The end of the 2015

Routon Family update:

Have you seen the "Life is Good" clothing brand? The company prints clothes with a scene of a stick man doing something enjoyable (like playing Frisbee or sunbathing) and the caption "Life is Good."   When I am doing the things I enjoy I do feel that "life is good" and I wish the enjoyable times to  go on forever.  It seems that "good" translates to enjoyable, pleasant, and fulfilling. In the Christian world there is similar phrase that has been growing in popularity and that can often be understood in the same manner. The phrase "God is good" sounds nice but recently I have been forced to reconsider what it means. 

Some of you have been following the birth of our son Ezra and followed our blog that detailed our journey http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyrouton. Ezra's surgery was a success and he is a healthy baby boy.  During the past three months of our medical ordeal I have been in contact with a close friend who also had a little baby with a life threatening condition. Their baby is one month older than Ezra and will most likely not survive. The couple love and serve God and daily they must go through heart breaking events.  Not a day goes by where I don't think of this family multiple times.

Baby Ezra two days ago

Having a good life does not mean ease or comfort. If we think that God is good only when our circumstances are favorable, then does that mean that God is not good in hard circumstances such as death, poverty, starvation and war?  God promises us abundant life and recent events have reminded me that abundant life doesn't mean a life of ease, comfort and favorable circumstances. I am growing convinced that the life Jesus promises doesn't have to do with riches or pleasure, but rather- it has to do with experiencing God's presence. Experiencing his comfort and power, his holiness and love, his justice and forgiveness. Not being pain-free realizing that he is with us and knows what we face.  Being confident in his love for you, the love that motivated him to go through the pain of human life and death. Abundant life is life with him.  Now when I hear people say "God is good," I don't confuse his goodness with the ease or pleasure of my circumstances. He is just as good when we are in deep waters as when we are high on the mountains. 

Sitka Young Life Update

This year marks the 20th year that Young Life has been in Sitka and wow- ministry is booming.  Our attendance in campaigners is at an all-time high.  We have four weekly high school Bible study groups involving over 50 kids and 15 adults. Our weekly outreach club meetings averaging over 80 students, many of which have no knowledge of God. Fifteen high school students are being mentored through a student leader program as they serve other students.  Sitka Young Life is also reaching other rural communities in Alaska and helping them start youth ministries: 4 villages are actively starting youth ministries and another 6 communities are interested. It is awesome to see God answer prayer as people are coming forward wanting to know how they can help.

 Some of our guys Bibles study breakfast crew after a weekend camping trip to a cabin

Young Life is also growing around the state and this September we had our largest all-state ever Young Life conference in Anchorage.  It was during breakfast at this conference that I had the chance to meet two women who had come to learn how they can help the youth of their community.  Weather had prevented them from making it for 70% of the conference yet they persisted and came to the last few hours. It was at breakfast on the last day of the conference that I had a chance to sit down with them and hear their story. Two weeks prior to the state retreat, one of these ladies lost her son to a drug overdose and so she and her sister came to the conference to learn how they can reach the other kids in their community.  They wanted to be able to do something to help the kids of their community. That weekend the hotel conference room was filled with people who have a conviction and passion for the youth in their communities. Thirteen villages were represented and we had a great time to listening and encourage one another.

The all-state Young Life conference takes a lot of prayer, time, and resources, but it was so worth doing in order to encourage and equip people as they headed back to their homes. We want people to find hope in God and we want the light of Christ in as many villages and homes as possible. Our vision is to continue to raise up, train, and support native youth workers in rural villages as they shine Christ's hope in dark places.  To make this happen it takes prayer, time, and resources.

Over the past years Sitka Young Life has had a grant to help jump start my position.  2015 was the last year of the grant and now we raise additional funds in order to continue this position.. It has been extremely valuable to have a Young Life staff position dedicated to rural Alaska and currently we need additional funding for this position. My goal is to raise the an additional $15k to make up for the grant. Please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter of the ministry. Monthly gifts or one-time donations can be made by sending in the enclosed envelope or by logging on at sitka.younglife.com and clicking the “Give” tab. Also- if you would like to share any of these emails with friends or family you can find all my past emails on a blog at ruralalaskayounglife.blogspot.com.  Thank you for your support.

Ezra Ross Routon and Liz & Tanana

In case you haven't heard: It's a Boy! Ezra Ross Routon was born on Sept 24 and he weighed 7lbs, 12 oz.  He was 20 inches long and was born with a heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot and at birth he was very stable.  Five days later doctors operated on Ezra to do the full repair on his heart.  He again was very stable and recovered quickly and five days later Ezra was released from the hospital! He is a healthy baby boy with no chromosomal abnormalities and he will need further heart procedures in the future- but it could be 10 years from now.  We are very grateful and I want to say thank you for your prayers and support.  If you want to read the full story click http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyrouton

Yep- he is a cutie!

As part of my job I get to report back to you some of the things happening in Young Life and the ministry that you all are praying for and supporting.  In the past I have tried to write about 6 emails every year and lump up everything that has been happening into one email, but what I have found that there is so much happening, to fit into one email.  Therefore I want to try something new and send small emails more frequently. For this email I want to share with you about Liz and what is happening in Tanana.

Liz was a Young Life leader in Sitka last year and moved to Tanana this school year to teach.  She did awesome work with kids in Sitka and is now sharing her life with the kids in Tanana.  Liz teaches middle school and high school.  She is partnering with adults and churches in the community to make sure kids have a chance to hear about who Christ is and what he has done for them.  Currently she opens the gym for kids 3 nights a week, she hosts movie nights, and organizes/ runs youth fun events where kids hear about Jesus. She has gotten Bibles donated and handed them out to kids and she is challenging kids to consider Jesus. She has a heart for the kids and they are responding.  Liz also desire it that the adults of Tanana adopt the ministry and that if she leaves that the ministry would be taken over by local people.    Please pray for these things and also for Liz's housing situation.

Tanana is about 150 west of Fairbanks 

All-State YL and Waiting for Baby

-Today I write with mixed emotion, both joy and pain.  Both exciting and difficult things are happening around the state and in our own family.

Two days ago Emily received an email that the community of Hooper Bay had just had their 4th suicide in 3 weeks.  Hooper Bay has 1,200 people living there, and like most villages, most people are very connected.  The 4 people were in their early to mid 20's and we all in the same group of friends. The death of the three young men and 1 young woman will touch many people around the region and state.  In the same email we also learned that one of our own MEHS alumni, class of 2014, also committed Suicide.  Ashley Sagoonik was from Unalakleet and attended MEHS for 4 years.  She was involved in many activities, including some Young Life, church and Bible Camp.  She was well known and very well liked.  Her death is felt throughout the campus and serves as a reminder of to the kids of other loved ones they have lost to suicide.  Please pray for these families, communities, and MEHS

a group shot from Young Life All-State 2015

It is for reasons like suicide, abuse, and drug use that people in rural Alaska are so interested in doing something for the youth in their community.  On October 2-4 we had our annual All-State Young Life Conference.  We has a record number 170 people attend and also 13 rural communities were represented.  (Also in typical Alaska autumn style- 5 people were unable to attend due to bad weather and flight cancellations).  We had people there from Sitka, Kodiak, Galena, Tuntituliak, Sand Point, Ambler, Bethel, Chevak, Emmonak, Gambell, Karluk, Sovoonga,and Tanana. Some of these communities have thriving youth ministries, some have youth Bible studies, and some only have concerned adults praying for young people.  During our time together we collaborated and heard about what youth strategies were effective and which ones were not.  We spent time in prayer for the communities, and also time meeting in small groups discussing what the possible next ministry steps could be could be for each community. I introduced the group to how Young Life could help and support them in their communities.  People were encouraged and refreshed, and at the end of the weekend, John Waghiyi from Savoonga said "now we understand what Young Life is, it is going to be one of our main callings in life for the kids of our village."  It was a great time to meet with wonderful people who act out of great compassion. Please remember these people and communities in your prayers as they return home because Satan wants to squelch anywhere that God is working.  Pray for Bethel as they will be meeting with church leaders to talk about Young Life.  Pray for Savoonga as they have already experienced Satan's discouragement.  Pray for Tanana as Liz is hosting open gyms and game youth game nights, and is forming leadership teams of adults and kids, Pray for Karluk as they have recently experienced death of a young family member and they seek to find ways to help the other youth.. God wants to bring life and the battle in these villages is very real.

the 3.95 of us on the ferry down from Alaska

Now for the update on the Routon family: Since my last email - the Routons have temporarily moved to Newberg, Oregon.  On the 22nd of September we ferried out of Sitka with our dear friends the Hulls. Our time in Oregon has been good and we have had a chance to enjoy a fall in Oregon complete with spending time with friends and family, picking apples, visiting a pumpkin patch, and going to college and high school sporting events. It has been really fun to reconnect with old friends and bump into people I haven't seen in a long time.  We have felt the love and support of our friends in Sitka, the east coast, and in the northwest. Our time here has been refreshing and has given us time to prepare.  Ruthann loves spending time with her grandparents, and Emily is getting closer to giving birth.  Emily is getting more uncomfortable and our bags are packed as we anticipate any day rushing to the hospital.  We still don't know the baby's gender... but everyone seems to think this baby will be a boy. 

On our first doctor's appointment in Portland and the doctors were able to get better images of our baby's heart and they re-diagnosed the baby as having Tetralogy of  Fallot.  This is a less severe and more common diagnosis. Our baby has a more severe Tetralogy on the spectrum, but the rate of survival is much higher.  Right now our baby needs a valve to open and a hole to close. The doctors say that we should also prepare for the baby to have possible chromosomal defect which is linked to Tetralogy 25% of the time.  Our baby having a chromosomal abnormality is something that is difficult for me to process and has challenged my views on personal success and individual value.  I am reminded that God's ways are higher than my ways and his thoughts are higher than my thoughts.  His perspective on success and personal value are nothing like what is reflected in culture.  A person is not made more valuable by accomplishment, wealth, beauty, education, or respect. God's economy is different, AND our lives are not our own.  He understands hardship and is well acquainted with pain. In all things he walks beside us and will provide the strength we need each day. He is faithful:Through this whole process we have been learning a lot about prayer and have felt the support of many people's prayers. . Thanks for your prayers.  

Blessings to you and your family,

Aaron

Summer Camp updage 2015

This summer we have had students from Mt. Edgecumbe participating in a variety of summer camps: Unalakleet Bible Camp in rural Alaska, the Student Leadership Project in Michigan, Washington Family Ranch in Oregon. All these events had great impact on the kids.

This June 20 people from MEHS arrived at Unalakleet Bible Camp, 10 miles inland from the Bering Sea. Sixteen students, two leaders from Sitka, and two MEHS Alumni camp counselors met to enjoy a week of making new friends and experiencing God’s presence. Our days were filled with playing games, eating good food, canoeing, taking saunas, hiking, running the 3 mile Muskox race, doing chores after each meal, laughing with our cabin mates, and multiple times daily attending chapel. In chapel we sang songs together, and listened as staff and students shared about their lives and what God has done.  God’s presence filled the hearts of the students there and many in our group were changed.  They were excited to grow in their relationship with Christ and talked about how their lives returning home could be different.  Young Life financially helped a group of 9 students St. Lawrence Island attend camp this year and they too were changed by God’s presence and work in their lives at camp.  Two days after returning to Savoonga the group took Bibles and snacks up to a hillside out of town and sang songs from camp and had a Bible study with one of the town elders.  It is great to see how God can use camps to encourage an entire community!

Our group of 20 folks from MEHS on top of a hill outside of camp

At the end of June we were fortunate to have the opportunity to send two students to Michigan to participate in an amazing opportunity entitled Young Life’s Student Leadership Project or SLP. The program’s motto is “developing spiritual leadership in a multicultural world,” and so the Isaiah and Danielle attended sessions on leadership and theology.  Isaiah is from Savoonga and Danielle is from Kipnuk.  Isaiah shared “I learned so much about God and I learned how I am a leader back home.  It was amazing to meet people from all over and get so close in such a short time. This was the best week of my life.” Both students attending were juniors and we look forward to them coming back to MEHS in the fall and getting more involved in the spiritual lives of their classmates.

In mid July a group of 27 Sitka high and MEHS students left Alaska for Washington Family Ranch, a Young Life camp in Oregon.  This was the first time that many of the students had ever left the state and boy did they have fun!  Many of them for the first time were able to experience things like go carts, a high ropes course, and zip lines!  They also meet one on one with their counselor, and in small group to discuss the daily camp message.   Again, the students responded and hearts were changed.  Kids grew in their faith and many in the group opened their hearts to Jesus.

Our group at the Oregon Young Life camp

One of the things I was most excited for this summer was for two of our MEHS Young Life Alumni to return and serve at Unalakleet Bible Camp.  Both Jason and Dolena dedicated their lives to God at Bible camp and this summer returned to counsel kids.  Jason brought some kids from Tuntituliak and stayed for a week, while Dolena came from Alaska Christian College and stayed for the month. “It was totally awesome,” Jason said “I mean most all the guys in my cabin either committed their life or recommitted their life to God and to be a part of that is so awesome- it is hard to put into words.”  Dolena from Kipnuk said “camp was awesome, life changing, and the best month of my life.  It felt like I was running a marathon. I was drained and I had to rely on God to continually renew my strength and energy.  (Psalm 18:1-3) There were kids who grew up in broken homes, who were abused: physically, sexually, and verbally.  It helped me to realize Alaska has a real need for ministry.” Dolena was “constantly reminded that God not only creates the path for our life, but he is also walking it with us.”  Experiencing God at camp effects both campers and staff. Dolena was “overwhelmed by the grace of God” and now plans to go into teaching and help run ministries in villages.  Jason also wants to always be a part of youth ministering to the youth wherever he lives.  This is huge and so stinking exciting!

Thanks for all of your prayer and support in helping make this ministry possible!

Summer Update

Young Life this past semester at Mt. Edgeumbe High School was great.  We gained three new leaders on our team which meant we had more leaders investing in the lives of kids.  As kids received more support, their hope and faith grew.  Also, the number of kids getting involved with Young Life increased. The last week of school we had a record number of 45 kids come to morning Bible study. This semester a lot of great things happened including a guys’ camping trip, a girls’ movie night, and many hours of adults investing in the lives of kids.  Both leaders and students were energized and encouraged.

Some of our guys on a winter hike

This summer we are keeping the ball rolling by sending 16 kids from MEHS to summer camps.  Ten kids will go with me and a leader named Chad next week to Unalakleet Bible Camp.  Unalakleet Bible Camp is one of many regional Bible camps who exist to encourage kids and develop leadership among the native people. Later in July we will be sending six kids from rural Alaska to Young Life camp in Oregon.  Many kids have never left the state and Young Life camp should blow their socks off.  (If you are not familiar with Young Life camp check out this quick video https://vimeo.com/1445284     We will also be having a couple of MEHS students taking part in Young Life’s Student Leadership project in Michigan http://www.younglife.org/GetInvolved/Pages/TheStudentLeadershipProject.aspx.  We have high expectations for the summer and look forward to seeing how God uses these experiences to  reveal himself to each kid.

Young Life in Rural Alaska:

Sand Point:

Austin with some of his kids on a short run outside of Sand Point

Last month I had the chance to visit Sand Point (at the start of the Aleutians) and meet with adults and kids interested in starting Young Life.  We had 5 great meetings with adults and leaders in which people shared their dreams and desires for their community.  Young Life is not a program but a group of people working together to share the good news, and Sand Point has a good team of concerned people who are committed to encouraging the youth.

Tuntituliak:

Jason has been doing some wonderful things in Tunt and their Bible study dinners have grown to 10 kids. Kids are engaging and asking good questions.  While on a hunting trip, Jason had a chance to help one of his kids start a relationship with Christ.  Jason will be bringing four students to Bible camp this summer

Savoonga:

This semester I have been in contact with four different adults in Savoonga who have a big heart for the youth in their village.  All four are reaching out to the youth.  This summer 7 students will be joining me and Chad at Bible camp and I will be continuing to talk with their youth leaders in town.

Prayer requests:

1. For our kids and leaders going to camp- that God would move in their lives and hearts in a mighty way
2. Young Life in new communities across Alaska:- several people in different communities have expressed interest in starting Young Life in their communities (Dillingham, Emmonak, Chevak, Bethel, Savoonga, and several villages on Kodiak Island)
3. Sand Point- That God would encourage leaders and kids to carve time and energy out to start something new in Sand Point.  Pray for unity, compassion, and good communication for the adult volunteers.
4. Wisdom for me as I condense Young Life leadership curriculum to fit the needs of volunteer areas in rural Alaska.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and partnering with the Young Life Alaska team as we seek to raise up, encourage, and empower God’s people in rural Alaska.

The pictures are from our guys and girls breakfast Bible study groups and of  Austin with some of the kids he works with in Sand Point.

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