Day 1 - And We're Off!
Day 2 - We Made It! (Alive and Well)
Hey Everyone!
You will be happy to know that we landed safely in Alaska yesterday, and arrived at the bible college early this morning (around one AM Alaska time, five AM Pennsylvania time). This is a very energetic group this year! Many of us were still wide awake, dancing and singing all four hours of the car ride after we got off the plane. Miraculously there were several moose sightings on our highway trip here! It was especially difficult to control Emily from hopping out of the car and approaching the wild animal to take pictures of it.
Days 2 & 3 - Strelna
Greetings Everyone!
It’s the third day of the trip and so far everything has been a blessing. We hiked into Strelna camp Friday afternoon and were stranded in the middle of God’s creation. When we initially unloaded the vehicles at the entrance of the trail that leads to the camp I was personally a little apprehensive. We had so much stuff! To top it off we had to hike in and we were not sure how far that would be.
Day 4 - The Park Begins
Hey All!
Life up here is definitely different. The moose count went up today! Seth narrowly spotted one on our return to the bible college from the ball field, still no bears though. That is probably for the best.
Day 5 - Working Hard
Hello again!
We survived to serve another day! They worked us exceptionally hard today, and again we did more then we ever thought we could. Immediately following breakfast we split into separate teams and worked from ten to four doing various jobs. The rock wall needed to be built, wood had to be chopped, cleaning and painting were in need, and children had to be watched.
Day 6 - Still Going Strong
Greetings!
Today we got to sleep in until nine! It was a real sweet treat. At breakfast we were assigned to our teams, and again we spent the whole day working. We continued to paint, chop wood, and work on the rock wall. In addition Amy and I aided Bob in filleting the king salmon, which had been previously caught in the fish wheel.
Day 7 - A day of rest
Hey Everyone!
Yesterday morning we were up way earlier then usual to set out for Valdez, a local fishing town only two hours away. Since it was our ‘relax’ day we spent a lot of time taking pictures of the scenic views, hiking up a glacier, eating fresh halibut, and walking around the fishing port. The glacier was especially fun to get and up close look to. Many of us went pretty high up just to touch the toe of the glacier. I believe that Jake, Luke, and Chris went the highest in order to examine some caverns near the edge of the glacier.
Days 8 & 9 - Mission Completion
Hey all!
Sorry for the delayed updates, everything has been going well these past few days. The project of chopping all the Wendts wood (several cords at least) has been successfully completed! Our whole team pitched in on that at one point or another, so all the kids should be given some credit. Our painting has also been completed! Kudos to the painting team! The last task which really needs to be finished is the rock climbing wall, which is an extremely time consuming endeavor. However, it is starting to look really great and hopefully will be finished soon. Prayers for the assignment will be greatly appreciated.
Day 10 - Happy Fourth of July
Hey all!
It is fairly close to midnight on July fourth and I’m writing to you from the middle of a fireworks show. Fortunately the sun has become only slightly visible behind the mountains, so it is just dark enough to see the explosions. I feel as though I’m in the middle of a war zone with fireworks zooming everywhere. So you’ll have to forgive me if I lose concentration and start to sound a little incoherent.
Day 11 - Bittersweet
Hey all!
It’s our last day in Alaska, and it was a really great way to end the week. We started out the morning by attending the Copper Center church. The service was really great! Our drama group (Luke, Jake, Katie, and I)performed as a part of the service, and the audience really seemed to enjoy the skit. In addition, our musical group (Sara, Chrissie, Foster, Cory) lead the group in worship. Chrissie had a bit of a coughing fit in the middle of singing, but it didn’t interfere with the music too much.