Five airplanes took off from King Ranch, Alaska, on August 2nd and headed for Palmer where we found the Summit Pass closed due to weather. After looking at our maps we decided to head east towards Isabella Pass. This route was a little longer, but the weather was good.
After a beautiful flight we arrived in Fairbanks for a wonderful Salmon Casserole made by Cathy Congdon. Jim and Cathy Congdon, along, with Dave and Caroline Chausse’ put us up for the night and helped us in so many other ways.
August 3rd found us in Fairbanks with good enough weather to head north for Brook’s Range Bible Camp. The flying was low and beautiful and it was great to see how God cleared the way for us. We stopped in the Village of Bettles to pick up some Bibles and then made the quick hop up to Paradise Valley, the location of Brook’s Range Bible Camp.
Dwayne King and Jim Congdon took right off to pick up supplies from a nearby village, and then to pick up kids from the villages of Anatuvik Pass, Allakaket, and Bettles. The first camp was for kids 8 to 12 years old and we had about 20 kids show up! After breaking the ice the kids became our best friends!
We spent the day swimming in the cold Flat Creek, playing Eskimo Kickball, and many other various games with the kids. There were Bible lessons two times a day, and the counselors shared their testimonies every night. Three kids from my cabin came to know the Lord on the third night of camp! It was very exciting. When Youth Camp was done, eight kids had chosen a personal relationship with Christ!
On Thursday, August 7th, we had our transition day. The young kids were flown back to their villages and the older kids, from age 12 to 18 years, were flown back to Paradise Valley. By now, most of the counselors were sick with a cold, and I was experiencing the joys of an ear infection from swimming four days in a row. We were tired, and Satan was ready to attack.
The older kids were not open to even being friends with us! They all wanted to go home 5 minutes after they arrived. This was very discouraging. But we hung in there and God gave us the ability to love these kids.
On August 9th my ear was hurting so badly that Autumn, Dwayne, and I flew out to Fairbanks. After getting weathered into Stevens Village on the Yukon for three hours, we managed to hitch a ride on a Piper Navajo flown by Warbelow Airventures based in Fairbanks. My ear managed the flight ok and I got right into the clinic where they gave me some antibiotics. Autumn and I then went to Pizza Hut, where we finally celebrated our 1-year anniversary over a meat lover’s pizza. This was a welcomed break and it was a joy to be able to spend some time with my lovely wife after being ‘apart’ for a week.
We woke up on Sunday to fog in Fairbanks. However, by late afternoon it was clearing up. We grabbed a cup of coffee with the Rycheners who just moved to Fairbanks to serve with YWAM, and then we took off. Jim joined us once again to help fly the kids back to the village.
We arrived into Brook’s Range Bible Camp on Sunday evening just in time to join the kids for a bonfire! We brought a Mexican friend of Jim’s to camp for this last evening. He played his guitar and shared his testimony and it was great to see how the hearts of these hard teens had changed in the past 24 hours!
The next morning it was time to take the kids back to their village and draw Brook’s Range Bible Camp 2008 to a close. The boy’s counselors had great news for us though! They told us that the night before three of the teen boys accepted Christ! God was so faithful to us as we persevered even through the discouraging days where it seemed like nothing was happening.
Our trip home was beautiful. We arrived in Fairbanks too late in the evening to safely continue. Cathy Congdon has prepared a BBQ moose sandwich tailgate party on the ramp of Fairbanks Airport, and then faithful friends in Fairbanks provided us warm beds and showers. The next morning we flew right over the mountains and back to the Ranch. The sky was wide open and we were privileged to see Mount Denali from the air!
We want to thank you all for you constant prayer support. God has heard your prayers and answered them. We had no airplane problems, no injuries, and no real weather problems! Most importantly, God opened the hearts of these Indian and Eskimo children and all of them heard the Gospel while some came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior!
We hope that you continue to pray for these children, and that you keep in touch with us as I finish up school and we discover where God is leading us. We would cherish your prayers and encouraging words.
Thank you,
CJ
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