Time to Finish Strong!

Another week is coming to a close. This week, we have been in Petersburg, which is definitely the prettiest place we have been. We have been doing VBS at FBC Petersburg all week, and it went quite well. I got to teach 5 & 6 graders, Turner did her thing with the Crafts, Jake taught the younger kids, and Aaron did Recreation. Turner and I stayed with a young couple, Jim and Louise, and their two kids, Henry and Wyatt. We were pretty excited to get to stay with some young folks...not that staying with older people is bad...it's just nice to have some variety. So back to VBS...it was great. We only had about 12 kids total all week, but it's not always about the numbers! We started at 9 in the morning and did the whole schedule like we usually do. Me and my host mom did Bible Study together and I got the distinguished role of dressing up as Simon Peter the whole week and telling the Bible story. By the end of the week, I had a nice Crayola Marker Beard going on. I think I can now say I have done almost everything there is to do in ministry. Anyway, my favorite day of most weeks is Wednesday, because it's the day we get to share the plan of salvation. So this past Wednesday, (minus the Peter getup, because I wanted to actually be taken seriously), I got to do just that. One of the guys was really curious and asked tons of questions after I had told them the story of Jesus. That in itself was pretty exciting to me. I also found out that he didn't really go to church, so it really seemed like this was the first time he had heard much at all about Jesus. After Bible study I pulled Aaron aside and asked him to talk to this guy, because I felt like he would have rather talked to another male. So Aaron got to talk to him for a while after VBS was over that day, and lo and behold, the boy asked Jesus into his life! That was so exciting! It is always a priviledge to get to see someone come to know Jesus as their Savior. I am so excited that God has given us that priviledge several times this summer. Another one of my favorite moments of the week was on Saturday with the pastor and his wife. They are both around 78, but you wouldn't know it by the way they act. The pastor went out to recreation everyday and played harder than the kids. Anyway, they fed us lunch everyday, and after we ate Saturday, the pastor wanted us to have a prayer time. He told us that we could pray however we wanted to...if we wanted to all pray out loud at the same time, we could, if we wanted to pray several times we could...whatever God led us to do. He asked us all about specific things that we wanted to be prayed for and we all gave him our special requests. We then got to praying, and it was one of the most God-filled times of prayer that I've ever been in. We just prayed what was on our hearts and praised God.

A really awesome thing that we got to do this week was go out on a boat tour to a glacier. The people that Jake and Aaron were staying with run the buisiness and usually charge $300 for one of these tours. They were nice enough to do it for us for free! So we went out on this boat and glided through bright blue icebergs that were 3 times as big as the boat. We actually had to go through a lot of the really small ones and other little chunks of ice. We got really close to the glacier too. It was absolutely the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. I hate that I can't describe it better, but here are a few pictures.

So Saturday night, well more like early Sunday morning, we got on our last ferry ride of the summer. We headed back to Juneau and got back at 8pm tonight (Sunday). We are doing VBS this week at Glacier Valley Baptist Church. We are all 4 staying together at a woman's house, well more like MANSION! This house is awesome. I feel like I am cheating by getting to stay here. Turner and I have a king size bed, our own bathroom with a jacuzzi style bathtub, and a shower so massive I could practically run laps in it. There's also a pool table and a fooseball table. It's ridiculous. We are very, very thankful for it.

We will be staying at this church for our last 2 weeks. We aren't sure what's going on the 2nd week though. It's so strange to think that this is almost over. It's very bittersweet. I miss so much from home, but I'm going to miss Alaska and my teammates so much when I'm gone. It doesn't even seem like it has been that long. All I know is that God has richly blessed our time here and has turned our meager service into much, much more. I know that what has happened this summer is so much bigger than me, and that God has worked so many miracles. I feel honored that he let me be a part of this.

I thank you for the prayers that I know are still going up. Please continue to pray for:
-VBS at Glacier Valley Baptist Church
-Energy, endurance, patience
-Finishing strong!
-That all of my fellow missionaries will finish their missions strong and will have safe travels back home.
-VBS at my home church this week.

He Continues to Amaze

I'm just going to cut to the chase...God is amazing. I'm in Sitka this week and boy, has God blessed this VBS. We have been doing Bible School at night this week. Our schedule has been inflatables for a while, family dinner, Worship Rally with all the VBS songs, crafts, Bible Study, and Recreation. About those inflatables...they are amazing. I sure do hate putting them up and taking them down, but God uses those in awesome ways to draw kids in. The really extra super cool thing is that they draw kids in that don't go to church. I am always incredibly excited to have unchurched kids come. So the first night after inflatables, we had these 6 middle school boys. They sat against the wall waiting for dinner and asked me, "What religion is this?" I answered to them, "This is Christianity." Then one of the boys said, "Well I'm Catholic and so are 3 more of us. The other two are Muslims." Man, I got excited then! I told Jake about them and he went and sat with them during dinner and struck up a conversation about Jesus. He told them all about how you don't have to do anything to have a relationship with Jesus and to get to Heaven. You just have to believe and have faith. They were so interested in that. They were amazed that you don't have to work to be saved or do a bunch of stuff, like they had been taught by their religions. Jake and the rest of us were really pumped about that conversation. Unfortunately, they left after dinner. The same thing happened the next night. They came for the inflatables and dinner, then bolted. Well we had definitely been noticing this and we were praying that they would at least stay for part of the VBS. Well with God being awesome and everything, that happened last night. Much to our excitement, all 6 guys decided for some reason to stay for the Worship Rally last night. Now if you haven't heard these VBS songs, they are pretty great. I know I write about them a lot, but I have just seen God use those so much this summer. Most of them are straight up reciting scripture and one of them explains the ABCs of becoming a Christian. Well these 6 boys got into the Worship time, and I was scared they would think it was stupid. Little did I know that God had it all worked out. From the beginning of the first song to the last, these boys sang every single word and did every single motion. These Catholic and Muslim boys were singing about only worshipping the one true God and giving up their sin to follow Him. That was hands down my favorite moment of this trip. After the ABC song, I felt God leading me to say something, because I wasn't sure if these boys were going to stay for Bible Study. So God layed it on my heart to share the plan of salvation and to share about Jesus and why He came. I don't take credit for that. It was totally a God thing. I'm so glad He told me to do that because the boys did end up leaving after the Worship time. But that was ok! They got to hear about Jesus and how He could save them. I am totally amazed at how God worked that out. We may never know what happens to those boys, but I firmly believe a seed was planted. God can use that and do mighty things with it. As I said in my last post, words cannot fully express how much God has blessed things and how He has intricately worked out the details of everything to go just the right way. God keeps showing me how big, how able, how strong, how loving, and how incredible He is. I am so glad that He is allowing me to be a part of the plans that He has. If all I get to do for Him is to sing a few kids' songs everyday about Jesus, then I am more than okay with that. God can use anything. I think that is pretty much the story of my summer. He can use the smallest, most ridiculous, most seemingly insignificant things to bring people to Him and to make Himself known. I am so priviledged and honored to be able to serve a God like that.

I hope that whoever you are that is reading this realizes that you can be used by God too. You don't have to travel thousands of miles to do it, you can do it right where you are. Like I said, God can use anyone and anything, no matter how big or how small. All you have to do is have your heart right with Him and be willing. This summer, me, Aaron, Turner, and Jake have had the big title of "Missionary" tacked on to us. I've realized that a lot of people really respect that term and put a lot of store in it. In some places we have practically been rockstars because we are the "missionaries." I'm not going to lie and say that hasn't been great, because it has been. It has made me think though. That term "missionary" shouldn't just be reserved for people who are doing what we are doing. If you are a Christian, you are called to live as a missionary. That can be right where you are, in another country, across the street from you...anywhere. That might not entail you giving up your job or quitting school to travel and do Vacation Bible Schools all the time, but it does entail making Jesus known. Just remember, God can use the smallest of things, just like He used those VBS songs with us. Just take the time to listen to God and to what He wants you to do. That will look different to each person. I'm not saying everybody is called to evangelize and be career missionaries. Like I said, you can do this right where you are, doing whatever you do everyday. Just listen to Him. He'll talk you through it.

I want to thank you all for the continued prayers. They help! Please continue to be in prayer for:
-Our last night of VBS tomorrow
-The continued ministry of FBC Sitka
-The 6 boys that came and their salvation, as well as their family's salvation
-Safe travels on the ferry this Saturday to Petersburg
-VBS in FBC Petersburg
-Strong finishes by all of my fellow summer missionaries in their mission fields

Love and Peace,
Lyndsey

God Is Good. Enough Said.

It seems that it has been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that. Internet service has been sparse over the past week. This past week we went to Orton Ranch Christian Camp, which is put on by FBC Ketchikan. That means that we got to work with a lot of people and kids that we had already met a few weeks ago. That was really cool, because we had already established relationships and connections with some of the kids, so we didn't have to spend as much time doing that. So before we went to camp, I was not excited at all about going. We were told that we weren't going to be able to go, so I think the big problem for me was that I didn't have enough time to mentally prepare for camp. I had several people specifically praying for me that God would change my attitude towards that. And so He did. We eventually got to camp after a two hour boat ride and a nice little hour hike in. Throughout the whole traveling process I got to talk to the kids and was immediately dubbed "Lyndsey Lohan." So the way the whole camp worked was that we got up, gathered around a flag pole and did a little lesson about US history and did the pledge and sang the National Anthem. Then we did breakfast, a Bible Study from VBS material, free time, lunch, another Bible Study, more free time, dinner, Worship Time with VBS songs, a sermon, Missions Time, even more free time, then off to the bunk houses. As you can see, we were pretty dang busy. For the Bible study time, all four of us missionaries took one a piece. I got to do the plan of salvation using the ABC's. I'm always excited to get to do that. The free time that we had in the afternoons included swimming and tubing down this river that we were right beside. Yes, they swim in Alaska. And it was every bit as cold as you would expect a river in Alaska to be. Despite that, they loved it! I braved the frigid water myself.
So at night, me and Turner stayed in the bunk house with 12 girls...no other adults or anything. They were all between ages 7-12. The were a few behavior problems, but nothing too major. I really enjoyed getting to hang out with the girls. One of my favorite parts of the day was right before we all went to sleep. Some of the girls asked to do a Bible Study (which I thought was an awesome request from 10 year olds), so I obliged. The first night I read them Romans 8:35, which talks about how we can't be separated from God's love, no matter what. The next night I decided to switch it up a little bit and tell them a story. So with half of the girls huddled up on my bunk with me and the other half on Turner's bunk, I told them the story of Queen Esther. The last night, I told them about Balaam and the talking donkey. I thought it was really cool how the girls hung on to every word of the stories. I really think they got something out of them too. So the last day we had at camp was probably one of my top 3 favorite days that I've had the entire trip. That morning, one of my girls decided to give her life to Jesus. That made this entire trip worth it for me. Later that day we got to hang out with the kids more and play in the river for a long time. I feel like the fellowship with each other that day was really special. A cool thing that happened during that time was that this little 7 year old girl named Christian that hadn't talked practically the entire time started opening up to Turner. I had tried to get through to her earlier in the week, but for whatever reason, she didn't want to talk to me. The first night we were there, we were told that her parents are going through a divorce and things are pretty bad in her home right now. Having known that, we were really eager to love on her. So her opening up and having fun with Turner was a pretty big blessing and a pretty big answered prayer. It also showed me how God has formed this team so well. All four of us on the team each have our own different gifts. It's pretty awesome how God has a person that seems to excel in a certain ministry area everywhere we go. I think that is pretty exciting. So back to the last day of camp. Before our sermon that night, we did a worship time with all of the VBS songs and motions. If you have read any of my past posts from my first week here, you'll know that in the past I have realy hated VBS songs. That night, I made up my mind that I will never knock those songs ever again. That night, with those songs, we truely worshipped God. I'm not sure if I have every seen kids that young really worship God, but they sure did that night. God's presence was thick in that place. Just to hear those 19 kids singing those songs to God at the top of their lungs was one most heavenly things I've ever experienced. After that, we had our sermon from our camp pastor for the week, and at the end, he called us four missionaries up to the front. He told the kids to come up to any of us if they wanted and we would pray for them. So they time came, and almost every kid came up and was prayed with. I got to pray with several of my girls. I can easily say that was one of the biggest God moments of this trip for me. There was something so special about getting to pray specifically for each one of those kids. By that time we had gotten to know each kid fairly well and knew what to pray for with each of them. At the end of the night, as we were about to go to bed, the pastor told us that the kids had something they wanted to do before bed. They had made each of us our own poster that they had all signed that said, "Thank you so much for teaching us God's Word." The pastor also told us that doing that was all their idea. That was definitely a humbling experience. We got to see just how much influence we had on them. It reminded me big time of the responsibilty that God has given me this summer. I felt kind of small and very blessed that God can use little ol' me from Tar Heel, North Carolina to teach kids about Him and show them His love. Every couple of days I get that feeling...that I can't believe God is using me to do this. I keep thinking about how this time last year I had no idea I would be in Alaska this summer. It is still pretty unreal to me. This experience is so much bigger than me and it reminds me of how I can't do any of this by myself. I'm pretty in awe of God right now. I can't fully describe to you how amazing He is and how He has worked everything out so perfectly. I think about all of the people we have come in contact with already...and we still have 4 weeks to go. We were all talking the other day about how we will have come in contact with literally hundreds of people by the end of the summer. Who knows how God has used those encounters. Who knows how many seeds have been planted. It is so amazing how God has worked all of this out.

So at the current time, I am sitting in a Waffle bar in Juneau waiting to get on a ferry to Sitka. It's about a 10 hour ride I think. Sitka is supposed to be gorgeous...everyone we have talked to said it is the most beautiful place in all of Southeast. We are pretty sure that we are doing Bible School. I'm excited about that.

So I want to thank everybody for their prayers. I appreciate them so much and I know for a fact that they have made a difference. Please continue to pray for:

-The people of FBC Sitka
-Opportunities to share Jesus outside of VBS
-Energy
-Boldness
-Team unity
-Health and Safety
-Opportunities for my fellow summer missionaries all over the world

Grace and Peace
Lyns

We are now in a little town called Coffman Cove, home of around 200 people. It's a very isolated place. It took a 3 hour ferry ride then a two hour drive through the middle of nowhere to get here. I've never seen any place like this. There is a "gas station", which is a little shed with an old time-y gas pump. There's one store called the Riggin Shack, pictured here. Me and Turner are staying in the church and the guys are staying with the Pastor and his wife. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is no cell service out here. That's a little bit of a bummer, but I'm living. We have wireless internet, so I can't complain too much. This week got off to a rocky start when all 4 of us got sick with a stomach bug that was ridiculously unpleasant, but it has definitely taken a turn for the better. Our job this week is right up our alley. The past two weeks we have been sort of taking a back seat and doing random things that needed to be done. While that's been nice and all, we get to do a lot of hands on stuff here. We start our mornings at the school gym doing a few hours of inflatables with any kids that want to come. We thought that about 4 or 5 kids would come, seeing that it's such a small population. Boy, were we wrong, and glad of it! We've had about 20 kids each day. Now I know we shouldn't get too caught up in numbers, but I'm pretty excited because that's 1/10 of the population of the town. Not too shabby. After a few hours running around like crazy in the gym, we take the kids over to the church and give them a snack and do a Bible Study. I've actually been in charge of snack this week. As in, I have been baking brownies and making Kool-Aid for these kids. That's usually not the role I take. For whatever reason, I got offered that role, so I've done it. I've enjoyed it. Anyway, all four of us have taken a day to do a Bible study with the kids. Yesterday Aaron took the kids through what Jesus did for us on the cross and his resurrection. Today Turner took them through the ABCs of becoming a Christian. Tomorrow Jake is taking them through what it means to live like Jesus wants us to, and Friday I'm doing why it is important to tell others about Jesus. It's a very broad span of topics, but we wanted to hit on all of the important stuff with them while we can. Since this is a community wide thing and not just a church thing, there are plenty of non-churched kids. We are aware of that and want to make the most of this opportunity we have with them.

Today I had a pretty cool opportunity. The school that we are doing the inflatables at only has one teacher, and he opens up for us. He's a Mormon. He brings all 5 of his kids to play and his wife comes too. Sadly, he won't let his kids come with us when we do Bible study because they only want what they teach to be heard. They are super nice people though. I had been praying yesterday and this morning that God would somehow give us an opportunity to talk to one of them and God opened up the chance for me to talk to his wife pretty extensively today about her beliefs. She was incredibly open and super nice about all of my questions. I got to ask her all about what she thinks salvation is, how she thinks it is attained, how the Mormon church works, the importance and origin of the Book of Mormon, what Jesus means to the Mormon faith, and tons of other questions. I got to share with her what I believe and how it differs from what she believes. We ended up talking well over an hour. The conversation was really good, but quite frustrating by the time I was done. I don't mean that in the sense that we were arguing about beliefs or anything, but instead that there are tons of similarities between Christianity and Mormonism, so I'm pretty sure she thinks they are basically the same. They are definitely not, because there are some major key differences, the biggest being that they believe works are necessary to obtain salvation. There are some other things she talked about that I'm unsure of, so tonight I'm planning on doing some studying and digging to find out what the deal is. They have a big belief in some priesthood stuff. Not sure what all that is about quite yet. Hopefully I can figure some of it out and have another chance to talk to her. Please pray that I get that opportunity and that her heart will be open to God's Way.

As for what we do around here at night, we are hanging out with youth. There are 4 that show up, and we do a Bible Study/Discussion with them and play a game or watch a movie. We figured we would take a different approach with them as far as Bible Study is concerned. We found out that they are all Christians, so we are each taking a night and teaching them and discussing how to live out the Christian life. Last night Jake taught on 1 Timothy 4:12-13 and the importance of using our spiritual gifts to make a difference for Jesus. We also got into a really great discussion about worship and the different ways people do it.

On a side note, we have a sweet ride for the week! Here's a picture:
I've been really excited to get to drive this week.





Prayer Requests:
-As of now, we have nothing to do next week. We were supposed to go out to a kid's camp, but we aren't able to because of some ferry scheduling. Please pray that God will open up an opportunity for us for next week.
-More opportunities to talk to the Mormon family, and that they will let their kids come to our Bible Study
-Energy
-Team Unity and Good attitudes (We've seen each other everyday for 4 weeks...but we still love each other!)
-Good health
-Opportunites for my fellow summer missionaries

Thanks for all the prayers!