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DAY 1:
seeing all the mountains and God's world on the flight there was a good way to start off this mission trip. on the flight, from Seattle to Alaska, i met a soldier named Alexander who is in the Airborne Burge-aide. He left in Kechikan and i realized after he was long gone that he left both his books he had brought. the first book was "black hawk down" and underneath that there was a book called "My Utmost For His Highest" this book is a devotional and was a great inspiration to me showing me that god has a plan for me. it showed me that god doesn't have to talk to you through your prayers but in everyday actions you do. i cant say how excited i am to be on this mission trip with this other church full of fun and exciting people!
Day 1.5 So today was fantastic and I don't think I Could of had more fun. We walked around the town and went "planking" (laying on random objects like a plank). We saw eagles, ravens, and a bear.....good chance that bear was made of metal. We then went and gave brochures out inviting people to our sports camp. Dinner was amazing thanks to Chris and cat berg, it was spaghetti and great. We had a serious time talking about talking in tongues and prophesying. We talked with each other about what ever was on our minds and I realized how much god is working in our lives and how important I am to my friends. They really uplifted me and made me feel like I can change and give even more of my life to god. I feel we all really felt the Lord working in us and I want my friends; Jordan, Evan, Allissa, and Danielle to know I appreciate them so much and they are super important in my life. I look forward to connecting with more people in the coming days but the night had to come to an end sooner or later. lord watch out over us during the rest of our mission trip and keep us safe from any harm we may encounter, we put all our faith in you. Amen, goodnight everyone, until another day.
Day 2: I got up to a broken ihome beeping on the other side of the wall. It got me up in a grumpy mood and I was not ready to get up. from there I had breakfast and we got ready for our first day of sports camp. I was wearing boarder shorts, and a Nike T-shirt, and it was raining. We had a lot more kids then we thought and it was a great. Down side was with-in the first five minutes I sprained my ankle and heard a loud pop, luckily Allissa was around and while I sat on the ground and asked her to pray for me. I ended up playing all the sports and having a ton of fun. We played fresh, soccer, drills, and relays. Right after we got soaked and did all the sport stuff we walked back to the church and took our wet shirts off then walked to the river. At the river Evan, Dylan .W, Brad, Chris and I all walked into the river then baptismally fell back into the freezing cold water. None of us could feel anything and it was great, I think all of us are planning on going there as a group and taking a picture. We then started cleaning the Church and all sort of things. Tonight we chilled and had a delicious dinner, Evan made a burrito consisting of;spaghetti, chicken, beef, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, beans and rice.....it was awesome! Please keep praying we have a great time and safe time. I'll up date you guys tomorrow most likely.
Day 3: today we woke up earlier then normal and had breakfast and got ready to leave for the sports camp. We played basket ball with the kids today and it went pretty good. I didn't get hurt today and I did pretty good good at bump, this was a safe and productive day. When we were done with the sports camp we headed over to a homeless shelter and helped make food. Me and Danielle had a nice cry in the kitchen cutting about 15 onions then dumping out 16 cans of beans. I ended up meeting a guy who painted hats that were super cool, a guy who dredges the coast lines, a guy who liked to talk about the town, and a guy with so many bear stories. I enjoyed talking to the people and hearing all about them and what is going on in their lives. After arriving home we decided to take a nap time because we were exhausted, but Chris, Dylan .W, and I all went and spent 15 minutes standing in the river trying to relax our legs and make them feel better.
Day 4: today was sunny!!!!!!!! I was so excited to go and do sports camp today and it went great. We practiced with a Frisbee in the beginning after we stretched, we then tossed a Frisbee in a long row and learned how to throw a longer distance then saw that Frisbee didn't work and played hand ball instead. We also played jungle Fire and it was great. I did did not get seriously hurt today for once, Big Day!!! After the sports camp we went to the river and most of the girls went in and even sub-merged them selves in the water and it was so cool. The guys decided to jump off the rocks into the stream, brad and I did that but we dove for a football. Immediately after the river we headed into town and we broke up into groups, my group consisted of Danielle, Allissa, Dylan .W, Jordan and me. We found so many cool things like; Russian hats, a German license plate, coffee, fudge, stuffed bears, laser pen knife combo, and so much more. After the store's we headed to the beach for a BBQ and had great food. We had adventure time and made an obstacle course we made on a kids play ground and I won by about 2-3 seconds. On adventure time we walked down the beach and saw a cement building out in the ocean so we decided that we wanted t climb up in it. Walking out there we found a rusty ladder with a rope hooked up inside a rusting huge pipe, upon getting in the pipe I saw there were a lot of rusty stuff and a broken ladder I couldn't get to. Brad suggested that I don't try to get to the top so I climbed out and found sweet rocks and there was a sick husky there that I took about 5 pictures of the husky then brad took a picture of me and the husky, I was so excited and happy. Upon arriving back to the BBQ area we found our selves in obvious situations, it was great. We came back and chilled in church fir a little big and read some devotions aloud from the book "utmost for his highest" tomorrow should be a great day and I cant wait. We have a jamboree of games to play with the kids tomorrow, talk to you guys. Stay classy bloggers! ;)
Day 5: woke up and had a nice conversation with Lenard the janitor here and he brought us salmon he caught. our day started off at sports camp and we played to much jungle fire for my legs liking. after the camp was over we all said goodbye and we headed back to church for lunch, which consisted of salmon. i cleaned salmon in the kitchen and when i was done we left the church. arriving at the tram we headed up top, upon reaching the top i waved to the lady working their in a childish and loud way....she replied the same way and told me i made her day. =) we got to see an eagle caged at the top of the tram and we also hiked up to the top of the trail. for some reason Evan thought it would be a great idea to run the last quarter mile up hill, it wasn't a great idea. at the top there was a cross and a magnificent view. after arriving back to the tram we headed down and Evan and me dropped rocks from the window and counted the time it took to reach the bottom then calculated how high the tram was, i think we decided it was about 75ish Ft from the ground. at the bottom we got coffee and PB&J sandwiches and gave them out to people on the street that seemed like they needed some food or a warm drink. we encountered a lot of people and gave out a lot of food and drinks to people. after arriving back i realized i had walked all day really with out to much rest, this kinda puts me in a grumpy mood. i am currently asking god to help calm me down and get me in a better mood. we are going to have burgers then family time then probably stay up late doing shenanigans! our last day is tomorrow and i am praying for good weather.
Day 6: we headed out to an aquatic park/pool and have fun. first thing we did there was go down the slid and see who could spin the most times around before getting to the bottom, i think i won with 5 turns. we then had challenge races where we raced form one side of the pool to the other then had fun competition swimming like; no hands, or just running...etc. at the pool they had a sweet shorts dryer and it worked so well, i was impressed. from the pool we headed to the glacier and when we arrived we were all in Aw struck wonder of how cool it was. we walked along the water and found a big piece of ice that most of us climbed on, but we were freaking out a little because there were so many cameras and our feet were freezing. we then saw a falls and we decided we were going to hike the trail over to it. we had to carry Jordan and his wheelchair over a spot that had flooded but really it wasn't a problem because we stick together. a little warning, walking on gravel on your bare feet hurts osme what. once we arrived to the falls, called nugget falls, we saw how huge and amazing it was, and how much power it contained. we walked over to the base of the falls and all walked in, we held each others hands then all fell back into the freezing water awating us. after getting pictures together and drying off we headed back to the cars. right when we got back i realized i left my camera somewhere down the trail, but the tour busses hit and there were so many people i wouldnt of had enough time to go back and lok for it. we all decided in our van that we wanted to go to a restuarant for lunch and just sit down and enjoy a good meal. we went to the hanger and all of us had a great time, i had my first soda of the week and a nice cesear salad. we walked around the town one last time and then headed back to the church to cok food for a party. we were greeted with open arms at the party of all the girls and guys that welcomed us so cheerfully at the airport the first day. we made ate, made art out of carrots, played pool then said our goodbyes. all the kids were so sweet and hugged us multiple times and the leaders there were so kind and it was so hard to say goodbye. we realized on the way back to church we needed gas so we headed for the gas stationa nd had a 30-1 minute dance party in the car. arriving at the gas station a song came on and we were all pumped up so we got out, turned the valume up and dance through two whole songs in the gas station. after getting back in the car we found out we ran the battery dead and had to jump the car. we got back to the church, hung out and debreifed a little then everyone went to bed around 12. knowing that we were going to wake up at 4 some of us decided to stay up late and play MOW, a card game, three of the six left at about 1:30 so me Evan and Dylan .W. decided to stay up all night so we decided to draw some pictures and play some games.......
Day7:we are still up about 3:30 when me and Evan said we wanted 30 minutes of sleep, let it be knows that 30 minutes of sleep lasts about 30 seconds in sleep world. we all woke up packed our bags into a truck and headed to the airport. me and dylan got a ticket easily from juneao to seattle and also met a girl named chealse awaiting a flight elsewere. she was really nice and Dylan .W, and I talked to her for a while. we almost instantly fell asleep on the plane and was awoken to the decent into seattle. once in seattle we (Dylan .W, and I) said goodbye to our fellow missionaries and friends, because me and Dylan did stand by we had to stay behind and wait for two seats to open up. i didnt know how hard this was going to be. we ended up waiting in seattle for 8 hours to get a flight to portland but we did get to ride a plane that had the Beavers on it and it was awessome. i got back safe and i will be speaking about my trip tomorrow at church in front of the high schoolers along side four other friends on the trip.
I would like to thank you lord for working so much in my life this week and gracing me with so much knowledge in you.
Day 1, So last night we got in ten minutes earlier which just goes to show how eager God is to have us here! I'm super excited to get to the sports camp because I can't wait to see what God has for us and these kids, whatever that may be. We met our rides at the airport and it's awesome and amazing how wonderful they are. We are going to canvas the city with pamphlets for the camp with the team we met last night and I actually can't wait, they are so fun and friendly to be with it's only possible by God, which I think jazz's up the whole mission team, I can't wait to see what God has for the mission team and the team we met here!
Day1p2: God has such big and good plans for our team and the people that we have met so far and it's only been one full day. I'm so utterly thankful for the God we have, and for the people he has given to me! I had quite an amazing day working for the Lord and with the members of my mission and Christ family! I also discovered the my pastor has magic poop the taste like cinnamon ( joke btw) I had such wonderful prayer time with Chris Berg that opened up so many doors and opportunities that I cannot wait to explore. I also shared how I have "royal" butterflies in my stomach, I cannot wait to get to work even more with my team and with the wonderful people of Juneau, Alaska! Thank you God for your many blessings!
Day2: Today was the first day of the sports camp, and we had an amazing turn out with kids, much more than we expected or thought were going to come. It just continues to maze me how God works things out every day that we are here, it's too awesome. After we got back though everyone was soaked through our rain coats, so we decided to go all the way and jump in a very very cold Alaskan creek: me, Dylan m, Evan g, brad p, and Chris b, and it was very manly of course. We came back and served the church that is very graciously allowed us to stay in by cleaning and polishing up their pews, cleaning the kitchen And taking care of their plants. It's been a very God filled day, and also very joyful. I thank God for the very numerous blessings he has given me to get here and to do so much for Him while he makes it joyful for me to work. Thank you God.
Day3: Today we moved the sports camp to the Zach Gorden center and we changed the style. Instead of the adult leaders running the camp the students did. I was voted in as leader to make decisions and speak the most and run the transitions, I'm blessed to have been seen as up to this task by my new family. It was a little awkward but I had a lot of good advice from everyone including the adult leaders. We returned to the sports camp after lunch to hang out with the kids and to play some more games with them. We rolled right from that to volunteering at the Juno homeless shelter, which has a rather interesting name. It was such a new experience, in a good way. The people for the most part were open or didn't care about us being there and talking with them, trying to open doors and spread joy in their lives. We returned to the church for a small nap time but before that we decided to jump in the creek again and enjoyed the coldness of mountain run-off. After our nap we woke to a very nice surprise of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies made by Jenny, who is the wife of the pastor who normally runs the sports camp. Our friend Jake also brought us some fresh crab and shared a meal with us. I received some awesome advice about my leadership role for the camp. It's such an awesome experience everyday and I'm so joyful to be here. God is good. Be blessed!
Day4: Today I started off right in the morning with new and good experiences. Brad made us all eggs sunny side up, which I'd never had before. We made out for the sports camp thinking we'd have a day for frisbee type activities but found out quickly that with small kids who don't know names can't handle that as well as maybe middle schoolers. It was a good experience to learn how to choose a new activity off the top of my head as the leader expected to run things. It's such a blessing to learn so much in such a little time. I also thank the people around me for supporting me as that leader. After the camp we headed down the gold creek yet again to freeze our bums off, but we got the girls in it this time which they did awesome. I'm so happy to see how much we've bonded as a team, it's probably weird for others to see how comfortable we are with each other. But I love it. The study we are doing relates exactly to our trip ands it so awesome, to see how much scripture relates to us makes it seem so much more right that we are here. We went to a barbecue with our partner church which was awesome because we got to see the kids outside of camp. Obviously it was a great day, and we all learn so much about how to lead, serve, and have amazing joy only given by God. We. Are. Blessed.
Day5: The last day of the sports camp, it's bittersweet because we are all sore, and yet we all love the kids so much, just being able to give them so much joy. God is truly amazing to have blessed us with strength, knowledge, and joy to spread to these kids who may have never known anything like that. After we finished up at the Zach Gorden center we went to the town to explore a little more and took the tram almost to the top of a mountain. We climbed the trails and ran up hill half a mile to a cross on top of the mountain. The view of Alaska is amazing and beautiful, only one that our God can create. We went to serve the homeless again, and I got to mop the pantry. God makes it so easy to serve Him in different ways, if only we ask. We continued to serve the homeless by walking around and handing out sandwiches and coffee, and we all made different impacts on all the people we met, it feels like we are planting the seeds that will be grown later. After we walked around for a few hours we had delicious hamburgers for dinner, and had some pretty big news from our leaders, and we are very blessed and honored to have had this news given to us, and we all pray for blessings. Gods work is amazing, but also very tiring. Goodnight world, count your blessings.
Day6: Team day! We got to sleep in, hip hip hooray! God builds so many realtionships, and He can do it so very quickly that it's hard to comprehend. The whole team is entirely comfortable with each other, farts and all, and its been a week. I thank God for the grace He allows us to have and pray that it continues to flow as strongly as it does today, in my life. We went and hunted down a few shops, and found the coffee we wanted, which is delicious. And we wrote an epic novel and left it for someone to read and enjoy on the cafe table. The Crossroads Church in Juneau is so awesome they decided that we needed a potluck going away party, and the food was delish. I ate half a salmon, a ton of chicken caserole, got a good amount of carrot from making carrot art. I'm now embedded on the Reeds wall with my height, and I tricked people into thinking that vanilla ice cream smelt likes raspberries in order to then put said ice cream up their noses. I would say that if serving God could get any more rewarding I would drop out and just do mission work full time. Thank you Lord for the continued blessings you pour out. Thank you for allowing us to serve in Your name. Amen.
Count your Blessings,
Wangrud.
July 17th, so we got into Alaska pretty late last night but we have already met so many new people. We had an amazing team of people pick us up from the airport last night including our new friends Hannah, Travis, and Courtney. After we finally got to bed it was only dark til like 3 am so that will take some getting used to but tonight the hunt is on for couch pillows since we are sleeping on the floor. This morning I had then pleasure of meeting Leonard the super nice man who is cleaning the beautiful church we are staying in, he has an Elvis jump suit, NBD. I'm really excited for the day and I feel like I ( and probably other people on the team) could use some prayer to help us have our eyes and ears opennfor god's opportunities. I miss you all at home! Alaska is so lovely, it makes you feel so small
Ok I'm back for the night before bed and we had a great tme to night talking about tongues and the other gifts of the holy spirit. In fact we were so excited about the conversation on that we decided to try it out that night. I did not get to speak in tongues but I felt fantastic in my prayers and we really felt the spirit move. It is so refreshing to connect again with the holy spirit in a very visible way.
DAY TWO today was our first day working with the kids at camp. It was pouring down rain and the wind was blowing but we had the most fun ever!! The kids were all smiles and all the leaders (since now we the students get to be leaders) were high energy and soaked to the bone. Im actually writing this in between loading the dishwasher over again because I have Been cleaning the kitchen all afternoon with the other team members. The team is really starting to feel like family. Everyone Here is so compassionate and the guys especially have been so impressive with their chivalry, I am going to be sad When this week is over however I will also be exhausted out of my mind, missionary stuff is very tiring and we have been going quite a lot, but I have never done more rewarding work.
i miss everyone at home and I really want to remind you all the we need to follow Jesus's example and serve the people around us, so open the door for your girl, make lunch for your man, play soccer in the street with an only child, and Go out of your way to love on people. The only thing that can fix this broken world is GOD's love.
DAY THREE Today was a very interesting day, in fact Cat just commented that it would be very difficult to blog about. We started with sports camp with the kids which was quite an experience because the students got to take over today. We elected Dylan wangrud as our new leader in place of Brad and we chose basketball as the theme for the day. We got off to a rocky start but by the end of the morning the kids were yet again engaged and happy. The group of kids that we hAve are great but we really saw today that good kids can even become a handful if the leaders don't act confident or allow the kids to gain too much control.
Otherwise today we spent some time playing at the local rec center and then we moved on to a homeless shelter. I mast admit that this was not my favorite part so far, I found the homeless shelter to be really uncomfortable. We got to help in the kitchen for quite a bit but then we moved out into the dining room to mingle with people. I didn't like having to sit down at a random table and strike up conversation, normally I find it easy to make friends and conversation (maybe I will attribute this road block to a lack of sleep) but today it was very awkward. I wasn't even really able to engage the people I was sitting around until Dylan came over to help bounce the conversation back and forth. It's possible that since I was just a lone girl that people felt disinclined to talk with me (I have noticed many different gender barriers here and I also see those same issues at home). We ended up leaving early so that we all could go home and sleep for a bit, we were looking pretty haggard.
Anyway, if I could give all you people at home a moral for the story it would go something like this: No one is off limits to you, whether they be rich or poor, handicapped or an athlete, beautiful or hideous, Jesus loves them all and we should show everyone that same love. Be humble and be His hands and feet. May His peace be with you.
DAY FOUR today was a fantastic day for so many reasons, one of which was the fact that I got to go swimming in mountain runoff that was about 45 degrees. That was completely insane and the highlight of my day, in fact I have been christened "manielle" because I proved my manhood by submerging my head completely under. Anyway, in the area of service, the camp today was great, it was smooth and the energy was up. Frisbee turned out not to be such a great activity for the kids but we were very flexible and turned the day into a great success.
After camp we got to swim in the Gold River like I already mentioned and then we went into town where we got to act like the most awesome tourists. We took pictures with statues, and bought fudge and generally blended in with the four cruise ships that had come into Juneau this morning.
Later today we got to go to a BBQ at sandy beach with some of our church friends and kids from or sports camp. It was fun to sit out in the beautiful sun. I can't wait to see my friends and family on Saturday and today my lovely message for you is this: pray for security for those you meet because you never know what their life is really like. There is a lot of pain in the world but no one is more safe than when they have God's protection. Praise God for His safety!!!
DAY FIVE Today was awesome. Firstly it was our last day of camp and we really got to see just what a significant effect we have had on all of those beautiful children of God. We exchanged emails and hug and all of the kids asked if we would be coming back next year. In fact some of the kids would be too old for this camp next year but they asked if it would be okay if they got to come anyway. After camp was finished we got blessed with a salmon lunch with fruit from a group for a group of women that had been using the church. It was fantastic! After that we got to take the tram up 1800 feet of mountain and tour around and hike a little bit up there. The men in the group decided to sprint up with last half mile of the trail... with varying amounts of success haha just kidding.
From there we went and served at the homeless shelter again, I got to clean the back room and chat with a women to helps criminals transition back into society. From the homeless shelter we took out some hot-dog-bun-peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, coffee, doughnuts, and lemonade to the park and just started handing it out to people who looked homeless or looked like they could use a loving gesture. We broke off into smaller groups to go to the city streets. I went off with Nicole, Brad and our Juneau tour guide (really he's just a great friend) David. We got to a street intersection and we hadn't found anyone yet so Brad just asked "who feels a good direction we should go?" and I just put my hand up left towards a parking garage (weird right?) but as we started following my direction David informed us that on top of the structure was a mini park. We hiked up the stairs and got walking, it was only seconds before we came upon a group of four people, three men and a women, who were clearly homeless. We went up to offer them some coffee and we were instantly immersed in conversation. I had the pleasure of chatting with a man who had grown up in Juneau his whole life (and seen lots of change, not always for the better)and with the women who was definitely a mother figure for the group. The man was a Christian and we talked about lots of things like the blessing that God gives us right when we need them, like how we raised the money to come here, and how judgment can really hold people apart and hinder the kingdom of God. Then I look over and Brad, Nicole, and David are praying with the other gentleman, Mace. He had been having a hard time with a shoulder injury and was grateful to have prayer over him. All the while there was another man at the table that was not a Christian and he was grumbling the whole time that we were just preaching away. But as the guys finished their prayer he made a comment about, "don't you all starting prayin' for me" and his friend Mace just bows his head and says "Lord please bless the4 grouch" hahahaha. It was awesome! As we left there we came across one other man sitting apart from the group but he must have known them. Anyway we stopped and offered him coffee and a sandwich and then we just got talking. As it turns out he had emphysema. We asked if we could pray for him, and even got to put our hands on him. He was so thankful, he said it was exactly what he needed that day, that his life had just been rough recently.
I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME. It was amazing! We have really impacted the culture here, and we can see it as we walk down the streets waving at a dozen people that we have met and talked to.
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA BACK HOME. here is my message for the day: even if you can't see the results keep reaching out to people, because people matter, and all that glory is for God!
DAY SIX today was really phenomenal, it was a day to really enjoy the area that we have been working in for the last week. NOT TO MENTION WE GOT TO SLEEP IN until 9:15. Basically today we got... Bbl
The concept of control has been a huge struggle in my life recently. I like to be in control of what I eat, how I spend my time, how much I sleep, among almost every other aspect of my life. The problem with being in control is that I am flawed, and I need God's direction in my life. "Trust is the Lord your God with all your heart," has taken on new meaning for me this morning. I want God to be in control, and I want to learn how to let go of the control that I cling to.
Its funny to me how God will stand back and trust us to trust him, and then just when we realize he is standing back on purpose he swoops in and drowns us with more than enough love and encouragement. You know, God knows me better than I know myself. That's good.
God moves in mysterious ways. Our team is in Alaksa, that seems random to me. We are running a sports camp. That seems random too. We spent our afternoon serving our host church by washing dishes and polishing every single leaf on the indoor plants. Thats seems so insignificant. And yet, it is so obvious to me that God wants us here. God is showing our team the need for his light in this adorable town. Juneau is this beautiful place full of cute houses and big mountains and lost, confused people. What would Juneau look like if God was in every house? In every person? filling the air with his joy? It would be beautiful. God can move through anything, and it is obvious to me that he is moving in this team and this trip.
The sun came out today in Alaska. Literally, and metaphorically. God speaks to us through metaphors sometimes. The sun came out today because today I was really able to share Gods light with the people that I talked with. Fully pouring yourself into serving others truly produced amazing rewards. Not only do I get the reward of seeing some hope pour into someone else's life, but I get so much love back to me. This is awesome.
I dont really know how to begin this blog. I have learned a lot through the mission process. I gave my heart, body, and soul to my God so that he could use me as he saw fit. Then he used me, but I dont feel used. I feel like I am walking away with more than I came here with. I love it here, but I am more than ready to continue my journey with my beloved God at home. I am eager to pick up what I recieved here in Alaska, and take it home so that I can share it with those I am close with. There is no limit to what God can do, and it is so easy to follow his call when we are away from home. However, the challenge is to remeber what God has done and expect that God can move in the same ways in oue normal life. I cant wait to see how God will use what he has given to this team back at home.~Same day, new thought~ People leave. And yeah, it sucks. Its hard to let someone leave when they played a huge part in what you are today. When they say goodbye and it kind of feels like the part of you they helped to create is throbbing, it hurts. But I know that God is good, and that God loves his children. And I know that through change, God has a chance to fill the holes they leave behind and make us stronger. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us, he has something planned that none of us could even begin to dream up. Our God is good and he has great things for us in the future.
Day 1: We have arrived in Alaska and have already had some serious adventures. In the airport we hugged a bear, was it real? Maybe, maybe not but it was was an adventure in itself. Also we were met by cheerful greeters ready to cart us to wherever we needed to go to. After a quick trip to Alaskan Fred Mayer we went to our church we were staying at. Today we are getting ready for the whole week by starting with a Sunday morning service and breakfast followed by Costco shopping. I am very exited for this week. Signing out, Evan Gonnerman
Day 1 Part 2: Today was a very powerful day. We were able to grow as a team greatly by exploring the town and handing out pamphlets to local children. This was in preparation for our sports camp that is being put on by us tomorrow. This was a great time and had great team bonding. Tomorrow will be another fun, work packed day and I am very pumped. Signing out. Evan Gonnerman
Day 2: Hello, Alaska has been a very good place so far. It has rained for a solid day and does not show any signs of letting up. We were up bright and early getting ready for our sports camp. At first, on day one, I thought that almost no one was going to show up and waking up to pounding rain further deepened these thoughts. But as God would have it a total of 22 kids showed up with rain jackets and smiles on their faces. It was a great time and since I love soccer I thoroughly enjoyed helping and Interacting with the kids. Later on in the day we helped around the church by polished pews, deep cleaned the kitchen, polished plants, and vacuumed around the church. It was a very tiring but productive day and I am so glad we are doing this. Signing out. Evan Gonnerman
Day 3: We are out of the rain for our sports camp today. This place was a covered area with two basketball hoops and a court with three point lines. We played a mix of basketball, capture the flag, and Simon says. These games captivated the children and everyone was very interactive. Many of the boys were very outgoing and I feel like I really bonded with a lot of them. It was a very fun time having a great time with them and I really enjoyed this. After that we went to the Zachary Gordan center where we hung out with many of the same kids that went to the camp. They wer so fun to play with and one of them was showing me how to make fire weed jelly and muffins. The final thing we did was to go into a homeless shelter. Although it was a tid bit ask hawk, I felt that once we got past this I was able to talk to some of the more friendly people at the shelter. I thouroughly enjoyed today and am looking forward to tomorrow.
Day 4: The sun came out today. We woke up to a bright light for the first time in two days. All of our spirits were high and we went into the sports camp with a hopeful and expectant feeling. The kids also had smiles as the walked into camp. We played many games such as sharks and minnows, capture the flag, and team handball. All of the kids were really into it even though it was the third day of waking up before 9 O'clock. After that we went shopping with the group in downtown Juneau. We explored many of the different shops with handmade artifacts native to Alaska. I was very tempted to buy a bear or fox pelt but the bargainer inside me took over and I settled for Alaskan fudge. This filled me until we were able to go down to the only sandy beach in Juneau creatively named "Sandy beach." Here we played some intense games of volleyball, we constructed an interesting and challenging obstacle course, and we explored a tower. This tower was in the middle of freezing water but it only came up to chest height. As we approached it we saw that there was a ladder that was rusted along with a old rope. We used these to get into the tower and it was very exiting. The last day of camp is tomorrow and the trip is drawing to a close which is very sad. Signing Out. Evan Gonnerman.
Day 5: The final day of camp commenced at 9:00 today. At the beginning of camp we had about half of the usual amount of kids there and I thought that it would be a down day. I was wrong. Half was through the day there were nine more kids and it was chaos began. The whole day was dedicated to camp games such as sharks and minnows, capture the flag, down by the banks, and others. It was tough to say good bye to the kids but a lot of them were very tired and had almost zero energy. I played one fourth grader in one on one basketball. Even though the final score was two to six me he played very well. The we went up the tram to the top of one of the mountains. There was an eagle that was being held in a cage at the top because it did not have good enou depth perception to survive in nature. We went on a hike to the top of the the hill and touched a cross that was planted up there. The final adventure of the day was homeless ministry. We met many interesting and nice people some were on the point of scary and others were incredibly polite. One was named butch and I got his x ox live tag. It has been a good day and I am exited for our last day. Signing Out. Evan Gonnerman.Day one; Sunday, July 17th: I began traveling yesterday around one, and had a wonderful flight. I was able to see some beautiful scenery, and meet some lovely people. I met a lady who is originally from Tigard, but moved up to Juneau a few years ago. She is a christian who seems to be very strong i her faith. Speaking with her helped eliminate any worry that i had about this trip. She was very encouraging and informative. She let me know that missionaries are needed in this area, and that we will be able to make a great difference. I arrived to the beautiful state of Alaska yesterday evening, a few hours before everyone else. We were greeted by some lovely, welcoming people, who brought us to Fred Meyer, then to the church. They also gave us a much appreciated coffee pot to feed my love for caffeine. The church we are staying in is very pretty, and everyone is very welcoming. I love it here, and can't wait to begin working in this community.
Later in the day... We attended the church service at the church we are staying at, Northern Lights United Church. Then we got to go tour the wonderful city of Juneau. It was great! The sun was shining all day long, and it was even a little bit hot out at times. After that we walked around and handed out fliers to people in the neighborhood for out sports camp beginning tomorrow. People were mostly accepting of us showing op on their front porch and handing them fliers. But many kids are already in camps this week, which. Makes me worry that we may not have enough people for camp. Later on we went back to church for dinner and some family time. We got into a conversation after dinner about our spiritual gifts from God, and how we can grow, and particularly about talking in tongues. This lead us into some deep prayer time alone and with others. We were given the opportunity to pray over or with anyone we chose to. I had some wonderful moments with the people I'm close to, where I was able to tell them things I normally wouldn't be able to, and they were able to open up to me as well. I also got to pray with people that I am not particularly close to, and I now can say I feel pretty close to them. This whole activity helped me learn more about myself and others than just about anything else I've ever done.
Day two; Monday, July 18th: Today was the first day of camp. I didn't allow myself enough time to fully eat breakfast or do my road grip/journal time, so the day began hectic. Then we stepped outside to find that it was pouring out. And we had to do camp outside. Despite the rain, camp went very well. We all had a ton of fun! After camp, we came back to the church and had an amazing dinner, then cleaned up the church. I was on pew duty. We scrubbed the pews until then were spotless! My arm is going to hurt very bad in the morning, because of all of the scrubbing. Obviously.
Day Three; Tuesday, July 19th: Today I woke up on time and was able to get everything done. Camp was held at the Zach Gordan Youth Center, so we got to be under cover. It was basketball day, which was tough for a lot of the children. I became very tired and frustrated about half way through camp, so I didn't really have fun, but all of the children seemed to enjoy themselves. After camp we went back to the church for lunch, then back to the Zach to just hang out. I played racquetball, and got hit in the face, but still had fun. Then played some basketball, which was a lot of fun. We then went to Glory Hole, a homeless shelter, to talk to the people there and help make food. I was on the talking team and got to meet some great people. I met a man who paints native american artwork on hats and other things. I also met a man who had a chihuahua who can detect epilepsy. His name is Jake. Then we came back to church and had siesta time, because we were all grumpy. Then we ate dinner, watched some Stargate, and headed back to bed.
Day Four; Wednesday, July 20th: Today was a fantastic day. We woke up and the beautiful sun was shining through the windows. The morning went well, and camp was a blast. It was supposed to be ultimate Frisbee day, but it ended up being 'all of Allissa's favorite camp games day!' we got to play Jungle Fire, Bucket(ish) Ball, and Capture the Flag. I am in a much better mood today, though I did not sleep well last night. After camp we decided the sunshine meant that it was time to go swim in the glacier cold river, Gold Creek. I didn't plan on fully submerging myself, but i did it, just so that i could say that I swam in a freezing river in Alaska. Then we went to town, and went shopping and sightseeing. I bought a few gifts, but sadly, nothing for myself. After shopping time, we headed over to Sandy Beach and had a barbecue with Crossroads church. I got to have a nice chat while exploring the beautiful beach with Cat. It is amazing that there can be a nice warm sandy beach, with huge snow capped mountains right next to it. This was probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen. After the beach we headed back to the church, and calmed down. Later in the night we were given some time to pray over the people we've met while we've been. Danielle and I sat in the sanctuary and prayed over quite a few significant people that were placed on our hearts. And now were all very tired, and are off to bed!
Day Five; Thursday, July 21st: Today was the last day of sports camp, and though I will miss the kids, I must say I am a little happy it is over. I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life. It's awesome. After camp today we went back to the church for a wonderful fresh salmon dinner. Our friend Leonard, who works at the church, caught the salmon yesterday, and decided to give it to us. We then found out that someone had bought us tickets to go up the tram to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful. We went up 1,800 feet across beautiful landscape. After the tram, we headed to Glory Hole to help them make dinner for the homeless people. I had the chance to talk to Butch, a man who works at the shelter, about his walk with God. His story was excellent and inspiring. We then went out and handed out coffee and sandwiches to homeless people on the street. We met some very interesting individuals. We then came home, had dinner, and did some praying. It has been a lovely day.I know this whole trip is going to be big. Why? Because I was already attacked :) (I'm smiling because that means we're in the right place). I've struggled with things like jealously and self-worth a lot in my life, and since the devil knows that, that's the fist thing he used. My biggest fear for the week was that I wouldn't connect well with others. Towards the beginning of the trip, that fear was already getting the best of me and I could sense that I wasn't being myself. Unfortunately, that pretty much continued until I went to sleep. But God is faithful. Always is and always will be. This morning He showed me the fact that it was an attack, reminded me that I didn't need to rely on myself or anyone else, and that He would pull through if I gave things to Him, put my trust in Him and gave up trying to be the person I wanted to be in the eyes of other people. He's going to make me the person that I want to be underneath everything else, the "me" that is Him, and a big part of that is going to happen here. Day 1: Already learned at least 7 things to help me on my journey. This is gonna be GOOOOD :D
Still Day 1: ONLY NIGHTTIME.... And you know something? People are right. At least when they say that God works in unexpected ways. Because He does. What happened tonight approximately 30 minutes ago (it might be longer; I can't really tell at the moment) was a kind of moment that I literally only thought could happen in my dreams (only my wildest at that). It was a little scary but somehow I wasn't scared (I know that was You, God :D). Brad asked if the Holy Spirit would come and that we would be gifted with the blessings of Tongues and Prophecy. I know that I had NO IDEA this was coming. Maybe that's part of why I wasn't scared. There was no time for anticipation. Even as Brad was introducing it in prayer, I could feel myself facing up to my fear and choosing to stay beyond it. And I immediately saw somebody's face at about the moment that Brad was asking for a face to be shone to us to go and pray over. I did it.... I DID IT.... I'm not trying to rub that in or anything. I have finally overcome that which held me captive!!!! Anyway, back to the story. I had absolutely no idea what to say, so I started with the first thing that came to mind. I struggled for ground a bit and I think Danielle noticed and, also going out on God's Limb, said to me EXACTLY what I needed to hear in EXACTLY the way I needed to hear it. And as she did, God whispered to me what she needed to hear. I started, and didn't stop. I am almost positive that I said what needed to be said, and even if I didn't, I still made that choice, and I am SO glad I did. When we finished I sat and thanked God and praised Him and relished in what was happening and asked if there was something else. Brad's face came to mind. Wasn't expecting that one either. But before I got myself over to him, he was at my side and said he wanted to pray for me. And he prayed for something that I hadn't realized I needed at that moment, but as it was, I knew God wanted me to listen carefully and take in what was being said about me needing to cherish the life I had and be patient for God to give me gifts and blessings for my walk with Him when the time is right and not rush myself. And he helped me to gain the blessing of Tongues that God was waiting to give me. I received it!!!! And now I can't stop :D! Everything is going to be perfect in the way that God meant for it to be. I know that now. There will be storms. Always. But God's love and wisdom are stronger. Always :) and I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!
Day 2 (as I'm going to bed): I slipped a bit... I let the devil get ahold of me with one of his old tricks: jealousy. Well, kinda a mixture of jealousy, loneliness (in the terms of separation and not being connected with the group), and the feeling of not being good enough. That's a tough one for me. It's like an invisible wire trap the devil uses to trip me up whenever I gain some ground. Well anyway, haven't talked to anyone about it yet and I'm not sure why I haven't. I took time for a bit to look to God and speak with Him and I know that I need to keep myself out of the state of self-pity that is so hard to get out of. That is my challenge. GAME ON!! (group inside-joke). However, on the brighter side of the spectrum, it was the first day of camp today! And it poured. Which made the fact that the kids were LOVIN' IT that much more awesome. :D We all had an amazingly good time together and everything went so smoothly, like butter. Everyone was so good at interacting with the kids and so many showed up!! It was phenomenal. STUPENDOUS! We've more responsibility for running things tomorrow though... GAME ON!! I pray that the Lord will be a part of it all. I have a feeling He will. :) Goodnight!
Day 3 (being typed on the night of Day 4): Day 3 was a bit hectic, which was good since it kept on our toes so that we wouldn't fall asleep standing up. We were all a bit tired. We made good connections with kids, however, and received quite a few new kids as well. Everyone was enthusiastic about the day, regardless of the weather, and everyone had a special position in which they could fill with their strengths. The children all enjoyed themselves immensely and almost no one got hurt and, although there were a few challenges, the camp ceased that day as another great success. We rested for a time before returning to wear we hosted the camp to play a bit and hang some more with some of the kids, which was also extremely fun. We almost got hit in the head multiple times when playing racket ball. For me spiritually, I felt that Day 3 was a confidence-booster day and I gained a lot of confidence and comfortableness in myself. We then went to the homeless shelter and I helped prepare food with Dylan M., Danielle, and Nicole and had a laugh with one of the cooks named Bob. I also had the privilege to meet a man who talked with me and didn't open up to me but did to others and was a good man in general. Towards the end of the day and into the night I was being attacked with falsities about myself and my value. I thought I was going to go to bed with these thoughts in my head and prayed to God about them and right as I was getting ready for bed, I opened up to Audrey and she (just as she always is) helped me to completely solve and expel the lies the devil was using against me and I saw with great clarity (as I have many times before) just how much of a blessing she is in my life. :) S I went to bed with a light heart and thanking God. It was a day of ups and downs but the goods so outweighed the bad that the day ended a "good" day. I am too exhausted to do my Day 4 at the moment and will do it in the morning. Sorry if I have disappointed anyone (if there is anyone reading this...). Goodnight and sleep well family, friend, enemies, and everyone in between.
Day 1- We got to the Juneau airport at around 10. When we got to the baggage claim area, there were people from another church called "crossroads church" were waiting for us and had a big sign that said "welcome southlake". That made us all feel just so welcome here and I know personally I just felt god call us to be here. It didn't feel like we should be here when we were on the plane.. But when we were almost to Juneau, Alaska it just felt like god was just wanting us to be here so badly. When we were on our way from the airport to the church that we were staying at, we stopped at Fred Meyer to get some pizza's for dinner and some bagels for breakfast and that trip was so fun. Dylan and I passed the football and had a fun time. We got back to the church at around 11 or so and had some pizza's. We all went to bed at around 1 or 2 or so. So far.. This mission trip is going well so far and I know god is just going to be with us this whole week to change our lives. Day 1 continued- We had a really fun day today. We woke up and took showers and got ready for church here where we are staying. When we were done getting ready me and a the rest of the missions team helped make food and did other things like put the tables up and chairs around it to get ready for brunch after church. Later that day we went for a walk to downtown Juneau, Alaska. Wen we got home from our fun journey, we loaded up in the vans by our groups and went to apartment like houses and handed out brochures to families and told them that they should come to our free sports camp Monday threw Thursday from 9a.m. To noon and the high school herein Juneau. When we got back from handing out those brochures, we got home and had free time which meant "siesta" time!!! So a few of us took an hour nap or so. Some played games and some took there showers. We ate pizza for dinner and a bit after that we had a prayer time and you could just feel how much god was just there in the room with us. So far.. I'm having a great time!!!
Day 2- Today we woke up around 7 or so to go take showers and got ready for our first camp with the kids at 9 to noon and it was so incredible. It was raining when we woke up and the whole time when we were there with the kids. We tried to make the best of it though and the kids just had a blast and had smiles on there faces the whole time and it was so exciting to see them so happy. When we got back home, all of us changed into dry clothes and the boys changed into their swim trunks and went and jumped into the river. All the girls stayed here and made lunch. When the boys got back we ate lunch. After lunch, a church member that goes to the church that we are staying at came and gave us a list of things to do around the church. Danielle and I were in the kitchen washing everything in the kitchen drawers. Danielle and I thought that this would be a fun job, but it turned out to be really time consuming and harder than we expected. After a little bit we had Rachel, Katie, Dylan and Chris and Evan helping us. Today has been a really great day and I'm definitely looking forward to more that will be coming this week. I love my family that I have and will be staying with for many more days. :)
Day 3- So we woke up today at around 6:15 or so because we had to be up by 7 to do our roadgrip and eat breakfast. We had our meeting at around 8:30 or so and left to go do the camp for the kids at around 9. It rained pretty much the whole time during the camp. When the camp was done around noon, we all piled in the vans and headed back to the church where we are staying at to get some lunch. When we were done with lunch, we headed back to the Zach Gordon Youth Center where we had our camp at today and until Thursday and we just played racquetball,basketball and a whole bunch of other things. After hanging out at the youth center with the teens and kids in Alaska, we headed to the Homeless Shelter in Juneau, Alaska. We helped make dinner for them and just sat around ant talked to the homeless people that were there. After a little bit, Brad looked around and noticed that everyone was starting to fall asleep talking to them so Brad told us that we were leaving. When we got back to the church, Brad explained to us why we left so early and he told us that we need to at least take a hour nap if not the full two hours. When we got up, we got up at 7 p.m. and made dinner. After dinner, we just had family time for a while and then went to bed later that night. Today was such an amazing day!
Day 4- So the day starts off with mine and Danielle's alarm clock on our phones at 6:15 in the morning with the same ringtone. We get up and take showers and get ready for the sports camp at 9a.m. The sports camp was really fun today. We played frisbee today with the kids and played a whole bunch of other games. When the camp was over around noon, we got home and changed into our swimsuits and went to the gold creek river. The river was about in the low 40's. The water was so cold. Brad, Danielle, both Dylan's, Allissa, Chris, Rachel, Evan, Katie, Jordan, Wade and I were the ones that went down to the river. Wade and Katie didn't actually go in the river but they were there to take pictures and watch us freeze and suffer in the freezing river. But hey.. How often do you get to go swim in an Alaskan river? When we got back we went into town to go look around and we all went to go get coffee at the beginning and fudge at the end. After we we done in the town we went to the beach and had a BBQ with the kids from our camp and their families. Brad, Evan, the Dylan's and I walked down a ways to this old house looking thing a little ways in the ocean and climbed up in it. It was very fun but very cold. Today was a very great day. Very excited for tomorrow!!!Day 1: Alaska is beautiful. There are mountains all around and you can smell the ocean. God is amazing. We got in late last night, got up early this morning (17th) and we are all in good spirits, and ready to serve. I can't believe that we are already in Alaska. The time leading up to the trip has gone by so quickly. I pray that if the time here goes by quickly that we reach as many people as possible. I am excited and nervous but I know that God has a plan and a purpose for me. I can't wait to see what it will be. Thank you for all the prayers and support to allow Chris and I to be a part of this mission trip. Chapter 2: 7/17/2011 Wow... is the first thing that comes to my heart, mind and soul. God you are amazing. You are here in this amazing place. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone. I am at awe of your wonder, how beautiful you are. This was a long day but there are many more to come. God is always there; lifting you up, encouraging you when you think you can't, comforting you when you need it the most. The two churches that are working with our team are so excited for us to be here. They have prepared for our arrival to Alaska just as God has. Tomorrow is the first day of the sports camp and I am so excited to see what Gods plan is for us. The team sliced oranges, bagged trail mix and are ready to serve. Stayed tuned for Chapter 3 of this Alaska Mission Trip Adventure Chapter 3: 7/18/2011 Ok. Here it is. Rain, rain go away come up another day….This day reminded me of a day in Oregon; liquid sunshine. The first day despite of the rain and wind that blew ever so often it was a great day. The kiddos that came to camp today came with their “A game.” They were ready and willing to get right in and play :0). These kiddos were excited to see what was going to happen next and didn’t complain it was awesome. We have a great team; they really enjoyed themselves. The student totally showed God’s love through their interactions. This afternoon we completed service activities at the church. I was in the group that polished the pews. When we were finished the sanctuary was smiling :0), literally. Other members for team polished the leaves of the plants, watered plants and the largest job cleaning the kitchen (dishes, cabinets, etc.) Chapter 4: 7/19/2011 Today we had the sport camp under a covered basketball court area protected from the rain. We had 10 more kiddos join the camp, God is great. Today the students were in charge of the sports camp activities. They did an awesome job. I loved watching them interact and engage the campers. The sports campers had a blast. They were smiling and excited about the activities. We played many games of capture the flag the campers loved this game. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us tomorrow. Chapter 5: 7/20/2011 Today was the third day of sports camp. What a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and clouds were gone. The focus sport today was Frisbee. The sports campers weren’t into Frisbee. The leaders were observant adapted the activities to the interest of the kiddos. I enjoyed watching even more growth in the student leaders. So many of them continue to come out of their shells and I love it. The two churches that are hosting us are absolutely amazing. Crossroads Church put on a BBQ at Sandy Beach (which is the only sand beach in the area) for the team. It was absolutely beautiful; everyone is super friendly and so happy that we are here. Northern Lights have been hosting us, thank you, thank you. Ok it is 10:20pm and it is dust. Until tomorrow.
So my first day was extremely tiring, I went straight from my MDA to the air port and without much time in between. While I was in the air port waiting for the flight, I met a man who noticed my Dad and I's MDA shirts and started talking to me about his past with working with disabled children we also talked about his church experience and how he was involved with his churches youth group. It was a really meaningful conversation to me because of how positive he was and how he kept telling me to keep my faith and to not let he world bring me down. It was just what I needed to get me started :)
The rest of today was amazing, had a bit of a rough afternoon but tonight just blew me away, I connected with people and prayed with my group members, it was so touching and life changing and now I feel completely ready to take on the rest of the week.
Today was difficult for me, because I couldn't participate during the sports camp as much as I would have liked. Later in the day it made up for it because I had a fantastic time serving around the church by polishing the pews and just hanging out, then had some fun just talking with everyone. Exited for tomorrow!
Today was amazing, everything went fantastic with the sports camp, I was able to participate a lot more and play with the kids. Then when we went to the homeless shelter, it went well but we all got tired and had to leave a bit earlier, after a long nap we all had the best dinner so far and then I watched some of the team invent a game using an upside down stool and a bunch of clothes hanger which was amazing and funny. Now I'm tired again and exited for tomorrow.