I think if we weren't so busy it might not go nearly as fast, right?!?!
Ok, so let's jump right into the post, I have lots to share, between Vacation Bible School, excursions, picnics and work back at the quonset hut for the association the past two weeks seem like a blur.
We left off last post with helping with the fire clean up on that Friday.
We then had to transition right into VBS preparations for FBC Willow. Pastor Charles Worthy and his precious wife Sherry were the host family for the summer missionaries during the week of VBS. We delivered the precious cargo, Zackary, Deanne and Shelby, to them Saturday night and was invited for dinner as well. What a treat that was, fellowshipping around the table, all 10 of us, including the Ross's. We finally were able to get a great shot of a moose, ON OUR PLATE! hehehe. She made moose meatloaf, talk about some yummy meatloaf. It was a great night around the table, laughing and telling stories.
One awesome thing they have on their property is Ms Sherry's mom's old prayer room. Her mother, Mrs. Dorothy (Textor) Coltharp, was a wonderful woman of prayer. She had her husband build her a prayer cottage on their homeplace. Wanting her neighbors to have a special place for prayer, she opened it to the neighborhood, leaving it unlocked 24 hours a day. When her Mother moved in with them, Sherry wanted her neighbors to have that same opportunity. They moved it to their property. They keep it unlocked so anyone that would like to go in and pray, can. There is even a place for prayer requests and everything, it was a place you could feel the presence of the Lord just walking in there. Just thinking of all the prayers that have been said in that room brings a silent reverence to you as you enter.
Another really cool story Pastor Charles told us was about the cross that was carried across the United States by Acteen groups back in 2005 or sometime around there. We couldn't remember the exact year, I'm sure lots of you might remember this. When the cross arrived in Alaska, the last state, it was carried by the youth group of FBC WIllow and ended up at the state office in Alaska. Since Alaska was the last stop, the cross journey came to an end. During the renovation of the State Office, Pastor Charles asked if he could have it and now has that cross hanging outside the prayer room. How cool is that? But wait, it gets better.....OUR ACTEENs (from Salt Springs Baptist) carried that same cross! Momma participated in caring it across the Florida portion of it's journey. They carried it from Salt Springs to Palatka and passed it off. So you know we just had to get pictures of the cross. I still can't believe it, what a small world, a cross used over 10 years ago winds up at the house of a pastor we meet in ALASKA! HA - I so love how God works! :)
The next day was church and the excursion to Talkeetna and the lodge where you have the best view of Danali aka Mt McKinley, which is the highest mountain the North America. We all loaded up in the van and headed out. We made a stop at the lodge, whose deck has an amazing view of the mountain range that McKinley is in, but this day, it was clouded in and we couldn't see the top, but it was still an amazing view, and again, the flowers. The lodge had flowers everywhere, so I had to take a few shots of those as well. Funny, only 30% of the time do you actually get to see the whole mountain, and well, that was not our day. The other 70% of the time, it is clouded in. We will keep trying while we are here though.
We were then off to Talkeetna, a really cool little touristy town with all the little shops and another great view of the mountain. We had a great time there just roaming around and people watching. And a day trip is never complete without a yummy meal. We ate at a really cool restaurant/hotel of sorts from wayyyyy back in the gold mining days called the Roadhouse. I ate a reindeer pasty, (meat and cheese in a pastry pocket of sorts) which was OMW SOOO YUMMY! Momma & Daddy tried the reindeer chili which was really good too. What an exciting two days, moose and reindeer....which I loved both.
On our way home Pastor Charles decided to take us on some back roads in the hopes to show us some wildlife....and boy did we see some wild life....We were able to see two juvenile foxes playing on the side of the road, one cow (girl) moose grazing on the side of the road, not paying us any attention, only looking up for pictures to be taken. Down a little further were two juvenile bears playing in the middle of the road as we came around the corner, which we scared them as they ran down the road and then off into the woods. Then around the next corner was a porcupine, WHAT? PORCUPINES in ALASKA? Hmmm who knew...and let me tell you, it was a really big one...wasn't able to get a picture of him though, but he was really cool looking. Now the funny part of this whole story was that Pastor Charles would say, Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a moose, and around the corner...there it was...HA! Ok, that was great, but then he did it again.... Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a bear....and around the corner...not only was it a bear, but it was two bears....NO WAY! and get this...He did it again... Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a porcupine....and YEP, around the next corner...there was the porcupine....WE ALL FELL OUT LAUGHING....How crazy is that...and when I say around the corner, i mean literally around the corner....So to say the least....I put in my immediate request for him to start praying for me a husband...HAHAHA!
The next day was the beginning of VBS. Momma and I had the 4 - 6 grades and what a great time we had. As most of you know and do VBS, it is always a long busy week. Our schedule was 11:30 - 3, and the time flew by. It was fun teaching the stories of Daniel and his life of total obedience. Oh to be that obedient when it really counts. I thought about it as Momma was telling them about the food and being obedient to only eat what God wanted them to eat, sure I think we could do that, and then I thought back, wow, how many of us have that self control to eat only what is beneficial to our temple (our body) that God entrusted us with...and I immediately knew I had failed Him already. Then, onto the fiery furnace, could I stand obedient and walk willingly into that furnace? Then lions den...could I walk in there obediently, knowing Obedience to GOD is really what it all boiled down to, Faith that your obedience is mandatory and to follow Him faithfully. It's easy to say it, but would we really walk into the fire? So, I know this was the first time these children were hearing of Daniel, and it was all exciting to hear about the fire and the lions, but for me, it really hit me, Am I obedient in what I eat? Would I walk into that furnace? in that lions den? Oh Lord, forgive me, you have given me everything I need to be obedient and follow you no matter what...I must be faithful in the small things to be faithful in the big things. I know I have so much more to go, but VBS and all of Daniels stories just reminded me of how lazy we as Christ followers are today. We have no idea what it means to be persecuted. We must learn from Daniel, we MUST be obedient to follow ALL of Christ's commands, not just the ones that are easy. Lord thank you for opening my eyes to how complacent I have become, and how much more we need to stand firm and follow your commands. One of our verses in VBS was "If you love me you will keep my commands" John 14:15 Doesn't get much plainer than that now does it? Our VBS motto verse was "Whenever you turn to the right or to the left you will hear this command behind you, "This is the way, walk in it". Isaiah 30:21. How many of us even listen for direction? We just hit the
ground running and then when we get into a mess, Oh God help me....We must be faithful and look to the Lord for direction, HE WILL GUIDE OUR STEPS! Sheww, VBS was a great week all around. I love how we can go into something thinking we are going to teach someone else and God flips the cards on you and ends up teaching you even more than you could imagine, that's just how it works...
Now on Wednesday of VBS, we had another excursion with the kids and Pastor Charles and Ms Sherry, we got to go to the Matanuska glacier. WOW, that was literally the coolest thing i have done in my entire life. The ice was over 1200 feet thick that we were walking on. It was crazy, you would never know you were walking on ice, but you just move the silt over a bit and there was the ice. It was so amazing getting to hike out on the glacier itself. Now I don't know all the correct terminology, but it was amazing. The crevasses (cracks in the ice) some you could look down into an they would go as far as you could see. In other parts there would be a waterfall going down into the glacier. Then there would be just huge mounds of ice, don't remember what they are called (like sand dunes, only made of solid ice) it was crazy awesome! I just stood in awe of the whole thing, there were times you just had to stand in silence to just take it all in. To GOD be the glory, the earth even declare HIS glory, what amazing beauty God has created! It truly just humbles me and excites me to no end, that THIS IS THE LORD I SERVE! The CREATOR of ALL! I will shout it from the mountain tops HE IS MY LORD and I WILL SERVE HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY!
Yes as you can see, it has been a great couple of weeks, serving, learning, repenting, praising and basking in His glory! Like we say back home, the more you Love Him the more you seek Him, the more you seek Him, the more you find Him, the more you find Him, the more you seek Him, the more you seek Him the more you love Him, and so on...It is just a circle that keeps on going. It is truly what the John 10:10 abundant life is. If you are not living that true abundant life basking in the Love of the Father, I pray you will talk to someone. Our lives are not for us to serve ourselves, but to serve God. His bounty is worth so much more than anything this world has to offer. Yes He is creator of all, but only His children does He call by name....Does He know yours? My prayer is that He does. When God calls you and when you meet Jesus, you are never the same, you are a completely new creation, NEW creation. There is nothing so big, bad or ugly that you can't be forgiven for, there is no pit to deep that God can't pick you up and set you on the Rock, Jesus Christ. We as Christ Followers must get serious, and learn from Daniel, what it looks like to obediently follow Him!
Enjoy the pictures, there are some really great ones in this group of photos....and again, if you have never been to Alaska....Put it on the bucket list!!!!
Another really cool story Pastor Charles told us was about the cross that was carried across the United States by Acteen groups back in 2005 or sometime around there. We couldn't remember the exact year, I'm sure lots of you might remember this. When the cross arrived in Alaska, the last state, it was carried by the youth group of FBC WIllow and ended up at the state office in Alaska. Since Alaska was the last stop, the cross journey came to an end. During the renovation of the State Office, Pastor Charles asked if he could have it and now has that cross hanging outside the prayer room. How cool is that? But wait, it gets better.....OUR ACTEENs (from Salt Springs Baptist) carried that same cross! Momma participated in caring it across the Florida portion of it's journey. They carried it from Salt Springs to Palatka and passed it off. So you know we just had to get pictures of the cross. I still can't believe it, what a small world, a cross used over 10 years ago winds up at the house of a pastor we meet in ALASKA! HA - I so love how God works! :)
The next day was church and the excursion to Talkeetna and the lodge where you have the best view of Danali aka Mt McKinley, which is the highest mountain the North America. We all loaded up in the van and headed out. We made a stop at the lodge, whose deck has an amazing view of the mountain range that McKinley is in, but this day, it was clouded in and we couldn't see the top, but it was still an amazing view, and again, the flowers. The lodge had flowers everywhere, so I had to take a few shots of those as well. Funny, only 30% of the time do you actually get to see the whole mountain, and well, that was not our day. The other 70% of the time, it is clouded in. We will keep trying while we are here though.
We were then off to Talkeetna, a really cool little touristy town with all the little shops and another great view of the mountain. We had a great time there just roaming around and people watching. And a day trip is never complete without a yummy meal. We ate at a really cool restaurant/hotel of sorts from wayyyyy back in the gold mining days called the Roadhouse. I ate a reindeer pasty, (meat and cheese in a pastry pocket of sorts) which was OMW SOOO YUMMY! Momma & Daddy tried the reindeer chili which was really good too. What an exciting two days, moose and reindeer....which I loved both.
On our way home Pastor Charles decided to take us on some back roads in the hopes to show us some wildlife....and boy did we see some wild life....We were able to see two juvenile foxes playing on the side of the road, one cow (girl) moose grazing on the side of the road, not paying us any attention, only looking up for pictures to be taken. Down a little further were two juvenile bears playing in the middle of the road as we came around the corner, which we scared them as they ran down the road and then off into the woods. Then around the next corner was a porcupine, WHAT? PORCUPINES in ALASKA? Hmmm who knew...and let me tell you, it was a really big one...wasn't able to get a picture of him though, but he was really cool looking. Now the funny part of this whole story was that Pastor Charles would say, Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a moose, and around the corner...there it was...HA! Ok, that was great, but then he did it again.... Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a bear....and around the corner...not only was it a bear, but it was two bears....NO WAY! and get this...He did it again... Oh Lord, only thing that would make this great day any better would be to get to see a porcupine....and YEP, around the next corner...there was the porcupine....WE ALL FELL OUT LAUGHING....How crazy is that...and when I say around the corner, i mean literally around the corner....So to say the least....I put in my immediate request for him to start praying for me a husband...HAHAHA!
The next day was the beginning of VBS. Momma and I had the 4 - 6 grades and what a great time we had. As most of you know and do VBS, it is always a long busy week. Our schedule was 11:30 - 3, and the time flew by. It was fun teaching the stories of Daniel and his life of total obedience. Oh to be that obedient when it really counts. I thought about it as Momma was telling them about the food and being obedient to only eat what God wanted them to eat, sure I think we could do that, and then I thought back, wow, how many of us have that self control to eat only what is beneficial to our temple (our body) that God entrusted us with...and I immediately knew I had failed Him already. Then, onto the fiery furnace, could I stand obedient and walk willingly into that furnace? Then lions den...could I walk in there obediently, knowing Obedience to GOD is really what it all boiled down to, Faith that your obedience is mandatory and to follow Him faithfully. It's easy to say it, but would we really walk into the fire? So, I know this was the first time these children were hearing of Daniel, and it was all exciting to hear about the fire and the lions, but for me, it really hit me, Am I obedient in what I eat? Would I walk into that furnace? in that lions den? Oh Lord, forgive me, you have given me everything I need to be obedient and follow you no matter what...I must be faithful in the small things to be faithful in the big things. I know I have so much more to go, but VBS and all of Daniels stories just reminded me of how lazy we as Christ followers are today. We have no idea what it means to be persecuted. We must learn from Daniel, we MUST be obedient to follow ALL of Christ's commands, not just the ones that are easy. Lord thank you for opening my eyes to how complacent I have become, and how much more we need to stand firm and follow your commands. One of our verses in VBS was "If you love me you will keep my commands" John 14:15 Doesn't get much plainer than that now does it? Our VBS motto verse was "Whenever you turn to the right or to the left you will hear this command behind you, "This is the way, walk in it". Isaiah 30:21. How many of us even listen for direction? We just hit the
Now on Wednesday of VBS, we had another excursion with the kids and Pastor Charles and Ms Sherry, we got to go to the Matanuska glacier. WOW, that was literally the coolest thing i have done in my entire life. The ice was over 1200 feet thick that we were walking on. It was crazy, you would never know you were walking on ice, but you just move the silt over a bit and there was the ice. It was so amazing getting to hike out on the glacier itself. Now I don't know all the correct terminology, but it was amazing. The crevasses (cracks in the ice) some you could look down into an they would go as far as you could see. In other parts there would be a waterfall going down into the glacier. Then there would be just huge mounds of ice, don't remember what they are called (like sand dunes, only made of solid ice) it was crazy awesome! I just stood in awe of the whole thing, there were times you just had to stand in silence to just take it all in. To GOD be the glory, the earth even declare HIS glory, what amazing beauty God has created! It truly just humbles me and excites me to no end, that THIS IS THE LORD I SERVE! The CREATOR of ALL! I will shout it from the mountain tops HE IS MY LORD and I WILL SERVE HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY!
Yes as you can see, it has been a great couple of weeks, serving, learning, repenting, praising and basking in His glory! Like we say back home, the more you Love Him the more you seek Him, the more you seek Him, the more you find Him, the more you find Him, the more you seek Him, the more you seek Him the more you love Him, and so on...It is just a circle that keeps on going. It is truly what the John 10:10 abundant life is. If you are not living that true abundant life basking in the Love of the Father, I pray you will talk to someone. Our lives are not for us to serve ourselves, but to serve God. His bounty is worth so much more than anything this world has to offer. Yes He is creator of all, but only His children does He call by name....Does He know yours? My prayer is that He does. When God calls you and when you meet Jesus, you are never the same, you are a completely new creation, NEW creation. There is nothing so big, bad or ugly that you can't be forgiven for, there is no pit to deep that God can't pick you up and set you on the Rock, Jesus Christ. We as Christ Followers must get serious, and learn from Daniel, what it looks like to obediently follow Him!
Enjoy the pictures, there are some really great ones in this group of photos....and again, if you have never been to Alaska....Put it on the bucket list!!!!
Loving God & loving others,
Kristi
Carol & Bob
Galatians 6:9-10
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| They may not have an actual sunset during the summer, but the skies are absolutely amazing! God's glory sky for sure! |
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| Our dinner at 9:30 at night...and yes that is sunlight coming in the windows :) |
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| Ms Sherry |
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| Ms Sherry and I |
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| Pastor Charles |
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| The Summer Missionaries |
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| Our exhausted summer missionaries |
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| Have I told ya'll lately how amazing these young adults are? What a privilege to serve with them! |
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| A beautiful storefront in Talkeetna |
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