This RAD mom decided to bring her RAD kid on a month long mission trip up to the beautiful state of Alaska! Since my RAD kid is headed down the pathway of becoming a missionary, I figured why not spend a month in Alaska, sorta getting her feet wet in the mission field and see how she likes it! So, here we are!
We arrived on Monday, June 30th at 3:02 in the afternoon, Anchorage time. The flights were long, but basically uneventful... which is a good thing! No delays, cancellations, or problems this time.... so yay for that!
We arrived at the campsite in the evening and spent the first night unpacking and settling in. It's sooo good to see my good friend, Becky & her husband, Terry and of course their kids. Becky used to be my Kaleidoscope Children's Choir accompanist a LONG time ago... we've known each other for years. She and Terry moved up here oh, about 10 years ago or so, to oversee the church campsite. They've done a marvelous job, and have turned the camp around in no time. Our job for the month is to help out in the kitchen, cooking for the masses.
This week is "Family Camp." Vic is making new friends and is having a ball! They are having a teen night of activities tonight and she plans to be out very late. I reminded her that that would be fine as long as she didn't give me any trouble about getting up at 6:15 in the morning... :) We have duties in the kitchen at 7:30.
The work here is exhausting and yet gratifying at the same time. I admire Becky so much for how hard she works when there is a camp going on. She is tireless... Ya start breakfast for 200 at 7:00 AM, feed them at 9, then clean it up and start preparing lunch.... feed them at noon or 1, then clean that up, have a bit of a break, then start in on the dinner preparations. Everything we cook is in massive quantities... which is so fun for me! I hope that the Lord allows me to be a caterer when I get to Heaven! I love cooking for this many people!!!
Case in point.... today I made a banana cake.... actually, about 10 of them! We only baked 4 and froze the rest of the batter. I mixed up 1 gallon (GALLON) of Crisco, 1 1/2 gallons of sugar, 3 gallons of flour, some vanilla & baking soda, 1/2 gallon of sour milk.... Do you know what that looks like??? Well, I definitely needed to work on my arm muscles to handle that one! I thought my arm would fall off! And then I topped the cake with a banana / cream cheese frosting.... it was so yummy. People raved about it. :)
Okay, here's the thing.... at camp, because of the cost of food, Becky makes a lot of food that is carb laden... and I have to be BETTER at not eating it... Starting tomorrow. I just don't like the way I feel when eating too many carbs. So, note to self: lay off the carbs tomorrow! You'll feel better!
Victoria is having a ball, as I knew she would! She's making new friends up here in Alaska.... She's doing a lot of the kitchen work with me and this afternoon, she was able to man the "Snack Shack" and had FUN doing it! She is such a hard worker, and I'm so proud of her, especially for the work ethic that's in her.
We have 2 more days of Family Camp this week. I wonder what'll be in store for us?
Oh, I was able to talk to a lady pastor named Barb today.... she and her husband were called to adopt a little boy from South Korea about 7 years ago. We talked at length about attachment disorders and we really connected! God is so good! I was able to share Victoria's story and again, God was glorified! I love connecting with other adoptive parents.... there is an instant bonding that happens, which is a blessing from the Lord.
Okay... jetlag is heavy with me.... Gonna go to bed, read a little and call it a night.
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And that's my life so far...
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