Dear Friends,

We face a new year with new challenges as we follow our Lord.  Last year was filled with adventures and opportunities to serve the Savior in so many ways.  Thank you for praying for us as we traveled God’s path for us.  Here are some highlights from some of our email updates since our last prayer letter:

May 15^th: After many hours and three plane flights we arrived late on April 23rd in Fairbanks, Alaska.  The Lord brought us and our luggage through with no serious issues….  Upon arriving in Fort Yukon, the ground was covered with snow with some very deep drifts.  If you stepped off the areas people were walking, you could sink into the cold wet stuff up to your knees (or higher).  The temperature each day would range between 0 and 35 degrees with a couple of mornings below 0 (slightly).  It snowed several times in the first few days….  The big excitement that everyone is talking about around here is the ice breakup of the Yukon River….  Flooding may occur when it does breakup…. For the first couple of days we were here, we worked through many details with David and Heidi Craig, the missionaries that we are taking over responsibilities from (while they report back to churches and have their daughter’s wedding in “the lower 48 states.”)….  The people here are highly intelligent in so many ways.  We have had challenging conversations where deep biblical truths are explored and understood.  However, alcohol and drugs are taking their toll on the lives here, including many children who are born with alcohol syndrome.  There is a sense for some people of feeling trapped with no solutions.  The human need is great and somewhat desperate at times.  With all that said, the believers here are opening up to us more each day, and we are starting to enjoy a special warmth of fellowship among them.  They are becoming very special to us….

May 22^nd: We would appreciate your prayers for us and the people of Fort Yukon.  We are under a serious flood warning regarding the breakup of the Yukon River.  We already have flooding in some of the lower areas of the village with more flooding expected.  There is already some evacuation to higher ground happening.  Electricity may be shut off if the public generator is flooded.  We currently have people staying in the church building here.  The church and home where we are staying are on high ground.  We believe we probably will not be flooded, but we will possibly be involved in helping in the evacuating of others in an emergency situation….

May 28^th: On Sunday morning, during Memorial Day weekend, my dad, Iley Rogers, went home to Heaven.  He was ninety years old.  His home going was just over five months from when mom entered Heaven on Christmas morning….  Dad is enjoying the Savior, experiencing the presence of God.  He has had the joy of seeing Mom again as well as brothers, his sister, and others in the family….When my sister, Judy, called on Sunday morning to let me know that Dad had gone to Heaven, we discussed the funeral.  We both recognized that I would not be attending.  Years ago, when I first started traveling to various places around the world, my parents shared with me that they did not want me to leave any ministry for a funeral if it would be a detriment to that ministry.  After talking with Judy, Beabea and I also discussed if we should leave Fort Yukon with five more weeks left to minister here….  If we left now, it would be difficult financially to return and finish our time here.  Beabea has graciously left it up to me, and I am convinced that we are where God would have us be as we serve in this village above the Arctic Circle….  We have no peace to leave early.  I know with all my heart that my parents would not want me to do so….  What’s happening in Fort Yukon?  Many of you have been praying for the ice breakup on the Yukon River.  There was some flooding in the village, but it didn’t come near us….  There is a positive feeling in the village that God protected them, and that is an open door for us.  We had a special Wednesday Prayer Service where we discussed together why bad things happen and what does God’s Word teach.

June 24^th: Greetings from the frozen north that is now about 85 degrees and feeling very warm….  It is now daylight with the sun in the sky 24 hours a day in Fort Yukon….  Beabea and I have enjoyed getting to know the people of the village.  It is such a privilege to be a part of their lives.  The issues they face are very challenging.  In the midst of the hardship we have observed the love of the people in the little church here.  We have been involved in many activities including preaching and teaching four times a week….  It is difficult to believe that our time is drawing to a close.  We will truly depart with mixed emotions.  We don’t deny that it will be good to get home….  Yet, there will be sadness in departing.  We have truly come to love the people of Fort Yukon, Alaska.  We desire that you continue to pray for these precious ones above the Arctic Circle…. 

July 29^th: We arrived home in Indiana from Alaska on July 9th. What a challenging encouraging time we had with the precious people in the Alaskan Native village of Fort Yukon.  We had the privilege of ministering to others, but we learned so much from those we sought to serve.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ who live the village continue to be in our prayers…. I fly to Utah on Wednesday, July 31st and will be there for about 2 ½ weeks to spend time with Daniel and Aja Long.  Daniel is the missionary I worked with last year who started a church in Orem, Utah.  It will be great to see them both again and discuss what the Lord has been doing this year.  Pray for me that I will be an encouragement to them during the time I am there….

October 10^th: I am preparing to leave tomorrow for Iowa where I will be speaking in a couple of churches.  I will have the privilege of teaching the Biblical Relationship Conference at my daughter and son-in-laws church.  This means I will be forced to spend some time with my grandchildren while there!  May my life be filled with such responsibilities!!  Not only will I be enjoying Laurie and Garrett, but I will get to meet for the first time a new granddaughter!  On September 28, 2013 Morgan Lilly Tjapkes was born.  She was a week early, but Christy and Morgan are doing great with no real complications….

December 3^rd: This thanksgiving we have had so many reasons to be thankful and a lot the reasons are tied to grandchildren!  On November 18^th, our daughter-in-law, Jessica, gave birth to our fourth grandchild, Isaiah Thomas Rogers….  Isaiah is our son’s (Jeremiah) first child, and he (Isaiah) fits right in to our family for he is as good looking as the rest of our grandchildren…. I continue to speak each week at First Baptist Church in Russiaville, Indiana.  Our pastor continues on a sabbatical for health reasons.  We would all appreciate your prayers for him and his family.  I will be speaking at First Baptist through the end of December, and then I head out to Utah for January, Alaska in February, and Kansas in March….  Obviously, I desire your prayers for safety in travel as well as being sensitive to the ministry opportunities that are before me.  Also, please be in prayer for Beabea who will not be traveling with me during these trips.  She is staying home and working her caregiver job to help us with our financial needs.  The Lord continues to supply, but we are seeking to be good stewards of what God is giving to us.

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Finally, we want to let you know that in the future we will be sending our email updates as our primary means of communication.  Many missionaries are doing this to save on mailing costs.  In fact many missionaries are going to email updates 100 % of the time.  However, we will still be sending out a paper newsletter twice a year for several reasons.  One of the reasons is there are still quite a few people who do not use email.  Our twice a year newsletter will be a review of our email updates for that period plus any current information that needs sharing.  A second reason for the newsletter is to maintain contact with people who are praying for us who may change their email address but fail to update us.  Each time we send out the newsletter one or more people send us an updated email address because the newsletter brought their attention to the fact they had not done so.  We have had several individuals and churches tell us to feel free to remove their names from the paper newsletter list to save money.  We appreciate their thoughtfulness, but again the paper newsletter helps us maintain contact.  It also helps to know when people move from one area to another.  That gives us the occasional opportunity to get together with those who pray for us as we travel.  Another means of keeping updated on what we are doing in ministry is through our website (see below) where all our updates are available.  If there is anyone who is not receiving our email updates and would like to do so, please send us an email with the email address you would like our updates to go to.  Our email address is jtrbem@gmail.com and we will add you to our email updates.

Looking forward to serving God in 2014 – Not always understanding, but knowing the One who does!

John (and Beabea) Rogers

jtrbem@gmail.com

Commissioning Church: Shepherd Road Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1054, Mulberry, FL  33860

Barnabas Enrichment Ministries
P.O. Box 229
Elkhart, IN 46515-0229

(765) 667-2532

www.barnabasenrichmentministries.org

Please send all financial gifts to Barnabas Enrichment Ministries with a note designating the gift for the ministry of John & Beabea Rogers.