AK Update

     Well time for a short update! I'm alive and well enjoying time up at Covenant Bible Camp just outside of Unalakleet, AK. We've made our way through five weeks of camp and just have one left to go. I have been working as a counselor for the students each week and have had some really great opportunities to share God's word with them. I'm excited to continue to do work with Covenant Youth of Alaska (CYAK) for the remainder of the summer as the formal portion of my internship.

Students about ready for capture the flag

Native Youth Olympics- One Foot High Kick

Worship

     Each group of guys has presented many opportunities for laughter, joy, challenges, sharing, working through pain, and asking big questions about life. It is exciting to see and hear what is going on in young people's minds. We spent the first few weeks (leadership and high school) with some really great speakers and lots of incredible student testimonies. To see some of these students hold tightly to God is incredible in the midst of what they are going through.
     One such testimony related a story of a prayer the student prayed to get an abusive uncle out of their home. He could not take having the uncle around any more and asked God to do anything to get the uncle out. The student said he went so far as to ask God to allow the Uncle to attack his mom so that the police would forcibly take him away. The student made one request to God though, that his mother would survive and that she would receive a paper cut which would be the most painful part of the confrontation. The student went on to relate the story of his mother being attacked with a knife and receiving something like 13 major cuts and several major bruises so much so that she was taken to the hospital for an extended period of time. When she came out the student asked about it and she said that the most incredible thing was that she had received a paper cut in the midst of the fight and that the simple paper cut had caused her more pain than any of the other injuries.
     This is one story among many which relate the joy and hope that is found in the Lord. God is good and he is active in protecting us. All he asks is that we search after him. I'm continually blessed by these students, no matter what they have been through good and bad. I would like to ask for continued prayer for CYAK, Bible Camp and the students as we approach the closing of camp. I'm excited for work God is doing. Continue to pray and feel free to ask questions if you're interested in hearing more about what God is doing here in rural Alaska. God's blessings,

Praise the Lord o my soul,
All that is within me,
Praise his Holy name.
Praise the Lord oh my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Psalm 103.

David