Winter 2016 Newsletter

What has been going on….

Wow is all we can say about the last two years!  It is hard to believe that it has been that long since our family first left for Alaska to do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM. It is amazing to reflect back and think about all that has happened. Our lecture phase of the DTS was such a great time of spiritual growth for us. It was such a blessing to be able to just spend so much time in studying the Bible, praying, and in worship. It is really hard to be in a relationship if you do not spend time with people. It is the same way with our relationship with the Lord. The second phase of our DTS was two months of missions in Alaska. The first place we visited was Savoonga, AK which is located on St. Lawrence Island. We had no idea what would be in store for us seeing that none of the students or staff had ever been there before. We all were a little nervous after hearing about all the alcohol use, sexual abuse and issues that happen in the villages. Our fear was quickly removed through a dream and reading Psalm 91 one morning at devotions. Our first opening was the chance to do some construction work on a house for a native family. Mark was the first to go and see what needed to be done. Upon arriving the family told him the story of how the oldest son had shot himself in the house five years earlier and that moving back into the same house was going to be mentally and spiritually difficult. We spent the first day at the house praying and ministering to the family. The first week at the house felt dark and cold but as we continued to work and pray over the house you could feel the atmosphere change. The family was able to move in before we left and it wasn’t long after that they started having church in their house. This year when we were there it was a blessing to worship with them in the house and see what the Lord has done with the house and the family. After two months of outreach we knew that the Lord was calling us to make a longer commitment in YWAM but didn’t know how we could make it happen financially. While in Homer, Mark was asked if he would be interested in working on a commercial fishing boat for a few weeks in the summer of 2015. We had no idea what the outcome would be, but felt that it was a door the Lord wanted him to walk through. It turned out to be a huge financial blessing that was needed after a DTS that was not cheap for a family of six. One airline ticket from Anchorage to Savoonga is $1,100. In October 2015 the owner of the boat called and asked if Mark would be willing to captain the boat for a month and then work as a deckhand for the 2016 season. This confirmed that the timing was right to make the move up.We started selling out, literally both our things and our will.

            The last year has been a roller-coaster ride, but only in human terms. It is like getting on the ride, being blindfolded, and having the Lord ask, “Do you trust me?”. Our response is “YES” but as the ride starts you hear the devil next to you describe what is happening. And, as you can imagine, he tells you the worst possible scenario. You start crying out in prayer, “God, help me! I am going to die!”  But about the time you are going to die the ride stops and you take off your blindfold and realize that it was a kiddie ride and that you had nothing to worry about. Not only was it not dangerous but you look over at the operator and see Jesus smiling with a grin that says, “I was in control the whole time.”  Looking back, there have been a lot of rides.  Renting out our house in Ohio, finding a place to live in Homer, submitting to leadership at YWAM, leading the two-month outreach, and the one that gets us all the time: MONEY. The Bible says that money is a root of all kinds of evil. This year has been a year of learning to trust the Lord instead of the almighty dollar. Looking back after the blindfold has been removed we can see how the Lord has provided in so many ways. Testimony time!! The house the Lord provided is a thousand dollars less that most houses in Homer. We sold all the toys in Ohio (ATV’s, dirt bike and boat) and have had all three given to us to use for free. Not a big deal to some but to the boys it is huge. Our electric bill has been under $50 a month with an average of 8 people staying in a house that has electric appliances, two freezers, washer, dryer, and water heater. Every time the money is going to be short a donation is made. In the end the greatest thing that I can ask is, “Are you willing to trust the Lord?”  If you are, get on the ride!  He is asking you to trust Him.  If you do, why worry?

What’s Next?

       We are looking at making a two to five year commitment in Alaska with YWAM. Our current focus is to build a deeper relationship with the people of Savoonga. We have been asked to move there by many of the families and elders. We are planning to make a trip in late winter for two weeks. It would be the first time that we would not be with a DTS team. It will give us an idea of what it would be like to live there without the support of a team. The Lord is leading us to minister with the intent help the people grow in their relationship with the Lord. Most of the missions that are done in Savoonga are short term. Two to three days is normal. People accept the Lord but then the missionaries leave with no real discipleship. Our goal is to be able to live in Savoonga for three to four months at a time with the sole intent of teaching and walking beside the people. We would love to see God raise up a native pastor in the village of Savoonga. It has always been white people that have led the churches there. Please pray that God would raise up a leader for the people.

Our Needs

Fundraising is not one of our strong points, but if we are going to make this happen we are going to need the help of others. The cost of everything in Alaska is expensive so when I talk about a budget of $50,000 a year don’t be offended. Every time we travel to the island it cost our family $7,000.  Our budget includes three trips in the next year ($21,000). Food is very expensive in the village. A can of fruit is over $5 at the store. To help save a little bit of money, we try to purchase most our food in Anchorage and then use the post office to ship it in.  Another expense we have on the island is lodging. Heating is done by fuel oil that costs $7 - $8 a gallon. Commercial fishing covers our non-missions cost of living (cars, insurance, utilities) while in Homer. We need your help to cover the high cost to do missions in Alaska. We are in closing a contact card with information on how to give. Our church, Apape Christian Fellowship of

Marysville, is receiving our tax deductible donations.    We would love to talk to anyone that would like more information about what the Lord has called us to. If you are ever in Alaska stop in for a visit!  If you are interested in a short term mission trip and would love eat some mangtak (whale) feel free to call us. Thanks for all the love and support that has been given!                         
Mark, Megan, Ethan, Elijah, Josiah and Charity 

Outreach 2016

 DTS Outreach 2016

It’s Outreach time again!! We are excited to be heading back into the native villages of Alaska.  For the first four weeks we will be returning to Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island.  The last 3 weeks will be spent in Bethel, a new location for our YWAM base.  It will be a little more challenging for us as a family since we will be in a leadership role, but we’ve got two wonderful staff members that will be helping us lead our four students.

Our family has been waiting for over a year to get back to Savoonga.  To say that we are eager to reconnect with the friends we made there would be an understatement!  It is our prayer that the Lord will bring even more people into our lives to share His love with. There shouldn’t be any snow on the ground yet when we arrive, so we are hoping to spend more time outside. Our team has also planned a VBS program for the kids in the village.

We will be working with Pastor Dale Jellatto at the Assemblies of God Church in Bethel.  He has asked our team to help with Sunday School classes, general repairs, updates on the computer systems, and community evangelism.  We may also get an opportunity to visit some of the 50+ villiages that surround Bethel.       

Prayer Requests

First time Leading Outreach

Wisdom, Grace and Patience

The Orphan Spirit

Unwanted, Unloved and No Value

Protection

Spiritually, Physical and Travel

Financial Support

PO Box 1346 Homer AK 99603

Check payable to ACFM

 mission fund A in memo

DTS Update

Gordon Arctic Mercy DTS Update

          

Greetings from Homer Alaska!

   Sorry that it has taken us so long to get an update to everyone that has supported us. We haven't been able to find any time since leaving Ohio. Our drive across the U.S. went quickly and the 4000 mile trip was fun for us as a family. The ferry ride on the Alaskan Marine Highway was beautiful way to travel. The kids really like being able to hang out as a family. We passed the time playing games, running outside on the top deck, and watching Duck Dynasty. 

   The day we arrived in Homer we found out that they were still laying down carpeting in our apartment! We did get everything done by the end of the day and were able to start moving in.  It took a few days to unpack, get settled, and start to relax in our new home.  Then we all ended up sick at some point in time within our first 3 weeks of classes. Nothing like a spiritual attack right off the bat!! Our team was there to pray for us and help us with our physical needs. 

    Our DTS training is an intense 12 week phase that consists of worship, intercession, lectures, devotionals, Christian literature, small groups, work duties, and community outreach. This keeps us pretty busy on top of having four children that also need meals, home schooling, and their laundry done. In all of this the Lord has been working in both Megan and I.  We have grown so much in our walk with the Lord.  I wish we had time to explain everything that has been happening, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to read a 20 page newsletter!!!

    Our outreach time is fast approaching..we leave in three weeks! We will be going to the village of Savoonga on Saint Lawrence Island instead of the village of Gamble. We will be there for five weeks and be working with the Yupik natives. Some of the issues we will be facing are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the breakdown of the family unit, and various forms of physical and mental abuse.  Please pray for us as a team and the spiritual battles that we will face. 

 We love and miss you all!!!!

Blessings,

Mark, Megan, Ethan, Elijah, Josiah, and Charity

Please pray for Ethan this week. He is in Ouzinki on a youth outreach trip with a local church.

   

            

Blessings, Hiccups & Schedules

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!
     We want to take a quick minute to thank everyone that was able to come out to our fundraiser dinner.  The love and support shown to us was incredible.  We knew we had a phenomenal support system, but to see so many people in one place at one time all coming together to show us how much they love us and believe in what we are doing was pretty amazing.
     Things are going pretty well in terms of getting ready to go.  Packing lists are are coming together, we're finishing up with school, and travel plans are being made.  Our one little hiccup is that our second rental property has not sold.  Which means we have to find renters, get them settled, and then find someone that will manage the duplex while we are gone.  It was our desire to sell this property but God had other plans.  Will you come together in prayer with us that the right people/family rent our apartments?  It is our hope that God has not allowed this property to be sold because it will bless someone else.
     Scheduling.......time is ticking away!!!  Our official DTS dates are January 7th through June 5, 2015.  The original plan was to be with our families through the holidays and leave the day after Christmas.  Well, once again, God had other plans!!!  We started talking and praying about it and decided that it would be best for our family to leave a little earlier.  Since we are crazy enough to be driving across the country in December we figured that we should probably give ourselves some extra time.  So we will be heading out of Ohio December 20th, with an arrival date in Homer on January 1st.  What a way to ring in the new year!!! 
That means that we have just 44 days left in Ohio!!!  HOLY MOLY folks......we're getting close!!!
     Thank you, again, for all of your love and prayers.  We are going to miss everyone so much, but are really anxious to see what God is going to do in Alaska.

Blessings,
Mark & Megan

Alaska DTS Update

Dear Family and Friends,

            Sorry for the long lapse of time since our last update. In the last few months God has done so much to confirm our call to serve Him in Alaska. First, we have officially received our welcome letter from YWAM for our mission. We also found out that we will not be the only family on this mission trip.  There will be two other families with kids as well!   This will help us all in the transition into missions with people that will be going through the same experience. We ask for your prayers for our family, team, and leaders as our mission approaches. Pray for the Yupik tribes we will be working with in Gambell, AK on Saint Lawrence Island. We know that this is a field that God has given us and that He will ripen it for harvest.

Map of Saint Lawrence Island

The second confirmation we received was that we had one of our rental houses sell.  We felt that having rentals while we were out of state would be a huge burden and would keep our focus away from our mission in Alaska. We still have one more house on the market and would like for you to pray for it to sell as well. I know that God goes before us and He will work out what is best for us.

We have had multiple “little” blessings come along as well.  We were able to sell Megan’s truck and downsize to a much smaller SUV that fits all of us so our getting to Alaska will be less costly.  We have also started gathering items that we will need for our trip, sleeping bags being one thing.  We happened to be at the right place at the right time and got $120 arctic sleeping bags for $35 each!!  We can truly say that God has been with us in each giant leap as well as in each tiny step!!

Since we’ve received our official confirmation from YWAM we figured that we’d better get serious about fundraising.  We are certain that God will provide the funds needed for our trip.  Our family has graciously offered to have a chicken noodle dinner fundraiser for us, and our church has agreed to host it.  We would love to have everyone come to learn about how God called us to Alaska and more about what we will be doing while we are there.  It will also be a great opportunity for us to enjoy a time of  fellowship with our wonderful family and friends before we leave!!

Date: October 25, 2014

Time: 5-7 pm

Location: Agape Community Fellowship in The Hope Center

                212 Chestnut St.

                Marysville, OH 43040  

Menu: Homemade Chicken Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Dessert

 

If you are unable to make it to the dinner but would like to make a donation, checks can be made out to Agape Community Fellowship with YWAM Arctic Mercy on the memo line and sent to our home address :  1095 Lombard Chuckery Rd., Plain City, OH, 43064.  

Thanks so much for praying for us and following along with our journey.  We truly appreciate and treasure every thought, prayer, and letter of encouragement!!

Blessings, 

Mark and Megan

Ethan, Elijah, Josiah and Charity

Jeremiah 29:11