Vol. 3 No. 4 September, 2004
Hello Everyone!
There was a mysterious breakdown in communications this past July between us and the folks that send out our letter to everyone (I sent it to them, but they didn't get it). Consequently, the hard (paper) edition of the Chronicles was not sent, so it’s included with this edition. If you have not yet read the July issue, stop reading NOW; go back and read it first. If you don’t, you will be hopelessly confused by some of the things I am about to write, and I certainly would not want to be accused of being the author of confusion. A pastor recently accused me of publishing a "somewhat" humorous prayer letter, and that’s about all of the abuse that I can take this month. When I humbly, meekly responded to this pastor's email (who shall remain unnamed) and suggested to him 
that his savage attack on the Craig Chronicles had wounded me deeply, he spat back an email dripping with venom, "Deal with it." Now, I certainly am not going to suggest that any of you good, kind, sympathetic folks send emails to hamiltont@juno.com berating and browbeating him for his insensitivity, but I guess I am powerless to prevent your doing so. Far be it from me, however, to make any attempt to get revenge on this man. On the contrary, let me assure you that I am taking the high road, and setting a good example for all of you by praying for this one who has so despitefully used me.
I guess I need to get to more serious news. Unfortunately, I have a lot to tell, but I have to keep this letter relatively short so that both letters can be mailed in the same envelope without exceeding the Postal Service's weight limit. (I would hate to be targeted in lawsuits filed by injured mail carriers)
As I said we would in the July letter, we spent most of August in Fairbanks meeting with three of the board members of EBM and a few other folks in order to develop a specific strategy for our future ministry. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be able to report that we now know where we will be in Alaska, as well as when we will be going to Alaska, but first, I would like to introduce to you the Dream Team that met with us: Richard Dix (North American Coordinator with EBM), John Sissom (EBM board member, retired engineer and all-around super nice guy who snores like nobody you've ever heard-- Sorry, John; I couldn't resist), Pastor Dave Culver (EBM board member not related to the Culvers of Butter Burger and Fried Cheese Curd fame), George Pine (soon to be appointee with EBM, planning on joining us in the ministry), and Harvey "Butzer" Mehlos of Hartland, Wisconsin (close friend, encourager, contractor/log cabin builder/fireworks display technician who wants to help us build when we get to that point). We met with a brother in Christ that I met in Fairbanks last April, Earl Malpass. Earl has a missionary aviation ministry. He flies missionaries and pastors around, is an aircraft mechanic, and preaches in one of the villages on the weekends. Earl has a great heart for the people in the villages in the bush, and also has a pretty much exhaustive knowledge of what's going on in each of the villages. Also joining us at the meeting was Les Zerbe. Les is also a missionary/bush pilot who has been in Alaska for many years. Les was a great source of information at the meeting as well. He is one of those guys who knows everybody, and has been everywhere and done everything. As a matter of fact, it seems like just about every time I speak with a pastor about our ministry, he asks, "Have you met Les Zerbe?" Well, now I can reply with a solid, "Affirmative." (For all of you non-pilots, that's the same thing as "yes") Pastor Bob Harris of McGrath Road Baptist Church in Fairbanks also met with us. Pastor Harris is a missionary pastor who has been in Alaska for more than twenty years, and has expended a great deal of effort on our behalf helping us to make contact with people like Earl and Les.
After discussing several potential areas for ministry, we decided to fly out to McGrath, Russian Mission, and Fort Yukon. Before going any further, I'd like to mention that Earl and Les flew us all over the state of Alaska for only the cost of fuel and oil-- which is only about one third of what it costs to operate the planes. They do that routinely for pastors and missionaries who do not own their own planes. A large percentage of the missionary work that is being done in the villages would not be possible without Earl and Les, and that's no exaggeration. These guys are performing an extremely valuable service. If any of you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart to send them something to help with their expenses, I'm sure that they would be deeply grateful. Call them and ask how you can help. Earl Malpass: (907) 488-8991 Les Zerbe: (907) 479-3779.
I hate to omit the details, but the bottom line is that after visiting McGrath and Russian Mission, we were convinced that the Lord was not calling us to either of those places. At that point, I was a little confused. We knew beyond any doubt that the Lord wanted us in Alaska, but the place that we had been focusing on, McGrath, was obviously the wrong direction. We were still planning on flying up to Fort Yukon, but our interest there was not in a place for permanent ministry, but rather in the possibility of spending some time up there training with Brother Ron Starr. Preacher Starr, as he is known in the villages, and his wife, Becky, were called to Fort Yukon some twenty-seven years ago. The Starrs have planted a church there, established a radio ministry, and over the years have taken in and trained missionaries that were new on the field in order to help them learn how to survive in the Alaskan bush, and how to deal with the Athabascan culture in the villages. It's impossible to overstate the value of that kind of training in this field. On top of everything else, Preacher Starr is also a pilot, and I thought that I might have the opportunity to do some training with him in that area as well.
Fort Yukon is about an hour and fifteen flight north of Fairbanks, and you have to fly, by the way-- there are no roads to Fort Yukon, and the river is already frozen over by this time of the year. It lies roughly eight miles inside the Artic Circle, on the north side of the bend in the Yukon River where it turns from a northwesterly course to the southwest. Although there are mountain ranges to the north and south of it, the village itself is located on a very flat delta area. When we made our approach to land, I remember thinking, "Hmm, I doubt that you'll ever see pictures of this place in a travel brochure." At first glance, one would think that there's not much there, but the potential for ministry is amazing. To keep this as short as possible, I'll just list our findings without too much narrative:
1) Fort Yukon is the largest Indian village in Alaska (a little over 800 people). It is the hub for all of the other villages along the Yukon river. Preacher Starr said that just about everyone that lives along the Yukon has relatives in Fort Yukon. In short, if we get to know the people in Fort Yukon, we will have contacts in virtually every other village along the river.
2) Preacher Starr said that he would love to have a youth camp in Fort Yukon. The Southern Baptists had one there until about ten or twelve years ago that closed because of the difficulty of getting enough help to keep it running. He said that the people in the village still talk about it. It was the highlight of the kids' year. At the present time, he flies kids to a camp in the Anchorage area at great expense.
3) Preacher Starr said that there are some very feasible ways of securing property for the camp. He said that a woman in the village has been after him for some time now to trade a small piece of property that he owns (with a garage on it) for 30 acres about a mile and a half east of the village. The 30 acres is on high ground right on the Yukon (can you say "barge access?").
4) Preacher Starr also told us that he and Becky will probably be looking to retire not too many years down the road and will need someone to carry on the work.
It's difficult to describe the overwhelming sense of joy and relief we felt when we saw what appeared to be the Lord's clear leading. I don't want to be presumptuous since I obviously have no way of knowing with absolute certainty what the Lord will do with us in the future, but right now, it looks like Fort Yukon will be home-- it sure felt like home. Everyone in our party felt the same way. Before they left Fairbanks, the board members instructed me to try to get better acquainted with Preacher Starr to make sure that our philosophies of ministry were compatible, etc. Basically, they wanted to make sure that Preacher Starr and I both felt that we could work together. I was able to meet with him, and I can say with absolute confidence that the only question in my mind is whether or not he can put up with me. I can't imagine anyone not being able to get along with Brother Starr. He truly is one of the most gracious, gentle people that I have ever met. He's the kind of guy that makes you feel good just to be around him. He loves the Lord, and he loves the people in Fort Yukon. Just before I left, he suggested that we pray together. He said, "Let's pray and ask the Lord to bind our hearts together."
The plan right now is to raise as much support as we can between now and next Spring. We will then join the Starrs in Fort Yukon for at least a year, and maybe longer (maybe permanently if the Lord works it out that way). Currently, our support level is almost enough for us to get by in Fort Yukon, and we are praying that our support will be at 100% before we leave. If not, however, we will have to go back on the road long enough to raise the remainder of our support after we finish our initial training with the Starrs.
PRAISES
1) We had $600 in new monthly support waiting for us when we returned from Alaska. That's a 9.375% increase in our support level!
2) We found out that the state of Alaska covers the cost of home-schooling the kids-- it's basically a voucher system. Anyway, it saved us a huge bill.
3) I ran into a dentist in Fairbanks that fixed a tooth for me that had been seriously hurting for a long time, and he did not charge me. He provides that service for pastors and missionaries in Alaska. He also once gave Les Zerbe an airplane. Unfortunately, he doesn't have another one!
4) Praise the Lord for His direction in our lives and ministry. That is a HUGE blessing.
5) We drove the Alaska highway (again) and only suffered two cracks in the windshield, and no other problems.
PRAYER REQUESTS
1) Please continue to pray that our support will continue increasing.
2) Please continue praying that the Lord will provide an airplane. Just so you know-- Preacher Starr was also given his airplane. It happens!
3) Please pray that we will keep a full schedule of meetings.
4) Please pray for Heidi and the kids as they try to keep up with the school work while we are on the road.
For those of you receiving this via email, when I sent the last issue, I promised to tell you about Heidi's newly diagnosed disease: DDD (Debilitating Directional Dyslexia). I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's going to have to wait until next time. Suffice it for now to say that I've found a way to take advantage of her condition. I ask her which way she thinks we should go, and then I simply turn in the opposite direction. She's almost as reliable as my GPS unit and nowhere near as complicated to operate.
