Alaska

Last week, I was blessed to spend the week in Anchorage Alaska. I was with a group of twelve people from my church. When the planning stages of this trip was being talked about I made sure to tell the pastor I wanted to be there. I quickly put down my fifty dollar deposit. As 2012 approached I wake up to find that American Airlines has filed bankruptcy. I decided to put my bid in for the B-737 to see if I can get a type rating in case I need it for the future. In February I find out that my mother in law has pancreatic cancer and has about a year to live. Needless to say I didn't think I would be traveling to Alaska in July. I told Brett that I doubted that I would be able to join the group but if there is room I would like to go last minute if that is where God wants me to be.

In two months Margaret was gone. Five weeks after her death Mike's Dad would travel to Texas and visit us for the last time. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. He lived about a week and died in the hospital in Dallas. We were devastated and can't even believe that this is all real. It was such a shock to us. We decided to wait so all of his siblings could be there, and we planned for a celebration of life party to remember him.

With all of this going on I forgot to bid for the month of July. The one month that I really needed to get some time off to even consider the Alaska trip. This is what happens when you forget to bid. The pilot just senior to you does the bidding for you. Basically, the computer looks at his preferences and applies them to you. As it turned out, I had a three day trip during the middle of the week. I tried to drop the trip, trade the trip and then I went to the flight office and asked for the trip off. The flight office gave it to me even though we have had trouble all summer long filling trips for the S-80 first officers in DFW. By this time I pulled the Boeing 737 bid out so I wouldn't have training in July. I thought it looked like I was good to go. We had planned Chuck's celebration of life party for the 4th of August. I started to get excited about Alaska and then a few days before the trip I get really sick. Fortunately, it was only a 24 hour bug and I felt better after sleeping the entire 24 hour period.

On July 22nd I was given a ticket to ride the jump seat. A friend of mine who went through S-80 training with me was the Captain. Captain Bob Routte sent me a text that there was some maintenance issue. As I get to the airplane I found out that the symbol generator on the primary flight displays had quit working. The rest of our group was in row 30 on this very airplane. I walked back there a few times to update them on the progress. I kept it upbeat and positive but I admit that I was afraid they might cancel the flight if they can't get the primary navigation system working. After two hours of maintenance figuring out the problem and waiting for the part. They delivered the part from the hangar and the maintenance guy fixed it in minutes. Finally, I felt like I was going to make it to Alaska.

After an uneventful flight we landed in Anchorage about one hour late. Our friends who live in Alaska Dwight and Linda were there to greet us. It was good to see them since we haven't seen them for over a year. We stayed in a church on some air mattresses in small rooms. We had a few showers for 70 plus people. It wasn't really a building designed for that many people. The best part was the food was amazing to say the least. We have volunteer cooks who really knew their jobs. They literally fed us way too much. I gained about 5 lbs and we didn't eat out one time while I was there.

The mission was a simple one. We had a small lot in a trailer park called Penland Park. Everyday we set up a small tent, brought drinks and a small nutritious meal provided by the group Graceworks. We played with the children, fed them, and had a short bible study time. We had a soccer camp one evening and a block party another evening on top of the midday play time with the kids. It was an amazing experience. The children really grew to love us and we loved being with them. Some of them were difficult to handle, in part because many of them don't have parents who show their love or support for them. By the end of the week I think we really did understand each of them and we grew more patient with the more difficult kids.

As a group we had a great time. We really worked well together. Our teenagers were amazing and our adults were too. On Sunday the week before we left for Alaska we found out that our pastor of ten years is moving on to another church near Houston. He was there with us on the trip even though he is leaving by August 20th. I know we are all really sad to see the family go, but it didn't dampen our spirit to serve the Lord. We had devotions, prayer circles after our time at the park, singing and a short church service everyday with the groups from all over the United States.

The girls in my room spent some time with the locals around the corner at this beautiful place where people walk their dogs. We took lots of pictures and talked about everything. We bonded by standing in line for the shower. And the big show stopper that just put the butter cream icing on the cake was flying with our friend Dwight in his C-172 XP to the south of the city out over the mountains,glaciers and lakes. It was breathtaking. Just amazing beauty that cannot be explained. I don't know how anyone could believe there isn't a God when you see the vast beauty of Alaska.

When Friday came I spent the last day with our kids. Unfortunately, I had to head out that evening because I had to work on Monday morning. That evening our flight was full. There was three pilots listed for two jump seats. When I got to the airport the agent handed me a ticket with a jump seat. I don't know what happened to pilot number three. I made it home Saturday morning at 6 am. It all worked out perfectly.

It was an amazing trip. We were in a beautiful place with wonderful people. It felt like a miracle that I was able to make this mission trip after all the obstacles this year. I felt that our mission was such a success. We were there for people who are in need. We made friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. I am pretty sure that we affected some of those kid's lives. But I know that they changed mine.