A few weeks ago in June, I got the privilege of going on my second mission trip to Alaska with my church youth group. My experience and time spent there was life-altering, humbling, inspiring, and very very rewarding.

We set off to Alaska on July 9, taking a 7 hour flight across the US. The first sign of being in Alaska was the beautiful mountains that surrounded you, and of course, the AMAZING weather. Let’s just say, coming back to Texas was a serious let down because nothing can beat the no humidity felt in Alaska. After landing we got set at a local church in Anchorage, and the whole week we were hosted by an organization called Grace Works. They cooked every meal for us, and don’t think this food was church camp food. We were eating delicious home cooked meals, and even got to try cool things like reindeer sausage. Grace Works also provided us with volunteers to assist us as we set out to our assigned trailer parks. This is where we got to interact with kids, and where all the fun happened.

A day in Alaska consisted of waking up around 8 and eating breakfast, then either going to explore in the mountains and down trails, or helping local churches with projects they needed done. After that we would come back to the church around 11 and begin chapel. I’m currently a part of my youth worship group, and one day I got the privilege of leading worship for the group staying at our church. That was a huge blessing. After chapel, we would eat lunch, then around 1, we would load our vans up with supplies to go teach kids about Jesus, and we set off to assigned trailer parks. Since our church brought such a big group of kids, we had to split into two groups. My group went to a very low income trailer park, and it was huge. The kids there know about Grace Works, because some have been attending for years. They knew exactly what time of day we were coming to their trailer park, and when we got there, there was nothing but pure joy on their faces. We average around 30-50 kids every day, and we met in a little field of the trailer park. We played games, sang and danced to songs, did crafts to go along with the Bible story every day, fed them snacks, and drank lots of tang. The sad thing is that some of these kids didn’t have great home lives, so the meals we provided them with may have been the only thing they could eat. They were so grateful for everything they got, and that was sweet to see because it reminded me how fortunate I am to have all the things I’ve been provided. God has been abundant in everything in my life, and I worship him and praise him for that.

The last day at the trailer park, I got to teach the Bible story. I taught the children about Jesus being our good shepherd. We discussed Jesus being the shepherd, and we are his sheep. They began to understand the concept that if Jesus had 100 sheep, and 1 went astray, he would leave the 99 just to retrieve and find the 1. I had some deep conversations with some kids about feeling like they were the 1. The 1 sheep that loses their way and strays away from Jesus, and maybe it’s because they didn’t feel loved, they were scared to be open about their faith in their home, or they didn’t want to be judged by their friends. As best as I could, I assured them that Jesus will never abandon us. He’s always willing to get down to whatever level we are at, and bring us back up to where we need to be. Still now, I miss the kids I got to spend the week with. They were special, and left a big mark on my life. They knew I was there teaching them, but they still don’t realize how much they did for me. I pray I get to go back to Alaska and see them again, and I encourage everyone to pray that God continues to work on those children. God is evident in so many things, and my week in Alaska was filled with his presence.