Last March, I got the amazing opportunity to go on a mission trip with the school that I teach at to some villages in Alaska. My school has been taking teams to these villages for years and has built an incredible relationship with those that live there. The idea is simple: find ways to love on and serve these Alaskan communities. The goal is mighty: share the good news of Jesus Christ. There were four adult staff and 12 high school students on our team but we also sent a second group of staffers and students to another set of villages. We serve through a variety of activities like putting on a community pancake breakfast, open gyms and game nights for kids, or helping out in classrooms to give teachers a hand or a rest. We put on skits during the school days at an assembly to hopefully bring some joy and laughter and then we invite the community to come out later at night. At night, we share the gospel and we worship together. Students share how Christ has changed their life. It is powerful.
The trip was an eye opening experience for me. All I have known of Alaska is Anchorage, Mat Su Valley, and the Kenai. I have never had the opportunity to travel to the more rural areas. Alaskans call this area "Bush Alaska". The villages we went to are accessible only by plane. There are no roads that lead to these villages. Some families have lived in these locations for generations. The school is the central part of the village. When people come to stay in the village, they usually stay in the school. The classrooms become hotel rooms. There are cots for visitors to use. The school is normally the only building that has running water and electricity, although this varies by village. It costs a lot to ship items to the village. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a luxury. There is normally a small clinic for health care and a kind of "everything you need" shop that seems like a general store to me. There are no grocery stores, shopping malls, hospitals. Villagers have to fly out for any serious medical needs. People travel in the village by snow machine (or snow mobile for anyone who lives in the "lower 48") or they walk. The school district typically has a shuttle to pick students up in or parents drop their students off for school from their snowmobile. Fishing and hunting in the village is commonplace. Most of the villages we went to were near water and the villagers would spend weekends out fishing.
I couldn't stop asking questions when I was there about education. It is so interesting. The school population is very small. Most all village schools have one school for kindergarten through twelfth grade. One teacher might be the "elementary teacher" and have one first grader, two third graders, one fourth grader and a sixth grader. The teacher has to be able to give each student work in their subject area and grade level and help each of them. Many teachers come up from the lower 48. Most stay for one or two years and then leave. Some stay longer and some don't make it more than two days after seeing what it is like. Villagers often feel abandoned by teachers because of this. They create good relationships, then they leave. The culture is very different as well. Things are slow and easy. We call it "village time". If we say there is an assembly at 1:30, you can expect it not to start until 3:00.
As far as faith goes, many Catholic missionaries have made their way to Alaskan villages. It seems like there is a priest in most villages. We met believers in Jesus in every village and got to encourage them. But, the villages have a high rate of suicide. Alcoholism seems to be a problem communities are encountering. The way of life is simple and sometimes it seems to me that there is not a lot for youth to do so they look into drugs or alcohol. The idea that God loves them no matter what they have done, no matter what they will do is a concept that is hard for anyone to grasp, but I felt like it was a message that was harder to communicate in the village. The idea that Jesus is not here to judge but to have a relationship with us is also difficult to get across. Some villagers it seemed were worn down from years of pain. We got to bring light to them.
Some days we felt like the message of Christ was made clear. Most days we wondered what difference we made. But we began to see our trip as planting seeds. Seeds upon seeds upon seeds, and each year we keep coming back until one day for someone, this seeds grows.
When I think about our team, I love the passage from 2 Corinthians that describes Christ as a sweet fragrance. An enticing aroma to those perishing.
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddler's of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ." 2 Corinthians 2: 14-17
On the tiny "bush plane" on our way to the first village
Game night
Our high school students poured themselves out and loved on kids so so well.
Nulato, Alaska (Population: 180 souls)
The "snow machine" as Alaskans say
We helped clean out a library at the school and I loved this school project I found. A teacher had encouraged the students to write a report on how to set a fish net under the ice. I love that this teacher empowered students to realize that they have incredible knowledge and skills that are very unique. Isn't this crazy??! I definitely don't know how to set a fish net under the ice, but apparently if I had students that lived in the Alaskan villages they could help me!
I loved this moment. One of the teachers who went with me began playing worship and the village kids, without being prompted, just immediately gathered around intently listening.
"But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 19:14
Just normally Alaskan safety signs
Watch out for snow machines in the road, just a reminder.
And YES I saw people totally carrying things in a sled behind their snow machine. Alaska is a crazy place, folks.
In the middle of nowhere, beauty can be found.
Some of our team members! :)
The villages have different languages they speak. Most villages have English and the native language being taught.
We also went to a village called Nondalton and these are come awesome kiddos I met there!
This was in Kokhanok, the third village we went to.
Doing an assembly
We had face painting one Saturday which was really fun!
This trip opened up my blinded eyes and heart so much and I am so thankful for all that I learned and was able to share in these villages.
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