Alaska: Chapter 2

There is something to be said for the isolated beauty of the Alaskan landscape, but nothing beats the sight of my beautiful house. We pulled in mid-afternoon on Monday after an exhausting day of flying. We left Anchorage at 2:00 AM Monday and had a five and a half hour layover in Seattle. Yes, you can sleep on concrete. I didn't pull in the serious Zs that I do at home, but I still caught some shuteye. Needless to say I have done little but exist the last couple of days.

We had a superb trip. Alaska is by far the most beautiful state that I have visited. The gorgeous scenes that we witnessed traveling across the state can't be explained; just experienced. Awesome! I caught a glimpse of why God said, "It is good". Let me explain that I love the Midwest. You know, growing up in Indiana and living in Ohio, I have a warm spot in my heart for the country of my roots. But I'm convinced that God just passed his hand over the Midwest, taking the extra stuff to form Alaska. It's absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend touring AK.

We headed up to the northern part of the state on Tuesday, singing in Glenallen. While we were there, we met a great guy who has already become part of the Liberty family. Park made sure that we enjoyed our time up north. Wednesday morning, Royce and Dan hit a trail, or I should say created a trail, borrowing Park's Yamaha Rhino. Park had told us the night before that the Alaskan pipeline was just a mile or so from his house, so Dan thought he knew where he was going. They crashed through the underbrush, scaring off any grizzlies in the area (which is important since 9 people have died in recent months as a result of bear mauling) on their way to the pipeline. After some time of wandering around they finally discovered what they were looking for. As they were riding along the pipeline, a federal helicoptor came out of nowhere and dove toward the guys. Apparently, you have to have a pass to legally get in this particular area. Park had the pass, but obviously Royce and Dan didn't have it. The chopper hovered overhead scoping out this terrorist threat. His mind was set at ease as Royce leaned out and began taking pictures of the aircraft. He took off, probably thinking to himself, "Stupid tourists."

We then headed down to Talkeetna where we enjoyed a good time with the pastor of the AoG church. Thursday morning, we woke up to our first clear, sunny morning of the trip. We were able to see Mt. McKinley clear as could be. It was jaw-dropping awesome. We spent quite a bit of time on the deck of a lodge in Talkeetna taking pictures and enjoying the view. I have some great footage that will never make it to a Liberty video, but is quite entertaining, nevertheless.

Thursday night we were with some of my great friends in North Pole, AK. I spent my first trip to Alaska in North Pole at the Missionary Chapel. Pastor Duane and Gwen Newton were phenomenal hosts. In fact, they had just moved into their new house that same day and still let us spend the night. I saw so many of my friends from the GBS days. Scott and Kristina Clemens were up there (he had just finished speaking at a youth camp) along with their two cute boys. I hadn't seen Scott and Kristina since my days at Immanuel in KY. They moved to Indiana about a month after we moved to Idaho. It was also good to see Sonya (many of you will remember her from her work in the Revivalist office), Jodie Newton (one of the greatest girls in the world), Heidi, Thad, Jonathan Miller (shouts out to Maloyed in MI), the Betters, the Mitchells (including future GBS student Sheronna), and so many others that I had met previously. Jodie has bought a huge house and has opened up a daycare and is doing an incredible job. I was impressed! After our concert we headed over to Gary Mitchell's house (Gary is Royce's cousin, as well as a fellow GBS alum) for a barbeque. His grilled salmon is the best I've ever tasted. OK, moment of truth, I had never tasted grilled salmon before, but I loved it. That cajun mix was delicious. A good time was had by all.

Friday night we sang in Fairbanks at an outdoor concert sponsored by the First Assembly of God church. Those people were incredible! They treated us like royalty. Whoever made the marshmallow covered brownies needs to be awarded.

Saturday night's concert was at Church of the Wildwood, near Anchorage. The youth pastor and I got into some great discussions about music groups from the 80s and 90s. Ask Doran about his input.

We spent all day Sunday at Anchorage Baptist Temple. I've been to a lot of churches with Liberty, but this has to be one of my favorites. We had some wonderful times of worship and preaching/teaching. If there is anyway that you can download or buy any of Pastor Prevo's messages, do it (http://www.ancbt.org/). His Sunday School class might be the best session I've ever been a part of. God has gifted Dr. Prevo with the ability to clearly and concisely teach the Bible. We are rarely able to hear messages while we are on the road, so it was nice to be a part of the service. We sang for their television program which is seen all over the state. I tried to keep one eye on the screen so I didn't do something stupid in front of a million people. It didn't work. I have the uncanny gift of making gaffes in front of the camera. It's scary, actually.

Sunday night was a full concert at ABT. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. By the way, for those who say that bus ministry doesn't work anymore, they need to check out what ABT is doing. They literally crisscross the city with scores of buses, reaching out to their community. They are making a huge impact on their city.

Overall, it was a great week! I'm tired, but it was worth it. At least 20 people gave their lives to Christ during the trip. Man, that's incredible! It's cool to be used by God.

I really do have a bunch of pics to upload, but I'm tired. I'll post them tomorrow. Good night.