Journey to Alaska

Back to our homes

2007-07-20T22:04:00.001-04:00

Hello from Cleveland!

The flights home offered many challenges, but we are all here - safe and sound, which is the important thing. Long story short, a cancelled connecting flight from Atlanta to Cleveland caused a flurry of activity. We slept on chairs in Atlanta most of the morning - said our 'long goodbyes' to our Alabama friends - then ten of us flew to Detroit and took taxis to Cleveland. Fr. Marcus (donning his collar) told his tale of an anxious wedding party needing him in Cleveland tonight and he was able to move some mountains and get to town sooner. Justin Gaydos and his bride were anxiously awaiting his arrival to their rehearsal tonight. He was able to get there, around 5pm, thank goodness.

We arrived in Cleveland after about 30 hours of travel - but with a FULL HEART. We were so welcomed and appreciated - and loved - by our new 'family' in Homer. We had a moving final prayer at the site after breakfast on Thursday. Long hugs were shared - and tears were shed. As we drove away, they stood in front of the building site while waving and yelling their goodbyes and well wishes. Many memories from our 12 days will stay with me for a very long time - yet this image was one of the most profound.

I hope to post some of the final days pictures this weekend.
Thanks for all your love and support while we were away. It was incredible.

Linda

We're Done and on our way home.

2007-07-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

After two days of beautiful sun, Wednesday was rainy. We got quite a few odds and ends done on the church, but we didn't get the decking on the roof. Once we were set, the rain made it too unsafe for anyone to be walking on a wet piece of plywood on a 10/12 pitch. so we got a door in and cleaned the place up quite a bit for Eucharist on Wed. evening.
It was an incredible blessing to make & share Eucharist in this shell of a building. We started with Evan at the front door reading a letter his Grandmother had sent with us. It was about Evan's Grandpa (He was the architect for St. Matthew's) and how she was proud that Evan was building a church like his Grandpa. Evan also stamped the church with his Grandpa's stamp.
For the Prayers of the People, we prayer walked around the building as the prayers that the "Youts" wrote. We especially prayed for the Saris family and for the community of St. Augustins'.
We passed the Peace and went inside to make and share Eucharist. It was indeed wonderful.
Today, Thursday, the parish is having a last breakfast for us at the Lutheran church (which has been so hospitable) . It will be tough to say goodbye to all our new parish family...and the awesome food. But God is God of us all and we will be bound in love forever to these beautiful people and the House of God we built together!
We will leave Anchorage tonight at 8:30 and get back to Cleveland at 11:45 a.m. if all goes as planned. Please pray for safe, restful travel.
We are going in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord and each other!
Peace,
Fr. Marcus

Pictures - Monday - and Wed's notes

2007-07-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

It's up!

Monday night - the view from Lori's house. A St. Augustines parisioner - who hosted everyone to dinner. She has the view of 3 glaciers. She is giving up this view and moving to Washington DC in a couple weeks.

Wednesday morning -
Hi everyone. It's our last day here - so much to do and not much time to blog. I posted as many pics as I could - going up to Monday night. The building is spectacular. As Fr. Marcus mentioned, the windows and all the roof trusses are now in place. They are working on the door installations this morning.

Our time here has been a dream. For me, it was definitely a life experience that I will keep with me always. This afternoon, some from the group are going to do some servant evangelism at a grocery store - passing out $10 grocery cards to anyone who will take them. No strings attached. Just the idea of doing something kind without wanting a thing in return.

This morning's Homer Tribune featured a half page article about our project. Large pics and everything! It is not in their online version yet - but here is a link to their site: www.homertribune.com Unfortunately, there wasn't enough mention of Fr. Rob's church in Alabama - but we are still appreciative for being noticed here!

If I do not have a chance to come back online - thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, and support while we are here. We have felt it.

Tomorrow we'll have a day long trek back up to Anchorage to catch our flight back home.
We'll be back in Cleveland mid-day Friday.

Lots of love from the group.
God bless.

Linda

Pictures - More Monday manpower

2007-07-18T15:58:00.000-04:00

The hat boys were integral with the success of the task of raising the 4th wall truss.
Ray had an important role stabilizing it from a platform.
Still holding on.
Fr. Marcus, Richard, Mike pushing it upright. Looks like Eric has a direction (or two) to give.

Pictures - Monday manpower

2007-07-18T15:49:00.000-04:00

The 4th wall from the outside.
The outside truss above the 4th wall was installed by shear manpower!!

Through the front door and another doorway inside.
Gettin' 'er up there took planning - and the strength of every man.

Pictures - Monday

2007-07-18T15:41:00.001-04:00

Open Trusses for sanctuary - Keith and Ray are planning something important, no doubt.
The 4th wall is UP!
While it is being secured and leveled, many hands are needed to stabilize it.
The complete Alabama contingent. Keith, Lynn, Julianne, Fr. Rob Iler, Jacob Iler, The Rev. Diane Hill.

Pictures - Monday

2007-07-18T15:33:00.000-04:00

Anne - outside her cottage. She is sharing the space with Fran.
The church from afar. Before the roof trusses went up. You can see them laying in the foreground to the right of the building.
Sleeping teenagers - this time, it is Naomi and Chelsea.
Lynn and Rob add beams to the top of the entire structure.
Lynn. (Again - sorry I can't turn the verticals.)

Pictures - Monday

2007-07-18T15:24:00.000-04:00

ok - now we are working up high.
Fr. Rob - confident up there on the beams.
Finishing up a kitchen wall.
A view from the other side. In the center is Lynn and Julianne - new arrivals this week from Fr. Rob's church in Alabama.
Fran is always busy. Here she is working on the 4th exterior wall.

2007-07-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

More pics from Ben and Mary's dinner. Anne spends some time with St. Augustine member - Julie.
Facing the camera - Ray, Keith, Denise, Richard. Back to the camera - Christopher. He and his wife are hosting Fr. Marcus, Ray, Mike and Eric this week.

Back to work - Monday morning. Chelsea works on a wall for the kitchen.
Jacob and Evan work on the 4th wall.

Pictures - Sunday night

2007-07-18T15:09:00.000-04:00

My new favorite flower - the LUPINE.
They are everywhere.
A gorgeous vista from Ben and Mary's.
Looking towards Grewingk Glacier from the other side of their house.
Inside they hosted the entire group for dinner. I mentioned in an earlier blog, we had halibut lasagna.

Pictures - Sabbath Sunday

2007-07-18T15:01:00.000-04:00

The halibut catch from the Fr. Marcus and Evan group. This is Evan's hand to show the size! There were about 5 or 6 of them layered in the box.
This one was not caught by our group - but it was caught by a young amatuer on a charter expedition that day. "215" would mean POUNDS.
An eagle perched on a light tower near the spit.
The eagle scene from a distance. Fr. Marcus using his zoom lenses to get in close. We see eagles everyday. Just don't always have the cameras handy.

Pictures - Saturday night, Sunday am

2007-07-18T14:47:00.001-04:00

A certain nameless particpant can create this t-shirt design, but can't figure out how to turn the picture upright in the blog.
A destination point of the group on Saturday night. How does halibut fish and chips sound?
The boat in the foreground is carrying some of our favorite boys out (from the spit) for an opportunity on some big catches. Denise hit the jackpot with a 25+ pounder. (That pic is on her camera.)
These are "small" halibut carcusses from a nearby fish cleaning location on the spit. (That'd work for an episode on TVs - "Dirty Jobs". eesh.)

Pictures - Saturday afternoon (2)

2007-07-18T14:33:00.001-04:00

The fourth wall. Constructed, laying flat.
Fr. Cooper - contemplates a future sermon, perhaps ? - just about where the altar will be. (Who needs stained glass windows on that wall with a view like that?)
The brains - Fr. Iler and Bob strategize that 4th wall.
Saturday evening service with the parisioners of St. Augustines. It was held at a nearby Methodist church. In front of the altar are the bags of donated knitting from the St. Matthew's Knitting Guild. It was delivered by the youth during the 'offering' time of the service. Fr. Cooper stands behind the altar.
Most of the St. Augustines' families. In the center is Elizabeth April. (As I mentioned in earlier messages, she is the widow of a former St. Augustines' minister.) A lot of work - in hosting, cooking, and preparing for our arrival - was done by these few families.

Pictures - Saturday afternoon

2007-07-18T14:12:00.000-04:00

Ben, Mary, and Sophia - the girl's host family.
Bob pondering the 4th wall.
Bob, Mike, Eric
Fr. Marcus taking a break. The wringing out of his headband was a 'highlight' at the end of a long hot day.
Interior walls were constructed - facing the front of the church. To the left is the office, the middle is the narthex, and to the right is the bathroom. Where Ben is standing is the kitchen. The church is designed using a very small space but it is very well thought out.

The Trusses are UP! Almost all the windows are in place!

2007-07-18T02:36:00.000-04:00

After a long day today, we finally got the 22nd truss into place. We had a couple of problems though...the company that constructed the trusses (two different kinds) sent us one less of one type of truss and one more of another. After some quick thinking, we figured out a way to use one in place of the other.
While we were doing the high work, others were putting the 8 windows in the first three walls.
The long and short of it...it is starting to look like a church!
Tomorrow...our last day... :( we will be finishing sheathing the front wall (hopefully getting the 4 front windows in), getting the front and side doors installed and getting the decking on the roof with tar paper...we have a lot to do...but God has been soooooooo good because we have gotten so much done!
Please pray for strength and good, safe, timely travel home.
Peace,
Fr. Marcus

pictures - Friday/Saturday

2007-07-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

We made a sign so that the St. Augustines' name could be larger. Eventually it will be placed higher on the building on a truss.
Fr. Marcus, Fr. Paul Klitzke, and Fr. Iler - the three guys who met in Seminary (in Tennessee). Fr. Paul is the Alaska connection. He was only able to be with us for short time over the weekend - he was in Colorado last week and in Salt Lake City this week doing church work.
Close up of the three amigos.
Bob, the carpenter, and his apprentices.
Fr. Cooper gets in on the action on Saturday.

pictures - Friday more

2007-07-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

Eric and Hugh - his host family the first week. Evan is staying with Hugh, along with the Iler's, this week. (Sorry that I can't seem to turn the pic.)
Salmon chunks from a catch Hugh made that day.

Up in them thar hills - is Hugh's house - it's quite a trek up a switch-back dirt round.
Marinating the salmon.

pictures - raising wall 3 - Friday

2007-07-16T15:40:00.000-04:00

The front wall of the church is shorter and so they 'somehow' managed raising this one without me. Fr. Marcus leads a prayer - as he did before we raised each wall. Here is a great series of progressive action shots. Rob and Richard stayed behind the line to put up the braces after it was upright.

It is so cool to raise a wall !!!

pictures - on site - Friday

2007-07-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

Fr. Cooper comes up for a look.
Rachel, armed with a video camera and a job to do!
Fr. Marcus and his girls.

The very popular 'truss delivery guy' talking to Ben Park and Fr. Iler.

pictures - on site

2007-07-16T15:20:00.001-04:00

Naomi and Chelsea.
Ray, Anne, Richard.
Teenagers tired - to the bone.
Eric.
Mike.
Evan.

Eric and Mike.

pictures -more from Denise's cam

2007-07-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

The trusses are delivered! The trusses shown here are for the front of the building with rooms. There are open trusses for the sanctuary side. The big wooden box contains the windows.

Mike - securing the second wall.
Eric - hat boy.
A little eye candy - the truss delivery guy.

Circle prayer at the Lutheran church. They have opened their doors to our group for our entire stay. Fr. Marcus has a key for us to come and go. It is a short distance from the site - and an easy walk. We have had every lunch and many dinners there. It was mentioned yesterday, that we hoped St. Matthew's would also be willing to open it's doors to a group such as ours - if the opportunity ever arose.

2007-07-16T14:45:00.000-04:00

Denise with some St. Augustine families. To the left of Denise is Lori, to the right is Mary. Lori is having us all for dinnner tonight. She lives 20 miles out of town and I guess she has the 'most' spectacular view. Seems hard to believe that there could be anything greater than what we have already seen.
After the wall is up and secured, the boys nail it in place from the side.
Jacob - Fr. Iler's son.
Salmon dinner feast. Actually it was Thursday night - I said before, Wednesday. (Hard to keep track.) Here you can read the labels a little more clearly than on my previously posted pic. (For those seafood lovers out there - am I torturing you?)

pictures - misc.2 from Denise's cam

2007-07-16T14:36:00.000-04:00

Rachel had a good vantage point - with her broken leg, we set up with cameras and the video camera. Here is a progression of raising the first wall. It was thrilling!

pictures - misc. from Denise's cam

2007-07-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

The Park's home.

Michael.

This was taken on the ride down to Homer from Anchorage.
At the Pratt Museum in Homer, they have a 'live grizzly cam' set up in a falls area 100 miles away. They manipulated the camera right in front of us at the museum - and after quite a long time, the first fish was caught! The kids - who have grown up with instant gratification and video games - had a hard time sitting still for it.
Fish caught in a live National Geographic moment. Even though we weren't actually on the scene with the bear - it was cool that it was 'live'. I think this link will get you to their site, if you are interested:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/wildcamgrizzlies/

Monday morning

2007-07-16T13:32:00.000-04:00

The days are flying by and we are into our second week already. We have a long list of things to accomplish before we leave. The fourth wall will go up today. It is taller than the others, because it is on the sanctuary side and will be filled with large windows. The roof trusses and windows were delivered - by, ahem, a very 'attractive' man who just happened to catch the eye of a few teenagers. (But, I digress.) The trusses are open on the sanctuary side which will allow for a beautiful view of the bay. By the time we leave, we hope to have the trusses placed, the roof boarded in and wrapped in Tyvek. Today, we are also framing in the kitchen and a classroom. It is so hard to believe that so much is squeezed into this building space. We found out a few days ago that another group of workers is coming after us to continue the work. They are coming from Valdez. This is very exciting - because none of us liked the idea of leaving it undone.

We start each day with a morning prayer and we are each taking our turns leading them. This morning, it was Fr. Marcus and Evan's turn. Fr. Marcus played a song for us that was really appropo. The name of it is: "Hands and Feet", and the chorus reads: "I want to be your hands, I want to be your feet, I'll go where you send me, I'll go where you send me." He also recited a favorite phrase: "Attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed unless God steps in." Standing this morning in the half-built St. Augustine church - in the middle of Alaska - was certainly something that God had a hand in making a reality for all of us.

Yesterday, huge - and I mean HUGE - halibut were caught by the fishermen/women in the group. I should be equipped with the numbers and sizes on all of them - but I am not. I know that Denise caught a 25 pounder, and Fr. Marcus caught one even larger. There was a fish cleaning session with about 5 or 6 very hefty specimens.

Our dinner last night at Ben and Mary Park's was out of this world. Halibut lasagna was the main course. Their home features a wrap around deck facing the bay and 'Grewingk Glacier'. I looked up the glacier name online for the spelling. Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grewingk_Glacier

We were joined by several St. Augustine families. We had a beautiful sermon led by The Rev. Hill. She has a gift of speaking that can move a crowd. She discussed that even though we are here "to give", we are each "getting" so much more. Fr. Iler blessed the Park's home - which was lovingly built by Mary's brother - who, during the construction, tragically died of cancer. Mary shared with me, again, how overwhelmed they are with all of us here to help build their church. The tears in her eyes about it all is commonplace among the folks here. It is so touching!

Your feedback and posts mean so much to us! Last night, after our dinner, the computer was crowded with those wanting to see the comments back from our friends and family. We can 'feel' your love and support - but reading the words means the world to us! I am determined to get caught up with some pictures this morning. And, since I am writing this first - you saw the new pics before reading this. (A little confusing, I know.)

Sending lots of love from the whole group.
xo Linda

Salmon dinner feast - Weds

2007-07-15T16:31:00.000-04:00

I am being dragged outta here - so more pics will come later.

Here is a pic of our salmon dinner Weds. night - provided by a host family - Judy Mullikin.

Weds- first wall goes up!

2007-07-15T16:22:00.000-04:00

Anne and Fran - gathering their muscle strength to lift the first wall.
Fr. Iler, Richard Wilkison, and Fr. Marcus - discussing something pertinent. Who knows -
The wall is up! Didn't get any pics of the process, because they needed my muscle-power.
Gotta move it down - literally 1/2 inch. We are talking precision work here.
It's up. A view from the side. (I think this wall is facing south.)

Alaska Pics - Weds

2007-07-15T16:03:00.001-04:00

The Wilkisons - Richard and Donna.

Working on floor boards.
Mike has laugh with another hat boy. He is sitting on a wall that will soon be erected.

Eric.
Anastasia and Naomi.

Sabbath and Fishing

2007-07-15T15:48:00.000-04:00

Good morning from Homer. We've had many long workdays on the site, and so we have scheduled a day of rest for the group - not surprisingly, fishing is the number one liesure time activity of choice. Fr. Marcus, Anastasia, Naomi, and Evan are on one trek. Eric, Mike, Denise and Ray are going on another this afternoon. Fran and Anne are on a big charter trip for the day with the Wilkisons. Later the Park family has invited everyone to their home for dinner.

I am going to do some sight-seeing with the remainder of the girl crowd. But, for now, laundry calls - so there isn't much time.

At the end of the workday yesterday, the 4th wall was constructed - still laying flat. The interior walls for the bathroom, office, vestibule and closets are framed in. So, it was action-packed!
Later, we attended the St. Augustine weekly church service - held at a local Methodist church in town. We got a group pic of the St. Augustine group, so that we can continue to pray for them after we leave. They have extended many warm hands of hospitality to us - that is for sure!

I will post as many pics as time will allow - I am waiting for a pick-up to go back to the laundry mat.

Thanks again for all your wonderful postings and feedback. It means a lot.
xo to the Saris family.

Linda

"Saturday Work Day"

2007-07-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

My dad woke up his 5 kids every Saturday - it's "Saturday Work Day!", and we would all grumble about our chores to accomplish. Today has a long list of assignments to accomplish on our building site - but everyone is excited as we approach our chores here. The 'pros' - Rob, Marcus and Bob are meeting discuss the construction of the final wall. (Ah yes, yesterday, we built and erected the second and third walls. YEA.) This final wall faces the bay and it features a large window - so much planning is needed. The plan is for us 'regular folk' to work on some interior walls while 'the brains of the outfit' discuss wall number 4.

Last night, we had a wonderful dinner provided by Fr. Cooper and his wife, Sallie. Their son is in town from Houston, TX, too. They purchased dinner from some restaurants called the 'Blue Bus' and the 'Red Bus'. (You can imagine how they derived at those names.) We had a wonderful meal in a park overlooking a stream - loaded with salmon. It was really our first encounter with mosquitos. We've been very lucky in Homer so far - the water does a fine job of keeping them away. We had a prayer circle - passed a rock found on the scene - and described our highlights and low lights of the day. The majority said how amazing it was to be a part of erecting the walls. I have wonderful pics of that, that I will share later.

Fr. Rob and I were the grown-ups who volunteered to take the teenagers to the spit last night. Long story short - and maybe a double-dog-dare, or two later - 3 boys were submerged in the 40 degree water. It lasted just a few seconds to a minute, and I had a warm van waiting. Still I wasn't too thrilled about the concept. They all survived - swimmingly - and will have a good story to tell their friends back home.

It is another gorgeous day in the sunshine here. I have to head back to the site.

'God love ya' for your all your prayers.
MUCH LOVE.

Linda

Elizabeth April - St. Augustines' Matriarch

2007-07-13T15:49:00.000-04:00

Friday am - ps:
I mentioned in an earlier message this morning about "April" the widow of a former priest from St. Augustines - her name is actually ELIZABETH APRIL.

Keep her in your prayers. Her excitement about this project has been very powerful to hear about.

xo Linda

Pictures - finally!

2007-07-13T15:42:00.000-04:00

Friday am.
I have finally found a location that has a constant enough connection
that I can post some pictures. I am in an office above a grocery store and am
here while Rachel gets a new cast on her leg.

I tried to have some resemblance of order - but wasn't always successful.
Enjoy these pics - from Sunday to Wednesday - in the following posts.

(The famous stuffed animal pic with the boys is not included. That is another story.)

PEACE.
~ Linda

Alaska pictures (views - tues)

2007-07-13T15:36:00.000-04:00

Skyline drive.
Kachemak Bay.
It's so hard to show the beauty!
Rachel, Anastasia, Chelsea, Naomi, Evan, Eric, Mike - before the hat purchase!
storefront on the spit.

Alaska pictures (site, weds - more)

2007-07-13T15:28:00.000-04:00

Floor joists nearly completed. See sunshine in distance - it overpowered the rain all day.
'Engergetic Eric' carries wood plank with 'Manly Mike' - not in view.

'Kind Keith'
Keith and Denise in foreground. Rob Iler walks the planks.

2007-07-13T15:14:00.000-04:00

Evan (Ohio) and "kind Keith" (Alabama). Keith said his hobby was working on Habitat for Humanity houses. Now that he is retired, he wanted to spend more time "building".
"Safety first" with the power nailer!
Bob - carpenter from Cleveland, Richard (Cleveland), Fr. Rob Iler, Rev. Diane Hill (Alabama) and Naomi (Cleveland.)
Chelsea (Cleveland), Fr. Marcus, Eric, Keith and Evan.

Alaska pictures (site Weds)

2007-07-13T15:06:00.000-04:00

Moving floor joists down the line. Eric, Donna, and Ann.
Fr. Rob Iler, foreground, The Rev. Diane Hill in background. Diane came from Alabama after hearing about the mission from Rob's newsletter.
Ray Boswell drilling - he is always busy.
Eric (hat boy) with Jacob - Rob's son.
What a sight!

2007-07-13T14:54:00.000-04:00

The building site is quite spectacular. The cut pylons lay in the foreground.

Ben Park with Fr. Cooper of St. Augustines' - excited to see the progress - take pictures of the site.

From Tuesday's Eucharist.
Foundation framed in - Tuesday. Delicate work required only the adults to be on site. Had to be perfect and square to support the structure. The sermon that night was about 'foundation'.
Using the package of wood as the altar for the first Eucharist was pretty profound.

Alaska pictures (tues, weds 2)

2007-07-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

Fr. Marcus with Fr. Cooper from St. Augustines.
Fr. Marcus and Fr. Rob Iler cutting floor joists on Weds. They went to Seminary together in TN. Fr. Iler came with his son from Alabama. See the storm in the distance. It stayed away the whole day, until we were packing up.
Lunch-time on Tues. Each lunch and dinner has to be planned and prepared - to feed 30 hungry workers.
A little downtime with 'The Moose" on the spit.
Naomi and Chelsea - hard worker bees!

Alaska pictures (Tues, Weds)

2007-07-13T14:33:00.000-04:00

Fishing harbor on the spit.
Hat boys. Evan, Eric, Mike.
Working or playing - the hats remain!
Ben and Mary Park's home - next to the girl's apartment.

Alaska pictures (1st Eucharist)

2007-07-13T14:25:00.001-04:00

Fr. Bob Cooper (St. Augustines') with his wife.
Fr. Iler leading Eucharist. (See the 'hat boys' in the distance!)
Girls in driveway of host family - the Parks. The road to the home is - get this - "China Poot".
Girl's apartment is upstairs. (So much for roughing it!)

Alaska pictures (site Tues)

2007-07-13T14:16:00.001-04:00

Site - pylons are cut. Positioning metal support frames.
View from girl's home-base. The 'spit' is the skinny land mass in the water.

Eucharist in the evening. Rob Iler from Alabama is in the foreground.

Alaska pictures (airport) & today's news

2007-07-13T13:32:00.001-04:00

Good morning.

I am sitting in a room above a grocery store - so far, it has been the only location I have been able to post some pictures. I can just do a few at a time, so hopefully I will send more shortly.

We had a great and successful 'wall raising' yesterday - Thursday. It was a breeze with everyone just raising a few pounds each. Fr. Cooper, the priest here, said it is just like anything in church life - the more people to help - the lighter the weight for each. Yesterday, we learned about the matriach of St. Augustines' church - April. She is the widow of a former pastor and is living in a facility in town. She has been telling her friends how much this all means to her - finally, the realization of a real church building. She is not well enough to leave her home, but we are planning to bring her pictures when we meet her this weekend. We also have a video of raising the first wall that we plan to show her.

Last night, our dinner was out of this world. A host family prepared salmon and halibut about 6 different ways - baked, steamed, smoked, terriyaki ... it was such a beautiful sight that several of us huddled to take pictures to capture the moment. Anastasia and I led an evening prayer about God's plan for us. (I put her in charge all of singing duties.) We had fun playing 'the name game' - a favorite with the kids.

Later, Fr. Marcus walked with the kids on the spit, while allowing Denise and I a little 'respite' at the Salty Dawg. We met a group of halibut fishermen who were in town to sell their load and to buy ice. It was really interesting to hear their tales. The owner said that this is area is the best halibut fishing in the world. Afterwards, we needed to drive Eric, Evan, Mike and Fr. Marcus to their home-bases. Eric is staying with a family that lives in an extremely remote location - about many (many) miles up a mountain on a dirt road. Rachel spotted several moose by the road. We were able to get some pictures as they walked in the distance. We pulled into the girl's driveway at 12:01am to a slightly dusk horizon. It was the darkest we had seen the sky since we got here.

This morning on the building site, the pylons will be driven in for the porch of the church. Later, the second wall will be assembled and raised. Rachel's ankle cast is being replaced today, because it got wet. (It was not broken on the trip.)

fyi - The boys got wool hats on our first day in Homer. They have worn them every waking minute since. They now have the nickname - The Hat Boys. You'll see several pics of that.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

We can feel it.

~ Linda

Sunny Alaska

2007-07-12T16:10:00.000-04:00

HELLO from sunny Alaska.
Seems like an oximoron, I know, but it is soooo sunny here. Uh, pretty much 24/7. We go to bed to a slightly dusk sky, and wake to the brightness of high noon in Cleveland.

This morning we held a memorial service in honor of our good friend at St. Matthew's - Nick Saris, who passed away last night. Fran, Denise and Fr. Marcus shared their memories of Nick. Lots of love and prayers are sent to the Saris and Adornetto families this week.

--

I am sorry that there has been some delay on the blog postings. Technical difficulties have been the theme with the internet connections for the last few days. I am going to try to post some pictures in a short time. Hopefully with the next post.

Fr. Marcus and Fr. Iler have done an amazing job leading the construction project and our spiritual journey. In a nutshell, the progress on the site in the last few days has been stunning - on Tuesday, the foundation was built on the pylons, and later we held the first Eucharist on the site - among the beams and mud. On Wednesday, the floor joists were brought to their spots - one by one - carried carefully by groups and passed on down the line. Later, the subfloor was nailed together. Today, two walls are being constructed flat, and later will be raised into position. That will be thrilling, for sure.

Our project has brought the attention of the local media to the site. Both local newspapers in town have sent reporters for stories that will appear in next week's editions. On Tuesday night, one reporter shared in the Eucharist with us.

We are about to enjoy lunch - fresh homemade soup made by Fran. Later tonight, a salmon dinner is on the menu.

Say some prayers as we raise the first wall at 3pm, AK-time.
~Linda Schellentrager

Foundation

2007-07-11T04:05:00.000-04:00

What a difference a day makes! When we got up on Tuesday, it was raining a soft rain. Went to the site and found the welder, Steve (a local) was using a cutting torch to cut the pilings to height. As he cut them, we pushed them over. I have 35 mm pics of this; I don't know if anyone got any digital one...if so, we will post.
Then Eric, Mike and Evan learned how to use a grinder to de-burr the pilings. They were having fun while doing something constructive with power tools!
From there Steve put saddles on top of the pilings that would hold the floor beams. Then the fun started: we cut and placed the 4 "inner beams" on the saddles. Each one was 18"wide by 5 1/2 inches thick by 23 feet long. Heavy pieces of laminated beam!! We then cut and placed the side beams each at 44 feet long. Forklifts are such a gift.
The sun started to come out around 4 p.m. so we decided that we would have our "opening Eucharist" at the site. While it was simple, it was quite moving. Of course there is the awesome scenery all around, but it felt like we were claiming the site for God...I would say that this was a 'thin place' where the separation between God and us was indeed, very thin.
Tomorrow we will set the floor and rim joists, get some plywood on the joists (making a floor) and try to get at least one outside wall up.
All in all, God is oh so good!
Please pray for us! I also ask your prayers for my Mother's family; my Aunt Lottie died on Sunday and she will be buried on Wednesday!
We thank God for your support and we are praying for you....
Peace,
Fr. Marcus

2007-07-10T13:19:00.000-04:00

Tuesday am, July 10, 10am Alaska time (4 hours behind e.s.t.)

Good morning from the women-folk - Denise, Linda, Rachel, Anastasia, Naomi, and Chelsea! We are staying in a stunning apartment connected to the home of Ben and Mary - our host family from St. Augustine's parish. We overlook Kachemac Bay in Homer. Behind it is a snow-topped mountain range with 6 glaciers.

The plane rides and car rides helped to bond us as a group over the past several days. The plane ride from Atlanta to Anchorage was full of entertainment. Behind us, the girls giggled and laughed for 8 straight hours - ahead of us, a couple in their fifties, were, well, maybe 'starting their honeymoon' in front of all of us. Our Alaska Mission T-shirts started many conversations with those around us. Our first night in Anchorage was spent at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. We slept on the floor of classrooms. Our macho teenage boys, Eric, Mike and Evan were found in the morning sound asleep surrounded by very large cuddly stuffed animals. We have a photo for documentation. (Their explanation had something to do with trying to keep warm - a likely excuse!)

On the car ride from Anchorage to Homer, we learned the words to every "Hawk Nelson" song known to man - or teenage girl. The sites on the drive were spectacular in every direction. We made a few stops for photos, but not near enough for the photographers in the group.

When we arrived in Homer, our host families greeted us with open arms (literally) at a nearby Lutheran church. They made us each welcome bags with goodies. Their excitement about our arrival was incredibly touching. Seeing the site of the church for the first time was really thrilling. Then, we drove down to the end of the 'Homer Spit' to the Lands End restaurant for a fabulous private room and dinner. Chelsea and Naomi (our lead gigglers) led a (serious) prayer service with music for the group. It was a great time to connect all of us who had traveled so far.

Hmmm -- all of us. Let's go over that again. There are 15 of us from Ohio and St. Matthew's. We are joined by some friendly folks from Alabama - Fr. Rob Iler, his 12 year old son, Jacob, and 2 others who heard about the mission from Rob's church's newsletter. One is a woman minister, Diane, who is here to recharge herself spiritually and the other is a retired guy, Keith, from a nearby parish in Alabama. (Amazingly, Keith flew to Cincinnati then to Anchorage - our group from Ohio, flew to Atlanta and then to Anchorage!)

Today, the guys are working on cutting the pylons and we are having a relaxing morning until there is more we can do. (Feeling kinda spoiled at the moment.)

When I can figure out how to get pictures into this pc - we will post some great ones.

My apologies to all my editor friends for any errors.
Love to all. My heart is full.

~ Linda

ps. Here are some notes from Chelsea and Naomi:

Chelsea: Our plane ride from Atlanta (ATL) was more than fun- most of us didn't get much sleep, so we were pretty slap happy by the time we got into Anchorage. By the time we got to the church we were wide awake and hungry, so at about 3 am our time Denise and Marcus went to get all of us Subway!! We also made an awesome movie while they were gone that will be posted later. There was only about two hours of darkness if you can call it that- it's more like dusk. The next morning we left the church and spent the day driving and having a lot of fun!!! Now that we're here and settled we're ready for work and we're heading to the church at noon.

Naomi: The first plane ride was short but very crowded and we didn't get to talk to each other that much. During our two hour layover in Atlanta we just walked around and got food. It was a good break after the plane ride. The next flight was about seven hours, so we pretty much just sat there talking, playing cards, watching movies, listening to music, and sleeping. When we got to St. Mary's we spent learning more about each other. Yesterday we spent around six hours in the van. We had a lot of fun even though it was really long. When we got to Homer we couldn't believe how pretty it is. Now I am just happy to be here and I can't wait to get started.

We're here!

2007-07-10T04:24:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all your prayers!
We spent a non-hurried 8 hours getting from Anchorage to Homer...what a beautiful drive. There are majestic mountains and wonderful lakes/rivers, and some stunning glaciers.
Once we got to Homer, we saw the best part: the people. They welcomed us with open arms and hearts. We saw the cite for the church too. All 8 of the pilings are in place, but due to an emergency in the family of the welder, the posts were not cut to length or capped. This will happen tomorrow. And this allows us to get some much needed rest and we will be able to get the lead carpenters together to plan the work and the teams...so we are hoping to get some floor joists up tomorrow.
Spiritually, we had great morning and evening prayers today. It seems that God is doing so much through all we have done and seen up to this point. We celebrated all the miracles that have brought us all together and asked God to completely lead and guide the building of the Church.
During the drive, we saw so much of God's awesome creation...of particular not were the Bald Eagles, bear (a mom and 2 cubs) and 4 moose. And we didn't even have to leave the vans.
Every one is well, but in need of rest...please continue to life us up as we are lifting you up!
Peace,
Marcus

2007-07-07T15:05:00.000-04:00

It is less than 24 hours before we leave!! Got an email from Ben in Alaska...he sent some pics.

The pilings are being placed. They will be trimmed and capped on Monday so we can start putting the floor joists on them on Tuesday.

Materails are starting to be delivered.

As we leave for Alaska tomorrow, it is so awesome to look back and see how many things God has done to make this trip happen!

Please pray with us as we are commissioned on Sunday the 8th to "Build Church."

Welcome to the New Alaska Blog

2007-06-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

Everyone is getting really excited about the trip.
The participants and Prayer Partners and the folks of St. Augustine's have been doing some spiritual preparation for the past 2 weeks!
Thanks to Mike Bush for putting this blog together.
We wanted a blog so that everyone can see what's happening day to day. We will be posting "Journal entries" and pictures too!
Just sign in and let's "Build Church!"
Peace, Fr. M