Walking by Faith in Alaska!
 I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary of moving to Alaska. Over the past year, God has opened my eyes to the needs and issues facing the people around me here in Anchorage and across the state of Alaska. From high suicide rates to addiction, homelessness to human trafficking, depression to abuse, the issues seem overwhelming. Yet God sparked something in me this year that He continues to fan into flame. For some reason, I look at these issues and I see them as conquerable. My God can change all of that!
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Coming into Focus
My new "conqueror" attitude has not been an overnight change of mind for me. Instead, God has slowly honed my spiritual eyes and brought them to focus on the young people of Alaska, specifically young adults entering their late teens, 20s, and early 30s. Anchorage's large population of young adults in need of connection, encouragement, and clarity of purpose could very well be the catalyst to change the face of this state for Christ.
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Exciting News
In order to focus on effectively reaching and discipling this generation of young adults, I will be leaving Alaska Missions and Retreats at the end of May. This will free my time, gifts, and energies to serve with ministries that target this age group. My focus will be to continue building the Lighthouse Young Adult Ministry that I began in March at my local church in Anchorage, and to begin serving with a new Christian organization called Chosen. Chosen focuses on support and mentorship to kids who are aging out of the Alaskan foster care system. This people group is one of the most at risk for homelessness, addiction, and human trafficking. I'm in the beginning stages of connection with Chosen, and I hope to share more about this in the near future!
This is a big step of faith and one that has come with much prayer and wise counsel from ministry mentors, prayer partners, and as always, Mom and Dad. Thank you all for praying with me for a clear path forward in God's will! I believe God will continue to connect me with believers and resources to reach this generation for Christ!
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Donor Support
I will continue to be a support-raised missionary and am now working to transition my donors to a new giving resource called Mission Dispatch, a non-profit organization that provides administrative finance services to support-raising missionaries and ministries across the world. All donations are tax deductible and can be designated for me through either online giving or through mailed checks. Additionally, the online giving allows for more options in giving. Recurring donations can be set up for annually, biweekly, quarterly, and a couple of other variances. You can also give using credit/debit cards or through automatic payments from bank accounts (checking or savings). I believe this will make donations much smoother for my supporters. Please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly, quarterly, or annual supporter of my mission work here in Alaska!
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One of my goals this summer is to spend more time connecting with Alaskans outdoors and experiencing the wonderful creation God has surrounding me. I had a chilly but exciting start to achieving that goal on a whale watching tour with friends! The scenery and wildlife in the Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay was amazing! We serve a marvelous Creator!
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Lighthouse has several events planned this summer, from disc golf and hiking to a 4th of July day trip to Whittier. We are also changing our Bible Study to Monday nights in June. Please pray for this transition and the summer ahead!
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I completed the initial volunteer and mentor training in April for Chosen through its parent organization, Love Alaska. I'm so excited to see what God has in store!
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GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
The various options for giving do come with small processing fees that are not added onto your donation but are taken out of the donation. Basic instructions and details about giving options are shown the following webpage: http://www.missiondispatch.org/giving/index.html
For Online Donations:
Go online to Mission Dispatch at the link below to set up a new donation. In order to receive a year-end receipt for giving, please set up a user account (which tracks your total yearly given and provides mailing info for receipts). Under "Account Information," select "Add Designation" and use the drop-down menu to find and select my name (Kerri Howell). You can then enter the amount you wish to give next to my name. You can then select your desired "Frequency" for recurring or one-time gifts and complete your account details. Mission Dispatch Link for Online Giving: https://www.egsnetwork.com/gift2/?giftid=6731D8FD4139470
For Mailed Donations:
Please make checks payable to "Mission Dispatch" and include my last name (HOWELL) in the memo line. Mail checks to the following address:
Kerri Howell
c/o Mission Dispatch
PO Box 641
Edmonds, WA 98020-0641 |
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