The Safest Place

My dear friends from Camp AN, Sabrina and Maggie

Three summers go, right after finishing my first year of college, I went on a missions trip to Camp Agaiutim Nune on the Yukon River near Emmonak, Alaska. Camp AN, which means Place of God, is an annual camp that serves the Native Alaskan youth and children of the Yukon River Delta. This was my second year going and I could not wait to be out there again. The youth of rural Alaska face enormous challenges everyday and for many of them, Camp AN is one of the few places where they are loved, safe, happy. Alcoholism, depression, suicide and drug abuse are problems that plague rural Alaska because of the seasonal darkness, isolation and lack of evangelical witness.

Fourwheeler with our team

Lauren riding on the Yukon River

To get to Camp AN, you first fly on an Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage, Alaska. Then you hop on a 15-passenger plane to St. Mary’s, then six passenger plane to Emmonak. You land on strip of gravel, grab your stuff and jump on a trailer pulled behind a fourwheeler. Then you are loaded into small fishing boat and ride 45 minutes up the Yukon River to an island. This island holds Camp AN, a campsite without electricity, permanent buildings or indoor plumbing. You sleep in giant tents, eat in tents, have service in tents. Kids and teens ride up to 2 hours by boat to come spend a week at Camp AN to eat sometimes stale food, use outhouses and shower with river water but most importantly to have a life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit.

On the plane to Emmonak, AK

Maggie once only dreamed of reaching 18 until she got
saved, delivered and healed of color blindness at Camp AN

God does miracles at this camp. Teens are set free from bondages, thoughts of suicide, drug and alcohol addictions and depression. I have seen blind eyes opened and deaf ears healed at Camp AN. These kids come with big challenges, deep wounds and hard walls. It takes a while to gain their trust, a while to hear their stories, a while to understand their hearts but when you do, you get an incredible opportunity to see God completely transform the lives of students, to change them from the inside out. By the end of the week their whole demeanors change, they smile, they laugh, they trust, they love. 
They begin to dream, to plan for the future which is something many of them don’t even believe they have. I met teens at Camp AN whose goals were simply to make it to their 18^th birthdays but end up graduating high school and pursuing college. For many of these kids this is the ONLY time of year that they get to hear the gospel, that they hear that they are valuable, that they are loved, that they are created with a purpose. Alaska is a mission field with a huge need and its in our back door. 

Camp AN breaks your heart and changes you. Working with the youth at Camp AN is one of the most challenging things I have ever done but one of the most rewarding. By the end of the week, you have made friends for life and you send them home praying desperately that what God did in them will continue to grow. Once you have been, you can never forget. 

Our team

Lauren and Karen

This particular year was my second year going out to Camp AN. I was going with a group from my college in the lower 48 (continental United States for all you non-Alaskans out there). They were all boys. In the airport on the way to Camp AN, I met two college age girls, Lauren from California and Jessica from Arizona. I got to know these incredible girls over the week of working with them. I got to see their hearts for the Lord, their willingness to serve and their dance skills that are just as good as mine ;). They were goofy and adventurous and fun. In the days that followed at Camp AN, the three of us came together. Being the only girls in a group of eleven college students, we bonded quickly. After heart-breaking goodbyes to the kids, we spent a few days hiking glaciers and falling asleep in Walmart. But more importantly we prayed. I will never forget one day in particular, we had just gotten back to Anchorage after the week at Camp AN was over, the boys were sleeping and we decided to drink tea and have a Bible study. We talked for hours, sharing our hearts, our needs, our fears, our struggles. We all shared from God’s word and prayed for each other, for Alaska, for our futures and for where God was leading us. I still have the notebook pages where I wrote down prayer requests for Lauren and Jessica. 

The Bible time that changed our lives!

When we all left Alaska, ten days after meeting, I knew that I was saying goodbye to some of the dearest, best friends in the world. Little did I know what God had for all of us, together and apart. 


Fast forward a year, Lauren was going to a university in Northern Arizona, Jessica had spent a semester in Spain and was now back in Phoenix and I had gone through a great but tough year and I knew God was leading me somewhere else. We had sort of kept up on Facebook but were all busy with our own lives. Lauren and I were sitting in the same room where the year before all three of us had sat, each of us with new teams that were heading out to Camp AN, even though I wasn’t able to join them. I sent Lauren a text that said “I might be transferring to your college next year”. 

If ever three people were meant to be friends :)

And I did. Although it was nothing that I had planned, I moved to Northern Arizona and transferred to the same university as Lauren (although when I picked that university I had completely forgotten that Lauren went there). In August, I moved to Arizona and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Over this past year, Lauren has become one of my biggest supporters, biggest encouragers and dearest friends. Jessica drove up from Phoenix to visit us shortly before she headed off to spend a semester working with missionaries in Peru, it felt like the three of us had never been apart. Our conversations are always deep, rich, filled with laughter and tears.

Lauren's Send off!

In May, both Jessica and Lauren graduated college, Lauren moved into my apartment and I headed off to Uganda, which was a life long dream fulfilled. I got back from Uganda in August, only days before Lauren headed off to spend a year serving God in Indonesia. The three of us all met in Flagstaff, had a picnic in the rain, took ridiculous pictures and celebrated where God has taken us. We all talked about what He has taught, the prayers He has answered and the dreams He has placed on our hearts. 

Flagstaff Renunion

Jessica and Lauren have become more than friends, they have become my sisters. Through some of the most challenging times of my life, these girls have prayed for me, supported me, encouraged me, blessed me. They have been listening ears, shoulders to cry on and incredible examples of following God’s heart and His leading NO MATTER WHAT. I marvel at God’s goodness and faithfulness. God knew way back then in Alaska that I needed these girls, He knew where I would be, the struggles I would have and I can’t imagine my life without these friends. 
Something I have learned from all of this as well as every other time I have followed God’s heart into the great unknown, whether that has been going to Uganda by myself, changing majors, or changing colleges, is that there is no safer or better or more fulfilling place to be than in the will of God. I’m not saying that is always easy, or even what we want to do but Jesus promises us that HIS burden is easy. Since we first met, I have seen Jessica and Lauren experience joys, victories and triumphs and I have also seen them experience difficulties, disappointments and challenges but they would both agree that God has blessed them abundantly and they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

We are called to die to ourselves and through doing so we gain a life with Christ that is richly blessed. When we give our lives over to God, He blesses it more than we ever could ourselves not because we have earned it but because that is the incredible, lovely God we serve. Why has God blessed our friendship so much? Aside from Him being a loving Father who wants to do good things for us, I think it because all of us have committed everything we have to Him. I know Jessica and Lauren, they have given their hearts, their resources, their time, energy and everything to God. They have literally followed Him around the world and we are all blessed because of it. So, even if it isn’t what I had planned or it doesn’t make sense at the time, I am learning that the BEST and SAFEST place for me to be is in the will of God, even if that looks different than what I thought. God knows what He is doing!

I am so proud of Lauren and Jessica and I cannot wait to see what God has in store in for all of us! I love you guys so much! Thanks for challenging me and blessing my life everyday!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn for me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

"Then He said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Luke 9:23-24

For more information on Camp AN visit www.campanalaska.com

House of Praise

Beautiful smiles

A sea of smiling faces surrounded the car, outstretched arms, the car hadn't even stopped yet. Immediately hands, arms were seized by eager, happy children. Bright yellow and green uniforms contrasted the red dirt. It was a beautiful sight. As soon as the car doors opened we were bombarded with hugs and children fighting to hold our hands, wrists, arms. There were four or five buildings on the ground we now stood, some were finished and some were not. A simple school building, a grass field, women cooking on a charcoal stove. We stood on the grounds of a place affectionately known as House of Praise. 

There were many incredible and inspiring people I
had met while working in Uganda but the story I am  about to retell here by far impacted me the most. House of Praise was named after a young Ugandan woman, Praise. She was full of laughter, smiles, joy. The children all greeted her and called her mommy. I asked her when her story of taking care of children began and this is what she told me. 

The new house being built by International Voice of the Orphan

Praise lost her father at a young age and her mother was not able to care for her so she lived with her grandmother until she was 14 years old. At 14, Praise's grandmother died, living her alone, an orphan. Praise had given her heart to the Lord and was welcomed into the home of a family at her church. Before Praise turned 15 she met her first child, a 9-year-old boy named Stephen who was living on the streets of Kampala, Uganda. Like Praise, Stephen was alone. Praise took him home, cleaned him up, gave him her own clothes to wear. But despite her efforts Praise could find no one willing to care for the boy. Eventually Praise found a place for him to sleep and she herself worked to care for him, his food, his schooling, everything he needed. She fed him from her back window and eventually, Praise was caring for eight more street boys, all who found themselves alone and deserted. 

Such Joy!

The School House

When the family Praise was living with found out she was caring for these children, they kicked her out of the house. Praise and her children moved into a one bedroom house with her mother. Praise continued to work to provide and care for her children and continued to take more and more children in. She cared for them, protected them, loved them. Eventually Praise had twelve children and once again Praise found herself without a home. At 17 years old, she worked enough to find places for them to stay, moving from place to place, trusting and relaying on God to provide. 

Over time the children were adopted, two were adopted by families in the United States and ten were adopted by families in Uganda. And Praise, as she says it, was free, free to make her own choices, to live her own life, to ensure her own future. But God had a different plan for Praise. She had a dream. In her dream a man came to her with two children who were bloodied and beaten, alone and deserted. The man told Praise she needed to take the children. When Praise resisted, he told her that they had no where else to go. The next morning, Praise received a call from the police, when she arrived at the station, Praise saw the very children from her dream, they were bloodied and beaten and they needed Praise. Praise knew then that she had to submit to the plan God had for her and that's what she has been doing ever since.

Loved spending time with these precious kids!

Today Praise is 26 years old and is currently caring for 36 children. She was able to buy property, build a village school and a house. She gives thanks God daily for His grace, His provision, His faithfulness. International Voice of the Orphan is currently building Praise a new home for her children. When you talk to Praise about her story, all she does is thank God, acknowledge His goodness. When I told her she was inspiring, she told me the people who inspire her are the ones who move to Uganda from blessed countries such as America because they have given up so much to come there (talk about humbling). Joy bubbles from this incredible woman who tells stories of sharing her one pair of shoes with Stephen so they could go to school, each wearing one shoe and pretending their other foot was injured. 

One of the things that has stuck with me since meeting Praise and hearing her story was the incredible amount of faith she has, how she has trusted God, how she continues to. I am so grateful to  live in a blessed country but sometimes I think my blessings, my resources, my security get in the way of me really trusting the Lord. 

I think it is no accident that right after delivering His people from Egypt, the Lord brought them to the Red Sea (Exodus 14). There were in a impossible situation in which the ONLY answer was the Lord. They had no other options, He was their only lifeline, their only hope. I began to ask myself if I have ever really been in that situation in my life, where God was my only solution, my only hope. Believe, I am grateful knowing that there is food in the fridge and money in bank account. I am grateful for my house, washing machine, health insurance plan, my job. But I began to wonder if I really knew what it meant to trust God.

Praise, such an inspiring woman!

 See Praise was living a life of faith. God was her only solution, her only option, her only hope. And just like Praise chose to follow God's plan, so can we also. There is a passage in the gospels about the "Rich Young Man" and to me this title could be given to many believers in the United States (granted we may not all be Bill Gates rich but compared to the rest of the world, many of us are fortunate). This young man was devout follower, he practiced all the rituals, he followed all the commandments but when presented with Jesus and what is meant to truly be a follower of Christ, he was given a choice to continue as he was or to "go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor...then come follow me" (Mark 10:21). The man couldn't do it, he turned away with sadness.

We will all encounter this same moment that this young man had. We will come to place of making a choice of learning to trust God or to trust our own resources. I'm not saying we should all quit our jobs, sell everything and live on faith. Living on faith doesn't mean we live irresponsibly but I think that God wants us to come to a place where we are believing for things that are so BIG He is the only possible solution. Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still" (NIV). In the King James Version it says "ye shall hold your peace".  The thing is the Lord wants to fight for us, He wants to be our refuge, He wants to perform miracles on our behalf. Something that God has been showing me is that too often, I get in the way of Him doing that in my life. I call my mom, whip out my credit card and use my resources, blessings and wealth to keep me from seeing God do miracles in my life. 

The Lord performed an incredible miracle for the Israelites, one they never forgot. I think if that young man in the story had done what Jesus had told him, had sold everything, given it to the poor and followed God, he would have seen God do incredible miracles in his own life and the lives of others. Just like this man in the story and just like Praise, we are all going to encounter this moment. The moment we can choose to "only be still" let God fight for us, let God perform miracles, to give up our resources and learn to trust Him and see incredible things. The choice is ours. But this something God has been asking of me. He keeps saying to me, "Hope, are you going to stop doing this on your own now and let me take over? I want you to believe for big things this year because I have big things I wanna do". God wants me and you and all believers to do big things. It may not mean I sell everything, drop out of school and go on the mission field or I start taking in children or I stop using the blessings He has given me. But it might mean I believe that my entire city is going to get saved or I follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and support a missionary even when the budget is tight or I step out and tell someone about Jesus and pray for the sick, knowing that without God I am powerless to change their situation. I'm realizing that sometimes to see God do bigs things in my life means, I've gotta let go, I've gotta go to place past where my resources can provide, I've gotta have faith for things only God can do, I've gotta hold my peace and let God fight for me. 

Few of the many children Praise cares for!