Alaska: Anchorage, Aniak, and Arrival in Fairbanks

Aniak, Alaska

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I'm in Alaska again this summer before I head to graduate school at University of Hawaii starting in July. I will be working at the same camp where I worked last summer, Bingle Camp, but on the way to Fairbanks I stopped to visit some missionaries who work with a remote Native Alaskan tribe in Aniak, Alaska. There are still 200+ unreached villages in the northern Alaska and Canadian Yukon areas. Right now I'm investigating the possiblity of working and living in one of these unreached communities as a bivocational ministry and a way to open the door for other missionaries to enter the community.

"Isn't Alaska cold?" you say? Yep, during the winter it can get really cold but personal comfort is no excuse to stifle the spread of the Gospel. I'm open to wherever God leads me so please pray that I would be attentive to His voice and follow Him.

Here is a quick update on my summer adventures thus far:

San Diego to Anchorage

     I packed up my things on Sunday afternoon and on Monday morning (5/16/2011) I headed to the San Diego airport. A couple of plane changes later, I found myself in Anchorage, Alaska. I spent the night with some friends who graduated from SDCC so it was nice to be able to visit and catch up with them. Tuesday morning I was back at the airport in Anchorage, ready to fly to Aniak.

Anchorage to Aniak

     Aniak is a remote village in Alaska. There are no roads that go there, so the only way to Aniak is to fly or take a boat on the river during the few summer months. Aniak is primarily a Native Alaskan community, with a very small percentage of Christians. There are two missionary families who are working to build the small church there and share the Gospel with the people of Aniak. I met one of the missionary families, the Zimmermans, while they were at the missions conference at my school (San Diego Christian College) during this past February. 

     Aniak is probably the smallest airport that I have flown into. Ever. It's also probably the smallest town that I have been to. Ever. There are a whole 3 stop signs in the town (no stoplights though). All of the roads are gravel and dirt and there is one store in the town. The prices in the store are incredibly high because all of the goods must be flown into town.

     The Zimmermans have been in Aniak for 5 years now. They live in a small house nestled in between a few other houses at the end of one of the gravel roads. If you walk into the family room, you will see a the skin of a black bear hanging from the wall. Mr. Zimmerman shot the bear and they ate it last winter. Yep, definitely Alaskan. Other than that though, the Zimmermans are really just a normal people living out what every Christian is called to do: obey Christ and share the Gospel. I stayed with the Zimmermans Tuesday through Thursday of this week and it was neat to see firsthand what everyday life is like for missionaries in a remote Native Alaskan village.

     Before I left for Alaska, I had asked some of you to pray because the river in Aniak was still frozen and the water level was extrememly high so they were worried about flooding. The ice on the river two villages upstream broke and flooded the villages and there was a possiblity that the river would break while I was in Aniak. God answers prayer. The ice on the river broke and cleared completely on Monday night and somehow the water had flowed out from under the ice so there was no flooding. Praise God!!! Let me know if you want to hear any other stories about Aniak. The attached picture is of the river in Aniak.

Aniak to Fairbanks

     Today I flew from Aniak to Fairbanks. The camp I will be working with doesn't start until the beginning of June, so until then I will be helping with office work and registration for the camp. Two of my friends from last summer met me at the airport and we went out to ice cream afterward. It's nice to be back again. Once camp starts, I will be helping with arts and crafts and doing photography. I'm stoked.

Thanks for taking the time to read this update and please continue to keep me in your prayers. Please pray:

     - For the Zimmerman family as they continue to be a light for God in Aniak.

     - For the ministry of Bingle Camp.

     - That I would love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love others (Matthew 22:37-39).

"You do not test the resources of God till you try the impossible." --F.B. Meyer