Finally Here

Well, I made it. I'm in Kiana, Alaska. Currently I'm sitting at the dining room table of the missionaries' house. Even though it's 10:30 a.m. here, I'm the only one up. The days run a little differently in this region. Because they don't have actual day and night cycles for most of the year, they are free to stay up later and then wake up later.

Getting here was interesting and an adventure in itself. Tuesday morning, the day I flew out, I was still pulling things out of my bags to make them lighter. Thank goodness my parents can ship some of my books to me. I took my car to Mr. Gary's so he could sell it for me, and then it was off to the airport.

Everyone came to see me off. One of the hardest things I've ever done was walking through security, away from my family. I'm glad I have Skype.

So, I flew to Houston, then Seattle, then Anchorage. As you get further up in the United States, you can see the empty stretches of mountains, even in the "mainland." I see why Twilight was set up in Washington. There's not allot there.

Anyway, I finally made it to Anchorage. The view from the airport was amazing. Snow capped mountains... Dusk was creeping in, at about 11:30 at night. Dark fell around midnight, and sunrise was at three in the morning.

I know this thanks to the six hour layover in the Anchorage airport.

It turned out to be fun. I ate at Chillis when I got there, then found a spot to watch the Lost finale. I grabbed some Starbucks and settled down with the second season of Mash until it was time to get back on the plane Wednesday morning.

From Anchorage I went to Kotzebue. I'll say this. The Kotzebue airport is much smaller than the Anchorage one. The Alaska Airlines portion consisted of one main room. It was nice, though. There were two other buildings for the smaller aviation companies, one of which I would be using to get to Kiana.

I had a nice surprise in Kotzebue. The youth pastor of First Baptist and his wife met me at the airport. They let me stay at their house for the few hours I had before my plane took off. They even made me waffles (yum).

They then took me back to the airport where I boarded the plane.It was me, the pilot and one

other passenger. I enjoyed the plane ride. You could see so much of the surrounding landscape.

Twenty minutes later we landed in Kiana. I finally met John Piepmeier, one of the missionaries I'm staying with. He is also the pastor of Kiana Baptist Mission. He and two other girls were there to meet me on the four-wheelers, or "Hondas."

The church is small, but pretty. It sits on a bluff overlooking the river. I've been shown around Kiana, but I haven't had a chance to meet many people yet. We're having movie night at the church tonight, so I should know more of the church members soon.

Well, that's all I have for now. Please keep praying.

Prayer requests

• John and Kim Piepmeier - pray for their ministry and for their health.
• VBS supplies - pray that the supplies I shipped make it in time. I found out after I got here that packages can take as long as three weeks. VBS is in a week and a half.
• Pray for Kiana, that I can help meet any needs the town has.
• Most of all, pray that God's will be done.

An End and a Beginning

Yesterday, Friday May 7, I walked across a stage to receive my diploma. My parents, sisters, niece and one of my aunts watched and cheered as I proudly shook the university president's hand.

Yup. I'm officially a college graduate.

I have been classified as a student for the last 18 years. I've learned so much, and now I get to put it to use. It's time to go out there, out to the world. Scary, exciting, exhilarating - so many things at once.

First, I go to Kiana.

We're now at 17 days, only 2 1/2 weeks. Do you realize how short that is? It's not a simple two weeks, either. Kate (my missions partner) and I are scrabbling to get the VBS supplies ready. I've already sent my list to Brookwood and other churches in the area, but I have no guarantee we'll get what we need.

I have most of my clothes and gear, but I keep wondering if I'm really ready. Do I have everything I need? What if there's something I miss?

Then, I shrug my shoulders and say "Oh well." If I forget something, I'll deal. No use crying over spilled milk and all that, especially if you haven't spilled it yet.

Truthfully, what I'm really enjoying is thinking about the ministries I'll get to be apart of. I have so much to learn from the people in Kiana. I hope there will be an exchange of knowledge between myself and the others.

I'll be leaving before I know it, and then I'll have some real content to post.

Please pray for me as I prepare, and pray for me while I am in Kiana. This will be an amazing journey. May God's will be done as we prepare ourselves, and the materials, for this experience, and while we serve in Kiana.

in His service,

Sarah

The Back-Story

When I began making plans for after my college graduation I knew I wanted to set aside some time for missions. I figured it would be relatively easy. I’m in a one-bedroom apartment, so no roommates to worry about. I didn’t have any job plans for after graduation and wanted a break between my bouts of school. I felt God was calling me to go, wherever he wanted me, at this time in my life.

Remember the part where I thought it would be easy? If you laughed, good call. I started out at the International Mission Board, applying for a journeyman position. They accepted my application, but things kept happening. Paperwork issues, miscommunication… I realized I probably wasn’t going anywhere in 2010 with IMB, so, with a “Call me if you have something,” I moved on to the North America Mission Board.

I ended up going to the student division of NAMB. We were working to find somewhere for the fall of 2010, so I thought I had some time in Louisiana after I graduated.

I’d been pushing for Alaska from the beginning. I knew, from experience out in West Texas, remote places in North America have trouble getting the people and resources needed. I wanted to fill that need, to go where no one else wanted to.

Around the end of February I got a call from NAMB. It wasn’t anything specific, just talking about my file some more and questions about what I wanted. I tried to give a more in-depth explanation about what I thought God was calling me to do. I heard a pause on the other end of the phone, and then my NAMB coordinator hesitantly said, “Well, I do have this one place… It’s above the Arctic Circle.” Needless to say, I was a little shocked. I prayed about it, and eventually said yes to the town of Kiana, Alaska for at least a summer position.

It seemed wrapped up. My regional coordinator had said I was good to go. The Alaskan Baptist Convention said I was good to go, and then… I wasn’t good to go. There was some miscommunication, paperwork problems, and it turned out two other people had been assigned to Kiana as well. As I was the latecomer, I had to start looking for something else. But, again, I knew God would put me where I needed to be. If it wasn’t Kiana, then so be it. It looked like, once again, I wasn’t going anywhere ‘til the fall. I made my plans and continued on with my life.

Yes, if you started chuckling at the words “my plans,” you were once again right. Have a cookie.

I was at work, a Monday at the end of March, when my cell phone began ringing. It was my regional coordinator’s number. After we said our hellos, she told me there had been a new development with Kiana. Those people that were assigned? They had some problems they needed to work out, so they couldn’t go. My coordinator wanted to know if I was still interested.

To say I was shocked just doesn’t cut it. I was floored. I was stunned. If I said yes to this, it meant I would be leaving in two months. Get rid of my apartment, sell my car (because from this point on, I’d be on assignment for another few years, even if Kiana was only for the summer), and leave my family.

This time took more prayer than the first. I’ll be honest – I was scared. This was the next portion of my life, and that step from this point to the next? Watch it, it’s a doozy.

But I truly felt this was where God wanted me to be. To have the door close in my face like it had, and then open like this, was an answer to prayers (more than my own).

So I said yes.

Now, I’m going to Kiana, to the Arctic Circle, but more importantly I’m going to a group of people I can’t wait to meet, serve and learn from. I have a feeling I’ll be learning quite a bit.

That’s the how this story started, and I promise I’ll be telling more as preparations and any new discoveries are made. Please keep me in your prayers as God leads me in this new direction.

-Sarah