I started writing this as we sat in the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport waiting on our flight out to board. Unfortunately I’m not finishing it until now due to work, church, jet lag, lack of sleep, and fixing broken things at home. I apologize for the delay and hope you understand.
Since we were leaving today, most of us packed last night. I decided it would be prudent to do a load of laundry. First of all my suitcase would smell much better when I got home, especially after our 14 hour day Tuesday, plus I figured I'd win points with my wife, Lisa, for returning with clean clothes instead of laundry for her to do. The only con I could think of was that it was 11:00 p.m. when I decided to start. It was 12:30 a.m. when I decided to finish with just a little dampness remaining in some of the heavier items. My wife will be especially glad to know that I separated the clothes to be washed, her disappointment will return when she finds out I only separated into one pile. I am now a clothes folding zombie.
We started our day on Wednesday as we have every other day in Alaska, five of us trekking to the hospital for breakfast, three of us sleeping in. Steve Snodgrass is supposed to pick us up at 8:00 a.m., but is there when we return to the dorm at 7:30 a.m.
We arrange for a late check-out of 3:00 p.m. from our dorm rooms. The plan is to work until 2:00 p.m. and then come back to our rooms, take a quick shower, and hit the road. It’s decision that every person we come in contact with while returning to the Tri-Cities will appreciate… even if they’re unaware of it.
We worked as hard and as fast as we could today. Donna and Dawnena finished all the painting they had planned. Worley and various helpers throughout the day finished the cabinetry and, as an added bonus, started on a couple of extra base cabinets. We continued excavating the hill for the added parking and switched out equipment operators throughout the day. Everyone else who wasn’t otherwise occupied with the above tasks worked on the deck.
We had previously torn out a 4 x 16 deck on Monday and were now constructing a 16 x 16 deck to take its place using composite decking instead of treated lumber. The pictures show our progress, but the important thing is that we did finish before we left.
We also had a great lunch of chicken or pork grilled on the new event grill we had bought for the home. This was our last opportunity to share a meal with the boys.
We went back to the dorms, showered, completed packing, and checked out. Imagine our surprise when, after driving hours around the Anchorage area to view the wildlife we had our closest encounter with a moose, coming within 15 feet of where he stood, just across the road from our rooms. Isn’t that how it always works though?
We had a little time to kill before our flight and drove up to Flattop Mountain in Chugach State Park just east of Anchorage. It is the most hiked mountain in Alaska, though we did not have the time to hike it. We ended up walking around the overlook trail instead and snapping a few pictures. Afterward, Steve dropped us off at the airport.
It’s been a great trip and we have been blessed to spend time with Steve and his mother, Betty. I’m sure God will greatly bless him for the time and work he has put into the boys home though the 6 trips he has personally made here.
We checked in for our flight and checked our luggage. Security was a little more interesting this time as two of our party was stopped for bag screenings. It ended up that one had a razor blade and the other had extra box cutting blades that they had used throughout the week, but had forgotten to remove from their backpacks and put into their checked luggage. The TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) folks were happy to help out and took care of the sharp objects for them.
We had dinner at a Chili’s To Go in the terminal and flew back to Charlotte via Minneapolis.
Sorry for this late recap, but stay tuned for a trip summary later.
Until then God Bless!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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Tuesday, June 9 Recap – It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog…
I’ll make this short since the pictures tell a better story than me.
We worked 14 hours today trying to accomplish as much as we could. We moved a lot of dirt as we continued on the parking lot expansion. Each of our group took turns on the heavy equipment, some more successfully than others (see pictures if you don’t know what I mean). Donna and Dawnena painted all day and I have to honest with you, I wouldn’t have traded all the dust, sweat, or sun I endured for their paintbrushes. I hate painting, but they painted all day long with no complaints. Worley Crowe finished the shelving and we started on the deck.
I will mention two special people we spent time with today, Doug Barrette and Ava Rodriguez. We met Doug at church Sunday at Christ Community Church and he offered to fix us lunch Tuesday, Ava is his neighbor. They came yesterday and fixed a wonderful meal for us consisting of a variety of local fish. They grilled it all and served it along with slaw, bread, corn, and drinks. The meal was delightful, but even more special was meeting and getting to know two new friends who took time out of their day to share a meal and their fellowship with a bunch of dirty, sweaty Tennesseans. God has truly blessed us this week.
That’s all for now, but look for pictures as we begin our final 24 hours in Alaska.
Yours in Christ.
We worked 14 hours today trying to accomplish as much as we could. We moved a lot of dirt as we continued on the parking lot expansion. Each of our group took turns on the heavy equipment, some more successfully than others (see pictures if you don’t know what I mean). Donna and Dawnena painted all day and I have to honest with you, I wouldn’t have traded all the dust, sweat, or sun I endured for their paintbrushes. I hate painting, but they painted all day long with no complaints. Worley Crowe finished the shelving and we started on the deck.
I will mention two special people we spent time with today, Doug Barrette and Ava Rodriguez. We met Doug at church Sunday at Christ Community Church and he offered to fix us lunch Tuesday, Ava is his neighbor. They came yesterday and fixed a wonderful meal for us consisting of a variety of local fish. They grilled it all and served it along with slaw, bread, corn, and drinks. The meal was delightful, but even more special was meeting and getting to know two new friends who took time out of their day to share a meal and their fellowship with a bunch of dirty, sweaty Tennesseans. God has truly blessed us this week.
That’s all for now, but look for pictures as we begin our final 24 hours in Alaska.
Yours in Christ.
Flight Information
Here's our flight information for tomorrow night and Thursday.
Our flight number from Anchorage to Minneapolis on June 10 is 392.
Our flight number from Minneapolis to Charlotte on June 11 is 3469.
Our flight number from Anchorage to Minneapolis on June 10 is 392.
Our flight number from Minneapolis to Charlotte on June 11 is 3469.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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Monday June 8 Recap – Caution, Men (and Women) at Work.
I’m not sure about everyone else, but I’m tired. Not just any kind of tired, but the tired that comes from a hard days work, the tired that comes along with a feeling of satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile while laboring long and hard. That describes our Monday to me. We accomplished quite a bit today.
Our group of eight started off the day in one of two ways. Now I bring this to your attention because there’s an observation to be made concerning how different people begin their days and there’s a generational component to that observation. At 7 a.m. this morning all of us 45 and older walked a mile to a neighboring hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center, and had breakfast. All of us 26 years old and younger stayed in bed.
Now this either speaks to the work ethic and raising of the older group, in that they are disciplined enough in their lives to maintain a schedule, to realize the benefit of going to bed early and rising out of bed early, and that they know the importance of starting an honest day’s work with the foundation of a hearty meal on which to build the day’s exploits. This would imply that the younger are more haphazard in their resting habits, unknowledgeable in the ways of good nutrition, and perhaps just plain lazy.
Or this could give evidence to the fact that the younger generation, having seen the results of the lifetimes of abuse that their elders have heaped upon their bodies, have consciously decided that they will be good stewards of the health that God has blessed them with, up to and including getting plenty of rest. This would imply that the older generation who arise early to get breakfast, rather than being living, breathing examples of a generation of go-getters fast becoming extinct, simply eat too much.
You be the judge.
Our day started for everyone at 9:00 this morning. I won’t go into every tedious detail of the day since I posted so many pictures of our various projects but I will sum up our punch list of what we’re trying to accomplish in our few days of work.
1. Paint several rooms inside the home.
2. Tear down and replace a wooden deck.
3. Expand the parking and widen a turn for emergency vehicles.
4. Build a new shelving system and expand storage.
5. Clear out a second section of trees.
We got a great start and made better progress than I would have thought possible. Donna and Dawnena Byington are painting inside. Jeremy Payne and Heath Whittemore are taking the lead on the deck and along with Jeremy Harris and myself tore down the existing. Worley Crowe and Butch Payne are working on the shelving system. Mike Haynes mowed. Bob Potts, Mike Haynes, Jeremy Harris, Jeremy Payne, Heath Whittemore, and me worked on the parking lot expansion uprooting trees, cutting them, hauling the wood and brush away, and starting to level the dirt.
We also bought a large event grill and donated it to the Boy’s Home. We hope to try it out with them before we leave Wednesday night.
We finished up at 8:30 p.m. and headed back to the dorms to clean up, do laundry, and get good nights sleep in preparation of the next day when a group of older men will arise early and have breakfast and a group of younger men will sleep in. Some things never change.
God bless and thanks for your continued prayers!
Our group of eight started off the day in one of two ways. Now I bring this to your attention because there’s an observation to be made concerning how different people begin their days and there’s a generational component to that observation. At 7 a.m. this morning all of us 45 and older walked a mile to a neighboring hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center, and had breakfast. All of us 26 years old and younger stayed in bed.
Now this either speaks to the work ethic and raising of the older group, in that they are disciplined enough in their lives to maintain a schedule, to realize the benefit of going to bed early and rising out of bed early, and that they know the importance of starting an honest day’s work with the foundation of a hearty meal on which to build the day’s exploits. This would imply that the younger are more haphazard in their resting habits, unknowledgeable in the ways of good nutrition, and perhaps just plain lazy.
Or this could give evidence to the fact that the younger generation, having seen the results of the lifetimes of abuse that their elders have heaped upon their bodies, have consciously decided that they will be good stewards of the health that God has blessed them with, up to and including getting plenty of rest. This would imply that the older generation who arise early to get breakfast, rather than being living, breathing examples of a generation of go-getters fast becoming extinct, simply eat too much.
You be the judge.
Our day started for everyone at 9:00 this morning. I won’t go into every tedious detail of the day since I posted so many pictures of our various projects but I will sum up our punch list of what we’re trying to accomplish in our few days of work.
1. Paint several rooms inside the home.
2. Tear down and replace a wooden deck.
3. Expand the parking and widen a turn for emergency vehicles.
4. Build a new shelving system and expand storage.
5. Clear out a second section of trees.
We got a great start and made better progress than I would have thought possible. Donna and Dawnena Byington are painting inside. Jeremy Payne and Heath Whittemore are taking the lead on the deck and along with Jeremy Harris and myself tore down the existing. Worley Crowe and Butch Payne are working on the shelving system. Mike Haynes mowed. Bob Potts, Mike Haynes, Jeremy Harris, Jeremy Payne, Heath Whittemore, and me worked on the parking lot expansion uprooting trees, cutting them, hauling the wood and brush away, and starting to level the dirt.
We also bought a large event grill and donated it to the Boy’s Home. We hope to try it out with them before we leave Wednesday night.
We finished up at 8:30 p.m. and headed back to the dorms to clean up, do laundry, and get good nights sleep in preparation of the next day when a group of older men will arise early and have breakfast and a group of younger men will sleep in. Some things never change.
God bless and thanks for your continued prayers!
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Monday, June 8, 2009
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