Tired and Thankful After 6 Days in Eek

Do you ever feel tired, but not so much in a drained and empty kind of tired? Have you worked hard on a project which you believe to be worthwhile, and when you are finished you are tired, yet thankful for what has been accomplished? I confess that I am currently both tired AND thankful.

A team from St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer returned on Monday, July 17, from the village of Eek, about a 20 minute flight SSW of Bethel. (Eek means “mound.” The village of Eek now exists on it’s second mound along the Eek River, which is a tributary of the Kuskokwim River.) Our team primarily conducted Vacation Bible School July 13-16, 2023. However, we also held evening Bible classes, provided a community picnic, and generally sought to bring the love of Jesus to the children and adults of this village.

In some ways I feel like St. Paul as he wrote to the various churches, rejoicing and thanking God for the faith accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi. “ 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6) (cf. also 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5)

I am not alone in my joy and thanksgiving following our trip to Eek. A total 53 children attended Vacation Bible School July 13-16. We were pleasantly surprised that the children seemed even more attentive this year than in past trips. We again had help with VBS from a number of mothers. But we also had a new addition. Four grandmothers came and watched daily with smiles on their faces as their children and grandchildren learned about Jesus, sang songs of faith, and worked on crafts which reinforced the Bible stories. I learned the names of Bessie, and Edith, and Martha, and Xenia, and truly enjoyed sitting and asking these elders questions when I had time. (I also slipped them extra snacks.) This is our 6th year of sharing stories about Jesus, and it was our 3rd trip to Eek. We missed 3 years because of COVID. To have such a response from the children, after being kept out of the village for 3 years, warmed the hearts of all on our team.

Yet, there was another blessing in addition to the children of Vacation Bible School. In the past we have also offered an opportunity for growth to the adults of the village. We held evening Bible classes in the church. Previously I do not remember more than 3 members of the village attending class at one time. This year we rejoiced as 8-10 adults attended class on Thursday evening, and 10 people attended on Friday, and 15 came to the class and participated on Saturday. The adults read God’s word, asked questions, and kept coming to class, and bringing others. In Bible Class on Friday night, as we studied about prayer, I shared with those attending that I have been praying daily for the people, and the village, and the church in Eek since we were first there in 2018. Seeing the response of the adults coming to evening classes was like seeing a resounding answer to prayer, an obvious reason for thanks and joy.

In addition, we saw a larger participation in two worship services on Sunday. And, not only did VBS children sing in the evening English worship service as we had requested, but some children also came up and sang two more times in both morning Yupik worship and the evening service. I watched delight on the faces of their parents and grandparents.

It was not our efforts which caused this response of faith. It is God who BEGINS the good work and God who BRINGS IT TO COMPLETION. “ 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” But, as our time in Eek ended, we saw both children and adults responding to God’s love in Jesus.

Sometimes it is good to be tired. What a joy to see our Lord bring the love of Jesus to others through the efforts of our hands!