Train Up a Child - Teen Camp in Alaska

Train up a child in the way he should go; 
even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Reaching our Native youth with the love of Jesus is crucial to making a difference for families, communities, and future generations.

We know this is a big job, but, more importantly, we know we have a big God who will guide us. 

We also have faithful partners in ministry, like you, who will uphold and support us prayerfully and financially. We have the blessing of an amazing ministry team, full of missionaries who understand Native culture and have dedicated their lives to proclaiming the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ for all people. And God has led amazing partners and friends, with hearts for Native youth and the skills and resources to make an impact, to work alongside us.

We rely on friends, like Lance and Corina Kramer, Alaska Natives from Kotzebue, Alaska, who host summer camps for Alaska Native teens each summer, to make Native ministry work. This year, they invited LIM to join them, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Kattivik Bible Camp (which means “meeting place” in Inupiaq) is located 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle on the Noatak River. Over the course of two weeks, it will house more than 80 middle and high school-aged kids. At camp, Lance and Corina, along with LIM ministry team members, Rick McCafferty and Nathan Milan, will provide a safe and healthy environment for healing and recapturing culture, where these teens can work together and connect with their Creator.

Kattivik is a place to learn coping skills for dealing with the stress, hurt, and historic pain youth experience in their lives as well as a place to relearn the ways of their ancestors. During their week, the campers “live off the land,” as much as possible, reinforcing their rich culture that, for many, has been lost but serves as a reminder of the precious people God created them to be.

 There is so much more I could write about this camp and how excited we are to see God move in the lives of these young people.

 For now, I simply ask you for your support.  Your gift today allows us to provide the transportation and tools necessary for these teens to experience life in Christ as it was meant to be in their lives.  Your prayers, today, strengthen and uphold them, as well as Lance, Corina, Rick, and Nate.

 Our goal in this partnership is to help Native communities thrive, not merely survive – to stop the cycles of abuse, addiction, and suicide, and make an impact in the lives of Native youth.

 Native children are incredible gifts from God, not only to their families and their culture, but also to the Church and the Body of Christ. Each one of them is sacred and has a place and purpose in God’s Kingdom, and, like each of us, they need to be discipled in their faith. It is our prayer that by impacting these 80 teens, we will be able to influence even more individuals in their home communities across Alaska through them.

Making disciples and creating healthy, emotionally-whole communities throughout Indian Country is one of the main goals of Lutheran Indian Ministries.

We envision the day when substance abuse, domestic violence, suicide, and sexual assault among Native peoples is no more!  We envision thriving communities dedicated to family and children, guided by the Holy Spirit. We endeavor to break the cycle of abuse so generational trauma can be a thing of the past!

This summer we focus on the Native youth as the hope for the future!

 Please prayerfully consider making a gift today. Your faithful partnership will heap blessings upon these teenagers for years to come.

 I look forward to the end of the summer when I can share with you how your gift has made an impact for eternity. Thank you!

 May the Lord bless you and keep you always.

 In Him, 

Tim Young Eagle (Pawnee)
Executive Director

 P.S. Teen camp in Alaska starts soon!  Your gift today will be a blessing to over 80 Native Alaskan teens as they gather together in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Thank you!

Your gift today affirms that Jesus was born for all, including our Native American brothers and sisters.  Thank you!

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