Alaska Mission Trip ~ Time Well Spent

Tomorrow we fly home.  It's been one month that we've been here in Big Lake, Alaska, serving the Lord at Camp Maranatha.  What a month it's been!  I don't know when I've ever worked so hard, and I have an extreme appreciation for what Becky & Terry Livengood do up here at this camp!  I know that the Lord is blessing them and their sweet family as they are ministering to the needs of the Alaskan people.  I admire them so much.

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Victoria.  Oh. My. Gosh!  What a trooper she is!  She has worked sooooo hard up here, and she has served her Lord well.  NOT. ONE. COMPLAINT. EVER!!!  Unbelievable, her work ethic is.  If we had a 5 AM wake up time to get to the kitchen by 6, she was on it.  No complaints.  If we spent LONG days working in the kitchen, she did what was asked of her without ONE complaint!  What 17 year old does that???  My kid, that's who!  

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Christy Conrad.  My new friend.  She and her husband Kevin live up here at the camp and help out Becky & Terry with the daily running of the camp.  What a kick it's been to meet them and to work alongside them.  They are adoptive parents of several children and have fostered many others.  Christy has a heart for the children without parents.  Recently, she had been fostering a baby named Joy while her mother was seeking treatment for some issues.  Joy had been in Christy & Kevin's lives since she was a day old.  Joy is now 7 months old, and just this past week, the paternal grandparents got their way in "The System" and were given the right to keep Joy until reunification with Joy's mother.  It was hard letting go of Joy on Friday.  Tough, tough time.... lots of prayer covering that baby.

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What we've learned while serving at Camp Maranatha:

1.  Standing on your feet doing dishes for 2 1/2 hours straight is HARD work.  
2.  Doing dishes for 2 1/2 hours straight ruins your hands.
3.  Being on your feet for the better part of 14 hour days makes your ankles turn into kankles.
4.  When you develop kankles and your skin has really swollen up, the sub dermal layer of skin breaks apart, giving the appearance of a nasty rash.  :-/
5.  Alaska is beautiful.
6.  The Alaskan people are very down to earth.
7.  Mosquitoes love me.
8.  If you wear sandals because your feet and ankles are swollen, you WILL get mosquito bites on the bottom of your feet.
9.  I can live a month without blow drying or stying my hair.  
10.  Alaska is gorgeous.
11.  The view at Camp Maranatha never gets old.
12.  Being Dead Dog Tired is a good thing.
13.  60 degree weather in July is a GOOD thing.
14.  They don't really do much celebrating of the 4th of July up here, in the typical sense.  Sure, they have the food & decorations, but no fireworks.  The sun doesn't set.  
15.  Terry Livengood has willpower like none other.  
16.  Becky Livengood demonstrates Grace on a daily basis, like none other.
17.  I should learn how to show Grace, by Becky's example.  
18.  It doesn't really rain hard up here.... it's just constant.  Like all night long.  Drip, drip, drip.....  
19.  Nothing tastes as good as freshly caught salmon.
20.  Hard work really doesn't kill you.

Hourglass Lake

 Vic holding elk antlers.




Vic & I near a river leading to Hatcher's Pass.

 Time to serve DINNER!






FRESH SALMON!!!  There is NUTHIN' better!



BELOW:  Part of the teen camp was a symbolic yet heartfelt moment when they had written their sins, or what needs changing in their lives on a board, broke it, just like Christ did for them, and then tossed it in the fire.  Prayer followed for each camper.  Beautiful moment.

 Moose meat burrito!  YUMMO!





AHHHHHHH!!!

Becky & Terry Livengood.  My heroes.  


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And that's my life so far...