As my first non-official assignment..this is my first article. I wrote it on my trip to Alaska.
The Beauty Within
When was the last time that you were in awe of the beauty of something? A rushing river, a mighty waterfall, a horse running through a field, someone smiling at you, someone holding the door open for an older lady, a book. There is beauty in our everyday lives. There is beauty inside of us.
So often I think that we are looking for beauty in the wrong direction. Or in fact, that we are looking for beauty and can’t seem to find it, yet beauty seems to find us!
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Alaska for two weeks. The purpose of the trip was to serve the Missionaries that serve there as well as to serve the local people. It was the trip of a lifetime for me.
The first week our team was in Anchorage. We arrived on a Friday, and that Sunday we did the church service at Mt. View Baptist. We had a worship team, and the leaders of the team preached. What is absolutely amazing with this church is that it is small. In the smallness, everyone there serves in some way and because it is in a poorer area, they open their doors every Sunday morning for their second service to the poor and homeless and serve them breakfast and give free specialty coffee drinks. Seeing this really touched my heart. To see a church so accepting, and conversing and getting to know people who usually may not feel comfortable to even step into a church is very encouraging and special! You could tell from the faces and conversations that they were all one family, the congregation and the others. It was beautiful.
The Pastor of the church and his family (the missionaries) living there are moving to a new house in September. There was a lot of renovation work to be done on the house, so the guys on the team were the major workers there! They were able to knock down a bunch of walls, take off old side paneling, move two sheds, do some electrical work, and one guy even took on the task of sanding down the ceiling by the kitchen to get off the ‘popcorn’ look and feel of it and make the ceiling flat. He was covered in white dust after that! I know that the couple was very blessed by the service of the guys for all their hard work that they put into that house. It’s such a beautiful thing when people are willing to go out of their way to help someone else, and to be obedient to do what is asked of them.
While the guys were working on the house all week, us girls and a few of the other guys were at the church (Mt. View Baptist) which is in the middle of one of the poorer areas of Anchorage and is also very diverse in culture. One of the first days there we were all able to help with the Food Bank, which is an incredible event. Some of the team was downstairs, where all the food was and they helped the people who came get the right amount of food for their families that they needed. The size of families ranged from one or two, all the way to seventeen. Others would help the people carry their groceries upstairs, to their car, some even to their houses a couple blocks down the road. And a few of us got to spend the time upstairs, just visiting with people as they waited their turn to go downstairs and shop. This was the favorite moment for the majority of the team. The beauty of meeting people who don’t take things for granted. These people’s stories were great: some were sick, some were tired, some were joyful, some were sad, and some were very thrilled to have somebody to talk to! We all got to meet wonderful people that day, and have fun and blessed conversations.
Another thing that we did in the church was a God’s Closet. One of the local bigger churches had collected a mound of clothes, so we sorted through them, and for two days in the sanctuary the church was open for those who were in need of some new clothes to come in and pick things out. A lot of the same people from the Food Bank were able to come which was great, to get to hang out and talk with them more and help them shop. Some people wanted to just look themselves; others wanted you to help them. My favorite part was this one little boy. He was about six years old, and came with his Grandma, Brother, and Mom. I helped him find some shirts and some pants. What was cute was that he kept telling me that he could fit something, when it was obvious that it was either too big or too small. He just wanted it, to have it. I also got to help him try on a couple pairs of shoes, he would get very excited when something fit, and even if it didn’t fit he was still excited and wanted to keep them! He was a proud older brother. My favorite thing about this kid though, was when a couple of us played with him. We encouraged him to try some jumps, and a tumble roll, and once he got comfortable he started showing off! Then he started running around with one of the girls, and the laugh of this little boy was probably the sweetest laugh I have ever heard. He was being a normal everyday kid, having fun. I feel like this wasn’t a normal event for him, which is what made it all the greater. There was also a local family of kids, who the oldest boy, about ten years old, made sure that all his brothers received something, but he didn’t take anything for himself. He was more concerned for his brothers. It was sad to see him not get anything for himself, and we tried to give him clothes, but his love and concern for his brothers was incredible to witness.
The Pastor of the church told us that you never know where these kids or people come from, what their family life is like and that you never know what they have to go through each day; especially in an area that is high on poverty, and can include some verbal and physical abuse, or kids having to grow up quicker than they should. Overall, with God’s Closet we helped 80-100 people find some clothes. This is where my heart is; seeing those who are in need, receive and be blessed. It’s a beautiful thing to see people’s faces light up, to see people pick through a pile of clothes, and to see teenager boys try on some Men’s dress suits and talking themselves up!
In the evenings of the first week, we also did Kid’s Club at the church. We fed the kids who came each evening, and then we did some fun songs with motions and did a lot of dancing with them. They all seemed to really get into the music and loved every second of it! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as well. Then we had a bible story each night and a craft for the kids. This was a great time to get to know the kids a little more. What was cool was to see the change in them from the first night to the last. They were a lot more comfortable with us, and let us help them with crafts more. We were also told that they usually don’t get as into the songs as they did with us, so we took that as a great compliment! It was a huge blessing to sing and dance and talk with those kids. Kids are such beautiful beings, and so simple. I think it’s so important for them to stay simple, to stay kids, because I think this world makes them grow up way to quick sometimes with different circumstances. So it was beautiful to see them all be kids and have fun and hear the love of God!
Then the second week came along. We had to travel about two hours out of the city, to a camp called Victory Bible Camp. We stayed with a Pastor and his family who help out there and who also serve in many other ways in the community. There we did a lot more sight seeing and relaxation from a busy week of serving. But we also served at the camp. A Christian school had a retreat there that weekend, so Don and Travis got to speak to 250 high school students. We girls were asked the first night to go visit with one of the senior girl’s cabins. The reason we were asked was because there were a couple girls in that cabin whom the other girls seem to be intimidated by. So we went and talked about their dreams, and lives. Which it seemed to really help the girls who are solid and the ones who get intimidated a lot, so I consider that an encouragement to be able to just talk with all of them and encourage them. The second evening each class had a discussion time. We were this time asked to join the freshman girls. This was a great blessing. The discussion was on a call to love and I was really impressed with the girls hearts to love and the genuine knowledge they had on biblical love. They really seemed to grasp it.
Amidst all of the ministry, we were able to see a lot of Alaska. A few things we were able to do was have a camp out down by a river, drove along the coast, hike a mountain, walk on a glacier, go to a harbor town, see a black bear, see a dog get chased by a moose! Among all the fun, and beauty in God’s creation that we got to experience, we got to serve at the Bible Camp.
Looking back, this was probably the most remarkable trip I have been on so far. Alaska is the most beautiful place I have seen. I loved all the mountains, the glaciers, the rushing rivers, the trees, the forests, the beaches and just everything that you can see in God’s wonderful creation. It truly is God’s Country. Even though Alaska’s beauty is astounding, I really believe that people are what make a place. Looking back, this is true for this trip. The relationships made with the missionaries we stayed with and served, the unity that was brought to our team, the girls we got to talk to, the kids we got to laugh and dance with, the poor, homeless and broken people we got to serve, are what will stay close to my heart forever. God has made us relational people and I believe that the beauty of people is what our hearts hold onto.
Beauty can be found in anything. We cannot escape it. What is even more beautiful is when we take notice of the beauty that God surrounds us with, whether that is nature, words, or people. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, looks, and figures; so I encourage you reading this to keep an open eye. For you never know when beauty will find you.
