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by Karen Gleason –
Undaunted by local budget constraints and a shaky economy, The Salvation Army in the small fishing community of Angoon, Alaska relinquished their needs to God through prayer and received abundant blessings.
By opening themselves to the Holy Spirit, corps leaders Envoys Andrew and Christina Harris developed a creative way of ministering to the people in their community.
For the last two years Envoy Andrew has offered a daily devotion over CB (citizens band) radio for the fishermen. Envoy Christina says that the devotion not only spreads God’s word, but also empowers and encourages the people in the community. She reports receiving new prayer requests every day.
“Through this special ministry,” she says, “we have learned that by beginning the day with shared prayer and the insurance of God’s comforting words we have developed an attachment to others; they have become special, and qualities we hadn’t noticed before became manifest. People were revealed to us in a new dimension. Through the CB ministry we can help and support each other in times of sorrow, distress or happiness, and we are able to really feel the love of God in our daily lives.”
For area youth, the corps was able to provide two vacation Bible schools this summer with the help of separate missionary groups. A team of four from the First Methodist Church of Dinuba, Calif. conducted the first VBS. They paid not only their traveling expenses, but also the costs of snacks for the children and materials for crafts. The week was a success with 130 children in attendance.
A missionary group of 17 from The Presbyterian Church of Pasadena, Calif., led the second VBS. They also paid for snacks and materials along with traveling costs. This team focused on youth aged 14-25. With 128 attending, this week was another success.
The ministries of the two groups touched almost family in Angoon.
The Harrises believe, as Envoy Christina says, that “God’s hand is upon Angoon and his blessings are revealed through the good things happening in our community. We say, ‘To God be the glory! Great things he hath done.’”
