Lots to say, but I’ll try to give you the condensed version… starting back in January, we had a time of fasting and prayer at our church, Mark and I really started praying about what God wanted us to do, how He wanted to use us ect. Every time we prayed we each felt like the Lord was saying to finish School of Ministry and He would give us the next step. End of January, God gave Mark two visions that he said I could share… The first was of the men in the villages of Alaska, the darkness that surrounded them, and the torment that surrounded the women and children. The second was of a dove flying into the darkness, with a beam of light shining from its mouth. Mark felt the Lord saying He wanted to take light into their darkness by way of His Holy Spirit. Apparently since then Mark has desired to go to Alaska to be a missionary to the villages, most of which have never even heard the name of Jesus. The Sunday we finished school of ministry (they delayed our actual “graduation ceremony” due to other events already scheduled in the church) I got a call in which I heard the associate pastors of the church my parents are currently attending wanted my resume to consider me for the position of children’s pastor at their church. WOW.Still dont know how thats all going to play into the bigger picture, but, while all this is going on, Mark got hooked up with Bill Easter, missionary with the AG for many years, currently lives in TN, HE will be moving to AK next year to be a missionary, get this, to the VILLAGES, but is going to be visiting in September for the entire month, and to make a long story short,Mark is VERY much looking forward to working along side him in minstry to the VILLAGES!
Mark felt almost instantly that this is what God had for us, opening doors and making a way, so we began to look into the cost, how would we get money etc… and we knew Mark would have to have a job… SO, we didn’t even have to look for him a job! My mom chatted it up with two managers in Fred Meyer one day about Mark and they practically offered him a job on the spot!
Once all that got figured, it was time to find a place to stay… a friend of a friend hooked us up with some people that live in Fairbanks, literally just a few minutes away from where Mark will be working, 2 bed 1 bath, perfect location and great for us starting out up there! We’ll have our own backyard still, so we won’t have to give that up, and the owners are Christians!
We share all this for a few reasons, first, to testify to what God is doing in our lives. We’re not really living unless we’re living to the purpose God created us to fulfill. Second, to let you know we’ll be moving to Alaska the end of June, between the 28th and the 30th. Like I said, this has all happened VERY fast!!!
If you have any questions feel free to ask! Definatley check out our blog often, we'll be posting updates and pictures along the way! Please keep us in prayer as this is a BIG move. We know we’re in the best place we can be when we’re right in the middle of God’s will.
Lots of Love,
Mark, Jessie, and Caleb
Our wheels...
