Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 29

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:5-9 (NLT)

Jesus said I am the BREAD LIFE!We are not talking about a big ole peanut butter and jelly sandwich that satisfies us for a few hours, we are talking about the bread that will satisfy every hunger in life that we have. And at the last meal Jesus had with His closest friends He went further and told that the "bread" would represent His body...and He broke it, just like His body would be broken in a few hours. Broken for you and I...to make the only way for us to come back to God and be right before Him! This "bread" will NEVER mold...it will NEVER get stale...it will NEVER be out of date! It is eternal bread! GOT BREAD???

 We had another awesome group of young kiddos today! We had two new kid, both have never been to VBS before. I was talking to one of the parents and they asked how many had come this week and I said 32. He said that was practically the whole K-6 grade at the school! WOW!

Ms Lynett has done a great job with the 4, 5 and 6 year old. I had the older kids outside yesterday and we heard them having a blast! I think she likes being here! :) We shared the plan of salvation with the older kids on Monday, and tied Jesus being the Bread Of Life...the one thing that would satisfy them completely. It is hard to know if they really understand this. As you talk you can hear them give you the correct answers about sin, Jesus dieing on the cross, etc., but the look on these faces shows it just doesn't get to the heart. A lot of this comes from the culture and the fact they have heard all the stories year after year. The "words" and stories are familiar to them...the cross just does not register. But here is the greatest assurance that we have..."It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it." Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)

One of the things that I have seen this year is we have had more one-on-one time with the kids. The biggest impact this year is having Haley and Jay with us. These kids are so used to seeing young adults and older adults coming, so having these young people on this trip has made a big impact. Haley and Jay have really connected with the "older" kids and that has been huge. I wish I could keep them up here with Christie and I the rest of the summer!


Last night our good friends John and La Rae Grey brought us dinner at the church. With these guys you can expect a great meal...and it WILL BE Alaskan tradition. Last night we had Salmon Chowder, salad, and for dessert Rice Pudding and Rhubarb/Blueberry Crumble. Now I must confess, I am not a big salmon fan...but this chowder was the best I have ever tasted. Several bowls were consumed is all I will say! As always the conversations with these guys is always very interesting and informative!

Tuesday is the last VBS day and the theme will be "Jesus Gives Living Water". We are praying for a big day. Wednesday we will have a big FUN DAY. The kids are going to help Ms Kellie plant the school garden, we will have lots of games, face painting, and a hot dog cookout. After the cookout the kids will have their closing program where they will sing the songs from the week and we will give a short summary of the week and what the kids have learned. I have talked to most of the parents about this FUN DAY and how we really want them to come and enjoy it with their kids. This is the second year we have done this. We had a very good parent turnout last year. The closing program is small window we have to present the Gospel to them. Please be in much prayer for this day, and for the kids as we close VBS! 

Also, please continue to pray for Christie and I as we will be in the village until the end of August. i am looking forward to doing VBS follow-up after VBS is over, IN PERSON!

Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 28

"Oh Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." Psalm 104:24

I was sitting at my desk early this morning praying and going over my message for today when I saw the high grass moving behind the wood shed. I could not see anything so I went out on the porch. As I did I heard a crunching sound. As I got to where I could see behind the wood shed...there it was...

Guess he wanted me to fire up the ole grill for him!







We had a wonderful service this morning. It was a gorgeous day and the presence of the Lord was in the place. The folks love when we come because we sing praise and worship songs. This morning the church sounded so sweet as we sang "Open The Eyes Of My Heart", "Cornerstone", and "In Christ Alone"! Haley Polk did was an awesome job with the special music. She sang "Still Believe" by Kim Walker Smith. WOW, it was hard to follow her with my message! We could have said amen and gone home!

Our team has had some good time together as we have shared devotions, made adjustments to the VBS activities, and walked through the Beatitudes at night. I love these guys and the Father knew exactly what He was doing when He put this team together.

"I am the Good Shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me everything I need. He lets me lie down in fields of green grass. He leads me beside quiet waters. He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths for the honor of his name. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. You are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff comfort me...." John 10:14, Psalm 23:1-4

Day 2 was an amazing day. The team made some adjustments to a few things and it made a huge difference. The theme for today was "Jesus Is The Good Shepherd". 

Our special friends showed up today to tell the the story. We did not have a sheep puppet so we took "Dallas", wrapped him in paper towels and cotton balls...(not like we could run down to Hobby Lobby to get costume stuff! :) It was hilarious. The cotton balls kept falling off when he talked and the kids went nuts! The story was "The Little Boy Who Cried Wool!"

The craft was decorating a sheep and the snack was making editable sheep. I need to add this disclaimer: "NO SHEEP OR OTHER ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN ANY WAY IN THIS SNACK! :) 

 Today was an awesome day and we had a very good group of kids. We are really glad that several older kids came. They were a great help with the younger kids at craft time. They also hung around after VBS for an hour talking with Haley and Jay. This was very encouraging to me because last year these particular girls really did not engage during VBS! God is so good! 

Dinner tonight was at Ray and Sally Collins' home. Ray and Sally are very special friends to us. They are the original founders of the church many, many years ago. Ray came to McGrath as a Wycliffe Bible Translator. He was planning to translate the Bible into the Athabascan language. When he got to McGrath and started his work, he found that the only people who spoke the language were the older Native Americans. All the younger people and children spoke English. He decided it was not a wise investment of money to continue so he started the church plant now known as McGrath Community Church.

Anyway, about dinner. When you hear the word "potluck" it does not mean you get a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Potluck in McGrath means incredible dishes with moose, bear, salmon, whitefish and all the trimmings. And tonight was no exception...except tonight was the best potluck I have had! And desserts...well, I cannot mention those because you will start drooling and I do not want you to get it all over your keyboard! You should have been here. Ms. Lynett is blaming me because she says the food is so incredible that she has to taste it all and when she gets home she will have to eat celery and lettuce to well, enough said! hahaha

Monday's theme is "Jesus Is The Bread Of Life". We will talk about salvation and the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Please be in prayer that the words shared tomorrow will plant seeds in the hearts of the kids!

God is still doing amazing things in VBS and in the hearts of this team! Thanks for praying and supporting us!

 

Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 27

 

Day 1 of VBS was awesome! The kids started coming in early and were ready for an exciting time. We saw lots of kids from last year, and had a few ones. Were really excited to have many older kids, some who did not come last year.

We surprised the kids by starting our music time off with the hit song from last year's VBS "Power"! They got really cranked up and remembered all the motions. One of the kids mom told me that she heard that song so many times after we left that she found herself singing it! The power of a simple song!

We brought along some "new friends" this year...well,,.sort of ...our puppets were a big hit. The kids loved them. We have a skit planned for each day using the puppets to tell a story that goes along with the theme for the day. Day 1 was Jesus Is The Light Of The World.

Also this year, we split the Bible story time into 2 parts. A summary of the theme and story for the day and then split the kids up (younger and older) and go into small group time. The hope is to help the kids better understand the day's message and provide more one-on-one time. We need to "fine tune" the younger kids time to help accommodate their desire to "help Ms Lynett" teach the lesson. We may rename this small group "Wiggle Time"! I think you who have done VBS or taught kids will understand! :)

The day was an incredible day! We are excited about the rest of the week! God is showing up in incredible ways. Not only in VBS but in the hearts of this team. These guys are awesome.

Please be in prayer for the service Sunday. Our team is leading the service, and I will be sharing a message called, "Do You Believe". A challenge to the church to make a difference in this village! God is Good!

Day 2 theme - Jesus Is The Good Shepherd

Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 26

5:30 am call to PenAir to check on flight to McGrath resulted in a "all systems go" response! That was good news. As I was reading Psalm 41 before we packed up I came to verses 11-12, "By this I know that You delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But You have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in Your presence forever."

As we started to leave the Interact Ministry campus for Anchorage, we gathered together and I shared these verses with our team...God has some big work for us to do and the enemy WILL NOT stop it!

Our drive to Anchorage started out with a little excitement before we even got off the campus. I looked down the road as we turned out of the drive and we saw, yes we did, a moose about 50 yards away walking down the road. I have never seen Lynette move so fast to get out of the car to take a picture! You would have thought she was going to run to Anchorage! Of course the moose sensed we were "tourists", and stopped, turned to face the van and we got some good pictures. Everyone was pumped up! But it got better. About a half mile we went into a curve and we looked to the left and there was another moose, just eating breakfast. He was no more than 25 feet from the van. "Oh, more tourists!" He also raises his head and turns toward the van, breakfast hanging all out of his mouth and just stares at us! Amazing animals.

Arrived at the airport and all was still a go for the flight to McGrath! Enemy, take that in the name of Jesus! The flight was very good. As we got closer to McGrath, you could see the smoke from the fires burning, and even smell it. They estimate more than 250 fires burning in Alaska right now. Most of these fires are lightning related. The town of Aniak, which is located about 290 miles southwest of McGrath, was evacuated today. We spoke to some other missionaries behind us at the airport who were headed to Aniak to build a house! At the current time there is no fire threatening McGrath. Please pray for the people of Alaska and the firefighters who have come from as far as Pennsylvania to help fight these fires.

We were met by several of our friends at the McGrath airport. It was so good to see them. After our warm welcome, we packed everyone up and headed to the host homes to get settled. Lynett Smith and Haley Polk are staying with Ray and Sally Collins (and will get some of Ray's most delicious blueberry oatmeal). I have to admit I am jealous! Melynda and Jay Cowan went to Josh and Kellie Peirce's home.

The balance of the afternoon was spent decorating the church (race theme, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith..." 2 Timothy 4:7-8b), getting our crafts setup for day 1, and going visiting kids in the village. We saw lots of the kids and they are all excited. I met one mom whose son has a birthday tomorrow that ends at 12:30, "just in time for VBS", she said. And she said that she is going to invite all the kids at the party to go to VBS! God is up to some good stuff! Keep praying!

Very good day! I am so glad to be ministering with this team. We had all our stuff at the church done and VBS day 1 prepared in record time. Melynda, Lynett, Haley and Jay, you guys are awesome! We are all pumped about this work!  

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 25

"do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the PEACE of God, which surpasses ALL understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

How so true this has been today. Our team arrived at the airport this morning to find our flight to McGrath was canceled. Not before we got there, but as we brought all our bags to the checkout counter! Reason...forest fires along the flight pattern. We were booked on the 9:30am flight Friday.

We gathered all our baggage and moved to the side...circled up and went to the Father and put this in His hands! Really all we could do. So proud of the team...not rattled the least?

While this was a pretty good attempt by the enemy, it was pretty lame! The real good attempt to distract us came with where we would stay tonight. The Casey's, where we stay did Inot have any room tonight. Pretty good attempt...but not real solid attempt by him. I got in touch with my contact at Interact Ministries in Palmer, where we stayed my first year up here. And the Father is so awesome and good! They had a place in the lodge building! Take that!

Called Jane Casey and worked out being able to use their van to drive up (about an hour drive). Thanks so much Jane. You are awesome!

So, the Father is so gracious, but what is He up to. There is always a reason to all He does,, even if  doesn't make sense tous. After a few hours, there was a knock on the door and it was Steve Horsman, the director of the center. We had an awesome conversation. He talked a lot about sharing with the natives. I explained my heart for the opportunity Christie and I have this summer. He talked a lot about how to reach the natives in the village. I was so glad I had this opportunity to spend time with Steve! And my Father knew I needed to hear what Steve had to share! Never doubt the ways the Father orchestrates plans to put us where we need to be!

Tomorrow we WILL BE headed to McGrath!

Keep praying guys
Melynda, Lynette, Haley, Jay and Mike

Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - June 24

The team left Wednesday morning and all arrived safely! But not without the enemy raising his ugly head AGAIN! When I checked in at the airport this morning I was told that I have a ticket coming back from Anchorage on September 3rd, but no ticket to Anchorage. After spending 30 minutes on the phone with American, it appeared that when they changed my return from July 4 to September 3rd they blocked out my flight to Anchorage. They got it all fixed. Before the Montgomery team got to Dallas I got a text from one of the team leaving from Atlanta saying she had been up all night with a virus! She said she told the enemy that he WAS NOT going to stop this work...and very shortly after that she started to feel much better. As if that was not enough, as the Montgomery team was taxing onto the runway in Dallas, the plane stopped for about 15 minutes...the pilot came on the intercom and said they heard a noise in the cargo compartment and was going back to the terminal to have it checked out. After an hour or so at the gate, we were cleared for take-off!

Both teams had good flights and we are all settled in for a good night's rest. We leave Thursday at 12:45 for McGrath.

In the previous years I have been very excited about this mission trip. But some reason, since early in the planning of this trip I have had a extra good feeling about this year. And with all the "FAILED ATTEMPTS" by the enemy, it appears that the Father is up to some really awesome stuff this year. We really appreciate your prayers for our team.

With Great Expectations
Melynda, Lynett, Haley, Jay & Mike