When Geraldine Felder-Noongwook gingerly entered the steaming waters of the outdoor baptismal tank in Savoonga, Alaska, on March 25, the thermometer read five degrees! A relative of one of the original Adventists in Savoonga, she was determined to be baptized even though it was frigid outside and she was wearing a cast on her arm.
Brian Bechtold, a Native Ministries evangelist, had returned to the island for meetings in Savoonga and Gambell after being away for a year and a half. Six people were baptized in Gambell. After Jared Koonooka was rebaptized, two of his children, Marina and Jared Jr., decided to follow his example and were baptized.
Currently, there are no Christian pastors in Savoonga and Gambell. Rick Binford, the Nome Church pastor who comes monthly, reported that “in about three weeks, we conducted four funerals, one for a 14-year-old girl who had committed suicide. The needs are so great!”
Snow and freezing temperatures did not prevent Geraldine Felder-Noongwook from being baptized in Savoonga, Alaska.
It had been 12 years since the last baptism in Gambell on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska's Bering Sea. Front Row, from left: Newly baptized members, Chanelle Koonooka, Marina Koonooka, Jared Koonooka, Jr., Carmel Konahok Back Row: Pastor Rick Binford, Jared Koonooka, Brian Bechtold, Wilbur Booshu
