Your Love is Enough

I am nothing without His love.

Because of His love, I have a greater capacity to love others.

This year taught me what it means to be a servant of God.
Full-time ministry is tough.
Being the frontline ministry of a ministry is tougher.

I never understood the heartache of the Alaskan Native culture
Until I lived it with them.
Their loss became my loss.
Their tears became my tears.
I lost count of how many nights I was up late with students for hours
As they grieved their loss
As they shared their tears and pain.
I was overwhelmed by their sadness,
Yet I was blessed to wrap them in my arms as they cried and pray for them.

There is power in prayer.
I saw God's power of healing through ministering to these girls for a year.

I remember one of my students bravely saying, "We've got to do something about this!"
Something about the multiple suicides
Something about so much death
Something about the substance abuse
Something about the physical/sexual abuse
Something about the people in the village turning to alcohol and drugs
Rather than a loving Savior.

One girl that I met lost 11 close friends/family members to suicide
...In one year.
The village of Hooper Bay at one point had a higher suicide rate
...Than the national average.

If Alaska is part of the United States,
A part of our own country,
Then why don't more people know about this?
And more importantly,
How can I help those in so much pain?
These are things I pondered as I arrived there.

But at the same time, I find that Alaska is one of the states
That is the most open to the Gospel.
In these times of despair,
Christ is a light that brings Alaska hope.
I can see God transforming Alaska.

It is His love
That is enough to light up the darkness.
And it is His love
That allowed me to minister and be ministered by the Alaskan Native culture.

And to respond to my student's exclamation:
Yeah, we've gotta do something about this.
We need to show people His love.