November is Make a Missional Move Month for PbYukon

At least this seems to be the case as I look at the activity this month across the presbytery. Two moves in particular need to be mentioned.

On Oct 22 the Rev. Tosu Sinkaman arrived in Anchorage from our partner, the Tayal Presbytery in Taiwan. His arrival was an answer to prayer. Originally scheduled to arrive in mid-August, Rev. Tosu was turned back at the border when he landed in Seattle! After a gueling 13-hour flight, he had to re-board the airplane immediately and go home. Although the customs service never admitted a mistake, Rev. Tosu arrived in October with the same credentials and the same stated mission as before. VERY FRUSTRATING.

What made the difference was some guidance from the PC(USA) office in Louisville, helping us explain our side of the story, and preparing the Seattle customs service in advance. Many thanks to Julia Thorne from the Immigrant Ministries office in Louisville!

Rev. Tosu has been a missionary in Japan and a previous presbytery moderator. We are honored to have a pastor of such stature among us. He will be traveling throughout our presbytery until Dec. 19, visiting many of our village churches and telling the story of God's work among the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Hearing of the struggles and the acts of God among other Native peoples may prove particularly helpful for us as we are thinking about vision and mission in the villages of our presbytery.

The second major movement is the next Acts 16:5 training, taking place this weekend, Nov. 18-19 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Anchorage. Once again, Stann Ott will be with us to lead the training. Those churches that chose to participate in the Acts 16:5 initiative are sending members of their leadership teams to Trinity to participate in the workshops. The participants are also discussing the possibility of meeting regularly by internet to share ideas and encouragement.

Because the presbytery is helping to fund the training, we will receive DVDs and extra training books to share with any other interested congregations in our presbytery. If the pastor or session from any church in the presbytery is interested in receiving any of these resources, or of learning more about the regular “internet Stan Ott

meetings,” they can contact the presbytery office.