Chickaloon sits in a beautiful valley among the Talkeetna Mountains and is by far the most fun village name to say. Founded by Chief Chiklu and is still called the native name Nay'dini'aa Na' in the village constitution. Chickaloon is home to the Chickaloon Retreat Center which looks like a nice place to book your next church retreat. It's also near Kings Ranch where Kindom Air Corp is training the next generation of missionary pilots.

Chignik is way out there where the Aleutian Chain begins and is home to a Trident Seafood facility, one of the largest seafood companies in the world. Benny Benson, the designer of the Alaska State flag at just 14 years old was born in Chignik. It's also the birthplace of "The Singing Fisherman" known for his country style gospel music.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Chenega Bay is located in Sawmill Bay on Evan's Island. What's up with that? The reason is fascinating. This area has been home to the Alutiiq people whom Captain Cook encountered in 1778, and later a scoundrel named Ivan Petroff was the first to mention a village here in the 1880 census. The 1964 earthquake created a tsunami that killed a third of the village population, an unbelievable tragedy. Then in 1989 the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster devastated the fishing economy of Chenega Bay. Yet a beautiful blue orthodox church resides here and it appears that the Orthodox Church has been the most prominent faith in this place for a very long time.

Chevak is the moving village as it has been moved twice in it's history because of flooding. The people of Chevak call themselves Cup'ik, a slight variation of Yup'ik and many residents still speak this language. A very blue Catholic Church resides in Chevak and Catholicism seems to be the prominent faith in Chevak.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Chase is a sparsely populated village near Talkeetna, AK with just 19 residents sharing nearly 100 square miles of land. If you are interested in a life of isolation, you might want to check out Chase, AK.

Chefornak was founded in the early 1950s by Alexie Amagiqchik who wanted to find higher ground to live on. The village is located inside a large wildlife refuge to protect waterfowl nesting grounds of many interesting birds. St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church has make this village a mostly Catholic community, but who was St. Catherine of Siena? We go down that bunny trail for a bit. Also, is the nearby Tern Mountain a mountain?

Thanks for listening as we get to know our state one village at a time!

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

The word "Aarigaa" means "it is good" in Inupiaq, and the Aarigaa House fills a massive need for Alaskan youth to transfer well from village life to university life while being discipled in a life giving community home.

Karl and Simone Thistle facilitate the home and invest themselves in the residents of the Aarigaa House. Each resident has a unique story with wounds and challenges to overcome, and the Aarigaa House is a place where they can unravel the layers of life's hardships one at a time.

Check out the Aarigaa House website here:

https://www.cyak.org/aarigaa-house.html

To financially support Karl and Simone click here:

https://forms.donorsnap.com/form?id=93ee73e8-0417-4da2-b2fe-f8392f2b4328

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Steve and Jill Horsman are the Field Directors of InterAct Ministries of Alaska and I had a great time speaking with them about the history of InterAct as well as a wide range of topics wherever the wind took us. The wind took us to the richness of risking a missionary life, the gospel, volcanoes, native languages, native oral histories, and more!

InterAct has been working in Alaska, Canada, and Russia for 70 years and has played a heavy hand in founding many ministries such as Victory Bible Camp, Lazy Mountain Church, Wasilla Bible Church, Tanalian Bible Camp, Kako Retreat Center, Kokrine Hills Bible Camp, and more!

Check out their website at: ⁠interactministries.org⁠

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Central, like many other villages, started as an outpost for gold miners at the turn of the century. It is the location of the midway point for the Yukon Quest Race which happens every year in February at the Steese Roadhouse. You can also check out the Circle District Museum which holds artifacts from the gold rush days and the first printing press north of Juneau on which the first Alaska newspaper of the interior was printed.

Chalkyitsik means "Fish with a hook, at the mouth of the creek" in the Gwich'in language. It started 70 miles upriver when William Salmon built a home in 1901 and called it Salmon Village. When a boat carrying building materials for a school at Salmon village made it's way up the river, it only made it to today's site for the village where the school building was built and the village sprung from there. William Salmon's son, David Salmon became the chief of Chalkyitsik and "First Traditional Chief of the Gwich'in people." David became an Episcopal preacher spending most of his life sharing the gospel in the language of his people in Chalkyitsik and the surrounding area. He has also advocated for education and preserving the traditional ways of the Athabascan people. What a legacy!

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Jeffrey and his wife Moriah are the founders of Genesis Coffee Lab based in Wasilla, AK. Jeffrey shares how he went from growing up in an alcoholic home to a gang member in Los Angeles to a dedicated follower of Jesus and tentmaker for the gospel in Alaska and Ethiopia. His passion for the transformational power of the gospel is evident in his testimony. Be sure to check out genesiscoffeelab.com and buy the best coffee roasted in Alaska according to Food and Wine Magazine which will support efforts for schools, pro-life efforts, and churches in Ethiopia.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Butte was originally named Bodenburg Butte name after John Bodenburg, the first modern settler of the site in 1917. It's most known for the geological formation called a butte which is a popular hike with spectacular views. If you have seen YouTube videos of Alaska adventures it's very likely it was filmed near Butte because it's located next to the Knik Arm, a very popular outdoor adventure area.

Cantwell started out as a railroad stop and became a community when the fur trade dried up and work was found at the railroad. Cantwell was named after a military explorer who explored Alaska in the late 19th century. It's the place where the popular 2007 movie "Into the Wild" was filmed and home to an iconic igloo building where tourists stop for selfies. Be sure to stop by Cantwell Bible Church. I met the pastor there recently and he is a down to earth, easy to talk to guy.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Elishaba is the eldest daughter of the infamous "Papa Pilgrim," a man who raped Elishaba and abused her other 14 siblings in the wilderness of New Mexico and Alaska for a decade. Elishaba goes in depth of how she was able to forgive her father of what most would consider unforgivable, and how she continues to be a follower of Jesus when Christianity was used by her father as a tool to keep his family under his thumb. In 2022 she released a book "Out of the Wilderness: Escaping My Father's Prison and My Journey to Forgiveness" which tells her story, and she discusses the challenges from her siblings not wanting the book published as the wickedness of her father are still having ripple effects today even though he died in prison years ago. Elishaba has recently defeated stage 4 brain cancer, and went through a nasty divorce. She discusses her ongoing pursuit of forgiveness while grappling with the hurt she continues to endure.

Check out Elishaba's website:

www.outofthewildernessbook.com

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

It's not the bears or the moose, it's the mosquitoes.! The airplane ride to the camp is not so scary, but full of beautiful views. You go to serve and help others and you end up being the one who changes. Learning that the "bad kids" may be testing your sincerity of whether you really love them or if you are there for some other reason (social media attention?) . Does sleep even happen?

Rosy, Angela, and Audrey have served at Kokrine Hills Bible Camp as counselors for multiple years. The counselor's job is by far the most challenging and they share how doing this every year has shaped their lives and even their future plans. The camp experience matured them as their faith faced real world realities. Doing hard things become the best things you ever do. So check out the camp website and sign up to volunteer here:

www.kokrinehills.org

Contact the show at [email protected]

TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield