We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19

Today's "red sky at morning" in "downtown" Soldotna. The days are getting colder and the sun is rising later. I took this picture at 9am.

Jumping into the River

“He who jumps into a deep river will be carried away by it.”

OK, I will admit that I just made that proverb up ... but, that is how I feel about trying to bring you up to speed with our work in the Kenai Peninsula. I have been negligent in keeping you informed throughout the summer and I regret this! I trust; however, that you have kept Redeemer in your prayers none-the-less.

Summer on the Kenai Peninsula

We discovered for ourselves that the Peninsula is a very different place in the Summer! People are going full speed - and for longer periods of time. Even though the longest day of the summer granted us 19 full daylight hours (not including sunrise and sunset hours), we experienced the desperate rush to tackle every project, catch as many fish as possible, savor every natural wonder, enjoy every moment of sun … knowing that the darkness was coming. On top of this, the Peninsula (which boasts the title of Alaska’s playground) grows to more than double its typical size as Alaskans and folks from “outside” arrive to fish, camp, and explore.

Mom and Dad enjoying a few hours with Katherine at the Soldotna City Park

A Summer Tragedy

Many of you are aware that Redeemer witnessed a great tragedy in July when the teenage son of one of our families passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Nothing has been uncovered to make the young man’s intentions clear, which only makes the grief greater. We continue to mourn with the family and ask that you to pray for a sense of God’s presence and goodness in midst of their grief - and that Redeemer might have opportunities to demonstrate God’s love in concrete ways.

Launch

Throughout the summer, Redeemer worshiped twice a month and held Bible studies on the remaining Sundays. As summer stretched on, our worship services were regularly hovering around fifty people – the ideal number for launching to weekly worship. In gratefulness to the Lord, we made this transition to weekly worship on October 9^th As I write this update, we are closing out our first month of weekly worship.

Fall on the Peninsula

As Fall descended upon us, we said goodbye to a few summer residents who returned to their winter refuges and we witnessed the slackening flow of visitors. Although this impacted our weekly numbers, we continue to enjoy occasional visitors and anticipate a slow but steady growth. We were blessed with a new family regularly attending this month and anticipate another new family joining us next month. Additionally, Redeemer will gain a new member next Sunday when a recent college graduate takes her membership vows in the worship service. This new member discovered us this summer and said that she knew Redeemer would be her church home from her very first visit.

The family flying home from Port Alsworth - a village across the Cook Inlet.

Faithfulness in Winter:

As Winter approaches (we have already had our first snow and are experiencing morning temperatures in the teens) we put our confidence in God while we strive to be faithful to our part of His Kingdom building project. I find myself meditating on Psalm 127 several times a week. There we read: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. In our current season, applying Psalm 127 means giving ourselves over to the work of prayer, doing “whatever our hand finds to do”, and then resting confidently in God’s mighty hand. To that end, Redeemer families seek to:

apply our service and gifts to the goal of making weekly meetings a time of reverent, joyful worship, clear gospel proclamation, and warm gospel hospitality.
engage one another and invite our community to family events such as the upcoming Reformation Day Celebration or the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. We had over eighty people attend the Christmas Eve Service last year and I have already had a community inquiry about this year's event.
pursue gospel hospitality, extending invitations in as many avenues as we can. One unique opportunity we ventured into was radio. Click here to hear our radio invitation that is playing on five Kenai stations three times a day, three days a week, for three months).

Thank you for your prayers & support of Redeemer Presbyterian Church!
Blessings in Christ Jesus - Andrew, Amy & Katherine Allen

Pray for

Praise to the Lord for one month of weekly worship services!

Faithful service through the winter months.

The Nelson Family as they continue to grieve the death of their son.

The fruits of the gospel in our membership (love for one another) and in our community (new believers).

The Lord's blessing on our three month radio invitation.

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