The past couple of days have flown by as we come near, but continue to finish strong. Monday lived up to the name of Adventures in Missions with a glacier hike. It was really amazing. The next stop was Independence Mine at Hatcher’s Pass. The buildings still stand reminding us of Alaska’s past, but the highlight for Shane, BJ, Jason, and Casey was the view from the top of the mountain they rediscovered. Jordan, Lewis, and Carson found a little snow with a little off-trail hiking. The marmots hung out in the area, and Amanda even fed a squirrel by hand. The evening was filled with a really wonderful time of worship, prayer within the team, and for those burdens that the team had back home. It’s amazing how the Lord works and the freedom in Him. Going to bed is tough when we enjoy spending time as a team.
Tuesday we were blessed with rain, but we headed to town and prayed it would clear which it did. The first stop was Wasilla, and we split into 3 groups for an ATL (Ask the Lord). Make sure you ask what the Lord did because there are so many God stories from here and from the ATL we did later that day in Anchorage. It seemed one team was to be an encouragement for so many, one blessed people with spreading joy to others, and one was on a mission for the homeless. We dropped back by Ship Creek for a stroll looking at the salmon running, what few were there. Van time is even fun with this group. Last night we spent almost 3 hours just sharing what the Lord did that day. What a blessing to hear from the Lord!
Today the AM rain changed our plans but God provided. One of the churches we attended Sunday needed VBS help so most of the team decorated and built a stage. By the end of the day the church was becoming an Amazon Jungle and they were very appreciative. BJ, Evan, Carson, Jason, Jordan, and John had a “man day” where we did some wood work carrying firewood, logs, and limbs in the AM and stacking over 5 cords of firewood (that’s alot) for the local pastor. Looking forward to a good debrief, and one last good long day.
-John
