Home... From Alaska to Florida

Our team arrived back at the church around 1:45 p.m. today. All of 'em.

Almost home...

I just spoke with Allyson. The team should arrive at the church at 1:30 p.m.

On the way home tonight

Please continue praying for our team as they make the long journey home. They will fly through the night and return to Orlando around noon on Friday.

The Wooden Bowl

The Wooden Bowl

Today's devotion centered around this birch bowl that was hand made by Camp Director Walter Chastain.

I have had this bowl on the table next to my computer all week long as I have typed our blog...waiting for Him to reveal to me the significance of having it in my possession and why I am so deeply attracted to it

This is what He said:

It was created by Me

It's scarred

It has marks

It's wounded

It has serious flaws

It's considered a bad piece of wood

A Throwaway

Rotten

No good

Ugly

Imperfect

In speaking to my heart, this bowl reminds me of all of us. We can pass it around and examine it and some of the scars are shallow, and some are deep. Like Walter carefully turning and polishing this bowl to reveal it's beauty, God, too makes beauty out of ashes.

Like you, it is not perfect but a work in progress

BUT!

We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ! Through Him our wounds and scars are healed. Our weakness makes Him strong.

This bowl reveals how much Jesus loves us, scars, flaws, marks, imperfections, rotten, no good, ugly, a throwaway and all!

Matthew 7: 16-21 speaks of good fruit vs bad fruit and the tree that produces each. How grateful I am that when I am called home, my heavenly Father will accept me into His kingdom even though I am like that bowl.

By the way, if you didn't notice, the bowl is round. Representing the endless life we will share with Him when we do the will of the Father.

Rewarding Work...

2 Chronicles 15:7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."

Church Family, you need to know that this is an awesome team that is working here in the name of the Lord!! We came here to Laverne Griffin with a project schedule of work that we were to complete while here. By the strength of God, your team has completed so many tasks in a short period of time! The men have made picnic tables and benches, chopped wood, cleared brush, spackled drywall, painted and even fished when they could fit it in. Our ladies have made drapes for the cabins, painted, helped to stack wood, scrubbed canoes and paddle boats, raked leaves into hundreds of piles, cleaned the bath house and helped when needed in the kitchen. There have been so many hands working together, as a witness of the ability God gives us when we are working within His will. All of this has been without overexertion and injury. Well, Sherry did sprain her ankle yesterday... We gather each morning for breakfast and devotional time...discovering more about how God made a way for you to be here in AK. None of these folks are here by coincidence. It is all in the Lord's divine plan...every event is significant and every person has a purpose. Enjoy all of the pictures below showing our team...from 6 year-old Aaron Suydam (providing some quality entertainment) to ageless Billie Jo Jefferson, this team is so focused on what the Lord would have them to do, and I am so grateful to be a part of this! Team members bringing out the first of 5 picnic benches hand-made for the camp. L to R: Angie Bryant, Ken DeMoliner, Larry Ross and Bobby Peebles

The construction crew displaying their first picnic table for the camp. L to R: Larry Ross, Bobby Peebles and Ken DeMoliner

Diane Priest works on the landscaping team raking leaves around camp.

Julie DeVol helped to tackle the project of making black-out draperies for the camp cabins.

Rebecca Gillette presses the final drapery panel to complete project "black-out" for the camp cabins.

Aaron Suydam gives and impromptu concert on the piano in the camp chapel.

Lettuce Gather at the Bath House...

Well...you've all read that the majority of us got sick from eating salad at a local restaurant...it's not rumor...it's true. Added to this fact is that one of our team members got so ill...we took him to the hospital as a precaution! We are told to look for the good in everything. Here's the good: they didn't pay for the meal...their team leader did from the monies budgeted to give the team a special treat while here. Some treat, huh??!! :)

Within 20 minutes of arriving back at camp...it was a race to the bath house...see pictures below!

Because of all of this, the Health Department was contacted by the hospital, and they contacted the camp, wanting to interview everyone! They wanted to determine where the sickness occurred, and sent nurses to the camp from Anchorage! Needless to say, we have had so much excitement here, with nurses here and hospital visits and all! Yes, VISITS...plural, meaning more than one time!

Sometimes God creates a symphony, that cannot be duplicated, explained or ignored...but He just wants us to listen.

Around 9pm on Friday night, team member Larry Ross fell out of his canoe while fishing and by a stroke of God's merciful hand, he is still with us because God placed the right people, at the right time, in the right place, doing the right thing! This event was completely orchestrated by the Lord, and we believe that! We can only surmise that the Lord said to Himself: "Yes, they are serving Me with glad hearts and working well together...but I need them a LITTLE closer."

These events created a world of opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus! Sherry said, for all those trips, there MUST be someone at that hospital who needs to be witnessed to! AMEN!

Keep us in continual prayers as there are a few members who have not fully recovered. And, once home, don't be surprised if they decline to join you at the salad bar!

Be careful what you eat...

Please be praying for our team members. On Sunday, 17 of the 19 people who ate salad at a restaraunt ended up sick. One person ended up at the doctors with a mild case of eColi. Everyone is doing better according to our last report. They continue to accomplish a great deal of work at the camp. Your prayers are critical - thanks for being part of the team in this capacity.

Thanks, Alaska Team, for giving of yourself so that others can experience His Glory this summer!

I've always said that I think salad is bad for you - it is included in a conspiracy to keep overweight people overweight. You don't usually see skinny folks eating at the salad bar. The folks with diet plans to sell are the ones who set this up! :)

God's Splendor

Hebrews 4:4 says: And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."

We are having such an awesome adventure seeing all of God's creation here in AK! Most of the team went on a 4-hour whale watching cruise from Seward (located approx. 4 hours south of the camp). We departed LGYRC at 6am and experienced the most beautiful drive to Seward on Alaska Hwy 1. We stopped at Bird Point for the scenic photo and then again at Canyon Creek before arriving in Seward for our 12 noon departure on the Alaska Explorer. We traveled through Resurrection Bay and viewed the most awesome of God's handiwork in the intricate carvings, shapes and patterns of the rocks and mountains that jut out of the water, the waterfalls that come from nowhere, the conifers that grow out of these slabs of slate, majestic bald eagles, a pod of killer wales, including a mother and calf, seals, porpoises, Dall sheep, various birds and...as if the trip was staged, after three hours and 55 minutes of our 4hr WHALE watching tour, the name was misleading, no whales! But then right on cue, as if he had heard me...a humpback whale appeared! God even takes care of the little requests!!

A few Team Alaska members playing in the snow at 10pm...yes, 10pm!!! L to R: Rebecca Gillette, Judy Vaughn, Rachel & Ken DeMoliner, Hannah Lorenz and Bobby Peebles.

Psalm 95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Mountain view from Resurrection Bay

We arrived back at camp at 11:30pm, tired and our senses overwhelmed at the sights we tried to take in. When someone tells you there is no God...that atoms crashed together to make the mountains...laugh, because you KNOW God and what His hands created. I am in awe of how this team is working and praying together, and how this camp touches so many lives...even our own.

Denali National Park

Today was our main sightseeing day. While most of the team went on a whale watching cruise, Adam, Aaron and I visited Denali National Park. The 200 mile trip each way took us about 4.5 hours each way because we kept stopping to take pictures. What tourists! See attached pics. The highlight was definitely viewing Mt. McKinley from the southern viewing post. We had a perfectly clear day - which is very rare! We made it home before the cruise team and are going to crash early!!!

Team Alaska at Work

Our youngest Team Member, Aaron Suydam working with Hannah Lorenz and co-Team Alaska member, Billie Jo Jefferson...putting new color on the paint shed. Kids cleaning the canoes and flat bed boat for summer use. L to R: Andy Chastain, James & Hannah Lorenz, Mike Phipps and Elizabeth Lorenz. The temperature of the water was 38F!!!

The Worker Bees...

We have had such a great first day here at Laverne Griffin! We began with a great breakfast and rain-free, beautiful skies.
Walter led our first devotion time, sharing how God led he and Sherry to Alaska and the camp. "God has been at work for a long time to get us to this place at this time." He had one verse for us, from Luke, "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." They are so grateful for us and other mission teams that come to spend their time and energy undergirding the camp, and there will be so many opportunities to be a witness, including the work that we will complete while here. "There will be many little feet that will be on this property."
We went over the project list and gathered teams to paint,

Team Alaska members Juliana Shimizu and Sue Livoti help put a new coat of color on the paint shed.

sew the new drapes for many of the cabins, washed boats, did some drywall, raked leaves, built beds and cleaned a few cabins including prepping them for another team set to arrive Sunday evening. Through the strength of God, we were able to complete so many tasks in one day!! Larry Ross works on restringing the 20 fishing rods used by the camp.

Sherry laughs at how we recently became Wal Mart missionaries...I had to laugh that we travelled over 7000 miles...to go to Wal Mart...hmmm.
We are getting ready to have a great dinner, cooked by Walter and the crew. Our big sightseeing day is tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing the ultimate in God's creation!

New Day

Hello from Alaska. We had such an adventure yesterday, filled with obstacles that became awesome opportunities for us! Including tons of questions throughout the day about our ON MISSION t-shirts that we wore!!! God is so good!!
First, Arriving at the airport, there was a huge line of folks waiting at the skycap desk for Continental...that's okay...we all carried our own load and that of our brothers and sisters and saved $20 (the skycap tip)! :)
Next, right inside the doors...the line was even longer for ticketing. A guy from Continental (Don from Guest Services) called me Wednesday to ask if we were ready to go, and if there was anything he could help with...(actually I have NEVER had any airline call before a team trip)! He printed all of our boarding passes Wed night...this alone helped us to avoid the long line and we got all of our bags checked in UNDER 20 minutes!!!
Then, at security, I told the ladies checking ID's and boarding passes that there are 17 of us in all. They said great...you all just go right on through to xray scanning. We got completely through security in less than 30 minutes...WOW!
We arrived at 12:30am Ocala time...a very long day, YET 1 hour earlier than scheduled! I am thankful for each team member that looked out for each other and help where ever they were needed. It was such welcome relief to see the faces of the Lorenzes and the Chastains. Be in continued prayer for this team as we begin our work at camp today.

Flight delayed...

I just got a call from Allyson (actually a message) saying that they were delayed in Houston by a couple of hours. Well... a longer stay in Texas can never be a very bad thing! :) We are praying for you team - stay patient! God's timing is always perfect.

Praying for the Alaska team!

Hello to our Alaska team. Please know that we are praying for you as you travel today! We are confident that God is going to work through your lives to provide encouragement for the folks in Alaska. Please hug on the Lorenz family for all of us.

Praying for you as you go and give of yourselves,

Kevin

We are at Orlando!

Hey everyone! We made it here safe and sound thanks to Kevin Piercy. We all made it through ticketing and security in 45 minutes. That's amazing for 17 people! No problems at all. Thanks for your prayers. Stay tuned for fun info.

Alaska Mission Team Departs in 6 Days and 23 Hours

The Alaska Mission Team met for the final prep meeting last night. Everyone is very excited and ready to go. The Chastain and the Lorenz families are preparing for our arrival in Wasilla, Alaska next Thursday. Where are we going? Check out http://www.lgyrc.org/ The team will be painting, sewing, working on landscape, and building benches and tables over the course of a week. We hope to post daily so mark this site as a favorite and check in on us each day!