MarAprNL

PRSRT STD NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID EAGLE RIVER, AK PERMIT NO. 20

Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska

Chilling News that Warms the heart Reaching People for Christ’s Sake from near the North Pole

Will the Real Alaska Please Stand Up? Grace Community Covenant Church in Olympia and Harbor Covenant Church in Gig Harbor, WA, both welcomed the Sawyers to share about life in Alaska. In the picture below, the Grace folks pose after a great meal together.

Later in the week, the Sawyers spent time with the Harbor folks as they plan for a building project at the Covenant Bible Camp, near Unalakleet. They have named their project “Mission Possible 2008” and it will include building a new kitchen and enlarging the dining hall/worship center. Harboronians, Doug and Linda Olsen spend every summer at Bible Camp.

Field Director: Rodney J. Sawyer Associate Field Director: Nathan Toots Office Manager: Sara Scoles

The Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska [ECCAK] is non-conference “field” of the Covenant Church of America.

We are dependent on the gifts from churches and people to carry out our mission for Christ’s sake in Alaska.

Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska P.O. Box 770749 Eagle River, Alaska 99577-0749 Phone: 907-694-6348 Fax: 907-694-6378 Email: info@eccak.org Web: eccak.org

On the other hand, Grace Community, with the help of Mike and Peggy Nystrom is looking to strengthen their

Grace Community turned out in large numbers to hear about all that God is doing in Alaska. Many have stories of their own because they have been connected to Alaska for years!

Cont’d on pg 3...

March/April 2008

Inside this issue:

Uganda 2007

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Pastor in Residence

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Suicide Prevention 5 Tour Where Jesus Walked

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Why God Made Moms

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Falling Moose

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Rhyming Riddles

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Field Director’s Corner

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What’s Happenin’

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How Can I Help?

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Just Pics

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Uganda 2007

By Ron Mancini Pastor of First Covenant Church of Anchorage They came from 30 and 40 miles away.

Not far by our standards but far in terms of difficult dirt roads and real inconvenience. They came on foot and on bicycles. And they came hungry for God’s Word.

For the next five days three of us took turns three hours a day teaching on subjects like counseling, how to hear God, and how to study the Bible in a systematic way. When we weren’t teaching in the conference, we were out preaching in churches, in the open air in communities and in high schools.

Susan and I spoke to two high school student bodies. The principals asked us to come and share the gospel, as it is a true hope for a nation seeking to rebuild. Forty students responded to the call to follow Christ.

They signed in at the principal’s office for follow up and care. We preached in two church services and visited with the Anglican Bishop of Northern Uganda, the fastest growing evangelical church in Uganda and all of Africa.

We were among people who have gone through the waters of deep suffering.

Every one of the 150 men and women

who came to the conference had lost family members or their whole family to the violence of rebel soldiers.

One of our presenters talked about the Old Testament story of Abraham. You may remember when Abraham went down to Egypt. He told his wife Sarah to say she was his sister. Sarah was a real beauty and Abraham thought Pharaoh might want to take her as his wife. To do that might motivate him to make her a widow first.

The presenter pointed out that the women in his Bible class in the United States thought Abraham was a scoundrel for selling out his wife like that. But one of the women in the conference said, “Your women don’t understand.

When rebel soldiers come into your house and demand a man’s wife, he gives them his wife because if he doesn’t they’ll kill him and the woman.” If he gives up his wife then at least they have a chance to live.

The church in Uganda is a suffering church. After the conference one of the participants went to a medical center to have shrapnel removed from his body. Some one had thrown a hand Cont’d pg 4...

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Pastor-In-Residence: ACC

By Carl Elwood Pastor Mountain Village Covenant Church Pray: Our bi-monthly newsletter, “Chilling News”, is full of stories about the people and ministry of ECCAK throughout the state. It also has a daily prayer calendar. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please let us know.

Encouragement; W r i t i n g and/or calling those who serve in the bush is a great ministry!

Want to adopt a church or a pastor? Ask for a prayer card of a pastor.

Mission Teams: There are often times when we have need for teams of people to come and join with a local church, camp, college, youth group, etc. For a specific construction project or outreach event.

Volunteers: The ECCAK office needs volunteers to assist in administration, grant writing, special projects, etc.

Financial: God often calls people to give to ECCAK beyond the normal local church tithe or churches to place ECCAK in their mission budget. Some are led to

leave a gift through estate planning to carry on the work in Alaska into the future.

Credit Card Donations: ECCAK can now receive donations via credit cards. The perforated tab on the Prayer Calendar allows for this giving option. Also, you can contact Sara Scoles at the ECCAK office (907) 694-6348 and she will be happy to assist you.

Teachers or Nurses: Christian teachers or nurses often come to Bush Alaska as “missionaries” and serve in the local Covenant church during off hours.

Pastors/Youth Workers: Often we have empty pulpits and are in need of pastors, short and long-term. Many villages have no one reaching out to the youth.

Donate Air Miles: Many people accumulate free air miles.

Please consider donating some to ECCAK to help a bush pastor and family get away for some R & R.

NEW MURPHY’S LAWS? 1.

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The hardness of butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.

The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.

The more you complain is directly proportional to how long God makes you live.

Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

I had the opportunity to be on the campus of ACC (Alaska Christian College) for the week before Midwinter. It was a blessing to have been there. There is plenty of time for solitude, and there is also time for group worship of God. I am thankful that Mountain Village Covenant was willing to let me come to ACC for a time of rest and renewal. While I just got back from a wonderful Christmas break with my family, something happened in the village that just sort of took the wind out of my sails (so to speak). Worshipping with, sharing with, and singing with the people at ACC allowed me to slowly be filled back-up. Any of you pastors out there who have some time while on the road system, I encourage you to be a pastor in residence. The atmosphere is welcoming and the food is great!

Real Alaska, Cont’d relationship further with Alaskans. They have had a rich history of providing men and women to serve in Alaska. They are not unaware of the Real Alaska.

Most folks from the Lower-48 are only aware of what they see on the TV when it comes to Alaska. The media caters to tourists, which is a huge part of the Alaska economy.

However, there are many villages that have little economy. Many suffer from unemployment that reaches above 85%! Of the 393 towns, cities, and villages in Alaska, 315 are remote and are not connected to the road system. Only 10% of the Alaska land mass has roads that connect them to the rest of the world. That is why it is still called the “Last Frontier.” To travel to “rural or bush Alaska”, you need to go via plane. Some villages are still without running water in the homes, believe it or not.

The remoteness has its advantages! It is one of the reasons why the Eskimo culture still thrives. Subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering are very much a part of their survival.

They have a fascinating history, but much has been lost because it was handed down via oral traditions. Only in recent times has their written languages been formed. If you want to see the “real Alaska”, join with other Lower 48ians who are partnering with the brothers and sisters who live in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Your lives will be enriched.

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

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Uganda, Cont’d grenade into the church meeting he was conducting to discourage the Christians in that community.

Our going to Uganda was a good thing.

We brought encouragement and help to the suffering church there.

On our way back south to Entebbe we drove through the Murchenson National Game Reserve in Uganda. We sailed on the Nile and saw the big game of the region...elephants, baboons, water buffalo, hippopotamus, antelope, and crocodiles.

Susan spent time with the women there and connected on a very practical level. She not only prepared food with them, she also showed them a simple weaving machine they could use to make cloth. Very quickly they learned how to work the machine and they immediately saw how to make money with it.

We saw the industry of the people, their humility before God and their determination to better their circumstances. They are an ambitious people and deeply spiritual people.

In a time of great unrest, terror, and intimidation these people are standing tall and holding out the hope of the Gospel.

God graced me to connect with the church leaders and pastors. I was able to speak to them from a pastor’s heart about issues that pastors contend with mostly exclusively. One of the men said you have touched us deeply so that we have water in our eyes.

Our Government spends billions of dollars every year to fund a war in Iraq. But together you and I spent a few thousand and I believe that in the name of Christ and First Covenant we advanced the cause of Christ and strengthened the line of defense against militant Islam.

The days were hot, in the 90’s. The sun was unrelenting and some times the air didn’t move. That made it really uncomfortable. Even the Ugandans found it difficult.

Susan and I took the money people here in Alaska gave us and fed the participants of the conference and we contributed to the learning center they are building to train pastors.

2008 ECCAK ECCAK Annual Meeting ACC Board Meeting ABA Board Meeting Superintendent Retreat The Feast ECC Annual Meeting Sankofa Pastor Leader Retreat

March 5-9 April 5-6 April 26 May 19-22 June 21-24 June 26-29 Early August November 3-6

ACC Soldotna, AK Soldotna, AK Nome, AK Portage Lake, MI Green Lake, WI Green Lake, WI Southern USA InterAct-Palmer, AK

May 25-27 May 28-June 2 June 2-9 June 9-16 June 16-21 June 21-26 August 5-10

North River

2008 Bible Camp Call to Worship Student Leadership Senior High Junior High Trailblazer Pathfinder Vision

NOW showing at a computer near you…The New ECCAK Website.

Go to eccak.org to view.

Note: Some pages are still under construction

Psalm 82:3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

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Suicide Prevention Tour 1.

There are 3 kinds of people in this world: those good at math and those who aren’t.

2. Your adult children staying in touch with you is directly proportional to how much money you have left.

3. Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

4. All generalizations are false and cannot be trusted.

5. Always remember, “You are unique!” just like everyone else who ever lived.

6. Who would give their right arm to be ambidextrous?

7. Is dreaming in color just a pigment of our imagination?

8. If you believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.

9. Isn’t a flashlight really a case for storing dead batteries?

10. Do mice looking for cheese buy into the saying, “The early bird gets the worm?”

11. Mondays got you down? Get over it; they are the way you spend 1/7th of your life.

As an observer on this trip, it was difficult to again be reminded of all of the pain that is in the lives of the kids and adults of Western Alaska, but I was also amazed to see the power of God’s love and healing in the lives of those who have decided to trust in Him. Though it was only a week, the encouragement that Bob and the team brought to the church and the people in the different villages was apparent and the local church’s willingness to feed, house and share with us, was an amazing testament to the beauty of the body of Christ. Several principals and churches asked that Mr. Lenz would return in the future and though it was only a week. God worked through the team and churches and the impact was amazing.

Answers to “Rhyming Riddles”

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CELLAR DWELLER OBESE GEESE ROTTON COTTON ADORATION LOCATION BRONZE SWANS LOUD CROWD STRANGE CHANGE SPARE CHAIR WEAKER SPEAKER REAL ZEAL KNOWN ZONE DAMNATION LOCATION FRAIL MALE RUSSIAN DISCUSSION

December 3-11th a team of 6 people, including myself, traveled out to the Norton Sound to give assemblies for the High School and Junior High students in Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim, and Nome. Bob Lenz, a wonderful speaker from the lower 48, gave suicide prevention talks that stressed the value of each life, the importance of respecting those around you and the need for courage to stand up for oneself and others. Bob was accompanied by a father/daughter juggling team who performed for the kids before the talk and then left juggling materials at each school for the kids to learn with after they left.

There was an awesome response from the students, leading quite a few people (both kids and adults) to attend the service that was held at the local Covenant church at night. At these services the jugglers again performed and Bob spoke about Jesus’ love and God’s desire for all people to have a relationship with Him. He also talked about the healing power of God’s love and this led many people to open up to Bob and other members on the trip after the service, about abuse that has occurred in their families and the death of family members and friends due to suicide. Several people also committed their lives to Christ and these names were given to the local pastors to keep up with them and encourage them in their new faith.

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift of God, Which is why we call it the present.

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By Jessical Fondell CYAK Volunteer

Rural college age Alaskans gather at the CYAK House in Fairbanks for fellowship and good Native foods! Campus Christian Fellowship reaches out to rural students who long for a touch of their culture while attending the university. Herein lays many of the future leaders of Alaska!

2 Chron. 34:1-3 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father Daivd, not turning aside to the right or to the left. In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem and high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images.

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Bible Interpretation, Cont’d

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

Epitaph in a cemetery in Ruidoso, N.M: “Here lies John Yeast, ‘Pardon me for not rising.’” .

Epitaph of John Penny, Wimborne, England: “--if cash thou art in want of any, Dig four feet deep and find a Penny.”

Epitaph of an attorney: John E. Goembel 1867-1946, "The defense rests" Epitaph on tomb in Ribbesford, England: “The children of Israel wanted bread and the Lord sent them manna; old clerk Wallace wanted a wife and the devil sent him Anna.”

Epitaph on a gravestone in Thurmont, Md: “Here lies an atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.”

Epitaph on marker Kokomo, IN: "Dang it, I told you I was sick!"

Root Meaning of Words

It is a well written paper. I am confident that Professor Snodgrass will heighten our awareness of the supreme authority and importance of Scripture! But he will also challenge us to a healthy approach to the Bible.

A second learning opportunity at the ECCAK Annual Meeting will be with Beyond Borders. They will plan on doing two workshops on conflict. Christian Muntean and our own Marta Thrasher will be leading. The Bible has a lot to say about conflict and peace keeping Last, but not least, Curtis Ivanoff will be preaching! Curtis will be challenging Alaskans in the area of Youth Ministry. God is moving among the youth of Alaska! If God wants to change a country, a village or a church, history and the Bible proves that he often uses youth.

HOW AOBUT TAHT? Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

The following was passed on to ECCAK by Peggy Nystrom from Olympia, WA. She thought the following quote was worth sharing with others.

Before spring becomes beautiful, it is ugly, nothing but mud and muck.

I love the fact that the word humusthe decayed vegetable matter that feeds plants—comes from the same root that gives rise to the word humility. It helps me understand that the humiliating events of life, the events that leave “mud on my face” or that “make my name mud,’ may create the fertile soil in which something new can grow.

Parker J. Palmer In Readers Digest 6

Wanted...OLD PICTURES! We hope that many of you enjoyed the new 2008 ECCAK calendar. As we think about putting out another calendar for 2009, perhaps you have some old pictures from the “good old days” that you would like to share with us. Please send them to ECCAK—PO Box 770749 Eagle River, AK 99577. We will scan them and return them to you. Be sure to provide us with your return address.

Shaktoolik Lady

Scammon Bay boy: Noah

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Field Director’s Corner

Bible Interpretation and Application: Learning Opportunities!

By Rodney J. Sawyer

How many of us are guilty of interpreting the Bible wrongly? And then teaching it to others? I can think back to a few of my early teachings and I cringe. The more I learn, the more I realize how much more I need to learn. It seems to me that with the passing of time, I have had to adjust some of the ways I approach certain Scripture passages. It is my hope it is because of maturity in understanding and my becoming less “doctrinaire.”

One of the most difficult things we do as humans is to admit that we were wrong about something. This can be true of pet doctrines. We hold to our opinions and beliefs on nearly every subject as though we are right and all others who are in disagreement are simply wrong. I would call this “being un-teachable”. Whether man likes it or not, our sinnature within is the cause of so many of the problems we experience in life. It is the cause of conflicts, arguments, dissension, envy, competition, hatred, wars, stress, and unhappiness in life. The way Christians interpret the Bible has been the cause of parting friendships throughout time.

The purpose of this article is not to take on the matter of how to interpret the Bible, called hermeneutics. But I would like to share about a wonderful learning opportunity coming to Alaska at the ECCAK Annual Meeting in Soldotna. First, we will be privileged to have in our midst Professor Klyne Snodgrass from North Park Theological Seminary. He will be leading us in several sessions dealing with a recent resource paper that has been written by the Covenant called “The Evangelical Covenant Church and the Bible.”

The focus of the paper deals with “How the Covenant Church Reads Scripture.” I will quote from the paper the one sentence that summarizes what the paper is all about.

“At our best we as Covenant people read the Bible faithfully, communally, intelligently, charitably, holistically and with commitments to grace, transformation, and mission.”

Cont’d Pg 11...

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Where Jesus Walked

By Harvey J. Fiskeaux Pastor of Nome Covenant Church Several months ago, Nancy and I were blessed with an awesome lifetime dream of visiting the Holy Land. We literally walked where Jesus walked. Of those sites were the southern steps leading up to the temple mount, the stones in Antonio’s Fortress where the Roman soldiers scourged Jesus, and the steps leading up to the location of the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Many of the sites visited were only supposed replicas of what may have been. To stand before holy places like Mount Calvary, the Garden Tomb, anHarvey and Nancy at Temple Mount cient olive trees in Gethsemene, the Jordon River, Masada, the Dead Sea, and many more, truly made the Bible come alive and left us with the wonder of it all. According to some Biblical scholars, Israel is God’s prophetic and apocalyptic clock.

It is impossible to get a proper perspective on Israel without seeing her through the life of Jesus Christ. The chosen people and promised territory are unique for one reason; Jesus lived there. Without his life, work, ministry and presence, Israel would have no doubt been resigned to a footnote in the annals of the world history.

Ironically, after 4,000 years of history, this struggling nation remains at the center stage of political events of the world. 2,000 years before Christ, God gave this land to father Abraham. Because of the rejection of their Messiah and his prophets (Matt 23:34-38) God allowed Rome to completely destroy the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This horrible destruction drove a Jewish remnant into exile around the world for centuries.

The world stage is being set today for this most glorious reunion of Christ and His own people. He said to them, “I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35, NKJV). I believe this national, Messianic reunion is seen in the prophetic analogy of Joseph and his emotional reconciliation with his brothers in Egypt. The Bible says, “Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out ‘make everyone go out from me!’ So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it” (Gen 45:1-2, NJKV). Together with the bride of Christ, the searching nation of Israel will eventually behold their only Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, “the only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” (I Timothy 6:15b-16, NKJV). Even so come Lord Jesus!

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WHY GOD MADE MOMS Answers by 2nd grade school children to the following questions: Why did God make mothers? “To help us out of there when we were getting born.”

How did God make mothers? “God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.”

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? “God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.”

Rhyming Riddles See if you can solve the following rhyming riddles. Following is a sample to get you warmed up: F B = What would you call a comical rabbit? Answer: FUNNY BUNNY. Now work on 1-14 below. If you are stumped, the answers are on page 12.

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What kind of little girl was your mom? “They say she used to be nice.”

Why did your mom marry your dad? “My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.”

What's the difference between moms & dads? “Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.”

What would it take to make your mom perfect? “On the inside she's already perfect.

Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.”

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be? “I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.”

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It was a falling moose. I swear it was!

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska State Troopers see plenty of hazards, but Trooper Howard Peterson was nearly felled by a new one: falling moose. Peterson was driving Feb. 2 on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage when something big and black fell out of the sky about 20 feet in front of his patrol car.

"Falling rock!" he thought, ready to steer clear if it bounced onto the highway.

The thing didn't roll or shatter. It turned out to be a moose that fell from cliffs next to the highway. Drivers often see Dall sheep on the cliffs but rarely moose. Peterson estimates the animal fell 150 feet or more. It was windy that night, Peterson said, and a gust may have startled the moose into a fatal fall.

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Cont’d on pg 9...

C D = In the old days, many rural Alaskans lived partially underground in sod houses. Today, they may be considered a…

O G = Just before Thanksgiving dinner, you hope to hunt for these kind of birds.

R C = In Isaiah 64:6, our righteousness is like “filthy rags”. Perhaps another translation would say “our righteousness is like…

A L = Our church buildings could be called this.

B S = These would not make good floating decoys for hunting on water.

L C = Sometimes the fellowship after church is rather noisy, so one might call the group the…

S C = I Cor. 5:17 talks about how accepting Christ makes us a new creation.

But our old friends may not understand and call it a…

S C = If you are late for church you may have to sit in a…

W S = If a guest preacher is less gifted than your pastor, we may call them a…

R Z = In Rom. 12:11, we should never be lacking in…

K Z = A well read Bible soon becomes the…

D L = Hell is mentioned in the Bible. One might call it the…

F M = In I Cor. 11:27-30, Paul warns what happens when people who come to the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Some he said became “weak and sick.” If he was referring to a man, we might call him a…

R D = Luda from KICY has programming for those who live in Russia. We could call her broadcasts the…

Falling Moose, Cont’d "They occasionally have bad days like the rest of us," said wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott. "They slip and fall. Maybe he was reaching for a branch and the snow just gave way."

Sinnott has heard of moose dying in strange ways — breaking through ice and drowning, jumping off railroad bridges at the sound of a train, falling off small banks. Once he saw the remains of two bulls that died during a rutting battle when their antlers got hooked together by a single piece of barbed wire. “A fall off a cliff probably doesn't happen often,” he said.

Peterson treated the dead animal the same way he handles moose killed by cars. After snapping photos, Peterson called one of the charities that salvage road kill.

Taken from Yahoo News at: [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080212/ap_on_fe_st/odd_falling_moose;_ylt=AsHPAIv.KxeqoKytc1DT0kntiBIF]

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