Last Day

Today is our last day on the trip. After packing up and cleaning the church well, we left to go to Portage Glacier. As we got closer to the glacier area, we ended up pulling off at a trail access to Byron Glacier. The trail was about a mile long and the view at the end was incredible. Massive ice flows coming down the mountain to a clear stream were awesome. The ice was actually a very pretty blue color. The group got to walk on the glacier and the kids played in the snow some. Overall, this has been a very life changing trip and one that I know my family will remember for a lifetime. If you ever get the opportunity to go on a mission trip I would highly recommend it. you cannot go wrong serving the Lord.

Going to the Russian River

Today is a sight seeing day for our group. We went to the Russian River falls today to see the salmon swimming upstream in the river. This was unbelievable. The hike was great first of all, and we were a little anxious because we were in bear country, but we didn't see any bears today. We did however, see wonderful scenery and got to see the salmon in action. They were so thick in the river that it looked as if we were at a fish hatchery. The salmon were silver and some were red in color. The water was so clear, that you could seem them very well. In the evening we went to have supper at a local Mexican restaurant. My food was pretty good, but some of our team members got sick after eating there.

Beach Reach Day 3

This is our last day on the beach. It is cold and rainy today as well, but we have come prepared. Even built a nice big fire on the beach again to keep us warm. At 2 p.m. we are having a chapel service on the beach. I met a man named John today who was fishing. When he came up to get some food and warm by the fire, I got to visit with him. He shared that he had a brother in Washington State that had some major issues such as aspergers, autism, adhd and more. He is in a care facility as his mother does not want to take care of him. John said he was wanting to get custody of his brother David and bring him to Alaska for a better life. I shared with him that Jonathan and David were friends in the bible. He also said that he went to church some as a child, but has not gone much as an adult. He did tell me that James was his favorite book in the Bible. This was a revelation for me as I was praying before we left for the trip, I felt like God gave me the name James for some reason. I didn't know if I would meet someone named James or if he wanted me to read something from the book of James, but I know that Jonathan saying this to me was directly a God thing. I also got to pray with him along with some other brothers for his success in getting custody of his brother. Our church service on the beach was awesome. We had singing and testimonies from our group members. Many Alaskans gathered around to listen. Many team members were able to witness to people today and I am certain that lives were changed for the better.

Beach Reach Day 2

This is the second day on Kasilof Beach. There were many more people on the beach fising today. As a way to draw a few more people to our tent and to also get to personally visit with them more, we conducted a raffle for a new fising rod and reel. To enter the people signed up and gave us just a few minutes of their time to talk to them about their spiritual beliefs and also share what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. This was a good day for me. I met many people but got to share Christ with about 6 people and got to pray with a man who had a young son with heart problems. I also met a man named Sam who really seemed to connect with me and has had many serious personal issues of his own. I was able to share with him that he can be forgiven of the things that he has done, no matter how bad he thinks they were. Although he didn't accept Christ as his savior, seeds were sown and he definitely knows what he needs to do to be saved. The kids also really engaged today with the locals. They played and sang and even were able to lead two young boys to salvation through Christ. We also built a small fire on the beach and that was a great draw for people to come up and warm their hands while they were getting a hotdog and cup of hot chocolate. The day was cold and rainy and we all were wearing raingear. Tomorrow is our last day.

Beach Reach Day 1

Today was the first day for our group out on the beach. Our team was assigned to Kasilof Beach which runs beside the Kasilof River. This was the first year that a mission team had set up food and activity tents on this particular beach. We got there at 9 a.m. Being Friday, many people did not come until late in the day to fish since they were working. The day was slow, and not many people were on the beach, but we did get to meet some people. Our team was paired with a church group from Florida. This group was mainly older people so the combination of ages worked well. We tried to set up an inflatable bounce house for the kids to jump in, but realized quickly that it had a hole in it and it would not stay inflated well. So we took it down and did not use it for the rest of the time. I really think God planned that for us because it forced us to develop other things for the children to do that was more interactive such as games,craft making, facepainting, balloon making and singing. We also set up the main tent for food and drinks and a smaller tent for the childrens activities.

I met a young lady who was camping behind our tent named Tona. She is from Alaska and had a small child. In talking with her I learned that she considers herself to be a Christian, but she was raised in the Russian Orthodox Church as a child. She does not agree with the teachings of the Russian Orthodox faith now as an adult. Tomorrow will be a more active day for our group. We stayed at the beach until about 6 p.m. and then loaded up and went back to First Baptist Church of Kenai for supper and worship service.

Training Day

7-22-10 was training and orientation for all of the team. Church mission teams from Arkansas, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Mississippi were on hand for the event with about 180 volunteers total. Today was geared at learning what the Salmon Frenzy was all about and what we could and could not do to assist the fishing process. Not being from Alaska, we cannot touch anything that is related to helping the natives fish. This means the fish itself, rods, nets, coolers, etc. We will be helping by providing water, picking up trash, parking, working with their children and providing food for them. The PBC Park Day has definitely been good training for our team.
Tomorrow the frenzy starts and we will be spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the beach from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day.
We are in good company. There are three teams here from Virginia. One from Bedford and one from Roanoke in addition to us. It has been great to meet new people. The kids are very excited about today and so are the adults. We are already excited about what the Lord will do this week. Continue praying for us and for the success as we work to reach people for Christ.

I was hoping to add some pictures, but our connection is not allowing it. I will add some when we get back home.

Day 1- The Journey

Hello Everyone. We had a very good trip to Alaska. The Flights all the way to Anchorage, AK were very smooth. We were a little anxious trying to get a group of 24 adults and children where they needed to be in the airports, but it all worked out. Once we landed in Anchorage, we had another 3 hours to drive to Soldotna, AK where we are staying in a host church. The ride to Soldotna was absolutely amazing!! Beautiful scenery the entire way. Mans most talented and celebrated artists cannot compare to Gods creation!

After a night of only about 3-4 hours of darkness, we are ready to go today. We will go through orientation with the mission team today and prayer walk the beach in Kenai,in preparation for our work with beach reach starting tomorrow. Thank you for continued prayers this week.