ALASKA!
GOD DOES PROVIDE!
It's so crazy that I was so blessed to go to Alaska this summer. It was absolutely amazing! And to think it started by just taking one small step of faith. God is so GOOD! I guess looking back in retrospect, I never really thought I wouldn't be able to go. I knew if God wanted me there, He would make a way.
He didn't just throw me off a cliff either. He was right there the whole time! From day one. It is amazing how many times I start to think that I am alone in this world. I continually have to remind myself that the Holy Spirit is always right here with me! Discipline. It takes a lot.
I just really felt like God was calling me to go to Alaska in October 2011. I was walking to a J.H. Youth group with some college friends, and one of them who was from Alaska started telling us about this Bible camp he had been to up on the Yukon. He said it was fly-in only, with a cliff right by the edge of the camp. As he kept describing the camp, I was reminded of a dream I had a few years ago. I immediately asked if the cliff had a rope swing, because that is what I had seen in the dream. He said no, but I couldn't stop thinking about it the rest of the night. I didn't really know what to do about it. Honestly, I kind of thought it was too good to be true. I have always wanted to go, but didn't necessarily have a reason to go.
I prayed and asked questions trying to figure out what to do next. I really wanted to go, but just didn't know how I could do it. I didn't exactly know when the camp was, so I asked around until I got the info. I just was going to the high school camp, because I really enjoy helping out with that age group. When I got in contact with the youth pastor, through a friend, he was wondering if I would like to help with the junior high camp too. I didn't know what to do. I told my friend I would pray about it, because I didn't know if I really wanted to help with junior high or not. People were telling me just to hold out before buying the tickets, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I looked around online to see what prices looked like. When I looked for a second time, I checked the price calendar. It turned out that plane tickets were about $100 cheaper if I went to the J.H. camp too, so I figured God wanted me there too. In March 2012, I ended up buying plane tickets for Anchorage, AK!
So now I was ready to go....I just had to wait for June 21! That was probably one of the longest waits of my life, but it was totally worth it.
While I was in Alaska, I got to meet some great people. Not only did I meet people from Alaska, I also met people from California and Oregon. It was absolutely amazing. When I got to the great state, I only knew 2 people. By the time I left, wow, I'll bet I knew the names of more than 100!
I would love to write every detail, but that would probably take me years. Plus, I don't remember everything that happened.
I got to stay in Anchorage for a couple of days before starting my journey to Kokrine Hills Bible Camp. The weather was absolutely beautiful! I was told by many people that this was the best weather they had had in a while. What a blessing...to be able to see Alaska in the sunshine. I was talking to my sister about some of the things I had seen since I got to Alaska. I told her about all the trees and mountains...she quickly made a joke about that. She said, "That was probably fun for you, since you don't even know what trees are!" This definitely made me laugh, because there are not very many trees where I live.
I was up early Monday morning to catch a ride to the air strip where we would be flying to the camp. I rode in a car for several hours to the small town where I would hop into a bush plane and be on my way. As we drove north, I got to see a lot of beautiful country. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Denali because of the clouds...next time! (I sure hope I get to go again) We got to the air strip and waited for all the little planes to pick us up for the short flight to the camp. I'll tell you what, I was nervous to ride in that little plane. I had no idea what to expect. I got into the plane, got my headset on, buckle up, and I was ready to go...well maybe I wasn't really ready, but I didn't have a choice! It was happening.
The pilot taxied out, and before I knew it we were in the air! Woo! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty fun. After that plane ride, I would choose a bush plane ride over a commercial jet ANY day! Flying over Alaska was amazing to say the least....trees, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes...you name it! Beautiful.
As we got closer to the camp, I could see the Yukon river. We flew in right over the river and landed on a grass/dirt runway. It was surprisingly smooth. After we landed, we were greeted by a small black bear scampering across the runway. Welcome to rural Alaska!
The next 2 weeks brought new nicknames, realization of things in my own faith, friendships, and much more! As the speakers taught from the Word, I found myself re-examining my own faith and how I live. It got me thinking about how I can die daily and let Christ live through me...mind blown! There was so much going on! God challenged my about my trust for Him. Would I leave everything I know for Jesus? Do I seek to know Jesus more everyday just like a friend? I started to understand a little bit more about this wonderful Grace that God gives. Salvation is free! I can't do anything to earn it. Wow! It was a crazy time up there.
Originally I was only planning on staying for 2 weeks, but God just put it on my heart to stay for another week. So I did. It was completely worth it. This allowed me to seek God whole-heartedly myself. I was able to pour out into others and be filled by the Father through the Word and prayer. Bam.(fist pump!) God is good!
I was encouraged and challenged during that time. I was encouraged by the kids' true search for Jesus. One girl in my cabin was totally searching to see who Jesus is. She said she wanted to make a decision to follow Christ, but she didn't know if she would be able to keep her commitment when she returned to her village. She didn't want to break that commitment. That was crazy for me to think about. It seems so often people make the decision to follow Jesus on a whim. They aren't thinking about the future of the decision. She was. It was good. It challenged me to think about the future of my previous commitment to Jesus.
I was super encouraged in the way kids were responding during cabin time. They were pumped to pray together and for each other. So good. For me, this was crazy. One evening, they wanted to have everyone pray at one time. I didn't quite know what to think of that....I don't know why I was nervous about it. As soon as everyone started praying, it was beautiful. I was reminded that God hears everyone! He doesn't exclude. The sound of all these voices lifting up our Lord and Savior was absolutely amazing! There is so much more that happened during this month long excursion, but words do not do it justice.
I prayed and asked questions trying to figure out what to do next. I really wanted to go, but just didn't know how I could do it. I didn't exactly know when the camp was, so I asked around until I got the info. I just was going to the high school camp, because I really enjoy helping out with that age group. When I got in contact with the youth pastor, through a friend, he was wondering if I would like to help with the junior high camp too. I didn't know what to do. I told my friend I would pray about it, because I didn't know if I really wanted to help with junior high or not. People were telling me just to hold out before buying the tickets, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I looked around online to see what prices looked like. When I looked for a second time, I checked the price calendar. It turned out that plane tickets were about $100 cheaper if I went to the J.H. camp too, so I figured God wanted me there too. In March 2012, I ended up buying plane tickets for Anchorage, AK!
So now I was ready to go....I just had to wait for June 21! That was probably one of the longest waits of my life, but it was totally worth it.
While I was in Alaska, I got to meet some great people. Not only did I meet people from Alaska, I also met people from California and Oregon. It was absolutely amazing. When I got to the great state, I only knew 2 people. By the time I left, wow, I'll bet I knew the names of more than 100!
I would love to write every detail, but that would probably take me years. Plus, I don't remember everything that happened.
I got to stay in Anchorage for a couple of days before starting my journey to Kokrine Hills Bible Camp. The weather was absolutely beautiful! I was told by many people that this was the best weather they had had in a while. What a blessing...to be able to see Alaska in the sunshine. I was talking to my sister about some of the things I had seen since I got to Alaska. I told her about all the trees and mountains...she quickly made a joke about that. She said, "That was probably fun for you, since you don't even know what trees are!" This definitely made me laugh, because there are not very many trees where I live.
I was up early Monday morning to catch a ride to the air strip where we would be flying to the camp. I rode in a car for several hours to the small town where I would hop into a bush plane and be on my way. As we drove north, I got to see a lot of beautiful country. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Denali because of the clouds...next time! (I sure hope I get to go again) We got to the air strip and waited for all the little planes to pick us up for the short flight to the camp. I'll tell you what, I was nervous to ride in that little plane. I had no idea what to expect. I got into the plane, got my headset on, buckle up, and I was ready to go...well maybe I wasn't really ready, but I didn't have a choice! It was happening.
The pilot taxied out, and before I knew it we were in the air! Woo! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty fun. After that plane ride, I would choose a bush plane ride over a commercial jet ANY day! Flying over Alaska was amazing to say the least....trees, mountains, rivers, streams, lakes...you name it! Beautiful.
As we got closer to the camp, I could see the Yukon river. We flew in right over the river and landed on a grass/dirt runway. It was surprisingly smooth. After we landed, we were greeted by a small black bear scampering across the runway. Welcome to rural Alaska!
I had no idea what to expect about the camp. I didn't know anyone...well, I knew a few names, but that was about it. As soon as we started staff training, I felt totally welcome. People were super friendly. I guess that's the point of the Body of Christ! WE are a family. Brothers and Sisters.
"The body is a unit though it is made up of may parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." -1 Corinthians 12:12
It was good. That was a real blessing, because I had no idea what I was going to do when I didn't know a single person there. God was totally working in that.
The next 2 weeks brought new nicknames, realization of things in my own faith, friendships, and much more! As the speakers taught from the Word, I found myself re-examining my own faith and how I live. It got me thinking about how I can die daily and let Christ live through me...mind blown! There was so much going on! God challenged my about my trust for Him. Would I leave everything I know for Jesus? Do I seek to know Jesus more everyday just like a friend? I started to understand a little bit more about this wonderful Grace that God gives. Salvation is free! I can't do anything to earn it. Wow! It was a crazy time up there.
Originally I was only planning on staying for 2 weeks, but God just put it on my heart to stay for another week. So I did. It was completely worth it. This allowed me to seek God whole-heartedly myself. I was able to pour out into others and be filled by the Father through the Word and prayer. Bam.(fist pump!) God is good!
I was encouraged and challenged during that time. I was encouraged by the kids' true search for Jesus. One girl in my cabin was totally searching to see who Jesus is. She said she wanted to make a decision to follow Christ, but she didn't know if she would be able to keep her commitment when she returned to her village. She didn't want to break that commitment. That was crazy for me to think about. It seems so often people make the decision to follow Jesus on a whim. They aren't thinking about the future of the decision. She was. It was good. It challenged me to think about the future of my previous commitment to Jesus.
I was super encouraged in the way kids were responding during cabin time. They were pumped to pray together and for each other. So good. For me, this was crazy. One evening, they wanted to have everyone pray at one time. I didn't quite know what to think of that....I don't know why I was nervous about it. As soon as everyone started praying, it was beautiful. I was reminded that God hears everyone! He doesn't exclude. The sound of all these voices lifting up our Lord and Savior was absolutely amazing! There is so much more that happened during this month long excursion, but words do not do it justice.
It was a great step of faith and a great reminder that the Lord provides for his children. WE are worth it! "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows." -Matthew 10:29-31
Final Words:
Keep seeking the Lord! He is good. He will provide...in His time and according to His plan.
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.--Jeremiah 29:13Absolutely beautiful. God is at work everywhere in this world He has created. It is good. I hope I will be able to return to this place again. It was truly a blessing.
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