Editors' Note: In this first-person essay, a young woman from Togiak, Alaska, shares how Vacation Bible School, unexpected mentors and God’s leading transformed her life and guided her into Adventist education.
I grew up in Togiak, Alaska, a village with a population of around 800 people — closer to 1,000 during fishing season in the summer. Throughout my time in Togiak, my family took great pride in Alaskan Native arts.
My grandpa mended fishing nets and made ulus — traditional women’s knives. When I was 13 years old, he gifted me an ulu because that was the age a girl was considered a woman. I still keep that ulu in my kitchen drawer today. My grandma made dance fans, grass baskets and fur winter wear. One of her grass baskets is displayed at Sam Fox Museum in Dillingham alongside other Alaska Native artwork.
I graduated from Togiak School in 2014 and planned to attend University of Alaska Fairbanks to become a teacher. However, after receiving my acceptance letter, my mother convinced me that we didn’t have enough money for me to go to college, so I decided to stay in Togiak and simply live there.
At the time, I was not a member of the Adventist Church. I attended the Assembly of God church instead. In spring 2015, I was walking with my cousin Emily, who was 13 at the time, when we passed the Adventist church. She remembered they were hosting a Vacation Bible School program and wanted to go. Being 18 and feeling far too mature for something like that, I thought it was a ridiculous idea. Still, she convinced me by saying that if I didn’t go with her, she would stop sharing her chewing tobacco with me. That was enough to get me there.
I stayed in the back of the church, minding my own business, still thinking I was too mature. That did not last long with Chad Angasan as the pastor. While I sat on a bench sulking, Chad introduced himself and asked if I would like to help the VBS team. Since there was nothing else to do until the program ended, I agreed and was given responsibilities.
After the first VBS program, Chad invited all the kids to attend Bible study at 7 p.m. Togiak is a small village with very little to do, and, since Emily and I enjoyed our time there, we decided to attend the Bible studies as well. Before long, we looked forward to both VBS and Bible study every day.
My days consisted of doing a few chores before going out and VBS gave me somewhere meaningful to be. I could finish my chores in the morning and then spend the afternoon and evening at church.
My mother is someone who deeply values spending time with the people she loves, and one day after I finished my chores, she tried to stop me from leaving. “Josephine, you’re always leaving the house to go to that church. Why don’t you stay home?” she asked.
“I did my chores like you asked, and it’s not like I’m out drinking or doing drugs. I’m going to church — you should be happy,” I replied. My father sided with my mother and told me I should listen to her and stay home. I stood my ground and told them that I loved the church and that it was one of the only places where I had truly felt the love of God.
By that point, my dad and I were standing face-to-face. He said, “You can’t go to that cult church. Stay here and if you leave, don’t come back home. You could stay at your grandma’s house like your sister.” Looking him straight in the eyes, I replied, “Fine. I won’t come back, but I won’t stay at Grandma’s house either.”
After saying that, I grabbed my coat and walked out the door. Honestly, I was not worried about where I would stay. Out of spite toward my parents, I probably would have stayed with my cousin.
After leaving, I met up with Emily and we headed to the church. Once the program ended, my phone started ringing. It was my mom. Since I wasn’t upset with her, I answered. She told me my dad apologized and I could come home. I paused and asked, “What about church?”
She yelled out, “Twilly, she’s asking if she can still go to the church!” I heard my dad mutter a response, and then she said, “Your dad says you can keep going to church.”
I replied, “Okay, but I won’t come home until later. Love you, Mom.”
That spring, with the help of Chad and Elizabeth, I applied to work at Alaska Camps. By the end of the summer, they left for Andrews University Theological Seminary and John and Lynette Goude became the new pastors. That December, I was baptized with two others into the Adventist Church by Chad, who was visiting for Christmas.
Returning home to Togiak the following summer after working at camp, through the Anchorage airport, a sign caught Lynette’s eye: “Tickets from Anchorage to Walla Walla on sale.” I happened to be sitting directly underneath it, and suddenly she had an idea. Once we returned to Togiak, she asked if I would like to visit Walla Walla. I was unsure, but she informed me that Walla Walla University would pay for the tickets so we could go together just to look around. My parents agreed, and during the visit I attended the social work program classes.
Thankfully, I already knew people there from camp, which made the visit much more comfortable. One of my friends jokingly suggested that I should just stay. Lynette thought it was a good idea, but I was uncertain and said I would think about it. Later, while we were in the admissions office, the idea came up again. I said, “I don’t even have a place to stay.”
The recruiter opened the office door and asked if anyone knew of a place for me to stay. I laughed, but I still applied to WWU for social work. After applying, I called my mom and told her I would not be coming back home. Once again, she reminded me that we did not have the money for college, but this time I replied, “God will provide.”
After the trip, instead of returning to Togiak, I stayed at the Alaska Conference office guest rooms in Anchorage. About a week later, I received my acceptance letter and a call from a local woman offering me a place to stay. I attended WWU during the school year and worked at Alaska Camps during the summers. Despite my decision to attend WWU, I still believed I could have a little “fun” without consequences. What I did not realize was that I did not have as much control over my life as I thought I did.
When the pandemic hit, the Lord took care of me financially through various church members. Then, in September 2020, Chad and Elizabeth invited my cousin and me to move to Nome, Alaska, and live with them. I decided to go, continue my classes online and pause the “fun.”
A few months later, I chose to take a year off from school so I could spend time with the family that had formed around me in Nome. After about half a year, my best friend at the time invited me to move to Ohio to be roommates. Even though I felt God telling me not to go, I accepted the opportunity. Once there, I returned to the same “fun.”
In the end, however, the Lord showed me that this “fun” was really just a jail cell the world had handed me. I no longer wanted to live in that prison, so I started making calls to see whether I could come back to Alaska.
That summer, I was presented with three opportunities: to become a dean at Milo Adventist Academy; to student-teach at Amazing Grace Academy in Palmer, Alaska; or to teach in Dillingham, Alaska. I spoke with MAA first, but things did not seem to work out. By the end of the summer, my options had narrowed down to Palmer or Dillingham.
I did not want to go to Dillingham. It was too close to Togiak, and over time I had come to realize that Togiak represented a part of my past I did not want to revisit. Palmer seemed like the perfect option — it was close to family while still being far enough away from Togiak.
I was interviewed by both schools. Palmer said they would love to have me but would not be ready until September. Dillingham told me that instead of leading my own classroom, I would be assisting the pastor’s wife with pre-K. At that point, Palmer was looking much better to me.
Then I received a call from Becky Meharry from North Pacific Union. She said, “We understand that you have the option to go to Palmer, but if you’re able to make a decision sooner rather than later, that would be wonderful. We need to inform our parents because the lead teacher will not teach without an assistant.”
I replied, “Okay, I can get back to you soon.” At that moment, I knew God was calling me to Dillingham. Despite how close it was to Togiak, I was determined to follow where the Lord was leading me.
In Dillingham, I taught pre-K and kindergarten students for four school years — the first two as an assistant teacher and the last two as the lead teacher. During the first half, I grew close with Gina, the pastor's wife and lead teacher. During the second half, I grew close with the student missionaries from Oklahoma Academy. Without those student missionaries, the school would not have been successful.
Each year, while I taught them about God, my students captured my heart. Through them, the Lord showed me how much I can resemble a child in my relationship with Him. This most recent year, the school closed due to debt and insufficient student enrollment, making it impossible to have another school year.
Dillingham is where I truly surrendered myself to God. It was — and still is — a painful process, because dying to yourself is never easy. I still struggle with feeling like my relationship with Him is not good enough, but I know I am far closer to Him now than when I first gave myself to Him. More than anything, I know He has always been shaping my life and faithfully taking care of me.
