Reaching Alaska For Jesus

White Dog of God?

2011-04-24T09:43:00.006-08:00

Today, Christians are remembering Jesus' sacrifice, whether they celebrate or not. I made an interesting discovery this week. I picked up a book about Native American festivals. As I was reading it to the girls I was struck by the Iroquois' worship of the Great Spirit. At their mid-winter New Year they had a festival called the Festival of the White Dog. When the white dog was sacrificed it was first strangled, then decorated, finally the skin was burned and the flesh was eaten. The Iroquois believed that the white dog was a messenger to heaven.

When I did a Google search, I found the Festival of the White Dog is also called Most Excellent Faith and included public and private confession of sin. Prayer was offered to He Who Made Us as the white dog's skin was being burned. All of their other five festivals celebrated the harvest and included thanksgiving to He Who Made Us.

While their understanding was clearly not complete the similarity between a sheep and a white dog to people who had no sheep excited me. I also saw a connection in Jesus as a messenger between us and heaven. I wondered if anyone had caught the parallels before. Unfortunately, I think that Christians working among the Iroquois missed it. In this 1905 account, a local minister describes their prayer to He Who Made Us and calls them pagan Indians in the same sentence.

It is truly sad to see all the missed opportunities of the past to use existing pieces of native culture to build a better picture of God. Yet the misunderstandings continue. On Facebook this morning, I was offended to see a pagan classmate from high school call today "Jesus zombie day." Then, as I saw another post by a Christian declaring today a pagan holiday, the irony was inescapable. Could it be that a conservative Christian reaction to Easter led to this pagan response? Whatever the reason, I don't want to be the catalyst of division or a barrier to understanding God and his love. Let us work today to understand each person around us and their beliefs before we presume to teach.

The Freedom in Bankruptcy

2011-03-23T07:13:00.003-08:00

Lately, my mind has been exercised on the subject of forgiveness. It strikes me that sometimes we forget that we even need to forgive when we feel very hurt. It is such a blind spot at times that if someone reminds of the need to forgive and the benefit to us if we do we feel the other person's actions are being condoned and we, the victim, are being attacked. I have had a lot of stuff happen to me yet seems that maybe it is easier to notice our need to forgive the "unforgivable" because of the pain it causes us than the little things that happen everyday. If we decide that some things are "unforgivable" how are we ever going to forgive the little things?

I believe the biggest reason for unforgiveness is not seeing ourselves in the light of the sacrifice of Jesus. We need to fully realize our depravity. I can not think of one sin I have not committed, no, not even one - from sins against God, against others, and against my own mind and body. If a person understand who they really are inside as well as how much God loves and forgives them, they will not be able to hold anything against someone else not matter how great the hurt. This is the reason why we can't be forgiven if we don't forgive. If we don't forgive, we don't feel our need and thus can't confess our sin and ask for forgiveness

I am not denying the difficulty of forgiveness at times, but God is able to help us when we understand the necessity of it and ask him to change our hearts. Knowing that we have nothing makes us free to receive the gifts of love, joy, and peace Jesus offers us, and life becomes a marvelous adventure.

What God Brought In

2011-03-01T10:54:00.005-09:00

Things have been exciting here lately. Firstly, I am encouraged that two men in their thirties are beginning to attend church with us. As much as we love seeing the growth in our older members, it feels good to have some fresh younger faces worshiping with us.

Our house has been empty of visiting kids and it was quiet, too quiet. Despite the fact that we had trust issues with the kids who were coming, it didn't feel right. But in the past two weeks, a completely different group has been coming. There are five girls and up to three of them have been here at a time. Sara, Abby, and Miriam are enjoying playing school and other games with them. It is so nice that my girls have friends again.

Yet, what I like best is that they have an interest in vegetables. Two nights ago I served alfafa sprouts and spinach to make sandwiches. J and K, who were with us, seemed to really like them. We had been given some alfafa seed to share and I had a couple sprouting kits to spare. I hadn't given any away yet, because I wasn't sure who would be the most interested. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. J and K are very excited to be growing their own sprouts now. They also asked to take some of the spinach home to show their parents. How could I say no? I am hoping to get some of the quality lids I have seen at Sproutpeople to give others interested in sprouting.

My girls have started us on a new project that I am hoping to spread in the village. It began with a sprouting garlic clove that Sara wanted to plant. Then they wanted to plant any seed they had. That got Warren interested in indoor gardening. Finally I got the gardening bug. I am hoping to grow snap beans, snow peas, carrots, collards, kale, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. If we are successful, we will have viable gardening option to share with Selawik besides all the enjoyment our family will get from it.

Maniilaq: Health Then and Now

2011-02-06T07:19:00.002-09:00

Maniilaq started taking bath and told the people that someday they would take baths regularly. This was his only message related to health. The Bible, on the other hand, had laws about what to eat and how to deal with mildew, disease, bodily discharges and waste, and purity. I believe bathing was the only issue Maniilaq addressed because it was the only thing they were capable of changing for the next hundred years.

Inupiaq lifestyle has changed drastically for Maniilaq's people. There is little resemblance to the way things used to be. Hunting and fishing are still quite common, but this is only a portion of the modern Inupiaq diet. The younger the person the more this is true. Tuuqsaaq (took-sack) food takes most of the refrigerator, table, and cupboard.

If Maniilaq were alive now he would have much to say about diet. He would not insist on vegetarianism, though he might have to advocate caution, especially with fish that travel in polluted waters. He would grow a garden, sharing freely. His table would make use of a wide variety fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. He would share the best recipes with friends at every opportunity.

I believe that healthier attitudes are slowly coming through. I am seeing a small variety of whole grain and lowfat items in the stores. But the biggest challenge is the children, any change will only be temporary at best unless the whole family accepts. I am considering how best to help them enjoy more natural food.

Maniilaq: A New Picture?

2011-01-30T17:47:00.007-09:00

Maniilaq was born in the area of Qala, which is uninhabited now, but was in the upper Kobuk River area, near present day Kobuk and Shungnak. His birth date is uncertain, but most place it in the early 1830's

I have picked up some interesting facts in my reading that would somewhat alter the traditional view of this godly man. The first fact is that nothing is ever said about his father though his mother and sisters are well-documented with their names and the names of his sisters' descendants.

The second fact is that at about the time Maniilaq was born Qala was an Athabascan village, not an Inupiaq one. Athbascans and Eskimos have traditionally been enemies. Could it be that none of the Inupiat elders, who are the source of all we know of Maniilaq, know anything of his father because he was not Inupiat, but Athabascan?

The last fact is that at least one of the elders recounted that Maniilaq sometimes talked in a language that no one could understand. Being of the persuasion that the gift of tongues is given to help people who speak different languages better understand each other, this was uncomfortable for me to read. But it does fit perfectly if Maniilaq's father was not an Eskimo and thus Maniilaq was bilingual.

Maniilaq's story is full of unexplored details that we can not know the answers to until we meet him and his family in heaven. Then every tongue and tribe and nation will praise God together in one mighty voice and I know that many of Maniilaq's family will be there among them.

Maniilaq: Questioning his way to God

2011-01-25T11:09:00.007-09:00

Over the past couple of years, I have been repeated challenged in my Christianity as I followed the dialogue between Warren and a former Christian turned atheist that I will call Kelly. Each time I have come away stronger in my beliefs. I have come to see it is important for every Christian to regularly examine their beliefs to truly understand the essence of Christianity. This is best done by getting to know non-believers.

This week I again examined my beliefs courtesy of Kelly. This time I realized that like Kelly there is no middle ground for me between atheism and Christianity. But for me the desire for righteousness and the evidence for Christianity are too strong to abandon my beliefs. I believe for Kelly the pain caused by Christians is too deep to trust "their God", though Kelly would tell you the reasons are scientific.

Maniilaq must have been asking questions as well before God revealed himself. God can only show himself to those who are looking for him. I see Maniilaq as a boy with a tender heart who didn't like what he saw in the shamanistic beliefs around him such as restrictive taboos, shamans who used their powers against others, and the isolation of teenage girls. God saw a boy he could use to show his people a God who loved them and a better way to live.

God choose a very gentle way to begin to talk to him. It began with a small white bird Maniilaq had never seen before. This bird spoke of Father and Son, Father and Son. Source of Intelligence, Source of Life. This is a very trinitarian and biblical picture. The dove (strange, small white bird) didn't talk about himself, but instead about God the Father and God the Son. I believe further revelations helped Maniilaq to know the Father as The Grandfather and the Son as "One in White". (Jesus was revealed to Ezekiel, Daniel, and John the Revelator as dressed in shining white linen.)

People need satisfying answers to their questions. We need to be people who are always exploring. This is the only way that we can know what the questions are and thus be always ready to give an answer for our hope with meekness.

Verity

Maniilaq: Prophet Who Cared

2011-01-23T08:15:00.004-09:00

Maniilaq's message was dominated by his desire to see his people less fearful and their lives easier. He often confronted the shamans and showed his people that God was stronger. But what really stands out to me is his caring for adolescent girls.

God really does work circumstances out so we learn the lessons he wants us to. Maniilaq had three younger sister and God began to speak to him when he was in his teens. Now the people of his area had the custom of sending girls to live by themselves for a year when they began adolescence or, if they got to stay at home, they had to wear a hood that would keep people from seeing their faces for that year. So about the time God would have shown him that this practice was wrong, his sisters were experiencing this themselves. His sisters were certainly the first girls that he began to visit and comfort during their year of isolation.

God has always cared about all of his creatures. He demonstrates this in his frequent denunciations by Jesus and the Bible prophets of the mistreatment of the poor and helpless.

His messages to Maniilaq were no different. What a loving God we serve!

Verity

The Maniilaq Key

2011-01-16T13:28:00.004-09:00

Many who are familiar with Native Alaska are aware of the story of Maniilaq the Eskimo Prophet. It is a wonderful story of how God can use a willing seeker to teach truth to those who have never heard of Jesus.

Maniilaq began to hear God as a boy though a small white bird. Soon he was lead to choose a supportive wife and he began to challenge the shamans' and their taboos. He kept the Sabbath, and promoted cleanliness and the rights of girls.

I feel his story has much to teach us about how to reach the Eskimo culture and we need to dig deep until we have learned how create solid native congregations who can lead and bring in new seekers. Of course it is not the only key, but it has not been used to its full advantage.

Verity

When there are no words

2011-01-07T07:36:00.005-09:00

Pain. How do you deal with it on a daily unrelenting basis?

Right now, I have a friend who, in about one week, has been raped, had a close cousin die, discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her, was evicted from her place, and felt forced to give up her parental rights. She grew up with people making bad choices that hurt her deeply and she turned to alcohol. Not long ago she turned to Jesus and was trying to live a straight life. But her daughter was temporarily staying with someone else and that person molested her. This hurt my friend all over again and her life spiraled downward.

There are no easy fixes for problems like this. Selawik is a place dealing with constant tragedy. There have been four deaths (cancer, suicide, old age, heart attack) and a home burned to the ground since early November. This is in addition to the usual daily conflicts.

I do believe that Jesus is the answer, but that sounds like just a cliche when you don't trust anyone and feel no one really cares. It takes a lot of work to believe, to change, and to stick with it when you are surrounded by those who don't and won't.

Our job is come alongside people who are hurting and just care for them as Jesus did. We need to hold them up as best we can without encouraging destructive habits. Then when they are ready and able to trust and change, we will be able to help them. It doesn't matter how many times they fall, every step they take with Jesus will be there as a memory of what life can really be.

Verity

2010-06-22T20:26:00.002-08:00

Warren's parents have been talking about coming up to Selawik for a visit for some time. Well, they finally they were ready and wanted to do a VBS with us. I was quite skeptical for our ability to handle a large crowd with just four adults, but they seemed very excited.

Warren suggested having a Jesus theme. We worked out a very basic outline focused on different people he interacted with and parables he told. This helped me to choose the crafts. We wanted really nice crafts that the kids would want to take home. I found birdhouses, wind chimes, an idea for flip-flops/Jesus sandals, air dry clay, and prayer journals. But we still weren't sure just when Warren's parents would come. Meanwhile Warren was asked to speak at the annual Memorial Weekend Singspiration at the Friends' Church (Sabbath evening, May 29).

On the last Wednesday of May Warren's parents told us they would be coming tomorrow and they would be here for less than two weeks. Now we really needed to hustle. The ice was going out on Thursday when they arrived and we took it easy watching it go. Friday was busy getting ready for Sabbath and choosing a snack menu.

I designed an announcement but it was stranded on my computer because of printer/computer issues . Warren wasn't available to fix things because he had an end-of-the-month food distribution workload (at his new job). I was hoping that he would have time on Friday to work on his talk that he had to give Saturday night at the Friends church. But he helped me with the finishing touch of the announcement and found time to work on his talk before Sabbath morning service while I posted one announcement.

Warren's talk at the Singspiration went well and we were grateful for the chance to share as brothers and sisters in Christ. Warren's parents were also given a chance to greet the people.

We posted our final announcements on Tuesday the day we began the VBS. Attendance was good and things went more smoothly once we began. I was very glad knowing that God had brought all our loose ends together and tied them so nicely.

Before you ask, He will answer

2010-05-02T12:15:00.007-08:00

It was Thursday night and Warren and I went for a walk. The subject of our financial situation came up. We were getting close to the bottom of the money barrel again. We came to no conclusion except that we felt less willing to leave than ever. It seems the longer we are here the more it feels that this is where we belong and where God wants us. Yes, there would benefits to leaving, but they would be only for our family, and that is not enough for us anymore.

We didn't feel the need to beg God's help; we were not worried. I felt God did want us to stay and was waiting to see how he would provide for us this time. He has kept us here for over four years by his faithfulness. He is so good.

Friday morning, Warren got a call offering him a part-time job helping to meet the needs of the community. It is a wonderful job that will help him get to know more of Selawik and their needs.
The past four years have been filled with adjusting to running a house in the Arctic, the radio project, and becoming familiar with the culture (though not in the systematic way we would like to have done). We have gotten to know many people, but there are also many we do not know.
This job should help with that. It also happens to mean that we will have the finances to stay.

I am reminded of the dream Ellen White had of the journey to heaven and the cords of faith that they trusted. My cord of faith has been growing gradually over the past four years and it has just gotten a little bigger.

So even if this job doesn't last long or work out as promised, we know God will provide for us in another way, and that is all we need to know.

Why I am glad we didn't go to campmeeting

2010-04-20T20:52:00.005-08:00

Our family was fully anticipating a trip to Nome for Native campmeeting last weekend. Twelve people, in addition to our family, said they wanted to go. This was exciting. However, we knew space would be limited on the small planes that would be available to fly us. So not knowing the flight arrangements that had been made, we prepared to stay if they didn't have enough plane seats for all of us. This was Native campmeeting after all and we wanted them to have the first chance to go.

Then we discovered that there were only ten seats available for Selawik. Warren and I were praying and trying to find a workable option for everyone who wanted to go and would gain a blessing from it. Finally it seemed that it would truly be impossible for all to go. And now there were more than twelve that wanted to. We didn't want to "play God" and choose who could go and who had to stay. But I kept praying and telling myself that God would make a way, that he wanted everyone to go as much as I did.

God did make a way. Jim Kincaid had a charter to Kotzebue with two seats free. They could meet with the other ten from the two planned flights later in the afternoon. Two people from Kotzebue decided not to go, so that left two more Selawik seats on the 19 seat Bering Air charter to Nome. And we had several people who decided not to go as well, so we were back to twelve who wanted to go and they were ALL going. Amen, Hallelujah, and Praise the Lord, this was a blessing indeed. Getting to be in Nome ourselves couldn't possibly feel better than the joy we had that weekend. We have heard testimonies of the refreshment received by those who attended the meetings. They had a wonderful time with Jesus and his friends.

Truly our cups are overflowing, God is so good.

The Challenges of Starting Over

2010-02-03T13:29:00.006-09:00

We have been here for four years now. Abby celebrated her fourth birthday a few weeks after our arrival. Having just turned eight, she remembers little of our former life in “the outside world”. Miriam was born after our move and knows nothing of that life. Sara, at 11, is the only one who carries any real memory of our pre-Arctic existence. Much has changed for Warren and I as well.

The ebb and flow of plumbing difficulties dominate my memories of the first year, back when everything about village life was a novelty. At least once, I believe, we were unable to wash clothes, dishes, or ourselves all at the same time. There was a few weeks last winter when we had to use a honeybucket (a 5 gallon bucket toilet) for the first time. At the apartments they were stuck using honeybuckets most of the winter, so we got off easy. It is probably part of my personality, but I found these problems more amusing than annoying.

Learning to squish the remnants of our 1400 square foot home into 600 square feet was another part of the novelty at first. Later, having boxes stacked to the ceiling and sitting on beanbags was not so fun. But through gradually reducing our excess belongings, we gained the room for our place to become a home. A cast-off couch covered with a blanket also helped a lot during family and worship time. Finding out how few things I really need has made more room in my thoughts to just enjoy life.

I have been growing a lot and learning to show love to my family better as I have grown closer to God. As I have decided to place our school time much lower on the priority list, the girls have been much more helpful. I have more time for Warren and more patience with the girls. And the school work is also getting done. God really does have the best answers.

When people ask me how I like it in Selawik, I tend to say how beautiful it is here. And the beauty is more than I can absorb at times. But even more than that, I can't bear to think of leaving the people here. I want them to see all wonders of life with Jesus that I see. Even when they (mostly children) do things that hurt us, I just don't have it in me hold it against them. I know the hurts they face daily and I want so much for them to have Jesus in all his fullness to heal them.

At times it feels we are in the wrong place, that we are not the right ones for the job. But today it comes to me that perhaps the radio project that has occupied the largest part of Warren's time is the main reason we are here. And perhaps more people will begin to trust us and to see Jesus in us the longer we stay. We have begun to see God working in new ways. We are very excited about the recommitment of one of our members through baptism. He has a lot of growing to do and things haven't been perfect since his baptism last month. Still, we are encouraged as we are praying for him to have God's strength to deal with all the challenges of his new start.

When does Sabbath begin in the Arctic?

2009-10-02T11:40:00.005-08:00

Recently a friend wrote to me regarding an email he'd received from a friend of his. The topic was, when does the Sabbath begin (and end). I have thought and studied long on this subject, since we are living in the Arctic region and sunset comes so early (or so late) here. I ended up writing a long response to him, and I have edited it into an article for your enjoyment (and hopefully edification) here.

First, no matter where you are on earth there is a 24-hour cycle. How that cycle is measured may differ. At the poles, in mid-winter (Around December 21), you will observe a slight decrease in the darkness every day. That should correspond to Sunrise, Noon, and Sunset, all at once (though the sun will never actually rise). In mid-summer (Around June 21), you would observe a slight decrease in the light every day as the sun dips in it's cycle around the horizon. That should correspond to midnight.

In the Arctic regions in mid-summer, the sun will visibly travel around the horizon, from North (midnight) to East, to South, to West, and back to North. In mid-winter, the sun (if you are far enough south to even see it) will appear briefly over the Southern horizon then dip back over the horizon.

Before the advent of railroads, people's time was actually more correctly kept by the sun. You could set your clock to 12 noon when the sun was high overhead. But that was inconvenient for railroads to keep track of, because if you traveled some distance your pocket watch would be off by some unknown number of minutes and you would end up missing appointments, etc. The railroad decided to use time zones, so when you arrived in a new time zone you could reset your watch by a whole number of hours, instead of some unknown number of minutes.

In the process of using time zones, governments have put an unnatural influence on the time system, which God intended to be based on the sun. While it is convenient, it is completely artificial to have time zones as we do today. For instance, when Alaska first was "time zoned" there were three different time zones, based on dividing the width of Alaska by the distance covered by the sun in one hour. Since the earth is about 24000 miles in circumference, the distance in each time zone should be about 1000 miles. Alaska is not 3000 miles across but it is more than 1000 miles across, so part of Alaska was in each of three time zones (with the majority of it in the middle time zone). However, for convenience' sake the government has now put all of Alaska into the same time zone. This means that the sun is highest in the sky for us, not at noon (as it should be) but about 2 pm.

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, before his death due to cancer, wrote an article dealing with this subject. I recommend reading it before you continue reading this post. I highly respect Dr. Bacchiocchi, but I differ with him on several points.

First, considering how the government has played with time zones, not only in Alaska but in other areas where it is convenient, it is clear that the "time" does not always correspond to the actual "sun time". This is especially true when Daylight-saving Time (DST) is in effect.

Due to this, I differ with Dr. Bacchiocchi's argument that in polar regions the Sabbath should be kept from 6 pm to 6 pm. (Though I might see some sense in keeping it from the average Sunset to Sunset-- which would actually be about 8 pm in our region due to the skewed time zones).

Bacchiocchi also makes a couple of other points I differ with:

1. Bacchiocchi appears to claim that the Old Testament does not specify when Sabbath should begin, and that we only have New Testament custom to determine that. He does mention the "even to even" specified regarding the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:32) but seems to think that the other Sabbaths' starting/ending times would have gone unspecified. I have a hard time believing God was that vague. He specified the day as "The Evening and the Morning" for the first through sixth days (Genesis 1:31) and rested the Seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3), so the evening-to-evening specification of a day seems clear enough.

2. Bacchiocchi makes a quite a point of needing to work the other six days according to the fourth commandment, as though we'd be breaking that commandment if we are unable to work for an employer because of our Sabbath observance. There are a number of flaws in this argument:

God never commanded us to work for an employer. We could take Jesus question "Are there not twelve hours in the day" and combine that with "Six days you shall labor". If Bacchiocchi is right, we should be laboring for 6x12=72 hours a week, and Bacchiocchi implies that it must be for some employer other than ourselves (otherwise, we could simply ask for Friday off and work for the Lord, preparing for the Sabbath). The real issue is, doing that would be inconvenient for most people living in the temperate zone, much less in the arctic.

There is nothing wrong with asking your employer for two days off, especially since God designed the sixth day to be the Preparation for the Sabbath. Maybe we really should not be working for an employer on that day anyway. That would leave us free to keep the Sabbath from Sunset to Sunset wherever we live. At least, we should make sure we are prepared for Sabbath before Sabbath begins.

If you take Bacchiocchi's argument as true, people living even as far south as Seattle would be working until after the Sabbath began, since Sunset this year (2009) in Seattle is as early as 4:17 pm. How far do you want to take this argument? It doesn't make sense to advocate 6 pm to 6 pm for the arctic region, but not for Seattle as well. If you make that claim, then we might as well all observe Sabbath from 6 pm to 6 pm.

I think it is better to take the Bible as it reads, even if it is inconvenient for our schedule-driven society. It's a good reminder that our schedules are subject to God, not our own wills. Yes, it may be inconvenient in Seattle to ask to get off as early as 4 pm (3 pm if you want to get home before Sabbath, in traffic, Noon if you want to have any Preparation time). Here in Selawik, it's also inconvenient when the sun sets at 2:41 pm. Farther North in Barrow, you don't even have any actual sun. You might have to use the lightest point in the day (dark as it is) as your sunrise, noon and sunset all in one. (For reference, the earliest ending of twilight in Barrow in December 2009, is at 2:54 pm).

Now that I've made my counter arguments, I want to make it clear that I don't think God is so much interested in us measuring the precise moment the sun goes over the horizon, as the principle of letting God rule our schedule. Your horizon might differ from mine, depending on how high a hill you live on, and how high the mountains are between you and the sun. But God can still be master of your life and mine if we let Him.

I believe there are several practical reasons God had for starting the day in the evening. Bacchiocchi brought out some of them, such as a family gathering from their work. I also think there is a psychological start to your day in the evening. If you go to bed with your secular thoughts, you will likely awake with them as well. God wanted us to retire for the night, having already welcomed the Sabbath, so when we awake, we would be ready to commune with Him in a special way.

As for how our family celebrates the Sabbath, we have decided to keep Sabbath for more than 24 hours. In the summer, we begin Sabbath observance at our supper meal, even though the sun will not set until 2 am Saturday morning. This is because of the aforementioned psychological reason I believe God had for the Sabbath beginning before you go to bed. We want to make our Friday evening meal a special one even if it is not technically Sabbath yet.

In the winter, though Sabbath may be technically over as early as 2:41 pm, we may not have finished potluck yet, and we certainly don't want to stop celebrating and enjoying the Sabbath hours. So we end up celebrating it until later in the evening. Since Sabbath is a delight to us, we do not see any reason to limit it to a mere 24 hours, though I wouldn't try to keep it all week as some Sunday keepers claim they do. Clearly there is a place for the 6 days of labor, but I don't think that should mean we cannot keep a few extra hours of Sabbath to guard it's edges.

In conclusion, I've outlined my scientific, Biblical and practical reasons behind how we observe Sabbath as a family. However, I also feel it is important to leave some of these details up to the conscience of others. While I am happy to share my reasons and beliefs with others, I wouldn't want to impose my specific method on others. I would rather that others find Sabbath to be a delight, than that they burden it down with legalistic rules for when it should begin and end. I hope that by my example, others can find the joy of true Sabbath observance, which begins in the heart, with a relationship with the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ.

My Theory of Creation

2009-09-25T13:36:00.002-08:00

Recently, Verity and I have been watching an online controversy over a Christian school teaching evolution. In the ensuing online discussion, someone posted a challenge of sorts:

But yes - please, someone, show me a good, credible, well founded scientific account, that accounts for all of the evidence (rather than picking at the edges of a few pieces of it) and is consistent with recent creation, and I'll be enormously grateful.

I responded to that post with the following response. My method starts with the Bible to build my scientific theory, but uses scientific evidence to bolster the theory, and attempts to account for all actual, observable evidence (as opposed to other theories which do not start with the Bible). It is my claim that, though I may not have all the evidence (I don't) and the theory is open to change (like any theory), the basic points the Bible teaches need to be the foundation for truth.

I would like to hear of evidence you feel contradicts this theory (or that would support it, for that matter). I know I need many more references to back what are "founded" assertions (but without references provided). I will try to add these as I have time or assistance from others. With that intro, here is my theory.

The Age of the Earth

First, the physical rocks of the earth, created in the beginning by God, must have been created instantaneously. Polonium halos are found in the granite rocks of the earth, which demonstrate that the rocks must have formed instantaneously. If the rocks had been left over from a big bang, gradually cooling to granite, the results of polonium isotopic decay would not be visible for us today:

http://www.halos.com/

Second, the common idea that scientific dating methods make a long age of the earth certain, is in error. New research shows that "Instead of radiometric dating being a challenge to creationists, it is now a challenge to uniformitarians."

See http://creation.com/radiometric-dating-and-old-ages-in-disarray for details.

Radiometric dating depends on three main assumptions:
1. Known quantity of initial isotopes. (e.g. we know how long the candle was to start with).
2. Constant decay rate (e.g. we know how fast the candle was burning, and it remained the same the whole time).
3. Closed system (equilibrium).

Surprisingly, the second assumption is the one most wrong (contrary to what skeptics had long alleged). There is good evidence of accelerated decay in the past.

So far, we've only dealt with the evidence regarding dating of rocks and fossils. Now, to continue with the theory, guided by the Bible account of creation and the flood.

The Structure of the Earth

At creation, the Bible states that the earth consisted of a core covered with water (no continents visible). Thus, there must have been a large quantity of water on the surface until the dry land was made to appear. Revelation 21:1 tells us the new heavens and earth will have no more sea (meaning, no giant bodies of water). The weather we currently experience is largely governed by ocean currents and temperatures, and evaporation over the ocean provides atmospheric moisture for rain. Atmospheric heating and cooling is then responsible for wind which carries moisture laden air over landmasses where elevation cools the air and precipitates the moisture out of it. This supplies water for rivers and streams to water the surface of the continents.

It is reasonable to conclude that the original creation also had no sea, especially since Genesis 2:5 tells us that it had not rained yet at that point (and likely would not have until the flood).

Okay, skeptics are already laughing. No rain? No sea? Well, it is largely because humans are so used to life on *this* planet that we have a hard time imagining life in any other situation. But a simple survey of the universe should show us that things like the water cycle are not universal on every planet. They depend on a certain set of circumstances, ones which the Bible tells us were not there in the beginning.

Where did the rivers come from, to water the land? (Genesis 2:10)

To understand this, we must digress. Here are some of the factors which cause our current water cycle:
1. Atmospheric temperature fluctuation due to the rotation of the earth, and an atmosphere thin enough to permit significant solar heating
2. Large bodies of water (oceans) to evaporate.
3. Large land masses (continents) with changes in elevation (mountains) to trigger cooling and precipitation.
4. Heating and cooling cycles caused by the rotation of the earth in relation to the sun.

Parts of the world even today do not frequently experience our water cycle. We call them deserts.

Since the Bible states it had not rained in the beginning, our theory must conclude that there was no sea (which agrees with the description of the new earth in Revelation). Now, if there was no sea, where did all the water covering the earth in Genesis 1:2 go? Several places:

1. Some water went above the "firmament" (Genesis 1:6-7). The "firmament" or expanse or atmosphere did not simply contain evaporated water (like at present) but separated the waters. Some have speculated that there might have been an ice layer around our earth, which was destroyed in the global flood. While skeptics like to laugh this off, you must keep in mind that there are other planets which do have frozen gas layers of various kinds around them. Something of this nature may have shielded the earth from harmful radiation, unlike at present, and may have also served to equalize the earth's temperature much more. You may have noticed that on cloudy days, the day does not get as hot, but on cloudy nights, the night does not get as cool either.

Genesis 7:11 refers to the windows of heaven being opened. This could be describing the collapse of the trapped frozen layer of water above the earth. While it might not take 40 days and nights for that water to rain down, continual re-evaporation could prolong the process (as happens in modern rain forests, when it rains for months on end without stopping. Nobody would claim that is impossible-- it happens all the time).

2. Some water went below the surface of the ground (Genesis 1:9 says the waters were gathered together in "one place"). We've already established both Biblically and scientifically that there must have been no large bodies of water before the flood (else there would have been rain). And it would be consistent of God to promise a new earth like the original earth had been (no sea).

What would a large body of water under the earth do? We know what small bodies of water under the earth do today. Many places on earth benefit from naturally heated water. Greenland and Iceland benefit from geothermal energy for much of their energy needs. My theory is that God originally had a large circulatory system for the water under the earth. Instead of ocean currents causing hurricanes on the surface (as they do today), under-continent currents would heat the earth's crust evenly from below. Springs of water (artesian wells, geysers, etc.) would come forth at various locations to water the surface of the earth (see Genesis 2:10). The rivers produced enough evaporation to cause a light mist (dew) to form on the surface of the earth every night, but no heavy rains (Genesis 2:6).

So far, this is all theory, but there is good scientific evidence that the surface of the earth in the polar regions was once warm enough for large plants (e.g. giant ferns) to grow. I live in Alaska, where we regularly find fossils of this nature.

Now we've answered the question, "Where did the rivers come from?". There was a water cycle, but not the one we know today. Clearly the earth has changed much since it was created "Good, Good, Very Good".

The Inhabitants of the Earth

Now, we can make sense of some of the other things skeptics like to laugh at. Why did early people live so long?

1. Having just been created with great vitality, human life took a long time to wear out (barring accident or murder). Disease was practically unknown.

2. Having a radiation barrier, mutation-causing defects would be rare. It is interesting to note that it is only after the flood that barrenness (e.g. Sarah and Abraham) begins to happen. It may be the case that the flood stirred up a large quantity of previously buried radioactive material, which was now much closer to the surface. This could have decreased life spans, caused barrenness and birth defects, etc. As could the increased radiation from space.

3. At creation, there was no death. Skeptics like to point out animals (and even plants) which appear to be designed to be carnivorous, parasitic, or harmful in some way. However, deeper study can show alternate explanations for these cases. For instance, the case of thorns, it has been shown (I wish I had the article reference, but it was in Creation Magazine) that the genes which produce thorns are the same as those which produce leaves, only tightly curled in on themselves. Original creation was thorn-free, but God designed the ability for rapid, limited adaptation into each kind, in order for them to deal with the situations they would find themselves in.

In much the same way, humans did not eat animal flesh originally. It has been shown in scientific studies that human intestines actually lengthen in a matter of weeks when given a primarily vegetarian diet, and shorten when given a meat diet. This is (of course) to deal with the differing time needed to digest fiber-rich foods (plants) versus meat (which will stagnate and putrefy in a longer intestine). This is why people switching their primary diet from meat to vegetarian will claim they have less strength (they do for some weeks time).

The change away from a plant-based diet decreased lifespans after the flood.

The Global Flood

You already know my theory holds the Biblical flood of Noah's time actually occurred. Skeptics like to point out "flaws" in this idea. They claim that:

1. Noah could not have fit all the species in the ark.
2. Noah's boat would have sunk in the storm.
3. Water could not have covered the highest mountains.
4. All life could not have been destroyed and then grown back in such a short time.

And probably more objections I can't think of at the moment. I will first deal with these objections, then point out how the flood actually provides an excellent explanation for many things we see in nature today.

Answers to Flood Objections

1. Evolutionists know about diversification of species but seem to think that creationists do not believe in it. Fixity of species is not a Biblical viewpoint, and Creationists recognize that Noah would only have had to take one of each original Bible "kind" into the ark (Genesis 7:14). What exactly these kinds were, we don't know, but there are some things we can be fairly sure of. The idea held by some Theistic Evolutionists that the original kinds were at a high level classification (such as "mammals", "birds", "reptiles") and then they evolved from there, does not fit the fossil evidence. Since these "kinds" of creation were the same "kinds" to be taken into the ark (letting the Bible interpret itself), it is not surprising that the fossil record contains a large number and variety of animals, much as we have today (and many which have since gone extinct). However, if there were only a few basic types created, "mammals", "birds" and "reptiles", etc. we would expect to see only a few basic prototypical "kinds" in the fossil record (assuming you place the flood near the beginning of evolution). Or if you place the flood in the recent past (but still with long ages of evolution before it), then you would expect to see only a few basic kinds alive today (not having had enough time to evolve).

All that said, Noah could have taken one "horse/zebra/zorse/donkey/zonkey" etc. pair, one "cat" pair, one "dog" pair, and even pairs of the major dinosaur kinds (as eggs perhaps, or small juveniles). There have been a number of positive results of feasibility studies of Noah's job, given what we know about technology of the past.

2. Technology of the past was much greater than most people realize. Archeology has revealed that early cultures knew about smelting iron, some techniques we don't even know how to replicate in modern times. They knew about batteries, and possibly about winged flight (airplane-shaped models found), certainly about hot air balloon flight.

With decent technology and 120 years to build, Noah could do quite well building the barge. Barge? Yes, the design of the boat as given in the Bible is much like a modern barge, designed not to be steered but to be stable in high waters and rogue waves. Even modern ships are hard pressed when a wave nearly 100 feet high hits them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave

But Noah's boat was designed for that (by God's instructions), and of course we must not discount God's supernatural protection (if you believe in God, as I do).

3. Water could not cover the mountains we have today, but as Genesis recounts, in the beginning, water covered the entire planet. Even now, there is plenty of water to cover the planet, if the continents were leveled and the undersea plates were raised. My theory is that the undersea plates cover vast collapsed basins which once held the water God gathered "into one place" (Genesis 1:9). It is interesting that the deepest sea (Marianas Trench) is geographically near the highest mountains (the Himalayas).

Evolutionists of course believe that raising new mountains takes eons of time, especially for ones of non-volcanic origin. But there is significant evidence overlooked (or ignored) by evolutionists. In a number of mountain ranges (one in Italy comes to mind) the granite rocks are twisted in an interesting pattern, a tight whorl, which proves the rocks must have been in a soft state (though non-volcanic). Evolutionists claim these layers were laid down slowly over millions of years, then plunged below the crust to be heated, softened, and twisted into their present shape, then brought back to the surface and raised to their present height as mountains. However, the flaw in their theory is that the individual layers have been preserved. They would have been melted together if they had been in a molten state when they were laid down. The flood explanation fits much better, with the rocks previously being mud layers laid down in the flood, then raised up while still in a soft state, to their present mountain height.

The objection might be raised that granite cannot have formed from mud! However, this is simply uninformed opinion. That mud can mineralize in a short period of time has been demonstrated in a number of locales around the world.

In summary: My theory is that as the Bible claims, the flood covered all the highest mountains of the time (which were much lower than the highest mountains around now). The water to do this now exists in the current ocean basins. These basins were formed when existing surface plates sunk into the space occupied by the "fountains of the great deep". The subterranean cataracts of water that broke forth, combined with the water raining from the vapor barrier above the earth, caused the worldwide flood which destroyed all breathing animals not in the ark. Some marine life did survive (though many were also entombed in under water mud slides, etc.) Of course, many insects and microbes were able to survive amidst the debris floating on the surface, as well as by being free-loaders on the ark.

4. Regarding the rapid recovery of life on the earth, it has long been claimed by scientists that all humans can trace their Mitochondrial DNA back to a single woman (known in popular media as Mitochondrial Eve. Recent research has shown several problems with the assumptions this theory was based on. Read the details here:

http://www.trueorigin.org/mitochondrialeve01.asp

Summarizing the article, the mitochondrial clock will have to be recalibrated such that "*Using the new clock, she would be a mere 6,000 years old (1998, Science)*". But the author goes on to reject this, saying "no one thinks that’s the case".

Several other areas of science have shown that a recent recovery from the flood makes sense. By reverse-extrapolating current population growth rates, we can conclude that there was a small group (say, eight) individuals about four thousand years ago. Interestingly, the Mayan calendar had a "year zero" which produces an age of the earth less than one hundred years different from that calculated by Bishop Ussher's Chronology.

Flood contributions

The flood does provide some good explanations for what we observe in nature today. The vast beds of fossils, laid down by rapid deposition in water, demonstrate floods of at least a local nature were in play. In many cases, fossils protrude through more than one "layer" which would otherwise be assumed to be millions of years apart.

The claim by evolutionists that the layers demonstrate the age of the fossils has another explanation possible. In my Bible-based theory, the fossils were laid down as any modern flood would do with rocks. When dealing with rocks, gravel and sand, the finest sediment ends up on top due to the weight and turbulence of the water. The same thing happens when animals are buried in modern floods. The idea that less developed animals were buried millions of years before later developed life forms is flawed. The same evidence can be explained by a single global flood occurring merely thousands of years ago.

Flood waters are also much more powerful than people had assumed. Some recent floods (one in Iceland I believe) demonstrated the power of flood waters to erode solid concrete and rock through cavitation (the same phenomena that damages ship propellers). The same thing has happened to dams that have washed out.

Features such as the Grand Canyon could have eroded in short order, especially considering that what is now rock was once layers of mud. But even the solid rock could erode rapidly when confronted with cavitating water moving at great speed and pressure, such as would have occurred if there was a lake behind the canyon area.

I could post much more on this subject but will stop now due to limited time. If you have more questions or objections, I'd be happy to respond.

Conclusion

I'm sure there are many other objections to be raised by those who disbelieve the Bible account. You have to take off your "evolutionist glasses" in order to see the same evidence through the lens of God's worldview. Once you do that, you will find that the same evidence which is "proof" to an evolutionist often turns out to fit well into a young earth creationist framework. Some times there are challenges to the young earth creationist views, but more often than not, there are significant evidences in favor of the young earth view taught by the Bible, which are overlooked or ignored by evolutionists.

I challenge you who are on the edge between believing what God says literally, or believing the conjectures of most science, to give the literal Bible record a chance. I'm not asking you to believe it outright, though I think it would be wonderful if you did. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). However, I am asking you to at least take what the Bible says as the starting point of a theory, then see how well you can fit the evidence into it. This is the same process used by evolutionists to develop their theories, so why can't you use it to start your own Bible-based theory? If you do that, I suspect you will be amazed to see how the evidence *does* support the Bible, if you give it a chance.

God bless as you study his works.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork." (Psalm 19:1)
"The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7)

Bible-believing: Minus the Bible

2009-09-25T13:32:00.006-08:00

It is with great sadness that I realize many who are in church are believing and teaching the lies of the devil. If it was confined to believing, it would be sad enough, but to be teaching others these things is very tragic. We have come to a time when we need to stand firmly for the truth of the Bible. What seems unusual about the situation is that now people are claiming to believe the Bible while teaching things clearly contrary to the Bible, even to the most casual observer.

Verity and I have been watching an online controversy over a Christian school teaching evolution. One church member defending this practice eventually admitted many other things he also no longer believes from the Bible (while still claiming to be a Bible-believing Christian).

This post is a response to some of his "no-longer-beliefs", not to prove him wrong (though I believe he is) but to demonstrate that his "not-beliefs" are incompatible with clear statements of Scripture.

I no longer believe that God created the earth less than 10,000 years ago to look like it is billions of years old. Why would he lie?

In response to this and other Evolution-related beliefs, I have written another post introducing My Theory of Creation.

Even though a scientist doesn’t acknowledge God, I no longer believe it is possible for him to be outside of a relationship with God. How can devoting your life to understanding how God works be anything other than worship?

Romans 1:22,25 "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator..."

I no longer believe I would have made a different choice than Eve. I agree with Eve, I would rather know, than to not know, and I would rather know the difference between good and evil than to be naïve.

...

If knowledge of God is the greatest good, then Eve made the right choice.

Genesis 3:5 records the devil's assertion that "God knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Is it safe to follow the logic of the devil? I think not.

I no longer believe that sin separates man from God. ... I think it is fear that separates.

I no longer think that either my sin, or my death bothers God much. ... He isn’t sorrowful. He is joyful.

In contrast Isiaiah 59:1-3 says, " Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness."

I no longer feel it is important for me to struggle against sin and my bad habits.

This one is tricky because it is true that we cannot overcome sin in our own strength. But Jesus came into the world to free us from both the guilt and the power of sin. I John 2:4 warns us that "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." I appreciate the promise of Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" and Malachi 3:3, "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." (Read Malachi 2:17-3:6 for the context).

God wants us to overcome sin and He promises to do it through His power. So yes, stop struggling in your own strength, but as Hebrews 12:4 says, "You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." So we do need to resist sin through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives.

I no longer believe that preaching the gospel or saving souls is the most important thing for me, or the church to do.

But Jesus last words to His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8) included that commission. It is perhaps even more important for your salvation than it is for the salvation of those you reach. If you don't do it, God will find another, but you yourself may be lost if you refuse God's call on your life. (Esther 4:14)

Ezekiel 33:6 warns, "But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."

I no longer believe that God has a plan for your life or mine.

But God says, "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

I don’t think you can expect God to intervene to prevent your death.

This misunderstands the purpose of life and death here on earth. God desires our life but is constrained by the accusations of the devil to leave us with only a time of probation here and now, prior to Heaven and the New Earth.

I'd rather take the attitude of the three friends of Daniel prior to their trial by fire, which was basically, "God is able to save us, but even if He does not, we will not worship your gods" (Daniel 3:17-18). God did honor their commitment to to Him with intervention to prevent their death. I know God has intervened personally in my life to prevent my death. No, I don't expect eternal life in the here and now, but I do trust that God has my life in His hands and I do not fear death because I know it can only happen when He sees the time is right. And I have hope for eternal life at His coming.

I don’t know if there is heaven or hell after death, but I know there is heaven and hell here and now. Don’t miss the heaven here, while hoping for the one in the future.

I would rather miss the heaven here in order to prepare for the one in the future. Jesus promised blessing on those who are persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:11-12), and Paul tells us that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. " (2 Timothy 3:12)

It is true that Jesus gives us peace in the here and now, regardless of our external circumstances. But this peace is not the peace the world gives (John 14:27). I think of the many Christians who have been at peace while in the midst of persecution, prison, and threat of death. But I fear that if you are enjoying heaven in the here and now, it may be because "You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton [wasteful]; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. " (James 5:5)

Many of us have been living in comfort while others in the world are starving, suffering from disease, etc. and we have done little or nothing to help them. How much better if we had chosen to live in simplicity, sharing our surplus with those in need, both in our local communities and in the world at large. We cannot claim ignorance of world needs, when modern media has made us very aware of them. But I fear we have become callous to the pain of the world. Jesus wants our hearts to hurt with the suffering of those in pain, so we can be in sympathy with Him and care for them as He does.

I pray that everyone who reads this, myself included, will resolve to believe the Word of God as it stands, and by the grace of God, choose to live by every Word of God, as Jesus did and calls us to do.

Back in Touch

2009-08-30T13:02:00.003-08:00

My last post feels like a lifetime ago, I have passed through so many phases. May was a month of questions for Warren and I. June was wonderful and we stayed outside as much as possible.

July found us in Anchorage attending suicide prevention meetings and house-sitting, followed by campmeeting. We were so blessed to get acquainted with the newest Arctic Adventurers headed for St. Lawrence Island and Bethel. It is such a thrill to see the mission growing. Lee Venden's meetings also touched us greatly with a sense of God's amazing love. You can listen to God is passionately in love with us and would rather die than live without us. I am so full of awe as I think of it.

After we returned, we spent a week cleaning the house and the church because a group of kids decided to have an extended homebrew party here. It finally got us motivated to do a much needed church rearrangement. We now have a computer lab ready for Warren to teach others computer and electronic finance skills.

August kept us in the garden and on the tundra picking berries as well as visiting friends. Sharing from our garden and of homemade bread gives us such a feeling of wealth. We also moved back into our schedule and started school. I am very much looking forward to another of discoveries with the girls.

The radio project is doing so well. I wanted to write about it earlier this summer, but some things were still up in the air. The software is quite stable now and Fritz Pleier is excited about his part in assembling the kits into their cases. We also have another network becoming interested in the project. I love watching God bring all the pieces together at just the right time.

Warren is also finishing installing wind turbines and wiring them. I am so looking forward to having wind-generated electricity.

But the greatest joy of all came yesterday. Warren had downloaded a three part series Lee Venden did on the Holy Spirit following Operation Latter Rain a couple of years ago. We were so blessed by what we learned. I had began to feel that I had lost my focus, but I didn't realize how much until this series touched me in a new way. Please pray for us to be filled with the spirit and we will sense his leading as he fills us with love, energy, and boldness for the tasks gives us. We can easily be distracted and are often tired, but knowing God is that one thing that fills our souls. Move us out, Jesus, is my prayer.

Jesus only,
Verity

Dillingham Developments

2009-05-04T17:26:00.007-08:00

Here are excepts from an e-mail sent to us from Judy Thompson. For space I have to leave out a lot. So, if you see Judy, ask her about the pizza miracle, it's good!

Blessings,
Verity

"In February, we were thrilled to witness the baptism of the parents of one of my students at school. Eric was born and raised an Adventist, but has not been a part of the church for many years. But recently, the Lord has been working on their hearts, and when Misty and Missy and the others started the children's church here a few months ago, they decided that maybe this was the time to recommit their lives to the Lord. We certainly praise the Lord for the dedication of our young people here!

In March, S from Togiak, committed his life to Jesus in baptism. This was our first baptism in the Togiak church, and one that we've waited a LONG time for!!It is so thrilling to see people stepping out of the crowd and committing their lives to the Lord.

Dillingham SDA School is the last Adventist school in “Bush” Alaska. It is located about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage in Bristol Bay. We are maybe the only true mission school left in the United States. Only two of our students come from Adventist homes, and almost half of our students have to be sponsored by local church members, on top of the regular subsidy that the church pays to the school every month.

In spite of the financial challenges that present us at the school, church and conference levels, we want to see the work here grow forward and NOT backwards. The [school] board committed to hiring two teachers again for next year, and also starting a Pre-K program as well!!! We have been looking into the idea for a while, and a couple of months ago, placed an ad on the GC website looking for someone to volunteer to get everything up and running next year. We don't have a single penny to put into it. In fact, as a school, we've been on a "no purchases" program now since Christmas! Somehow the Lord supplies all our needs, and the fuel bills are getting paid, one at a time. But we have been impressed that there is a need here for a good Christian Pre-school program, and that this will contribute to our enrollment as well. So we figured if we could get another volunteer up here for next year, we'd have them work on getting that running. This will give us one room with Pre-K and Kindergarten, one with Grades 1-4, and one with Grades 5-8. We've had two wonderful volunteers the last two years, Misty who was here last year, and is STILL here, working as a court secretary now, and Missy (we call them M&M :) , who is here at the moment teaching Grades K-2 for us. Missy has one more year of college to finish her teaching degree, and is planning to do that next year. We've been teasing her all year that she might change her mind like Misty did, but she has been determined to graduate next year....

Anyway..... a few weeks ago, Misty and Missy got together, and discovered that they had both been impressed over the previous few days that THEY should be the ones to volunteer next year in the Pre-K program!! They were very surprised to discover that the Lord had been prompting each of them separately along the same lines, and started talking about what it would take to do that. Missy began inquiries with Southwestern Adventist University to see how much of her studies for next year could be done by distance, and found out that she can do ALL of it that way!!! So they came up with a plan that they presented to the board: Misty will move into Missy's one bedroom apartment (that Jim has agreed to donate again, rent free), and they will share expenses; she will quit her good paying job at the Court House, and they will work together to get the Pre-K program running. Missy will do her studies by distance part of the time, and help as well. They figure with two of them working part time, that should equal one person working full time. So once again, we are thrilled at the way the Lord works when we step out in faith and follow His leading!!! Oh, that there were more young people as dedicated to the Lord as the two we have here!!!!!!!!

Another big event that happened about three weeks ago, was that we finally made it down to Chignik Lake to install a radio station there!

Friday evening (last night), we had another wonderful celebration! A couple from Togiak that we have been working with for a while.....who have been having a real struggle with alcohol and drugs, were married in our church :) . About three months ago, M was convicted that he shouldn't be living with his girlfriend, who is also the mother of at least one of his children, unless they were married. But he didn't want to marry her, unless she made a commitment to follow Christ like he had. So he moved out. She got mad, and moved to Dillingham with the kids and refused to have anything to do with him. Finally about six weeks ago, he came over here for something, and the booze got the better of him, and he got drunk. He was at the grocery store here making a scene, and finally threatened to kill someone, so they had him arrested. He spent a month in jail, and when he was finally released, he ended up at K's place here in Dillingham. They were having a real hard time of it, and finally the court took their children away from them for the last time. This totally devastated both of them, and finally drove them both to seek the Lord again. I got a call from M at school one day, saying that they would like to come to Pastor Brian's meetings at the church, but didn't have a car. So I let the pastor know and they and others have been working hard to get them to all the meetings since then. Pastor Brian has also been spending time with them nearly every day, going over the other meetings that they missed, and giving them studies in preparation for baptism. Last week, they decided to get married, and we have all been rushing around trying to help them put together a wedding at very short notice, and no money :) . And it turned out very beautiful! They asked me to take the photos, so that kept me busy, and then we had a pot luck meal for the reception. On Thursday, K gave Pastor Brian her last pack of cigarettes, and said she wanted to be baptised. So today, we celebrated their life commitment to the Lord!! What a wonderful weekend!

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!

Judi and Gavin :) "

Full Circle Mission

2009-03-29T16:29:00.004-08:00

Last month two teenagers returned from their Marantha mission trip to Chile with Jim Kincaid. We were so excited, this is what we have been longing for since before we arrived. Jim showed the church some slides yesterday and we were much encouraged at how much the girls enjoyed the trip. We didn't want to press them too much and they have not shared anything about their experience with us. But we are hopeful that this will be a positive beginning for them. We hope that they and others will also begin to go on mission trips regularly and positive change will come to Selawik.
I know the God can use mission trips to be a guiding force in our lives. I have seen it in my life. Everytime I think of the picture of my Borneo mission trip I discovered in the church, I feel confirmation of I our mission here. After I returned from that trip a teacher showed our class a video of some guys backpacking in Alaska. The movie left me with disdain of the thought of Alaska and cold. I was sure that I was headed for warmer, more exotic locales. Then I met Warren and began to know I was headed for Alaska. Still when it came time to choose our place to minister, I avoided the thought of living the Arctic until I visited here on a VBS trip. After we moved here I discovered pictures which I slowly began to recognize as from my Borneo trip. Now I know God lead me here. God is doing great things here in Selawik even if we can't see what they are now.
Blessings,
Verity

It's Time to Give!

2009-03-16T11:58:00.001-08:00

This morning I happened to pick up our World Vision magazine. The letter from the president Rick Stearns was very timely. He recalled his anxiety in October 1987 when the stock market crashed. His family lost a third of their portfolio. He was so tense every night that his children began to be afraid. Finally his wife came to him and reminded him of all the blessings they still had. After praying together, she shocked him with the suggestion that they should give large donations to various charities as a way to remind Rich that the money was God's, not theirs. After they wrote out their donations, he was amazed at the freedom that he felt.

We can identify. God has provided all that we need (we are thankful for everyone who has been part of his providence). We feel so rich in this tiny place; how could we feel otherwise with wants few and blessings many? We came here with enough for one year and we feel no closer to the bottom of the barrel than we when we arrived. Indeed, we don't even think about the bottom anymore. We simply avoid buying things we don't need. Yet we have become quite reckless in sharing our food stocks and such as well as giving to our favorite charities. We believe that soon we may no longer be able to share and we want to make the most of each opportunity. With people in want more than ever before, isn't it time to give?

Blessings,
Verity

Meeting the team

2009-02-22T21:32:00.003-09:00

As I was wondering what to write, I realized I have not shared about the meetings we attended in January. We were so thankful for the invitation and help to make it to Anchorage. I enjoyed the Shepherdess' Retreat so much. It was such blessing to get to know the other pastor's wives in Alaska. It was truly a taste of heaven. The focus of the pastor's meetings was on prayer and Warren and I discovered how powerful the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) model of prayer can really be. This rich spiritual feast finished with special meetings for lay workers like us. We were able to get to know the new Arctic Mission Adventurers Bill and Eloise Hawkes (Savoonga) and Dan Rothoff (Togiak). We are so grateful that the work in rural Alaska is beginning to grow because the people here are so dear to us. I hope to introduce you to many of them when we all gather in heaven, so I beg again that you will pray for us and our strength as well as for God to send more workers into the harvest field. The fields are truly white and the harvest is coming so soon.
In prayer,
Verity

Thoughts on Emmonak

2009-01-25T11:21:00.004-09:00

Emmonak has recently come into the spotlight because of Nicolas Tucker's letter pleading for help for his starving village. This has generated a wide variety of comments, many of them negative.

One person even suggested that natives should leave the bush. If people left all the disaster prone regions of the world, where would they go? It is just not feasible, even if they were inclined to leave the places they call home.

Another response is to criticize their lack of preparedness. Yet, there were famines even in the old days-- before the modern conveniences to which the natives are now accustomed to. And much of what they are now facing is truly beyond their control. Yes, they could have things somewhat easier if they prepared differently. But I am aware as well that preparedness is not just a native problem. There are people everywhere who do not have even a two-weeks' supply of food at home. Who can blame them for being any different?

I do want to encourage being prepared with plenty of simple, healthy food, because I do believe that healthy food is cheaper than junk food. However, I believe that we as a church should also be prepared to help in genuine emergency like this. I would like to see visible aid centers in every village, places they know they can go to in times of need. I don't know how to move in that direction, but God will show us how if it is His will and timing. I just need to be prepared to follow.

Preparing,
Verity

New Year's Hopes

2008-12-31T10:05:00.001-09:00

I was filled with hope as I read Monte Church's newsletter about advances in Native ministries. It reminded me of advances I have seen with the Arctic Mission Adventure. We have seen two positions filled with people who are interested in others. The funding for Arctic Mission Adventure and Conference Radio Outreach have a good start toward their goals. A Native elder was baptized in Fairbanks. We have become closer to the people of Selawik. Warren has made great progress on the auto-streaming 3ABN radio software and should have it finished very soon.

So instead of New Year's resolutions this year, I have a list of hopes and prayers for the new year.

1. Seeing low power Adventist radio stations begin to cover bush Alaska
2. See a plan for Adventist television in the bush.
3. Complete the funding for the Arctic Mission Adventure and Conference Radio Outreach
4. See Adventist parsonages filled across bush Alaska
5. See more mission trips providing VBS, evangelistic meeting, and various opening wedge contacts.

I want to see Alaska natives filled with the hope for their lives and families that only Jesus can bring.

A very hopeful New Year to all of you,
Verity

Looking back at joy

2008-12-17T17:13:00.008-09:00

We are just two weeks from our three year anniversary of moving here. How does it feel? Well, Selawik has become familiar and comfortable, at least most of the time. We have become part of the community. We truly enjoy the people and the place.

Yet, we still have no major triumphs. We have been asked for more mission stories on our blog. I want to satisfy that desire, but honestly I'm not sure what counts as a "mission story". If it is conversion stories, we don't have any. We are still trying to learn the key that will change people's hearts here. Often it feels like one step forward, one step back. We also feel a need to maintain privacy: people here are reading our blog. As I have been considering my lastest posts, they seem rather morbid. Such is life out here. People have much more opportunity to gather for a funeral than for the rare wedding. In fact, people have been flying to Buckland because there has been a death (or two) there this week.

Still there are bright notes of joy among the negative noise of death and pain. We cannot hope to see victory in the lives of many here unless they learn to hear them. Here are a few of ours, if they count as "mission stories" I am glad.

Warren hopes to have the software to automatically stream 3ABN radio ready before we leave in January for pastor's meetings. Also we were excited to learn from Warren's Dad that the FCC allows unregistered TV stations where there are no broadcast stations i.e. bush Alaska (we only have cable not broadcast TV.) Now we want to explore that option.

Some kids came over this weekend and we decorated the Christmas tree in the church (we don't have room in the house). I was happy to see C again, it has been a long time. Then I got to tell the story of the shepherds and the story of baby Moses and Miriam because the children said they didn't know them. R even listened attentively to both of them. Then I got to play "basketball" with girls, this gave me a renewed desire to go to open gym time for exercise and getting closer to the kids here.

As I spent hours with P's family last week, grieving with them, rubbing their backs as they cried, sharing food with them, and learning more about all that takes place before the funeral, I become even closer to them. I even got to say "I love you" in Inupiaq. But I also learned more about myself and my weaknesses. I need to daily lay all of my plans at Jesus' feet and in the words of Christmas spiritual "Rise up shepherd and follow"

Joy to the world,
Verity

This is war!

2008-12-08T22:00:00.000-09:00

This last week has been particularly hard for us. First, our vacuum sewer line froze all last week, so Warren's days were filled with carrying bucket after bucket outside after showers and during clothes washing. Then, we were confronted with teenage suicide for the first time last Monday. That was quite painful; we didn't know the girl but we did know some of her friends. We also know her younger sister. We are making plans for getting to know the teens better, so we can share the hope of Jesus with them. We have also been working on a plan for suicide and depression training for ourselves since this summer, but the wheels have been turning slowly. We need to speed that up. After every death, I would wonder how long it would be until it was someone really close to me, someone whose loss would tear my insides apart. Today I found out.

I went out to check the mail and pick up a few things for Christmas at the store. It was very windy and I enjoyed the mini-adventure. Little did I know what lay ahead. After I returned, I found out that P had killed herself. I spent the rest of the afternoon with her family, trying to comfort them, especially D who had spent all night trying to stop her. She ended her life sometime today while he slept. I cared so much for P and wanted her to walk beside D as he followed Jesus. I know she had suffered a lot in life and I wanted to get closer to her, but she held us back.

One night last week Warren and I were struck separately with the impression that we are under attack. Things seemed to have stacked themselves against our ministry. I hate what Satan is doing to the people here. Yet there has been good news. We have had good discussions with a number of people. It feels so good to be able to fellowship with the people here. Yet we know that we are in a war and we need to be covered in the armor everyday. Please pray we will have wisdom and strength; we feel so small compared to the job that stands before us.

To arms,
Verity

2008-11-23T10:49:00.003-09:00

Yesterday was the funeral of Ruthie Ramoth Sampson. Her loss is deeply felt. Her sudden stroke and subsequent death made the front page of Anchorage Daily News (November 20). She had a service in Shungnak, where she was pastoring with her husband, before her funeral here. This was the largest funeral we have seen here. Groups from a number of villages got up to sing songs. Her metal casket was purchased instead of the usual locally made wooden ones.

She did an amazing amount of things in her fifty some years. Her work included much of the work on the Maniilaq book of elders' memories, providing the English voice in the Maniilaq video for the women elders,aiding the Inupiaq Bible translation, and assistance with the Rosetta Stone Inupiaq software (which we recently discovered and are enjoying greatly). She traveled extensively visiting places such as Greenland and Norway. She also lived in Japan for a time.

Roger and Diane Merrill had a friend who flew them up for the funeral. They came with a young man Ace who had recently joined them from Weimar. He has a very interesting background. God has lead him though many things and he is excited about sharing with the native people. We pray that God will continue to lead in his life. Our talks during our visit with him and the Merrills as well as Ruthie's sudden death renewed in our minds that our time in short and we need to live like it is. I am praying for wisdom to warn those around without offending unnecessarily. I do not want anyone to say to me "You never told me."

Blessings,
Verity

While I was away...

2008-11-16T17:56:00.000-09:00

While I was in Washington, I had a little anxiety that when I returned I would find someone I knew had died since someone drowned during our last trip out. I was almost right. When we returned I learned in Inupiaq class that a group had gone through the ice, but they managed to get out. A few days later D came to the house and told us that he and his cousin were the ones who had gone through. I was so glad that he is still alive, it would be so hard knowing that this boy I know so well was gone.

Praising God,
Verity

Family Ties

2008-10-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

My family is filling my thoughts as I prepare to leave today to go to my grandpa Virgil's memorial. Though I am sad to be parted from him, I am glad his pain is over. Mostly I am thinking of getting to see my family that I haven't seen for over a year. It is hard being so far from them at times. Yet this is a choice I have made. Why? Because I have another family to consider. My grandpa did the same many years ago. He remained a bachelor even though apparently he didn't have a lack of interested women. Then he met my grandma who was alone with three children and decided to help her. His current widow had suffered through some bad marriages forced upon her. He married her to show her what a good marriage could be like. Like my grandpa I have a duty of love. Selawik is full of people who need a clearer picture of the loving God I serve. The more I get to know them the more like family they are.

I feel I am making progress with Inupiaq since I happened to discover that Rosetta Stone has done an Inupiaq version of their language software. We still attend Inupiaq classes at school, but the learning is slower there since the teacher doesn't use the immersion method and speaks much more English than Inupiaq. It is cultural learning for us and a chance to show our interest in them. Some of the stories he tells show how much fear of the supernatural still exists even with committed Christians here. I want to see the true power of the gospel to sweep through the Arctic. They have a belief in God, but they don't yet know his power and love.

Let me introduce you to some of my family here. There is Virgil next door who I jokingly call “Dada” which is Inupiaq for grandfather. Last week we were able to connect with M and had a wonderful visit with her and her husband,. They had questions about Revelation that we hope to be able to answer when we return. We also getting to know L and her husband J who is trying to quit drinking. There is also P whose son D has quit drinking but she is struggling. She is proud of him, but she has conflicting feelings when she sees the change in his life. There is K who always has a sweet smile and a hug when we meet in town, but her friends and relatives like to tempt her and then take advantage of her by stealing or worse. There is Pauline Ramoth's family, our neighbors, who are all very dear to us. We had a wonderful church service last week with all of our regular members there. We had our chairs in a circle and I was able to relax and truly worship with family. Yes, we are surrounded by family here.

In Jesus,
Verity

Vanity Fair vs. Abundant Life

2008-09-30T17:22:00.005-08:00

We are seeing our American way of life collapsing around us. I have been reading about how our prosperity has been built on the work of others more and more as the years have passed. And I blush to realize that our country has become an oppressing force in the word. I am as guilty of this greed and apathy as anyone else. I repent again of my vain lifestyle as I see more deeply how vain it truly is.

God in the Bible frequently warns the rich and calls the rich and powerful bloodthirsty and violent. (Prov. 23:4; Prov. 28:20; Is 1:15-17; Jer 7:6; Jer 22:17; James 5:16; Rev 18:11-19, and many others) From the time of Noah through to Jesus, this scathing rebuke is repeated again and again. What if we could see the blows we deal to others by our extravagance? Did that wonderful intemperate meal leave someone else hungry? Could that gorgeous new outfit mean someone wears rags? What if that darling new thing decorating the house causes someone to shiver through the night? Does that new car force a neighbor around the world to go without shoes? If thoughts like these make you ashamed, I am glad. God is not pleased and I believe that we will all soon see Him face to face.

What if we went back to the basics, while not forsaking the greatest benefit of modern life- medical advances. What would that look like?

As part of a school project with my girls, we learned a lot about farming. It was very eye-opening to discover that a vegetarian family could produce almost all they needed to eat or wear in about two acres of fertile land.

Of course, there are things that would still need to be produced or made by others. It would be inefficient for farmers to make cloth, for example. But all could live simply either on a small farm or making products. There ought to be time enough for all to engage in artistic, intellectual, scientific and spiritual pursuits. Everyone could do what they loved best and share freely as they produced more than they needed, trusting that all others are doing the same.

But of course, I know that is never going to happen this side of heaven. So why bring it up? Because it shows how the modern world has chosen vanity over the abundance of the earth. The world has become increasingly urban, which means less farming and other production. Especially has this been true in America, where the last thirty years have seen a move from a product-based economy to a service-based one. This means that most American jobs now focus on transferring money from one business to another, while our farmers and skilled craftsmen are becoming an endangered breed. The third world is not willing or able to support our empty, frantic race for pleasure any longer. For myself, I plan to give much more careful thought to my spending so that I don't trade the vanity of the moment for the abundant life.

In the words of John Huss, "Beware of adorning thy house more than thy soul... Be pious and humble with the poor and consume not thy substance in feasting. Shouldst not thou amend thy life and refrain from superfluities, I fear that thou wilt be severely chastened, as I am myself... But, I conjure thee, by the mercy of our Lord, not to imitate me in any of the vanities into which thou has seen me fall."

In the words of Jesus, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"

- Verity

Selawik VBS Captures Hearts

2008-08-29T21:58:00.003-08:00

The theme for this year's VBS, directed by Julie Marsh (from Palmer, Alaska), was "Castles and Crowns". Focusing on Bible kings and queens, the stories, songs and skits aim to win the hearts of children to the love of Jesus.

Our first day of VBS opened with over 75 kids in attendance. Fortunately, we had the use of the Selawik school gymnasium, so we had adequate room for the group. However, the acoustics and smooth-rolling floor made for distracting background noise and lots of kids using "heelies" (heel roller skates in their shoes). Nevertheless, we noticed most of the kids actually joining in and singing the songs by the end of VBS, and we pray that there will be a lasting impact on their lives here and for eternity.

Our Bible stories were masterfully told by Rhonda Kack and Heather Merrill (with a brief stint by yours truly-- I need to beef up on my interest-holding techniques for kids). Our songs were led by Heather Merrill, with assistance from myself and the girls. Our skits had Hannah Merrill and Madelaine Kack as King and Queen, and Kyla Olson as Jester "Jane". Verity and I had a short stint as Queen and King as well. We split our group between crafts and games, with Julie leading crafts, and Madelaine, Hannah and Holly Merrill leading games. Meanwhile the rest of us assisted wherever needed. Brian Banning was a very important "behind the scenes" helper, assisting with everything from carrying food and crafts (heavy lifting), policing the building (keeping kids in order, gently but firmly), assisting with the computers and sound system, to washing dishes. Yes, dishes!

One thing perhaps unusual about our VBS is that we provided a full meal for the kids. Our first day, we started with the meal, but subsequently, we put it at the end, to provide a cleaner start to the VBS. Having the meal was not only a draw for the kids, but it also helped provide for a real need, and gave us time to get to know the kids better. It definitely doubled the amount of work needed to put on the VBS, but after seeing the blessing it was this year, we plan to do it again next year.

Lest you think VBS itself was the whole story though-- we must assure you that there was an exciting back story to the occasion. The story involves two sets of missed flights, delayed luggage, lots of last minute work, each of us alternately getting sick during the week, borrowed puppies, lost puppies, borrowed babies, ... Well, you'll have to ask the participants for more of the details than I can share in this brief blog!

However, one of the exciting things we had was that a Buckland elder "happened" to be seated next to Heather Merrill on the flight in to Kotzebue. Not only was the meeting encouraging to both Heather and the elder, but he gave our group an invitation to come to Buckland for VBS. We want to begin planning early next year so we can do a VBS in both Buckland and Selawik.

Plan to join us, in person if possible, and with any other support you can give if not. Keep God's mission in Arctic Alaska in your prayers.

Warren

What a blessing!

2008-07-31T18:12:00.002-08:00

First, I want to say that campmeeting was wonderful. God's spirit was truly there. Warren and I were excited to see the passion build for the mission in Alaska.

Unfortunately, while we were out of Selawik the greed monster reared it's head in my life. I spent about two or three weeks alternating shopping for kuspuk fabric and kuspuk sewing. First, I reduced my expectations. But finally I felt called to give up fabric I had bought for myself and dedicate to use in a kuspuk for someone else. When I did so, my kuspuk obsession gradually went away and I felt free again. God is so good. I wondered who I would be making this kuspuk for, I couldn't think of anyone who had a strong need for one, but I knew the fabric wasn't mine anymore.

A few days after our return, I had a visit of multiple blessings. Circumstances brought me to our new friend Mabel Berry's house. I noticed her kuspuk was quite worn, and planned to offer to make her the new kuspuk I would make. First, though I got to enjoy a good talk with her.

Then, I got to “talk” with her friendly great-grandson, Franklin who is about five months old. We were given some baby boys' clothes which I planned to give away up here. I offered them to Franklin's father. This was great for them, because he has only older sisters, so he wears girls clothes a lot.

Next, Mabel offered me some plant cuttings. I was so delighted because I had gotten some empty hanging planters at a sale a few months before, so I needed some cuttings, but hadn't asked yet. Ship a potted plant – I don't think so:-) I was even more delighted when she told me the plant was called Morning Prayer. I can't think of a better name for a plant I was given before I asked.

Finally it was time to leave, I was getting ready to broach the subject of the kuspuk, when Mabel started to talk about how her kuspuk had been damaged. It was much worse than I had seen. So I told her about my plan and told her I would make her a new kuspuk. Making a kuspuk for her feels much better than making one for myself.

Last night we held a Saturday evening vespers to give her a chance to get to church. It was so good to fellowship together with her. That was the greatest blessing of all.

Blessed in giving,
Verity

Comings and Goings

2008-06-10T22:35:00.002-08:00

We will be in the Anchorage/Mat-su area until August. We hope to see many of you as well as to use our time to plan our return to Selawik. There are many things we need to improve and change.

Our Selawik Seekers Pathfinder club started well, but attendance has dwindled especially after school let out. We did get became well acquainted with a girl who stood out from the first time we met her. In her words from our first meeting “teacher says I talk too much”. Talkativeness is not a common trait here. She and her sister became two of our strongest attendees. Last week they moved to Kiana with their parents. Today they called us which we really enjoyed. We will miss them, but it may help us as we have been discussing moving out in visiting other villages which has been in the back of our minds to do since we came. Now we have an entry point in to Kiana, a reason to go.

Today we had an encouraging talk with a woman who has recently moved to Selawik. Her sons seemed different, more respectful when Warren met them last week and invited them over. It was a real pleasure to meet her. I hope to become closer to her after our return.

Last week we had a real rainstorm. The girls wanted to go out in it, so the girls and I all got our raincoats on. It only took a short walk to get us quite wet, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Later I was reminded that rain like that is what the church needs to experience. We need to get deeper into the Bible and much, much deeper into prayer. The rain is there waiting if we will just walk out into it. The Holy Spirit calls “Come on in, the rain's great” I want to experience all the Spirit has for me, pray for me and I will pray for you.

(Showers of) Blessings,
Verity

That no man might buy or sell...

2008-05-15T03:18:00.001-08:00

I awoke in the early hours of the morning, thinking of Sabbath-keeping in the context of Revelation 13. As I meditated, the phrase "...that no man might buy or sell..." (verse 17) came to the forefront of my mind.

From my Bible study, I believe that Revelation 13 describes religious persecution which will be implemented just before Jesus returns. While not wishing to judge any man's relationship with God, I believe that the Roman Papacy fulfills the criteria of the first beast of Revelation 13. I believe that the "image to the beast" formed in Revelation 13 will be a combination of church and state government much like the Papacy had during the Dark Ages. So far, this is nothing different than the reformers believed in the 16th century.

Revelation 13:15 describes enforced image worship, if we take the language literally. We can find Bible precedent for enforced breaking of God's law, however it might be implemented. Daniel 3 and 6 dealt with the second and first commandments respectively. No government is likely to enforce breaking of the last six commandments (they are common sense by any reasonable human standard). However, the first four commandments would be likely targets for governments to attack. While the language of Revelation 13 literally sounds like enforced image worship (2nd commandment), knowing that the Beast is not an animal should tell us the "worship" is more than bowing down to a statue.

Reading Revelation 14:7, I see a reference to the Sabbath commandment of Exodus 20:8-11. Knowing that the Papacy considers the change from a Saturday-Sabbath to Sunday-worship to be a mark of it's authority, I expect that when religious people gain control of government, they will try to implement Sunday legislation. And in fact, there are people today pushing for that (including the Pope). The Sabbath is the main commandment that people have a hard time seeing a reason for. It is the only one that begins with "Remember..." and yet it's the one that most people want to forget!

However, simply enforcing Sunday-worship would not cause my conscience any worries-- I'd be happy to worship God on any day of the week. The more pressing issue will be, what about the Sabbath of God, given in Eden, written in stone (Ex. 31 and 34), kept throughout history (including by Jesus and the Apostles), and that will be celebrated in the New Earth (Is. 66:23)?

I've heard much speculation about how the Beast of Revelation 13 might bring persecution to bear and prevent buying and selling-- everything from bar codes to computer chips or credit cards. And I'm not ruling those out. However, if Sabbath-keeping is the issue here, perhaps the most effective way the Beast could force allegiance would simply be to try to force Sabbath-breaking. One way I've heard suggested that could be done would be switching to a 6-day week (Sabbath being a work day). And anybody not complying would lose their job, and thus their income. However, I had in the past thought in the back of my mind that this would not affect me if I was self-employed.

Now, back to my early morning meditation. As I considered the words, "...that no man might buy or sell..." (Rev. 13:17), a startling thought suddenly struck me. What more direct way could there be than to force "buying and selling" to be done on Sabbath? What if even self-employed people would have to break Sabbath in order to survive economically? There would be no need to identify people who had or did not have the mark in a vast government database. Those who were true to God's command would be unable to purchase needed supplies. And what if self-employed people were unable to make business transactions needed to gain their income, on any day but Sabbath?

Now, I can see how even many Seventh-day Adventists might rationalize doing a little Sabbath buying and selling. After all, many of us must admit to having done it "in emergencies only". And what if our daily lives were emergencies? (See Jer. 17:24, Neh. 13:15-22 regarding Sabbath buying and selling).

There are major hurdles to this kind of enforcement (one being that merchants wouldn't like having only one day to sell). I don't really know how the end time events will unfold, but I believe God can impress us with things important to know. I would be interested in hearing feedback and Bible study regarding this subject.

Perhaps it is time we started keeping the Sabbath more faithfully. Not because we think we'll be saved that way-- no-- but as a faithful commitment to the God we love and serve. How can we witness to others if we are inconsistent in any area of our lives? It's time we start developing strength of character that will stand the test. Will we be true to God though all the world stand against us? Perhaps it's time for us to be more faithful in speaking often to one another and thinking upon His name.

"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not." (Malachi 3:16-18)

- Warren

God works in mysterious ways

2008-05-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, while our family was enjoying a stroll back from the mail, we came across a loud argument in progress. It turned out to be a young intoxicated man threatening himself and others, while the others were trying to get him to go home and sleep it off. When my initial efforts to help were rejected, we went on home and finished our Sabbath preparations. However, I couldn't get the young man off my mind, and wondered and prayed about if I should have tried harder to intervene.

Later that evening, after the kids were in bed, Verity and I were enjoying the evening air outside when we again heard loud voices. The same young man had been going at it all afternoon with anyone who passed by, it seemed. Verity and I decided to see what we could do this time, so we went back to the scene, stopping to pray as we went. On arrival, another young man who was trying to calm the guy down, said something like "Here comes the pastor, talk to him". So I was in the "hot seat". I offered to take a walk with the guy, while Verity offered to talk with his girlfriend, who was still trying to calm him down.

The entire stroll was punctuated with angry outbursts (not at me, fortunately). Talking to him about Jesus calmed him down though. To make a long story short, while returning from our stroll, my friend became unable to walk. I offered him a place to sleep it off, since nobody else wanted to take him in. Another friend of his offered to ride him home on a 4 wheeler, but he kept trying to jump off while it was going. Finally, we got him to our parsonage, where after half an hour or more of agitated talk and some shouting, he finally went to sleep in my arms. When I finally got to bed myself, it was 2:30 am.

The next morning, having sobered up somewhat, my new friend was very embarrassed at what he had done. However, we have been happy to have him visit three times since then. He has resolved to "stay dry" and has begun reading a Bible and Steps to Christ. Please pray for him that he will continue to grow more attracted to Jesus and desire to have a relationship with Him.

This has been a breakthrough for us, as we have made our first spiritual-minded contact in this age range (21). Pray that it will bear fruit with this young man sharing with his friends.

- Warren

Historic Meetings in Selawik

2008-05-08T14:48:00.001-08:00

Last month we had a very special native campmeeting. It began with a health fair on Thursday afternoon following by the first of three days of meeting based on the Power of the Cross Revealed Series. If you have watched or attended the Revelation Now series hosted by the O'Malley church in Anchorage, you may have noticed our speaker, Darlene Heckler. She led the children in singing “Jesus Loves Me” in Inupiaq to open the second meeting. She is a Selawik native, so we were all excited to have her present Jesus to her friends and relatives. The health fair went well with the whole school attending, yet we wish had had more adults and been more prepared for the younger grades. Though we prepared for a larger group by meeting at the school,we were encouraged by the small group who attended. (We would have had less if we had met in our church.) And there was power there. We all agreed that this only the beginning; next year may be better.

Darlene is an exciting person to be around. She is passionate about how God has touched her life. It was hard to her to come, since she has a lot of bad memories here. When her mother died about eight years ago, she said she would not come back. (She had been a teacher here, but had moved two years before.) We first met her last December at her sister's wedding, for which Warren was asked to help with the music. We were mutually encouraged when we discovered each other. Darlene has a dream of traveling to the villages and sharing what she has learned as she follows Jesus. Please pray that she will be empowered in her desire to share.

Blessings,
Verity

Does He Know Me?

2008-04-23T17:44:00.001-08:00

People seem to admire that our family has moved here to the Arctic and think we are very courageous and have sacrificed a lot. Please do not think that of us; pride is the worst of sins– it does not seem to want to die. Yes, our home is smaller and it is colder. Yes, it was a big step for us. But we have sacrificed nothing. Instead, we receive countless blessings each day. We are so rich, it is hard to describe.

Yet I want more. I want to pray more. I want to hear God more every day. I want to be more dependent on him. I want to be more compassionate. I want to give more of myself away. I want to share more of the wonders I see with my family and those around me.

Jesus tells of the separating of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46. Do I see Jesus hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison? Yes, I do. Around the world food prices are rising and people are becoming desperate and afraid. The food crisis is being caused by droughts around the world. People are thirsty. The world is full of people who do not know about Jesus, they are equivalent to the stranger or Gentile to the Jews. The church is also full of people who are naked because they need fuller understanding of how to be clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. There are many people who are suffering because they do not know how to care for their health or how good it feels when you do. There are people who are struggling to be able to live and share the good news of Jesus with those around them.

What can I do? I can’t go there to help them. But I can’t ignore them either. We still have money. Frankly, I don’t see how the world can go on with business as usual with droughts, a food crisis, and a growing
financial crisis. I want to disburse my remaining assets while I still can. I want to know Jesus and I want Jesus to know me. How about you?

Verity

P.S. We received great news this week. We had heard a rumor that the Adventist company at Barrow had drifted apart after their lay leader Ken Robbins’ job was transferred out of Barrow. But they are still meeting as strong as ever, their location had just changed. Praise God!

Better late than never post

2008-03-27T15:51:00.002-08:00

Warren,
Here is an e-mail from Manokotak that might fit into your blog We have received a request for baptism, so the work is growing in Manokotak.
Love,
Dad

Thank you guys for coming over. I enjoyed the sabbath day! I am going to miss H and the other 2! I'm just so surprised at how many people that I've told by email, they never showed up at all. But just like Florie said, the devil threw all he could to make people not show up. Friday evening, M showed up and stayed all through out the bible study and asked if they were done when they were done. I guess he had fun learning. I always pray for someone from this village to be converted, someone who speaks well in yupik and for that person to become a 7th Day Adventist pastor for Manokotak. I also pray for a church to be built and for more people to convert to our church. This is such a very hard village. They'd rather stick with people who study with moravian church goers. A little discouraging.

Aright, I gotta get going here.

Take Care

On Life and Death

2008-03-09T14:59:00.006-08:00

Here are some of my thoughts recently on life and death

On death, today Selawik is holding its third funeral of the last three weeks. Orren and Roy had both been sick for some time. Ira died the same day as his brother, Roy. Ira and Roy left a brother and sister as the last of eleven siblings. At Ira's funeral on Friday, we discovered Sara's Inupiaq name was the same as his, Paniyaaqluq. Louis, our Inupiaq teacher shared how he owes his life to Ira, his uncle, who stepped in as the one to comfort him as a baby when crying would turn him blue. We are beginning to see how connected they are in Selawik. Warren has gotten to experience that community spirit in coffin-making and grave-digging. They really do take care of each other.

On life, at Orren's funeral, the main speaker referred to the original Greek meaning of a word in the Bible text he was using. I have observed that the people here come in all personalities, shapes, sizes, and educational levels. Yet, incidents like this have showed me that it is not as hard as I thought to transition to life outside Selawik. The differences between us are mostly only in personalities. We are trying to study their culture, but they are acquiring our culture as fast as we are figuring out theirs, or so it seems.

On life and death, I want to ask you to pray for Elvis Jr. (Yes, Elvis. He's five and is called Junior). He is very sick, and going back into the hospital today. He has a cyst in his lung, and has a tube going to his heart as I understand. He was moved to outpatient for about a week. He is such a sweet boy and the medical care horror stories I have heard from people here have me very worried. I don't know why natives seem to get less quality care, but I want Elvis Jr. to come home alive and well.

On life again, I have good news, sort of. Warren and I have been discussing having Adventurers and Pathfinders Clubs here probably since before we came. Finally “Selawik Seekers” has been born. We have had two Adventurers Club meetings, mostly set-up, but some classwork too. We have ordered materials for Pathfinders and will make a plan when those arrive. We will need wisdom to structure the meetings to work with Inupiaq culture, but we will not be alone. Debbie Reiswig has experience for which we are most grateful.

To life,
Verity

Another house fire causes death

2008-02-20T23:49:00.004-09:00

A recent Selawik house fire, the third one (second house fire) in two months, claimed the life of a woman. I received a call about the fire around 5 am, Friday February 8th. As I was getting my outdoor gear on, someone came to the door to get our fire extinguisher.

Arriving on the scene (the house was only four down from our church), I found one fire hose already hooked up and spraying the front and side of the house. Helping get a second one hooked up, we had a valve lever break off. I was able to help by supplying a pair of pliers to open the valve. Other than that, there wasn't much I could do to help.

Nobody seemed to know if the occupant had escaped the house, and nobody had a fireproof suit and breathing mask to make it possible to go into the burning house to check. We later learned of the woman's death. She was found near the wood burning stove. Rumor has it that she had mentioned the stove being dangerous, prior to the fire.

We are saddened especially by this loss of life, and have considered how such losses could be prevented in the future:

Fire alarms need to be provided for all houses that don't have them. You can get fire alarms for $10 or less at Home Depot.
Heating and electrical systems need to be held to safety standards.
Education, exit plans, fire drills.
Better and more fire fighting equipment.
Fire rescue equipment (suits and masks, etc.)

One additional thought about fire safety. Using fire extinguishers (10 or more at times) from outside burning houses seems to me to mostly worsen fire danger. The extinguishers cannot stop the fire at the point where you can't get into the house. But using them up leaves the neighbors without a first-line defense. So unless fire extinguishers are handed out by the city, I don't think using them enmasse at a fire is much good. (I've seen them used at all three recent fires, but to no avail).

Having another death in the village brings home once again the urgency of our mission here in Selawik. Yet it is not only Selawik that is a mission. There are millions of people in this world going to Christ-less graves all around us. Do we really realize how serious this salvation issue is? Do we care for others enough to do something about it? What have you done for someone's salvation- today?

Let Them Come

2008-02-14T21:28:00.005-09:00

We have a core group of kids who like to come and visit but vary in regularity. We may not see them for weeks and then they may come all at once. I try to make myself free to join in a game or have an activity for them. But sometimes when I am tired and don't have a plan, then I feel at such a loss for what I should be doing, that I just watch them in a stupor. I like these kids, but a group of 5-10 of them all talking at once do that to me.

Lately, my trust and respect issues with them have had more sting than usual for me. Yet I have also been having plenty of “I love being here” and “I belong here” moments. Meshing these two opposite feelings in my mind, I came to the conclusion that these kids really are special to me.

Our Valentine's Day cookie decorating as they watched The Jesus Movie for Children seemed to go rather well. They loved having their pictures taken as always. Despite all the things they have done and said to us, I still see the all good times we have together. So when I hear that nerve-racking pounding on our door, I let them come.

I am so glad Jesus never turns us away, despite all we have done to hurt him. God is so good to us, we are just beginning to discover how much.

Blessings,

Verity

Eleven visitors packed to the ceiling

God's Laundry Soap

2008-01-31T02:46:00.000-09:00

Events in my own life and those of friends and family have reinforced in my mind the idea that God is in the process of preparing His "elect", his chosen people, to be ready to meet Him when he returns in the near future. (For those of you not familiar with Seventh-day Adventist teaching, this is what we call the doctrine of the Investigative or Pre-Advent Judgment).

The idea that God wants to cleanse His people before His return is found in many places in Scripture (the Day of Atonement-Leviticus 23; Cleansing the Sanctuary-Daniel 8; Robe of Righteousness-Zechariah 3; Isaiah 61:10; Ten Virgins-Matthew 25; Without Sin-Hebrews 9:26-28; Laodicea=Judgment-Revelation 3:14; Hour of Judgment-Revelation 14:7; Overcometh-Revelation 2,3,21; Close of Probation-Revelation 8:5 and 22:11). While many have focused on the "fear factor" of coming Judgment, whether before or at Christ's return, there is a positive message in this for us if we love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).

I had never noticed until my attention was drawn to it recently, that Malachi 2:17-3:5 is another Old Testament reference to God's effort to cleanse and prepare us for His return. I really like this passage as it clarifies several things that people have gotten confused.

The entire book of Malachi is a call of love from God, regarding the false accusations being made against Him, and His true witness about our state of affairs. I recommend you read the entire book in one sitting, to get an overview of what it's saying. It's a short book, so it shouldn't take long.

The passage in Malachi 2:17-3:5 (chapter divisions are arbitrary) discusses how God is accused of allowing wickedness to continue without punishment. He responds that His professed followers are not ready for Him to come back in judgment. However, He is a refiner of silver, and like laundry soap. He wants to clean up our lives so we will give a pure offering to Him. Then He can come back and deal with the problem of sin. Note that we are the Spiritual Sons of Levi mentioned in the chapter, since we are to be Kings and Priests unto God (Revelation 1:6, 5:10).

I don't have to be afraid of the pre-Advent judgment, except in the sense of "Fear God and give glory to Him". If I love and reverence God enough to let Him remove sin from me-- to let Him be laundry soap and a refining fire in my life-- I have nothing to fear from the Judgment. In Malachi 3:17, God promises that those who speak often of His name will be remembered in His book, and will be His jewels when he returns. That's good news to me and I hope to you too.

"When He cometh, When He cometh
To make up His jewels
All the pure ones, all the bright ones
His loved and His own

Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They shall shine in their beauty
Bright gems for His crown"

"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)

God bless in your life as he refines you for His soon return, and as you work to "turn many to righteousness".

Warren

Reality Check

2008-01-30T18:26:00.000-09:00

Early this morning I had one of those dreams that leaves you with more to think about after it is over. While it was in no way prophetic, I feel that it left me with truth that I need to share. Skipping all the strange unnecessary dream elements, the main part of the dream was about a woman approached by an angel who was extremely distressed by the lack of respect shown to "the baby/child" (Jesus). The angel told her she would receive visits every Sunday night. Thus a movement was started at the woman's home which later started a prominent evangelistic center in her town. Jesus visited these meetings which was very exciting to those attended. Then as happens in dreams I became one of the crowd at a meeting. I was skeptical that God was truly behind these meetings. To me Sunday didn't feel like God's first choice of a day to meet and angels don't interact with us in the way the angel met the woman. But then I told myself I wanted to be closer to Jesus and if this was Jesus...I cautiously reached out to touch his hand. The love felt so strong and real, it was hard to resist. Saying that this experience was false felt like turning and moving into the outer darkness.

When I awoke and pondered the dream I finally came to the conclusion that this is what it will be like in the days not far ahead of us. The delusion will be very strong as Jesus warned in Matthew 24:23-24. The love of the false Christ will feel so real. We must learn to walk by faith and not by sight and we must begin today. While I am not advocating a dry, formal religion neither can we accept any doctrine or leader that does not agree with the Bible. Feelings will be no more of an indication that we are in God's will than they were for Jesus on the cross.

Reality is also a problem for the people here in Selawik. Spiritual manifestations are common. A church member recently shared with Warren things that are seen by the villagers here as well as things he has seen personally. Our friend believes that these things are exactly what they appeared to be. This is a real challenge. Apparently Bible reading alone has not been enough to combat error here. Naturally we cannot say that these things are just imagined, yet we must find a way to show that not everything we see is what it seems. Please pray that we will have wisdom.

The great controversy between good and evil is strong and people need to know what is true and what is false. Are you becoming more grounded in the truth every day? Are you sharing truth with others in ways they understand?

Blessings,
Verity

Gospel with a Twisted Tongue

2008-01-17T16:42:00.000-09:00

When we came here we understood that we would be doing cross- cultural ministry. So we were interested in learning Inupiaq their native language. However since resources are hard to get and there is no one here that we couldn't speak to in English it didn't seem essential. Still the first spring we were here, Warren got to talk to the Inupiaq teacher at the school and he invited us to come learn. We considered joining the class, but we weren't sure how the school would welcome home schoolers and adult sit-ins. Also we weren't sure when the class was held and where it would fit in our schedule. Gradually we forgot about it.

Then at potluck one Sabbath a couple months ago, the members were all talking in Inupiaq to each other. It seemed that maybe we should try to learn after all, so when Warren introduced me to the teacher at a party, I nudged him. The teacher, Louis Skin encouraged us again to attend. Thus in early December we started to study half an hour a day with one of the kindergarten classes. Warren and I alternate taking the girls so we both can learn.

Inupiaq has a 24 letter alphabet. All of the letters have only one sound, but many of the sounds are new to us and it is difficult for me to hear the difference between some of them. One friend has never learned Inupiaq and says he doesn't have the twisted tongue (His wife says "How can you be Inupiat and not speak Inupiaq?") There are two G's, three N's, and four L's . And some of them aren't the same as English, the T is really a D for example. The girls are doing well though. Abby learned the Inupiaq Pledge of Allegiance in just a few weeks.

I am glad we have finally taken this step, it is really bringing us closer to the people here. One neighbor is excited about our attempt to learn and gives us little vocabulary lessons. Louis tells the girls they will turn to Eskimos. I just wish it hadn't taken us two years to start. It is a good way to join in with the community and make new friends. Naturally, the people we know well are more likely to listen to us when we see opportunities than a stranger who comes to their door. I am learning so much more than Inupiaq, I am learning more of their culture as well. I must get to know the people and how they see the world if I want to share how I see the world. Are you out there learning...to share?

Blessings,

Verity

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-07T20:28:00.000-09:00

Have you managed to keep any of your New Year's Resolutions, thus far? Or did you even bother making them this year? Making resolutions for personal improvement may be helpful, if only to help us keep track of our progress (or lack thereof) toward our personal goals. But spiritual goals are also important.

Proverbs 24:16 reminds us that "a just person falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." (Lest you be discouraged when you fall eight or more times, note that this is a symbolic number. See Matthew 18:21-22). Falling is part of the human condition, but rising up again is what sets apart the just (or righteous) person. This seems to be a Bible pattern that might seem surprising at first glance. Apparently, what distinguishes the righteous and the wicked in God's sight is their response when warned of their sin. (Ezekiel 3:19-21 seems to describe this well).

Psalm 40:2 reminds us that though we cannot rise up again by our own strength, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." Jesus is the one who God set up to "give repentance to Israel" (Acts 5:31). (See also 2 Timothy 2:25). So even the ability to repent (that is, to "turn around again" and go in the right way) is a gift of God. What distinguishes the righteous then, is only our choice to accept the gift of repentance, and forgiveness which has been given us.

Once we accept the gift of repentance and forgiveness, God not only brings us out of the "horrible pit" we have fallen into, but sets our feet on the rock of a renewed life in him, so we need not fall again. However, lest we be discouraged, 1 John 2:1 reminds us, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God wants us to see the pattern of things in our lives that lead us to fall, and learn to trust Him for strength to stay on the rock where He has placed us, so we don't fall again. But if we do fall, He is there to pull us out again.

We fall far too often, it is true. Yet we need to trust God's plan for our recovery. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Like Paul, I pray that we all may be strengthened inwardly by God's Spirit so that Jesus will live in our hearts by faith. This is the way that we all can understand the love of Christ, which is beyond our understanding. This is how we can be filled with the fullness of God. God is able to do much more than we ask Him to, or think He is able to accomplish. It will be to His glory for us to overcome our inherited and developed tendencies to sin. (Ephesians 3:16-21)

Just as we encourage and lift up our daughter Miriam when she stumbles, God doesn't give up on us. Keep rising up-- in God's strength.

Warren

Suffering Heroes vs. The Man of Sorrows

2007-12-23T14:17:00.000-09:00

I have noticed a trend in modern culture. We like our heroes to suffer and experience pain. Unfortunately, we also like them fallible. The most popular in the last few years, Frodo Baggins, Anakin Skywalker, Harry Potter all fail in critical areas. Yet many still admire them, even among Christians. How long will we forget that we have the ultimate suffering hero in Jesus, the Man of Sorrows?

Jesus was God who choose to be born as a baby in a stable. He suffered poverty, rejection, and finally a cruel death. But these were nothing compared with the weight of all our sins which made him feel forsaken by his Father. Jesus never failed in love, always spoke against injustice, he never faltered though he was "in all points tempted as we are". No fable has ever dared to go so far as to have God chose to suffer at the hands of men. Only the truth of Christianity would be so bold.

Do I enjoy other heroes more because I have come to feel that he does not really understand me, that he is not really one of us? May I banish that foolish notion! Jesus came to earth to show me that he does understand, that he does care, so that he could be one of us. I do have the ultimate hero. If I really worship him, I will talk of him as others do of their heroes. Let us truly rejoice in this season of remembering our Hero.

Merry Christmas,
Verity

Burning a hole in Selawik

2007-12-20T10:54:00.000-09:00

I had a topic all ready for the blog and I thought I could write it today. Now that Christmas preparations are under control, I felt ready to write again. But that was superseded when I heard the church bell ringing and discovered that there was another fire.

The fire appeared to be near the Friends church and Warren went to go help, taking granola bars with him. The girls and I had breakfast, then Warren returned. It is the coldest day we have so far this winter (40 below), and I was a little uncertain for a moment that it was him, since I have never seen so much ice on his face before. "The church is burning and there is nothing we can do" he announced and we cried together.

As many of you know the Friends church is the church of Selawik. Though weekly attendance was low, it was the place for weddings, funerals and holiday gatherings. This is a loss that will change a lot about how Selawik runs. I expect the Christmas gathering will be moved to the school gym as it is the only place large enough to hold the village. Please pray for the courage of the people of Selawik. We are all deeply saddened at loss of this house of prayer.

Verity

Church with the parsonage behind and bell beside

Fighting Fires for Jesus

2007-12-10T00:40:00.000-09:00

Friday morning I was awakened by a phone call. "There's a choir over by Friends Church" I thought I heard. "At 3:00 am?", I asked in dubious surprise. Was I expected to go sing with the choir at this time of night? "Look out the window!" was the response.

When I looked, it all made sense. Fire! A huge fireball shot into the night sky, and I quickly hung up and got dressed to go help fight the fire. Running across the river I saw a transformer explode in sparks, and redoubled my pace. Reaching the watching crowd, I found my friend Bert Foxglove. "Is everyone out?" I asked breathlessly. "I think so. Go find out!" Bert urged me. "Around back". I followed where he pointed and made my way to the leeward side of the house. A strong breeze was fanning flames and billows of smoke out from the house, fortunately away from the house next door only a few feet away.

I cautiously hurried between the burning house and its neighbor, and joined the group of onlookers. One person was spraying a garden hose from the faucet next door, on the back wall of the house. Another was calling, "Lucky! Lucky!" through a window, trying to save a pet dog. Entering the house was out of the question. The fire was a hurricane of flames.

"Is everyone out?" I again questioned. "Yes, but the dogs are dead by now" was the response. Helplessly I watched as the garden hose was sprayed first on one side, then the other, trying to keep the side of the house nearest the neighbors from bursting into flame and spreading the fire to them. Flames licked the power lines and soon the power to the homes of the surrounding neighbors went out. All was blackness except for the roaring flames.

A wail went up from the home of the nearest neighbor. Soon I saw an elderly woman being helped from the dark home, to safety some distance from the fire. Not knowing what else I could do to help, I took her arm and helped her down the steps of her endangered home.

"A knife! Does anybody have a knife?" I was glad to have something else I could do to help-- loan my leatherman I always carry. Soon I saw a firehose being dragged from the river, but agonizing minutes passed without any water coming from it. "What is taking so long?" I worried to myself. "God, please don't let anyone be killed or the neighbors houses burn!" I prayed silently.

"Can somebody give me a hand with this hose?" I heard the Baptist pastor on the other side of the house. He had another firehose hooked up to the water mains coming to the houses, and though it was too short to reach any farther than the corner of the house, he was able to keep the side nearest the neighbors cooled with the water.

The next two hours were engaged with holding the firehose and participating in bucket brigades (using five gallon buckets filled from the firehose, since it would not reach far enough). Finally, another matching hose was located and we were able to take the hose around the sides of the house, and work on putting the fire out. Walls of the house were knocked down and the fire attacked and gradually put under control.

Working together with others for a common goal was a good experience, though tiring. I am saddened that it came at the loss of Buddy Cleveland's home and pet dogs. Visiting with him later, I asked what woke him up. He showed me a couple burns on his wrists where burning plastic fell on him while he was sleeping. He doesn't know if the fire was started due to faulty wiring or his wood stove. It was an older house and either one could be the case.

Please keep Buddy in prayer and feel free to send donations to assist him and his brother (who lived with him). He had just retired, received his payout, and made purchases which are now unfortunately gone. So, if you wish to send him donations, I'm sure they would be much appreciated.

Just use:

Buddy Cleveland
General Delivery
Selawik, AK 99770

God bless,
Warren

Mission: Ekwok

2007-12-09T23:47:00.001-09:00

The village of Ekwok is the destination of Dillingham SDA church members Rod and Brenda Rau most Sabbaths. No, they are not trying to get away from the Dillingham church-- they are extending its reach with a branch Sabbath school. They have permission to meet in the Ekwok city hall/post office, in a room about 20x20 feet in size. Conveniently located in the same building as the post office, they sometimes have people drop in after picking up their mail.

Ekwok is a village about 42 miles North-East of Dillingham, that has had previous Adventist work, years ago when the Aleknagik mission school was still open. At first glance, it would appear that all that remains of the original work is a small 10x20 foot structure once used as a meeting house. However, people are what make the church, and Ekwok has people who are interested in learning more about the Bible.

Please consider if you may be called to be an evangelist this summer in Ekwok.

Warren

Mission: Manokotak

2007-12-09T22:37:00.001-09:00

The branch Sabbath school work in the village of Manokotak has made some exciting strides in the past year. But the story goes back about ten years, to when Dave & Shirley Williams befriended a man we'll call T (some names will be changed for privacy). Dave Williams, a Dillingham Adventist church member, did some mechanical work for T, an elder in the Moravian church in Manokotak, and shared some Bible studies and Sabbath school quarterlies with him at that time.

Now, fast forward to last year, 2006, when Dillingham members Margarita Merino and Florie Jewell visited house to house in Manokotak throughout the year. In the process, they found many interested people. One man we'll call A was willing to have Bible studies in his home. These began this spring, 2007, and have had around 13-14 people each week. A woman we'll call R (along with her mother) was one of those people. When R learned of the Sabbath and discussed it with her mother, she said "I've known that for a long time". R wondered why she hadn't been told about it all this time.

By June, R was ready for baptism, and she and her husband were flown to Dillingham for her baptism in June, 2007. At the baptism, her husband also seemed very interested. He also expressed his desire to begin paying tithe.

Since learning of the Sabbath, R has been active in outreach. She has shared her faith with the V.P.S.O. (Village Public Safety Officer) and also T, the Moravian church elder mentioned at the beginning. The V.P.S.O. was initially skeptical, but he studied the Sabbath for himself, he found it to be Biblical. Under conviction from the Holy Spirit, he made a decision to keep the Sabbath. Based on his convictions, the V.P.S.O. quit his job so he could keep Sabbath.

Meanwhile, the Moravian elder, T, had heard Sabbath presented at the Moravian church. When the Sabbath was presented, T noticed the reactions of the members. Some reacted with surprise, some with apparent anger, but some reacted with excitement and acceptance. T wanted more studies for his church. He wanted the Dillingham pastor to present the Bible truths from the Bible at the church, not pushing any denomination, just the scriptures. However, when the pastor called, the church wasn't ready for such a presentation yet. Nonetheless, T did request more quarterlies, further studies, and DVDs, which the pastor subsequently took over to him.

T wrote a letter in July to the Dillingham Adventist pastor, giving these details, and stating that he had begun keeping the Sabbath in June this year, and that besides the V.P.S.O., another family has also made a decision to keep the Sabbath. He has shared the Sabbath with his Thursday Bible study group, and they would like a Bible-based study given without pressure to join another denomination. Many young people, children and adults are listening to him, but fear persecution and name calling as the Adventists have received.

T has stated that while he doesn't want to change his denomination, he wants to keep the Sabbath and be faithful to the truth of the Bible. He is also aware of many other non-Biblical teachings in his church, such as the use of graven images and communication with purported spirits of the dead (forbidden by scriptures).

This fall (2007), child dedications have been given for 3 of R's children. Decisions are also being weighed by many, to follow the Bible more fully. Please keep them in your prayers and consider whether you may be called to dedicate some time this summer to evangelism in a village.

There are always challenges to deal with, and some of them are physical. Manokotak consists of an old village and a new village, which are about five miles apart. They could really use two groups of evangelists going out, rather than just one. Alternately, a light vehicle such as a moped or even a bicycle could be helpful for transit between the villages at least in the non-winter months.

Most of all, however, dedicated volunteers are needed who see that the fields "are white already to harvest." (John 4:35). "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:37-38)

Warren

Mission: Togiak

2007-12-09T11:22:00.000-09:00

We have been wanting to share with you some of the exciting things that the Dillingham church is doing in the surrounding villages, especially Aleknagik, Togiak, Manakotak, and Ekwok, but we wanted to get our stories straight from those who are involved. Here is our first from Judi Thompson that we received last week.

Hi folks,

This morning (Sabbath) we checked the weather on the computer, and when I saw that it still looked pretty windy and rough between here and Togiak I prepared to stay here today, and enjoy fellowship lunch for the second week in a row, here in Dillingham :) But Gavin (Thompson) did a little more digging, and Dave (Williams) said he thought the weather was good enough to make a run for it, so after church, we came home, and I changed clothes and we headed for the airport. (The church here has decided to change the services around, to try and get more of us "village people" to be able to participate here too. This week was the first week of the new program, and they started with church at 9am, and then Sabbath School, finishing the entire service by 11, when Rod and Brenda (Rau) usually head to Ekwok. We still have to leave a little earlier, but I think overall, it's going to be a good change.) We were pretty fully loaded (we took the Cherokee, as it was Manakotak's turn for the Hawk).

But it went well, and I got to practice a short, soft field landing with a 20 mph wind! There weren't very many people today, about five adults and three children, but we had some really good discussions with the ones who were there, so I think it was good that we went. One young man, who is almost completely deaf, has a sister with several young children, who was arrested recently for drinking, and is now in jail in Anchorage. So he now has the responsibility of caring for her three children while she is gone. He lives with his father and sister, but he says they are not a lot of help, and he ends up looking after them too most of the time. Sometimes he gets so fed up with them all that he comes over here to Dillingham, to get away from it, and spends the whole time here drinking! Today, we talked to him for a long time, and had special prayer for him before we left. I asked if he'd like us to dedicate the children and him next Sabbath, and have special prayer for them as a "family", and he said he'd really like that. So we'll be having a dedication next Sabbath :). I really wish that the Lord would provide a couple who could not only be spiritual leaders there, but could also volunteer to open an Adventist school there too. If they could volunteer their time, the parents wouldn't have to pay huge school fees, and some of these wonderful kids could be in a Christian school!

Blessings,

Judi

Mission: Dillingham area villages

2007-12-09T11:00:00.000-09:00

The next few posts will discuss missions work in the villages in the Dillingham area. The Dillingham church has a number of members involved in branch Sabbath school work in Togiak, Manakotak, and Ekwok. The church has adjusted their schedule so the participants can attend at least part of the Dillingham service before going to one of the villages. Here are the villages and the groups that have been going out:

Togiak: Judi & Gavin Thompson & Jim Bingman
Manakotak: Florie Jewell, Margarita Merino, Linda & Wendell Downs
Ekwok: Rod & Brenda Rau

The Holy Spirit is really at work in the villages, and we'd like to see that work go forward with power. While there has been talk of having ShareHim meetings in Dillingham itself, in the past, interest has been hard to arouse there. While we do not wish to limit the Spirit of God,
ShareHim meetings may work better in the villages than in Dillingham at this time. In any case, we hope to reach people while their interest is at a peak. Read on to learn more about how God is working in people's hearts.

Warren

The Basis of our Salvation

2007-12-05T00:17:00.001-09:00

Sometimes I come across people who are concerned that because I emphasize obedience to God, I may not understand the basis of salvation. Thus, I am writing this short Bible study on the subject. I'd be interested in feedback, additional Bible references (whether you agree or disagree), etc.

The conditions of salvation remain the same as they have always been-- "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31). The word, "believe" is used in the strongest sense. This is active faith. "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." (1 Cor 4:13) God wants us to share what we believe. This is not like "the devils also believe and tremble" (James 2:19), nor can those who are saved "hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. " (Hebrews 10:26-27)

Those who believe must "hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Hebrews 3:6) and not harden our hearts (Heb. 3:8), not "departing from the living God." (Heb. 3:12). We may not think we are departing from God or hardening our hearts, but we may "be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13) if we do not "Watch and pray, that (we) enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Further, we are especially warned, "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is." (of Christ's return, Mark 13:33). Because of this danger, Hebrews 3:13 warns us to encourage each other daily to remain faithful.

God says, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:17-18) and Paul encourages us, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 7:1) by becoming "partakers of His holiness" (Heb. 12:10). We can only do this by being "in subjection unto the Father of spirits" so we may live (Heb. 12:9). We are to be like Jesus: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; " (Heb. 5:8-9) and we are to learn obedience in the same way.

We cannot do any of this in our own strength, but we can through claiming His "exceeding great and precious promises" by which we may "be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Pet. 1:4). We do not need to fear for our salvation as long as we submit to God (Heb. 12:9). Instead we can be "confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

We can "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:11) by putting "on the whole armour of God", which consists of:

The belt of truth (Eph. 6:14). Our clothing (the robe of Christ's righteousness, Isaiah 61:10, imputed to us when we repent and turn to God for salvation) must be sustained by our faith in God's truth.
The breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14). Our obedience to God will be the result of our trust in His righteousness.
Shoes of The gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). The good news that God wants to make peace with us, will be too good for us to keep to ourselves.
The shield of faith (Eph. 6:16). Trust in God's promises will protect us from the devil's lies sent to discourage us, and his attacks on us.
The helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17). Knowing we have God's salvation as a free gift gives us assurance.
The sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). The word of God (the Bible) divides truth from error and separates us from our sin.
Praying without ceasing (Eph. 6:18, 1 Thess. 5:17). Faithfulness in prayer is like regular breathing. It keeps us spiritually alive.

It might be helpful for us to remember that God asks us to be "faithful" as well as to have faith. This means more than "full of faith" in the way we usually think of faith. It means, staying with the task God has given us. (See the parable of the faithful and evil servants in Matthew 24:45-51).

It is clear that God expects us to overcome sin in our lives:

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)
We should not be overcome by sin (2 Peter 2:19-22)
We should at the same time never claim to be free from sin: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). God wants us not to sin, but He has provided a solution if we do.
God gives us the victory over the wicked one (1 John 2:13-17)
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5)
In Revelation, those that overcome God will "give to eat of the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7). They "will not be hurt of the second death" (Rev. 2:11). They are promised the "hidden manna" and a "white stone" with a new name on it. (Rev. 2:17). They are the ones God will "give power over the nations" (Rev. 2:26) and the are the ones that will "be clothed in white raiment" and God "will not blot out his name out of the book of life" (Rev. 3:5). God will make the overcomers a regular feature of God's temple (Rev. 3:12) and will be given a seat on God's throne (Rev. 3:21).
Finally, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." (Rev. 21:7)

However, we need not fear that it is impossible for us to overcome. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)" (Heb. 10:22-23)

Our desire should be, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24) As David, we should pray, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit. [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." (Psalm 51:10-13)

If you are God's child, there is a joy in letting Him lead in your life, not just in removing the more obvious sins, not only in cleaning out the secrets of your life, but also in cleaning up the "little things" that most people don't even consider sin. If you pray for God to show you His will for you life and listen for the still, small voice, God will be happy to communicate with you. I can tell you this from personal experience, one that is ongoing as I write this.

God bless in your lives as you let Him live in you.

Warren

Subscribing via email

2007-11-21T00:12:00.000-09:00

For those of you who have tried to subscribe to our blog but found no
email subscription option, I've added that to the bottom of the blog
page (in addition to the RSS/Atom subscription option that was already
there). Now, all you need is an email account and you can be notified
when our blog has a new post. When you enter your email address, you
will receive a one-time confirmation email with a link you must click to
activate the email subscription.

Gratitude

2007-11-20T18:45:00.000-09:00

This is the time of year we all think about feeling grateful for what we have. It's hard to get get excited about the same clichéd "things we were thankful for" that we talk about every year. Yet, I am grateful for all of those things. Family is very dear to me. I wish I could see all of you, but that just isn't possible this year. Besides travel difficulties (it was near impossible for Warren to make it for his Grandma's funeral), as I write I think of those who wouldn't be there even if I could go. I still have much to be grateful for.

All my girls are growing spiritually. Sara is enjoying recorded prophecy lectures, Abby is singing a lot, and Miriam is learning to pray. I definitely know a lot more about what spirituality is than I did five years ago, when I had no idea how much growing I had to do or how to do it.

I love being here in Selawik. I wish I had pictures of the breath-taking sunsets of this last week and the frost cover on everything. We are slowly becoming closer to the people here. It is such a blessing to be able to devote ourselves to eternal matters.

So I am also thanking God for all of you. I know that there are thank-you notes I have neglected to write for the ways you have helped us last summer. I did not make a list of them as I should have and so I forgot what they are before we got home. So please forgive us if you did not receive a note. It seems our monthly donations are going up, we have received $300 a month for the last two months. We do not have the names of those who are sharing with us, but we wish you to know we are very grateful. It helps so much.

Blessings to you all,
Verity

The Passing of a Generation

2007-11-13T22:45:00.000-09:00

Nine years ago, my grandfather (on my Dad's side), born in 1903, breathed his last. Today, my grandmother (on my Mom's side), passed to her rest. She had been suffering with bone cancer, so her death was expected in a way. I am glad that I took the time last week to call her and talk with her before it was too late. I'm glad she is no longer suffering. Nevertheless, there is a loss at her passing. One by one, our elders, a source of wisdom we should not neglect, are passing off the scene of life.

We were not meant to suffer death, or loss of loved ones. The sorrow we feel demonstrates that fact. Nevertheless, we look forward to eternal life in heaven, when there will be no more death, pain or suffering.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [Revelation 21:4]

May we all be ready for that day.

Warren

Poem: The Church and the World

2007-11-13T12:43:00.000-09:00

A good friend of mine posted this old poem (Circa 1890 or earlier, see note #75) on his blog. I was curious who the author was, and in a Google search found it most often attributed to "Unknown", second most often to Matilda C. Edwards, but also to Winkie Pratney and H Jahnke). While searching for the author, I ran across several variations of the ending, which show interesting differences of how hopeful the future of the church may be.

In any case, I found it spoke to me. Read it and contemplate its message for your life.

Warren

The Church and the World

The Church and the World walked far apart
On the changing shore of Time;
The World was singing a giddy song,
And the Church a hymn sublime.
"Come, give me your hand," cried the merry World,
"And walk with me this way;"
But the good Church hid her snowy hands,
And solemnly answered, "Nay;
I will not give you my hand at all,
And I will not walk with you;
Your way is the way of endless death;
Your words are all untrue."

"Nay, walk with me but a little space,"
Said the World with a kindly air;
"The road I walk is a pleasant road,
And the sun shines always there.
Your path is thorny, and rough, and rude,
And mine is broad and plain;
My road is paved with flowers and dews
And yours with tears and pain.
The sky above me is always blue;
No want, no toil, I know;
The sky above you is always dark,
Your lot is a lot of woe.
My path, you see, is a broad, fair one
And my gate is high and wide;
There is room enough for you and for me
To travel side by side."

Half shyly the Church approached the World,
And gave him her hand of snow;
The old World quick grasped it and walked along,
Saying in accents low,
"Your dress is too simple to please my taste;
I will give you pearls to wear,
Rich velvets and silks for your graceful form,
And diamonds to deck your hair."
The Church looked down at her plain white robes
And then at the dazzling World,
And blushed as she saw his handsome lip
With a smile contemptuous curled.
"I will change my dress for a costlier one,"
Said the Church with a smile of grace:
Then the pure white garments drifted away,
And the World gave in their place
Beautiful silks and shining satins,
And roses and gems and pearls,
And over her forehead her bright hair fell,
Crisped in a thousand curls.

"Your house is too plain," said the proud old World;
"I'll build you one like mine
Carpets of Brussels, and curtains of lace,
And furniture ever so fine."
So he built her a costly and beautiful house,
Splendid it was to behold;
Her sons and her beautiful daughters dwelt there,
Gleaming in purple and gold;
And fairs and shows in the halls were held,
And the World and his children were there;
And laughter and music and feasts were heard
In the place that was meant for prayer.
She had cushioned pews for the rich and great
To sit in their pomp and pride;
While the poor folk, clad in their shabby suits,
Sat meekly down outside.

The Angel of Mercy flew over the Church,
And whispered, "I know thy sin":
Then the Church looked back with a sigh and longed
To gather her children in;
But some were off a the midnight ball,
And some were off at the play,
And some were drinking in gay saloons,
So she quietly went her way.
Then the sly World gallantly said to her:
"Your children mean no harm,
Merely indulging in innocent sports";
So she leaned on his proffered arm
And smiled and chatted and gathered flowers
As she walked along with the World;
While millions and millions of sorrowing souls
To eternal death were hurled.

"Your preachers are all too old and plain,"
Said the World to the Church with a sneer.
"They frighten my children with dreadful tales,
Which I like not for them to hear.
They talk of brimstone and fire and pain
And the night of an endless death;
They talk of a place which may only be
Mentioned with bated breath.
I will send you some of the better stamp
Brilliant and gay and fast
Who will tell them that people may live as they choose
And go to heaven at last.
The Father is merciful, great, and good,
Tender and true and kind;
Do you think He would take one child to heaven,
And leave the other behind?"
So he filled her house with gay divines
Gifted and great and learned
And the plain old men that preached the cross
Were out of her pulpits turned.

"You give too much to the poor," said the World,
"Far more than you ought to do;
If the poor need shelter and food and clothes,
Why need it trouble you?
Go, take your money and buy rich robes,
And horses and carriages fine,
And pearls and jewels and dainty foods,
And the rarest and costliest wine!
My children, they dote on all such things;
And if you their love would win,
You must do as they do and walk in the ways
That they are walking in."
Then the Church held tightly the strings of her purse
And gracefully lowered her head,
And whispered, "I've given too much away;
I'll do, sir, as you have said."
So the poor were turned from her door in scorn,
And she drew her robes aside
As the windows went weeping on their way,
With all their needs denied.
And the sons of the World and the sons of the Church
Walked closely hand and heart,
And only the Master who knoweth all
Could tell the two apart.

Then the Church sat down at her ease, and said,
"I am rich, and with goods increased;
I have need of nothing, and naught to do
But to laugh and dance and feast."
And the sly World heard her and laughed up his sleeve,
And mockingly said aside:
"The Church is fallen, the beautiful Church,
And her shame is her boast and pride."
The angel drew near to the mercy-seat,
And whispered in sighs her name,
And the saints their anthems of rapture hushed,
And covered their heads in shame.

Then a voice came down through the hush of heaven
From Him who sat on the throne:
"I know thy works, and how thou hast said,
'I am rich,' and hast not known
That thou art naked, and poor, and blind,
And wretched before my face.
Unless thou repent I will cast thee out
And blot thy name from its place.
I counsel thee to buy of me
The gold that will make you rich;
And anoint your eyes with the heavenly salve
To discern your Maker's wish."

Then the awakened Church with deep regret
From her worldly course returned;
She opened her heart to the knock of Christ
As His love in her bosom burned.
And gave her robes and forgave her sins,
And together they sat and supped;
His proffered throne He shared with her
For whom He had suffered much.

O Church of Christ, hear the Spirit's voice
As He calls through the world today.
Would that every church throughout the realm
Would turn from the world away.
The world will be lost in eternal night,
But the penitent saved for aye.

Do you believe? Seize the Day!

2007-11-11T17:35:00.000-09:00

What does it mean to believe Jesus is coming again very soon? Many Seventh-day Adventists and other Christians have felt a special urgency because of 9/11 and the changes in the world since then. But does believing that Jesus' return is very soon just mean becoming enthusiastic about the latest signs? I think not.

"The time is short just means the time is now." We are free to simplify our lives. We can downsize instead of supersizing. We can choose not get a bigger house, expand more than ample wardrobes, or upgrade the couch. It seems to me that most of us who are not currently retired will not retire on earth, so why worry about our retirement plan? Is our faith dead or is it alive, active, and moving? We need to spend more time making new friends to come with us and encouraging our current friends and family to be ready.

Maybe you think I am just being critical of those who haven't taken the radical step our family has. But we are still working on simplifying our lives. This week we cleaned out two large boxes of videos and CD's that we no longer feel we need. I must confess I have been dealing with a lust for travel, since my sister offered to help us come visit her in Europe and fulfill our childhood dream of visiting our grandfather's birthplace in Sweden. Recently it has been brought to my mind how strong the feeling that "heaven is better" was expressed by those have seen it in vision. If this world is that dark and dreary compared with heaven and the things God has planned for us, how can I spend that much time planning a visit to part of it?

If we believe, now is not the time to spend most of our precious time and money on the things that will soon be fuel for the fire. I miss opportunities like everyone. I think of Angela who disappeared last summer. I never met her, but we lived in the same village for more than a year. I think of Kenneth who visited last week, but I was too tired to give him the attention I could have. Every day needs to be filled with becoming closer to God and each other. I want to remember that better.

"Everybody I know says they need just one thing, and what they really mean is they need just one thing more". What is your one thing?

Seize the Day!
Verity (quotes are Rich Mullins)

Where do I belong?

2007-10-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to write for a long time. But homeschool, housework, visiting and quality spiritual time take almost all my day. I have learned to balance all these fairly satisfactorily, but I have very little left for writing. Also, I alternate between feeling burdened by expectations and misunderstandings and feeling that we are making progress. So choosing what to write about is difficult.

On the one hand, we have offended all of church members at one time or another, that has been hard to swallow. But thankfully now they have all forgiven us, which feels very good. Starting a Pathfinder group is one of our goals. But having a plan to get a regular group to attend and develop leadership are issues that have kept us from getting started. It is hard having a church expecting you to lead them when you don't know where they want to go and they don't know how to tell you.

On the other hand, I feel so much better about how our family life is going. I am feeling more prepared for an afternoon of visitors. When we returned from our vacation I really appreciated how much a couple of friends had missed me. Vacation Bible School, led by a group from New York, went well and about sixty attended, including teenagers. Warren has been making more friends (including especially one promising contact) and we are getting to know more people.

I am so grateful for the things that I have been learning these past few months. Homeschool is becoming a joy daily. I am learning to hear my girls better. I am becoming a better wife. I still have all the same struggles, but I hear what I sound like to others better than I used to. Spending more time on the things of God is gradually changing me, but I have a long way to go. As I get closer to God, I see more of all the things I lack. Today I again allowed myself to descend into tangents that had little to do with my family or our mission here. Yet God has brought me back to the tasks I needed to do in time to save the day. A good day requires the same concentration on Jesus for me as walking on water did for Peter. And it is just as exciting when is happens.

Whatever I may feel, I do need to be here for our family and for this village. Choosing to live more simply, we have more time for eternal pursuits. As I look out the window, I am encouraged by the beauty I am surrounded with. The river is calm, even though it is evening, the boats having been pulled up since freeze-up has begun. I am encouraged by the historic church yesterday (for us anyway.) We had a boy and a girl come to our Cradle Roll class just before church, the boy brought by his grandmother. We have never had any other children come, so it was just an impromptu affair we were conducting for Miriam's benefit which has been hit or miss. Praise God, we were ready this week. Now I have a plan and am prepared. Following that very pleasant surprise, we had a full church service, missing one previous member, but adding the boy's grandmother who is becoming regular in attendance.

I may not have miraculous events to remember when I am discouraged. I may wonder if God is blessing our efforts. But I can know if I am following him right now and if I am growing closer to him each day. That is all I need. If I have that, then I am right where I belong.

Verity