Your Right Now Is Not Your Forever
If you had an emergency today and could not watch your kids, who would you call? If they could not help, who would be your next call? It is likely you have quite a few people on your list. Maybe you even have someone on your list that is not what you would consider a good influence, but who, in a pinch, you would still ask to watch your kids in an emergency.
Compassion
How many backup plans do you have? How many plans have to fail before you are completely out of options and would want even that undesirable option? There are a lot of people, especially in Alaska, that have only one backup plan. And then they are out of options. Can you imagine the terror and panic of dealing with a severe crisis while also knowing you have nowhere to take your child that is safe? What if you had literally no one to watch your child?
Mercy
Our missionaries often see firsthand the pain and the struggle that these families go through. Many of our missionaries show the love of Christ by being available and helping at-risk families by taking care of children for short-term periods or even sometimes long-term. Our missionaries do not do this because they believe they are themselves perfect parents. Instead, they simply desire to serve and show kindness where there is a great need.
While this type of help can be done on an individual basis, several of our ministry workers are involved with a ministry that helps facilitate this sort of mission on a larger scale by connecting families in crisis with churches and volunteers willing to help.
Love
A family in crisis is not a pretty sight. The situation is always messy, and there are many reasons why it is easier to not get involved. Their life may be in shambles. They might not have food for the table. They might struggle to care for their kids properly and fear losing them to the State. As followers of Jesus, why do we step into these difficult situations? One of our missionaries tells families in crisis and new volunteers, “We do this because we love Jesus and He loves us.” The love of Christ is what allows us to care and help without stipulation. The love of Christ is what allows us to pour themselves out at all hours of the day continuously laboring to bring these families back together.
Compassion
How many backup plans do you have? How many plans have to fail before you are completely out of options and would want even that undesirable option? There are a lot of people, especially in Alaska, that have only one backup plan. And then they are out of options. Can you imagine the terror and panic of dealing with a severe crisis while also knowing you have nowhere to take your child that is safe? What if you had literally no one to watch your child?
Mercy
Our missionaries often see firsthand the pain and the struggle that these families go through. Many of our missionaries show the love of Christ by being available and helping at-risk families by taking care of children for short-term periods or even sometimes long-term. Our missionaries do not do this because they believe they are themselves perfect parents. Instead, they simply desire to serve and show kindness where there is a great need.
While this type of help can be done on an individual basis, several of our ministry workers are involved with a ministry that helps facilitate this sort of mission on a larger scale by connecting families in crisis with churches and volunteers willing to help.
Love
A family in crisis is not a pretty sight. The situation is always messy, and there are many reasons why it is easier to not get involved. Their life may be in shambles. They might not have food for the table. They might struggle to care for their kids properly and fear losing them to the State. As followers of Jesus, why do we step into these difficult situations? One of our missionaries tells families in crisis and new volunteers, “We do this because we love Jesus and He loves us.” The love of Christ is what allows us to care and help without stipulation. The love of Christ is what allows us to pour themselves out at all hours of the day continuously laboring to bring these families back together.
Your Right Now is Not Your Forever
One missionary recounts this story of a child his family temporarily cared for:
“One night, I had sent [this child] to bed because he had made some bad choices. Now, it was hard to be frustrated at him. He was very young, yet he already knew how to make breakfast, change diapers, and prepare formula with the correct number of scoops. He clearly had grown up in a difficult situation where he was expected to do far more than he should of at his age.
After I sent him to bed early, he was crying and upset and long after everyone else had gone to bed, he was waking up the whole house wailing. I went into his room and found him in the dark gnawing teeth marks in his wooden bunk.
I rubbed his back and said, out of sheer exhaustion and totally accidentally, “Bud, you know, when you wake up tomorrow, you won’t be in trouble. The consequence is just right now. You need to go to sleep. But my wife and I will be happy to see you when you get up and you WON’T be in trouble.” He was tired too. But he stopped gnawing on the headboard and said, “Really?”
“Yeah, bud, it’s just a little consequence. Just for right now, not forever.”
He let out a deep breath and went to bed.
This is the very heart of the good news of the Gospel. This is the news that Christ has brought to us. Our current state or even our future on this earth is not our forever. He has given us a new forever if we believe in Him and claim His Name as our Lord and Savior. Like a gentle father, He loves us and is totally committed to us. Hebrews 12:6 tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves. He allows consequences into our life to teach us, but He will never abandon His children!
“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:13-14 Do Christ’s words resonate with you? Do you have a heart to share this good news? Do you have a heart bursting with compassion, mercy, and love? The North needs you! These families need you to come and share Christ with them. These children need to hear that Christ wants them and is calling them to Himself. There are many ways that you can help or get involved in children’s ministry work. One way you can do this is through volunteering with our Project Caribou Youth Outreach Team . You would be a member of a team working to create outreach opportunities to the underreached youth in isolated villages.
During the summer, many villages and organizations put on summer camps to reach youth coming in from many different villages. This is a great way to reach many kids from a variety of locations with Christ’s love. Another opportunity that is available here in Alaska is volunteering with Child Evangelism Fellowship . This ministry is focused on putting on camps and clubs for children with a strong evangelistic goal. Another way you can always be involved, from any location, is through prayer. Prayer is the most powerful tool given to a believer. Please be praying for these families and the children here in the North. Pray for their lives to be transformed through the life changing work of the Gospel. You can also sign up here if you would like to receive our monthly prayer updates.
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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