Souvenir Saturdayby Mel Frecceiro | June 3, 2023 7:13 PM
We made it to Alaska! We spent our Saturday exploring the Anchorage area, souvenir shopping and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery.
Arctic Roadrunnerby Mel Frecceiro | June 3, 2023 7:17 PM
We ate lunch at Arctic Roadrunner, Alaska's oldest restaurant. It is a good place to get a Salmon or Halibut burger, or just a good old fashioned burger.
Potter's Marsh Boardwalkby Mel Frecceiro | June 3, 2023 7:31 PM
Our team went to check out the boardwalk that overlooks Potter's Marsh, an area known for its stunning mountain views, bird watching, and frequent moose sightings.
The Overlookby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 10:29 AM
We drove up to Flattop Trailhead to check out the overlook of Anchorage. It's amazing getting to see the mountain peaks up close while looking down over the city, seeing the places we visited earlier in the day from above.
Anchorage Friends Churchby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 10:33 AM
We wanted to stop by the Anchorage Friends Church just a snap a quick photo. Little do we know that we would get a cool story out of it...
Meet Lilyby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 10:37 AM
While we were snapping our quick photo of the Friends Church, we were spotted from the parsonage by one of the pastors, Lily. She came out to greet us, and then invited us into her home to share her incredible testimony of her family's lineage. It is in fact written in a book called Jesus and the Eskimo about her great great grandfather who encountered God before the gospel was yet brought to the villages of Alaska. Pastor Lily also prayed for us before we left.
Photo with Pastor Lilyby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 10:39 AM
We were so appreciate of Lily's fascinating story, and a God-planned meeting we weren't expecting! The best things that happen on a mission trip are often the things that aren't printed on an itinerary.
Sunday Morning Serviceby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 11:05 PM
We attended church service at Mat-Su Covenant Church this morning. Pastor John jumped up on stage and helped lead worship.
Potluckby Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 11:41 PM
We got to enjoy a church potluck after service. Congregation members brought in a wide variety of entrees and sides. We were all absolutely stuffed!
Aaaaaand SOLD!by Mel Frecceiro | June 4, 2023 11:51 PM
Not that we could fit much in our bellies after the potluck feast... But the church held an auction of the desserts afterwards! The funds went towards sponsoring kids going to church camp. They were able to raise over $1,600! And some of our own team members walked away with some pretty delicious looking desserts.
Sunday Kayakingby Mel Frecceiro | June 6, 2023 1:53 AM
One of the church families offered to take anyone on our team out kayaking Sunday after lunch. Mason took them up on the offer and had a great hour-long paddle on Lake Lucille.
Building Bunk Bedsby Mel Frecceiro | June 6, 2023 1:54 AM
Monday morning we went to Fran's house. She is a woman in the church who wants to open her home up to missionaries serving in Alaska. The bunk beds we put together will help her lodge up to eight people at a time.
Working Togetherby Mel Frecceiro | June 6, 2023 1:55 AM
Our team members paired off to work on the different beds. There may have been an unofficial race going to see who finished faster... but only one team had power drill assist.
Church Cleanupby Mel Frecceiro | June 6, 2023 1:58 AM
In the afternoon, our team worked to help the church clean up and organize a few areas of the building, including their upstairs construction zone. It meant a lot of hauling items up and down the stairs, which was much appreciated by the church members.
Flower Timeby Mel Frecceiro | June 6, 2023 1:59 AM
Our last task of the day was purchasing soil and flowers. The plan is to work on nine planters in front of the church buildings. Some of us went to buy the flowers, while others emptied out the pots and got them ready for us. We will finish this project another day this week.
Kids Kupboardby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:25 AM
Tuesday morning, we worked at a non-profit called Kids Kupboard which provides roughly 800 to 1,000 meals a day to children all over the valley. Pastor John was in charge of slicing the meat while the large part of our group worked together to assemble sandwiches.
Super Speedby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:29 AM
It was a lot of fun working together to assemble sandwiches. We all got into a rhythm with our various jobs and flew through the ingredients faster than the pantry director Chris was ready for. We kept him on his toes, and made countless sandwiches in a few hours.
Cheez-Itsby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:32 AM
After wrapping up all the sandwiches, we divided again to do other various tasks around the kitchen. Shellie was put on Cheez-It duty. The sandwiches, along with bagged sides, will be put into boxes and delivered to sites all over the valley for kids to pick up.
Community Gardenby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:33 AM
Some of us carried out garden boxes from storage. Next week a gardening club will plant in these boxes so the pantry can produce some of their own vegetables for meals.
Lawn Teamby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:35 AM
Tim and Ron tackled mowing and weed whacking around the property. The pantry director often doesn't have help from volunteers in this area, but we wanted to take on this task so he could focus on other areas of his job and take care of other volunteers. Chris was excited to have this kind of help!
Heartreachby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:37 AM
Back home in Michigan, Shellie volunteers at a pregnancy center. So she wanted to take a tour of a pregnancy center in Alaska! PPM just happens to partner with one that is just a few minutes from the church.
Side Projectby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:39 AM
While the men went to a widow's home to pick up branches and sticks around her yard in the afternoon, Shellie got to serve at the pregnancy center by doing inventory of booklets that get handed it.
Gardeningby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:41 AM
Back at the church, while dinner was being cooked up, the men got to work filling planters with the soil and flowers that were purchased on Monday. Nine planters were filled with some beautiful colored plants all around the front of the church buildings. It really brightened the whole place up!
Beautiful Plantsby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:43 AM
Each pot was filled with geraniums, pansies and million bells. These planters will be filled out and spilling over with beautiful blooms in no time with all this Alaska Sun!
A Little Extraby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:44 AM
We bought a few more plants than what we needed in the pots, so we improvised and planted them around a landscaped tree.
The Finished Productby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 10:46 AM
Here is what the front of the church building looks like with the new flowers and a weeded landscape! The church is going to be so excited to see it this weekend!
Thrifter's Rock by Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 5:10 PM
We spent the better part of Wednesday serving at Thrifter's Rock. It's a non-profit thrift store that supports local and global missions. We did a variety of tasks around the store, including tagging shoes.
Christmas in Juneby Mel Frecceiro | June 7, 2023 5:13 PM
Some members of our team went upstairs into a storage room packed with Christmas items. They said if they wait until October to start getting ready for Christmas, they won't have enough time. So it starts now!
We got to tag items that were sorted into price groups, and then resort into "like" items afterwards. And you can safely bet that some Christmas carols were sung today.
Dinner at the Hoffman's by Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 1:45 AM
A family from church hosted us for dinner tonight. Helen made moose stew, homemade bread and a dessert made from honey berries. Everything was delicious!
We sat and chatted with their family for a long time, and ended the night with a couple worship songs and sharing highlights from our day around the fire. It was a great evening to spend time sitting outdoors in fellowship.
Frontline Missionby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 7:04 PM
Thursday morning we worked with Frontline Mission, a nonprofit that provides a food pantry, clothing pantry, shower and laundry facility, and a hot meal on Thursdays.
Clothing Closetby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 7:07 PM
Come and get some clothes! These ladies are organized and ready to help you find what you need. Shellie had a fun time serving there, and makes friends wherever she goes!
Learning about Frontlineby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 7:23 PM
Tyler, one of the Frontline leaders, asked us to meet together so he could tell us more about all the different ministries they do throughout the year.
Stuffing Envelopesby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 7:40 PM
After the morning pantry services closed, we worked on other tasks. A few of us helped stuff envelopes for VBS mailers.
Community Gardenby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 7:51 PM
A new project for Frontline is a community garden. They have roughly 30 beds that are in various stages of being painted and filled with dirt. Some of our team got to work filling wheelbarrows and moving dirt from a large pile in the parking lot to the beds.
Mr. Andersonby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 8:11 PM
Our team went to Mr. Anderson's home in the afternoon. He is the oldest member of the Mat-Su Church congregation. He will turn 100 in 2 months. Some of us sat with him and fellowshipped. Some mowed and weed-whacked, while others cleaned the windows inside and out.
Washing Windows by Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 8:15 PM
With large windows that overlook the state fair grounds and mountains, we had to keep the windows clean and clear for the view.
Mowing the Lawnby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 8:33 PM
It's amazing how fast the grass grows in Alaska with all this sun. Mr. Anderson said the yard was just mowed a week ago, and in no time his yard was blooming dandelions and tall grass. We used his two mowers to give the yard a fresh cut look. He was so thankful!
Fellowship and a Testimonyby Mel Frecceiro | June 8, 2023 8:35 PM
Pastor Randy, the interim from Mat-Su Church came to visit Mr. Anderson while we were there as well. Mr. Anderson shared his story of how he used to be a successful dairy farmer, but sold everything to come up to Alaska and be a missionary.
Continue Your Impactby Praying Pelican Missions | June 9, 2023 11:57 PM
Recreation Dayby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:35 AM
For the last day of our mission trip, we traveled south of Anchorage to Girdwood. At a rest stop break, Ron pulled out his camera to snap a photo of the beautiful mountains, clouds and ocean view that awed us throughout the drive.
Why Choose?by Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:38 AM
At the 15 minute rest stop, Tim was told there were options of buying coffee, ice cream, OR a gift shop. He decided "Challenge Accepted" and did them all in that brief amount of time!
Whittier Tunnelby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:44 AM
For part of our recreation day, our team decided to do something we hadn't yet in years past, and we visited the small fishing town of Whittier. To get there, we drove through a one-way train tunnel almost 3 miles through a mountain and came out on the other side to an old military harbor on the Prince William Sound.
Whittier Harborby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:48 AM
A snapshot of the harbor at Whittier. It was cloudy for part of our rec day, but then the sun came out as well. We got to enjoy the array of unpredictable Alaska weather all in one day.
Souvenir Shopping Continuedby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:51 AM
Our group split up to do a variety of things in Whittier. We shopped, ate seafood, took photos, walked the harbor boardwalk, and hiked to the local waterfall.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation by Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:56 AM
He stopped by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in the afternoon. There we got to see wolves, caribou, moose, wood bison, porcupine, black and brown bear among other Alaska wildlife. They amazing thing about the nonprofit conservation is these animals were all rescued, sometimes from early life abandonment, hunting accidents, or other life-threatening conditions.
Beluga Pointby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 5:59 AM
Our last stop of the day before heading back to Anchorage was at Beluga Point, a beautiful and very windy pull-off spot to take pictures and climb a giant rock. While we didn't see any beluga whales, we did see some dall sheep up in the mountains.
Hula Handsby Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 6:00 AM
Before we set off on our airport adventure, we stopped for a tasty dinner at Hula Hands restaurant for some Hawaiian BBQ.
And they're off!by Mel Frecceiro | June 10, 2023 6:07 AM
While our week was packed and we accomplished a lot, the end of our trip still came too fast.
A Note From PPM Staff & Church Host:
Thank you all so very much for serving here in Alaska! You had a great impact on our church, our community, and me personally. We are so blessed you decided to come here for a third mission trip, and I pray it won't be the last time we get together to serve! We have looked forward to your visit every year. May your church be blessed, and may your community know the kind servant's heart we have enjoyed from your team the last three years. Much love and prayers for travel mercies go with you, friends! ~mel
