Unalakleet-Personal Narrative

It was a hot, muggy, July morning when six teenagers from my youth group piled into the church van to head over to the airport. We boarded our plane before most people were even awake, and we flew away to begin a new adventure. It wasn’t until many hours later that we arrived in Anchorage, Alaska. We were only in Anchorage long enough to rest for a few hours before the real adventure began. I remember being really confused about the time of day because the sky never darkened. We drove over to the airport the next morning to catch our flight to the tiny Alaskan village of Unalakleet. It was lightly raining as we walked onto the tarmac and into an airplane that held about twenty people. The flight was very bumpy, and the engine was extremely

On the other hand, my group was bundled up in sweaters, boots, and pants. From the airport, we walked over to the missionaries’ house and started setting up for the next week we would be staying there. Soon after that, we took a walk around the village and onto the beach. We were all so excited to see how God would work through us during our time in Unalakleet. We had spent months preparing puppet skits, Bible stories, games, and activities for the children. Our purpose was to host a Vacation Bible School and share the love of Jesus. I was ready to make an impact on their lives, but they made a bigger impact on me. They lived in very poor conditions. Most of the children ran around with no shoes, and it was evident that hygiene was not of much importance. It was amazing to spend a week with such loving children. Their smiles just lit up the room every night as we shared stories from the Bible. During the week, I know for sure that two of the children accepted Jesus’ free gift of

One day we were going door to door passing out flyers for the upcoming Vacation Bible School, and it was such a humbling experience. Many of the houses were barely standing and there were children running around everywhere. As we were walking, a few little girls attached themselves to us and walked with us the rest of the day. They were so excited to have someone to talk to and someone who genuinely wanted to spend time with them. It was evident that they didn’t receive much attention at home. When we told them it was time to go back home, their faces were so sad. Every night children flooded into the room at the front of the house. I remember teaching a Bible story one night about when Jesus calmed the storm. The children listened intently, grasping on to every word that I said. It was incredible to see how much they desired to learn. I walked away each night thinking how different my life would be if I had the same desire to learn about Jesus. Seeing children smile over the simplest things made me realize I needed to be more thankful for the little things. It is possible to be happy and content without having all of the extravagant things in life. Watching people live in poor conditions and still have a smile on their face was life changing. It’s so important to be grateful for what we do have, and not expect any more. Most of all that week, I realized that people who live in other places are just the same as you and me. It’s so easy to have