Church Project 06/19-06/25

This past week has been a flurry of non-stop moving and people so I have not had a chance to sit down and type everything out without my eyes closing the second I sit down. Saturday morning and afternoon were a blur due to having to finish getting everything around for the incoming team that night. I had a planning meeting with another staff member that morning to work out some details of our trip that starts the night the one I am on now stops. After that I felt like a tornado, zooming around the house making beds, cleaning rooms, and trying to make sure I was ready to go pick them up. Around 4 o'clock we headed down to Anchorage and once we picked them up, we had a really great opening meeting at a beautiful location. Once we drove them home that night and helped the boys get settled in the house, I had a reminder what is was like to be around high school boys and that was a blast from the past(I'm still not sure if that is a good thing or not).

Sunday- Since we are working with a children's camp this week and would not have the final day available to do the final rec day events, we decided to do those the first day. Driving a van full of high school guys and girls for an hour and a half down and back trip was definitely a new experience, especially when you do not know them that well yet. We went down to Byron Glacier and after making sure no one died getting there, I realized that half the group was up the glacier without any supervision and were going towards a waterfall near the top which can be dangerous because it makes the ice less safe there. Due to that happening I sprinted up the glacier, only falling and biting it a couple of times on the way. After the hanging out on the glacier we traveled to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center where the team got the chance to see a lot of animals that are native to Alaska up close. After the AWCC we headed to Virgin falls which is the north most rainforest in the world. Then we traveled back to Wasilla Bible Church where we will be serving that week. There we have a opening meeting and training session with Reach 907, which is a program that works will current and former foster kids and we were going to help with their camp that week. We got trained in TBRI strategies to make sure we were helping the kids the most we could because of all the struggles they might have from their past. After the training they had an end of the night meeting and we headed back to the houses to get some sleep. I might have had the upper classmen cracking up with my jokes while they were supposed to be sleeping, so it took a little longer to get them to fall asleep.

Monday and Tuesday- We had the guys pack their stuff because they were moving to some Airbnb houses that we right on the lake the camp was using and staying there was amazing. I definitely marked down that address to rent from if I ever need someone to stay while in Alaska. We headed to the Wasilla Bible Church where our first day of camp was going to happen. I found out the night before that instead of my normal job as a thirst staff member, which is to be like a spotter in lifting weights and help the team on the mission to succeed and they get all the glory, I was going to be paired with a couple of foster kids because they needed another over 18 year old. So we spent that day getting to know the kids better and help them feel comfortable with us. I can not use their names due to safety reasons but one of the kids especially broke my heart because he is the sweetest kid but has gone through some really terrible stuff, one of the things that we really struggled with was feeling like he had to yell to defend himself when anything happened because he used to get blamed for things even if he did not do it. After doing VBS, having fun at the lake, and doing a thing called nature group where we worked through different traumas they might have. One of those activities that we did everyday was asking the kids if they had any boo boos and we would put Band-Aids on the spot to show them we cared. This was especially cool when my kid told me his heart has been hurt a lot and I got to put a Band-Aid over it. We ended the night with all the guys on the trip kayaking across the lake to the Canes on the other side, which they actually got and also received a nickname from the worker there as the lake boys. Tuesday was basically the same schedule for the camp except a lot of kids were now opening up with the volunteers about what they went through, which is an awesome thing and also an eye opener for some of the students. That night the guys took another trip to Canes and I was able to swim some laps in the water at the lake. It was an amazing experience to be in the water and be able to look out at the beautiful sky with mountains that looked so close I could have swam to them.

Wednesday- We started off the morning the same with working with the kids at the camp but the schedule was different that day because we were taking the team to Eklutna Lake that afternoon so we were going to have to leave the camp earlier then we had the past two days. There are supposedly places on Earth where the veil between Heaven and Earth are thinner and Eklutna Lake is supposed to be one because it is a glacier fed lake. When we got there everyone in the group went kayaking first because a storm was picking up so while it was a very fun time, I feel like I did not get to see the lake at it's peak beauty. After returning our kayaks we went and got mountain bikes and went on a really cool but also scary at times trail. To end the night the people who run the place barbequed for us and we finished out the night by splitting into groups and telling our life stories to 3 or 4 others. Life stories are kind of like testimonies except they are 5-6 minutes long and they can change every time you tell them depending on what you feel called to mention. I love the idea of them and also just getting to learn more about the adults and students I am helping lead.

Thursday- Thursday was the same schedule as Monday and Tuesday for camp but I found out that my one student was really upset that we left early and had some problems. The same student asked me that morning if we could talk even after camp ended and I told him I would have to check with the people in charge to find out what the rules are like for that because they can be so strict. After a great day of camp, we had an appreciation dinner that the camp put on for the team for helping them out this week. After the dinner the team was supposed to hike the Butte but some of the team members were so exhausted from the week that he gave them a choice of hiking the Butte or hanging out at the lake. I stayed back at the lake with the people who did not want to hike the Butte and got the chance to lead their end of the night meeting and I loved being able to do that. I also dove a little more into my testimony because I knew some of the high school guys were going through some stuff I went through due to our late night convos and I wanted to let them know they are not alone. I actually had one guy come up to me and tell me that my story really affected him and he needed to hear it and that just affirmed me that I was doing the right thing on this trip. After that we pulled more then 15 people in a 15 passenger van and went out and got food which was a great experience together.

Friday- Friday morning everyone woke up excited to see what the last day would bring but also pretty sad knowing they were about to leave the kids they bonded so close with this past week. The morning was normal schedule but in the afternoon there was a carnival for the kids and at lunch every kid got a birthday cake since some of these kids have never even had their birthdays celebrated. My boss told me that he got it worked out so that I could take a nap during the carnival since I was going straight to picking up another team right after dropping this one off and it was "highly suggested" that I take that time to rest to get ready for this next trip coming up that night. After I woke up it was time for the kids goodbyes and graduations and I got to meet my kid's foster mom and also his real parents. I was able to give the foster mom my number so I could call the kid throughout the summer and beyond but I will be honest it makes me kind of scared. IT makes me scared because I do not want to get too busy to talk to the kid and make him feel not loved and appreciated like he has been before yet I also have an incredibly busy schedule once school starts. I am praying for God to help me find time to talk to him and help him understand that he is loved. After the kids goodbyes we took the team to the place they had their opening meetings and had their last meeting and said goodbyes. I was offered someone to stay at basically everyone's house and told that I better come visit them at some point. So for my first trip it was a really amazing experience with some really great people I will not forget. I also realized how much energy and time this job takes so that is why this blog post is a whole week long and a week late. (A little hint is that I will probably do the same thing for my next post for the group we drop off at the airport tomorrow).