It is easy to get into the habit of just praying for things and not really expecting an answer. We can recite our desires and hopes and not readily expect things to change. Sometimes it is easy to pray and expect answers to come very slowly or expect the answer to come by a change in our heart. . Lately, however, God has answered prayers very directly and sometimes his answers come before I have even thought to ask.
In a previous email I asked you to pray for our kids and leaders going to Young Life camp. God did use this time in amazing ways in the lives of our kids and our leaders. I was unable to go to camp this year because Ruthann was born during the same time camp took place, but all the leaders spoke about how God had moved. The group had such a wonderful time and the kids and leaders really bonded. The leaders were amazed at how receptive the kids were how well cabin reflection times flowed. Kids were able to have open honest conversations about what is really happening in their lives. One of our girl leaders Elise said that this was the best camp experience she has ever had as kids were willing to go deeper than any other group she has been with. The girls in her group were able to share their life stories and visible healing flowed into their lives. All the kids reported that camp had an impacted their relationship with God and many of those kids either made new decisions for Christ or rededicated there lives. Students returning from camp now want to move into student leadership rolls and now there are 20 high school students who want to become student leaders.. I have seen the kids who went to camp around campus and these students look visibly different.
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| A group shot of the our group at camp! |
Also in a previous email I mentioned that a senior at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Doug, was starting a campus ministry. His goal was to provide a church service for kids who didn't wake up to go to church in the morning. He was been talking to several mentors about what to include in the service and the first meeting the group held was last Sunday night. Forty students attended, and at the end of the service, 16 students responded to Doug's message by raising their hands. It really seems that God is moving at MEHS.
Another answer to prayer came last week when I met with my neighbor, Kerry Chadwick, the pastor of the First Baptist Church. As my job has shifted to include rural Alaska, I have been wondering how to encourage people living in remote villages. Often, kids will return home from camp (or from a semester at school) where they have made significant gains in their walk with Christ, and find that home can be very discouraging. Many of us know how difficult it is to return home after a "camp high" and be met with reality. What makes this even more difficult is when people can't relate to what you experienced or when home is not a safe place. Many of our kids returning to their home villages do not experience the encouragement in faith needed to continue growing. Since I first started thinking about rural Alaska I have been trying to think of a way to connect and encourage these young people. Last week I met with Kerry; who spent these last few years in a doctoral program in which he has explored using technology to encourage and mentor people. I was able to sit with Kerry and hear about research, technology tools, and other strategies he implemented with people he could not meet with face to face. He shared the results of his research and which tools he found that were most effective. He gave me some real concrete tools that I could use to help connect and encourage young people. I walked out of our meeting more aware of how God has been working on solutions to problems way before I was even thinking about Young Life in rural Alaska.
God has continued to be faithful in other areas of prayer too. Our new leader training went great and we have more adults wanting to volunteer their time. I have been working with the administration of MEHS and they are very receptive to the positive things Young Life brings. Chris Voron (the Sitka area director) and I have been meeting with pastors in hopes to collaborate on reaching kids and plugging them into discipleship programs. The churches are very receptive to working together for the common goal.
We pray daily for directions and it has been neat to see God put many answers right in front of me. He just seems to plop down experts and resources before me. Somehow I have been meeting many brilliant people who have a heart for Alaskan Natives who have decades of experience I can learn from. He brings other people who want to dedicate some of their time, talents, or money in what Young Life is doing to reach rural Alaska. It is all pretty humbling and reassuring that I can rely on God to accomplish miracles. Anything that happens of significance is because he has orchestrated it and he doesn't need to rely on my brilliance to accomplish great things. I love these lessons because they bring with them a freedom from having to perform and they bring with them a praise as we see God work in the details.
I hope you have a blessed day.
