hey hey!

First session of Summercise is done! I can't believe it's over and I've been here for 5 weeks already! Today was a great day and my first trip to a village. We drove about 70 miles out to Teller (about a 2 hr drive along a gravel road), which is a village with a population under 300. There are very few places in Teller with running water, although the town does get cable TV. We held Summercise for the kids there, which was so much fun and quite different from Summercise in Nome. There was much less structure and much more on-the-spot planning. We had to read the kids and plan from there. Teller's youth was so responsive and excited to have us there. Several kids asked if we were coming back and acted like they really wanted us there. Unfortunately Teller Summercise is only for one day. The kids ranged in age from 3 to 13, and we used the Head Start building in Teller as our base.

There was pretty limited water in the building we were using, and without getting too explicit there were some pretty yucky plumbing issues throughout the day. It was also a bit strange because as we were teaching the children about the importance of hydration, we couldn't be sure that the water from the faucet would be safe for them to drink, so we were unable to provide water for them. It was really very much like traveling to a different country. The children were beautiful there, though and I was a bit sad to leave, to be honest.

To bring you up to date on my week...

I went to a Bible study this week at one of the local churches with some missionaries who are working for Summercise, and it was really great. I was so thankful to have group prayer, encouragement, and just all around good discussion about the Lord. I feel in my heart, now, that we were built for community. That night we talked about the importance of relationships...especially pursuing and having a relationship with the Lord. That is what we are made for and that is when we feel the peace and fruitfulness of life...when we are in a real relationship with Him, our Creator. He is pursuing us, we just have to make ourselves available to Him. I left the study feeling really refreshed and restored. I really think this was an answer to prayers about finding a community for me. So thank you to all who have contributed to that. I know that often when you gain ground in your faith journey, Satan often ups his attempts at tearing you down, and tearing apart that bond you have with the Lord and His creations. It's no surprise then that Thursday was a rough day...

I overslept, had a busy, frustrating morning, and it was the last day of Summercise, and everyone was just rambunctious. We took the kids to Nome Eskimo to learn Eskimo dancing, and little Martin was the star of the day. He knew all the moves without having to look at the DVD they were watching. He stood in the front of the room and showed everyone how it should be done. He did NOT want to leave. The kids were crazy and I was just pooped and cranky by the end of the day. I was homesick, I felt like I had been impatient with the kids and my fellow interns, and I just wanted everybody to leave me alone!

After more prayers that night with someone very close to me, and a good quiet time this morning with the Lord, I just feel so much better. I say all this, not to sound overly spiritual or weird or extremist, I just want to be honest with you about the ways the Lord works in my life. Maybe you can take encouragement from this blog or learn from this blog. Or you may just think it's weird, and that's ok too. :D

Tomorrow we're going camping out in Council. Which is probably about 70 miles in the opposite direction of Teller. It will be my first real camping trip, and what a way to begin my camping-life...in Bush Alaska with the monster mosquitos. :D I'm taking a fly rod. I am PUMPED. Next week we will also be in Council for a few days working at a wellness camp for 9 village kids who have been affected by diabetes or cancer in some way. It should also be pretty awesome. You have to take a boat to get to that camp, which is pretty exciting in and of itself to me. Haha...it's the simple things.

ok i think that's pretty much it for now, sorry about my ramblings... all my love
em