A Look Back at Summer 2016

 Denali in the background

Here is our latest newsletter. The season of fall, which is approximately 2 weeks long here in Alaska, is on its way out. Snow is sticking and staying on the mountains across the river. We could have our first snowfall anytime. However, we do live in Alaska and even we have to remind ourselves how far north we live. This morning it was 30 degrees out!

We were able to take a short trip up to Denali National Park at the end of August. We tent camped with another family. We really needed the R & R. Autos are not able to travel past mile 14 into the park so you have to take a shuttle bus. We did this to mile 66 and back. Our driver was very informative and stopped to let us take pictures of the Dahl sheep, caribou, ptarmigan, moose and the best part, 12 grizzly bears! One was bold enough that it walked right down the road and passed along side our bus. The mountain of Denali sits at over 20,000 ft and the weather was perfect for viewing it. Although tent camping when it is 25 degrees out in the morning is really cold!

Denali at sunset from our campground

Mr. Grizzly Bear as he quickly passes our bus!

God has been working in us more each day and is continually showing us as it is written in
 Isaiah 55: 8-9:
                     For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
                           neither are your ways my ways,”
                              declares the Lord.
                 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
                           so are my ways higher than your ways
                              and my thoughts than your thoughts.  

We are foolish to act as if we know what God is thinking and planning. We are foolish to fit God into our mold - to make Him conform to our desires. Let go and let God!

Bountiful blessings to all.

Mocks at Victory - A Look Back at Summer 2016

This photo  is a moment in time we will never forget. We praise God for His unrelenting command on our lives to serve at Victory Bible Camp. Through our experience serving here, He has opened our eyes and hearts to the importance of being faithful and obedient disciples in this life. It has certainly not been an easy life, but one that challenges us each new day. If we hadn’t answered His call - afraid of change, or the unknown - we would have missed out on the work God had planned for us. If all was good, we would not cry out to God and become dependent on Him. We are grateful our Savior continues to rescue, transform, and deliver us from evil!

Summer Camp:

      It always amazes us how much energy and enthusiasm that the summer staff brings to Victory. After a long Alaska winter, they seem like endless sunshine. Maybe that is why they come to Alaska! God provided, once again, a variety of personalities who all came together for one purpose - to share the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ. They come from all over the US and devote their summer to planting seeds of faith, truth, and love in the hearts of the children that attend camp. These special people are not paid, so it is a big deal for them to give their time to Victory. Praise God for all their works. I wish you could just sit in on one meal, or even better, one Chapel time. God is certainly alive!  Visit Victory Bible Camp on Facebook for lots of pictures and videos.

Chapel time

Liam helping with chapel time

Work Teams:

     These individuals are probably more important to our ministry here than they will ever know. Without work teams Victory would be without newly painted facilities, without new green metal roofing on the leaky Alpine cabins, our much needed large road grader, wheel loader & dozer would still be sitting broken along the fence row and our roads would be in terrible shape, tree limbs would be overgrowing the power lines, our flower gardens would be sad and overgrown with weeds, the waterfront docks would be a hazard with large splinters waiting for tender feet and even floating apart, the Adventure camp would not have showers, and our Frontier bathhouse would be moldy and very outdated. This is just part of the list! There are not enough of we full time staff to go around to fix and take care of the camp.  Plus, their financial donations make it possible for us to have a beautiful, safe, and up to date facility. God is so good and provided, once again, everything VBC needed. If you are interested in being on a work team, it can just be you or a group of 14 people, just get online and check out www.vbcalaska.org or give a call at 907-745-4203.

           Painting with Trinity work team                               Re-plumbing our kitchen

Painting the outside of Ranch Lodge

Re-roofing Alpine Cabins

Chris & Debbie:

    We praise God for a bountiful harvest this summer, 660 campers, 8 work teams from across the US, several private family outings, hockey camp, and numerous couples and singles stopped by from a few days, to a few weeks, to all summer to lend a hand!

    Chris’ role at Victory changed this summer and he was able to concentrate on the grounds plus all his regular maintenance duties.This made for a really busy summer but we finally have roads that drain off the rain water and lagoons that are protected by a higher dyke so the lake is not contaminated. We even have some nice grass areas for outdoor play. Grass does not grow well here! Debbie pitched in most days painting her way across camp. She has also made lots of curtains, cleaned housing over and over again, mowed the grass areas, and helped serve guests in the dining hall.

God is Love:

    This message is the reason this camp exists today. It is the reason why we need to be here tomorrow and many years to come. Just take a few moments and listen to the news. It can be an ugly and mean world out there. However, God is in control. We are His children.  “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”.  John 15:5

    Victory Bible Camp stands firm in the presence of every adversity. God says “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”.  Isaiah 41:10

Home Front:

    Liam has started his senior year at Glacier View School. He hopes to find the right college fit for his interest in physics and engineering. Any college recommendations are welcome. (Liam.mock@outlook.com)  Liam spent the summer as the only member of the audio and video department. Last summer there were 5 people! He was also the official camp photographer. He spent countless hours helping with Chapel time and capturing the moments and memories of camp life. Liam had the great opportunity to make lifelong friendships with the summer staff, many his same age. This is a big difference from how he spends his school year. Just 3 other classmates his same age!

    Caitlin is now a resident of the state of Minnesota. She is working in her field of medical/biological illustration in the Creative Media Department at the Mayo Clinic. She hopes to be there a very long time as it takes 17 years to get an up close parking space! It is very nice to have her back in the midwest.

    Brian and Morgan moved to Bloomington, IL in June. Brian continues his career in the headquarters for State Farm. Morgan was blessed to get a high school teaching job in the history department.

    Cody and Aurelie have moved also, back to Pella! Cody is the IT Administrator for the Pella School District. Aurelie is busy with their 1950’s rambler (ranch house). For all you Pella people, please give them a hug when you see them for us!

Prayers:

    For God to receive all the honor and glory through the work we all do at Victory.

    Please be in prayer for all the people who attended Victory this summer. May they hear God’s word now from other fellow Christians and continue to grow and follow after Him. His path is narrow but God’s blessings are wide!

   Our thoughts are frequently with you - all of you who make it possible for us to serve here. Thank you seems so little a gift to give back for all your prayers and support monies. Please know that we appreciate ALL you do for us and Victory. Camp EXISTS because of your faithful prayers and financial partnership.

We love email & snail mail, so if you have time, please send us a letter and let us know how we can pray for you!

Mocks          64741 S Victory Rd.  Sutton, AK 99674              CDCMCL@hotmail.com

PS

We have had questions on where to send donations if you are not blessing us monthly already. You can just send them to us and we will hand deliver them. This way we can be more timely in sending our humble words of thanks! You will receive a receipt back in the mail for your tax records.

May trip

Hi Everyone,

We will soon be traveling "outside" as they say in Alaska. We are all busy here getting camp in order for the summer staff and camp kids to arrive. A truly very exciting season for Victory Bible Camp.
It all started in 1947 with 75 campers came for a short stay with tents and a few picnic tables. Although we have grown enormously since then our mission has always been constant. Share the LOVE and word of God. SHOW what truth, grace and mercy really look like. VBC fills a unique place within the needs of Alaska's Christian and non-Christian communities. Our ministries touch thousands of lives each year with the goal of leading guests towards a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ through quality programs and top-notch facilities. Come and see for yourself!

The white areas in the center of this photo are Shallow Lake and Index Lake with camp in between the two and to the right and left of the lakes.

Below is attached our latest newsletter sent out in March.

SPRING 2016

Today is March 8th, 2016 and as we write this letter we are reflecting on ALL God has done for us here at Victory! Before this missive continues, here is a portion of our first blog written on September 8th, 2012:

All I can say is, Wow, we never thought we would be moving to Alaska 2 years ago. But God knew and knows all beyond our understanding. "Be still and know that I am God". We are all created to give God His glory and share the Gospel. That is it! Our story will hopefully be a faith walk with God. We really don't know where God is leading us through our mission work with Victory, so it is like a leap of faith for us - even as we are jumping, we do so with the knowledge that even though we may not be able to "see" our Father's arms, He sees us, and that's all that really matters!

This is not earth shattering news. We have all heard it so many times before. Oh, so maybe you did hear it, but did not receive the message of the Gospel into your heart. It all sounds so incredibly easy to “know” the Gospel. But to grow in HIs word and feel the pull of the message is another thing altogether. To not be able to do your normal day to day living because this message in your heart keeps telling you with an unstoppable force to act on God’s divine word. Wow, what does a person do with that? His voice is alive in you and it is like a water faucet that you cannot turn off. It is like a hunger you cannot satisfy.  Matthew 5:6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. This is what happen to us. This leap of faith was hard, fearful, uncomfortable, inconvenient, divisive… well the list goes on and on. However, the incredible reality of following after Jesus has placed us on the most joyful, truly amazing, life changing path we could have ever imagined.

We desperately want to thank each of you who has faithfully prayed us along this path each and every day. We humbly want to praise you also for financially blessing us. We are all a team on the scrimmage line together. The plays cannot be called if we don’t all know the moves we are to make. A beautiful dance indeed!

Victory has seen a very mild winter and spring break-up is already upon us. We still do have snow covering the ground. This is a big deal because most of the people who come to Victory are from “the Valley” and Anchorage and they have not had enough snow to play in this winter. We would like to think the white snow is a reflection of God’s love on this place and all who enter through it’s gates.

Please be in prayer for all of these people who come to Victory so they may hear and know God is in their hearts.They are from all walks of life and all age groups. May His word be an unstoppable unbeatable force that keeps them on His narrow path of righteousness.

Anchorage and Alaska have the worst statistics per capita for a failed family unit, hard core drug use, sex trafficking, child abuse, alcoholism and depression. More languages

are spoken in Anchorage than any other city in the USA. Please pray that God will lead many to Victory to feel His love and forgiveness. Then they, in turn, can go out and share the Gospel. Amen

On The Home Front

Liam is on a 10 day mission trip with 9 other people from our Glacier View Bible Church. The organization is called Reach Beyond - The Voice and Hands of Jesus Together. Their group is focused on assisting indigenous people in a village near Chillanes, Ecuador with potable water and sanitation. They have been working on digging a meter deep trench that is 0.8 of a mile long from the spring source. In addition to digging, they carried 40 lb. bags of gravel up to this same mountainside spring to add to cement to create a concrete dam. Then, in the afternoon, they are sponsoring and teaching vacation Bible school. Entire families from the village come to hear the Word. So awesome!

Caitlin graduates from her Medical and Biological Illustration graduate program at Johns Hopkins on May 16th. She is very, very busy finishing up her thesis project.

We just recently bought our tickets and will be able to be a part of her big day! We will then move her back to Marion, IA where all the rest of her belongings are and she will job search from there - if she does not have a job already!

As for us, we will be in Baltimore for probably a week then head to Iowa and stay with Debbie’s mom. We hope to be in Pella May 22nd for the day. It will be an open house/Mock potluck at church after the second service. Our desire is to just be able to sit down and visit with everyone at church.

Bountiful Blessings on each one of you - Chris, Debbie, and Liam

Go People Go

Then Jesus came to them and said, " All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

We are to go - whether it is next door or to another country - and make disciples. It is not an option, but a command to all who call Jesus "Lord." We have all received gifts from the Holy Spirit that we can use to fulfill the Great Commission. As we obey, we have comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us. Jesus left the disciples with these last words of instruction. So, as we make disciples, they in turn make disciples, who make disciples - and the Word is known and spread throughout the entire world!

We are reflecting on our time here, serving at Victory. Unbelievably, it has been almost 3 years! God has stood strong next to us - just as He promised. No, He did not promise it would be easy, or fun, or comfortable. Jesus did promise the disciples and us that He would always be with them/us. Yes, there have been many inconveniences; however, obeying Jesus' command has returned to us so much joy that we cannot put it into words. 

The word "go" has much more meaning than we ever thought.

As I write, Liam is with the Glacier View Bible Church work team serving in Ecuador. There are 10 of them helping to improve the poor potable water situation in a rural community and then, in the afternoon they are all running a Vacation Bible School.  As we understand it, the children come with their families. The parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and older siblings circle around the outside of the VBS, carefully listening to the Word!  500 people might show up eager to hear the Word! How awesome is that!

So just "GO'" already - spread His Word throughout the nations!  Amen

The crew from Alaska (and others) are helping haul 40 lb bags of rocks 0.8 miles up a muddy trail!

Liam said the letter for the morning is S - S is for snakes!

This is the view from their home they are staying at in Chillanes, Ecuador

Christmas Greetings 2015

Merry Christmas

Oh what a joy it is to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

God asks all of us to answer His call through faith in Him alone for our salvation. Jesus paid our ransom so we can repent our sins and be freely given eternal life. But first, God brought us the birth of His precious, perfect son and that is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Amen.

We pray in the midst of your busyness this season you will make time - lots of time - to reflect on God’s gift of salvation, Jesus Christ.

So when you are…

                         baking, pray to Him

                         shopping, pray to Him

                         at a basketball game, pray to Him

                         at a cookie swap, pray to Him

                         at a Christmas party, pray to Him

                         waiting in line at the checkout, pray to Him

                         putting up Christmas decorations, pray to Him

                         shoveling snow, pray to Him

                         paying the bills, pray to Him

                         watching football on TV, pray to Him…

                             ...so you get the idea - thank Him for the best gift you will ever receive, Jesus.

We and Victory Ministries want to sincerely thank you for being a part of sharing the truth of the Gospel. We praise God for all He has done here through camping ministries and we give thanks in advance for His future plans of raising up more disciples for His glory. Our world needs more people seeking God to truly have “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Men.”

Family News

   Cody and Aurelie are renting a cute 1920’s bungalow in Lawrence, KS. Cody is employed by the University of Kansas. Aurelie enjoys her work at the City of Lawrence Public Library.

   Morgan and Brian live in Franklin, WI. Morgan loves teaching high school history and Brian continues his career with State Farm.

   Caitlin is in the home stretch of her master’s program in Medical Illustration. We hope to make it to her graduation in May in Baltimore.

   Liam is in his junior year at Glacier View School with 7 kids at the high school level. He is leaning heavily toward studying physics in college. He tells us he will probably have to get his doctorate in the field, so we can call him Doc Mock :) He has taken up XC skiing. This is something he can do up here 6-7 months of the year!

  Chris stays extremely busy keeping the camp and conference center side of Victory up and running. He has spent many hours this fall coaxing the 1960’s waste oil boilers to work! He says they have become very good friends! He has been covering for the mechanic vacancy and heavy equipment operator too! No frozen pipes - that is a true blessing.

   Debbie has become very involved in rehabbing and sprucing up many of the staff homes that have had a change of families or become vacant awaiting new families. She also spent several hours sorting out the wood shop. She said sorting the tools reminded her of all the time she spent as a child helping out her dad:). She continues to enjoy the community connections she has made while subbing at school. Lately she has even been riding the bus to and from school with Liam!

Prayer Needs

Please be in prayer for the right people to answer God's call for these vacancies at Victory:

1. Victory Bible Camp and Conference Center Director
2. Victory Bible Camp and Conference Center Auto Mechanic
3. Victory Bible Camp and Conference Center Program Director

Also please be in prayer for updated heating systems for our 1960’s units.

Of most importance, for our purpose and call here, be in prayer for all those who use our campus. May they invite God into their lives and in turn, go out and spread the Good News to so many in need - Victory in Christ. This is God’s ultimate goal.

Matthew 19:26 (ESV) But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Merry Christmas to all and bountiful blessings to you in the coming New Year.

                      Chris, Debbie, Caitlin, & Liam

 View of Victory from hiking up to the fossil beds

Victory Peak. Notice where the sun line hits the peak. Our valley does not get direct sunlight this time of year.

New paint - ready for Christmas!

The buildings on Victory's campus that were updated with new paint look so nice! Thank you to all who helped this past summer. That includes everyone who donated paint brushes and supplies! 

Winter is coming!

Below are some images of our main season - Winter!

October - May

Fall Newsletter

Many of you receive our newsletter delivered the old fashion way - via the U.S. Postal Service. For those of you who don't receive it and would like us to add you to that list, please let us know by email or FB.

Today is October 13th and there are not any leaves left on our trees! Time to put up the Christmas lights before it gets too cold and snowy outside!

These past several weeks I (Debbie) have been deep cleaning several homes around campus for new servants coming to join our ministry here. As I spent over an hour untangling mini blind cords the other day, the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 10:31 came to mind:

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 

Those tangled cords put a picture in my head of our tangled up lives, with some really hard knots that we have a horrible time undoing! How did the cord get like this? When the cord is straight and true, it provides for easy and smooth operation of the blind. It is exactly like God. He is always there ready to intercede for us and keep us walking on His straight and narrow path. Give ALL your hard knots to God! Amen.

We are again teaching 3rd - 5th grade Sunday school and the above verse is one that our students are memorizing. We also stress that learning these verses is more than a memory exercise:

We ask them,  "When you meet someone new, how do you get to know them?"
The kids reply,  "By asking them questions."
Us,  "Then, how do you get to know God and Jesus?"
Kids,  "Oh, by reading His Word!"
Us,  "And where do you keep His word so you have it when you need it, in your brain or in your
      heart?"
Kids,  "In your heart!"
Us,  "Yes!" 

That is where  His word was when I became frustrated while fixing the mini blinds! Just exactly where I needed it to be...His word is in my heart.

Reflections of summer, 2015

June - Trinity workteam and donated vans and tools arrive at camp!

July & August - Repainting and roofing of conference housing                  

Phil. 1:3-6

     I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with JOY because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  

    Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians when he was in prison in Rome. He wanted to thank them for a gift they had sent via one of their members and to encourage them in their faith. It is of note that this is the first time Paul uses the word JOY in any of his letters.

   If you could insert “we” and “our” in the passage above it would mirror our JOY in all of you who have partnered with Victory and us. Our NIV Bible says that in contrast to happiness, JOY runs deeper and stronger. JOY is the quiet, confident assurance of God’s love and work in our lives - that He will be there no matter what! Happiness depends on happenings, but JOY depends on Christ. JOY comes from knowing Christ personally and from depending on His strength rather than our own. This is the secret of JOY!

   Our summer was indeed full of JOY. So many people answered God’s call and came to spend a week of two to help us a camp. One day, Debbie spent an hour walking around camp and taking pictures of all the work and activities going on: cutting logs into firewood, lunch prep, bread making, cookie baking, floor cleaning, dusting and sweeping, answering phones, gift shop hostessing, coffee making, painting, sanding, cleaning windows, sewing curtains, changing light bulbs, upgrading door handles, replacing the sewer line, backfilling soil over the sewer line, regrading the airstrip, washing buses/vans, replacing rotten fascia board, seeding grass, watering grass, patching canoes, repairing waterfront docks, mechanical repairs on camp vehicles, making new picnic tables, remodeling the coffee shop, cutting overgrown brush and trees, and watering flowers - to name a few.

   All this happening like the background music of a major Hollywood movie. The main characters would be the campers and their counselors.

These are notes written on little blue cards that campers could put up in chapel to represent a decision they made or something God taught them.

I am so thankful for this new family God has led me to. I haven’t been living for you my Lord, but this one week of camp has inspired and shown me how I can glorify you in everything I do. I’ve been holding in so much pain, but you have taken my pain and given me true inner peace. Before this week I was positive I was going nowhere and wanted to die. You have blessed me with amazing people to lead me back to you and your love. Thank you.

This week I have been extremely convicted to basically turn my whole life around and start living for the Lord…to be transformed!

God blessed me with a great group of Godly people trying to grow closer to God.  God gave me a desire to grow closer with Him.  I now have the tools, faith, and trust to strive to be the best I can, with God’s help.

God saved me from depression and self harm. I self harmed a lot, but then I turned to God and proved to the doctors I don’t need pills to make me happy.

Halfway through this week I thought about leaving, but I’m glad I didn’t, I ignored satan’s pull. I never want this week to end, I will miss everybody. I will never forget this wonderful week.

Christ changed me because I’ve always come to camp, but never really believed in Him, but this week that changed.

I have heard God speak like I never have before. I have not been pursuing Him and I have made a commitment to do so from now on. Victory Bible Camp has changed my life forever.

But, this grand movie cannot be made without all the support people in the wings. Those people are vital to this ministry. The many hands of help would not be possible without the prayers and financial giving from all of you - so much JOY in serving Christ and His ministry.

   Fall is upon us, we have had a dusting of snow and the morning temperatures have been in the 30s. Our foliage is yellow and red and falling! Our days are always busy. Each weekend sees a new group on campus, a new opportunity for God and Victory to have a positive impact on someone’s life!

   John 4: 35

         I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.

   We asked Liam if Jesus was running for president of the United States what would his slogan be? Liam’s immediate response was, “Love”. Amen.

May the grace of the Lord Christ be with your spirit - Phil. 4:23

Joyfully,

                         Chris, Debbie and Liam

Contact info:

Victory Bible Camp & Conference Center                   Chris, Debbie & Liam Mock

   64741 S Victory Rd.                                                         64741 S Victory Rd

   Sutton, AK 99674                                                            Sutton, AK 99674

   907-745-4203                                                                  

  www.vbcalaska.org                                                          

                                                                                               email - CDCMCL@hotmail.com

To join with us in support, email Elaine at ElaineA@vbcalaska.org

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve and show the love and JOY of Jesus.