Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together,"
says the Lord.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow."
IN ADDITION - the contact address in the letters we sent had a typo! Our actual street number is 64741. Thank you to my cousin for pointing that out to us!
Mocks at Victory - Fall 2013
Dear Friends,
How does one sincerely thank those who have pledged and partnered with our family? Words seem to fall short of truly describing how it feels when the Spirit moves you to uproot your immediate family (and disrupt your extended) by moving 3700 miles away to minister to strangers. Why now? Why there? Why them? It is like if a person would ask you, ”how do you know you love your child?” The answer clearly is - you just know deep down in your heart. We have followed the guidance of The Holy Spirit. This is how it is at Victory Bible Camp for all 3 of us. This is where God has placed us for now. So we thank you for making God’s will for us possible.
We have made a pledge ourselves to pray for each one of our supporters during the course of each week. We have made a list of all your names and have them on our refrigerator. We counted up the numbers for those of you that like details. 29 monthly, 4 quarterly, 25 annual, and about 60 one-time gift supporters.
The snow now covers the mountains around us. It is called “termination dust”. It will soon be reaching down to our elevation here at camp which is about 2200 feet. When this happens, any day now, fall has terminated and winter is upon us. Our view has changed now that there are no leaves on the trees. Many things have changed for us too. A few of them being the closest grocery store is now over an hour away, the power may go out at any moment, sometimes we have no water, we don’t go hiking without a gun, a moose could look in our kitchen window, we eat mostly moose meat, the sun does not set in the summer, we have been wearing our winter coats since early September and our zip code is Sutton, AK which is 55 miles away. It is comforting to know when so many things change around us each day God is still and steadfast!
Our small cabin is heated with a oil - drip furnace which predates WW II. Yes, the furnace is that old, but seems to work well. Basically, you turn a valve to allow a small amount of oil to drip onto a little pan within the furnace and when lit with a match produces a flame which equals heat. There is no blower involved and it does not require any electricity. This is especially good if the power goes out. We have flashlights strategically placed around our home because when the lights go out it is very dark! This makes us think about all of us not hiding our lamps under a basket - let it shine - let it shine - let it shine! Maybe God has us strategically placed in Alaska for His good works. As the days shorten here and darkness comes around us we have to know God is our lighthouse!
Our work here varies from day to day. Chris has many things to fix and check on. For example: boilers needing attention, propane tanks to bury, huge potholes in our roads to patch, beavers who make dams in the wrong places, broken toilets, hot water that won’t turn off because of too much calcium build-up, grease traps that clog up way too often, vehicles to prepare for winter, feeding the wood stove at Victory’s Miracle Lodge, insulating water pipes - just name a few. Debbie volunteers many hours in the camp kitchen. This past week was very busy, as was the last, seeing groups like The Sweet Adelines, Wasilla Baptist youth group, army chaplains, homeschoolers, and the Palmer Valley pastors. The meal count at each meal surpassed 175. She is learning a lot about how much food needs to be prepared - a lot! All our breads and desserts are homemade so this takes more time. On an interesting note, the kitchen is all used stainless steel bought from a hospital remodel job. Our counter tops and storage cupboards are all out of the surgery suites! One very large and wide counter top is from the morgue. Enough said!
The sun is just appearing over the mountain tops and it is 9:30am. The bus picks Liam up for school at 7:54. His bus, one of two, arrives at school about 8:30. School starts when both the busses have dropped the kids at school. All 38 of them! Liam is one of 3 freshman with a total of 9 kids in high school. He is fitting in well, although he really misses his friends from Pella. He has added an additional online course to his studies. Glacier View School sits looking straight onto the Matanuska Glacier. It is a very modern school and his two teachers are very devoted to educating their students. One of his teachers is originally from Dubuque, Iowa! Although a Hawkeye fan. Boo! The high school students are also fundraising! It is for an “UP-CLOSE” trip to Washington D.C. in April to experience how our government works. They put on a Italian Dinner in September. The next event is a Bavarian Dinner in early November. This doubles as an opportunity for the community to gather together and have a nice meal out since there is only one other restaurant in our area in either direction for over 50 miles. It also gives us an opportunity to get to know the many unchurched people in our community.
So how are we “being” missionaries? The answer is simple - loving on all whom we have contact with each day. Being available, ready, and with willing hearts to follow God’s direction. Waiting on God’s timing and praying for His words to bring in the harvest. Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? Christ came to give us true life and freedom. We, as followers of Jesus, have to continually remind ourselves that it is God himself who is our refuge and supplier...God himself who is our sustainer and provider.
For many of you who give one-time gifts, these monetary blessings go directly to the operative cost of Victory Camp/Conference Center. These monies also may cover us and other camp families when pledges fall short. This is very similar to how our church handles their offerings. Thank you on behalf of our Victory family for these gifts.
Each month we deeply appreciate the many financial partners who faithfully send us their hard earned support. And yet it is God himself who supplies by using YOU! We are so grateful for your commitment. We are humbled by God’s blessings!
Because of Christ - Chris, Debbie, and Liam
Our contact information:
Victory Bible Camp and Conference Center
Victory Bible Camp and Conference Center
Chris, Debbie, and Liam Mock
64741 South Victory Road
Sutton, AK 99674
64741 South Victory Road
Sutton, AK 99674
Phone: 907-745-4203
Since sending out our letters we have had a foot or more of snow - all in one snow "shower"!
Please pray for God's Will, God's Way, Everyday
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