From Idaho to Alaska
The House Church in Hailey, Idaho took a team of 10 to Palmer, Alaska from June 17th to June 23rd, 2023. Our team partnered with established ministry leaders there who are serving people in Palmer. Our role was to support, encourage, and do whatever was needed in order to help the people serving there who already have relationships with those living in Alaska.
Some of the things that we did while we were there:
We helped to clean, paint, and lay new flooring in a rental house that the church in Palmer has.
We put together picnic tables for the outdoor area of the church.
We cleaned carpets throughout the church.
We volunteered at a local thrift store that collects and sells items to help those with lower incomes in the community. We sorted and priced items to sell in the store.
We assembled about 2,000 lunches that were distributed to children in local parks, at schools, and at other locations around the community.
We had hoped to help a local organization that feeds people dinner in the park, but it rained a lot that night. Three kids still showed up for dinner and were fed, but we didn’t get to participate in that event how it usually operates.
We had also hoped to assemble a playground that the church was putting in for the community, but the rain delayed that project as well.
Team leaders had the opportunity to talk to different leaders of different non profits and to learn about some things that might work to serve the people here in the valley.
We also had time for personal devotions, sharing what we were learning, and worshipping together.
And we had the pleasure of getting to see a little bit of Alaska in the Anchorage area.
We were challenged by some of the difficulties of working with other people that we don’t know well, by sleeping on air mattresses and rooming in a dorm-like situation, and by having to be flexible and give up expectations, along with not getting as much sleep as we are used to, and having it still light well into the early morning hours. But the team managed these challenges well, and we all drew a little bit closer to each other.
Overall, it was a good experience and we learned a lot.
Thank you to all who supported the team financially and with prayer. Your support is a big encouragement to us.
It is our desire to take another team on a mission trip in 2025. We are praying about where God would have us to go.
We have a mission trip fund that you can contribute to if you like. All donations given to that fund are set aside to help send a team on a future mission trip.