Well we made it back home to Willmar just shy of 11:00 pm Tuesday night. We arrived in Minneapolis right on time at 7:25 and got our luggage and off to Willmar. We were met by Lisa, Chad, Gail, Sue, Mike, Jen, Chris, and Grant. The kids were just as glad to see their parents as the parents were to see there kids.
Monday was our last full day in Alaska and we kind of winded down. We slept in since no one was interested in driving to far from Chugiak. So we ventured off to Wasilla and ate at the Red Robin, the burgers are so big there the kids pretty much left in a food coma. We then did some final souvenir shopping and picked up just a couple of things for remainder of the trip. We then ventured over for some ice cream. Just as the man in Whittier said it was delicious.
On our way back we stopped in Eklunta at a Russian Orthodox historical site. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church was set up in the mid 1800's by the Russian Railroad Workers. The mingled then with the local Athabascan tribe and formed a village an a church. The original log cabin was there from that time as well as the new church that was built by Athabascan Chief Mike Alex. There was service there that evening at 5:00 to commemorate St.Herman of Alaska's canonization of being named a saint. Each year around August 7th people make a pilgrimage to Kodiak Island to honor this day. Also, all the Russian Orthodox churches celebrate this. We were able to have our own tour guide who actually grew up in New Ulm tell us all about this. He also introduced us to Father Mike who was getting ready to conduct the service and asked many questions from the kids about the Russian Orthodox faith. We then toured the cemetery where they bury their dead in Spirit Houses. Each Spirit House is painted with a theme to represent the family. So when you go through you can easily identify each family.
After we departed, Laura took us to Eklunta Lake Park. It is located back in the mountain range and has very pretty and peaceful lake which we all spent some time together as a group.
We then went back to the church and had dinner as a group, packed up for tomorrow and watched a movie as a group and off to bed.
We got up and ate breakfast and cleaned up behind us and off to Anchorage Airport.
It was a great trip with great people and we created a lifetime of memories and hopefully we made some connections that also will last a lifetime. I felt truly blessed to be a part of this mission trip.
I hope you have enjoyed these updates as much as I have writing them.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Winding down and Termination Dust!
Do you know what Termination Dust is? Read the bottom of the blog.
Sorry for not posting for a couple of days. We have had a couple of exciting days. As I mentioned in the last post we got up early and headed to Denali National Park. When we left out of Wasilla the weather was overcast and the cloud ceiling was very low and there was not much visibility. However, on our 4 hour drive the weather started clearing and you could now start to see some beautiful sites. We arrived at Denali and had a bag lunch and took off to see the sites. We started by them showing us a dog sled demonstration. The difference between their dogs and the dogs we saw at the Iditarod is that these dogs are bred for work and the others for racing. The Park Service uses these dogs all winter for park maintenance. We also got to pet some of the dogs. Our group to a bus to the kennels that are about 3 miles from the park headquarters. On our way back we took a 3 mile nature walk back to the visitors center. Some of the kids were not happy but the majority wanted to walk so we did. No one was disappointed when we finally arrived back at he visitor center. We then drove 14 miles into the interior of the park to see wildlife and more vista's. We were able to Moose, Caribou, and sheep to name a few. I will have pics up later. We did not leave until after 6 and everyone was pretty hungry so we stopped at a local place called Panorama Pizza. It looked like a dive, but once they tasted the pizza it seemed much better than it looked. We then headed home, and it rained hard the whole trip. Thankfully it stays pretty light so you can see quite well. Laura's van got up close and personal with a moose on the side of the road as we headed home. Stopped in Trapper Creek for gas and snacks and it was back to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church around 12:30 am.
On Sunday we got up cleaned and packed for our last 2 nights in Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage. We attended morning worship and visited with some of the parishioners and loaded up to drop off our things in Anchorage. WELL, this is where it gets a bit interesting! So we arrive at the church and all the classrooms are in cleaned out as the carpets were all just cleaned. This also is a school and this is their week off. So Laura calls the lady and asks whats up and she tells here that she did not make arrangements for us. She thought we would be gone or something like that. The funny thing is that in our orientation she told all of us that she would see us back here on Sunday night. Well that did not happen! Thankfully Laura has the connections up here and called Pastor Steve at Our Redeemer in Chugiak and he was more than gracious to host us for the final 2 nights. To say Laura was frustrated at this time would be a gross understatement. So we loaded up our stuff back in the vans and headed out for some sightseeing. The kids were wonderful and have been very nimble with changing plans. The funny thing is that Pastor Steve's sermon was about facing the storms that will challenge you and believe that god does have a plan for you. With that said, our plan truly must have been that we were meant to stay in Chugiak .I am going to have the kids sign a thank you card for the folks here.
The day got better from here. We headed down the road to Seward and stopped at the Alaska Conservatory. It is a place where you can drive through and see animals in their natural habitat. So as we are driving around we see a big tour bus that looks very familiar. The bus was from Rustad Tours in Kerkhoven. We stopped and chatted with the group but no one from the area was on this tour.
We then went to Byron Glacier, we hiked about a mile into a valley and were truly amazed at what was in front of us. Breathtaking does not completely describe the beauty of this place. A couple of the kids mentioned that this is what heaven must look like. Simply amazing. After spending some time there no one was in hurry to leave but we headed to Whittier a town only accessible by sea, air, or a 3 mile one lane tunnel. On the top of the hour traffic goes from Whittier to Bear Valley, and on the bottom of the hour traffic goes from Whittier to Bear Valley. We entered the tunnel at 6:30 and arrived in a very foggy Whittier. We ate at the Anchor Inn and set off to see some other sites that were postcard perfect. After spending 3 hours in Whittier we had to be lined up a the tunnel by 9:50, otherwise we had to wait until 11:00. We headed up to Chugiak and arrived just after midnight and set up and for the most part it did not take anyone long to fall asleep. While we were at the Anchor Inn we were talking to a fisherman who owns a boat and he was wondering who and what we were about. He lives in a town near Wasilla where we are planning to be on Monday. He told us about an ice cream store in Houston that has the best ice cream and if we went there he would treat. He gave Laura a crisp $100 bill and told her to treat us to ice cream. (WOW)! If there was change to send it back, if it is not enough he would send Laura a check. He believed in what we were doing and was really proud of this ice cream. So that will come later today.
We experienced Termination Dust on Friday. It is the first snow of the season in the mountains. So guess what winter is coming! The seasons are switching and it is beginning to look a little like Fall here.
I will have pictures up soon. There are many!
Mike
Sorry for not posting for a couple of days. We have had a couple of exciting days. As I mentioned in the last post we got up early and headed to Denali National Park. When we left out of Wasilla the weather was overcast and the cloud ceiling was very low and there was not much visibility. However, on our 4 hour drive the weather started clearing and you could now start to see some beautiful sites. We arrived at Denali and had a bag lunch and took off to see the sites. We started by them showing us a dog sled demonstration. The difference between their dogs and the dogs we saw at the Iditarod is that these dogs are bred for work and the others for racing. The Park Service uses these dogs all winter for park maintenance. We also got to pet some of the dogs. Our group to a bus to the kennels that are about 3 miles from the park headquarters. On our way back we took a 3 mile nature walk back to the visitors center. Some of the kids were not happy but the majority wanted to walk so we did. No one was disappointed when we finally arrived back at he visitor center. We then drove 14 miles into the interior of the park to see wildlife and more vista's. We were able to Moose, Caribou, and sheep to name a few. I will have pics up later. We did not leave until after 6 and everyone was pretty hungry so we stopped at a local place called Panorama Pizza. It looked like a dive, but once they tasted the pizza it seemed much better than it looked. We then headed home, and it rained hard the whole trip. Thankfully it stays pretty light so you can see quite well. Laura's van got up close and personal with a moose on the side of the road as we headed home. Stopped in Trapper Creek for gas and snacks and it was back to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church around 12:30 am.
On Sunday we got up cleaned and packed for our last 2 nights in Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage. We attended morning worship and visited with some of the parishioners and loaded up to drop off our things in Anchorage. WELL, this is where it gets a bit interesting! So we arrive at the church and all the classrooms are in cleaned out as the carpets were all just cleaned. This also is a school and this is their week off. So Laura calls the lady and asks whats up and she tells here that she did not make arrangements for us. She thought we would be gone or something like that. The funny thing is that in our orientation she told all of us that she would see us back here on Sunday night. Well that did not happen! Thankfully Laura has the connections up here and called Pastor Steve at Our Redeemer in Chugiak and he was more than gracious to host us for the final 2 nights. To say Laura was frustrated at this time would be a gross understatement. So we loaded up our stuff back in the vans and headed out for some sightseeing. The kids were wonderful and have been very nimble with changing plans. The funny thing is that Pastor Steve's sermon was about facing the storms that will challenge you and believe that god does have a plan for you. With that said, our plan truly must have been that we were meant to stay in Chugiak .I am going to have the kids sign a thank you card for the folks here.
The day got better from here. We headed down the road to Seward and stopped at the Alaska Conservatory. It is a place where you can drive through and see animals in their natural habitat. So as we are driving around we see a big tour bus that looks very familiar. The bus was from Rustad Tours in Kerkhoven. We stopped and chatted with the group but no one from the area was on this tour.
We then went to Byron Glacier, we hiked about a mile into a valley and were truly amazed at what was in front of us. Breathtaking does not completely describe the beauty of this place. A couple of the kids mentioned that this is what heaven must look like. Simply amazing. After spending some time there no one was in hurry to leave but we headed to Whittier a town only accessible by sea, air, or a 3 mile one lane tunnel. On the top of the hour traffic goes from Whittier to Bear Valley, and on the bottom of the hour traffic goes from Whittier to Bear Valley. We entered the tunnel at 6:30 and arrived in a very foggy Whittier. We ate at the Anchor Inn and set off to see some other sites that were postcard perfect. After spending 3 hours in Whittier we had to be lined up a the tunnel by 9:50, otherwise we had to wait until 11:00. We headed up to Chugiak and arrived just after midnight and set up and for the most part it did not take anyone long to fall asleep. While we were at the Anchor Inn we were talking to a fisherman who owns a boat and he was wondering who and what we were about. He lives in a town near Wasilla where we are planning to be on Monday. He told us about an ice cream store in Houston that has the best ice cream and if we went there he would treat. He gave Laura a crisp $100 bill and told her to treat us to ice cream. (WOW)! If there was change to send it back, if it is not enough he would send Laura a check. He believed in what we were doing and was really proud of this ice cream. So that will come later today.
We experienced Termination Dust on Friday. It is the first snow of the season in the mountains. So guess what winter is coming! The seasons are switching and it is beginning to look a little like Fall here.
I will have pictures up soon. There are many!
Mike
Friday, August 5, 2011
A Day in Anchorage!
Well we had bad news and good news today. The bad news was that we got rained out of Denali today. The good news was the storm passed through and it should be clear on the mountain tomorrow. So we improvised and moved our Monday activity to today. We went down and spent time at the Alaska Visitor Center today and downtown Anchorage.
We then went to Peggy's for lunch (a place where the locals eat). The neat thing about Peggy's is that it is situated right next to the glide path of Merrill Field which is an airstrip that is used by private and corporate pilots. We got to watch planes land the whole time we ate. We then went to the mall located in downtown Anchorage. The kids soon found out that a mall in Alaska looks like a mall in any other town. We did let the kids have their phones back for the day so they could catch up with family and friends. We did let them know we wanted them back, which they did not have a huge problem with. It is nice when they don't have phones because the interact with the group and are not always on their phones.
We are back in Chugiak at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and we have been having movie time in the youth room. It was fun last night watching the Italian Job and everyone watched and enjoyed it.
Sorry for a short blog, but not to much else to report. We are planning a Denali trip tomorrow morning which I personally am looking forward to seeing!
That is all for today!
Mike
We then went to Peggy's for lunch (a place where the locals eat). The neat thing about Peggy's is that it is situated right next to the glide path of Merrill Field which is an airstrip that is used by private and corporate pilots. We got to watch planes land the whole time we ate. We then went to the mall located in downtown Anchorage. The kids soon found out that a mall in Alaska looks like a mall in any other town. We did let the kids have their phones back for the day so they could catch up with family and friends. We did let them know we wanted them back, which they did not have a huge problem with. It is nice when they don't have phones because the interact with the group and are not always on their phones.
We are back in Chugiak at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and we have been having movie time in the youth room. It was fun last night watching the Italian Job and everyone watched and enjoyed it.
Sorry for a short blog, but not to much else to report. We are planning a Denali trip tomorrow morning which I personally am looking forward to seeing!
That is all for today!
Mike
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A day in Chugiak and Wasilla
We got an early start today after talking to Pastor Steve last night who said if we were going to tour a bit we should go early and we did. We had a quick breakfast in the church kitchen and headed over to the Iditarod Headquarters. It is the annual 1100 mile Wasilla to Nome sled dog race. We watched a great video tape of just how grueling of a feat it actually is. I think everyone including me came away with a whole new respect for this race. We then got to go see a sled team and actually Brock, Tayva, Megan and Ben went on a sled dog ride. The founder of this race was a man named Joe Redington and his son was the musher on their ride. (Pretty Cool)! The tape featured Lance Mackey who has survived cancer and came back to win the race four years in a row! He is the only musher to do this. His dad and brother have also won the race too. The most interesting fact was that only 1 musher has won this race 5 times! His name is Rick Swenson and do you know where Rick was born? Well this sled dog legend was born in Willmar, MN! The folks around the headquarters thought that was pretty neat when they found out we were from Willmar.
We then went to the Palmer Hay Flats which is flat delta type area that fills with water in the spring. A few weeks ago it was filled with Moose, and we actually saw some Moose in this area when we were coming back from our picnic Saturday night. We then played around in a river for awhile stopped for McDonalds lunch the back to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for and afternoon and early evening of cleaning. It worked out well since the usual cleaning lady just had a baby and the church has not been thoroughly cleaned. EVERYONE pitched in. Dan, Alex, Ben, and Michael vacuumed upstairs and downstairs. Brock and Branden cleaned the bathrooms and showers. Megan and Tayva dusted the window sills and pews. Carter, Eli, and Matt worked outside in the garage. Kaleigh helped clean the fellowship area. Ally, Ali, Adi, and Marin hosed off and cleaned all the outside windows. The kids all worked very hard today. Laura, Darla, Megan, Tayva, and I made a great supper of baked chicken and we all ate together.
Tomorrow will be a long day, we are driving to Denali (Mt. McKinley) to see the highest mountain in North America. From Anchorage it looks like it is just a little ways west but it is about 3 hours each way. We are praying for good weather.
Hopefully I will have some awesome pictures posted tomorrow night or Saturday morning.
God bless you all!
Mike
We then went to the Palmer Hay Flats which is flat delta type area that fills with water in the spring. A few weeks ago it was filled with Moose, and we actually saw some Moose in this area when we were coming back from our picnic Saturday night. We then played around in a river for awhile stopped for McDonalds lunch the back to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for and afternoon and early evening of cleaning. It worked out well since the usual cleaning lady just had a baby and the church has not been thoroughly cleaned. EVERYONE pitched in. Dan, Alex, Ben, and Michael vacuumed upstairs and downstairs. Brock and Branden cleaned the bathrooms and showers. Megan and Tayva dusted the window sills and pews. Carter, Eli, and Matt worked outside in the garage. Kaleigh helped clean the fellowship area. Ally, Ali, Adi, and Marin hosed off and cleaned all the outside windows. The kids all worked very hard today. Laura, Darla, Megan, Tayva, and I made a great supper of baked chicken and we all ate together.
Tomorrow will be a long day, we are driving to Denali (Mt. McKinley) to see the highest mountain in North America. From Anchorage it looks like it is just a little ways west but it is about 3 hours each way. We are praying for good weather.
Hopefully I will have some awesome pictures posted tomorrow night or Saturday morning.
God bless you all!
Mike
Transition Day
Today was a fast and furious day of getting business finished up. We were able to wrap up our chores and button things up in Copper Center and we left the church in much better shape than we found it. Little Man told us that they have been trying for almost two years to get this church cleaned and painted and with our help that came true. Our only regret is that we will not be able to see it when all 26 of the burnt out fluorescent bulbs get replaced. With the fresh white paint and new bulbs that place will be a bright place to worship.
We departed for Chugina where we spent our 3rd night in Alaska. We will be doing some chores for them that they have been putting off for some time now. We will still get to see a fair amount of sites yet while we finish our work.
We stopped off at Matanuska Glacier on our way back and what a wonderful site this was to see. It has receded quite a bit since 1964 when a picture was taken. The toe of the glacier extended to where we now park.Bill who runs the park said that the glacier is always moving up to 2 feet per day. It will go back and forth depending on higher elevation snowfall and temperature. It has been pretty stationary all year so far. I posted quite a few pictures of the kids and the glacier on my facebook page. Remember we will be getting a disk of all the pictures from this trip and there are many. So far I have posted over 300 on facebook alone and that is only a portion of what I have taken. What a thrill to be able to walk on a glacier and sit awe of mother nature. A true blessing for sure. The kids seemed to also truly enjoy the magnificent natural wonder.
Well that is all for tonight, I am writing this at 11 o'clock and I am ready for bed. Looking out my window if I was in Willmar I would think it was about 8 or so. It does make it hard for the boys and girls to go to sleep but hopefully sleep will come. They have earned it.
One more thing, with the exception of a few reminders the group has been awesome. You can be proud of your children they are representing themselves, their family, their parish, and their community very well.
Take care,
Mike
We departed for Chugina where we spent our 3rd night in Alaska. We will be doing some chores for them that they have been putting off for some time now. We will still get to see a fair amount of sites yet while we finish our work.
We stopped off at Matanuska Glacier on our way back and what a wonderful site this was to see. It has receded quite a bit since 1964 when a picture was taken. The toe of the glacier extended to where we now park.Bill who runs the park said that the glacier is always moving up to 2 feet per day. It will go back and forth depending on higher elevation snowfall and temperature. It has been pretty stationary all year so far. I posted quite a few pictures of the kids and the glacier on my facebook page. Remember we will be getting a disk of all the pictures from this trip and there are many. So far I have posted over 300 on facebook alone and that is only a portion of what I have taken. What a thrill to be able to walk on a glacier and sit awe of mother nature. A true blessing for sure. The kids seemed to also truly enjoy the magnificent natural wonder.
Well that is all for tonight, I am writing this at 11 o'clock and I am ready for bed. Looking out my window if I was in Willmar I would think it was about 8 or so. It does make it hard for the boys and girls to go to sleep but hopefully sleep will come. They have earned it.
One more thing, with the exception of a few reminders the group has been awesome. You can be proud of your children they are representing themselves, their family, their parish, and their community very well.
Take care,
Mike
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Day 2 on site.
By the time you read this it will be morning. It is 10:42 and as usual the sun has not set. Well today was a busy day of working and just a little site seeing and mostly painting and gutter work. We pretty much have the church painted with a first coat and all the cracks are filled. It is a little more work due to fact we are painting with flat latex over semi gloss and it is going to take more paint to finish this project. We had many visitors today from the community, we had Anya who is visiting home from Las Vegas. I think she is a relative of Little Man. We also had Karen the pastors wife stop by and see how the project was coming along. After lunch we went to Wrangle - St. Elias National Park. We also went to the Princess Cruise lodge and on the way we saw the Trans Alaska Pipeline. We told the kids that the pipeline runs 800 miles from the north slope to Valdez. We also took a quick trip to Copper Center and snooped around. We had a birthday party for Darla tonight and the kids bought her a card and Twix bars for her birthday. To celebrate we had hot dogs and cheesy dogs (she had one of each) since it was her birthday. It is nice to know that there is another person who dislikes hot dogs other than my son Alex. Marin informed us she also does not like hot dogs and gave hers to Brock. Yesterday I made banana bread and buttermilk banana bars which are all gone. Teva and Megan are the cleaning crew in the kitchen and always help. Eli, Carter, and Brandon are the thee amigo's and travel as a pack. Ben keeps Michael in check and we usually have those two work with things that involve the use of their hands. Adi has been keep us busy answering questions, she never seems to run out. Dan, Matt and I went on an errand which was nice to have some semi adult conversation. Matt is having a blast and it is fun listening to them banter about their taste in music. Ally, Ali, and Marin are good workers and you hardly know they are around. Kaliegh is eager to help wherever needed and she is quiet but fun to have around.
It is fun to see a diverse group of kids come together as one. Brandon let the girls cut his hair and it was so choppy we had to use Pastor Todd's clippers to even it out. It looks much better tonight.
We have done so much but still have so much to do. I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group on such a wonderful mission.
God Bless,
Mike
It is fun to see a diverse group of kids come together as one. Brandon let the girls cut his hair and it was so choppy we had to use Pastor Todd's clippers to even it out. It looks much better tonight.
We have done so much but still have so much to do. I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group on such a wonderful mission.
God Bless,
Mike
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 1 in Copper Center
We slept really well our first night staying at the Mt. Drum Fellowship Hall. Our local host "Little Man" has shown us around and we are settled in. The kids are getting along very well and eager to help. To keep them focused on the Mission and each other we have taken their cell phones away and although they were not happy after a couple of days they seem to miss them less and less. We met Pastor Todd and he gave us our first assignment which was to strip down all the walls, wash, spackle and paint. We got almost 1/2 of the church done today and should finish tomorrow. We will then wait for our next assignment. While some were painting, Little Man had some of the boys outside taking off the old gutters which will be replaced.
Mt. Drum Fellowship Hall sits on the banks of the Copper River, which is flowing quite rapidly as of now. It is also very close to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The kids as well as me are getting a kick out of how long daylight is. This time of year it really does not get dark out just dusk. The sun sets around 11:30 and rises about 4:40 or so. We still have yet to see our first wild bear, but we did see some wild moose along the Palmer Highway. We watched a movie as a group last night and all slept well.
Darla and I are enjoying the company of some very wonderful kids. Can't wait for tomorrow.
Mt. Drum Fellowship Hall sits on the banks of the Copper River, which is flowing quite rapidly as of now. It is also very close to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The kids as well as me are getting a kick out of how long daylight is. This time of year it really does not get dark out just dusk. The sun sets around 11:30 and rises about 4:40 or so. We still have yet to see our first wild bear, but we did see some wild moose along the Palmer Highway. We watched a movie as a group last night and all slept well.
Darla and I are enjoying the company of some very wonderful kids. Can't wait for tomorrow.
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