My Journal - Mission: Alaska

Saturday, June 21, 2008...

2008-10-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, here I find myself aboard a jet in flight to Chicago from Knoxville. From there I'll be flying to Anchorage, Alaska. The Lord has once again led us on mission for Him. When we arrive in Anchorage we will spend a night there, and then fly on a very small plane to a very small village called Ekwok (population 130). We have 8 people on this trip. They are: myself, Trey Ferguson, Rick Atkins, Kristen Peels, Sandy Kilby, Brent Newberry, Curt Burger, and Missy Powers. This is the smallest team I have been with.

We're going to be doing a variety of things on this trip. These things include: sports ministry with the kids (touch football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, and frisbee), personal one-on-one evangelism, singing/revival services, small repair, and whatever else the Lord opens up opportunity to do.

Leaving was extremely hard this time...mostly because Jaden had such a tough time with it. She cried a lot in the airport when it was time for me to leave. It broke my heart. She's getting older (5 now!) and she's understanding more and more. Landon did much better. It didn't really sink in with him that I was gonna be gone for 8 days. Little Isaac stayed with Mamaw Charlotte at the gift shop.

They all three have jobs to do while I'm gone. Jaden is gonna remind everyone when it's time to feed the fish and the cats (hopefully not feeding the fish to the cats). She's also gonna help Mommy take care of Baby Isaac. Isaac's job is to keep smiling so sweet, and stay so beautiful. Landon is the "man of the house" while I'm away. He's gonna check all the doors to make sure they're locked each night before going to bed. He's also going to be on bug patrol. If Mommy happens to see any bug in the house, Landon's gonna kill it. If there happens to be more than one bug, then Jaden gets to help. I have been blessed with the most wonderful family in the world.

Monday, June 23, 2008...

2008-10-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have so much to update on. When we got to Chicago we just had enough time to walk very fast to our next flight's gate. We got on the flight on time to Anchorage, but when we got there we found out that our luggage didn't. What an experience! We finally got our bags yesterday late...just in time to catch our small plane flight into the village.

When we flew from Chicago to Anchorage time seemed to slow down. It was a very long trip. The flight was about 6 hours long, and it was quite bumpy. We spent Saturday night at Muldoon Rd. Baptist Church in Anchorage. Then, we were fed breakfast there in their fellowship hall. We went on a mini sightseeing trip to a mountain that I think is called "Flat Top." There were some wonderful views from there! Then, we got on a small, single-engine plane, and flew 1 1/2 hours to Ekwok. I have never been on such a small plane. When we got here we put our stuff away and began walking around, trying to meet some of the natives. Rick, Sandy, and I met a husband and his wife cleaning fish down on the shore of the Nushagak River. His name was Phillip, and hers was Anna. This was an amazing early contact with building a relationship with the native Bush villagers of Ekwok. Anna was filleting huge Salmon on a table at the edge of the water. This was a great thing to watch. I've filleted many trout back home with my fillet knife, but this is different. Anna had a tool that looked to me so much like a kraut cutter. It was one blade, and she sharpened it on rocks (like we do with whet rocks back home). It was razor sharp! She definitely knew what she was doing.

We had our first service at 7 p.m. in the little church building here in the village. There have been no services or Christian influence in over 3 months. A pastor from Dillingham (40 something miles from Ekwok) named Steve McNeill had been coming once a week having Bible study, but he has had complications from a hip replacement surgery, and can't get out here anymore.

Trey sang and spoke in the service, and did a wonderful job. I had the blessing of preaching the 1st night's service. I preached from Mark chapter 1 where Jesus called Peter and Andrew. There were probably 7 or 8 natives who attended. During invitation, two women looked up at me to signify they needed prayer. The Lord's work has already begun...and only He knows what this week will hold.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008...

2008-10-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

I am blown away! I don't know where to begin. I have just experienced one of the most adventurous days of my life! First, I was invited to go with Phillip down river to fix his fishing nets. They needed to be moved over into a little better spot. As we floated down Phillip pointed out to me many eagles. A Bald Eagle flew over our boat...just about 20 feet above our heads! They fly around here like it's nothing...lots of them! I saw bald and Golden Eagles. It was amazing.

While moving his net, we discovered he had another fish (he had already checked just a few hours earlier this morning & caught fish). This fish was a "Chum" or "Dog" Salmon. It had (that quickly) been eaten on by otters. About a third of one side was eaten. Phillip has aluminum drink cans hanging on a string to rattle in the wind close to his net, to scare the otters away. but, I guess some of them are brave.

After moving his net to where the water had little swirls in it (that's where the fish are) we went to cut "smokewood." The Yupik people (that's the tribe here) cut a tree called "Cottonwood" to use in the smokehouses. It smokes a lot when burned, which smokes their fish. The whole process after the catch is amazing also. The fish is filleted, then cut in strips with cross-cuts all down the strips. Once cut, meat is soaked in salt water called "brine" for 30 minutes. This is to keep meat soft. Then, it is hung on fish drying racks for two days (until it completely quits dripping). During these two days, strips must be turned 2-3 times per day. Meat is then hung in a smokehouse for two weeks. After that, meat is taken down, and frozen...to be used throughout the year for food. Yupik are allowed 200 Salmon per family each fishing season. They only fish about three months a year (one month in summer...two in winter). To make jerky, you simply soak in brine for 30 minutes...then, hang up till dry.

As we were going back up the river, on the way to get smokewood, Phillip began to tell me what Ekwok was like when he was a boy. He is in his early 60's (I think). He said when he was a boy their boats (they call them "sciffs") were wooden (Phillip now has a 20 foot aluminum boat with a 40 horse motor), and with no motor. They would float down to their nets, get their catch, and place it in the sciff. Then, getting back up stream was the hard part. One would walk along the bank, pulling the sciff upstream. Another person would be walking beside with a long stick, constantly pushing the side of the sciff to keep it from running aground.

When we got upstream to the spot to cut the smokewood I saw where a very small tree had been cut recently. The top of was lying on the ground. Phillip pointed to two much bigger trees. He cut them down, then cut them up with his Poulan chainsaw. I carried the sticks of wood out, and loaded them onto the boat. It reminded me of cutting firewood with Mom and Dad when I was little. Now, I was doing it in Alaska! But, it was while resting and talking with Phillip there when I received my greatest blessing since on this mission trip. He began to share with me that he has kidney trouble. Also, that in 2000 he had open heart surgery. He said, "Cousin Chris." (he has started calling me that and "Christopher Robin") "Do you see that little tree top over there? I cut that yesterday." He told me that he saw the two we cut, and prayed to the Lord, "Lord, You know I need this wood, but I can't get it out because of my health. Please, Lord...help me to get it out somehow." And then he said that here I was getting his wood out for him the next day. He said that God sent me and our team to him. What a blessing! This is exactly what I wanted...to be able to be a servant while on this trip. We talked about the Lord quite a bit. I feel that Phillip doesn't just say he's a Christian. I believe he is one. I pray that it's just not head knowledge...but heart.

I told him how we were scared that we wouldn't be accepted or liked. And, then I told him how the Lord had sent him and his wife to us for help just as He had sent us to them. Phillip began to tell others in the village that "Cousin Chris came all the way from Tennessee to help me." That blessed my heart in ways unexplainable.

Phillip is a wonderful person to have struck up a relationship with. God is so wonderful! Talk about a way to get welcomed into the tribe...Phillip's brother is the CHIEF of Ekwok! His name is Lukey. Also, Phillip's brother-in-law and two aunts are Elders in Ekwok! Praise the Lord! These are influential in the tribe. God is so good.

After lunch, Rick and I made a wonderful memory. Phillip took us to check his net. We caught two. The first was a Chum Salmon. But, as he checked the net, feeling under the water, Phillip looked back at me and Rick and said, "This is the one we've been waiting on." We pulled up a 38 inch, 20-25 lb. King Salmon. It was a monster! It was flopping in the boat so bad that we were afraid it was going to get out. Phillip took a stick, and hit the King a couple or three times in the head to take care of that. Needless to say, we had a nice ride back up the river. Rick and I were jaw-dropped. And, oh yes...we got pictures!

Thursday, June 26, 2008...

2008-10-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning thinking about home. I miss my family. It won't be long now. But, we still have work to do. I just gotta stay busy.

The services at the church (Ekwok Bible Chapel) are getting bigger and bigger. We are having a Bible school type service each day now at 2 p.m. Trey, Missy, Sandy, and Kristen are doing crafts, puppets, games, story time, and sing-a-longs with the kids. The first day they did it, there were about 3 or 4 kids. then, yesterday there were 10 or 11! That may not sound like much, but when you consider that there are really right now about 80-90 people living here in the village, it's not a bad number of kids.

Our singing/preaching services have also been small, but getting better. We've been averaging 8-10 there also. Trey sings in those. Then, we have puppets, special singing, and preaching. The service times have been changed from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. This has been our attempt to find a time slot that doesn't interfere with anything they do culturally...like "steam" (more on steam later).

I preached the 1st night, Rick preached the 2nd, and Brent last night. In the service last night we had a treat for special singing. Dorothy, one of the villagers, sang a song. I was amazed to hear "Till The Storm Passes By." That's the song I love to hear my aunt, Sylvia sing.

There has been one girl that has bonded with the team more than any other. Her name is Christine (they all have Yupik names also, but I don't know how to say or write them). Christine was shot in the hip while in Anchorage a few years ago. Someone was shooting at someone else, and hit Christine. She walks with a limp. She has come to visit us in our house here almost every day. Day before yesterday, Trey and Kristen talked with her a lot about the Lord. They shared the Gospel with her. She has a lot of pain in the inside. That night she took me, Sandy, and Kristen on a four-wheeler trip back into the tundra to a place called "Blueberry Hill." It was beautiful. You could see many miles of flat, scenic views in almost every direction. (This, by the way, was where Curt proposed to Missy a few days ago!)

Christine took us down to a pond or small lake nearby there. As we were standing by the water's edge, Christine said to Kristen, "You can pray with me now." Kristen prayed with her. After the prayer I asked her if she had repented, and put her faith in Jesus. She said, "I have my faith in Jesus, but I mess up." I told her that we all mess up from time to time, but that we can come home. I told her about the "Prodigal Son" of Luke chapter 15. yesterday Rick handed her one of our booklets, Steps for Growth of the New Believer. We are gonna continue doing follow up with Christine, but by what she has said, she did pray to receive Christ. Praise the Lord!

There has also been work going on to the church building. Curt, Rick, and Brent have been heading that small repair up. They put flashing on the facing of the eaves of one side of the church. The wood is getting too much rain damage to it. I climbed up on the roof and tied a new string to the church bell (It was made in 1886! There's a date stamped into it.). We had a good ol' country church bell to start service last night. It was nice.

We've also done some repair work on a house in the village (some flooring work).

Rick, Curt, and I have been continuing to help Phillip with his fishing. On Tuesday, we went with his grandson, Brian. While we were checking the nets, we heard a loud splash up up the net where we had already checked. I first thought another fish had gotten in the net, but it wasn't a fish. It was a beaver! Brian shot it. So, we had many fish that day in the sciff...and a beaver.

Phillip told us a story about how one year he was catching no fish in his nets...and his family was getting hungry. One day when he went to check his nets, he found a loon (like a duck, I believe) caught in them. It was still alive. Phillip went over, got it loose, and took it to the bank. As he released it, he prayed that God would help him and his family. The next day when he went to check his net, it was filled with fish. Phillip said that God took that loon, and traded it for many fish. Amen to that!

We were so welcomed into the village. We were invited to a "muk’ee" (pronounced "muh-kay"). It is a sauna-like steam bath.

This is a huge honor to be allowed to attend a native's steam. It was very uncomfortable thinking about going, but once we did go we were glad...We loved it! Phillip invited is to steam with him. We ended up steaming with Phillip 3 nights (Tues. - Thurs.). those who steamed were me, Rick, Brent, and Curt. The ladies in our team were invited to the women's steam. The women who steamed were Missy and Sandy.

The steam is an ancient Eskimo tradition. Phillip made his. It was a small, wooden building about the size of a tool shed. It had two rooms. The first room was where you put wood in the heater (his heater was made out of a 55 gallon drum, or barrel, laying on its side). The heater ran back into the second room. The second room was the steam room. The drum/heater in there had rocks on top of it held by wire, then a large canning-type kettle of water on top of the wire. In the first room we had to take off our clothes, go into the second room, and sit on benches. It was extremely hot! Phillip said it was around 300 degrees! That seems an awfully high temperature, but it was at least 200 degrees! We had a bowl of cool water in the floor, in front of our feet, to dip our hands in and pour onto our hot skin. This was a relief, but only for a second. Phillip would dip a dipper into a 5 gallon bucket, and get water. Then, he would pour the water over the rocks. When he did, that raised the humidity and the heat! It was the hottest thing I've ever been in.

There were three rounds to the steam. We would sit in the steam room for about 5 - 10 minutes, then go out to the first room to cool off a bit. We would repeat this process a second time...then a third. On the third trip into the steam room we would take shampoo and body wash, and bathe...kinda. It was very different to our culture, but very normal to theirs.

Some people back home may think that doing that was weird or wrong, but it was very right. There was nothing inappropriate. We had prayer every night in the steam room...and would talk about the Lord and our new relationship with the wonderful people of Ekwok.

If we are ever going to show the village of Ekwok that we genuinely care for them, we must be servants, and also take part in their culture, life, and world. It was a huge honor to steam with Phillip. We were told that not many outsiders are invited to steam. This was a huge statement by the village saying, "We accept you." Praise God for this mission to Ekwok, Alaska.

Sunday, June 29, 2008...

2008-10-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

The church is without regular services or a pastor there. But, if a house comes open to rent (which it looks as though it will), Brent is moving to Ekwok in 5-6 weeks!!! He's been dealing with it for at least six months. He's ready to sell his house in Tennessee, and become a citizen of Ekwok! He has been making plans to open a wood-working/mechanic shop with Phillip. I admire Brent for being willing to devote his life to this area. There is a great need. But...we serve a great God. If it is truly meant to be, the Lord will make a way!

At the end of the last service in the village, we all (villagers and mission team members) joined hands in a circle while Trey sang. Rick said it was one of the most spiritual moments he had ever experienced in his entire life. I 100% agree! It was truly special. Then, the next day, before boarding our plane, we went to the property Brent might possibly get. We had a special prayer there, asking God to make it available if it is truly in HIS will. We will wait and see what God does. Our plan is (Lord willing) to come back next summer again to Ekwok.

Our sightseeing day was great back in Anchorage! Alaska is absolutely amazing! We saw some majestic views. (By the way...this team has been wonderful! Great people...great servants!)

Our flight is now about to land in Knoxville...back home to Tina, Jaden, Landon, and Isaac...back home! It feels good! Although this mission trip is almost over...my mission only continues!!!