James Bible Study

Last week, we wrapped up our Heaven book study, and this week we started a study in the book of James. We decided to work through this section of Scripture using the inductive Bible study method (observation, interpretation, application), so we will be using the same questions every week as we progress through James. "What is the passage about?" "What do I learn from this passage?" "How can I apply what I've learned to my life?" "Write a brief sentence summarizing this passage."

James 1:1-18 instructed us to utilize trials in our life to form godly character (patience, endurance, praying in faith without ever doubting God...) and reminded us how Very Good God is. He does not tempt us, is the giver of every good thing, is the source of wisdom, is unchanging, and has given us the word of truth!

Eight adults joined Rob and I in our home for this time of learning and growing. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue this study for the next 7 Tuesdays from 7-8pm (Alaska Time!).

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

We were so blessed by the way our candlelight service turned out! We had about 40 people in attendance, and I think just under half of them were new to our church. (A few were connections from the school, basketball nights, and relatives of folks who normally attend.) We were thrilled.

Connor and Samantha sang Away in a Manger wonderfully with Amelia and Reid Williams, and then lit the congregations candles. They all did great! I sang two verses of O Holy Night accapella from the back of the sanctuary, and was pleased that it went well, also. We had members of the congregation read verses from the Luke 2 Christmas story in between related carols. Rob gave a wonderful, brief (5 min.?) message at the end of the service to wrap it up.

The greatest part was that most everyone stayed after the service to fellowship for almost an hour. We enjoyed cookies and conversation...

Caroling in Cantwell

Two ladies from our church headed up our caroling expedition this year. It was so great to have them take on the project and really follow through well! About 17 of us piled into the back of the decorated trailer and sang at just over 20 homes on December 23rd. It was great to share our excitement about the gift of Jesus in our community, let folks know about our candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and enjoy fellowshipping with eachother.

Second from the right is me!

It was about -5 degrees when we started out around 3:30, and it dropped as the sun went down... Hand warmers for inside our gloves were a blessing, and we were all looking forward to the warmth of chili and hot chocolate at the church by the end.

Jr. and Sr. High School Youth Event at CBC

On Monday evening, we had the older kids in town to the church for a Christmas Youth Night. We had four arrive at 6 o'clock ready for pizza, Christmas gift shopping, and playing games. (Taboo and Apples to Apples seem to be the games of choice for these young folks.) Rob shared a short testimony and scripture about Christmas (why the news of Christ was "Good news of great joys" like the angels explained). Then, three others joined us at 7 o'clock. It was definitely quality of time that mattered rather than quantity of students that were here. God is good... We had a great time, good conversation, and we had such a blast playing games that we didn't call it quits until 9:30!

Elementary Christmas Youth Night at CBC

So, this week we had a great time with several preschoolers-6th graders at our church. Not as many students as we had hoped were able to attend, but looking back on the evening, it was just what it needed to be. The following pictures should outline the event pretty well.

It started out with pizza for dinner.

Then Rob sat the kids down and talked with them about Christmas, and how God gave us a gift in Jesus that was exactly what we need. He used an unopened birthday present as a prop. When asked what he thought the gift was, one boy was sure, "it's a box, and there's something else inside." Then when Rob removed the wrapping paper, sure enough, the boy exclaimed, "I was right! It is a box, and there's something in it!"

We also watched a VeggieTales movie, The Star of Christmas. One preschooler wanted to sit on Erin's lap almost the whole movie. There were a few frightening parts, but at the end she said, "That was so happy," with a huge smile on her face.

The main event was a "store" with items that were donated by the church (and some purchased), for the children to go shopping for gifts for their family members.

Then, we helped them wrap the presents.

Finally, the kids decorated sugar cookies until the end of the event.

Two fun Game Nights for Cantwell Youth

CBC hosted "Game Nights" for the youth in our town last weekend. They were very well attended, and the volunteers from our church had fun with the kids! Here are a few of the best pictures.

Snack Time - Decorating Cupcakes

Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

Preschoolers in the Bounce House

"Path Freeze Tag"

Posing in the Bounce House

Getting ready for "path freeze tag!"

Ninja Warrior with the Jr. and Sr. High kids

Taboo

Apples to Apples

Community Youth Event at CBC

A month ago, a group of us from Cantwell Bible Church met to discuss how we wanted to reach out to the youth of our community. We decided that rather than try to do a weekly "Good News Club" as the church has done in the past, we wanted to plan monthly events for both younger and high school aged kids. Last Saturday was our first event! The church hosted a pizza, movie and activity night including a bounce house owned by a member of the congregation and fun games and crafts for 3-6 yr-olds.

We were thrilled to have 30 kids attend the event! (To put that in perspective, the Cantwell School has 32 enrolled K-12.) We had two preschoolers and two out of high school. It's always great to see how the older children are happy to help and cooperate with the elementary students here. It's a part of the culture in this community. It was also encouraging to see that the parents were willing to entrust their children to us. The kids are already giving us ideas for what next month's event should look like! Please be praying for more opportunities to share the love of Christ, and that their hearts will be open to hearing about Him.

Where are We?

Cantwell is on the Parks Highway, Hwy 3, about 4 hours north of Anchorage and 3 hours south of Fairbanks in the interior of Alaska. It is right on the border of Denali National Park, and on a clear day Mt. McKinley is visible from a "hill" in town or on the highway a few miles out of town. Situated in the mountains, snow-covered peaks surround the town in all directions.

Just wanted to give you a visual of where we are living and working, so thought I'd post some pictures of the parsonage/house, church and local view. Three of these pictures were taken during our visit up here in early May, so vegetation is much more green now, but the picture of the sign was just taken two days ago. Rob is listed as the pastor, so it must be official!