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Greetings Everyone!
We have tons of news for you this
time; I'm hoping that you'll forgive me in advance
for what is going to have to be a rather abrupt,
to-the-point letter. I have a couple of Alaskan
missionary adventure stories that I want to share
with you ("Bear Attack!" and "Really Stupid Moose (I
know that's redundant) Hunting Story"), but they may
have to be sent as a supplemental issue-- we'll see.
Big News Item Number
One: I need to start with a
prayer request. Heidi is
currently in Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (today is
Nov. 5th), and she is not expected to be released
until Monday at the earliest. She underwent
emergency surgery Thursday evening for what the
doctors' thought was appendicitis. It turned out,
however, that she had a torsion (twist) in her small
intestines that had cut off bowel function, and was
on the verge of turning necrotic. (Sorry, Heidi, I
know that's just what you wanted me to tell the
world) Anyway, she's doing pretty well; most of the
pain has been relieved, but the doctor's are
concerned that she might be developing pneumonia.
She had a cold when she went in, and her restricted
airway makes her susceptible to that kind of thing.
Please pray for her recovery, and that there will be
no further complications.
Big News Item Number
Two: Arctic Circle Baptist Church has
called me to serve as their pastor. This was
obviously of the Lord. The vote was unanimous, but
even before that, we sensed that the Lord was
clearly leading in that direction. It's easy to see
how the Lord is going to use this in several ways--
I'll just mention a couple very briefly. We moved
up here with about 75% of the support that we
figured we would need after the Lord provided an
airplane. We thought that we were going to have to
either return to the lower 48 in a year or two in
order to raise the remainder of our support, or
schedule meetings in some churches here in Alaska to
raise the support. That will no longer be
necessary. The church cannot fully support us,
but they can make up the 25% that we were lacking.
They are going to provide health coverage for us
(too late to cover Heidi's current situation-- mo st
regrettably (~:), and they are going to pay us
enough to maintain the airplane that the Lord has
for us (somewhere out there). It has always been
one of our goals to involve as many of the local
folks in the ministry as possible. The ground work
has been solidly laid by the Starrs. As you know,
we knew that Pastor Starr was intending to retire
from this ministry, but things moved much more
rapidly than we anticipated. He and Mrs. Starr left
Fort Yukon two weeks ago. They will return next
Spring to sell their house, and get things packed.
By the way, this in no way
changes the direction of our ministry. We have
always intended for the camping ministry to be an
extension of the local church-- a tool to build
relationships with people in other villages. Now,
we have a church family here to help in the work.
Our primary focus has always been establishing,
building and strengthening local churches. Thanks
to the Lord, we now have a very stable home base
from which to work. Of course, all of you, have
combined to form a solid base for us, but I'm sure
that you know what I mean-- a solid
local base.
Big News Item Number
Three: We're just waiting on one
signature to finalize a deal for twenty-five acres
of land just east of the village! Our God is BIG!
I can't tell you how many times we've had sour,
down-in-the-mouth types tell us that we won't be
able to find property, and that we are wasting our
time coming up here, but we have known from the
start that the Lord was leading us in this
direction. We also knew that if the Lord wanted to
accomplish something up here, He could easily get it
done. We have prayed over and over again that the
Lord would glorify Himself through this ministry,
and He has already begun to do so in an amazing
fashion. There is an unsaved man named Clay who
works at the Air Force radar site here in the
village (I think I mentioned him once before). He
told me that he's been trying to buy property here
for several years, and that if we are able to find
somet hing that he will know
that God did it. Please continue to pray
for him. Also please pray for our brothers and
sisters in Christ who seem to have a very small view
of God. Pray that they would see how great God is
through this ministry. It is our sincere desire
that the Lord would develop this ministry into a
testimony to the fact that God can do
anything.
This brings us to a very large
prayer request: We need to raise the funds for the
property. Pastor Starr is trading a piece of
property that he owns in town for the twenty-five
acres where the camp will be located. He is asking
for $80,000 for the two lots in town (with a
trailer, water, electric, and a large garage). He
has already signed the property over to the church,
and is trusting us to raise the money. The lady who
owns the twenty-five acres is out of town, but she
said that she will sign the property over to the
church as soon as she returns (the church will then
sign Pastor Starr's lot over to her). $80,000 is a
steal for the property that we will be getting out
of this deal. We will have access to the river, and
enough timber to build our house, the lodge
building, and cabins. We will also have road
access-- it's impossible for me to put into words
how perfect this is. The Lord is doing some
incredible thin gs up here.
I hesitate to write what I am
about to write for fear that some might
misunderstand, and think that I am trying to "twist
arms," or some such stuff. Please let me assure
you that is far from the case. I simply believe
that you need to fully understand the situation. We
only have thirteen supporting churches, and about
that many individuals and families. It is truly
amazing the way that the Lord raised our support
that way-- that's practically unheard of today-- at
least I've never heard of any other missionary
having so few supporters (and still having full
support). That is a great blessing in one way
(furloughs will be a piece of cake for us), but it
also places a much greater responsibility on You's
Guys (NJ dialect). Please pray and ask the Lord how
He would have you help with this need.
Big News Item Number
Four: I am loathe to include two
items this large in the same prayer letter, but I
didn't orchestrate this. It's not my
fault! Pastor Starr's departure has
brought the need for an airplane into very sharp
focus. Heidi's unexpected trip to the hospital
alone cost us $800 (three round-trip tickets on a
commercial carrier, plus a ride with Les Zerbe back
to the village). We can't really do any grocery
shopping if we take a commercial flight because
we're limited to forty pounds of luggage, and the
only other way to get into town is to try to get a
ride with Les Zerbe or Earl Malpass. Both men are
more than willing to take us where we need to go,
but both men are also very busy. Additionally, we
have to pay for their return trip as well, doubling
our cost (they only ask us to pay for the fuel, but
we always try to give them more than that-- it costs
m uch more to maintain an airplane than just fuel).
Furthermore, the airplane will be essential to the
ministry as we try to reach out to the villages
beyond Fort Yukon. Anyway, here's the deal: Earl
Malpass is trying to expand his ministry, and is
trying to replace his airplane with something bigger
and faster (more work in less time). He has offered
to sell me his airplane for $110,000. I know that's
a lot of money, but I also know it's absolutely
nothing for God. The airplane is worth a
considerable amount more than what he is asking (he
said he wouldn't sell it to anyone else for anywhere
near that amount). Earl is a meticulous mechanic,
and has taken excellent care of the plane-- it's in
top-notch condition. The engine has just been
rebuilt, the prop has been replaced, and a cargo pod
has been installed. He told me about a lot of other
add-ons that I can't remember right now. If we are
able to buy this plan e, Earl said that he would
work on it free of charge as long as we both are
here. One other really big benefit-- Earl is
currently in North Carolina with a flight
instructor. If we are able to get things worked out
before January, when Earl returns, the instructor
has agreed to fly with me (free of charge) all the
way from North Carolina across Canada back to Fort
Yukon. By the time we get home, I would be
thoroughly checked out and qualified to fly the
plane (A minimum of ten hours with an instructor is
required to qualify to fly that type of plane).
Anyway, we are looking at a savings of about three
or four thousand dollars if we are able to do things
this way (I would have to spend two or three weeks
in Fairbanks to get in the time with an instructor--
motels, meals, instructor's time, etc.). I don't
know if this is the way that the Lord wants us to
get this done or not. One other potential snag:
Earl can only sell me his plane if he is able to
raise the additional funds that he would need to buy
the bigger plane. Once again, please pray about
this need, and whether or not the Lord would have
you help out-- it may even be that you feel led to
help out Earl and his ministry. This is a genuine
opportunity for someone (or some ones) to make a
large impact on missions in this area of the world.
1. We've finally
got the kids enrolled in school, and should be
starting within the next two weeks. Please pray for
them as they once again have some catching up to do.
2. We've been able
to get our freezer and our pantry stocked for the
winter. I got a moose last month, and we've put
away a bunch of salmon, grouse, and rabbits.
3. We were able to
get a good deal on a couple of snow machines and a
six-wheeler.
4. We've had
several opportunities to share the Gospel with
folks. I've been serving as a jail guard
occasionally in order to develop a relationship with
the city police, and also to gain opportunities to
show some kindness to folks who have really
messed up their lives. One of my "charges" prayed
with me a couple of weeks ago, making a profession
of faith. To be perfectly honest with you, I don't
believe that he was sincere, but I certainly can't
see peoples' hearts. Pray for him if you would.
His name is Samuel.
Finally, I want to thank all of
you for your continued support. You have been
wonderful to us. We are truly overwhelmed by your
generosity. Many thanks to all of you who have sent
gifts, clothes, ministry supplies, and a huge
assortment of other goodies. We feel like we've had
Christmas a half dozen times up here already!
Just in case you're interested
(and would enjoy an opportunity to gloat), the
temperature was -27 F this morning when I got up. A
white Christmas is not going to be a problem this
year! We only have four or five inches of snow, but
it's been here for over a month, and we don't expect
to see the ground again until next May.
Well, I'm going to close for
now. I promise you a
supplemental issue next week with a couple of
stories and a couple of cartoons that I found.
We love all of you.
Yours in the Lord,
The Craig Family
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