As Long As I Live: Weekend in Selawik

This past weekend, God worked it out that my friends visiting from the states, myself and two others from Fairbanks were all were able to fly up to Selawik for a few days. I've talked to our missionary there for the past couple years about coming up for a visit, but it's always so expensive to fly there commercially. But God worked it out that we were all able to go on a private plane for the price it would normally cost for one person commercially.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Only bit a little bit of cloud cover during the approach into Selawik. It was a lot warmer there than I had anticipated. We had a good couple days there, exploring the town, visiting with friends, making new friends, tramping all over the boardwalks, having church activities and fellowshipping late into the night.

our littlest traveler, Levi

Welcome to Selawik! This a village located among the tundra, rivers and lakes. It's pretty much a swampland. There are no large vehicles there; everyone travels by 4x4s or boats in the summer and snowmachines in the winter. Their road system is made up of a series of boardwalks, complete even with Stop signs and Speed-limit signs. Flights come in a couple times a day from Kotzebue, that is when the weather is good. It's a small town, but still 3rd largest in the North Slope with a population of 1000. It boasts of one of the largest ATV bridge which spans across the Selawik River.

The Rainbow Bridge

In the center of town stands a Beacon of Truth, the Selawik Baptist Church. Our missionaries the Comptons have been a witness in this village for 18 years! They know everyone in town and everyone knows them. While Satan does have a strong hold on this area, God is still at work. The Comptons have been faithful and have remained strong in the work of the Lord. It's a hard area. While English is the spoken language and all are Americans, it can feel like you are in a different country when you visit. Pray for strength and grace for the Comptons and those who are striving to fight against the peer/family pressure to live for Christ.

the Lighthouse of Truth

Saturday night we held a teen activity at the church. I was in charge of games, though some others also introduced other games as well. We had a good group of almost twenty teens, including those of us visiting and the missionaries, we had about 30 people in the building. It can get quite loud very fast when you play an animal matching game.... Also had fun with a new game called "Mingle." It could lend to some awkward moments if one doesn't pronounce words correctly. :)

playing Assassin

the Teen group (minus the photographer, me)

One of the things I love most about Alaska is it's beauty. It's not a refined or cultured beauty, but a raw, wild, rugged beauty. Probably because I'm an Alaskan/country girl at heart, I love the wilderness. We reached Selawik after two hours of flying over just a handful of villages and mile after mile of nothing but wilderness. Lakes, streams, mountains, rivers, gorges, tundra - it's all beautiful to me. Coupled with a blue sky dotted with big, fluffy white clouds, it's breath-taking.

Sunday was a full day with morning services, Sunday School for the kids in the afternoon and then an evening service. I enjoyed seeing some of the teens that have come to camp during the weekend. Several came to the teen activity and/or church Sunday. A couple really have a heart for the Lord, but it's a challenging place to stay true and faithful to God's Word. If you would, please pray for the teens that want to live right in a world of evil and darkness. Several asked why I wasn't at camp this summer. Really going to try to go next summer.

hanging out on the Big bridge

crossing the "scary bridge"

Even in remote Alaska, Everts has a junkyard. :)

old Evert's plane

We had a blast with the Comptons; with Gayle's good cooking, Warren's crazy (long) stories, Bethany's sweet spirit and Caleb's goofiness. It's a blessing to see a family so committed to where God has called them and who have stayed faithful for so many years. And even with all the trials and struggles they've been through there, they still love the Lord, love the people and want to see them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We were on Village Time while there, so staying up late and sleeping in was the norm. I was just grateful for sleep. :)