Reindeer Farm!

Today, Robyn and I went to....THE REINDEER FARM! I've been wanting to go there for a while - especially considering the fact that I have driven by it many many times, and what better time to go than Christmas?! We saw ALL of Santa's reindeer, and some of their friends :) Tomorrow - back to Colorado!

Hello, cute Christmas cabin.

Robyn and some of the reindeer!

I guess they liked Robyn better.

Dasher is dancing.

There were horses too!

Volleyball Time!

Over the last few days, high school volleyball players from all over the state have flown into Anchorage for the State Mixed 6 Tournament. I had the chance to drive yesterday for a few games with a friend - and I am so glad we did. We were there to see the Unalakleet v. Marshall, Glacier View v. Noorvik, and part of the Scammon Bay v. Aniak games.

Watching the games was a blast, though my favorite part of being there was seeing so many familiar faces! Even though I haven't been to the majority of these villages, many of the players on the teams have been to Bible Camp, and so I was able to see some youth who I haven't seen since June! Plus - to make it even better - a friend from college who is now a teacher in Scammon Bay is a volleyball coach this year, and so we were able to catch up and see each other. Then you add in friends and family who came to see the games and it just felt like a great big reunion :)

Before I even moved to Alaska, people told me how tight-knit the community is, and how everyone is connected like a giant web - and I am reminded of that so often with experiences like yesterday's. I am so thankful for it! Below are a few pics from last night. There are two games left: Tomorrow at 2:15, Unalakleet plays Aniak for 3rd, and at 4:30, Noatak plays Glacier View for the championship. You can watch them online here: www.bssd.org !

Unalakleet vs. Marshall

Donald got player of the game and was interviewed! Faaaaaamous.

Scammon Bay vs. Aniak

Wintery Gatherings

Now that winter is in full-swing, a lot of my activities have switched from spending every free moment outside (not to say I don't get outside as often as possible!) to gathering with friends for visiting indoors. Plus, the Christmas season brings lots of gatherings and parties, and so I've been quite busy spending most of my free time with friends - not too bad! A couple of weeks ago, a few friends drove up from Anchorage to the valley, and I made cranberry apple cider with some of the cranberries I picked this fall. The best part was the way it filled my entire apartment with an incredible aroma. YUM. Last weekend, I went to an Ugly Sweater and White Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas Party at a friend's house in Anchorage - so fun! We all looked pretty ugly, and got some pretty ugly gifts - a successful night, to say the least :) This weekend is a cardamom bread baking night with friends, and then a cookie exchange the following day. And the weekend after that - a trip to the reindeer farm in Palmer! (I am sure that will get its own blog post). Lots of fun happenings!

Work is going well - I've been working on the website lately - I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have! www.cyak.org - and have been getting ready for upcoming winter retreats after the first of the year. Soccer is going well too. I am officially on Christ United's Coed A League Team now, so I am looking forward to playing with them year-round. Maybe one day I'll bring my camera to a game so I can share with you all that way! Ok, that's my little update for now. Sorry its so sporadic!

The White Elephant Gifts....and a little tree!

Some of the Ugly Christmas Sweater contestants.

Blurry - but necessary photo to show Nate's FOOTED PJs. hahaha.

Beautiful friends! Robyn, Julie, Amy and Ingrid. Robyn's sweater had LIGHTS.

Nathan and Ingrid recently rescued Pierre the pup. This is from a few weeks ago, but it is so cute that I had to include it! Ingrid is feeding him raspberries. They love each other :)

Winter. Is. Here.

Well, as I mentioned in my last update, winter definitely came full force while I was out of the state. I returned to negative temps, and though the past few days have been above zero, they haven't hit 10 degrees. It's also getting pretty dark. Currently, the sun is fully above the horizon by 9:30am, and its fully below the horizon around 4:00pm, which isn't too bad, but each day there is a noticeable difference.

However, despite the cold and diminishing sun, I've still been bundling up and going for frosty, snowy runs with Julie Rose, my running buddy. I've also been dog/house sitting this past week for a family that lives on a big plot of land on Lazy Mountain, so Sammy the pup and I have gone on a fair share of winter walks in the woods (except for today, when we were forced to turn around after coming upon a group of six BIG moose!).

Needless to say, I'm loving being back, even with the cold temps and darkness. I am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving at the Rose house in a few days, and then enjoying the start of the Christmas season!

Meet Sammy the pup.

Glimering sunrise on Lazy Mountain (don't let the warm colors deceive you - it was FREEZING out)

He is one. happy. pup. when he's running :)

Catch Up

Hello friends,

My appologies for being MIA the last month or so. I have a good reason though! I have been outside (the Alaskan way of saying that I've been in the lower 48 states) for three weeks, and I am finally getting settled in to being in Alaska again.

My travels were both for personal reasons as well as work, so I had a good variety of experiences. First, I went to Texas to meet up with my family for my bro Brian's graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training with the Air Force. It was so good to be with family and to see Brian in his element! So proud of him :) Next stop was Colorado for a couple of days (because it's nearly impossibly to go 'outside' and not go to Colorado.)

Stop four was Minnesota. I went to do a CYAK Salmon Dinner at Dawson Covenant Church and to do some recruiting at Northwestern College in St. Paul, both of which went really well. Thanks to some wonderful people in the church, we were able to cook up five 6lb whole salmon, and it even tasted great! I was also able to share with the congregation about CYAK's work with youth in Alaska - a very enjoyable, encouraging, and rewarding trip. A MAJOR plus about being in MN is that some of my closest friends from college at North Park live there, and so I was blessed to be able to see and spend some time with them for the first time since graduation a year and a half ago.

Stop five was Chicago, where I not only was able to visit and stay with my friends Nick and Nikki Bruckner, but where I got to meet with the leaders of the North Park Bible Camp team (every year, NPU sends a group of students to serve on staff at Bible Camp in Unalakleet for the month of June), and attend a recruiting event. Byron flew in a couple days after me, and we were able to meet with a few young people interested in serving youth in Alaska with CYAK - very exciting!

My sixth and final stop was Grand Rapids, where Byron and I were able to be a part of First Covenant's annual missions weekend. We, along with other missionaries from around the world, came together to update the congregation on our ministries, and to spend time together in fellowship. Byron and I also were given the opportunity to lead Sunday School for the Junior and Senior Highers (very fun), as well as host a salmon supper for 180 people on Sunday evening.

On Monday morning, I headed back to Alaska, and was greeted with -15 degree weather! Winter definitely came while I was away, but despite the cold temps, I was and am so happy to be back. There really is no place like Alaska. :) Enjoy a few pictures from my trip!

Lauren

Brian showing me how to operate the simulator. So. Hard. He makes it look easy as pie. :)

Mom, Brian, and Dad, right after pinning his wings.

The family!

Air Show in San Antonio - Blue Angels.

Home sweet Colorado Springs.

Some of my besties - Kate, Cat, and Anna in Minneapolis.

Dawson Covenant Salmon Dinner. Check out that backbone!

Fika with Alaskan friends in Chicago.

Sorry - no pics from Michigan - we were too busy! But if you look on my facebook page, you can see a pic of the grill we used. It was HUGE!

And now you understand why I'm happy to be back in Alaska :) This pic was taken on my drive home  to the Valley.

Fairbanks

This past (long) weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Fairbanks, AK. I have been wanting to get up to Fairbanks for some time now, just because it seems like such a unique place being so far north on the road system. Plus, one of CYAK's college ministries is in Fairbanks at UAF, and my friend Kara is serving with the ministry there. Not only that, but Ken and Sandy Moore (the pastor and his wife who were at my home church in Colorado Springs for the majority of my upbringing) live there too! Needless to say, it was about time I made my way up the Parks Highway. Fortunately,  I lucked out and hit a particularly sunny and snow-free (though slightly chilly) time to visit.  I know it won't be long before the snow and winter hits! The drive is just a little over 300 miles from Wasilla, so it is a decent distance, but on a clear day, it makes for a beautiful trip. During my stay, I was able to go to a couple Arigaa (the name of CYAK's college ministries) gatherings, see the Alaska Pipeline, go on some great runs, visit NORTH POLE (a dream come true! haha) and just spend some good quality time with my pal, Kara :) I am so thankful that I was able to come on this trip! Fairbanks is unique without a doubt, but Alaska wouldn't be the same without it!

This is where there was supposed to be a phenomenal view of Denali, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet. As you can see though, it wasn't exactly the clearest of days. But, I was excited nonetheless. Thank goodness for imaginations!

The weather started improving later in the trip...good thing! The sign on the bottom right is for Denali State Park.

Some of the UAF students at Arigaa on Friday night! To learn more about CYAK's Arigaa ministry, click here.

Part of the UAF Campus.

Kabladel!!!! Under part of the 800 mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Santa! North Pole, AK.

On my drive back, DENALI WAS OUT! So awesome to see so bright and clear.

Check out this beast. Awesome.

Fall Blast

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to fly to the village of Elim for CYAK's annual High School Fall Blast Retreat. Every Fall, high school students from villages in the Norton Sound Region gather together in a village for a weekend retreat. This year, we had about 50 students from: Nome, White Mountain, Elim, Koyuk, and Unalakleet. MARC (Mission Aviation Repair Center), one of CYAK's partner ministries, helped transport staff from the road system to Elim, as well as some students from the villages. Four students from Koyuk came by boat (awesome!). Our speaker for the weekend was Nathan Nagaruk. Nathan grew up in Elim, and went to UAF, where he was involved with CYAK's college ministry in Fairbanks. He now lives in Nome with his wife Nora. It was awesome for the students to be able to hear from him throughout the weekend as he spoke on Hope, Healing, and a Future in Christ. I hope you enjoy a few pictures from the weekend! PS- On Saturday night, the Northern Lights were bright and clear and dancing in all their glory! Unfortunately for you, though, we were pretty busy playing a game called "mission impossible", so I was only able to take mental pics.

The MARC plane that took those of us from the road system to Elim!

Some of the staffers from Anchorage, and Alaska Christian College in Soldotna.

Getting close to Unalakleet here - headed out of the stormy clouds into warm sunshine.

Preparing for landing in Elim.

A hymnal in the church with Inupiaq hymns. Awesome!

9am sunrise looking out at the village from the school where we stayed.

A few familiar Unalakleet faces :) Derric, Roberta, and Svea!

The whole group!

Nathan giving a message on the hike.

Games!

Sunday morning worship at Elim Covenant Church with the community. A wonderful weekend!

Reed Lakes

It's a two-post sort of day. There's just so much going on at this time of year! Multiple CYAK retreats, beautiful weather, and fall colors all call for lots of photos, and therefore multiple blog posts in a single day. Yesterday I had the day off, and so I wanted to take advantage of it and go hiking. I went with my friends Mary and Ingrid (and their dogs) to Hatcher's Pass to hike Reed Lakes trail. I'd heard about this trail since I got to Alaska, and now I know why. It is beautiful. See for yourself!

So pretty!

Fresh huckleberries for a snack.

So proud of Pierre the pup for making it over the boulders despite his fears!

Looking back down the valley.

Osa found a duck. Also... I am definitely coming back when it is warmer to go SWIMMING in this glorious little pool.

Reed Lake numero uno.

Such a beautiful spot. About 10 minutes after this picture was taken, tons of huge snowflakes began to fall! In September!

Gold. Heading back down.