The week before I left I had watched the movie The Grey, I do not recommend it by the way, and naturally when I get to Anchorage the first thing I had to do is take a much smaller plane to Kenai. It was one of those planes with 7 seats where you can poke the captain in the head...We flew over Turnagain Arm, a body of mostly frozen water, and I was concerned we were going to crash. Luckily we didn't; but I was definitely getting the Alaskan experience.
I arrived in Kenai where my grandfather picked me up; that same day we stopped by the job center where I found out I can apparently type pretty fast. 6 days after I arrived, I got a job at a Pathology lab in Soldotna, so very little time was spent at the job center, the job was a complete God send.
Aside from working my average job there were a few differences from what my friends would be doing on a daily basis in Georgia. It didn't get light outside until 10am, it was often snowing every day, shoveling snow was a daily chore lest you get buried, the dead silence of night is extremely peaceful...but so unsettling in a way you can only understand if you've experienced it, and of course you can't forget about the many moose wandering around.
Many of my earlier days were spent with a snow shovel outside shoveling snow over 4/5 foot barriers of snow on either side of my driveway. Sometimes several times a day depending on just how much it snowed...I was getting a great workout!
You wouldn't believe how many people envied my time in Alaska; but the truth is every place has both its pros and its cons. I'm going to be real with you, for my first few months my day-to-day went either way. I had many nights of sitting in a corner of my room with my Bible trying to understand why I was in Alaska. I was having a very hard time finding my purpose in being there, when my heart is in Poland, what could God possibly be trying to do by taking me an extra 4,000 miles out of the way of where I'm ultimately heading? There were many writings in my notebook dedicated to this topic.
Moving to Alaska was probably one of the harder decisions I've ever made in my life. Imagine with me for a second, moving to a place where the majority of people you know are thousands of miles away, you have no idea where you're going to work, you have to make completely new friends in a foreign environment, and our life goes from being secure to seemingly very insecure. What's funny though, is that is exactly where God wants us so often...the things I thought made me feel secure were a lie; those difficult nights of questioning 'why' were so powerful in the development of finding my security in God. Where nothing else in my life could be certain I always knew that He was.
Ultimately the days of uncertainty came to an end and new days were ushered in. Almost immediately upon my arrival I found a church, First Baptist of Soldotna, where I met some amazing people. People who had stories not completely different from my own. The Burrows were from Oklahoma following God's direction in their lives and went to Alaska a few years ago to start pastoring the church. The Moore's had moved to Alaska from Tennessee half a year before I did following God, not knowing what He wanted from them, simply being faithful. My friend Gene, having many years of missions to Alaska, living there now to fulfill God's purpose there. The Starbuck's, simply living in Alaska with missional hearts.
These people blessed my heart in the months I spent there. They became my family, my community. Community...a word that is lost to Americans generally. We lived life together, the triumphs, the struggles, life events, daily life. The way the Church is supposed to be-a body of believer's who are there for each other and simply living life together. Something I miss terribly; but so thankful to have had.
As time went on God provided opportunities to serve. I was able to start helping with the youth group at my church, a crazy bunch :). I even got the opportunity to help with the first summer camp of its kind in the area around May or June, I really don't remember which it was. Aiding and assisting in mission teams that would come in the summer, from Salmon Frenzy on the beach to cooking for the teams at 4:30am every morning. Being part of the first lifegroup at our church, storying, watching that grow and watching the group learn how to do it.
Ultimately my 9 months in Alaska were simply amazing. A journey to remember and cherish. From gleaning medical experience at work, to wading through thick snow, watching eagles sore high above the earth, watching glacial waters rush through the rivers, catching sockeye salmon, standing within inches of moose, being devoured by thousands of mosquitoes, camping to the sound of coyotes howling in the distance, riding dinky little airplanes, picking cranberries, helping my family put salmon in the smokehouse, taking sticky notes off my truck in 10 degree weather, laughing hysterically with my friends. My time in Alaska was very well spent and I would never take any of it back.
God is good, always. He has never left me, though He hasn't always given me an explanation for things, He has always provided peace. Even now I don't know what all He taught me in Alaska; but what I do know is that my experience there is invaluable and will continue to be useful for many days to come.
Thanks for seeing my heart,
Chris
Some picture of my time in Alaska below.
