For the last several years, the Alaska mission teams have worked hard to build and maintain relationships with the Kake community. This year's team made a giant leap in building bonds with the people and really learn about them. I have had the pleasure of writing the blog with two others from the team. We conducted interviews with team members and with a few community members in an attempt to know the experiences we have had been having and to share them. In today's post, we hope to share some of those experiences and feelings.
Prayer. We have some powerful prayer people on this team. There were many stories of answered prayers from meeting people on the street, listening to a person's struggles and praying with them to community prayer walks. This team has been awesome at reaching out to the people of Kake and listening to their hurts and struggles. Personally, this has been the most impressive show of unconditional care for a community I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I will not be able to do it justice through this post.
Projects. Many projects were completed this week. We had an awesome team of people working on cleaning up the community, cutting grass, and picking up trash. They were even able to work in some of the homes of the native people. This is a huge step in building relationships within the community. We also built a roof over the deck of the church, which will allow people a place to spend time in fellowship regardless of the weather. In this process, we found rotted wood in the railings and the rim joist of the deck. The remainder of the railing was also scrapped and painted. We also repaired a few other deck issues in the process of building the roof. Many people expressed how much they like the new space and look forward to using it. The donated dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator were all installed and are working great. They were tested all week by the team and the community. Once we arrived, we were asked to help out in a variety of areas in the community in addition to the planned projects. This has been a hope from the start of this mission trip for myself. Through being a servant to the community, we are becoming a part of the community which is awesome! We helped install some lights for a church member. We also cleaned yards and chopped wood for a few different people around the community. These activities are showing a big move towards being accepted by people who have been taught at a young age not to trust.
Culture Camp. As in the past, we helped out at the camp by keeping kids on-task with the scheduled activities and organizing games for them. Coming along side them in this very important community event which has helped us make significant connections with the elders and the opportunity to hang around adorable kids is an added benefit. We have great respect for the traditions of the Tlingit and they now welcome us to be a part of it and learn more about their culture.
Sports Camp. We were blessed with more kids than ever before on a consistent basis. The first three days we played soccer and the last two we had to play Lacrosse based on popular demand! The emphasis was on how to play the sport and treat others with respect. The teens were able to hang out with the young ones from our group, play basketball, and make some great connections. This was an age group which we typically have had a hard time connecting in the past, so it was a neat opportunity for us to connect with them this year.
Bible Study. Our team had some deep discussions with the people in attendance. From my interviews, I could tell that there were deep connections with the locals and our team. Many of our teammates were openly discussing how moving the conversations were, to the point where they would not miss a single study session.
The week has been too short, but it has been a life changing experience for many on the trip. We will have some video clips coming out once the internet connection improves. We hope that you have enjoyed following our experience in Kake, Alaska 2014.
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