Our Ministry

2009 M/V CHRISTIAN Update

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We visited a few different communities this summer, trying to explore & determine new boundaries for this ministry...

June was spent prepping the boat, getting her back in the water (yeah!), and completing our Coast Guard inspection requirements. (Our son also got married the last week).

Our first stop was Hydaburg the first couple of weeks in July. We held 2 days of Vacation Bible Camp for 6-9 yr olds, about 15 kids each day, with staff of Abby, Naoma, Stan, Sharon, 2 teens and one adult from the village. In the evenings we would walk around the village, and eventually were able to visit some of the elders. Being seen around town helped us get to know more adults in the community and advertise the boats presence.

On Sunday, after Stan helped with music & communion at the Presbyterian church, we invited families and elders on the boat for "Community Day." We took 38 total to a traditional fish camp. One older woman thanked us and said she hadn't been able to get back there for 27 years.

On Monday and Tuesday, we held Vacation Bible Camp for 10-13 yr olds, and had about 12 kids participate, with 5 staff, and 2 older teen girls to help.

On Wednesday, we took 10 teen girls and women on an overnight to the site of their ancestral village, Howkan. This traditional village site was abandoned in 1912. Missionaries had encouraged the Native people of three Haida villages to form one village, Hydaburg, in order to educate the children, at a school built there. We walked thru the overgrown village site in the forest, between gravestones, old iron stoves, and overgrown totems. Though we were excited to find trade beads on the beach, we found none and just enjoyed sifting beachstones and talking. We had fellowship time on the boat, and Abby made a great presentation using geodes. An ordinary looking rock, when broken, can reveal beautiful crystals inside. Each girl was invited to crack open a geode rock, and keep her crystal. She also gave them books entitled, Broken into Beautiful, stressing that God’s healing that can beautify even after tragic circumstances occur in their lives.

One of our goals is to change the village perception that the boat is only for kids. In the mornings, and evenings, we kept the boat open for whoever would want to join us onboard. Twenty-three different people came to share meals with us, and we saw evidence of increasing trust as more adults visited on board.

Next we sailed to Petersburg, to reprovision, and check in on our volunteer team for Kake later in the summer. At that time we found out that Kake already had 3 other Vacation Bible Camp's this past summer. We checked with folks in the village, and decided to work with Petersburg to hold a clothing drive for Kake instead. More about this later.

Our next stop was Angoon. This is the 3rd year visiting this village, and 3rd Vacation Bible Camp. Because of the difficulty for long-term planning this year, we were without a volunteer team. Abby and Noama graced us by continuing with us from Hydaburg, and we ran a program in Angoon that was similar to Hydaburg’s. We had 41 kids and 4 village helpers to run the camp with the 4 staff. At the end of the week, we took 43 village kids and adults on a daylong boat ride. We were also invited to a birthday party in the village, and offered devotions and song at the Senior Center. We also visited an elder in her home. On Sunday, Stan played piano for worship while a Native lay-leader led the service. Stan officiated at communion, and we gave testimony about the Christian's past year, and hope for its future serving the Native villages.

Our next stop was Hoonah. This village is farther north than the Christian usually travels. However, our new grant includes this as an area for possible involvement and growth. The current vicar of the traditional church there was leaving, and the small congregation was having a difficult time with this. We invited congregational leaders aboard for a time to vent, as well as dream about the future. A Sports camp and a Vacation Bible Camp team were already there from Alaska Mission for Christ & a Presbyterian church in Oregon. We invited them aboard for ice cream and fellowship. A local couple donated moorage for an additional night in Hoonah, so that we could attend their congregation/council picnic.

Next we traveled north to Gustavus, as National Park Service staff and my daughter had invited us there. Since Glacier Bay National Park covers ancestral Tlingit village sites, we are exploring the idea of hosting Natives from Hoonah and carrying them aboard to visit these village sites in the park in the future.

The community of Pelican was our next stop, and another new community for the MV CHRISTIAN. We had been invited there by an acquaintance, but she was not able to be there when we arrived. The mayor of the town is Aleut and Inuit, even though Pelican is not a Native village. She is also a council member of the community church. This community and church are struggling to exist due to extreme economic crises. We focused on listening, building trust, and continue to pray for guidance and the opportunity for future presence there.

In August, we returned to Petersburg to pick up the clothes for Kake. As a partner with Petersburg Lutheran Church, we picked up their new pastor and 6 confirmation youth for an overnight retreat. They helped us load 50+ boxes of clothes and shoes the next day. In Kake, 4 youth from the Presbyterian Church helped us get the clothes from the dock to their church, and set up for the sale. We had an elder from Kake aboard for lunch, and also went to her house for dinner. It was important for her to welcome her community into the church for the rummage sale, and she took free will donations for the church fund. Stan was asked to preach and give communion at the Sunday worship service the following day.

From Kake, we sailed through Rocky Pass to Port Protection. Since there are no churches here, we visited the school, and invited the teacher and his foster son on board for dinner. As the weather was holding, we decided to invite all the school kids aboard the next day for an outing to explore geologic features of the area. Eight kids and 4 adults joined us for a day seeing towers of rock and a beautiful agate beach. Our goal here is to build relationships as newcomers, and help them become comfortable onboard the Christian. One couple from the community is interested in starting a house Bible study.

Our last summer visit was in Coffman Cove. We had dinner with a Lutheran couple we know there, and talked about mission in Coffman, as well as Prince of Wales Island.

All told, we visited 8 communities or villages, from Hydaburg in the south to Pelican in the North. Our prayer as we entered any village or community was to be able to listen well, discern where the Holy Spirit was already at work, and then to be able find our part in that stirring and work. As we listened deeply and befriended individuals in each place, our overwhelming experience was hearing pain. The pain of marriages and families falling apart, brokenness from sickness, grief, substance & sexual abuse. The pain of communities struggling with economic stability and suicides. Our hope is that as our ministry on the boat becomes a trusted presence, we can continue to be agents of healing, through the power and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.