A line from Juneau: 2009

Tuesday, September 22

the end of my summer in Alaska is not an end for the works done there...

I apologize for getting behind on my updates throughout the last bit of the summer. I want to leave this with a brief summary of the rest of the summer along with an update for what is now going on in Juneau.

There is no denying that every one of us who were sent to Juneau on project this summer were greatly effected by the works we did, the things God taught us, the people we grew with and so SO many other things! The bonds that were built between all of us are bonds that can only come from God. The support, care, and love we all had for one another was like no other.

We left Juneau with a Wednesday night cru meeting. This included praise and worship, a message, and time for fellowship. After our leaving, Craig Johring, the main director and creator of the Juneau Summer Project, sent an email stating this about the Wednesday night meetings -
"What impressed me was the atmosphere of the group. Everyone misses you, and at the same time these students have bonded together to believe God for impacting Juneau during this coming year. The leadership team for Cru is solid---and I have no doubt that when Project Gulf arrives in May there the Wednesday night Cru meeting will be taking place, and there will be many involved who have came to Christ during the year. After the meeting, everyone went to the Waffle Co. The place was packed with Cru students connecting together.

Foxtrot was one of the greatest Projects ever to take place in Juneau. I’m blown away with how you impacted lives though serving in the community, and I’m amazed at the fruit you left behind. When Jason and I came here in 2003 to organize the first Juneau Men’s Project, we met with a group of UAS students to share the vision for reaching their campus. From Alpha to Echo the vision continued to leave behind a movement, but it was not until Foxtrot that it happened."

It was so encouraging to receive this and know that our work in Juneau is lasting.

I am so grateful for everything I was able to experience in Juneau, even all the difficult times! It is a summer that I will never forget and the same goes for the lessons I learned and the ways God grew me!

Thursday, July 23

Photo update...

4th of July celebrating 50 years of statehood for Alaska

Helping make baked bread at a festival for 4th of July

Camping on the beach

1 of the 5 pink salmon I caught in 2 hours

number 2 of 5

cleaning salmon

A couple of families from my church treated some of us to a cookout and then took us whale watching!
At one point, the whales were only about 100ft from our skiff while they were bubble feeding!

Monday, June 29

A brief photo update

Letting go of control.
Isaiah 30:18

Hiking up Thunder Mountain

From the summit of Thunder Mountain

A bald eagle - under 7 years old

Ice bergs that have calved off of Mendenhall Glacier

Debbie Douglas and I lead the women's project kayaking in Mendenhall lake to the glacier

Wednesday, June 17

the past week or so...

A week ago, Friday, all of us on project went to a camp ran by the United Methodist Church for out service project. The group that I was with worked on clearing out and organizing a storage shed that was FULL of the most random things! In the afternoon, we went down town for outreach. Becky (my roommate) and I paired up and walked the streets to see who we'd run into. We ended up talking to a couple for about 2 hours. Their names were John and Gloria. From about 10 minutes into conversation until we left, Gloria's eyes were tearing up. This couple does believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior and they are possibly the happiest people I have ever met, however it was difficult to really tell what their faith was like. That is between them and God though and not something I could ever really know about them. Their outlook on life was so positive and optimistic that is truly was encouraging to talk with them! They were traveling, not on a large cruise, as most everyone else who visits Juneau is, but on a smaller 30-something passenger ship. They returned to Juneau this past Friday and took Becky and I out to dinner.
Following outreach in the city, we had a "teen lock-in". We invited lots of teenagers from Juneau and had a great turnout! The night was spend playing games, attending a few seminars, and just hanging out. It was a great time for us all to bond with teens of Juneau and each other on project. During the afternoon following the lock-in, we hosted a dodgeball tournament. Considering a good portion of us got no sleep during the lock-in, we may not have had the energy we could have had during dodgeball, but it was still a great time! Lots of people we invited from Juneau came out to participate in the tournament!
My work schedule for ATA became really inconsistent and after a huge lack of hours of work, I was given permission by the project directer to look for a new job. Last Tuesday, I filled out an application for Heritage Coffee Co., interviewed, was hired, and actually began working all in the same day! Now, I am working, for sure, mon- thursday mornings from 7am to 10-ish and then I will give Canoe tours from 10am-3:30pm. My first day was great! I'm so glad to actually have coworkers now and I love working as a barista again!

More of the events and things I have been doing are shown in the photos...