Happy Independence Day!

I think for most of our youth this was one of the most different Fourth of July celebrations that they have had. It was raining this morning! Now some would think that the rain was an inconvenience but around here the rain means a few things....First, it's not so hot, secondly no chance of forest fires today and last but certainly not least.... the most important thing it means is --- NO MOSQUITOS! Since we were spending most of the morning outside exploring the Alaska Native Cultural Center, this was a very welcome and important detail of the day! We had a great time enjoying a hands on experiential journey through the different tribes, areas of where they are from, their traditions, homes and lifestyles. Some of us even got to ride on a dog sled pulled by the Alaskan Huskies that won the Ididarod championship in 2011! Yes! I would be one of them! It was truly exciting! The wet weather was not a problem and it even made everything look so lush and rich in color! We had only one injury today on our field trip---- Our fearless leader Doug decided he would take the traditional entrance into one of the houses, which is a long, slightly steep narrow tunnel that goes down into the Igloo. Check out photos on my Facebook page for photos of his Red Badge of Courage! His quote after the fact while he was showing his scuffed up knees was..."It sounded like a good idea at the time!"
After learning about the fascinating cultures, seeing demonstrations of games, dancing and local arts, we headed back to the church, via the local Walmart for a quick fun-filled shopping adventure.
Our afternoon consisted of a local picnic with Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and local neighborhood residents. Wow! What a lot of food!
Below are a few entries in our trip journal from some of the youth......

*"My favorite part of the day was playing football in the cold, wet, rainy, non-windy weather----it was fun!"
*"I enjoyed meeting the Shiloh youth and playing basketball."
*"Today was a ton of fun because I met a lot of new people. It was nice talking to locals and their kids during the picnic. I also had a ton of fun playing basketball!"
*"Today was a lot of fun! First because of going to the Alaska Heritage Center. It was seeing all the names. The next reason was because of getting to know the Prairie Baptist kids from Kansas when playing basketball, volleyball or just talking."
*"Today was just a blast!" So much fun when we began learning about the different games and dances the Native Americans knew. The tour was the best part though because of all the interesting different buildings and stories we got to hear about."
I would love to tell you which youth wrote these in the journal but they didn't sign their names....Well, at least they wrote something!
This evening after the picnic and some dinner, we joined our two youth groups together for some fellowship, a little getting to know you time and to talk about why we came, what brought each of us here to this place and what we think about God's plan for each of us here in Anchorage.
We sang some songs, had some reflection time and had some laughs.
As you can tell today was very special to everyone in many different ways.
We are blessed to be here in this amazing place to experience God's love and work in many ways that we don't even know about. Please keep our group and Prairie Baptist, Shiloh Missionary Baptist and the Alaska Children's Service in your prayers for a deep and meaningful week as we begin our real work tomorrow at our work sites.
We will  have an early start, have work gloves, water bottles and of course BUG SPRAY in hand as we head out early tomorrow morning to work through figuring out an answer to the above questions as we work with our hands, hearts and minds!
Thank you for your support down there in "The Lower 48" as they say up here!
Blessings to you.
Denise