As we experience Alaska, we experience creation. God didn't have to make this. He expresses His love in the quintessential beauty of what He creates and what He does for what He creates. God as a creator starts painting on the canvas of space out of the beauty of His own nature. He gives us the sun, moon, stars, galaxies, earth, mountains, flowers, and all kinds of different creatures. When you look at nature, flowers, insects and the animal world, you see this huge array of creatures that manifest His infinite wisdom and power. This is the beauty of His nature. Except mosquitos. Mosquitos are of Satan, just sayin'.
Much of Alaska is magnificent. Moose and Buffalo, Bald Eagles and Bears. The Mountains and Glaciers are huge and impressive. The air is refreshing and invigorating. He has provided this for His creature. What did we do to deserve this? How do we respond and give back with the work we do today?
90% of the 18 year old girls who come to the Alaska Christian College and sleep in the beds that we are currently sleeping in have been sexually abused for years in their own homes say this is the first place they feel safe.
Although the villages have electricity from generators, they still use honey pots for toilets (buckets) and carry the waste to a communal dump. This is United States, folks!
So they come here to college - many leaving their village for the first time. Here to Alaska Christian College and this summer, we help prepare the way.
We cleaned the library
Weeded the grounds
Cleaned the basement out
Cleaned carpet in the basement
Cleaned carpets in the dining hall
Sorted thru all the excess wood piles and construction piles, burned excess wood
Organized construction & maintenance sheds
Painted tables, chairs and benches
Stained outside wood cabins
Cleaned vehicles
Painted outdoor trim
.... and I'm sure I'm missing stuff.
But here is what's impressive. The people here. Alaska Christian College runs on donations and minimal tuition. A year here is only $16K - yes parents listen up! 16K! So money is tight - yet ... In their community of Soldotna they reach out.
We went to Cook Inlet School. They needed help, we were sent. We cleaned up the grounds, classrooms, office, prepped for painting. When we mentioned painting, Alaska College said Oh! They have no money, we'll pay for paint. The principal said because we came this will be the first time she can take a real vacation as we got so much work done and took worry off her plate.
Our first work day, six of our guys spent splitting wood and cutting trees that will be donated to Love, Inc. who provides fire wood for low income families who otherwise wouldn't have it. Last year they only filled 25% of the requests.
Amundsen Educational Center (AEC) is a faith-based non-profit, educational and vocational training school. A team was sent to help with repairs, paint and cleanup ... it quickly moved from minor to major. The team caught the vision and moved into a full "weekend of service overhaul" committing North Coast monies and Alaska Christian College funds. The Director said she'd never seen a team serve with such heart.
So God creates beauty, beauty in the land, beauty in people and beauty in these kid's hearts as they serve. And we give back by serving His people. Where He asks us to. Where He provides. As I write this we are driving an hour to the Russian River for a four-mile hike because, yes, when it doesn't get dark until 4am ... you can hike at night after working all day. We are headed up to a waterfall and to watch native Alaskans hoop net fish for salmon. Only Alaska residents are allowed to fish this way and the limit is 25/day! We have two students hosting us, both Eskimos from whaling villages and the kids are loving getting to hear about their culture and traditions.
Subnote: Mosquitos pollinate the cacao plant. Without Mosquitos there would be no chocolate. We think this is a myth created by the Alaskan tourist bureau.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
Day 3 - Words are few
Today was full ... of work, of God. Today was full. Trees were cut, wood was chopped, classrooms were cleaned, vehicles were washed, library was cleaned, gardens were weeded, buildings were painted, furniture was moved and God was in the details. Everyone was safe, no one was hurt, all worked hard. Muscles are sore, mosquito bites are huge and calluses are beginning. God is good! Night all!
Good Morning Alaska!
We arrived in Anchorage and drove by van to the First Covenant Church last night. Arriving just after 1am Anchorage time (2am San Diego time), the students were wired for sound while the adult leaders were very happy to see a few couches to elevate us off the floors. Gaining a few hours sleep, we awoke to a fresh Alaska morning, cereal and muffins, 30 minutes of personal bible time and then church with the Covenant Church. Long white church, open beam ceilings, wood pews .... 100 in attendance today. 60 visiting. 28 (us) from San Diego and 30 from Minnesota completing their mission trip.
Live worship band (mellow and traditional)
Family prayer time ( different for our students)
Children's message (on Babylon)
The Pastors message on Babylon - Jeremiah 29: 4-14 (engage the City where you've been called / bloom where you are planted /good message)
Lots of stand up, sit down :-)
Spent some time just hanging out, killing time ... random lunch, and we are on our way to Soldotna. We traveled along one of the world's great drives starting in Anchorage and leading south on the Seward Highway towards Portage Glacier. It's the trip, not the destination, that makes it worthwhile. The two-lane highway along Turnagain Arm, chipped from the foot of the rocky Chugach Mountains, provides a platform to see a magnificent, ever-changing, mostly untouched landscape full of wildlife. Known as one of the most beautiful in all of America. To the right large expanse of mud, much of it quicksand cover the surface until water is reached. Tides comes in and go out every 6 hours and at times can reach 30 feet high! Winds can max out at 100 miles per hour making it a haven for wind surfers. Across the water snow capped mountains rise up 4000-5000 feet in the air. On the left of the road a few houses peek out, hiking trails go up and every once in awhile you see a pipe coming out spewing fresh water where people can literally fill up their jugs with fresh water.
We took a break from the drive and stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center- a non-profit center gives homes to injured and orphaned deer, moose, owls, elk, bison, muskox, bear, fox, and caribous. Although you can drive through this 200 acre preserve, we got to walk through it giving us unique opportunity too see the animals in their namtural habitat, even watching two bears wrestle.
As we drove for nearly 2 1/2 hours high energy chatter fell silent as one by one the student fell asleep - not even the beauty could keep them awake. Off the side of the rose you could see the Kanai River now with fisher men in the wader standing hip deep waiting for their Salmon and Halibut .... 'this the Season.
Finally, 7:30pm we rolled into the Alaska Christian College. Tomorrow begins our work schedule. Please pray as we begin to define the difference between "camp" and "mission" .... "Work" and " fun".
Tonight we toasted marshmallow by bonfire in broad daylight at 10pm ... weird!
Live worship band (mellow and traditional)
Family prayer time ( different for our students)
Children's message (on Babylon)
The Pastors message on Babylon - Jeremiah 29: 4-14 (engage the City where you've been called / bloom where you are planted /good message)
Lots of stand up, sit down :-)
Spent some time just hanging out, killing time ... random lunch, and we are on our way to Soldotna. We traveled along one of the world's great drives starting in Anchorage and leading south on the Seward Highway towards Portage Glacier. It's the trip, not the destination, that makes it worthwhile. The two-lane highway along Turnagain Arm, chipped from the foot of the rocky Chugach Mountains, provides a platform to see a magnificent, ever-changing, mostly untouched landscape full of wildlife. Known as one of the most beautiful in all of America. To the right large expanse of mud, much of it quicksand cover the surface until water is reached. Tides comes in and go out every 6 hours and at times can reach 30 feet high! Winds can max out at 100 miles per hour making it a haven for wind surfers. Across the water snow capped mountains rise up 4000-5000 feet in the air. On the left of the road a few houses peek out, hiking trails go up and every once in awhile you see a pipe coming out spewing fresh water where people can literally fill up their jugs with fresh water.
We took a break from the drive and stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center- a non-profit center gives homes to injured and orphaned deer, moose, owls, elk, bison, muskox, bear, fox, and caribous. Although you can drive through this 200 acre preserve, we got to walk through it giving us unique opportunity too see the animals in their namtural habitat, even watching two bears wrestle.
As we drove for nearly 2 1/2 hours high energy chatter fell silent as one by one the student fell asleep - not even the beauty could keep them awake. Off the side of the rose you could see the Kanai River now with fisher men in the wader standing hip deep waiting for their Salmon and Halibut .... 'this the Season.
Finally, 7:30pm we rolled into the Alaska Christian College. Tomorrow begins our work schedule. Please pray as we begin to define the difference between "camp" and "mission" .... "Work" and " fun".
Tonight we toasted marshmallow by bonfire in broad daylight at 10pm ... weird!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Anticipation grows as you approach a mission trip. As we stood in front of the church ready to head to the airport, parents said their goodbys as students eagerly waiting to just get on the road. Bags were marked and counted, instructions were given and everyone was once again reminded that regardless of our expectations this was God's trip. Only He knows the plans He has for us, the path He has laid out. The vision was odd as the kids piled into three awaiting limos - yes long black stretch limos. Hmmmm.... so random that this has become the least expensive way to the airport but it was ... so limos it was. Rather a different looking mission trip I must say. Leave it to Carlsbad campus to do it right!
We, being the Bostwicks were bringing up the rear in the chase SUV with the extra luggage. We weren't 7 minutes down the road before the call came from JD Larson. Suitcase and Backpack left inside the church! Really? Well we always say, no trip is complete without at least one U-Turn. Quick U-Turn - meet up with truck chasing us and we're off again. Oh which student forgot their luggage? Well we hate to name names ....
Checkin, boarding, loading, etc - smooth, smooth, smooth. Seems like a long flight - might be something to do with it all being in daylight, including even now as I write this and look out the window at 10:01pm and it's not yet sunset. Guess we better get used to it.
So even in the initial hours as we travel to our destination the anticipation hangs in the air. As everyone is catnapping on the plane, the excitement is still just under the surface and can still be heard in whispered conversations. And even now God's at work.
We, being the Bostwicks were bringing up the rear in the chase SUV with the extra luggage. We weren't 7 minutes down the road before the call came from JD Larson. Suitcase and Backpack left inside the church! Really? Well we always say, no trip is complete without at least one U-Turn. Quick U-Turn - meet up with truck chasing us and we're off again. Oh which student forgot their luggage? Well we hate to name names ....
Checkin, boarding, loading, etc - smooth, smooth, smooth. Seems like a long flight - might be something to do with it all being in daylight, including even now as I write this and look out the window at 10:01pm and it's not yet sunset. Guess we better get used to it.
So even in the initial hours as we travel to our destination the anticipation hangs in the air. As everyone is catnapping on the plane, the excitement is still just under the surface and can still be heard in whispered conversations. And even now God's at work.
Monday, June 2, 2014
When a door opens..
Our team sat together in a tight circle around a fire pit talking about where God might lead us. How do we open a door? How do we make sure we are ready to take on Kingdom building? Then again, what is Kingdom Building? Is Kingdom Building traveling to another place ... another state, another country and as quickly as we can converting as many people as we can? Is it infiltrating another culture to impact them "for the Lord." That doesn't seem right.
As a team, we make plans. We plan Vacation Bible Study, we plan crafts, we create expectations in our minds. We picture children enthralled that we have travelled 2500 miles to see them and tell them about Jesus. We imagine serving food at a soup kitchen. We've been told about clearing brush and wooded areas (Alaskan wooded areas, mind you!). We picture "service projects" whatever they might be and all the while sharing Jesus. But what if ? What if ... what if God is sending us for reasons, or a reason, only He knows? What if 28 of us are headed to Alaska for 11 days just so one of the 28 (only known by Him) is to have a "chance" meeting with one person in Soldotna? Or, we get there and are rerouted to another area and end up working with elders instead of kids? Uh? What do we do with all these crayons?
The point being is, as with life, and even more so when we are headed out to do Gods work, we make plans, but we are at His whim. It's His work, not ours. His call, not ours. His plan, not ours.
Being the hands and feet of Jesus doesn't mean we make plans, expectations and blueprints to follow and then get frustrated when we go off track. Being the hands and feet mens just that - we go where He sends us, we respond when He places it before us and we act when He says go!
Sitting around the dancing fire, we talked about the rope climbing term On Belay. When you climb, you are tethered to a person below you - a groundsman, of sorts, a stabilizer. The terms On Belay and Belay On are used between the climber and the one holding the ropes, as the climber moves on up the rock. When the climber says Belay On and the stabilizer says On Belay, it mean go on, I have the rope, I have your back, you are secure, I have you covered.
As we move into this mission trip, as a team, we pray that we stay open to what He has planned for us and that we remain flexible and willing to be used for His will and His desires. We pray Belay On - knowing that God replies On Belay. He is sending us with His plan, His will and He has the ropes.
Our team sat together in a tight circle around a fire pit talking about where God might lead us. How do we open a door? How do we make sure we are ready to take on Kingdom building? Then again, what is Kingdom Building? Is Kingdom Building traveling to another place ... another state, another country and as quickly as we can converting as many people as we can? Is it infiltrating another culture to impact them "for the Lord." That doesn't seem right.
As a team, we make plans. We plan Vacation Bible Study, we plan crafts, we create expectations in our minds. We picture children enthralled that we have travelled 2500 miles to see them and tell them about Jesus. We imagine serving food at a soup kitchen. We've been told about clearing brush and wooded areas (Alaskan wooded areas, mind you!). We picture "service projects" whatever they might be and all the while sharing Jesus. But what if ? What if ... what if God is sending us for reasons, or a reason, only He knows? What if 28 of us are headed to Alaska for 11 days just so one of the 28 (only known by Him) is to have a "chance" meeting with one person in Soldotna? Or, we get there and are rerouted to another area and end up working with elders instead of kids? Uh? What do we do with all these crayons?
The point being is, as with life, and even more so when we are headed out to do Gods work, we make plans, but we are at His whim. It's His work, not ours. His call, not ours. His plan, not ours.
Being the hands and feet of Jesus doesn't mean we make plans, expectations and blueprints to follow and then get frustrated when we go off track. Being the hands and feet mens just that - we go where He sends us, we respond when He places it before us and we act when He says go!
Sitting around the dancing fire, we talked about the rope climbing term On Belay. When you climb, you are tethered to a person below you - a groundsman, of sorts, a stabilizer. The terms On Belay and Belay On are used between the climber and the one holding the ropes, as the climber moves on up the rock. When the climber says Belay On and the stabilizer says On Belay, it mean go on, I have the rope, I have your back, you are secure, I have you covered.
As we move into this mission trip, as a team, we pray that we stay open to what He has planned for us and that we remain flexible and willing to be used for His will and His desires. We pray Belay On - knowing that God replies On Belay. He is sending us with His plan, His will and He has the ropes.
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