Alaska Reflections - Part Two

I hadn't laughed so much in a long time.  Sure, maybe I have laughed harder a few times, but this team was good for consistent fun.  Really, we had a great team in Alaska.  Many of us had known each other for several years, but there were a few people I did not know well.  These people really added a lot of skill and hard work to the team.  The benefits of teamwork and being "pre-prayered" really showed on this trip.  We accomplished a lot.  Max had to get another load of drywall, and we installed all of it.

Meanwhile, our free day was Tuesday.  A few went fishing and returned with a modest catch of approximately 100 pounds of fish, including several halibut.  After processed, they flew home about 50 pounds of fish.  Fortunately for the rest of us, a gentleman in the church named Todd, followed through on a pledge to send a box of salmon back with us to share.  I have since had some of that salmon, and it is awesome.  The rest of us went on a half-day cruise into Resurrection Bay with Kenai Fjords Tours, one of the national park vendors for Kenai Fjords National Park.  We could not have asked for a better day. 

According to the captain, we were very fortunate.  We saw a humpback whale, several orcas ("killer whales"), sea lions, a relaxing sea otter in the middle of the bay, bald eagles, and many birds, including puffins.  To add to that, we had an amazing lunch at Fox Island.  This was a very good tour, and if the weather is decent, I highly recommend it.  We all were tired after the fun day, and we wondered how productive we would be on Wednesday.  Nonetheless, our progress continued at a great pace.

We met great people in the community, and our friends at Seward City Church were amazing hosts and a joy to be around and serve.  Also, Rod really served us and made our visit seem like a visit with a friend--which I realize really is the case.  Look at other projects and the ministry of North of Hope on Facebook.  Our last day was Friday, June 14, and several of us went and worked as long as we could to finish up the drywall and make a little bit more progress.  The whole team really worked together well to accomplish much.  Spiritually, I know we felt like we are connected to Seward City Church.  We are excited about the future of the church. 

Through Rod's stories and other stories, we learned life is not easy in Alaska.  We enjoyed the beauty of the place and terrific weather.  We did not see the harsh winter and its effects.  We did not experience darkness around the clock and people struggling to get by.  My hope and prayer is that Seward City Church will flourish more and be a place of encouragement and strengthening for that community.  I was glad and thankful to have the opportunity to do some of the physical work that will lead to greater spiritual fruit before long. 

Note:  I also will add an entry on my educational blog mrbartley.wordpress.com to detail Kenai Fjords National Park.

Alaska Reflections - Part One

As we flew in toward Anchorage, I could begin to see the snow-covered mountains and glaciers.  I was excited and looking forward to the end of a long plane ride.  Soon, we all would reunite after a long travel day which split our group, sending four of us through Phoenix.  Our layover there had been long enough to leave the airport, feel the 110 degree heat, and see a little bit of Scottsdale.  Now, we were on a ride from Anchorage to Seward.  It was 2:00 a.m. local time, and it was not dark.  By the time we all lay down to sleep, it was after 4:00 a.m.  The next day, we started work late but did hang our first sheets of drywall.

We had a good day Saturday.  Sunday, we had a great service at the Seward City Church, held at the Seward Middle School, the site of our accommodations for the week, as well.  It was great to see the people of this congregation.  We met many of them.  Several of them provided lunches for us throughout the week.  The food we had was plentiful and delicious.  Our host and leader of North of Hope, Rod Koop, prepared some fine meals including a halibut dish I will remember for some time.  Anyway, back to the mission.  We did some work on Sunday afternoon.  Monday, it seemed to take a while to get into a groove, but we continually made good progress.  Tuesday would be our fun day with no work, and it would represent a midpoint of our effort in Seward.

Seward is located in a beautiful spot on the Kenai Peninsula.  At the beginning of Resurrection Bay, Seward is referred to as a gateway to Alaska.  Some mornings, a cruise ship was docked there, and hundreds if not thousands of tourists would wander around town.  We spent time in downtown Seward a few times, being wandering tourists ourselves and looking for the right souvenir.  We learned about Alaskans coming into town to camp on the weekend to fish.  Salmon runs peak in late spring and/or early summer, and many people depend upon this natural resource to make it through the long winter.  Overall, we really enjoyed Seward and met some great people.  We were blessed with amazing weather; it was great enough the locals were talking about it.  It was sunny and warm most of the time.  To me, this could be a metaphor for God's blessing upon our team and our work.