- Saturday night will be the first session from 7-10. There will be worship and discussion around shifting church trends among this next generation.
- Sunday's session will be from 3-7 with a potluck dinner with conversation focusing on Reaching Youth and Re-engaging our Society. There is no cost and the event is open to everyone who is interested in engaging youth for the kingdom.
One of the interesting things about having guests is that you get to observe their first impressions of you. What do they see? What do they not see? What jumps out to them as they look around for the first time? Alberto writes a blog at http://forerunnervision.com. This is his entry entitled "Alaska, Day 1"
Alaska Day 1
April 10Missions
Alaska is such a hidden treasure. You have a massive state that is
largely unknown by the other 49 states below it. Dimensionally it’s
enormous. Let’s put it this way if you were to cut the state in half it
would still be bigger than Texas. But despite the size of the land it’s
only populated by roughly 700,000 people with an estimated 300,000 of
them living in Anchorage alone. To offer perspective, Orlando has about
3,000,000 people in just one city! So the largest state, that can fit
Texas, California and Montana has 700,000 people living spread out in
small villages and towns that take planes and boats to visit. This
naturally creates isolation and a problematic obstacle to vault over
when responding with aid and assistance. How do you respond to a cry for
help when it will take several hours to arrive on location?
Alaska draws different people groups that create a large spectrum of very diverse cultural backgrounds. From Russians, Bulgarians, Samoans, to exclusive cults and a growing mormon community. I haven’t mentioned the diverse dynamics between the varying natives living both north and south of the Arctic Circle with their difference in languages beliefs and traditions. Then you toss in the local transplants. These are the people that have lived here all their lives or moved here when they were young and have seen the economic woes, the long winter depressions, and the beauty of spring when it finally buds. I’m sure I’ve only experienced the tip of the iceberg (Get it? ‘Cause icebergs exist here!) There is also a growing Asian, Filipino, and hispanic community. Diversity right?
Now after a while you begin to sense a quiet loneliness. This is where the substance abuse and suicide rates (which are higher than anywhere in the US) start kidnapping lives one by one. With all this distance and very little way of policing the far off villages, who’s to stand against the dangerous coping mechanism that people develop and fall prey to.
I’ve also failed to mention that with all this diversity comes tension. Tension between each individual group that strives to integrate and have hope for a better tomorrow and those that choose the isolation maintaining a distance from being known. When no one knows your story and struggle who’s to empathize? Who’s to tell your tale? Isn’t that what life is about? Knowing and being known?
Here in Fairbanks is an incredibly thriving community seeking to develop reconciliation in some of the most difficult circumstances. The church strives to be a light in the dark because they truly are an outpost in a very real frontier. “City set on a hill” takes on a new meaning when the illumination of your twilight hours brings hope to a traveler seeking asylum. In all this you have Joel’s Place, a thriving group that is at the edge of transformation for a lost youth seeking a place to belong to. Like a lighthouse offering safe passage for a community tossed by the tundra of addiction and clashing cultures. A place where you can run away from the abuses at home. A place where people want you to feel safe. A place where you’re fed and taken care of. A place where your story is told.
During this trip I hope to tell you their story piece by piece.
Alaska draws different people groups that create a large spectrum of very diverse cultural backgrounds. From Russians, Bulgarians, Samoans, to exclusive cults and a growing mormon community. I haven’t mentioned the diverse dynamics between the varying natives living both north and south of the Arctic Circle with their difference in languages beliefs and traditions. Then you toss in the local transplants. These are the people that have lived here all their lives or moved here when they were young and have seen the economic woes, the long winter depressions, and the beauty of spring when it finally buds. I’m sure I’ve only experienced the tip of the iceberg (Get it? ‘Cause icebergs exist here!) There is also a growing Asian, Filipino, and hispanic community. Diversity right?
Now after a while you begin to sense a quiet loneliness. This is where the substance abuse and suicide rates (which are higher than anywhere in the US) start kidnapping lives one by one. With all this distance and very little way of policing the far off villages, who’s to stand against the dangerous coping mechanism that people develop and fall prey to.
I’ve also failed to mention that with all this diversity comes tension. Tension between each individual group that strives to integrate and have hope for a better tomorrow and those that choose the isolation maintaining a distance from being known. When no one knows your story and struggle who’s to empathize? Who’s to tell your tale? Isn’t that what life is about? Knowing and being known?
Here in Fairbanks is an incredibly thriving community seeking to develop reconciliation in some of the most difficult circumstances. The church strives to be a light in the dark because they truly are an outpost in a very real frontier. “City set on a hill” takes on a new meaning when the illumination of your twilight hours brings hope to a traveler seeking asylum. In all this you have Joel’s Place, a thriving group that is at the edge of transformation for a lost youth seeking a place to belong to. Like a lighthouse offering safe passage for a community tossed by the tundra of addiction and clashing cultures. A place where you can run away from the abuses at home. A place where people want you to feel safe. A place where you’re fed and taken care of. A place where your story is told.
During this trip I hope to tell you their story piece by piece.
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