Chris & Elizabeth

For our last service in Alaska we were with Pastor Roach and Independent Baptist Church of Anchorage.  We loved meeting all the wonderful people in this great state!  The churches just took us in and cared for us as if we had known them for years.  I’m so glad that we made this trip, it has been a major blessing to us!  The Lord has also blessed us by allowing us to see friends from times past, friends that we hadn’t seen for years.  Our time at Independent Baptist Church of Anchorage was no different.  I was amazed when I walked inside the church and saw a friend that I had gone to college with!  He’s in the service now and is stationed in Alaska for a little while.  It was so good to introduce my wife and baby to him and to talk about our days in college.  Our time of deputation has been so refreshing and encouraging!  We have enjoyed the majestic beauty of God’s creation and the warm hospitality of His people!  We’re sad our time in Alaska has come to an end but we are excited to return to the lower forty-eight states and finish our time of deputation there!  

Our final Sunday in Alaska was partly spent with Bible Baptist Church in Houston, Alaska.  As we were traveling through Houston we saw some wild moose right next to the highway!  Forget deer crossing signs, here they have signs warning about moose and caribou!  The church was very nice with a beautiful view of the Alaskan woods just beyond the sanctuary.  This is the first church that has ever provided us with a substantial amount of tracts to give to folks as we travel on deputation!  This is something we can always use throughout our travels!  We’re thankful for all the thoughtful care Bible Baptist gave us while we were with them during their Sunday morning service!

November has gone by so quickly.  It’s hard to believe that we spent our last Wednesday in Alaska this past week.  For that Wednesday we were with Turnagain Baptist Church in Anchorage for their evening service.  The church is currently renting a very nice warehouse to meet in until they can purchase their own building.  Several young families are attending the church and we even met a lady who moved to Alaska with her husband just so they could help the church in Anchorage.  Being so far from the lower forty-eight states, Alaska is still America but yet it is a mission field.  The weather can make living here a challenge as well.  It’s wonderful to meet people who have come here for the purpose of spreading the gospel and being a light to this state.

We traveled north of Anchorage to the cold city of Fairbanks.  The drive was beautiful and we were excited to finally meet Pastor Duffett and Bible Baptist Church.  Pastor Duffett and Bible Baptist were very instrumental in helping us contact other churches in Alaska and even provided a vehicle for us to use while we were in the state.  The church went above and beyond in their care for our family!   It was such a blessing to get to know them and the ministry in Fairbanks.   I was also excited to see a couple that had lived in New York and gone to our church in Eden!  The Days were faithful members of our home church for years before they moved to Alaska.  Once they moved to Fairbanks they saw a need for churches and started a church in a remote village west of Fairbanks.  It was wonderful to see how the Lord has used the Day family here in Alaska!  We also met some people from Capital City Baptist Church, where I went to church throughout all my years of college!  Seeing these people was amazing but then the Lord blessed us again and had us meet Brother O’Brien, the father of John O’Brien, missionary to Ukraine.  This is the family that Elizabeth visited on her missions trip to Ukraine in 2008.  Needless to say this was an exciting time for us and we greatly enjoyed meeting and reacquainting with these dear people!  The church graciously decided to partner with us financially and prayerfully.  We praise the Lord for all He has done!