Week 1

Alright.
So after meeting Jasmine we went on our first group hike. We hiked 3.5 miles to a beautiful cabin in the Tongass National Forest. At the top we made hobo meals (my first!) where you take an assortment of veggies-peppers, potatoes, carrots, onions-and hamburger and put it inside an aluminum foil pouch. Then you put the pouch in the fire, or on the grill above the fire, and soon you have a wonderful dinner. It was absolutely incredible.
After the dinner we got our first Henry's, which is a root beer that holds a special place in the hearts of project people. Not sure of the full story, but it was very delicious. It was like a cream soda root beer.

After dinner we spent time around the campfire talking about our lives and being real with one another. It was absolutely awesome. Then we spent the night in a sweet cabin and hiked back in the morning.

That afternoon when we got back I had a call back from Silverbow Inn & Bakery, which is where I've been wanting to work since I found out it existed. Check it out here. Two other girls did, also, so we had our first dilemma as only two of us can work there. After a couple of days the wonderful Sam decided to let me and Ashley be the ones to work there.

The weekend as a whole was pretty chill. We had lots of time to spend looking for jobs and just kind of settling in, and since my job situation was settled I spent some time just lazing around.

Sunday we divided and conquered some churches in Juneau. I'm going to Douglas Island Bible Chapel with another girl, Hope, and then about 7 project guys. I loved it. My friend's dad actually grew up in Juneau, and went to DIBC's partner church Auke Bay Bible Church. He got back in touch with his youth group leader from back when, and they currently go to DIBC, so I got to meet Stan and Dellene. They, along with the rest of the DIBC community were so sweet and welcoming. I'm so excited for the rest of the summer. Not only were the people wonderful, but the messages from both Sunday School and the service were absolutely wonderful. Plus, it's kind of old fashioned and we sing out of hymnals.

Also, after the service I met this wonderful woman named Leslie. She just moved to Juneau in January from Washington, where she has a 10 acre farm. On this farm she has her own garden, and a wonderful dog. While she was showing me pictures of her dog, almost every other picture was of some beautiful cake she'd made for a wedding or birthday party. Get this: she's the bakery manager for the local SafeWay. Not only that, but we talked about Mary Jane, a wonderfully savvy country girl who loves living organically and finding unique ways to do-it-herself. Basically Leslie is my new role model. I'm hoping to get to spend some time with her, as well as others within the DIBC community throughout the summer.

Monday we took some serious faith steps (for some, including me) and went downtown to instigate spiritual discussions and share our faith. I was in a group with Ashley and Emily. Downtown Juneau was practically deserted, as it was memorial day and still early enough (10ish) that the cruise ships and multitudes were not in yet. First we talked to a guy, Jeff, who was working down by the docks. We chatted with him while he was setting up the booth for his new business, a brokerage firm that sells whale tours and all sorts of other things. We were given a Quest survey, as well as these Knowing God Personally booklets (KGP's). The survey consisted of five questions:

1. Three words to describe your life right now.
2. What one thing would make your life better.
3. What do you think happens after you die?
4. In your opinion, who is Jesus Christ?
5. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your desire to know God?

We went through these questions with him, and it was really interesting. We found out that Jeff was raised Catholic, but the more he learned, the less he believed. He trusted more in science, and found enjoying nature to be his way of worshipping, if there was a god.

His opinion was similar to that of Stevi, the woman we talked to after him. Stevi is from California and is back in Juneau for her second summer to do seasonal work on the docks selling tours. Her belief was one of moderation and balance. She explained that for every one of the deadly sins there was a spiritual goodnesss-patience, kindness, etc. So for anger there was kindness, for lust chastity, and so on. Our conversation with her got cut kind of short because she had to go to work.

Tuesday was my first day of work. There's a lot of information to take in, but I've absolutely been loving it. The Silverbow is basically my dream job-I'm working in a bakery that also sells coffee. I don't really do much baking (although today I prepped macaroons), but I do get to toast bagels. Plus learning how to make espresso and espresso drinks has just rocked my world. This job will definitely be challenging, though, because many of my coworkers just seem kind of sad, and I already feel like building relationships with them will be challenging. I've been trying to remind myself that

God gave us spirits not of fear, but of power and love and self control 2 Tim 1: 17

Last night we did women's development time, which was good but really hard for me. This week our theme is identity in Christ, and putting to death the lies we believe from the world.

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:2-3

We started off with a beautiful hike and then spent some time in a beautiful place thinking and praying about the lies we believe. We also burned lies in a fire later and just really lifted one another up. It was hard for me because I believe a lot of lies, and I think I just got so overwhelmed that I shut down. But all in all it was good.

Other highlights so far:

nightly tea time with my roommates and often all of us girls.

cookie dough and milk at midnight on my birthday.

good time reading 1 Samuel.