Wednesday May 22, the Pennsylvanians arrived to my house for the night and project got very real, quickly. I could not believe that the trip I had been anticipating and preparing for was about to start within the next twelve hours. We hit the road and made our way to North Dakota to meet the rest of our road tripping group. We set up for camp, and made plans for leaving early the next morning to hit up the badlands and continue on our way to Alaska.
The road trip was interesting to say the least. As a group of 19 people, we bonded really well and had little to no conflict with each other which exceded my expectations. There were many bumps in the road...literally. While we were driving one of our cars tires went flat. Luckily, having tons of men with us, they were able to fix the tire without any difficulties and we drove into town to get two new tires. We continued on our way through Canada and Gods beauty was displayed right outside of my window. Everywhere I looked there was rolling hills, mountains, and beautiful waterfalls. God has always spoke to me through nature and I was truly captivated by His beauty! Canadas roads were full of critters making their way across whenever they so pleased. Our caravan consisted of six cars following each other with a fair amount of distance between each one. A ginormous grizzly bear walked out infront of our first car. The driver was able to come to a complete stop in time with ease. The next car was also able to stop without any difficulties. The third car of the caravan had to brake quite faster than the first two. The fourth car had to slam on their breaks to not hit the car in front of them which caused the fifth car to collide into the car in front of them. Where was I sitting you ask? The sixth car in the back seat. I saw the entire thing from the backseat of the car and the owner of the car that ended up being totaled was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle I was in. Our driver stopped his vehicle, put on his hazards and jumped out of the car to check and make sure everyone was okey in the car that was totalled. Everyone was ok, just a few airbag burns but we were all very caught off guard by what had happened. I said a prayer with Molly ( the owner of the totaled vehicle) and we decided to get out of the car and check out the situation. It was bad. After just seeing the vehicle I knew there was no way of fixing it. We were stuck in Canada with no cell phone service and the next town was not for miles. Decisions were made and a group of people in a car went to go to the nearest town to find something or somebody to help us. Many cars stopped and checked to make sure we were all ok and reassured us that a tow was on its way, which was comforting ( Canadians are so much more friendly than Americans ;) ). We finally were able to get the car towed and our thoughts were confirmed that the car was totaled. So, with that news we all packed into the five cars and continued on our way to Juneau, Alaska. We were all able to continue to be positive and put our full trust in the Lord.
We arrived on the Alaskan high way and were ecstatic to continue on our way and make it to Alaska. As you can probably imagine, the way to Alaska was absolutely breathtaking. Mountain ranges went on for as far as I could see, and they were so unbelievably intriguing. We were driving along our way and it continued to get darker and darker as we went, but we were feeling good and wanted to make it to our next campsite to make up for all the setbacks we encountered. As we were driving, being the last car we noticed that the front car had pulled over to the side of the road along with everybody else in our caravan. My heart literally stopped. We had not pulled over at all for the entire day and I knew something was wrong. We all sat in our vehicle for about five minutes. The silence was broken when our driver opened up the driver-side car door to check out the situation. He was outside looking underneath the car for a couple minutes. He came back into the vehicle and said literally nothing. I knew something was not good because our driver was known to have a very positive attitude about everything. We sat for about five minutes, when I could no longer take the silence, I asked him what had happened. He said the oil pan had a hole in it. Not knowing much of anything about cars I knew by his tone alone that it was not good, and we were not getting anywhere anytime soon.
We ended up pulling off into a gravel "camp ground" area and sleeping in the cars for the night while one of our cars went to go and try and find the nearest town to figure out our situation. I remember laying in the car, late at night, feeling exhausted and angry. I was so angry with God and I told Him that. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that we were traveling thousands of miles to Alaska to serve the Lord and we were running into so many car difficulties. I went to bed angry that night with plans of dedicating the next day fully to the Lord. The next morning I woke up bright and early and decided to go and sit by the river which was surrounded by mountains with only my Bible and notebook in hand. I was ready for the Lord to move in my heart and He so did. Isaiah 40: 28-31"Have you not known? Have you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall grow faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 41: 10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous rights hand." Isaiah 42: 16 "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them." All of these verses proved to me the Lord always leads us when we are blind, cares for us with an unfailing love, knows us by name and carries us through, always. I have read these verses many a time in the past but hearing those in that situation is exactly what I needed to hear. God scooped me out of my brokenness even when I questioned Him, even when I doubted him, and reminded me to take refuge in Him and in Him alone. All things of this earth will fail me but our Lord will NOT. That in itself is something I pray I wake up every morning knowing with confidence.
where I had my day of bible study
finally in Juneau
Juneau
We hopped on the ferry and finally got to Juneau. So far I love it here. I got a job at an Orca whale tour place, which is not something I could do in Racine, Wisconsin so I am excited for a new experience. The job has been challenging so far. I was kind of thrown in with no training and it can be a very stressful environment. I try and just stay level headed and serve the women I work with in any way I possibly can. Orca is located in downtown Juneau and we get about 4 cruise ships every day full of tourists. The people live anywhere from Florida to Australia. I constantly am having the opportunity to tell everyone I meet where I am from and what I am doing in Alaska. Its a great way to share the Lords love. Working from 8:30am -5:00pm Monday through Thursday and then having ministry team meetings, cru meetings, women's development time, outreach, and service projects keeps me very busy. Almost overwhelmingly busy, but the Lord is good and has given me the strength to wake up every morning to serve Him. Bonding with my fellow project mates so far has been sa-weet. I am antsy to see how God moves this summer. He continues to burdan my heart with wanting to bring His love and light to Juneau. I think about what Juneau would look like if the darkness was overtaken by the light and I get more and more excited about what God has in store for Juneau. I have only been here for a week and I am already in love with this place and call it home.
tons of fun backpacking :)
Prayer requests
That our team is reminded to find strength in the Lord
That as we start our second week of work we are able to develop deeper relationships with our co-workers
That God continues to burden our hearts with bringing His kingdom and love to Juneau
That we as a team continue to build authentic relationships with each other
Praise the Lord that just about everyone has a job and if not has an interview lined up :)
For me personally be praying that I take refuge in the Lord and stop believing lies and fill myself with His truth
Praise the Lord I am fully supported! :)
Sorry it took me so long to post, I promise I will get better now that I know when I have free time :)
Love in Christ,
Lexi
