SoulShine Alaska Mission Trip Video Recap

Below is a video we put together following our mission trip to Anchorage, Alaska, from June 26 to July 4, 2015.  It was a wonderful experience that none of us will ever forget.  "SoulShine" was the theme  of our mission team:  Scott, Kathy, Patrick, Judy, Gene, Tracy, Logan, Melissa, Austin, Hanna, & John

Catching My Breath

It has been about three weeks since we returned from Anchorage.  We were there for nine glorious days!  Unfortunately, I was a little under the weather before, during, and after the trip.  Before the trip I somehow got into some poison ivy and was taking prednisone, which really helped with the rash, but it lowers your immunity and can have some adverse side effects.  I had to make a trip to the ER in Anchorage to get treated for oral thrush and the Nystatin mouthwash really helped.  I was blessed to be “transported” to the ER by one of FBCS’ & “Greenville County's finest.”  God clearly put this team of people together.

My mouth started feeling better but then a post nasal drip and cough began to develop toward the end of the trip and I had to go see my family physician once we got home.  One dose of a prescription cough and antihistamine syrup really helped with that, but in all honesty, it still took me a solid week to recover from the trip.  With 19 hours of daylight in Alaska and a 9-day, 19-hour-a-day schedule and a return flight that departed Anchorage Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. and arrived in Atlanta Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m. we were all wore out.  We still had to caravan two car loads from the Atlanta airport to Simpsonville, despite one dead car battery and a couple of pieces of lost luggage, we arrived safely at FBCS around 10:30 a.m.

Julie was waiting for us and after some hugs I went to wait for Samantha outside her Sunday school classroom.  I was happy to see my girls!  We got home around 11:00 a.m. and I was happy to see my oldest son, Alex.  They had done a great job of taking care of one another while Austin and I were in Alaska.  Thank you God for my family, the time on mission in Alaska, and for safe travel.

Since returning home, I spent the first week simply trying to recover.  I needed time to get over that cough and catch up on my sleep.  Between Austin and me we captured about 78 GB of pictures and video.  I didn’t even look at any of it for a week, as much as I wanted to, I just didn’t have the energy.  I started trying to organize the pictures and video the second week because we needed to put a video together for the church and have been working on that off and on for the last two weeks.  We present that video to the church on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

The next thing I need to do is begin working on a longer video for the mission team that includes more pictures and video footage from our morning devotion times and free time outings, all of which were awesome!  We'll be shooting to have that video done for our mission team luncheon at church on August 9th.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and their families again and sharing memories of our time in Alaska.

Departure Day & Time

June 26th is the day we departed on our mission trip to Alaska.  We drove from Greenville, SC, to Atlanta, GA, then flew directly to Anchorage, AK.

Three years ago to that day, I received a call from my Step-Mom.  My Dad had passed away.  It was not expected.  His soul has departed this Earth, but his memory remains strong in our hearts and minds.

My Dad's obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary.aspx?pid=158282840

My Dad did not know his departure time.  Neither do you.  None of us do.  

Do not depart Earth without first knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Here are a couple of pictures of the last time I got to see my Dad:

I miss him!

He was a great man!

Love you Pop!

We flew back from Anchorage on July 4th, the same day we flew back from his funeral in San Antonio three years earlier.

SoulShine

We have a team theme for our mission trip to Anchorage, complete with a song and t-shirt.  The theme is SOULSHINE and here's what our T-Shirt looks like.

T-Shirt Front:

Every color on the shirt represents something:

Gold:  Represents God, the Creator of all, who lives in  Heaven.  The Bible says that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness - God is Perfect!  God loves you and He wants to have a personal relationship with you.  Jesus is God's son.  The Bible says that Jesus and God are One.

Dark:  Represents Sin, which is doing wrong things. God says that all have sinned and fall short of God's standard of perfection. Sin separates us from God.  The Bible says that the penalty for our sins is death or separation from God forever.

How can your sins be removed so that you can know God?

Red:  Represents Jesus' blood.  Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, but He died on a cross to pay the penalty for all of our sin.  Again, the payment of sin is death, so Jesus paid the penalty for each of us.  Why?  The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life" (with God).  The Good News is that you don't have to be separated from God forever by sin!

White:  Represents each of us after our sins are washed away by Jesus.  How can Jesus wash our sins away? When we believe in Jesus by following Him, our sins are forgiven. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Have you accepted Jesus' gift of forgiveness by believing in Him?

Green:  Represents growth in your relationship with God.  The greatest commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our Heart, soul, mind, and strength and that we love our neighbors as ourselves - Love God, Love People!  Read the Bible each day to learn more about God and His love. Pray to God constantly and share your thoughts, needs, and desires with Him. When we are Baptized, we are telling the world that we have committed our lives to Jesus and that we are a new person, like being born all over again!  Hang out with other Christians and encourage each other. (Church is a good place to start.)  Share the Good News that Jesus can forgive sins when you trust in Him!  Tell as many people as you can!

T-Shirt Back:

This T-shirt is meant to be a conversation starter, hence the "Ask me about my SoulShine" line.

It is also a memorializes our trip location by showing where we are going as well as representing the Alaskan State Flag which is represented by the stars and blue background, which is really Navy Blue and not Royal Blue as shown here.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to have designed this shirt with input from several others, but even more for the the opportunity to wear this shirt and "Let my SoulShine!"

(A Christian friend printed these shirts for us and I would be happy to pass along his contact information to you if you have any t-shirt printing needs.)

I hope to be able to post a video of the theme song being sung on location (post-trip) so stay tuned...

Obstacles, Opportunities, & Revelations

A leaky roof taught me, once again, that I can trust God with all things…

As the mission trip got closer we started to have a lot of things happen that gave us cause for concern and we began to question.

We experienced several Obstacles:

1.     We had some wind and hail damage to our roof and had to make an insurance claim.

2.     I was involved in a traffic accident where I was rear-ended and of course I had whiplash for a few days and had to go to the doctor and physical therapy.  I had to deal with insurance and deal with the body shop that could not obtain the correct part for two weeks.

3.     Our air conditioner froze up and stopped cooling; the same unit that we replaced the furnace in earlier this year.

4.     The new, one-day-old roof began to leak during the first rain storm.

5.     We had to deal with water damage repairs.

6.     Somehow I got poison ivy and had to go to the clinic and start a round of prednisone.  I don't like taking this stuff.  It certainly helps but it has side effects.

We realized that these so called obstacles are really Opportunities:

1.     Hey, we got a new roof and it only cost us our insurance deductible!  The roof was 13 years old.   We’ve been in the house going on 8 years and had to deal with at least 3 separate leaks in the old roof.  We got to deal with a very reputable roofing contractor that had helped one of my co-workers with a small repair.  More on this tie-in later…

2.     I got to drive a much nicer rental car than what I normally drive and the other party’s insurance paid for it and all the repairs.  The doctor and PT were very helpful and I got to meet a new PT that knows another person going on this mission trip to Alaska.  Small world.

3.     The service technician that installed our new furnace is the guy they sent out to look at our AC issue.  He is a good Christian man and I enjoyed his company.  He’s a straight shooter and helps save me money on preventative maintenance and repairs.  I should have changed my filters sooner.  He added two pounds of refrigerant to the system, just in time for the really hot days we’ve experienced since the issue.  Same as with the furnace, we had a solution in place before the real cold spell hit.

4.     Hey, what better timing for a roof to leak than the day after it’s finished!  I’d rather know now than when I’m in Alaska so I can be around to take care of it and not burden my wife with it.  This is really the big story, but I’ll come back to it at the end…

5.     The roofing contractor responded after-hours to my text messages regarding the leak and had his crew chief on top of the house the next morning to find and repair the problem.  (One piece of metal flashing ($0.50) and a properly cut shingle could have saved a lot of hassle for everyone.)  He also had a drywall guy and painter out the next day to assess the inside repairs, which were taken care of promptly and professionally.  I really liked all  these guys and felt blessed by them.  I’m thankful God brought them into my life to take care of these problems.  I would hire them all again.  The roofing contractor also gave us a gift card so we could have dinner on him.  We used it for Father’s Day lunch and it was plenty.

6.     Poison Ivy, really?  Hey, I’m still trying to figure this one out, but I know that there is a purpose and lesson in it so stay tuned.

I left a few strands hanging in the items above and now I’d like to tie them all together.

The Revelation:

The co-worker that recommended the roofing contractor is a Godsend.  I had been working outside all day and was sitting on the couch watching TV exhausted.  It had started raining pretty good and there were no signs of any leaks so we continued to relax.  My co-worker had called earlier in the day and asked if he could borrow an ice chest.  He called while I was sitting on the couch and said he was on his way over, but then said it was raining pretty hard and that he’d get it another time.  I told him to come on and that I’d bring it out to him.  (I wanted to test out my new rain jacket.)  So my wife and I went into the garage and got the ice chest down and I put my rain jacket on.  We stood in the garage for several minutes with the garage door open waiting to see his car approach.  I ran out to his car and put the ice chest in the trunk and headed back to the garage.  It was raining really hard.  My wife had gone back into the house and I began to take off my rain jacket and inspect my shirt.  It was a little wet on the shoulders, so it really only meant for a light rain.  It had passed the light rain test already, but I needed to know if it was going to hold up to a heavy rain.  Just like this roof, I needed to know if the roof was going to hold up to the first good heavy rain.  Well, about that time as I was inspecting my jacket and shirt I heard something behind me.  I turned and looked to find a stream of water coming down from a junction box in the garage ceiling and spilling out across the billiards table we have parked where a car should be.  I acted quickly despite my shock and was fortunate to have had a good beach towel, moving blanket, and 5 gallon bucket on hand.  Even more, I was glad we kept a green plastic protective cover over the pool table when not in use, so the felt stayed dry.  My wife and I stood there in amazement.  It had been raining for 30-60 minutes before this leak occurred just at the right time for us to see and catch it.  We would not have gone back out to the garage until just before bedtime as we checked all the doors and lights.  We might not have even noticed until the next day.

Look, God orchestrated all these events to point us to Himself and his provision for us.  We stood there thanking and praising God, in the middle of a literal (rain) storm for a leaking roof, because it was unmistakable that He was in control and He was demonstrating that right in front of us!  We realized, once again, that we can trust God with all things.  You can to!  Start by trusting Him with the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal salvation.  Let me know if you have any questions about that…

That’s why I’m here.  To point others to Him!

For His Glory,

John

What does an assassination attempt 150 years ago have do with Alaska?

A conspiracy 150 years ago led to President Abraham Lincoln being mortally wounded at Ford's Theater, but what you may not know is that there were two other assassination attempts that same day, on the lives of Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.

President Lincoln died from his wounds on April 15th.  The assassin assigned to Vice President Johnson lost his nerve.  However, Secretary of State Seward and three others in his home were seriously wounded during the attempt on his life, but Seward recovered.

Secretary of State Seward went on to negotiate the Alaska Purchase from Russia in 1867.  Seward, Alaska, is named after him.  In the early 1900's the Iditarod Trail was blazed from Seward to the interior of Alaska to bring people and goods to and from the port of Seward.

In 1903 the Alaska Railroad began in Seward and by 1914, the U.S. government bought the railroad and moved its headquarters to "Ship Creek," later called Anchorage which was a tent city during the construction of the railroad.

This summer I will be spending a week in Anchorage and one day in Seward.  I'm thankful for the opportunity and for the many lives that went ahead of mine into the making of this great country we call the United States of America.

President Lincoln has a continuing legacy as does Secretary Seward, but so do the every day hard working men and women of America, like my father and uncles who were railroad men providing critical infrastructure services, and like people like me working in the telecommunications industry providing critical communication services to rural, suburban, and urban communities.

Times have changed, but much remains the same, and we are equally connected to our past as we are our future.

I want my days count for something and that's why I'm going on mission to Alaska.

For Every Mountain

Many things come to mind when I think about Alaska, and one of them is mountains.  I love the mountains.  I particularly like cycling up mountains and enjoying the view from the top and the tremendous sense of accomplishment of having endured the suffering it took to get there.  Then of course I like to bomb the decent like a wanna-be pro, but it's the effort of actually climbing the mountain that I am most proud of and the decent, like the view from the top is the reward.

In life, we go through many trials and they are like mountains before us. Big things in our lives that are difficult to endure and overcome.  But God is faithful and will carry us through those tough times, if we will let Him.  We are not always thankful for those seasons of life in the moment, but many times we look back upon them and give Him thanks and praise. That's what this song is about.  Not just being thankful for all the things we clearly see as good in our lives, but being thankful for the hard times, the mountains.

I remember the first time I heard this song.  I was visiting Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX, with my wife and kids.  We were guests at the time but it was this song that cemented my decision to join that congregation.  I had never witnessed such power-filled music in my life.  In Psalm 22:3 it says, "Yet You are Holy, Enthroned on the Praises of Israel."  I've heard worship leaders and pastors re-phrase it as, "God Inhabits the Praise of His People."  Well, that's what seemed to be happening right before my eyes!  It was powerful and I will never forget it.

Below is a video from Prestonwood of that song.  I don't think it's the same lady singing up front as the one we saw over 14 years ago, but it's every bit as powerful and I hope it brings you hope, comfort, and encouragement.

treatment

A year ago I was going through my prayer journal and praying for a friend undergoing cancer treatment.  I started doodling while praying for my friend when the Holy Spirit taught me something very interesting about the word "treatment."

My original notes:

(Soon after that I typed up my notes.  I pray they bring you Hope in your journey.)

treatment

•1st thing I noticed about this word is that it has 3 Ts that look like crosses, which remind me of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

•2nd thing I notice are the words “treat” and “men”

•treat – to provide a gift at one’s own expense

•men is inside the suffix –ment

-ment indicates state or condition

•DEFINITION of Treatment – the administration or application of remedies to a patient or for a disease or injury.

•OBSERVATION: •Mankind has a disease (condition) called SIN

“men” are in a condition called SIN

BOTTOM LINE

Jesus Christ provided the free gift of salvation as a treatment for the sin of mankind at His own expense (blood & death), by being crucified on a Roman Cross.

He rose to life on the third day.  He's alive today, seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Do you know Him?

http://needhim.org/knowing-jesus

Grizzly Adams Wannabes

I believe the 1974 movie "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" (and subsequent TV series) had a profound effect on my life and that of my family.  When I was in the second grade my mom and step-dad sold just about everything we had, which wasn't much, and purchased a red and white 4x4 Ford pickup truck with a matching camper shell over the bed.

The plan was to move to Colorado and live the mountain life.  Maybe not to the extent that was portrayed in the movie or TV show, but my step-dad pretty much looked like Grizzly Adams, so you never know.

Side Note: He had been playing semi-professional football for the San Antonio Toros and even played 1 game with the San Antonio Wings (WFL).  At some point in his football career he tried out for the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins.  His playing time with those organizations is not well documented.  Out of college he had been drafted by the Houston Astros (MLB) and the Oakland Raiders (NFL). He played minor league baseball in the Astros' farm league and later decided to pursue the professional football path.  Most of that was behind him when he came into our lives. He passed away March 15, 2023.

We were living in in San Antonio, TX, at the time and jobs were in short supply.  For some reason they thought there might be jobs in Denver, CO, so much like the Beverley Hillbillies, we loaded up the truck...

My parents were smart.  They put a piece of plywood in the back of the truck and covered it with quilts and installed a little intercom system between the truck cab and the camper shell.  My brother and I rode in the back of the truck the whole way.  I'll never forget it.  We didn't have any electronics to keep us occupied like kids have today so I'm sure we would have driven them crazy.  We slept on the ground at campsites along the way.  I remember waking up one morning and there were a bunch of hippies sitting at the picnic table in our camp.  It was an adventure.

Our journey to find a job and live the Grizzly Adam's life took us from San Antonio, TX, to Denver, CO, to Lincoln, NE, to Des Moines, IA, to Minneapolis, MN, and finally to Orr, MN:

I don't know for sure, but it took a week or two.  It was quite the journey and the place we found to live offered even more adventure.

My parents found a fishing resort on Pelican Lake that had real log cabins and a couple of mobile homes on it and we lived in one of the mobile homes.  I'm not sure why Mr. & Mrs. Grizzly Adams didn't choose a log cabin.  They were cool.

From what I can tell by looking online, they don't exist any longer and have been replaced by Oveson's Pelican Lake Resort & Inn.

There was a saw mill nearby that appeared to be abandoned and we helped ourselves to wood regularly and made tree forts.  Here's a picture of my brother and me in one that some other boys had started and that we all added to regularly until it reached 7 levels:

It was awesome!

This picture was taken on my brother's birthday because he is wearing what was arguably the coolest backpack thing ever, the Ready Ranger Mobile Field Backpack.  I remember him getting it for his birthday.  He wasn't even in school yet and I was in the 2nd grade.  Orr, MN, had a population of about 300 people.  We were new to the area and didn't know many people so his party was small.  Just the two of us, but Momma made it great.  I love everything about this picture:  my brother, our hair, his backpack, my bell bottom jeans, his hands on his hips, my arms crossed, the trees, the boards we hacked, and the greatest sense of adventure ever!  I live for adventure...

In these pictures, I am wearing the cowboy hat and my brother is in the red shirt.  The other boys were 2 of 3 whose mother owned the fishing resort we were living at.  The gentleman that owned the saw mill was so kind. He told our mother that we had been taking some of his "best wood" and came with a big load of what I thought was even better wood!  Real plywood and 2x4s!  I don't know his name, but he made a huge impact in our lives with his understanding and generosity. We built this new tree house with that wood and nailed small saplings to make it look like a log cabin.

This picnic table was between that tree house and the mobile home trailer we lived in.  There must have been some other families that came to the resort because I don't recognize some of these kids.  We were obviously "cool" as indicated by all the "thumbs ups!"  I'm the one making the face between the trees.

This was the waterfront, not far from our trailer.  I'm standing and my brother is looking back over his shoulder.  You had to watch out for the leeches!

Orr, MN, is a pretty remote area and we had to take our garbage to the dump.  There was a sign at the entrance to the dump that read:

ORR

VILLAGE DUMP

NO FIRE ARMS

BEAR PROTECTED

NO CAR BODYS

DUMP IN DESIGNATED AREAS  

I wish this picture was more clear.  Too many of my mom's photos from this time turned out this way.

Boy, they weren't kidding about the bears!  We saw them every time we went.  It was cool, even if the bears did chase my Momma around the truck when she was 9 months pregnant.  She outran two bears chasing her around that red and white truck!  Before there was Forrest Gump, there was our Momma... my brother and I were yelling, "Run Momma Run!"  My precious Momma, would always warns me about the dangers of bears when I'm out riding my bike here in the Carolinas.

Now that I have plans to go to Alaska this summer for a mission trip, I'm sure she's beside herself with this image racing through her mind:

I'm really excited about going on mission, especially in Alaska.  It holds as much allure as Africa to me, and that's a lot.  I grew up watching Johnny Weissmuller play Tarzan on TV and as a result Africa has always been on my list of places to go.  I've read all of Wilbur Smith's fictional novels set in Africa and highly recommend most of them as he does a great job of telling the history of Africa and painting word pictures of the dark continent.

Well before ever dreaming of going on a mission trip to Alaska I began watching a growing number of TV programs: Alaska: The Last Frontier, Buying Alaska, Alaskan Bush People, Life Below Zero, Mountain Men, Yukon Men, and Gold Rush.  (I've yet to catch Ultimate Survival Alaska.)

These shows about life in Alaska and its natural beauty along with books like Phil Robertson's "Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as Duck Commander" and others from the Duck Commander clan as well as their TV show Duck Dynasty have stoked a fire inside of me to enjoy God's creation and share the love of Jesus with others more.

I really liked the Grizzly Adams show in the '70's and and I'm excited they are planning something new.  But, more than anything, I'm excited to go on mission, an adventure with God, and I'm super excited that my son will be joining me for the adventure.

P.S. Manly beards are back in fashion if you haven't noticed.

Note: This post was updated in March 2023 with the passing of my step-dad on March 15th.

In July 2023 I plan to make my 6th mission trip to Alaska in 9 years.

Cycling Fellowship

Was blessed to spend some time with our mission trip leader, Scott, out on a bicycle today enjoying God's creation. Thank you Lord for the beautiful weather today and thank you for a church that wants to send a missionary team to Alaska! We are so excited! Scott and I enjoyed some fellowship time in this neck of the woods:

National Geographic

Eight years ago this month I got a call from a co-worker that I will never forget.  I was sitting at my desk in Maitland, FL, when the call came in and the voice on the other end of the line said, "Hey, what church do you go to?"  I responded, "First Baptist Church of Orlando. Why?" He said, "Well, I think I just saw your picture in this month's National Geographic."  Now, that's not something you hear every day so I was more than a little surprised, to say the least.  Of course I had to go out and find a copy and see for myself.  So, yes, there I was, smack dab in the middle of the magazine!  When I saw the picture, I remembered the day because I recalled seeing a photographer in church that day.  I had no idea that the photographer was taking pictures for an article about Orlando, FL, for National Geographic.  This is one of my treasured memories.

When I think of National Geographic I think of Africa.  (Elephants grace the cover of the March 2007 issue by the way.)  When I think of Africa I think about exotic landscapes, animals, and people groups and missionaries like Dr. David Livingstone who traveled to Africa to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This means a lot to me as I prepare to go on mission to Alaska, a place that is as equally fascinating to me as Africa.

So, without further ado, here's a link to the National Geographic photo gallery.  Look at the fourth picture wherein you get a glimpse of families worshiping the risen savior, Jesus Christ:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/03/orlando/burnett-photography

Relevant Links

My son, Austin, and I are going on our first mission trip to Alaska and this blog will serve as the primary source of information related to the trip.

Stay tuned...

Meanwhile, below are some relevant links:

Sending Church: http://www.fbcsimpsonville.org/missions/national

Receiving Church: http://www.ancbt.org/

John's Photography: http://carolinacycling.smugmug.com/Alaska-Mission-2015