JAM 2016

Last weekend we partnered with 4 local churches to host our first ever Jesus And Me (JAM) girls' discipleship weekend.  Over 20 women volunteers and 33 girls attend as they covered topics like personal devotions, prayer, life after high school, lies people believe, grief/ loss/ depression.  Each girl received a new Bible, took part in worship and Bible study.  Activities included s'mores, panel discussion, manicures, illustrated faith, and boat rides.  It was an awesome weekend.  Here are some quotes from girls from this past weekend:

• "I am glad I learned more ways to pray, like that I can write prayers and pray while I sing. I think that will work well for me."

• "I want to do this forever, I love it here."

• "The weekend was amazing. I had really put my daily devotional time on the back burner and I'm really excited to get back to doing it."

• " I came to this thing to get out of Saturday school. I didn't know I'd end up learning so much about God and end up having a personal relationship with him! It is awesome. I am excited."

Group picture

The girls getting their nails done at the spa

Illustrative faith and Bible Journaling

girls going for a boat ride

a leader and a girl whose family said that she never smiles for pictures

Basket Ball in Rural Alaska

This past weekend Sitka hosted the regional basketball tournament!  This event was a very big deal.  Below is an email sent out by my boss and dear friend Brent Cunningham.

Other news & Prayer request: This weekend we are partnering with the local churches to provide a girls discipleship weekend.  We are flying up a speaker from Seattle and have 20+ local women helping facilitate this event. We are hoping to reach 50+ girls from both Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka High School. Pray for girls to come!  Pray for the speaker the leaders and facilitators!  Pray for the holy spirit mighty hand to be at work!  

"Basketball is everything in rural Alaska.  Winters are long and cold.  The gym is the place where LIFE happens.  ESPN just aired a great "ESPN short" on basketball in Toksook Bay, Alaska.  I've been to Toksook to visit some kids from Mt Edgecumbe High School over Christmas break.  Mt Edgecumbe is our high school in Sitka that has approximately 400 students from 120 different villages.  

If you really want a little glimpse of what life is like in bush Alaska...watch this video.  It will capture your heart.

Winter Blast 2016

We had a great time during Winter Blast!  

42 middle school kids came to Wyld Life Winter Blast along with 54 High School kids! Winter Blast this year consisted of two 20 hour lock-in at a church; one for middle school and one for high school.  The high school group went to the pool, went to the gym, had a fancy pinterest style waffle bar breakfast and played some crazy games. The program team from Washington kept the kids laughing and our speaker Kelsey from Michigan did a great job to connect the material to the kids.  Kids heard about Jesus and there were some really great conversations that happened in cabin time. Going deeper during cabin times was like pay day- It was such a treat to hear kids express their gratitude for Young Life and what a difference it has made in their faith.  In the past years I have seen these guys grow up and they are becoming leaders.  Several guys expressed a desire to help the people back home. They want to be a good example and be able to teach people about God.  Guys want people at home know how much God values each person and that he has a purpose for their life. One young man said he wanted to show people that they had value so he could help the suicide problem back home. It was truly a gift to be able to be in the room.

Snap Shots

There are certain things that I see on a weekly basis that really encourage me. I want to take a quick moment so share so please take some time to imagine the following:

• A working mom and  her toddler who both show up at the high school during lunch (and at basketball games) to meet new kids and encourage the ones she already knows
• A teacher who works at school all day and then comes to club at night to demonstrate to his students that he cares about them and that his relationship with God is the most important thing in his life
• A high school girl who has 5 Young Life mentors who she calls to help support her through a tough time
• A breakfast Bible study with 20 guys where one high school student shares how God just spoke to him through the verses to help him deal with his lifelong battle with anger.  Days later he tells me that things are now going better and that he is able to let go of some things..
• A group of 6 people who meet together weekly to study the Bible and to pray for the ministry and for kids in Sitka and around the state
• A group of 10 women who take time away from their families one night a week to plan a discipleship weekend event for high school girls
• A student who text his leader to ask for a verse that he can share at his grandfather's funeral
• Elders who meet every weekday at 7-8am at McDonald’s to open and study the Bible with a group of young people
• A family who really sacrifices financially to give to the ministry because “that is what God has called them to do.”  They simply respond with smile,, "you can't out give God!"
• 15 guys and 15 girls who wake up an hour early to go have breakfast and study the Bible every Tuesday and Friday morning
• The group of 10 men and women who faithfully cook breakfast and prepare Bible studies every week
• A room of 65 high school students sitting in a room hearing about a God who knows exactly what they are going through and a God who cares deeply about their pain. Most of these kids never go to church.  Before the message we were playing crazy games, and as the message was presented, it looked as if about ⅓ of the students were near  tears.  These kids deal with a lot of pain in their life.
• Adult leaders who give hours every week to kids in order to actively demonstrate God’s love  and demonstrate that every kid is valuable.

Thank you to all who help make these things possible. I hope these the mental images of these things has encouraged you as much as they do me.   If you live in Sitka and are interested in being a part of any of this - let me know. Have a great day.

Winter Blast 2016

We had a great time during Winter Blast!  

42 middle school kids came to Wyld Life Winter Blast along with 54 High School kids! Winter Blast this year consisted of two 20 hour lock-in at a church; one for middle school and one for high school.  The high school group went to the pool, went to the gym, had a fancy pinterest style waffle bar breakfast and played some crazy games. The program team from Washington kept the kids laughing and our speaker Kelsey from Michigan did a great job to connect the material to the kids.  Kids heard about Jesus and there were some really great conversations that happened in cabin time. Going deeper during cabin times was like pay day- It was such a treat to hear kids express their gratitude for Young Life and what a difference it has made in their faith.  In the past years I have seen these guys grow up and they are becoming leaders.  Several guys expressed a desire to help the people back home. They want to be a good example and be able to teach people about God.  Guys want people at home know how much God values each person and that he has a purpose for their life. One young man said he wanted to show people that they had value so he could help the suicide problem back home. It was truly a gift to be able to be in the room.

Here are the guys in my cabin

Our speaker Kelsey did a great job

The high school group