Wednesday, July 24: Listening to the Spirit

 

  

  

  

 

  

Monday, July 22nd: Stewardship

by Ela

Today was very long but low key at the same time. We left our place in Denali and had to wave goodbye to our beautiful window views but it was not all bitter sweet because on our drive out we saw Mt. Denali. People say only about 30% of visitors get to see Mt. Denali so I think that was a very special moment.

We stopped on our drive in Anchorage for a Subway break and then we were off to Seward.

We arrived at the cutest little cabins and unloaded a bit..

... and then headed off to the Seward Sea Life Center where we witnessed many different varieties of fish and Sea life. Being completely honest I find that FISH ARE GROSS! Still I saw amazing sea life like the 1800 lb Sea lion Woody, he was quite a performer.

All in all, this was a great intro to Seward and I can't wait to see what Seward has in store for us tomorrow.

 

  

Thursday, July 25th: Commitment

by Ela and Khalil.

We woke up at 8am, though most of us still exhausted we all managed to get up and make our way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Ela: Wow my last day in Alaska, this trip has gone by so fast but I can honestly say I have grown so much in these past 10 days and this is one of the best experiences I have had in my life so far. This day had so many layers to it but my favourite was definitely sitting in a circle with my fellow pilgrims and sharing our thoughts about our personal pilgrimage and hearing what others had to say about the changes they've seen in me. Sadly though we had to leave Alaska and I left without seeing the Northern Lights, bur God works in mysterious ways and when I woke up on the plane I looked out the window and saw the Northern lights one word: Breathtaking. Anyways I have loved experiencing all aspects of this pilgrimage and I will treasure this trip for the rest of my life.

Khalil: The last day was a nice relaxing conclusion to our stay in Alaska. I enjoyed waking up unrushed, and preparing what turned out to be an amazing breakfast. I enjoyed spending most of the morning reflecting on the whole trip, how we have changed, and what will come next. The summarizing talk was very powerful, and has left an impact on me. Our dinner was also amazing. Salmon.. pork… fries.. what’s not to love about that! After dinner we had more meaningful conversation before setting out for the airport, sad to leave, but eager to get back to normal life.. however with a different outlook. My exhausted brain is starting to shut down as I write this, so I’ll leave with this. The trip was fun and exciting for sure, but more importantly it was a learning and growing opportunity which has completely paid off. See you all again soon! 

Tuesday, July 23rd: Awe

by Darius & Moira.

Today after a long, painful, heartfelt discussion we set off to the Harding Ice Fields and Nature Center. As we started hiking up the Ice Fields, we were consumed by a plague of flies from the depths of hell. As we cleared the trees and flies parted we came upon an amazing view of the Exit Glacier which was blue in colour. We had decided to split up, some would eat lunch others would go farther and others would go farther faster.

After we all had returned down the mountain we had returned to our cabins for a couple of hours we went to barbeque our dinner. We had burgers and cedar planked salmon with veggies and corn, after we had finished dinner we had a good old campfire and cooked up some s'mores for dessert as that happened we needed more firewood so we got some. When we were done we finished up some post cards and packed up and went to sleep. 

Saturday, July 20th: Searching

by Ela and Evana.

First off I want to apologize for the delay of this blog but so much has happened and we have been enjoying every minute of it, so thanks for your patience & now on with the blog.

We started our morning walking up to the beautiful sights of the mountains from our window, sadly though from that point on the rest of the day it rained.

By 7:45 we arrived at the Murie Science & Learning Centre and our course started at 8 AM.

We took part in a full day geo-caching course and it was very fun.

At first we were in the classroom learning all about compasses and GPSs and how they help us.

After learning these skills we got to put it into action with some fun compass and GPS games.

After all those games we had a quick lunch and went on an Earth-caching excursion.

Earth-caching was such a fun experience along with a great hike and even Khalil  made a new friend...sort of.

And all of us got to take in the beautiful views of Denali through this course.

After the full day of geo-caching we explored the Center then went back to our hotel to freshen up.

Next we headed out for a Catholic mass in Denali National Park.The service was very similar to the Anglican and was very interesting. Once the service ended we headed out for supper at the “Salmon Bake.”

The supper was delicious and after that we headed back to our hotel had our nightly chat and headed to bed in anticipation for the next day.

Leaders Thoughts

Ela: Today was a very cool day. I enjoyed walking through the forest explaining and finding new view points. I enjoyed the catholic service because of how different it was. Excited for tomorrow.

Evana: It was a bit of a rough start to the day but as the day progressed I got to really love the Earth-caching. I really enjoyed the Catholic service and it was a very enlightening experience. Can’t wait for the rest of the trip.