Sometimes ministry looks like twenty-six people in your house and a pile of shoes at the door.
Six Very Large Pizzas and a Pile of Shoes
By Amy DeVries, InterAct Missionary
Jonathan and Amy DeVries serve as member support with InterAct Ministries. Jonathan uses aviation as ministry and the family uses their home in Anchorage as a pitstop where people can rest, regroup and gather supplies around town. Above all, Jonathan and Amy seek to glorify God by equipping and encouraging missionaries who serve the least-reached people groups of Alaska. Amy shares this reflection of their ministry:
"Stepping back into the hallway for just a moment, I took in the sounds and sights of my home being filled with fellowship. 'Man, this is why I love what we do. We get an opportunity to create space for people to share what God is doing in their lives.'"
The time around InterAct Ministries’ annual Alaska field conference is a heavy logistic time for us. Borrowing many vehicles and cleaning up all our own personal vehicles, we watch the driveway stack up. Emails come in with specific landing times and personal requests before and after conference. Jonathan and I and our intern Genny tag team flipping beds, making meals, playing with kids, and picking people up at the airport. Then we hand them a set of keys and send them on their way up to the conference at Victory Bible Camp for the week. All four of our kids line up at the window to see who’s coming, desperately hoping they’ve brought their kids with them. There is excitement and a buzz from everyone coming in. We are often the first welcoming party as the InterAct family reunites each year.
After a week of reconnecting with friends, swapping stories, sharing burdens and being refreshed in God’s Word together, the task of sending all our missionary families back to their perspective homes begins. Many will catch flights in Anchorage within the next day or two and our home becomes a pit stop before their departure.
We ended up with twenty-six people in our house the evening after conference with six very large pizzas and a pile of shoes at the door. By this time, the kids were besties with everyone, and anyone willing to wrestle on the floor with them was the coolest person ever. Conversations drifted from stories of living in Siberia and how the culture there has dramatically changed in the last 40 years, to life in remote Alaskan villages and the heartache of experiencing so many funerals—stories of people’s hopes for future ministry, stories of God’s faithfulness as they look back to see how He has brought them along
The part that we play is relatively simple. We fly airplanes, we turn over a lot of beds, we shop for all kinds of things and send them out to the bush, and we bring our kids along in much of what we do to show them what our hearts beat for. Our hearts beat for these missionaries who are willing to love other people beyond what is reasonable…followers of Jesus, who take the time to learn and live among another people group.
We love what we do and it’s a privilege to serve.
(The background picture on this page shows a wall in the guest room of the DeVries home, where visitors are welcomed to add their names and leave a message about their stay.)
Passing the Baton in Alaska
It is said that relay races are won or lost in the passing of the baton from one runner to another. The incoming runner alerts the receiver to be ready while the next runner focuses on the track ahead. Critical to success of a hand-off is practice.
InterAct’s Alaska field made a similar hand-off this summer at the annual field conference. Steve Horsman faithfully served as Alaska field director for eight years. After a year of transition, he smoothly handed the baton of leadership to Mark Overbeek.
Mark and Heather have earned the credibility to lead missionaries who serve cross-culturally. For 22 years they have served in Alaska and thrived as missionaries. Old Harbor, a small village accessible by plane or boat, was home for 14 years. Sharing the gospel as they shared life provided a deep understanding of the challenges and joys of village life.
From there they moved to the city of Kodiak, further north on Kodiak Island. For the past eight years Mark and Heather have nurtured a congregation and ministered to their village friends who came to the city. Village and urban experience will prove to be an asset in leadership.
Early on Mark and Heather felt the call to serve in ministry. Specifically, they both felt the Lord calling them to a place where people had limited or no access to the gospel. They had no idea there were places in America with that level of need. The seed was planted and a summer in Fairbanks confirmed their call. They fell in love with the state but even more so with the people. Their hearts were broken for people living in places that were isolated from the church with little or no gospel presence. That call has pointed them in a singular direction ever since.
Mark shares his heart for the ministry in Alaska:
"The greatest need in cross-cultural ministry in Alaska right now, I believe, is laborers. I’m sure this has always been the case to some degree, but it seems like there’s been a shift in attitude in that we have several villages actually reaching out to InterAct and asking us to send missionaries! The fields seem to be ripe for harvest in ways they haven’t been in the past. We need workers for the harvest.
One of the things we’re really pressing into right now (other than the obvious, recruiting new missionaries) is thinking through collaborative, creative ways we can come alongside communities that have believers and no one to shepherd them. We also desire that our missionaries be more intentional as they serve in villages—that they make disciples who make disciples and that from the beginning folks understand that part of being a follower of Christ means doing the work of ministry themselves. This, I believe, is the key to seeing the church finally established in the remote places of the north."
Mark’s regular prayer for our missionaries, especially those serving in remote places, is that they be strengthened in the faith and encouraged in spirit as the dark days of winter loom. Pray with him for the success of the gospel as missionaries pour out their lives in service to King Jesus in the villages. As God’s work is applied in people’s hearts, may there be a great harvest across the north to the glory of God.
Pray as well for Mark and Heather as they transition to the Palmer area after a short season of support raising.
From Dan and Bev Mayerle (October 2025):
“Joining together to pray with a group of indigenous friends at the Native Ladies Retreat, I was blessed by seeing many grey heads bowed and by hearing them pray in their own tongue. Then our speaker, whose family is Mohawk originating from Ontario, sang her final song in her own tongue. There is something sacred that takes place when people worship the Lord in their mother tongue. This year I was privileged to be a part of the steering committee for the Ladies Retreat. We hosted 87 women from 8 different communities. The Lord moved in our midst and several made decisions to follow Christ for the first time."
“Native Youth Conference 2025 hosted 230 youth. As volunteers, Dan & I took down and set up chairs and stage twice a day, served many meals in the food line, monitored the doors into the food lines, washed tables, made 400+ frybread, and assisted with registration. This year their speaker was a Navajo from Arizona who is involved in youth ministry as well as an Indigenous ministry called On Eagle’s Wings in the states. His topic was ‘Hope Story.’ He expertly shared his own story weaving Jesus’ hope story into his in a culturally relevant way. Many were impacted and some received Christ for the first time. What a privilege to be able to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of our indigenous youth!”
I frequently reflect on the truth that "God is in the people-changing business." He specializes in taking lives that are hopeless and broken and making them into new creations in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). But He doesn't stop there. He takes these new creations in Christ and progressively makes them more and more like His Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29).
Of course, the ultimate purpose of becoming more like Jesus is to glorify Him. One of the incredible blessings He gives to His children is to be the "tools" used by Him to accomplish His work in this world. Each child of His has a unique calling. Some are called to represent Him in the workplace. Some to full-time ministry. Some to receive recognition and accolades, some to live a godly life in relative obscurity. Some of His kids are given a station in life that grants them ease from financial worries, while others struggle every day to earn the necessities of life. Some are given good health and freedom from oppression, while others are given pain and suffering. But each has been called by God to be used to accomplish His purposes on this earth.
This InterACTION highlights uniquely prepared and called individuals. As you are given a glimpse into their lives, be reminded of God’s creativity in calling people to make His heart known among every people group (Revelation 7:9).
God is in the people-changing business. He is in the spiritual development business. He is also calling people to unique roles of service in His kingdom. Is He calling you, like the Overbeeks and the DeVries, to give up your life to serve Him in cross-cultural missions? If you feel God is tugging at your heart to serve other cultures in Siberia, Alaska, or Canada, contact us. We would love to explore that possibility with you.