Hello and welcome back to your favorite summer blog! I'm your writer Heather! Previously on the blog we had been to 5 different villages. Only accessible by plane, boat, or those really ambitious hikers! Why? Because Jesus is worth it. The times when we don't have service to talk to loved ones. The missing out on weddings, births, and funerals. The back pain that comes with sleeping in a different spot for many weeks. The exhaustion that hits. The colds that come or for me migraines. Having others know Jesus or be encouraged in their faith is worth it!
This last week we were in the village of Egegik. We got to be hosted by the living legend Paul Boskoffsky along with his best prayer warrior wife Nattie. Paul and Nattie currently in their 80's and 70's get to look back on their lives now and see God's faithfulness in their lives. They get to see the way God has work miracles both in and through them as they have some fruit to their labor. The way God has worked in their lives has been immense. To sit and hear their stories again this summer is a wonderful blessing. Our pilot Josh and Lane got to get in on it as they brought us pizza on Wednesday night.
A history of Egegik! Okay I'm not a historian and I really don't know much. In Alaska to have the school open you need to have 10 kids enrolled into the school. The school in Egegik closed in 2015, I think. The kids that we have for VBS are only there for the summer. Their families fish for the summer. Throughout the years we've had the same families come. The younger ones get to attend and as they get older they help the family fish. Due to Covid we haven't been able to go since 2019. It was good to be back to see the families.
We had 5 to 6 kids most days. On the last day we had 13 people come to our program. Considering the village has about 40 people in the winter I'd say it's good! The people there are grateful that we were able to come back. We are thankful for the investments that the family puts into the kids too. The kids memorized the verse and retained the lessons. Sang some songs that they knew from years ago and learned some new ones. Two of the kids gave us all individual cards of encouragement. It was so sweet.
After a summer of investing into kids who come from hard backgrounds and going to investing into kids whose parents read the Bible with them it can be easy to believe that our impact isn't great. We can wonder why are we even going to this village. If we take a moment to think though we can see that God values these souls just as much. We can see maybe that one day when they grow up they'll go and tell people about Jesus through VBS because someone did to them. We can see how their faith can grow in a week. That is something pretty incredible to see too!
Friday night I couldn't sleep. As I was awake I thought about all the times I had seen God in and through my life. I hope that is the same for you too reading this blog. When given the chance I hope you can sit down and share how you have seen God at work. I hope your stories would be enough to fill a book. I hope it's not filled with statements like flying you four bums around! When you do you see a beauty more beautiful than an Egegik sunset. You will feel faithfulness stronger than the winds in Egegik. That is the God that we get to serve!
Through the week Paul our host would grab our bags before we could bring them. Grab the garbage and cook a Thanksgiving meal. He was always one step ahead of us the whole time.
Looking back: Prayers for kids who accepted Christ throughout the summer. The power has also come back on the same day it went out. Zach and Katy to find housing in Washington.
Looking forward: Prayers for flights as we fly to Levelock and back everyday. Flights for the Swansons coming up Monday. Flights for Steve and Mary Bernstons flying home Monday and Laurie Nash who flys home Friday.
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