Holiday Highlights and Happenings:

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from the Hancocks!

The last few months have felt like a whirlwind, and at times we haven’t known which end was up—but through it all, the Lord has been faithful.

Thanksgiving was spent with another MARC family, along with our church’s music minister and another family from our community. It was such a sweet gathering filled with amazing food (including our yearly tradition of a fried turkey), great fellowship, and a lively game of charades where the guys challenged the girls—and the girls won! 

As we moved toward Christmas, we stayed busy with several areas of ministry at MARC, including the Christmas Totes, their delivery, the staff Christmas party, and family photos. This year, Jocelyn had the privilege of heading up the Christmas Tote ministry. We introduced an “adopt a family (or several)” focus, where MARC families adopted missionary and pastor families we serve throughout the interior of Alaska.

Our heart was not only to give gifts, but to build deeper relationships. We reached out to each family to learn how we could serve them best by including specific items, foods, and personal encouragement in their totes. We also wanted to pray intentionally for each family and their ministry. The overarching prayer request was for the communities they serve and for hearts to come to know the Lord.

It was incredibly encouraging to see the level of participation this year, and we are already excited to see how the Christmas Tote ministry will continue to grow next year.

The MARC Staff Christmas Party was another highlight—a wonderful time to gather for a meal and celebrate all the ways the Lord blessed MARC this past year. We saw growth across every area of ministry, with some departments experiencing 3–6% growth and others seeing over 100% growth. As a staff, we are praying over 2026 and all that the Lord has in store as we continue serving the people and ministries of Alaska.

Before leaving Alaska for the holidays, Jocelyn stayed busy with photo sessions for several MARC families and was able to finish editing the final session just days before our flight to Florida. Unfortunately, we didn’t get our own family Christmas photos this year—but that will happen once we’re back home. With all the snow waiting for us, expect a very snowy photo soon! 

We were blessed to spend Christmas in Florida with family and friends. We’ve been a bit quiet on social media as we focused on being fully present during our time there. Our time was incredibly fruitful, and our cups are truly overflowing. Thank you to everyone who encouraged us, prayed for us, and spent time with us while we were there. We are heading back to Alaska tomorrow encouraged and ready to serve where the Lord has placed us. We are excited to see how He will continue to use our family in 2026.

While in Florida, Kenny was accepted as a new patient into a cardiology group in Orlando. This is wonderful news for us. Although Orlando is far from Alaska, it is about 75% less expensive for Kenny to fly there, see the doctor, and complete necessary testing. We are also thankful to have family in the area, making this a feasible option and a better use of our resources. 

Please join us in praying for improved ejection fraction results and for the reinstatement of Kenny’s FAA medical—above all, that God’s will would be done.

We are also looking forward to welcoming multiple work teams to MARC beginning in February. Teams from Emmanuel Baptist Church and Gulf Coast Christian Church will be coming to help with several much-needed projects around MARC—projects we haven’t been able to tackle in the midst of our busy ministry schedule. We are incredibly thankful for their willingness to serve. These visits are also a wonderful opportunity for our ministry partners to see firsthand what the Lord is doing through MARC. We truly cherish the time spent with everyone who comes to serve, and we always enjoy sharing fellowship and meals together—including salmon when they visit!

Thank you for walking alongside us through your prayers, encouragement, and support. We are so grateful.

Love you all,

The Hancocks

Partner With The Hancocks