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Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska
P.O. Box 770749
Eagle River, Alaska 99577-0749
Ph: 907-694-6348 Fax: 907-694-6378
e-mail : [email protected]
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
EAGLE RIVER, AK
PERMIT NO. 20 ECCAK!
Mail to “IN-IT TOGETHER” recipient:
Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska
A Humble Man 22
Heroes... 33
Bear Report 44
Alaskan Ingenuity! 55
Nearly Frozen 66
Movie with Meaning 77
Jesus, My Musher 88
Chickaloon 99
Prayer Calendar
1010--
1111
Short Term Trip... 1212
Mekoryuk Board and leaders
1313
Wanted... Old Pictures
1414
Visiting the Villages 1515
What’s Happening 1616
Websites 1717
Just Stuff... 1818
Ways to Help 1919
Mar/Apr 2010
The River Covenant Church of Kenai Holds its First Service!
Inside thisInside this
IssueIssue
CHILLING NEWS.. .
… Reaching People for Christ’s Sake from near the North Pole !
that W A R M S
the heart! CHILLING NEWS.. .…
Preface: Alaskans had been praying
a long time about planting another
church in Alaska through the ECC
Church Planting Initiative. God
teaches His children patience. In His
time, the Lord sent Pastor Frank
Alioto and his wife Suzanne to the
Soldotna/Kenai area for that very
purpose. On Feb. 7, 2010, they held
their first preview service at the
Boys/Girls Club in Kenai.
Pastor Alioto: Talk about Transfor-
mation! Our launch team arrived
early to make a tired gym into a
place of worship. As flurries of snow
gently covered our just shoveled
walkway we trudged back and forth
to unload chairs, sound equipment,
signs, and instruments. Our worship
team set up the sound system and
proceeded to review the songs for the
morning. By 9:30, curtains divided
the gym and seats were ready to be
filled. Our launch team and guests
assembled and at 10:02 we welcomed
everybody to our first official preview
service! We began with ―Oh, Praise
Him‖ as our focus was directed in
worship to our Lord God. After a
couple of more songs we called the
children forward for a brief lesson
and prayer.
As the children went off to their pro-
gram called ―The Fish Factory‖ our
congregation greeted each other. We
then sang ―Come Thou Fount‖ and
we read the text for the day out of
Joshua. 3. The Israelites were ready
(“The River”Continued on page 2)
2
Daniel (Aguupan) Sevetilik, Sr. was known as a
strong, loving, respectful, and humble man who
always opened his home to everyone. Visitors
never left his home hungry.
During his life when ―trials‖ entered, he used those
trials to strengthen his faith. He always strived to
be humble and to live a Christian life, so that those
around him would see God‘s love. Many who
needed prayer would come to him. His home even-
tually became the location for Sunday services.
It was approximately seven years ago, during the
ECCAK Annual Meeting in Koyuk, that the
―Daniel Savetilik Sr. Lay Ministry Award‖ was
instituted. This award is now presented annually to
recognize the Covenant lay person(s) who contrib-
ute significantly to ministry in Alaska. It specifi-
cally recognizes those individuals who have served
faithfully for many years. This last year‘s recipi-
ents were Alan and Sharon Finifrock.
Daniel passed away of natural causes January 19 in
his home. He will be greatly missed.
A Humble and Faithful Man
In his last days: Palmer Sagoonick & Grace Marie
(Aguupan‘s daughter) sing Daniel‘s favorite hymn
a few days before the Lord took him home.
to enter the Promise land but they had one more
obstacle – the Jordan River. For three days they
waited on God to direct their steps. God came
through and did an amazing thing: He took them
through the river. From this passage we reflected
how God can take us through the ―rivers‖ or obsta-
cles of our lives. We also explored how God can
use The River Covenant Church to be a part of His
kingdom as we step out in faith to be a part of what
he is doing in the Kenai Peninsula. The Israelites
had to prepare themselves for the new work of God
as He told them to ―get ready and get in.‖ As over
a million people journeyed to the other side on dry
land, God told them to ―get out‖ and remember all
that He has done for them. We concluded with a
challenge to lay our obstacles before God and to let
Him take us through the rivers of our lives.
After a time of fellowship we loaded and cleaned
everything up. While our first service had a few
―bumps‖ or obstacles to work on we had an amaz-
ing time worshipping God and look forward to our
next preview service. Our launch team did a fabu-
(“The River” Continued from page 1)
Pastor Frank Alioto with his wife, Suzanne
lous job in so many ways. We had around 70
adults and children present at our service. It was
great to see so many students from Alaska Christian
College.
The mission of The River Covenant Church is to
―Overflow with Christ, Community and Calling‖
and we are continuing to grow as a community of
followers of Jesus. May Jesus continue to trans-
form and use us to be part of His transformation in
our community. Thanks for all the prayers and sup-
port!
19
Pray
Our newsletter, “Chilling News”, is full
of stories about the people and the ministry
of ECCAK throughout Alaska. If you would
like to be added to our mailing list, please
let us know.
Encouragement
Writing and/or calling those who serve in
the bush is a great ministry. Want to adopt
a church or a pastor? Ask for a prayer card
of a pastor.
Mission Teams
Often times we have need for teams of
people to come and join with a local church,
camp, college, youth group, etc. for a con-
struction project or outreach event. You can
connect through Alaska Merge Ministry at
http://akmerge.com/how-it-works
Financial
God often calls people to give to ECCAK
beyond the normal local church tithe or
churches to place ECCAK in their mission
budget. Some are led to leave a gift through
estate planning for work in Alaska into the
future.
Credit Card Donations
ECCAK can receive donations via credit
cards. You can contact the ECCAK office
(907) 694-6348 and Sara or Yvonne will be
happy to assist you.
Teachers or Nurses
Christian teachers and nurses often
come to bush Alaska to serve in the local
Covenant church during off hours. Also,
some villages have no one reaching out to
the youth. Call the ECCAK office 694-6348.
ECCAK mission: To make disciples of Christ through a diverse
culturally relevant witness by healthy mis-
sional churches and their supporting organiza-
tions.
ECCAK Vision:
To challenge and assist every local church to
become one that GROWS…
G = God‘s Word
R = Relationships
O = Outreach
W = Worship
S = Service
The Evangelical Covenant Church of
Alaska [ECCAK] is a non-conference “field” of the
Covenant Church of America.
Dependent on the gifts from churches and people
to carry out our mission for Christ’s sake in
Alaska.
Field Director: Rodney J. Sawyer
Associate Field Director: Nathan Toots
Office Manager: Sara Scoles
Assistant Manager: Yvonne Edmonson
Ways Your
Hands and Heart
Can Help!
Pastors/Youth Workers
Often we have empty pulpits and are in
need of pastors, short and long-term. Some
villages have no one reaching out to the
youth.
Donate Air Miles
If you accumulate free air miles, please
consider donating to help a bush pastor and
family get away for some respite.
Give
Through the ECCAK office, you can do-
nate money to help send a child or young
person to camp.
18
I‘ve never made a fortune
And it‘s probably too late now.
But I don‘t worry about that much,
I‘m happy anyhow.
And as I go along life‘s way,
I‘m reaping better than I sowed.
I‘m drinking from my saucer,
‗Cause my cup has overflowed.
I don‘t have a lot of riches,
And sometimes the going‘s tough.
But I‘ve got loved ones around me,
And that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings,
And the mercies he‘s bestowed,
I‘m drinking from my saucer,
‗Cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
And the sun peeped through again.
So God, help me not to gripe.
About the tough rows that I‘ve hoed.
I‘m drinking from my saucer,
‗Cause my cup has overflowed.
If God gives me strength and courage
When the way grows steep and rough,
I‘ll not ask for other blessings,
I‘m already blessed enough.
And may I never be too busy
To help others bear their loads,
Then I‘ll keep drinking from my saucer,
‗Cause my cup has overflowed. -John Paul Moore
Drinking From My Saucer Submitted by:
Alice Menely, Galesburg, IL
Educatio
n is what
you get
when you
read the
fine prin
t. Expe
rience
is
what you
get if
you don'
t.
All the cats loved the
new TV.
An Excerpt from a vending machine: Change is inevitable.
Follow m
e!
Ans: “Window” from page 13, the bear is white because
it’s a polar bear and the house is on the North Pole.
3
It was October and around Nunivak Island, that
meant that the seas were usually stormy, as it was
on this windy and rainy day. The people of Me-
koryuk, the only village on the island, were sur-
prised to see a sailboat come into their harbor. It
was seeking shelter in their bay area.
Communication was made, so to speak, with a
German married couple, but they knew little Eng-
lish. They were ―Sailing around the world‖ was
somehow communicated. The Nunivakers helped
them find some safety in the channel in the mouth
of the river to weather out the storm. But the
winds picked up and soon they heard, ―May day!
May day!‖ over their radios. Many of the folks
ran out in the wind driven pouring rain to see how
they might help. Radio communication with the
German couple was impossible. No matter what
question was asked, all they heard in return was,
―May day! May day!‖ in broken English.
Then, suddenly, to the horror of the people, they
saw the couple throw the chain of one anchor into
the water. They watched in disbelief as the Ger-
man couple cut the rope of the other two anchors!
Immediately, the sailboat began to head out to sea
at a rapid pace. The people knew it would be the
end for the German couple, because once they were
out of the bay area, their sailboat would probably
sink and the couple perish a horrible death.
There seemed to be a moment of pandemonium
among some of the Islanders. Most of the local
boats were hauled out for the winter. Where
was the Village Police Safety Officer (VPSO)?
He was the man in charge of rescuing people on
the sea. He could not be found.
Pastor Nathan Hanna was among the con-
cerned. He happened to run into retired pastor,
Larson King, who was preparing his boat to go
to the rescue. After some discussion as to their
course of action, Larson told Nathan, ―Hop in!
Let‘s go after them!‖ Nathan was not sure Lar-
son‘s boat was big enough to pull in a 60‘ sail-
boat. Besides that, the bilge pump did not
work. But who was going to go? Fast action
was in order. Without thinking too much more,
Nathan simply jumped in.
Fortunately Jim Shavings, the VPSO, and Lar-
son‘s son Derek showed up as just in time to hop
on the boat. As they got further and further out to
sea, the boat began to take on a lot of water. The
only way to empty it was to pull the plug and go
fast enough for it to drain, not an easy task navigat-
ing on a treacherous sea.
It was not long before all those in the boat were wet
from head to foot. The icy water was absolutely
numbing.
They were finally out in the roughest part of the sea
and it was very bad. They were tremendously re-
lieved to see that Ishmael Smith, George King,
Viva Smith and Jeff King had launched into the sea
before them with a bigger boat and he was towing
the sailboat back towards Mekoryuk. Larson kept
his boat in the vicinity of the rescue boat to make
sure they made it in.
(“Seas”Continued on page 15)
Heroes of the High Seas!
Retired Pastor Larson King & Pastor Nathan Hanna pose for a
―mug shot‖ at the annual Christmas play of the Mekoryuk
school.
4
It was about 2 1/2 years ago the Chilling News
reported when Shawn Evan was savagely mauled
by a grizzly bear. Shawn retold his gruesome
story to Field Director Rodney Sawyer while he
was visiting Shaktoolik. It started when two of his
fellow boat travelers had wounded a grizzly bear.
They knew they had to go after the wounded
bear. It did not go well, as the bear charged
Shawn and grabbed his leg with his powerful
jaws. One of his fellow travelers shot the bear in
the head, but in doing so, the bullet went through
the bear and through both of Shawn‘s legs.
Two tourniquets and a long two hour ride back to
Shaktoolik is an extreme abbreviation of the next
several hours which seemed like a lifetime.
Shawn should not be alive, but it seems God had
other plans.
When fi-
nally being
medivacked
into An-
c h o r a g e
from the
remote vil-
lage of
Shaktoolik,
most of the
doctors who
g a t h e r e d
a r o u n d
S h a w n
looked at
the mangled
mess and
simply ad-
vised ampu-
tating both
legs below the
knees. But Shawn is a fighter. To keep them, the
doctors warned, might mean several years of pain.
―That is not what I want. I don‘t want to loose my
legs‖ he said
firmly.
It would seem
the Lord also
wanted for
Shawn to
keep both
legs, too. Dr.
Payton, brand
new to An-
chorage, had
been to Rus-
sia and stud-
ied under a Russian doctor who was famous for his
ingenuity in preventing amputations among the em-
battled soldiers of the Russian war at the time. The
doctor‘s name was Dr. Ilizarov. He had devised a
method of fusing bones back together after experi-
menting on a horse. It took machinists to manufac-
ture an ingenious device [see picture] that would
later allow the patient to turn the threaded rods one
millimeter each day away from the upper leg bone
that had been sawed in two and towards the 40 mil-
limeter piece of bone missing in the lower part of
his leg, the place that the bear‘s jaws had disinte-
grated.
For Shawn, there was much suffering and pain due
to infections and other complications that followed
his decision. Except for a few brief times, he has
never regretted that decision. Now, two and a half
years later, Shawn sees some light at the end of the
tunnel. He is no longer confined to a wheelchair.
He has begun walking on his own and regaining
strength in both legs. They are telling him he will be
able to see the brace removed in the near future.
This is great news for Shawn who is an avid hunter
and fishermen. He is looking forward to returning to
the wilds of Alaska where his spirit is energized and
the creation itself speaks to something or Someone
greater than he.
As Rodney and Shawn sat together and talked, (“Bear” Continued on page 15)
Bear Mauling Report: Two and a Half Years Later
Shawn with ingenious leg devise.
17
Covenant Newswire Service: www.covchurch.org—click on the Newswire button
Covenant Bible Camp (CBC): http://www.cyak.org/bible-camp.html
Advocacy for Victims of Abuse: www.covchurch.org/women/ava
Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska: www.eccak.org
Covenant Youth of Alaska (CYAK): www.cyak.org
New Hope Counseling Center: www.nhccak.org
Alaska Christian College: www.akcc.org
Amundsen Educational Center: aecak.org
Check out these Covenant Websites...
You may not always know the details of your journey or clearly see where the trail
is leading, but God will always give you enough light to take the next step.
1. The need for work teams to help in the
spring and summer of 2010, not only in
construction of the cabins, but in clearing
brush, cutting trees, chopping wood, etc.
Alaskan people can contact Scott Swanberg
at 907.696.7732 to find out about being a
part of a work team. Out-of-state people can
contact James Barefoot with Merge Minis-
tries at 907.304.1617 and he will provide
guidance on setting up a mission trip.
2. We are still short of the finances needed to
finish off the cabins with furniture, flooring,
curtains, etc. Donations can be designated
on the envelope enclosed.
The Chickaloon Retreat Center‘s [CRC] aim
will be to strengthen and nurture Churches and
communities across Alaska by educating, nur-
turing and protecting the front line human re-
sources represented by ministers, clergy, lay
leaders and their families.
(“Chickaloon” Continued from page 9)
We are so
thankful for
your finan-
cial support!
At right is a
photo of
―G r a n d p a ‖
which is one
photo out of
many photos
that are in
the book.
(“Grandpa”Continued from page 8)
16
2010
ECCAK SE Conference Mar 5-7 Georgia
CMJ Mtg Mar 30-31 Chicago
ECCAK Annual Mtg Apr 14-18 Nome
COS Mtg May 16-21 East Coast
ECC Annual Mtg Jun 24-27 St. Paul
“In it together...”, The ECCAK Ministry Team Churches
Nome Covenant , White Mountain Covenant, Golovin Covenant, Elim Covenant,
Koyuk Covenant, Shaktoolik Covenant, Unalakleet Covenant, Fairbanks Covenant,
Mat-Su Covenant, Eagle River Covenant, Korean Hope Covenant, New Song Covenant,
Anchorage First, Bethel Covenant, Mekoryuk Covenant, Hooper Bay Covenant,
Scammon Bay Covenant, Mountain Village Covenant, Kalskag Bible Chapel,
The River Covenant Church
Our Supporting Organizations
Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF)
Covenant Youth of Alaska (CYAK)
Alaska Christian College (ACC)
Covenant Bible Camp (CBC)
KICY Radio
Leadership Camp June 2nd - 7th
High School Camp June 7th - 14th
Junior High Camp June 14th - 21st
Trailblazers June 21st - 26th
Pathfinders June 26th - July 1st
Covenant Bible Camps (SUMMER 2010)
www.cyak.org/bible-camp
ECCAK Churches in need of staff:
Shaktoolik Covenant:
Pastor
Kalskag Bible Chapel:
Pastor
Elim Pastor
No Name Church
of Anchorage:
Church Plant to be
5
How It WorksHow It Works
Merge staff listens to the ministry goals of the
churches involved.
Merge staff helps you find ways to cut trip
costs.
Merge staff leads your team through an orien-
tation training to fit the area of your ministry.
Merge staff accompanies your team to ensure
a smooth and effective week of ministry.
Merge staff encourages and facilitates contin-ued communication and long term relation-ships of ministry between both the sending and receiving churches.
Alaska Covenant Merge is a ―new” ministry of the Evangelical Church and is highly endorsed
by ECCAK Field Director Rodney Sawyer. Alaska Covenant Merge has good interdenomina-
tional relationships and is willing to assist other denominations.
Short Term Trip Long Term Impact
James Barefoot is the Alaska Trip Facilitator with a focus on Alaska
Village Churches. He has 30 plus years of Alaska village ministry
experience and is committed to building strong long term relation-
ships with Alaska‘s churches.
Contact him at: 907-304-1617 or [email protected]
Kate Cannon is the Alaska Trip Facilitator with a focus on Alaska
Road System Churches. She is a ―Generation Y‖ person with
amazing technical and organizational skills to pull off the logistics
of an effective ministry team with high skills in the area of com-
munication and transportation.
Contact her at: 907-227-3420 or [email protected]
They assist you with a ministry outreach plan to help your church people to grow. This plan will include the sending team and the hosting team.
They do their best to ―take the work load‖ of this ministry off of the local pastor.
They coordinate the logistics for location, travel, housing and meals.
They facilitate ―debriefing sessions‖ at the end of the week to answer your questions and to learn together how we can be more affective in our next ministry venture.
Learn more detailed information:
http://akmerge.com/how-it-works
6
Nearly Frozen, Clearly Chosen!
A paraphrased version of Joel John’s story, a man
of Mekoryuk on Nunivak Island:
―When God wants to use anybody, He wakes
them in different ways. This is how it happened to
me.‖ May 2008
It was so calm on this cold spring morning when
Joel John got up. He had a little breakfast and then
looked out the window. ―It is a clear and calm
day,‖ he thought, ―so peaceful...just another ordi-
nary day.‖ So he decided to go hunting. He gassed
up his snowmachine and did a little road test to be
sure it was running good. He then secured all his
hunting gear to his machine. As he headed east, he
was not sure where he would end up.
His travel finally took him to Cape Manning and
the herring camp where he stopped to soak in the
beauty of the day. ―It is so calm and peaceful,
nothing will happen this peaceful and lovely day,‖
he said to himself. As he sat on the high bluff, he
noticed all the spring birds were arriving to the
island as they made their annual trek at this time
every year. He heard all kinds of spring birds;
they were singing a song but ―I could not under-
stand what they were singing. Are they trying to
tell me something?‖ he recalled. If they were, he
later understood that ―I was so blind or just could-
n‘t make them out what they were trying to tell
me.‖
From between Cape Manning and the herring
camp he started to head home because it was get-
ting late in the afternoon. He decided to do a little
target practice with his gun and spotted some
cranes along the river. From out of nowhere, four
cranes landed right near him. So he started his
snow machine and headed straight towards them.
Joel thought it strange that ―they didn‘t takeoff
like the rest of the cranes.‖ So he stopped his
snow machine to get ready to shoot at them. He
shot his first round and they didn‘t fly off. Sud-
denly, as he looked through his rifle scope, he felt
a strange sensation come over him. Something did
not seem right. So he started heading home on the
same trail that he had come in on that morning. As
he was about to pass by the familiar rock island,
something suddenly happened. ―Everything got so
bright. It was just like that I was going blind.‖ He
had not realized it yet, but his snow machine had
gone through the ocean ice. He first became aware
of this when he saw that he was sitting on his ma-
chine waist high in ocean water. He immediately
started swimming toward some floating ice. When
he finally got to the first piece of ice about the
size of a kitchen table, he tried to pull himself up,
but it just slowly started rolling back towards him.
When the water was up to his nostrils he let go
and started swimming towards solid ice. His fin-
gers were so numb that he felt he could pull the
meat from his fingers, almost like they had been
cooked over a hot fire. He was in the cold ocean
water for about 20 minutes. Normally, hypother-
mia would have overcome its victim in about 6-7
minutes. Again, he reaches the ice and hangs on
for dear life. There is little strength left in his
(“Chosen” Continued on page 13)
15
Shawn shared how he loves to read and is a
searcher for truth. That opened the door for them
to spend several hours over the course of a couple
evenings sharing what and why each of them be-
lieved what they did. It was stimulating and
thought provoking conversation as each took their
turn of just listening. Their conversation was also
spiced up with many hunting and fishing stories
that they both loved to tell. However, Shawn‘s
bear story won the grand prize.
Rodney and Shawn first met shortly after the
mauling because Shawn had decided it was time
to get married. It was his girlfriend at the time of
the mauling who was overseeing the medical
clinic in Shaktoolik when Shawn arrived with
little blood left in his weakened body. Shawn says
often, ―Lydia saved my life.‖ Her heroic care in
those critical moments softened Shawn‘s heart to
honor her by ―finally getting married.‖ Betty
Jackson, Lydia‘s mother, gave them Rodney‘s
phone number and the rest is history. They now
live in Shaktoolik and have three boys.
(“Bear” Continued from page 4)
An excerpt from a report by E. B. Larsson from Unalakleet, Alaska to the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Annual Meeting at Jamestown, N. Y., June 18-22, 1930.
“ Recently I have returned from a trip through our district
north of Unalakleet. I visited the villages of Egawik,
Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim, Golovin Bay , and White Mountain.
In most of these villages I held three or more services.
In every place the services were well attended and the
Christians came in big numbers to the communion services.
A few Bibles and some hymn books were brought along, but
these were not by far enough. When there were no more
Bibles left, some almost cried in disappointment and
begged me to send for some more. It does a missionary good
to see such love for the Word of the Lord.”
When Nathan finally got home, he sensed he was
very close to hypothermia and figured Pastor
King, in his 70‘s, must be one tough cookie.
There are a lot of ways to die in Alaska and many
loose their lives due to the unforgiving weather.
But this story has a happy ending and Mekoryu-
kers do not see the folks necessarily as heroes. ―It
is just what you have to do to live out here.‖ says
Pastor King. But for the average Covenanter who
lives outside this 49th state, these men are what
heroes are made of. We thank God for His marvel-
ous grace on this never to be forgotten day as life
on Nunivak Island looks for calmer days!
(“Seas” Continued from page 3)
Visiting the Villages...
A smile on your face can be felt on anothers heart.
14
WANTED… OLD PICTURES!
We hope that many of you are enjoying your 2010 ECCAK calendar!
If you did not receive one in the mail, please contact our office and we will be glad to send you one. As we think about putting out another calendar for 2011, perhaps you have some old pictures from the “good old days” that you would like to share with us.
Please send them to:
ECCAK—PO Box 770749 Eagle River, AK 99577.
We will scan them and return them to you. Be sure to provide us with your return address.
7
Ingredients:
One
1/4 stick of butter
One
16 oz. Cream Cheese
One
16 oz. Package
Crab or Imitation Crab
Great
CRAB DIP!
Share your Alaskan Recipes with others, send them to the address
listed on the back or e-mail them to: [email protected]
Submitted by: Anonymous
Directions:
Melt butter over low heat.
While still on stove,
add cream cheese
and blend well.
Mix in Crab
Important:
Don’t overheat,
because the butter will not mix
with cream cheese.
Serve Hot with plain crackers,
you don’t want to miss
the flavor!
Movie with a Meaning!
At the 2010 Midwinter, they showed a clip from a
movie called
“Butterfly Circus.”
If you want to see a brief movie with a meaning,
go to the website:
http://www.thedoorpost.com
Your heart will be touched. Guaranteed!
The population of Alaska is only 626.932 and comparted to the population
of bears in Alaska, there is 1 bear for every 21 people.
Watch
it!
8
Jesus, My Musher
by Crystal Johnson
Every dog in a dog mushing team has specific du-
ties that need to be accomplished simultaneously if
the goal of the team is to be reached, which is al-
ways arriving at the Musher's destination. A dog
team consists of wheel, team, swing, and lead dogs.
The wheel dogs, positioned in the rear, provide
strength and do a lot of the grunt work. Team dogs
make up the general body. Obviously, the more
team dogs present will lighten the load. Swing
dogs, positioned behind the lead dogs, are capable
of turning with the leaders, helping to direct the
team. Lead dogs are obedient to the Musher's com-
mands and direct the team's travel.
As with any team, training is vital for the overall
performance. A Musher first establishes love and
trust with care and discipline. When the dogs see
that this is their master, who consistently guides
and provides for them, they become loyal to the
master. Dogs fighting within a team or on a run
breaks the unity and slows the pace. There are also
lazy dogs, who do not pull consistently with the
team,. This also affects the run of the race.
A dog team is much like the Body of Christ. There
are individuals with gifts who do different works.
There are also hard seasons in life where we are
unable to run and must be placed in the sled basket
by the Master. In this safe place our wounds heal
while the body of Christ carries us. As long as we
work together with Christ as our Master, we will
move forward in the direction He desires.
In 1979, Jan-Olov Schroder wrote a biography on L.
E. Ost, better known as ―Grandpa‖ here in Alaska.
The book was named Alaska: A Mission in Alaska.
Unfortunately, for non-Swedish speakers, Schroder
wrote the book in Swedish. But English-speakers-
only were not to be denied the stories of Grandpa
Ost. Sometime later, the late and long-time Cove-
nant missionary and North Park Prof. Sigurd West-
berg translated the book into English. Copies of his
translation have been floating around for several
years. Now, a few lucky people can read stories like
―The Wedding in a Sleeping Bag‖ or ―Grandpa
Killed a Grizzly With One Shot Through the Wall.‖
There is so much of Alaskan history woven
throughout the book.
ECCAK is making a special offer for those who
donate $200 or more to the ministry. The English
translated version has been digitized, reformatted
and fitted into a beautiful hard bound hand-crafted
wooden cover [see picture on page 9]. For your
treasured copy of this limited supply, please fill
out the enclosed envelope right away. Copies will
be manufactured and mailed to donors on a first
come basis.
(“Grandpa” Continued on page 17)
Crystal and her daughter Trinity
...a refuge and hiding place
from the storm and rain.
Isaiah 4:6 Reviving the Stories of Grandpa Ost
13
As you get older, your secrets are
safe with your friends because they
can‘t remember them, either.
Mekoryuk Board and Leaders Receive Board Training
December of 2009—What does the Bible have to say about church leadership? How can the pastor help
the board to become stronger? How can the board help the pastor to be all that he/she can be? Field Direc-
tor Rodney Sawyer tried to answer these questions through ECCAK‘s Board Training seminar. Mekoryuk
is the first church to receive the training.
body. Everything was numb! In desperation, he
called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, ―Lord if you have anything to do through me
please! Pull me out of the icy cold ocean water.‖
The next thing he knew, he was up on top of solid
ice without even a struggle. ―I had felt something
just pull me out.‖ he explained. He forced himself
to turn in a complete circle to see who had come to
help him. There was no one in sight! Suddenly he
was so full of joy realizing his prayer was miracu-
lously answered! He said that he ―gave his life to
serving the Lord from now on.‖
The story ends with the good news that another
snow machine ―happens‖ by soon afterwards. Joel
was taken to the warmth of his home and a new
love for the Lord. Joel wants to tell his story be-
cause it is all about the saving power of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is Joel‘s hope that someone reading
his story may hear the Lord‘s still small voice and
also surrender their life to Him.
(“Chosen” Continued from page 6) If all your windows in your house had a
southern exposure and a bear walked by
the window, what color would the bear
be?
The answer: Somewhere in
this newsletter see “Window”
You know your in Alaska when at –50 you shovel snow with your shorts,
because you know the hassle to put all those clothes on for 10 minutes.
12
Alaskan Ingenuity!
During a private ―fly-in‖ fishing excursion in the
Alaskan wilderness, the chartered pilot and fisher-
men left a cooler and bait in the plane.
A bear smelled the bait. The first 3 pictures above
show what the bear did to the plane, a Piper Super
Cub.
The pilot used his radio and had another pilot bring
him 2 new tires, 3 cases of duct tape, and a supply of
sheet plastic.
He patched the plane together (pictures 4 and 5) and
FLEW IT HOME!
1
3
2
4
5
9
Chickaloon Challenges
ECCAK‘s greatest
assets are it‘s people,
not buildings or
property. Yet we
believe the pristine
80 acres of property
nestled within the
boundless borders
and cloud catching
peaks of Chickaloon
awaits to surrender
itself to sojourning
souls. The property
was donated by Don
and Effie Graham
and it has been designated as a place to be used to
care for Alaska‘s care-givers, who often suffer from
compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue, also known as Secondary
Traumatic Stress, refers to a gradual lessening of
compassion over time. It is common among victims
of trauma and individuals that work directly with
victims of trauma.
Symptoms of Compas-
sion Fatigue include
hopelessness, a de-
crease in experiences
of pleasure, constant
stress and anxiety, and
a pervasive negative
attitude. This can have
detrimental effects on
individuals, both pro-
fessionally and person-
ally, including a de-
crease in productivity,
the inability to focus,
and the development of new feelings of incompe-
tency and self-doubt.
We are currently in Phase One of the CRC Project
which involves completing two cabins so they will
be ready for use in the fall. We have two chal-
lenges we are faced with:
(“Chickaloon” Continued on page 17)
Special Book Offer with donations of $200. or more!
10
DAILY PRAYER BY NAME AND BY PICTURE
SUN
Curtis & Kristi Ivanoff
{Soldotna}
MON Wass and Jean Mute {Koyuk}
TUES
Chuck Walles { Chicago}
WED Nathan and Sandra
Hanna {Mekoryuk}
THU Peter and Lisa
Torkelson {Chugiak}
FRI Chuck & Jennifer
Monie {Eagle River}
SAT
Jim Jeske { Wisconsin}
ECCAK PRAYER CALENDARECCAK PRAYER CALENDAR March 2010
Val Thomas {Soldotna}
Dan Jr. Savetilik
{Shaktoolik}
Daryl & Michelle Rue
with daughters {North Carolina}
11
ECCAK PRAYER CALENDARECCAK PRAYER CALENDAR
April 2010
DAILY PRAYER BY NAME AND BY PICTURE
SUN
Jack & Nancy Phelps
{Anchorage}
MON
Dennis and Candance Weidler
{Nome/KICY)
TUE
Byron and Sue Bruckner
{Palmer}
WED
Phil and Kate Cannon {Anchorage)
THU
Bill and Ruth Partlow {Palmer}
FRI
Tom and Dena Luchsinger
{Wasilla}
SAT
Gary & Nancy Walter
{Chicago}
Agrifina & David Baugh
{Bethel}
Joel Oyoumick
{Unalakleet}
Mirian & Howard Amos
{Mekoryuk}
