Site Spotlight: Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska is home to the largest percentage of American Indians in the United States. With a population of only about 640,000 people, the state is more than twice the size of Texas. Although the majority of the state claims to be Christian, things like teen pregnancy, sexual and physical abuse, alcoholism and drug abuse are at an all-time high. As well as the suicide rate which is two times the national average. People are without hope and don’t know where to turn.
There are 86 Assemblies of God churches in Alaska and our goal is to establish a youth group in every one. Although you will have the opportunity to minister to children and adults, youth is our focus for this trip. We want to see the youth of this generation rise up and bring light to such a spiritually dark place. On this trip, you will go out into the bush and villages and minister to the desperate people of Alaska, sharing the love of Christ.
Missionary Journal
Hello Family and Friends!
It's Friday afternoon on another drizzly day in Wrangell. What a week we've had! Since I last wrote we have finished vacation Bible school with over a hundred kids in attendance over the 5 nights, we've held three sports and games nights for middle and high schoolers, we've cleaned and repaired around the church, delivered home-baked cookies to neighbors in a nursing home, and we've done a mini extreme home makeover for a widow in the church.
VBS was truly marvelous. We had kids coming and going throughout the week, with many showing up throughout the daytime to play and fellowship with our teens. There are a good number of children who just seem to roam the streets of this little fishing town, and it seems they are the ones who love just coming by the church to see who is available to spend time with them. Because so many kids came early each night, the Harbor Light folks started each evening VBS early by inflating their bungy run and a big bouncy toy right inside the little sanctuary! I was SO proud of the way our young adults poured love into the children this week and the church secretary got up after our late dinner last night to tell the team how very much our being in Wrangell at Harbor Light has changed the spirit in the church for both the young children and the teens. Wow! Harbor Light now plans to continue the "Fiesta" every Thursday night so they can continue to share the love of God with the children who attended this week.
VBS has run from 5:30 to 7:30 each night, then we eat a quick dinner and head up to the community covered area to host fun evenings for teens. These have involved a free BBQ, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments, lots of link tag, skits from our team, and live music from a blended team from both churches. Word has gotten out around town and we have more kids attending every night. Our team has blended right into the youth team here in Wrangell, so they will be able to continue building relationships with the kids who come this week long after we return home.
The mini extreme home makeover has been really cool. There is a widow whose husband committed suicide and she and her teenage daughter have been living in a half-completed home for nearly a decade. She serves faithfully in the church here, so when the pastor found out Jim and Jack have construction skills he asked them if we might be able to help her out. All the men on the team spent a day and a half at her house trimming all of the unfinished, leaky windows, they put up a gutter, they added plywood bases to the porch, and they replaced a rotten floor in the inside entryway of the home.
None of us really knew what to expect on our Alaska summer mission trip, but God has done more than we could have hoped for or imagined. We are all so grateful to have been able to come.
Karen Mayfield Fall City, WA.
New Opportunity: Spain
Alex McGregor and I just returned from a fact finding trip to Spain. Arriving in Puerta de Sol, Madrid, we were overwhelmed by the mass of humanity we encountered; all these people, all needing to be reached. Spain is an open field waiting to be touched with God’s spirit, and the friendly and receptive people are ready for it. We spent time with the missionary Scott Smith traveling throughout the country. He introduced us to an exciting ministry called Kilometer Zero, run by missionary Jacob Bock, for the last 19 years. Their main emphasis is on street evangelism, meeting in the town square of Madrid seven nights a week, preaching and witnessing from a wooden crate. We also met with missionaries in northern Spain, who showed us opportunities for church plants. They are ready to get started, but are just waiting for someone to come and give them a hand. We at Sun City Missions, see this as a great opportunity. We would love to work with a few select teams this summer. Give us a call and let’s talk.
Ken Leger, Director of Training
