North by Northwest

Goodbye Alaska!

2010-07-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

11:22 pm - Anchorage Airport

Late Breaking News

2010-07-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

I just opened my e-mail and read this note from the office secretary at Palmer UMC....

Glen,

Just wanted to let you know that one of the mom's from VBS called today she was looking for the website and couldn't find it wanted to share it with her mom in Texas so she could see photos of the kids! This is really exciting for us at Palmer UMC. ( I assured her I'd email her when the site is up)

I was able to go into the site today and add our location address, also gave my husband a look at the site he was blown away.

We all want to thank you and the entire VIM team for all that you did for us, we were very encouraged by your visit. VBS was great! and the website is just awesome. To quote Pastor Tori: "I'm totally jazzed!!!"

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help get it up and running from this end. I did let the Pastor's know via email that we changed the email address so that we could all monitor the response.

Again thank you and the entire team for all your work.

Blessings,

Donna Singleton

Heading Home

2010-07-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

7:15 am

It is early Saturday morning and the team is up and about. We are all packing, cleaning and preparing for a 10 am departure. That's when our drivers will take us to the airport. Our plane does not leave until late tonight; close to midnight in fact.

The targeted projects at Wasilla First have been completed and significant changes have indeed been made around this buiding.

The VBS week ended with First Church sponsoring a booth at Palmer's Farmer's Market. We provided crafts and face-painting for kids. A line formed on one side and smiling kids came out the other side. It was a great way to alert the community of the new location of Palmer UMC. A post card announcement of the change was also created and handed out at the event.

The last nine days have moved quickly. The First Church family can be proud of the way its wandering missionaries represented our entire church. Relationships have been forged and impressions made. Here are some of the visual impressions of this journey to Alaska.

10:35PM

It is almost 10 pm in the Anchorage airport. We got here 11 hours ago and still have three more hours to log before our flight departs. Our post midnight takeoff will cap the last in a line of long days that weave together to create a very productive and memorable extended week.

As I tap away, the First Church crew is sprawled in a variety of states that range from mouth-open sleep to wide-eyed wakefulness. I find myself somewhere in between. I am typing, but I know there are not many words left in my fingers. Instead I will fall back on the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Here are some images of the team you helped send to the people of the Wasilla and Palmer, United Methodist Churches.

Thank you and farewell to the land of the midnight sun!

Sunshine & Other Thoughts

2010-07-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

As I typed in the title for this entry I realized that sunshine is not news for most of you readers who live "outdoors" (that being the term Alaskans use to refer to someone who is traveling out of the state). Here (indoors?) the sun has been a tad indecisive. However, the last two mornings, the cloud cover has loosened; a parting of the gray sea as it were. Our temps have held steady in the mid/upper 60s which has proved to be very agreeable working weather.

Today is day three of VBS. The First Church crew has crafted an exceptional event. The number of kid-lets has grown day by day. It is a treat to gather up and download the photos snapped during each session. The running of the daily pics is almost like a movie premier with crowds gathering around the MacBook to ooh & ahh the photos of the different kids.

First Church has sent an exceptional group of individuals to represent our body. Note the wide range of ages working this venue. All ages are bound together by thick, cords of mutual enthusiasm. Their energy is infectious. You can see that the kids have caught it as well.

Back on the home front, the four-pronged project attack is advancing. The weeds have been dispatched, the back porch/wheel-chair ramp has been rebuilt and backfilled, and the kitchen remodel is just about history. The foyer awaits today's attention. A sub-floor will be laid and tiles set. Friday will see loose ends being tied and dangling projects knotted up. Work on the Palmer web continues as well with supporting print materials being prepared.

Last night, a group of Wasilla First Church-ers hosted a pot-luck for us. Salmon was the common theme. It migrated into the casseroles, swam in the soup and lined up side-by-side on hot platters. The conversation was as delicious as the food. The din of our visiting was so loud that most of us missed the tremors of a 5.6 quake that was centered just northwest of here. There was a boom of sorts but I think most of us thought the commotion came from one of the other tables and hardly a head was lifted to check which one.

We are now just two days from out late-late Saturday night departure. As is often the case, it seems like we just got here and it seems like we have been here forever! The bonds of common experience will always tie this group to this place in time. Speaking of time, it is waning unlike Alaska's days. It is the hour to giddy-up and ride into another day.

Another Project Day!

2010-07-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

Monday was another project day in both Wasilla and Palmer. After our holiday together the team split to the four winds. The VBS team was up early and off to the weed fields. Then it was on to Palmer for the final prep day.

The construction crew tore into another new project requiring strong backs (and weak minds?). Pastor Robert asked me to target Friday for completion of a brochure and web site for Palmer. I mostly worked on graphic elements for the site. Most importantly, Diane stoked the home fires, coming up with a spaghetti dinner that had us all raving!

Now, on the Tuesday morning, the Wasilla Church is mostly quiet with the VBS team doing VBS and the construction guys picking up additional supplies to finish off the wheel-chair ramp, button up the kitchen trim work and get ready to lay a new tire floor in the foyer. I have picked out a template for Palmer's web site and will be challenged trying to figure out how to populate it with stuff!

Thank all of your for your contributions to this ongoing project. Your donations have gone a long way in both completing projects and fostering goodwill. When I check the blog this morning, I noted that 176 visitors had checked in. We have had visits from Washington, Alaska, California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia. Good news travels fast!

(Don't Forget - this blog works two-ways...you can leave us a love note!)

4th of July

2010-07-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

The First Church Team spent the July 4th morning in church. How appropriate! We attended the first-ever service in the all new Palmer United Methodist Church in downtown Palmer. It was a privilege to be part of this inaugural event of stirring music and inspiring messages. VBS will run Tuesday - Friday in the sanctuary. The team has been and still is preparing for this community-wide event. We also attended the morning service at Christ First Church followed by a time of meeting and greeting in the new-look kitchen.

Tracy and Paula won the prize for shooting the first native wildlife. On their way to pick up Robbie at the Anchorage Airport, they spotted a mama moose & daughter (son?) next to the highway.

Shortly after noon we departed for the make-yourself-at-home hospitality of Jeff and Ann Robison. Our 4th of July B-B-Q was followed by a rubber duck race (Adam's ducky won) and a slip-slidy hike along the muddy flanks of the Palmer Hay Flats.

We never did figure out the where and how 4th of July Fireworks work in this land where the sun seldom sets.

First Full Day

2010-07-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

It seems like we have been here longer, but today is our first full day. It has been an active one. The kitchen remodel was highest on Pastor Tori & Robert's priority pole. Don, Adam, Bob & Glen made up the demolition team. A cloud of dust and the better part of the day later and the wall came tumbling down.

Meanwhile, Diane and Lucille worked the meal circuit and continued with VBS prep. Tracy, Wendy and Kelsey weeded, trimmed and transformed the outside of the church. Paula and Gracie were able to connect today with family members who live in Anchorage. This was a very productive, feel-good day; a day of bonding for the 1st Church Team. Pastors and parishioners have been streaming in and out encouraging us all with heart-filled feedback.

Tomorrow we will take the day off to celebrate our independence. Yet, there is something very positive in the feeling of interdependence we are experiencing as we join together to served and be served by others who share our faith in the message of love.

(NOTE: I am having a bit of a struggle loading images to the Blog. I will keep trying... check back later!)

July 2, 2010

2010-07-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Morning Planning

As I write this, the VBS team is laying out the event for Palmer while the construction team circles Christ First revising the project priority list as they go. These breakout sessions come after a group (lots-of-coffee!) meeting in the library with Pastor Robert. The day is grey but the mood bright as we launch into this first full day in Alaska. This day will probably not be as full as our travel day.

We arrived here at 4 am. We circled the church a few times (a bit blurry-eyed) and then, like homing pigeons, found our way to our respective nests. By 4:30 am, the lights were out and so were we. It felt a bit strange to be bedding down as day light was gathering. In fact, the farther we flew from Seattle the brighter the night became. At 3 am, the night was more like dawn.

Most of the crew was up and running (perhaps shuffling is a better description!) by 9 this morning. Now it appears that supply and project lists have been made and the next step is a shopping excursion. Look out Walmart and Home Depot!

Much thanks goes out to our delivering angels (Robert & Francis) who plucked us up in the middle of the night and dropped us in the warm embrace of this beautiful land of green forests, high mountains and wonderful people.

Stay tuned....

Alaska Bound

2010-07-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

By 3:15 pm nine of First Church's 12-member Alaska Mission Team had made parting good-byes, piled our bags into the trunk and put the cars in gear (.We met Wendy & Kelsey Focht at SeaTac & will meet Robbie Schott in Anchorage Saturday)

Reports of rolling slow-downs on the passes caused us to head west a tad early.

We were finally Alaska bound, but not yet off the ground. As seasoned traveler's say, "always expect the unexpected!"

Our Continental flight was scheduled to depart at 9:03 pm with a 11:32 am (Anchorage-time) arrival. When we got to the airport, the Departure's board spun another story.

Due to a hurricane in the Gulf, our plane was grounded in Texas. Our flight was pushed to 11:32 delaying our arrival in Anchorage to 2 pm. We notified the people picking us up from Christ First Church about the problem and they replied, "no problem!" Our new friends still plan to meet us at the airport. I am wondering if it will still be light? In any event, the 1st UM team is now spread out around Gate B9 awaiting the call to board the plane in about an hour and a half.

Nine Days & Counting

2010-06-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

In little more than a week the First Church Alaska Mission Team will be climbing the Cascades and sliding into SeaTac for a 9:03 pm flight to Anchorage. We land in the North Star state at 11:32 pm and it will still be daylight! Volunteer drivers from Christ 1st UM will pick us up and transport the team to the church in Wasilla.

The next week will be one of planning, packing and preparing for this Sunday's kick-off breakfast/brunch. The mission's team will be accepting donations at the meals and anticipating the support of your prayers as we travel and minister to our neighbors in the north.

Two Weeks & Counting

2010-06-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Two weeks and counting... before the team leaves First Church for the warmth of new friends and the light of long Alaska nights.

The team is still meeting to finalize project plans and fundraising efforts. A final send off with a fundraising breakfast and brunch will take place after both services on Sunday the 27th.

Team member, Robert Norman just returned from an Alaska trip with his wife Darlene. He visited and took some photos of the project areas at Christ United Methodist Church in Wasilla, Alask. We will post several of the photos as soon as they are scanned.