A different hike!

Well, we hiked the 2 1/2 miles out of camp with all the campers yesterday afternoon. It was a much different hike than the one in. Kids were getting piggy back rides, holding hands of our team members, telling them about their families back home, what life is really like for them, shedding tears, laughing, giving high fives, taking pictures with their favorite people and the list goes on and on and on. They took their time going out because they were not ready to leave. They ran most of the way in but not hand in hand with the junior counselors.

The hugs, high fives and tears continued as we reached the busses that would take the kids back home. They waited until the last second possible to board the bus for the trip home, asking many of our team members if we could make the trip home with them (unfortunately we weren't able to do that). The bus windows went down and they hung out the windows, spending their last moments with some of their favorite people.

To watch the transformation of the kids as well as our junior counselors during the week has been amazing. Most of them were full of fear and lack of confidence when the week began. Now they were confident, full of smiles (some smiling and crying as well). The kids found a special place in their hearts and it hurt to let them go.

The busses finally pulled away and when they were out of sight we boarded the boat to take the trip back to camp. Many of the girls continued to share special moments and shed tears. The guys laughed about great times with their guys. It was an awesome afternoon! We have been blesssed!

Our team time together last night was sweet as each of us shared how God worked in and through us during the week. Ray and Lyn Fish joined our group as we reflected back on the week. We're grateful for being able to get an inside look into their life here at Echo Ranch Bible Camp.

We're are off to Juneau later today where we will visit a glacier and tomorrow go on a whale watch, then will make the trip home on Monday. See you all soon!

Carol

Wow, can't believe camp is almost over!

It is around 11 p.m. Alaska time and looks like dusk in AZ. We have enjoyed the extra long days and the extra light. It is so strange walking around this time of night without a flashlight. The days in AZ will seem short when we get home.

Thanks for praying for us over the last couple of days. God has helped lift the discouraged spirits in spite of tired bodies but we never really did think we would be on a mission trip and get a lot of rest.

All of us are so thankful that God has allowed us to be on this team, whether we have been cutting down trees, dragging branches, serving food, sleeping in cabins with lot of of little kids, helping with games, drama or worship in the chapels or loving the kids! God has so much for all of us to do and we want to do all of it before our time here is over.

We have been doing more rejoicing with the angels as other children have chosen Jesus as Lord of their lives. The joy in the junior counselors has been amazing. The girls from our team spent about an hour together last night talking about many of the ways that we have been blessed by God's hand in our time here.

We gathered on the beach tonight for singing around the campfire. Yes, we can building a campfire and it feel great in Alaska in June. As we walked down to the beach, God gave us a magnificent sunset to view with the snowcapped mountains in front of them. Wait till you see the pictures.

We will have until mid afternoon tomorrow to spend with the kids before we hike back out of the camp with them. We will be sad to see them go but thankful for the time, love and gospel message that we have been able to invest into their lives. I know for many, the relationships will not stop tomorrow because those relationships are too special. Tomorrow evening we look forward to a sweet time together as a team talking about all the amazing ways that we have experienced God this past week!

We're looking forward to see all of you soon and once again appreciate all of your encouragement and support during our time in Alaska!

Carol

P.S. The weather has been more beautiful than any of us ever imagined with just a sprinkle of rain one morning and sunshine most days! :-)

Rejoicing with the angels!

We are rejoicing with the angels over the salvation of children here at camp. As the campers were sharing their favorite part of camp in chapel last night one girl shared that she accepted Jesus during the day! What a priviledge to be a part of God's work here.

However, there is a battle raging and we are feeling the attacks of Satan. A number of our team members were struggling with discouragement last night but discouragement that seems unfounded. We know that fatigue can be part of that exhaustion and many are suffering from fatigue and being extremely tired but we know that Satan is trying to stop what God is doing in and through us. Please pray, especially for our junior counselors today. They are with the kids 24-7 and they seem to be the ones that are most discouraged. We claim the promise Greater is He that is in you than he that it in the world. Pray that our team will sense the power of God as we serve Him today.

Thank you again for your continued prayer suppport. We are having an awesome time and look forward to sharing our experiences and pictures with all of you when we return!

We're so grateful for all of you!

Carol

And Here Come the Kids...

Hey, everybody. Keith here. You've probably already read about all the fun activities we did this weekend, but I'm here to tell you about what we really came to do: serve God and run an awesome camp program for about 70 ten and eleven year olds. Monday morning we piled onto the tractor and were driven out to Echo Cove where we would meet the campers. Keegan and I got a chance to put our knee-high, reinforced rubber boots to the test on the walk back, and we were very excited for that. I wanted to share a story of how I have seen God provide for our team already this trip, and how He has answered our prayers. Last year, Keegan and I met two campers who we really connected with and felt called to introduce them to Christ. That we did, and we have been able to maintain contact with them throughout the past year. Unfortunately, they had told us they were not planning on returning to camp. We were disappointed, because we have been looking forward to reuniting with them and really building on all that our team taught them last year. So we were resigned to the fact that they were not coming, and about halfway into the return walk from Echo Cove, one of the campers told us that the kids were here. Keegan was very skeptical and maintained that they were not here, because we had not seen them get off the bus. Wanting to make sure, Keegan takes off running behind me and to his surprise sees the kids cresting the hill. God had answered our prayers, as we have been earnestly praying that He would bring them back to camp by any means possible. Now we are praying that we will be able to reach them and build upon the lessons we gave them last year. The Junior Counselors all seem to be adjusting well to their cabins; we have experienced a few rowdy children but it is nothing that the task force of Stevie and Tommy can't handle. Speaking of them and "task", we had our first work crew project yesterday. At the sawmill by Cowie Creek, we were assigned the job of splitting wood and sorting out piles of scrap wood to provide for next year's firewood. After breaking out the axes and saws for a 1/2 hour or so, a few outdoorsmen sped up the river shouting "your boat! your boat is sinking!!!". SBC missionary Ray Fish's little runabout was filling up with water and slipping into the river, so we quickly helped him bail the water and right his boat. That problem solved and adventure complete, Keegan, Carol, Erica, Luke, Ray, and I went around camp using a chainsaw to trim trees and even cut a few down. FYI, when a tree falls in the forest, it does make a sound. And it's rather loud. So the work crew warriors stepped into the dining hall, coated in sap and with pine needles falling out of our hair. After dinner, our whole team (all who are not counseling) cleaned the dining hall and we plan on doing that after every meal henceforth. The campers had free time, so we took the opportunity to do worship rehearsal, think about some games for today, and nap. At 8 it was time for the first chapel session, and Keegan, Carol and the band led us in a six song set of fast-paced, interactive worship songs. Matt directed the first troupe (Hannah, Andy, and Tyler) in their first skit of the camp, performing a six minute piece on the power of prayer with more than a few comical lines. Tommy was set to begin his series on Treasure, but made the executive decision to share his life story for the first lesson. He did an awesome job, and succeeded in capturing their attention. Today he opened the series and is going to close his first lesson at Chapel tonight. Alas, it is time to run off and frolic in the forest (Cutting down trees and removing branches and other manual labor), but we ask for your continued prayers that Tommy would be able to communicate effectively and inspire the kids to learn more about what God has to say through him.

Fact: It is possible to get sunburned in Alaska

Hey y'all!! We have been so incredibly blessed these past couple days to be able to relax and enjoy God's wonderful creation while preparing our hearts and minds for the week to come. Here's a little insight into our epic adventures....

• Awesome nature walk and tour of the entire camp. We rode along pulled by a tractor and glided across a gorgeous river in a "trolley" on a pulley line. (We tried to leave Tommy and Stevie suspended over the river...failure unfortunately)
• Stevie, our Alaskan "tour guide", enlightened us with a plethora of "facts". We learned that the water from the Berring Sea destorys ones soul and that Bambi was actually filmed in a field at Echo Ranch. (Oh, and the sky is blue cause it's God's favorite color)
• Swimming in the actually somewhat nice Alaskan water. Tommy bellyflopped around five times just to get the perfect picture.
• Worship on the beach at sunset at 11:00!!!! We sang around the camp fire and looked for huge flying saucers to validate Tommy's "real life" childhood experience.
• Canoeing while getting attacked by ginormous horseflies with green and black striped eyes. It was worth it all.
• Playing sand volleyball barefoot in shorts and t-shirts. Seven girls were barely defeated by two boys...(we actually just let them win)
• After watching all four seasons of Deadliest Catch in one week, Tommy along with most of the team fufilled his lifelong dream of crabfishing. After learning the proper way to de-shell (?) them we then ate them for dinner. Yum!!
• Our great teambuilding kickball tournament surrounded by horses grazing in the field lasted until nine o'clock with daylight to spare.

Tomorrow the real work begins and we are all so excited for the arrival of all the kids. Jacova, Hannah, Kelsey, Lauren, Lacey, Tyler and Josh will all be serving as junior counselors. We will start to lead chapels and games and are looking forward to spending time with all the kids. Thanks again for all your continued support and prayers. And in closing we have one question...how many words can you think of that start with the letter u? Keegan can't think of any... :)

Lacey, Jacova, Kelsey and Carol...over and out

Van, plane, bus, ferry and tractor and we are finally at Echo Ranch Camp in Auke Bay, AK. We arrived safely last night around midnight and are now enjoying the beauty of God's amazing creation Alaska. Today is our day to become familiar with the camp and prepare for the week ahead. Thanks for praying for us and we'll update you with more news as the week goes on!

Alaska Team 2009

(Back row l to r) Erica Valenti, Stevie Valdez, Kelsie Edwards, Tyler Kovacs, Lacie Dixon, Lauren Haberstock, Keegan Krell, Matt Anvik, Thomas Schellhardt, Josh Surridge, Carol Hubner

(Front row l to r) Hannah Morell, Haley Reynolds, Andy Hone, Luke Toews, Jacova Snyder, Tommy Marquez and Keith Bender