Grace Evangelical Free Church's Mission Trip to Nome Alaska

  "The image of God always abides in the soul, whether this image be obsolete and clouded over as to amount to almost nothing; or whether it be obscured or disfigured, as is the case with sinners; or whether it be clear and beautiful as is the case with the just." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica " Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) The final full day in Alaska has passed onto the pedestal of memories, and the trip ended with a bang. Now all that is left is to make it through Monday and fly back to good old Colorado.  During the day we were lucky enough to go over to James place and have a "picnic" bbq, meeting Isaac who caught us our crabs and finally lining up a drive along the Alaskan coast line. After the meal was finished we hopped in James van and took some amazing pictures of the coast, ...

"I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning." Michel Foucault Today was one of the first laid back days after working hard and completing as much as possible that was on the list we set at the beginning of the week. Jill, Steve, Ethan, and Conner were able to walk down to the beach and found a large starfish. Along with a relaxed morning on the beach, Isaac, Joel Hesse's brother, was able to catch the team 7 crabs for an after dinner "dessert". At the end of a peaceful day, we as a team were able to eat at Airport Pizza, reminiscing about a fruitful week and a group of moments that stuck out.  Over all, this trip has been an opportunity for different members of Grace, all from different backgrounds, with different areas of expertise, and different ways of approaching problems to come together under the banner of Christ and impact a needing commun...

" When the real is no longer what it was, nostalgia assumes its full meaning." Jean Baudrillard Today was a lot more laid back, no more massive projects that everyone could participate in, and a lot of time to reflect on what had happened in the madness that was the first few days. Steve was being "humble" during lunch, however his humble nature came across as more thematic and dramatic as he dragged himself into the kitchen to be the last to get a portion. Steve, Conner, and Ethan were able in the morning to visit the visitor center and meet a talkative 71 Dave who was running the place and taught us a lot about Nome's history. Jill did not get a lot of sleep the night before, so with the windows newly cleaned passed out on the bean bags for a midday nap. Conner and Ethan were reflecting on how if a picture is taken of the ocean and since the sun doesn't set, could anyone besides the person who took the picture tell the time?  At the end of the day, the dev...

"  Self knowledge is not a guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it." -Simone de Beauvoir Beach Day!! We were lucky enough to have amazing weather, and a massive group of local kids came down to the bonfire. Before hand Steve, Bob and Conner had been working on the lights inside Checkpoint until Conner left to help Rachel at James's place. Ethan and Jill were tasked with cleaning the windows (inside and out) and the storage closet where the washer and dryer are stored was organised. At the end of it all Conner and Ethan had brought to the church (not by choice) some ecstatic and overly energetic 6th grade girls. They would hopefully be put to work the next day.  Other than what was previously mentioned, an Air Force cargo plane "buzzed us" in Lori's words, circled back and flew off into the nonexistent sunset because we're in Alaska, as well as a Cribbage tournament with all the Missions team a...

  " The truth is a trap: you can not get it without it getting you; you cannot get the truth by capturing it, only by its capturing of you." -Soren Kierkegaard, The Journals Another busy day passes by, and more work has been done in great time. The washer and dryer have been installed at checkpoint for the local youth to use, but in the installation a leak was found. The leak turned out to be the upstairs toliet, the wax seal being ruined and the clamp for the toilet rusted to bits. James and Ethan replaced the seal and fixed the toilet as Jan and Bob worked on the bike shop, caulking the sides and making sure it was sealed tight. We had the Ventress family over for lunch, and during the day were lucky enough to have Avril ( a local who comes by checkpoint) to help us paint the GaGa ball pit. Ethan and Conner during a break were being clowns on the small bikes outside the bike shop, certainly being entertainment for the local homeless.  Short story: The dusky picture was beca...

"  Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." -Proverbs 10:17 Day 1: The morning was full of conversation and motion, we had plans for the day, plans to fulfill throughout the week and energy to complete them. Bob, Jan, and James, (Steve periodically), were set on installing the washer and dryer at Checkpoint for the local youth to have the ability to clean cloths, since some families do not have running appliances. While that was occurring, Steve was teaching Ethan and Conner how to mud a wall, along with sanding the dry wall. The Larrew boys were also set on the project of building the GaGa Ball Pit, and were joined by Steve to get it finished. There were multiple trips in between the completion, as the men could build but not count since we did not have enough parts to fully put the GaGa pit together fully. However, by the time Checkpoint had been going for an hour or two, we completed enough sides to have the pit u...