The Warren Family
December 2024 -March 2025
In December, we had a pleasant surprise, as one of the brothers in Christ from Southeast Alaska came and visited us, and again in January. It was encouraging to see some Christians from a different region of Alaska with an entirely different culture, climate, topography, come and visit. The men in the church were greatly affected in a spiritual way by saved men who are not called to preach spending their time and money to come and be an encouragement to our church.
A sad thing happened on New Years Eve: we received news that my mother-in-law, Debbie McGraw, passed away. My wife was able to make it from our Alaskan bush village to Georgia in time for the funeral, thank God, as the weather was terrible all across Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48. She was a fine lady, and I can honestly say, the best mother-in-law a man could have! One of my greatest regrets is that because of the cost of tickets from Saint Mary’s to Georgia, only my wife was able to go down. It would have been $10,000.00 just in tickets for the whole family to go down. Miss Debbie is loved and will be greatly missed. We thank everyone who gave so my wife could fly down, rent a car, buy food, etc.
In January, a young single preacher from Kenai, Alaska, Silas Newbern, came and visited. He was a blessing with his preaching and singing. He is praying about moving out to a bush village to minister, and he visited us in Saint Mary’s, and Bethel Independent Baptist Church, in Bethel, for his first trip to the bush. Pray for him as he seeks God’s will.
Bible Baptist Church of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, sent a work crew up in February, and they were able to remodel and paint several rooms in the church, which was a huge blessing. Bad weather conditions kept us from traveling to other villages to minister, but the spiritual blessing they were in Saint Mary’s with their preaching, singing, and fellowship was a great encouragement during the long dark winter.
Also in February, our sending church, Independent Baptist Church of Anchorage, hosted village missionary wives for a couple of days on the road system for a time of refreshing, encouraging, and spoiling. The church flew them out of the bush, supplied a beautiful place for the ladies to stay; vehicles for them to get around and gather groceries, go to doctors’ appointments, get their hair cut at beauty salons ( No such establishments in villages!) and such; delicious meals; time to spend in fellowship with other ladies. Mrs. Shelly Hamilton was invited to come and speak to the ladies about suicide and dealing with folks with mental issues. Pastor and Mrs. McGovern, and all the folks at the church, worked very hard to make the time special and Rebecca is grateful for the time she had there in Anchorage. One of the highlights of her trip was getting to spend time with her close friend Amanda Forss, her sister Bethany Hale and visiting with Pastor Stan and Miss Betty Roach.
In March, a young couple, Nathan and Jordan Pinnix, flew out and spent a week with us, Nathan is a younger friend of mine, we met when he was 12 and I was 23. We used to hunt, fish and trap together when he was a teenager on my days off before we moved from the road system of Alaska to Saint Mary’s in the bush. When he graduated high school, he visited us in Saint Mary’s for a month. He then left Alaska for several years to attend Bible College in North Carolina, graduated, got married, and then moved back to the road system of Alaska about two years ago. The Pinnix’s are praying about moving specifically to Saint Mary’s, to help teach in the Bible Institute we will be starting, do outreach ministry in other villages up and down the Yukon with Remote Alaska Missions, getting his foot in the door so that when the young men graduate from the Bible Institute, he can help introduce them to souls that he has led to the Lord in other villages, and help them start new churches in other villages in the years to come. We are praying for the Lord’s guidance in this matter, pray for them to be 100% sure the Lord wants them in Saint Mary’s.
In Late March, Jubal and I flew over to the road system to attend a men’s retreat hosted by Bible Baptist Church of Fairbanks. It was a time of spiritual encouragement, and good to be preached to by some older preachers, get reproved, rebuked, and exhorted.
We’ve seen several souls saved during this time and are excited by the spiritual growth of those already saved. God is good. Please pray for all of the loose ends to come together for a Bible Institute to be started in the fall of 2027.
We will be coming down on a furlough in September of this year, and will be reporting to many of our supporting churches that support the four aspects of our ministry: our family, Faith Baptist Church, Remote Alaska Missions ( The outreach to minister in other villages that have no churches, Preaching, passing out Bibles, officiating at funerals and weddings, etcetera.), and our Bible Camp 60 miles downriver for ministering to the kids from the village. We regret we cannot make it to all of our churches in one, or even two furloughs, please be patient with us, and we will do our best to swing by as soon as possible if we do not make it by on this furlough. We have more supporting churches than most missionaries, due to the high cost of living up here. Milk is $20.00 a gallon here now, and gas is $9.00 a gallon, for reference. Our greatest need in preparation for this coming furlough is a vehicle, a 4×4 SUV or crew cab 4×4 pick up that can haul our family of 5 on furlough, and then haul us, a new boat for the Church Bible Camp, and other supplies for the church, back over the Haul Road to Alaska, in the middle of winter. If you know of such a vehicle, please contact me at my phone number 907-438-6446, if you don’t get ahold of me on the first call or text, please keep trying. Because of bad communications out here, I often have no indication someone called, even if you leave a voicemail.
In Christ,
Israel J. Warren
Psalms 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!