The Warren Family

     Our last prayer letter talked about fishing nets, and applied that topic spiritually to winning souls. Despite the COVID-19, we have continued ministering to the community of Saint Mary’s keeping our net out. A young 18-year-old man named William came to me for counseling in December, having questions about his purpose in life, and after much Scripture being read and many prayers, was saved on January 1st! Praise God! Please pray for William’s discipleship and growth in the Lord. We are glad to be here to witness to people in their time of need: keep your nets out! 

     We are planning on taking a furlough to report to supporting churches September through December of 2021. I will also be having my left knee looked at, as it is still giving me trouble. Pray for wisdom in planning this endeavor, as the Corona Virus has greatly restricted traveling, especially amongst Bush Villages and while traveling through Canada. We usually fly to the Lower 48, buy a vehicle for traveling to churches, and then drive back to Alaska with supplies that are hard to procure in Alaska. Driving back through Canada is a big question mark right now, with the regulations always changing. Sometimes only one person is allowed to drive through per vehicle, and the rest of the family has to fly back to Alaska. Another issue is that after I began scheduling meetings, our village passed a resolution that prohibits nonresidents from flying out here until January 2022, so the preacher and his wife that are scheduled to fly out and hold down the fort for us will not be able to. We cannot leave the pulpit unfilled for three months, so if they do not make an exception for church, we will have to reschedule our furlough. Please pray for the village council and city office to allow the couple to travel out here so we can go on our furlough.  

     As the year of our Lord 2021 is before us, pray for God’s will to be accomplished here in the ministry in Saint Mary’s. After seeking God’s counsel, we have made plans for this year. In addition to the business as usual, preaching and ministering to souls, getting firewood and food put up for the winter, etc., we have two goals before we head out on furlough in September: the first goal is to begin making preparations to begin a youth camp on the Yukon River; the second is to get some modifications done to the churches boat. With COVID-19 restrictions preventing work crews from coming out, and hampering traveling to other villages to minister, we have determined to use 2021 to prepare for 2022, praying that the Corona Virus will be gone by 2022 so we can continue ministering in other villages that do not have churches with the Remote Alaska Missions (RAM), and begin a youth camp. 

     I will be trying to clear some land to at least pitch wall tents on for a start to a youth camp, and, in years to come, build some cabins on.  This will entail making several 120-mile round trips by boat on the Yukon River, so pray for safety. Pray for wisdom while selecting a site for the future youth camp, I need to make sure it is above the high-water mark, and out of the prevailing winds. I will start gathering a few canvas wall tents and wood stoves to get the camp started, and materials to start building cabins. 

      The other goal is to modify the church’s boat to make it safer for RAM trips to other villages to minister, and to carry children to and from the youth camp. I want to build a cabin on the boat, so any passengers will not have to be exposed to the elements for hours during rides to and from the youth camp, and to other villages to minister. I expect men to tough it out while driving 30mph in rain, sleet, and snow, with temperatures that can change from 80 degrees to 30 degrees in the space of an hour, but I would like to keep women and children out of the weather.  I also would like to install a depth finder and a bilge pump, the bilge pump to help keep the boat from sinking in the event of a leak or heavy rains, and a depth finder to keep us from slamming into gravel and sand bars on the ever-changing Yukon River with its murky, silt choked waters. 

     We are grateful for the boxes of food that were sent to us in the last two months, it was a huge blessing to see boxes at the post office and airport! We are also grateful for the extra funds sent to help pay off the church property, it is amazing to see God get the asking price of $500,000.00 down to $250,000.00, and then even lower to $190,000.00, and after closing on it at $190,000.00, in four short years God has provided the funds to get it down to $126,000.00! Praise God! 

 In Christ,                                                                                                                                                                                            Israel J. Warren                                                                                                                                                                                Psalm 34:6 

Contact Info:
The Warrens Cell: 907-438-6446 Email: north2sitka@gmail.com Mailing Address: PO Box 143 Saint Mary’s, AK 99658
Sending Church: Ind. Bap. Church of Anchorage, 1801 E. 68th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-562-3004
Support Address: Faith Baptist Church c/o M.A.J.D. (include missionary’s name in note on check) PO Box 329 Cropwell, AL 35054 Phone: 205-365-3165
NOTE: Please send any personal correspondence, such as cards and letters, directly to our PO Box. Thank you!