Alaska's long winter is coming to an end and the sound of spring is coming.
Bear waking up from winter sleep
Skunk Cabbage Announces Spring
People standing in front of the totem pole in an native village...
Alaska cruise ships arrive twice a day
Children playing soccer even in the pouring rain
The chattering sounds of native children...
Shalom! I picture the people praying for us...
With gratitude, we send you news from Ketchikan, Alaska.
It seems like Alaska is finally waking up from its winter sleep. Sometimes it rains a lot and it's cold, but there are more days with bright sunlight, so I'm thankful for happy spring.
A special meeting took place last March.The Frontier Alaska Missions (FAM) team from Wasilla, northern Alaska, visited Ketchikan. “Let’s spread the gospel to the villages all over Alaska!” They have been working with this vision. The reason why this is surprising is because before I met them, God gave me the desire to "go to villages all over Alaska and spread the gospel," and they are a team with the same vision.
There are about 229 villages in Alaska. Most of them are where native people live. The team leader's youngest son (10 years old) saw the Totem pole in a dream and came here with a wish and prayer to see it for himself. It was a moment where we met the team we never expected and confirmed that our dream was becoming a reality. Wasilla, where this organization is located, and Ketchikan here are in the same Alaska, but even though it takes 5 hours by plane and 1 hour by car, we see the same work of God.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing, and it will soon be revealed!”
I pray and look forward to how God will lead the ministry in the future.
Our primary focus is villages on the islands of Southeast Alaska!
(inside the blue square box)
As a start, we are planning to go with a short-term mission team to Hydaburg Village on Prince of Wales (POW) Island in July. POW is the third largest island in the United States and is a three-hour ferry ride from Ketchikan. It's an extra hour and a half drive to Hydaburg, so a lot of preparations are needed. It's not easy to buy things, so I have to buy everything I need to eat and need for a week here. There is a church in the village, but there has been no minister for 20 years. Please pray to God for sending a good pastor who can serve the Haida natives. I am serving VBS (Vacational Bible School) with the short-term mission team and praying and preparing to spread the gospel to the souls there.
🙏 May it be a time of grace where Haida natives accept the gospel, gain new hope through the Word, and become firmly established!
- Make sure the accommodations where the team can stay are well connected!
- May everyone be healthy and minister under anointing and protection!
- Please pray for Yeseul and Eunchul to have a precious time embracing God’s heart as ambassadors of the gospel.💕
Every Wednesday, Grace and I pray together with YWAM staff, Lenard and Debbie.
On April 10th, we prayed for Ketchikan where we live and I would like to share it with you. Before that, we share prayer letters every three months, but we always feel like there is not enough space. We want to let more people know about Alaska and share our lives more, but while we were wondering what to do, missionary Eunae Park applied to be a writer for <Brunch Story> and has been writing about life in Ketchikan for some time now. This is what we also interceded on this time. I also wrote about it, and the title is <Treasure Hunting in Alaska>. I am posting part of the article.
One of the comic books that children really liked in Korea is the Treasure Hunt series. These are the books we brought here to Alaska. Every Wednesday, I pray intercession with the people I work with. This week, it is my turn to lead. What should I pray for? I asked God. Then, the phrase ‘finding treasure in a Ketchikan’ suddenly came to mind. There is a treasure that God has hidden in Ketchikan. Today’s mission is to find out what it is!! "You can go anywhere in Ketchkan city, and you can pray in a specific place.The method is up to you! All you have to do is to retrieve the treasure hidden in Ketchikan within one hour. ! Go~Go~"
- Skipping the middle -
The treasure that God has hidden on this island is to discover myself anew and to be healed. Ketchikan is a land of restoration where I come to love myself. You can read the full story here ^^
https://brunch.co.kr/@voyager2024
voyager 은애의 브런치스토리
에세이스트 | 알래스카 시골섬에 살고 있는 4년차, 두 아이의 엄마입니다. 이곳에서의 소소하지만 의미 있는 일상들, 새롭게 만나는 나, 하나님과 동행하는 삶의 이야기를 지면에 담아봅니다.
brunch.co.kr
Gratitude - In the last prayer letter, I shared my prayer topic regarding tax reporting, and there was the grace that all my problems were resolved!! Hallelujah!! Thank you so much for your prayers!! In fact, I was a little worried about whether I should share the prayer topic specifically, but seeing this problem resolved was a time where I experienced the power of prayer once again. This time too, we continue to share our prayer topics.
<Prayer Topic>
1. We are continuing to prepare visa extension documents. Please pray that our documents will be received successfully and that our visas can be extended smoothly. As for the green card for long-term ministry, there is no special progress yet after receiving it, but I believe that God will work wonders in this as well, just like the answer to prayer for tax reporting! Please pray for it together.
2. Please pray for the short-term mission teams that will come this summer. Short-term mission teams come from Saehan Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Haneul Sarang Church in Seoul, and Living Water Church in Michigan. Please pray for them so that they can be well prepared in the Holy Spirit with one mind and bear much fruit through much-needed ministries (VBS: Vacational Bible school, serving native children, prayer ministry, etc.).
3. Please pray that everything we need will be prepared when the short-term mission team and our family go to Hydaburg, Prince of Wales Island in July. Please pray that Yeseul and Eunchul will have a precious time to learn more deeply about God's heart for lost souls.
4. When visiting native families, pray that their hearts will be wide open. Please pray that they will have the grace to meet God through prayer. Please pray that their parents will respond to the gospel first.
5. We participate in the Original Design Prayer Seminar (Via Zoom). Original design prayer is about discovering the original design that God placed in each person when He created them. And after hearing it, we share it with each other and bless each other with it. Please pray for this ministry to happen through this seminar!
Last May 5th was the 3rd anniversary of coming here. In Korea, we can't forget the date because it's Children's Day^^
A lot has happened in the past three years. It seems like time passed quickly as I got used to and got to know this place. After three years, I feel like I have adapted to this place and my relationships with people have become deeper. Debbie, who works with us, said that to us when our family first came here and were getting used to it. She said, “When I think about the missionary families who lived here before, it feels like your family was thrown into the jungle.” I confess that the
reason I was able to come this far despite all those circumstances was because of the prayers and encouragement of
many people. Missions can never be done alone, so we once again thank you with all our hearts for your precious cooperation in praying for us.
Behold, he will do something new
It will appear soon.
A people created for the Lord
I will sing your praises
Water will spring forth in the wilderness.
Flowers will bloom in the desert
Remember not the former things;
Don't even think about the old things~
We look forward to God creating new things in our lives!
In my next letter, I will share what new things God has done for Ketchikan.
In Ketchikan, Alaska in May 2024.
Jaeho Jung, Eunae Park, Yeseul Jung, Eunchul Jung
🍀 ywamketchikan.org