How important is it for teens to attend a Christian Camp?  What about attending Church?  What if no one shared the Gospel with them? Let’s bring this closer to home. What if your child, who loved the Lord, had no access to other Christian kids to build friendships?  This is not merely a set of hypothetical questions.  This is the reality which drives Awaken.

Awaken is a key piece of SEND North’s ministry strategy in Alaska.  It is an annual fall youth retreat for 7th-12th graders in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska that was started in 2009. Each year over 60 kids gather in Naknek, Alaska for food, games, paintball, worship, and evangelistic Bible teaching. Many of these teens attend Bible camp but never have fellowship with other Christian kids throughout the year. Many others have never attended camp or church and have little exposure to the Gospel. This powerful outreach has always been a joint partnership between several area churches, SEND North, and Tanalian Bible Camp.

Approximately half of the teens are flown in from 5-8 regional villages each year. This often involves 10-20 flights in 4-6 aircraft.  This spiritual investment takes time to mature, but it is paying off.  Take the example of one young teen who did not know Jesus when we picked her up and brought her to the Awaken retreat.  It was there she met Christians who loved her and softened her heart enough to agree to go to Bible camp.  After two years, hours of interaction with Christian teachers, two Bible camp experiences and another Awaken event, this young woman surrendered her life to Jesus Christ.

We don’t want to see this cycle of seed sowing and harvest reaping interrupted.  The local churches and many individuals help with some of the expenses but are not able to cover all of it.  We need partners who will join all of us in reaching out in this region of Alaska.  Will you make a contribution to continue the impact of this retreat? 

Giving can be done online through this link. http://ow.ly/DpgMY   Be sure to enter the word “Awaken” in the text box which reads, “Enter a description below of how you would like your donation to be used.” 

You can contact us with any of your questions.

Thank you for your consideration.

The SEND North Team