family that matters. The family of God.
That was my Mentasta experience, and I pray that everything that was a said and done can continue on. I pray that seeds were sown in that village. May they reap great harvest.
Also, as we were leaving the Mentasta school (15 students total (k-8)) the Rice girls gave their jackets to a couple of kids that were straggling at the school. Their faces lit up, and the girls from Rice were touched because for them....a jacket is always present and almost meaningless (especially if you are from Houston)...but for those kids......that jacket meant THE WORLD! Well, we were just about to leave when a little girl pointed at my t-shirt (that read RICE BSM) and said "Your shirt says Rice just like their jackets (pointing to the boys that received the jackets....can I have your shirt?" I looked at her....went to the truck....and gave her my t-shirt. And I don't say that to prove righteousness, humility, or ANYTHING about myself.... I share this simply to demonstrate their need. They have nothing. These villages, although on American soil, are far from what we would deem as livable. They are foreign places, full of amazing people that long for direction....a direction that can only be found in Jesus. There are no stores, no businesses, no form of work, no ANYTHING. Yet they live.....they survive.
Since returning to Anchorage, Aaron and I have been preparing to fly to Kotzebue tomorrow with the FCA (fellowship of Christian Athletes) team. The Rice girls are still here and they are going with us, and so are three guys from different universities in the northwest. I am so excited to see all that the Lord has in store in this semi-familiar place. I have been there once before, but extremely briefly. I know that He has some great things in store for my team and I, and I cannot wait!
Please PLEASE pray for the people of Tok, Tanacross, Mentasta, and Kotzebue in particular. Pray that their hearts can hunger for the message we share. Pray for safe travels, and for divine opportunity. Please pray that the kids have fun this week, and that the FCA athletes are blessed by the kids just as much as the kids are blessed by them! Pray for Brian and his wife and kids as they travel to Maine to visit family. Pray for the SMAK ministry and all those working through it. Pray for this state. Pray for courage to listen to His plan, even when we don't want to!
I love you all so much... <3
I could just sit--All Sons & Daughters
I could just sit and wait for all your goodness
Hope to feel your presence
And I could just stay
I could just stay right where I am and hope to feel you
Hope to feel something again
And I could hold on
I could hold on to who I am and never let You change me from the inside
And I could be safe
I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home
Never let these walls down
But you have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I will go where you will lead me Lord
You have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I will go where you lead me Lord
Where you lead me
Where you lead me Lord
And I will be Yours
I will be Yours for all my life
So let Your mercy light the path before me
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