Encouragement and opportunities for a broader worldview
SEND North is looking for a Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to contribute to the success of SEND North’s ministry. This position is more than just numbers, journal entries, and tax returns. We are looking for the person God has chosen for SEND North – a person who is passionate about advancing the Kingdom through sound financial decisions and oversight!
Click HERE to learn more about this ministry!!!
Another opportunity:
Chief Pilot – more information HERE
Our Houston clay shoot was a great success! Thank you to all who participated and planned for it!
SEND North is raising funds to purchase a Cessna 206 airplane that will be based in Fairbanks, Alaska.
How can you be involved? For more information go to Cessna 206 Project and watch this video.
~Steven and Natalie
Our church recently adopted the slogan “Life is Mission!” I love this, because it speaks truth. If we follow Jesus’ example, our life should be missional every single day.
What is it to live missionally? It’s really not that difficult. It’s simply this: sharing the love of Christ.
Mission happens in our everyday coming and going, working, conversations, meals around the table, running errands. It’s not a special permission field trip or an icalendar reminder to “do missions.” It’s how we live our lives.
Daily mission is the teacher listening with full attention to a child who has an uncaring home life . . . the teen boy rolling a cart of groceries over unsteady gravel for an elderly lady . . . the young couple buying a cup of coffee for the man outside Starbucks asking for change . . . the empty nester calling the shut-in just to talk and encourage for a few minutes.
Loving others is our life’s work. Everything we do in life either positions us to this end or just makes noise.
It is true that living on mission will most likely cost us: time, money, popularity, personal space. Some days we’ll want to throw in the towel, questioning our life’s purpose. But eventually the light of living in the fullness God intends will shine so brightly that the cost will grow increasingly dim.
If you choose to live on mission, your life won’t be satisfied with a single unselfish act. Your missional life will ask more of you, as it builds and grows. Your mission mindset will gain purpose and vitality; it will become persistent, day in and day out, until finally, it will be your life . . .
And then you will know: Mission has become your life; life is mission!
~Natalie
AWARDS
Overall High Individual
Overall Team High
Overall Team Runner-up
NEW – The Palmetto Church Challenge – Calling all congregations to enter your best 4-person team(s) in the 2017 Great Alaska Sporting Clay Classic.
**Clergy Bonus: include an ordained pastor on your team and receive 5 free mulligans!
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Specific Qualifications:
SEND North is in need of a Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to contribute to the success of its ministry. This position is more than just numbers, journal entries, and tax returns – we are looking for the person that God has for us who is passionate about advancing the Kingdom through sound financial decisions and oversight!
Specific Qualifications:
For more information contact us using the Making a Difference tab or go to: https://send.org/opportunities/send-north-guest-house
AWARDS
Overall High Individual
Overall Team High
Overall Team Runner-up
NEW – The Palmetto Church Challenge – Calling all congregations to enter your best 4-person team(s) in the 2017 Great Alaska Sporting Clay Classic.
**Clergy Bonus: include an ordained pastor on your team and receive 5 free mulligans!
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Merry Christmas, everyone! This is our final post for 2016, but we’re excited about what 2017 will bring to The Arctic Travelogue!
In January, we will be offering a free gift just for subscribers! Also new: each month we plan to focus on a mission opportunity that just might be a good fit for you. And we will continue to offer informative articles and interviews to keep missions on your mind.
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Arctic Travelogue (on the pop-up or right side bar) so you’ll always be up-to-date on the latest news!
May you find peace and joy in your celebration of Christ’s birth!
~ Steven and Natalie
It was almost time to leave.
We’d been in SC for several weeks and had seen so many people but, as it always seems, had missed seeing so many more. Just a day before our departure, I was waiting in the car while Steven quickly ran in the church. She suddenly appeared at my window, the delight on her face as contagious as her laughing smile. I couldn’t open the door fast enough to hug my good friend of over 15 years.
Though I’ve only seen her a few times since we moved to Alaska, unexpectedly seeing her that day immediately reminded my heart of the warmth of true friendship. She and I share a very special love for one of my children – me as mother, and she as caretaker. She walked with me through both triumphs and challenges, forging a sweet friendship that time and distance have not diminished.
And God’s Providence of seeing her that particular day gifted me with unexpected joy . . . and thankfulness.
So very, very thankful.
Let’s remember during this season to be unceasingly grateful for those who have traveled alongside us on the path of life, just when we’ve needed them most.
A true friend is a gift of greatest joy!
Joyfully,
Natalie
Recently I wrote a guest post for the Lifeway Women blog, highlighting the importance of relationship-building in ministry. Here’s a link to read the article . . .
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~Natalie
Brenda became an honorary member of our family when we first met her in the summer of 2015. Following the Lord’s leading, she moved to a remote community in northwestern Alaska where she worked as a travel nurse. Part 1 of her story is here. This is Part 2 . . .
1.Briefly describe a mission experience you’ve recently had.
Recently, I had the opportunity to relocate my life for six months to living in a small community of people, or hub village, just north of the Arctic Circle in Northern Alaska, USA. During this mission’s experience I worked as a registered nurse for a critical access hospital, worked at plugging myself into the community, and focused on the relationships that I could nurture in the people that I met and partnered with through events, activities, and communal interests.
Much of the experience was enjoyable as the opportunity and change was something that I had been looking forward to. The new-ness of figuring out how to live in a different way was exciting and an adventure that was an overall enjoyable, yet at times challenging, experience.
2.What were the most challenging aspects of this assignment?
Even among the many enjoyable moments, there were challenges that had the ability to cause me to question if I was supposed to be in the position that I was in or if I was “qualified enough” to be in that position. Thankfully, and reassuringly, the Bible tells of how Christ shows through stronger and brighter through our weaknesses, and is able to use anyone, no matter their ability, to share the love of God with others.
The most challenging aspect of my time working in Northern Alaska stems from the emotional drain that can come from watching, witnessing, and/or hearing about the negative, dark choices that those in the community live in or have dealt with in their past. Knowing how to properly react, comfort, and counsel community members, and those that have become friends, on the consequences, albeit self-inflicted or involuntary, of drug abuse, sexual abuse, molestation, suicidal thoughts, or the grief of close-family loss is challenging at best.
Living and working in an environment such as this, where I personally felt that you could feel the weight of these issues could, at times, clouded my ability to see goodness through others and redemption through Christ happening in the lives of the community members. Much of the things that I found to be challenging during my time in Northern Alaska stemmed from these areas.
3.How has your faith changed/grown with each new experience?
When working through challenges that are outside of your abilities, I feel like your faith only grows deeper in who God is, or it shrinks. I know that through a lot of these experiences it has grown deeper for me personally.
Many of the things that I thought would come from going on a mission’s experience, or the way that it would occur, looked differently than expected when it was all said and done. With only small hints, or nudges from the Holy Spirit to guide me to continue moving forward – to a location that was never an original consideration – definitely stretched my faith.
People have said that hind-site is twenty-twenty, and I believe that generally this holds true. Looking back at what came from the Lord taking me to a location, in this experience, that was “un-planned” and Him holding me protectively each step of the way has considerably increased my faith in who He is, in that when He asks me to be obedient in another area of my life I am more quickly and confidently able to act on His calling.
The neat thing about faith is that as you grow and step out in following and obeying Christ I believe that He continues to push you in deepening your faith and trust in Him more and more; consequently, you learn more about the deeper intimacy that you can have in Christ and this is the exciting part of it all – you are never done learning or being shaped!
4.What advice might you give to someone looking into a mission opportunity?
My advice to others that are looking at going on mission opportunities is to keep an open mind about what the trip might look like, what the Lord might ask of you, and to keep prayer at the center of your focus. Being open to where the Lord leads you and in what He asks can be at times an unanticipated barrier to keeping us from doing what He is directing us to do. I believe that when you keep prayer at the center of your focus, you are better able to hear clearly what the Lord is directing you in.
After this, just hang on, expect to be stretched in your character and abilities, and know that the Lord is right there with you, assisting, protecting, and opening the way for you to be used most effectively for the good of others.
As parents, our first year on the mission field was tough . . . and for our kids it was even tougher. Our children left everything familiar to them and moved to a small, isolated community of strangers. And though we were thousands of miles apart, so many came alongside us, in an effort to let the young ones in our family know they were not forgotten. Do you know children who have moved far away – MKs or others? Children never forget the people who pour into their lives. Here are a few ways for you to remember these kids:
Send “just because” notes. This is an amazing way to influence a child’s life! Begin corresponding with a child who has left behind the familiar in a move. Take an interest in the child’s new home and life by asking questions, prompting them to write back. You’ll be amazed at how much you will be blessed with each response you receive! If you know only the parents, take this as an opportunity to get to know their children. Many years ago, our children received sweet letters from adults my husband and I knew but our children did not. Little by little, our kids forged friendships with these friends of ours – years later, as teens and young adults, they continue to treasure these relationships.
Make it a family affair: “adopt” a missionary family. Choose a missionary through your church or a missions organization you support. Learn about the missionary family’s new culture. Write or email them. Find out their needs and pray for them – maybe even send a care package with items they miss from home. Correspondence fosters a strong sense of belonging and, in the future, when “your” missionary family is on furlough – your family will be so excited to see them!
Start a birthday calendar specifically for MKs. Special days can be particularly hard that first year. Think of creative ways to connect on birthdays and holidays. Sending a fun card, a small gift, or a quick video by text reminds MKs that they are not forgotten by those “back home.” This makes a great family project when your spouse and children also sign cards. What an encouragement for an MK to receive surprise cards on his/her special day!
Be a prayer partner for an MK. Let MKs know that you are praying for them by sending a card or email asking for their prayer requests. Remind these kids that you are praying for new friendships and that they will grow to love their new home. Each time you write a note, pray that their faith will be strengthened through both happy and challenging times. And each time they write to you, remember to follow-up!
Pray for the parents of MKs. MK parents need much wisdom to navigate the often emotional transition that occurs each time their family enters/re-enters a different culture. Parents often carry the weight of their children’s burdens as well as their own. Find ways to encourage the missionary parents you know. And pray that parents and their children will have open and honest relationships through times of adjustment.
Missionary kids have the opportunity to live extraordinary lives for Jesus. Reminding MKs that you and your family care about them through prayer and personal contact can bless and encourage them during the tough times.
~Natalie
Brenda became an honorary member of our family when we first met her in the summer of 2015. Following the Lord’s leading, she moved to a remote community in northwestern Alaska where she worked as a travel nurse. This is Part 1 of her story . . .
I don’t remember a specific event or point in my life when I felt called to missions more than another. I instead remember that as I was mentally working through what I wanted to do after my High School graduation, I was excitedly anticipating a time when I would be able to either work at equipping others for ministry in foreign counties or be a missionary training, educating and/or sharing the love of Christ with those whom did not know Him. The desire to be a missionary cross-culturally and work in missions as I aged started and solidified in those final years of my High School education. With a habitual evaluation of where God is leading me now, and through the decisions that I make daily, this desire remains and has not yet been removed.
My first mission experience was going to Haiti for two weeks to assist a friend of the family at a small orphanage for disabled children. Among many other things, it opened my eyes to what it would be like to simply live in a foreign country and about the importance or skill of cultural adaptation, while also remaining true to who you are. I learned a lot about stepping out of your comfort zone and in being obedient to what God may be asking of you no matter the cost or sacrifice.
With each of the decisions that I have had to make in preparation on planning for an assignment, it is almost guaranteed that each will hold a level of risk to myself and/or a step faith on my part, towards God, in which He is asking me to be obedient and follow in His direction. Two of the largest factors that have helped in guiding me into choosing the assignments that I have are: 1.) past experiences, and 2.) dedicated prayer in the decisions that I am asked to make.
In some ways, I feel that God brings things into your life at one point – when it does not seem significant, to then remind you of them later – when you are better able to use them, or they are better applicable. Experiences build off of one another in a sense.
Outside of this, and most importantly, I believe that prayer is the avenue in which I have felt the Lord leading me most through. After presenting decisions to Him, He then has answered my prayers back to me through feelings of peace, closed or open doors, confirmation from others, ease of “things fall into place,” or logical reasoning.
“Each Sunday forenoon I go across the Copper River to the natives on the other side and tell them the Story of Christ. The Copper is not frozen full length but every fifty yards or so there is open water, moving at the rate of eleven miles an hour.
I leave the cabin here, bundled up in my parka and fur hat, with moccasins on my feet, and take the trail to the roadhouse, from there down trail to the river bank. Great chunks of ice stand up on end by the press and some smooth sections are bordered on both sides by angry, speeding, open water.
I start across with the knowledge that He will take care of all things, and having no fear as to the outcome if the ice should suddenly part and take me with it. I know where I am bound to go for I am trusting in the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary for me! It is sufficient.”
~ Faye E. Crandall, editor, Into the Copper River Valley (Faith Printing Company, Inc. 1994), 46.
Enjoy this autumn weekend!
~Steven and Natalie
I’m currently reading an amazing book called Hope Heals, co-written by Katherine and Jay Wolf. Katherine suffered a massive brain stem stroke in 2008 at the age of 26, just after the birth of their first child. The story is a back and forth narrative between Jay and Katherine – the agony of this devastating event clearly articulated by both. It’s a great read.
At the end of the day, they clung to hope . . . hope that their tragic situation could be redeemed in some way, that they could both be healed.
I believe it’s vitally important to read stories like this. How God can use us as a miracle for someone else can be clearly displayed in times of tragedy: the family that does not leave the bedside and keeps believing in spite of setbacks; the friends that offer 24-hour support, positioning themselves as a fortress alongside the family; the social media world at large that agrees to pray for people in hard places, people they’ve never even met. All miracles. All built on one thing: hope.
How does hope heal? I recommend exploring stories of real-life encounters with hope. There is no shortage of them. In a world that wants to make us possessive and afraid, we need stories of selflessness and surrender. When we read such stories they become part of us . . . hope becomes a part of us.
A few inspiring stories of hope:
Hope Heals: A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love, Katherine and Jay Wolf (see above)
Fight Back with Joy, Margaret Feinberg – Margaret Feinberg writes of her journey with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, and her commitment to facing it with joy. It is honest and inspiring.
Eight Twenty Eight: When Love Didn’t Give Up, Ian and Larissa Murphy – This is the love story between Ian and Larissa, a story that continued through an unexpected accident that left Ian with a traumatic brain injury, dependent upon constant care. Their story is inspiring in a raw and heartfelt way. It explores the true meaning of love and hope.
The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom – This best selling book is a classic I read every few years. In my opinion, it is one of the most important books of modern times, reminding us that even in world history’s darkest days, there was and is hope. Must read.
Black bear, brown bear, bison . . .
. . . caribou, goat, moose . . .
. . . sheep, wolf, wolverine . . .
It’s hunting season!
~Steven and Natalie
The Arctic Travelogue 