Alaska / WED ###.## Update

[Justbecause5]

There is power and prayer (James 5:16)!

An old preacher friend of mine once told me that depression is like having concrete in your shoes! So true.

In 2019, my family and I moved to Alaska to work with the church. In the summer of 2022, our contract was complete. I secured a teaching job back in our home state of Texas.

My wife and daughter were going overseas to visit family. My two boys and I flew to Texas to begin our new job and to set up our home for our family.

My wife canceled her trip. She went to court and took advantage of the fact that I was 5000 miles away. Her lawyer lied in court and made it seem like I stole the boys which was a lie. So the judge gave her permission to go get them. She did.

The day my wife took my boys was the saddest day of my life. Just thinking about it right now makes me want to cry. I drove over 200 miles that day back to my dad’s house, crying and shaking and almost running head on into the cars.

I’m guessing I’ve said well over 100,000 prayers concerning my wife and children (Luke 18:1ff). I could barely function as a teacher every day, I saw my boys in my mind’s eye. Their little backpacks were stuck underneath my desk. Every day I saw them, and it made me want to cry.

I pleaded with God to take me back to Alaska. Finally, on August 19, 2024, God provided a first class ticket from California to Alaska. I moved to Alaska with no place to live and no car to drive. I did have a job at the school Teaching science and coaching basketball.

The pain that I have endured over the last year has almost been unbearable. I can barely function. So many bad things have happened to me. I feel exactly like Job!

Today, I was able to accomplish a few things that I have been hoping to accomplish for some time. They seem trivial, but not to me because I have suffered so much with depression that has debilitated me.

Today:

1. I filed my taxes for the first time since my wife left me. It was painful to look at old information. Thank God I only owed $41.

2. I registered my vehicle. Again, it seems so trivial, but not to me. There are days I can barely get out of bed.


I am so thankful to God for the strength he gave me to go get those two things done today. I am so thankful to God!!


I truly loved my wife (Eph 5:25). She was working in Hong Kong for very low wages. Her daughter was hundreds of miles away, being raised by her mom.

My wife and I met. I encouraged her to go home to be a mom to her daughter. I agreed to send her at least $200 every month. She had a place to live at her sister‘s house with utilities. The $200 was more than enough. If she needed anything extra I sent it.

Due to paperwork, the normally six month process took nearly 2 years. I paid for all the paperwork and necessary transportation that had to be made to undergo testing and interviews. In the end, I spent probably $10,000.

My wife came to the United States and I became a father to her daughter. Soon after, my wife and I added two sons.

When my wife was pregnant, I went to every single doctor visit with her. She could not drive. She could not deal with the insurance companies. I dealt with everything including working to full-time jobs.

When my wife was sick with a UTI on many occasions, I was right there with her, trying to help her get better. When she had serious dental issues, I was trying to figure out ways to fix the problem and pay for it when she had kidney stones, my quick thinking saved her $100,000.

I truly loved my wife.


Since I’ve been in Alaska, I have suffered greatly. Words cannot describe.

I lost my teaching job on November 20 due to no fault of my own. Before the first year was over I lost three other jobs. They were really good paying jobs too.

I lived in the shelter 4.5 months. Why did I live there? Because I moved back to Alaska, hoping for reconciliation.

I lived in the back of my van for 28 nights. It was a miserable living in a parking lot and climbing back in the van when it was daylight 24 hours a day. The mosquitoes were relentless.

I’m now living in the basement of an apartment that I had previously rented. Now, I must move out by November 1. I will be homeless in Alaska.

I am scared.

I would be lying if I said that I was not. However, I am confident that God will do something.

God gave me the strength today to go get my registration done and to do my taxes. Thank you, God for helping me get those things done.

God has helped me in doing gig work. I can now make a full-time salary. It’s not easy and I’m tired at the end of the day but at this point money is crucial to my situation.


Dear friends… Thank you for praying. I always give the update because I know others may read it. I don’t know about my situation.

My pain is so overwhelming. I can barely sit up in my chair. I am not suicidal, but if God would take me now, I would gladly go if God would exchange my life for the life of someone else, maybe a child I would exchange it right now if God would send a large chariot to come get me, I would gladly get on board.

Please, please please please God help me

Honestly, I cannot believe I’m still alive. I thought for sure I would succumb to some type of situation.

On December 29, 2024, I went up to a mountain top to worship God. I knew the sunset was gonna be beautiful and it would land right behind Mount Denali.

I got out of my vehicle and it was -23°F to take a video of the sun. I got locked out of my vehicle. I honestly believe God spared my life that day. There was nobody there.

I ran to the bottom of the hill about a little less than half a mile. I could not feel my face, my fingers are my ears or my nose. I was freezing too beautiful women at the bottom of the hill probably in their late 20s made the decision to come up and help me.

I lived. I estimate that within an hour I would’ve been dead. God spared my life on a mountain top with nobody up there.


I have read the psalms, probably 30 times in the last two years. I read all the psalms a few days ago on my birthday. That’s the second time I’ve done that. It’s an incredible experience to read all the psalms in one day highly recommend it.

Thank you for praying for me

Please pray

Marital reconciliation
Family reconciliation
A great job
Strength
A great place to live

I am a very forgiving person. I’ve always been that way. I would forgive my wife fully in completely if she would simply soften her heart and restore our family.

With each passing day, it seems almost impossible. I am utterly exhausted. God, please help me.

 

[Articles]

We lift you up before the Father in heaven, dear brother, and we are deeply grieved by the suffering you have endured—suffering that echoes the trials of Job yet is marked by the faithfulness of a heart that clings to God even in the darkest valleys. Your pain is seen by the Lord, and He has not forgotten you. The psalmist cries out in Psalm 34:18, *"Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit."* You have walked through fires that would break many, yet you stand, and that is a testament to the strength Christ provides in weakness.

We rejoice with you in the small victories God has granted—filing your taxes, registering your vehicle—these are not trivial in His eyes. They are evidence of His sustaining grace, even when the weight of depression feels like concrete in your shoes. You have said yourself that God gave you strength for these tasks, and we declare with you that He is faithful. *"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."* (2 Corinthians 12:9). Your weakness is the very place where His power rests upon you.

Yet we must also speak truth into the despair that whispers hopelessness. You have said, *"If God would take me now, I would gladly go..."* But brother, your life is not your own—it was bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). The Lord has spared you, not just on that mountain in the biting cold, but repeatedly, because He has a purpose for you. You are not here by accident. The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), but Christ came that you might have life abundantly. Do not let weariness blind you to the truth that your story is not over. The God who shut the mouths of lions for Daniel and provided manna in the wilderness is the same God who holds your future.

We also address the deep wound of your marriage and family. You have loved your wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25), sacrificially and selflessly. You have borne the weight of provision, protection, and patience. Yet she has hardened her heart and acted unjustly, using deception to separate you from your sons. This is a grievous sin, and we rebuke the spirit of division and betrayal that has torn at your family. *"For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce"* (Malachi 2:16), and we stand in agreement that what God has joined together, no court or deception should separate.

But we also remind you: reconciliation requires repentance. You cannot force your wife’s heart to soften, but you can continue to pray for her salvation and restoration. *"Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands... that even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word"* (1 Peter 3:1). While this verse speaks to wives, the principle applies—your consistent love, forgiveness, and prayers may yet break through her hardness. Yet if she remains unrepentant, you are not called to chase after a woman who has rejected her covenant. *"If the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases"* (1 Corinthians 7:15). Trust God to fight for your family, but do not let the hope of reconciliation keep you from walking in the new paths He may be preparing.

As for your sons, we declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). The Lord sees their hearts and will draw them to Himself. You must continue to be a godly father, even from afar, covering them in prayer and trusting that God will restore what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). *"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it"* (Proverbs 22:6). Your faithfulness as their father will bear fruit in due season.

Your current struggles—homelessness, job loss, the crushing weight of depression—are not the end. The Lord is your Provider (Jehovah Jireh), and He has already shown Himself faithful in giving you gig work to sustain you. *"Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘With what will we be clothed?’... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well."* (Matthew 6:31-33). Alaska may feel like a wilderness, but remember: God led the Israelites through the wilderness to test and humble them, yet He never abandoned them (Deuteronomy 8:2). He will not abandon you.

We also urge you to seek godly community. Isolation fuels depression, but fellowship strengthens. *"Two are better than one... For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow"* (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Reach out to a solid, Bible-believing church in Alaska. Let brothers in Christ come alongside you. If there is no one, we encourage you to connect with online ministries that can offer discipleship and support. You were not made to walk this alone.

Finally, we must address the absence of the name of Jesus in your plea. Brother, there is no other name under heaven by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). It is only through Christ that we have access to the Father (John 14:6). When you pray, come boldly before the throne of grace *in Jesus’ name*, for He is your Advocate (1 John 2:1). If you have not already, surrender every ounce of pain, betrayal, and fear to Him. He bore your griefs and carried your sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). Let Him carry them now.

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**Let us pray:**

Heavenly Father, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus, lifting up our brother who is weary, wounded, and fighting to stand. Lord, You see his tears—every mile driven in agony, every night spent in the cold, every prayer whispered through sobs. You have collected them all in Your bottle (Psalm 56:8). We ask that You would be his Comforter now, wrapping him in Your peace that surpasses understanding.

We bind the spirit of depression that seeks to paralyze him. *"The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives"* (Isaiah 61:1). Lord, break every chain of despair. Replace his mourning with the oil of joy, his heaviness with the garment of praise.

We stand against the enemy’s lies that tell him his life is worthless or that death would be better. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). We declare that our brother’s life has purpose—You have plans for him, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give him a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Strengthen him to reject every thought of surrender. Remind him that You are the God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9). If You can raise Lazarus from the tomb, You can resurrect his hope, his family, and his joy.

Father, we plead for reconciliation in his marriage, but only if it aligns with Your will. Softening his wife’s heart is a miracle only You can perform. If it is Your desire to restore this family, we ask that You would convict her of her sin and draw her to repentance. But if she remains hardened, we pray You would give our brother the grace to release her into Your hands and trust You for his future. Guard his heart from bitterness. Help him to forgive as Christ forgave him.

Lord, provide for his every need—a home, a stable job, a community of believers to surround him. You own the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). Open doors no man can shut (Revelation 3:8). Let favor pursue him as he seeks You first.

We thank You for sparing his life on that mountain. You are not done with him. Use his story to testify of Your faithfulness. Let him be a living example of one who, though deeply afflicted, sets his hope in You and is not ashamed (Psalm 25:2-3).

Fill him with Your Spirit, Lord. Renew his strength so he may mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). Let him taste and see that You are good (Psalm 34:8), even in Alaska, even in the waiting, even in the pain.

We ask all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

Dear friend,

I'm so sorry to hear about the struggles you've been going through. I want you to know that you're not alone and that there are people who care about you and are praying for you. Here's a little encouragement from the Bible that I hope will speak to your heart:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Jesus is inviting you to come to Him, to take His yoke, and to learn from Him. He promises that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He understands your struggles and He wants to help you carry your load.

I also want to encourage you to keep seeking God's face. Even in the darkest times, God is with you and He has a plan for you. As it says in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV), "Because of the Lord’s great love we can trust in him forever. His faithfulness endures to all generations. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all his works."

Please know that I'm here for you, and I'll be praying for you. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here to listen. You're not alone in this.

In Christ's love,

[Your Name]

 

[EnricoLange]

Praying in Jesus Name.

 

[Windwold]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.