June 27, 2014 Travel Day

Leaving McGrath after such an awesome week is very hard. We had such a great time with the kids, and many of the faith family at McGrath Community Church. The church is so awesome.

We got all checked in at the airport, and several of the team took the McGrath Museum tour. While some waited at the airport we found out that the scheduled flight out of Anchorage had NO ONE on it but the pilots and the flight attendant! God showed favor to us because usually when this happens they cancel the flight! Thank you Father!

After getting settled back in at the Casey's, we headed out to dinner at the Sourdough Mining Company and souvenir shopping at the Alaska Wild Berry Shop! Saw some very "unusual" t-shirts with strange saying! You have to have been there.

Everyone really wanted to see a moose in the wild while we were in McGrath. Many of the people told us stories about moose walking down the street and coming into their backyards, but we never saw one. We had even hoped to see one as traveled down the Kuskokwim River on our fishing trip this week...BUT not one sighting...UNTIL...our drive after dinner up to Flat Top. Right there on the side of the road...a mama and her 2 calves! Imagine that, having to wait until we got in town to see moose!

 

Big day tomorrow! We are headed out for some downtime as we travel by train from Anchorage to Seward. This is a gorgeous ride through some of the most beautiful country in Alaska. The chances of seeing moose, eagles, and possibly a bear are very good. After arriving at Seward we will board a boat for a cruise around Resurrection Bay where last year we saw several hump back whales, and several Orca whales that came right up to the boat!

After getting back to Anchorage later Saturday night we will head to the airport for a very early flight home! Check back early next week for some closing thoughts from a great trip to Alaska. Thanks for all the prayers that you all have offered up for us, they were definitely felt all week!

June 26, 2014 VBS Fun Day

On Thursday we held the first annual VBS Fun Day. We had plans to have a big scavenger hunt but the weather was not co-operating with us. But, the kids came and we huddled together and came up with Plan B! The team has had to make some adjustments to the plans this week, but all went very well.

We started Fun Day by practicing our songs for the VBS closing program. The kids learned 3 brand new songs this week, and Power was their favorite! We had a fun time playing "Bust The Balloon", "Musical Chairs", "Dead Horse", "The Cookie Game", and Simon Says".

 

 

We had a blast playing games, and really worked up an appetite. Pastor Wayne, I mean Chef Wayne, grilled some awesome hot dawgs for the kids and their parents. Talk about whoofing down some dawgs! These kids did a number on the hot dawgs! Even Toby, Chef Wayne's chocolate lab, got to enjoy a good hot dawg!

We closed the day with the kids program. We had about 20 parents join us for dinner and the program.The kids shared the songs they learned this week. WOW, what an awesome job they did tonight, and all week. After the songs, I had a chance to share the Gospel by briefly reviewing what the kids had learned during the Bible story time.

As always, it seems about the time you really get going the week comes to a close. This was a great group of kids and we had a chance to really connect with many of them during the week. The church faith family did an awesome job as always in taking care of us. Thanks to everyone that made this week a huge success for the Kingdom! Looking forward to 2015!

 

 

June 25, 2014 VBS Day 4

"A friend loves at all times. He is there when trouble comes." Proverbs 17:7  (NIrV)

Is there anyone that you can call a real "friend"? Someone that would be at your side no matter what you were going through? We had an awesome last day of VBS. And what better way to end it than talking about the best friend we can have...Jesus! We talked about the difference between "real" friends and "pretend" friends, and which one we could always count on. And that Jesus made a promise to never leave us or desert us. The Bible story was about the four friends that took their friend to Jesus, and because they could not get in through the door they let him down through the roof! And Jesus healed him.

We wrapped up the lesson by walking through the plan of salvation. It was amazing how attentive they were and I could see in many of the eyes God doing a big time work. Often times you do VBS, teach the songs and discuss a Bible story, then present the plan of salvation. As those little eyes stare back at you you are thinking, is any of this getting through? As only God can do, He showed us that many of them do get it. After VBS was over and we were waiting for two of the girls' parents to come get them, both of them individually made the comment that wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts because they did not want to go to that place where they would never see God again. But, they were not sure if they wanted to talk to us about it. Please be in prayer that as we have our VBS Fun Day Thursday that we get an opportunity to talk to these two girls.

Thursday we are having our first annual VBS Fun day. We have invited all the kids and their parents back for an afternoon of fun, games and a hot dog cookout. As part of the day we are going to have a big scavenger hunt where the kids will be looking for all kinds of neat things around the church grounds. We will close the day with the kids' VBS program and a short message from the team. I will close our time with a brief word about what we have talked about this week.

We have put a lot of neat stuff in their VBS bags, including a Bible, children worship CD and a VBS certificate. We are hoping that the kids continue to seek their place in God's story long after we are gone! And maybe, just maybe, the parents will pick these up also.

I need big time prayer for my friend Jeremiah. He is the young man that God "had" me meet this week. He did not come by today as he said he would, but I am praying I get to see him before I leave. I have some information for him, and a couple of people that can help him get sober and meet Jesus!

What an amazing week! It goes by so fast, and you think what more could we have done. But many seeds have been planted and now we must trust God to water them!
 
 

 

June 24, 2014 VBS Day 3

"When you know WHO you are, you know HOW to live!" One of the most profound statements Jesus made is found in John 14:6, "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE!" From a distance, like one trying to find themselves in God's Story, it might seem like Jesus is being egotistical. Jesus says I am "it"! But as we learned today in the Bible lesson, Jesus was the ONLY One who could be it! And just like being "it" in the game of freeze tag (which the kids here love to play), Jesus is trying to tag each of us to be a part of His Story, the story of salvation.

The kids were all fired up today and ready for Day 3. They have done a great job learning new VBS songs this year, but today they blew it out of the water. The song we learned today was "Power"; I want the POWER of Your Holy Spirit livin' in me, Wanna tell the world about the Truth that set me free, Gonna be a witness to my sista and my brotha, Witness from one end of the earth to the other, I want the POWER!

 

The Bible lesson for the day was centered around John 3:16 and John 14:6. The older kids really connected with the lesson, and had some very interesting questions. One little girl raised her hand at the end before prayer and asked, "Why did they have to kill Jesus?" What a great question! This question gave us the opportunity to talk more about the work that Jesus did on the cross. The younger kids (ages 3-5) are always the interesting group...one little girl starting talking about the gifts she wanted and got for her birthday, which opened the door to talk about the gift Jesus gave to us.

Remember my friend Jeremiah from my God meeting yesterday? Well, he walked by the church as we were outside playing with the kids after the end of VBS. He yelled out my name and I motioned him to come over. I met him in the driveway of the church and we talked for a few minutes. He said that he thought a lot about what we talked about on Tuesday. He told me that he had bought a bottle of liquor on Tuesday, but instead of drinking it he gave it to his friends. I was very excited and gave him a big huge! He started to walk off and I asked if I would see him Wednesday...he gave me the thumbs up. Praying I can get some time with him to see how best to help him. Please continue to pray for the timing and right words to say.

We ended the day with a great meal of moose ribs, potato salad and green salad at the home of John and Larae. WOW...good eats! John is a wealth of information, as well as good stories! We are hoping that the bear trap he set earlier in the week produced a bear...he felt pretty good about the location of trap!

 

June 23, 2013 VBS Day 2

WOW...what a day today in VBS! We had 33 kids join us today. We started to get the kids ready for music and they just kept coming! God is so good and moving in the hearts of the kids in McGrath. We were talking with one of the ladies that works in the school and she said that was almost all of the kids in K - 6 grade! She was pretty blown away by who all came!

Today's Bible story was from Numbers 22-23, Balaam and his donkey. The kids kept telling me a donkey could not talk...until they met "Donkey", that is what we named Balaam's donkey. We had a good time with the story and the kids learned that God wants us to "listen" to Him, and if we don't He might even use a donkey to get our attention!

Wednesday is a BIG day this week in VBS. We are going to present the salvation message to the kids. For this we made a decision to rotate the younger kids (ages 3-5) and the older kids (6-13) to Bible Story / Games so we can focus on them understanding the message. The theme this week has been "Finding Your Place In God's Story". That place is found in the cross and what Jesus did on the cross! We will tie Day 1, the story of Adam and Eve and their SIN to God to providing a way back to Him and to be forgiven of our sin. This is always a hard lesson to teach to these age groups, so please be in prayer for us.

We have really been amazed at how good these kids have been. VBS can get loud and chaotic at times, but this is a great bunch of kids!

One of our "new" events this week was to sponsor an adult movie night at the church. We really had no idea who might attend. We had 9 local people attend, including one young man who comes to McGrath every other week and does work for FAA.  Again, God moves and shows His presence. The movie we showed was "Unconditional".

But I have saved the most incredible part of this day. After VBS Leah, my daughter, asked me if I had my iPod charger cord. I said no, but I can go back to the house to get it. She no, that's Ok I will charge it tonight. I told her, "No, I will go get it!" On the way to the house I passed a young man and elderly woman walking towards me. I did not know either of them. The young man walked by and we spoke. The elderly lady walked by and stopped, looked at the t-shirt I had on (it said, "Need God?"), and pointed at the "Need God". She said, "Need God all the time!" Then she walked closer and hugged me. The young man turned around and came back and asked me my name. I told him and a conversation started about God. I asked him if he needed God and he said that he had God, but he falls off the wagon a lot,and pointed to the bag he was carrying. There was a weak smell of alcohol on his breath, but he was not drunk. He talked to me about the Roman Orthodox Christians, and what he understood they believed. I them asked him if he had ever accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He said that he loved Jesus. And then he started to talk about hell and how he believed God would never let anyone burn in hell, just burn the body! Open door!!! I shared a little about the fact that Hell was a "real place" and Heaven was a "real place", and that we had a choice that determines where we went after we die. I asked him if was to die today does he know where he would go....He answered very quickly, to Hell! I shared how special he was to God and how much God loved him, loved him so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for him. I told that I loved him and was here to share that with him. I told him that I did not want him to go to Hell, but to Heaven. He said he needed to get his life straight and asked if I lived here. I told him no, but I would be here until Friday for him to come and let's talk. He said he would come to the church or the house I am staying. Then I was able to pray with him right there in middle of the street! It was AWESOME!

Please be praying that this young man, Jeremiah, would feel God working in his heart and meet with me. This was "no chance meeting". "So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way."  John 4:3-4  (NLT)

Pray that I will be given the right words to say to Jeremiah to lead him to Christ!

What a day...it is good to dwell in the presence of the Lord!

Sunday June 22, 2014 VBS Day 1

What a gorgeous day in the bush of Alaska! You should be here...fresh, crisp, cool air and the beauty of the mountains surrounding the village of McGrath, Alaska. God does great work in ALL He does. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8

WOW...what an awesome day 1 of VBS. The kids came in ready to get started. One little girl asked me before we even got started, "When are we going to have snacks!" Got to love it!

 

It was so good to see so many new faces this year. We had 8 kids that had never been to a VBS at this church! For the first day we had 25 kids! What an incredible start to the week! We had a great kick-off day as we started a great Scavenger Hunt to "Find Our Place In God's Story!"

To end the day we had an invitation to join some local fisherman (Tony and Tim) on a night, well, according to our time of the day, fishing trip. These guys had been talking about a sweet little fishing spot they had found down river...so we were very excited.

After a beautiful boat ride down the river we pulled into the spot they had fished the past week. It did not take long for us to catch a couple of She Fish. I am not sure how they knew it was a "she" and not a "he"...lol! That is the type of fish we caught, very popular on this river!

 

The biggest laugh we got was when Leah caught her fish...we have never seen so much excitement...don't let the smile on her face in this picture fool you...the video would have been priceless! She almost knock Tony out of the boat as she reeled the fish in....them it fell off the hook in the boat and started flopping around, and Leah had nowhere to run to get away from it. She almost knocked Melynda out of the boat.

Then a beautiful midnight ride back home....what an amazing day!

Saturday June 21, 2014 Getting ready for VBS

Countdown to VBS has begun! 24 hours and lots of kids will be coming to the McGrath Community Church and "Finding Their Place In God's Story". We have a very exciting week planned. We talked to a lot of kids today and they are excited about coming.

Today their was a "Fun Day In The Park" planned by one of the local vendors. Many families gathered in the park for an afternoon of fun, games and food. We had the opportunity to see many of the kids who have come to VBS in the past, and met some new kids that have never been before.

Dude, we are supposed to do what with this?

You pick it up! No, YOU pick it up!

Do we really look like rabbits? I cannot believe I am doing this!

So far I have kept the ladies in line! They went shopping this morning. Jimmy, Melynda said to not worry, she only bought snacks!

Tonight was pizza night for the youth at the Funk's house. This has become a weekly treat for the youth to gather, hang out and eat homemade pizza. It was a good time to spend some time with the kids.

We will be leading the service at the McGrath Community Church Sunday morning at 11am. We are very excited about sharing in worship and the Word with this faith family. Please be in prayer for us. We are praying the Father will speak to many hearts through His Word.

 

Friday June 20, 2014

Greetings from McGrath, Alaska! What a beautiful day it has been.

We had a nice flight from Anchorage this morning. However, due to the clouds we did not get to see much of the mountains. While we were waiting on our luggage to be unloaded Pastor Wayne said it had been raining for several days, but right before we landed the sun came out. But...the weather is nowhere near the heat it was last year! We tease Christie that last year the Lord was having a good laugh on her because she always said, "I will not go where it is HOT!" When we got off the plane in McGrath it was 93 degrees...the hottest it had been in 150 years! So I think Christie and the Father have reconciled the issue!

We were met by several of the church folks at the airport, well, we thought they were there to pick us up. Ray Collins was headed to Anchorage for some medical procedures (Sally Collins is already in Anchorage); Grant and Lenna Funk (who we are staying with this week) were headed to Anchorage to be with their son and daughter-in-law who was in the early stages of labor. I asked Pastor Wayne had we scared everyone off thinking we were bringing the heat again!

We all got settled in at our host homes and headed back to the church to get all set up for VBS. All the decorations were put up, did a run through on the songs were are going to teach the kids this years; and discussed the VBS schedule. We all set and excited about this week!

We had a special treat for dinner. There was a Bar-B-Q for the church and we got to see many of the folks we had met on previous trips. Lots of new stories! Met a lot of the kids at the BBQ and they are all excited about VBS!

Tomorrow we will hang out with the people and do some visiting to invite the kids. Late in the afternoon we will meet in the park for a big pot luck dinner. We will meet after dinner to finalize any VBS last minute details!

Good night from the Last Frontier...it is not like you see on TV...much better in person!

Mike

Thursday June 19, 2014 Long Day - Good Night

After a very long flight from Dallas to Anchorage we finally arrived and got settled in at the Casey (Jerry and Jan). What a beautiful view coming into Anchorage!

 

 We grabbed a bit to eat and did all our shopping for VBS snacks and of course more munchies! We are all ready to get into McGrath and get rolling. We all are looking forward to a great work of the Lord this week!

Good night from the Last Frontier - Alaska! You all need to plan to come!

Thursday June 19, 2014. A Little Delay To Start The Day

Well, we were all on time to the airport, but apparently the aircraft mechanic did not do his thing last night....so we did not leave as scheduled! There was a mad dash to the ticket counter to get rebooked! Needless to say, most everyone had tight connections in Dallas.

When I finally got to the ticket counter the young agent had dealt with a lot of "stressed" customers, but had handled them very well. But when he looked at our flights he had to call in the calvary! We could get to Seattle but not to Anchorage...all flights, all airlines were booked! Wow, I cant wait to see why everyone is headed to Anchorage...must have heard the Momentum VBS team was headed there!

Thanks to Mr Jeff Blum we got a connection and now we are booked direct from Dallas to Anchorage, just getting there a little later. God is so good and ALWAYS in control.

Sidenote: Leah told Christie that if she pushed certain buttons on the candy machine money would start falling out. Well she tried it and nothing happened..duh! A short time later a guy walked up to the same machine and just pushed some buttons...guess what...money started coming out! Leah started laughing so hard she started to cry! Christie claimed that was her money! I will pray with her when we get on the plane! :)