Lake Clark National Park

      This past weekend was absolutely amazing. Friday night into Saturday we had what my co-op says is a "school night." The one social studies group of 5th & 6th graders stayed after school Friday, spent the night on mattresses in the gym, and stay until Saturday afternoon. During this time the students are working on their massive projects they need to do. The students are required to meet specific standards throughout their grade level and one standard is to construct their own project based off of a specific civilization. The students not only created their idea of what they wanted to display but also another visual to go along with their project. This included: posters, I-movies, and power-points. After one night of working most all the groups were finished entirely. Today they presented their projects to the 7& 8th grade students. Having the students present their projects works on the students public speaking, confidence in front of peers, and an overall ability to work within a group setting. These are all skills that are extremely important in students as they become adults in society.
        I was able to a few other activities this weekend/week which included hiking, church, and parent teacher conferences. Asha's roommate Katie took me hiking for the day to what they call a waterfall.

This was an absolutely beautiful sight to see. We also went hiking up to see the mountains, part of Lake Clark National Park, along with Lake Clark. It was breathtaking. I was also able to drink from Lake Clark because the place we were at was glacier fed water. These are some pictures of the mountain ranges I was able to see while hiking.

This is a picture of Tanalian Mountain which I would love to hike this weekend if the weather permits. Tanalian Mountain climbs to 3,560 feet above sea level. If you look at the first bump in the mountain it is called the knee which is safer to hike due to wind and snow crossing over the side of the mountain to the top of the mountain.

This is a really interesting picture because this is exactly like a sauna. The natives use this as a shower room and go in here naked. I was told that when I came, that I could be asked to join the natives in this activity. So far I have not been asked.   

         As for the church aspect here, it was a blessing to look out the window and see the mountains in the background. As the pastor was preaching I kept looking out the window in awe. I was also impressed with how the church was really a body of Christ. There are about 60 people who attend church on a regular basis. These are people that really live out their faith on a daily basis. During prayer time, the pastor told all the prayer requests there were and had anyone pray for them out loud if they felt led. The men of the church really stepped up and lead in prayer. There was a worship and praise team and you could really feel the presence of the Lord there. Something that I feel goes along with the people and the lifestyle here would be this quote. "Our influence on others should be purposeful rather than haphazard. We ought to ask ourselves which people we are impacting. Are we in fact making a difference in anyone’s life? The truth is, we can turn our “ripples” into powerful waves for God that affect wide circles of individuals. For instance, consider the impact of prayer. There’s no end to its possibilities—your influence can extend to the remotest places on earth when you are on your knees before the Lord."  I really believe that we have a huge impact on those are around us and we need to choose how we are going to treat those people.

    The last I have to say about this week is about me going with my co-op on parent teacher conferences. Two of them were home visits because the mothers had just had a baby. My co-op has a great repport with the parents and they respect her and her teaching style. I was most taken back by the one mother turning to me and saying, "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you teach my son. I want to raise him to be the man of God he should be." This made me feel blessed to be here by meeting parents who want the very best for their children, wanting their children to grow up with the fear of the Lord, and parents who really pray for their children. There are a lot of students who are here because of adoption and the parents love on them just as much as they love on their children. It is a beautiful sight to see. 

      As for how I am handling Alaska, I am really being stretched in more ways than one. I have had no desire to work on school work because I have that desire to graduate and start teaching. I am trying to seek the Lord's will in my career and where He wants me after this is done. The Lord has also revealed quite of bit of crap that is in my heart and how I really need to be broken of it. I am at the early stages of really becoming hungry for the Lord and only the Lord. It has been a very emotional week and yet the Lord has comforted me through all of it. I know that there is a reason for me being here but it is not crystal clear yet. Looking forward to another busy weekend and finishing an intense week.