Alaska Mission Trip - Post 9

Today has been one of the most amazing days here. Breakfast is served at 7:00 A.M. each day and before most of the men even made it through the line the boss was asking for volunteers (from the truss team) to come on out and get started. The crane was here and since it is rented by the hour, they needed to get to work.

I know very little about construction but have learned from listening to several conversations that setting the first truss would take an hour or so but the rest of them would take less than ten minutes each. The first one took about an hour.

Then a few of us who are not on the truss team took off for the mountains. We drove toward Matanuska Glacier northwest of Wasilla. The mountains jumped into the sky with snow capping most of them. Between the road and the mountains was a stream at times and a raging river at other times. Tributaries poured into it along the way. The water was a muddy as Riley's pants after digging out rocks in the ball field earlier this week. Most of the time, the river was meandering in narrow "braids" on a wide bed of rock and silt. It wasn't very attractive like this but when it was rolling it was awesome.

We saw a couple of rafts on the river. As we got our cameras ready they disappeared along the bank behind a row of trees. That was their pick-up point. We missed a good opportunity to photograph some wild whitewater rafting.

The Matanuska Glacier is long and flat. Imagine a frozen river winding through the mountains. I've always envisioned glaciers as tall blocks of ice with jagged edges that break off and fall into the sea. We haven't seen one like that. Glaciers take different forms and the one's we've seen are powerful. We hiked a one-mile trail that led to different vantage points for viewing the glacier, the river, and the mountains. I counted that as my Thursday workout.

Scott Dettmer, Bob Garrett, Riley, and I had lunch at the Grand View Cafe. It was in an RV park and the view was indeed grand. After lunch we headed back to Wasilla. The Grand View Cafe was about 75 miles from the church and we had spent about three hours getting there. We were ready to get home so the return drive took about an hour and a half.

Remember the truss team? When we left they had finished the first truss and had a couple others in place. When we returned they had about three-fourths of them in place. That's an impressive amount of work for just a few hours. They still have a few hours to go and I'm praying for their safety as this long day wears on. These guys were hand-picked and their ability and stamina are impressive. John Miller, Forrest Grimmett, and Terry McCallister are part of the truss team.

I've said this several times but I will repeat it: I'm proud of the men from Cross Road who are serving at Fairview Loop in Alaska. They have all (Riley included) contributed to a wonder week. We are the first crew of volunteers. I think we have given the project a good start.