05/26/2026
This is one of our missionaries, Megan, with our friend Daniel. Daniel was one of the first people we met when we began our street ministry in 2020. He immediately welcomed us, and even made a point of introducing us to his friends downtown. He also made sure to give us some safety tips, letting us know which areas to avoid and giving us the rundown on the places where dangerous activities were taking place. Daniel helped us get our first foothold in the Anchorage mission field, and we are forever grateful to him for his friendship.
About a year after meeting him, he disappeared. No one seemed to know where he had gone. Usually when that happens to one of our friends on the street, it’s not a good sign. Eight months later, our downtown team was in Town Square Park when they heard someone call out, “There’s my favorite missionaries!”
It was Daniel, but he looked different. He was well-groomed, wearing professional clothing, and had a huge smile on his face. He shared with us that he had been living in a treatment house and was eight months sober. That day, he decided to make the eight mile walk from his apartment to come downtown because he knew that his friends from Urban Hearts would be there, and he wanted to let them know that their love and support had made all the difference in encouraging him to take that step toward recovery. He joined the missionaries on the rest of their street walk, and spent the entire time proclaiming what God had done for him to his friends still living on the street. He did the same thing every week for months afterward.
Eventually we lost touch with Daniel again. In the months that followed, we learned that he had, unfortunately, passed away. Shortly after, we received a letter in our mailbox from one of Daniel’s friends. It said:
This is a photo of my friend Daniel Ayagarak. Daniel died last year of heart trouble, a family condition I believe. But he spent many years off and on the streets of Anchorage. Not long before he died he told me about Urban Hearts. “They’re the only ones who don’t look down on us,” he said, “the only ones who treat us like people.”
Friendship matters.
