Awaken!

WASILLA — They swayed, they prayed and they stayed for the duration of a 15-hour conference designed to help spread God’s love this Easter season.

More than 400 Christian women from 34 Valley churches gathered at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center Friday night and Saturday for the Awaken women’s conference, organized by Northgate Alaska Church and lead by missionaries from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo.

“It is not an accident that the Lord’s gathered 400-plus women from more than 25 churches in the Valley,” featured speaker Kelsey Bohlender, a Kansas City mother of seven, told the crowd Saturday. “Do you know how unheard of this is? I don’t know of anywhere else this happens. God is doing something in this Valley and you are a part of it.”

Bohlender said she was especially amused by an icebreaker activity Friday night where a woman dressed as Cinderella helped educate her about Alaska women.

During the exercise meant to provide a feeling of unity for those gathered, the Cinderella character asked women to stand and swap seats if they owned at least one pair of Dansko shoes, and several women did.

Another group stood and switched seats if they were on the road kill list. She told the others to note those on the road kill list so that they could avoid going to their homes for dinner.

“The killer one — no pun intended — was when she asked who’s packing heat and probably 10 people stood up,” conference participant Stephanie Tinney said with a laugh. “Really? Isn’t there some sort of concealed weapons rule around here?”

Tinney, of Northgate, said Cinderella returned Saturday morning and went through a list of special Alaska fragrances that would be sure to appeal to local men: meat and potatoes, snowmachine exhaust, campfire and cigar.

“She asked if anyone smoked cigars and two women stood up,” Tinney added. “It was really funny.”

Overall, however, the conference was marked by deep self-reflection, soothing music from Northgate’s worship team band, prayerful moments and the fellowship that naturally blossoms among those gathered for the same purpose.

“The Wasilla sports complex was filled with the sweet presence of the Lord all weekend as women from a broad church spectrum came together with a common heart of love for Jesus and a common goal to praise and exalt Jesus and to see the goodness and love of God poured out in our Valley,” Northgate Women’s Ministry Leader Marla Rowland said Monday.

Rowland was one of 30 ministry team members whom Bohlender asked to walk among the 40 tables and find out if there were any specific needs of those at the tables.

One of those ministers, Jill Ahern, was drawn to new Northgate member Terra Stanley. With a large Bible in one hand and Stanley’s hand in the other, she helped Stanley realize God’s here for her to help her start her new life.

“I just got out of jail and am just trying to put my life back together,” the tearful 34-year-old mother said. “It’s been a pretty intense thing, but I’m doing great for my kids now.”

Ahern assured her she understands her struggles and said she already feels so close to her.

“She’s like a daughter to me and we’ve just met,” Ahern said. “It’s just God’s holy spirit moving between us.”

At the table next to them, Teagon Potter nuzzled her 3-week-old baby, Blake, as her mother, Stacy Hecker, dabbed her eyes. Hecker said they were tears of joy, as she was feeling grateful for being able to share the event with her two daughters and other family members.

Asked which of the conference’s messages hit home for her, she replied, “All of it.”

Before Bohlender began her session Saturday on “Awakening to the Voice of God,” Northgate minister Brenda Hotchkiss reminded the crowd that the purpose of the conference is to give them tips on how to focus their spiritual energies in ways that will spread love to the community.

“We bring beauty and light and authority to where we are,” Hotchkiss said. “Some of you are like me and you work in a very public place with people who are very ungodly, and sometimes I lose my focus. But I’m here to remind you that you are each a gorgeous lily and I just think you’re awesome. And so does God.”

Bohlender then went over the importance of realizing that God is trying to communicate with them all the time. They just need to learn how to listen.

“There’s no big secret on how to hear the voice of God,” Bohlender said. “It’s Christianity 101, really. We just need some reminders of how to remove the hindrances so that we can be open to him. We want to hear him when he thunders and when he whispers. We want to hear him in all ways.”

Bohlender, whose seven children are all under the age of 4, told them they need to find some quiet time each day to communicate with God. She acknowledged that some of them might need to clear a path in their lives to make that happen.

“All of us need different things from the lord today,” she said. “Some need help with sin. There’s no shame in that. Some of us just need to know God can speak to you. Some need to get rid of the clutter so that you can give yourself to Him.”

As she spoke, three artists from the local organization Art is Worship and the new Doodles Art Studio in Wasilla worked quietly on a large painting in the corner of the room.

Known as a “prophetic painting” because it’s inspired by visions obtained from the speaker’s words, it depicted Jesus floating over a lifelike rendition of The Sleeping Lady, or Mount Susitna, as if communicating with her through prayer.

“It’s a visual form of worship,” artist Jamie Bottoms explained during the dinner break as she added highlights to Jesus’ hair. “This conference has been so inspiring. There’s no way you can leave here afterward and not feel a renewed sense of connection to the spirit and each other.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.