Reflections on Mission Trip #1

As I reflect on the first week mission trip to Nome, and my first mission trip ever, I feel so privileged to have been a part of the two most major events in Nome – the basketball tournament and the Iditarod. I am well suited to contribute in such practical ways.

I have to be honest and say that I found myself filling more practical needs than spiritual needs. I’m tempted to feel guilty about this from a mission perspective, but Brenda pointed out that there was a time when her teams weren’t welcome in Nome because of the fear they’d cram religion down the throats of the people. Today, however, non-religious groups call the church asking for practical help from her teams on a regular basis. For example, the big events bring more celebrations, which results in more drunkenness. A number of the mission guys were asked to work security patrol in the evenings and early mornings, which required preventing those who were drunk from passing out in the street and freezing to death…literally. As another example, caring for the musher’s dogs in the dog lot gave them, as one musher commented, “peace of mind that no one was disturbing [his] dogs.”

Faithfulness in helping the community on a regular basis results in building trusting relationships with school and agency leaders. These relationships may also lead to opportunities to share Jesus and to minister to spiritual needs. So, while my one week presence may not have had this major impact I was hoping for (who am I to think I’m that good), my presence contributed in some small way to the bigger momentum being built by God through Brenda with the Nome community.

Mushers and Their Dogs

During the musher’s banquet, I was surprised to hear almost every musher talk with a genuine depth and passion about the community they have developed among one another. During the training season, mushers share dogs, training tips, and trail advice. Along the Iditarod trail they encourage one another, offer dry socks, trade for warm shirts, or give dog booties. I was impressed by the sense of community they all share.

This closeness seems to come from some very important commonalities – the love of the race and the love of their dogs. I’m beginning to understand what this kind of community feels like when that common thread is Jesus. What a sweet and special feeling.

When visiting the dog lot – the place mushers leave their dogs after the race to be bedded, fed, monitored, and otherwise loved – I was struck by how small and how skinny these dogs are. Most have ribs easily visible under their skin. I read that the dogs eat and burn over 10,000 calories each day while on the trail. While in the dog lot, these beautiful creatures howled in a synchronized chorus reminiscent of something deeply spiritual.

Iditarod Legend Lance Mackey

I wrote about Lance Mackey in the Iditarod Starts Today post. He has an inspirational story after having faced stage four cancer and being in remission, and after having won the Iditarod this week for the fourth time in a row. What I love about his story is the perseverance and the love of life – he lives every day to its fullest. That attitude sounds so much like Rick and maybe a little like me.

Friday early evening when wandering around all four blocks of town – before I learned that I wasn’t supposed to do that alone – I was taking a picture of this sign that points to all the big cities nearby along with their respective air miles. You know the kind – 164 miles to Siberia. Well, appearing in the lower half of my photo was Lance Mackey. Good thing I’d studied his picture and watched his video or I’d not have known who it was.

Saturday we participated in a thank you breakfast for the volunteers and Mackey arrived to say thanks to us all, as did a few other mushers. I pulled up a seat near him and spoke of my admiration that he continues to press on after such enormously bad odds with cancer (i.e., didn’t expect him to make it out of surgery) and that he has this love of life and everything he does. He seemed to appreciate the brief personal conversation.

Later I went to the musher signing and did get his autograph on my Iditarod hat. Wasn’t sure what to say to all the other mushers I passed by.

Iditarod Finish

One of our jobs as volunteers is to welcome in mushers when they approach the finish line. When the siren sounds we head to Front Street to welcome them along with several hundred other people. I arrived just in time to welcome Lachlan Clark and his dogs. He pulled off Norton Sound onto the street and the crowd cheered for about eight blocks before he pulled up onto the mound of snow holding the official finish line markers.

After an 1,150 mile race, Clark was received by camera people and interview questions to which he responded with kind tolerance. I imagine he might have wished for a hot tub, a good meal, and a soft bed. The dogs were received by infinitely more people who hugged, petted, and otherwise cooed over them. They responded with licks and wags, and then lay down on the ice until the reverie subsided.

This year all the mushers finished the Iditarod in record time and all are in before the big musher’s banquet we’ll host for them today. Today, I’ll be preparing the recreation center, preparing more food, serving the more than 1,000 people present, and cleaning up when we’re done. Through this practical ministry, I hope to be an example and to let God’s power flow through me as I come in contact with the mushers and the natives – like Jesus when the woman touched the edge of his garment.

Packing for Alaska

I began packing for the trip with the hope that all my winter gear would fit in one carry-on suitcase along with nearly three weeks worth of bare necessities. I knew the chances were slim, which was confirmed once I put the boots in the case…they pretty much filled up the space. I guess there is no getting around checking luggage.

-40° boots, ice grip thingies for the boots, hiking boots (tennis shoes aren’t warm enough), and slippers for walking around the church to and from the bathroom and such. Long underwear, Ricky’s goofy looking camouflage snow pants, and Max’s regular black snow pants. Scarf, pull over full face mask, mittens and over mittens that resist snow. Fleece jacket, winter jacket, and rain jacket. Regular clothes, sweats to sleep in, socks, undies, and the like. Yep, I might need all this stuff at the same time. I’ve also got to have three weeks worth of hand warmers, shampoo, toothpaste, q-tips, vitamins, laundry soap, and sun lotion (bright sun reflecting on the snow). My Bible, sunglasses, nail clippers, books, maps, instructions, and contact information are also needed. And my computer, of course…and some people think I need a phone. Am I missing anything? Oh ya, a towel…this isn’t the Hilton. What else?

What a lot of stuff! On one hand it’s embarrassing to own so much. On the other hand many of these items reflect a life lived in the joy of God’s creation.

IDITAROD UPDATE: Lance Mackey won the Iditarod yesterday for the fourth consecutive year.

Iditarod Begins Today

Today the Iditarod begins in Anchorage and will finish when the last mushers reach Nome. Last year’s winner came in on March 18 at 11:38 in the morning which means there is a good chance I will see the arrival of this year’s winner. The current standings for the 2009 Iditarod revealed that Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, Alaska won the 2009 Iditarod for the third consecutive year. Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse, Canada came in second in the 2009 race. John Baker of Kotzebue, Alaska came in third in the 2009 race. The musher listing for 2010 shows that all three are racing again this year. It seems prudent to be familiar with the faces of the likely winners given that I’ll be serving the mushers in some way while in Nome.



Dear God, I pray these men would see you in the trail marked for their journey, in the beauty of your white world, in the loyalty of their dogs, in the cheers of the people, and in me as I welcome them to Nome. Show up today as they depart and give them an endurance for this race that they’ve never known before. Finally, I pray that they would acknowledge you in all these things. Amen.

Iditarod Sled Dogs

The husky breeds used by the Inuit include Canadian Eskimo, Greenland, Siberian Husky, and Alaskan Malamute. The dogs protect the village by barking at bears or strangers. They act as pack animals, assist with hunting, and pull sleds up to one and a half times their weight. When pups are born, the Inuit perform rituals over the dogs to enhance the most favorable qualities such as pulling the legs to make them longer or poking the nose to make it more sensitive to smell. Dogs used in the Iditarod, typically Alaskan Huskies, are similar to those used by the Inuit. The dogs are tall, covered with double thick coats, have larger hearts, and have a half dog/half wolf appearance. They generally weigh between 40-45 pounds and run like a thoroughbred.

Around 70 mushers with teams of 12-16 dogs each means that there will be more than 900 dogs on the Iditarod trail. They’ll cover about 125 miles each day of the race. Veterinarian checkpoints require the dogs to be examined for injury and illness. Mushers can drop fatigued dogs at drop points where they are flown to Nome. About one-third of the 1,500 dogs that start the race are flown out because of illness or injury. Between one and three dogs die in each Iditarod race; this may disqualify a musher.

The Humane Society and other animal rights groups have attempted to halt the race. But the Iditarod Trail Committee and the individual mushers refocused attention on the welfare of the dogs and the efforts made to keep them healthy and safe. The race is a true test of partnership between a musher and his or her dogs, of the strength of a musher's breeding and training programs, and of musher and companion against the harsh Alaska wilderness.

If you're a dog lover, follow Zuma, the official canine reporter of the Iditarod at http://iditarodblogs.com/zuma/.

Musher or Missionary

I really don’t know why the Iditarod is known as “The Last Great Race on Earth.” Even a Google search netted little in explaining the name. Were I to hazard a guess, the name may reflect the extreme conditions and the distant location of the race. But there is another Last Great Race on Earth and there are some surprising similarities between the two.

Mushers are driven to finish the race first.
Missionaries possess a sense of urgency (Luke 16:26).

Mushers go to Nome.
Missionaries go to remote places (Isaiah 43:5-7).

Mushers experience extreme conditions – frozen rivers, desolate tundra, windswept coasts, long distances, and subzero temperatures.
Missionaries experience extreme conditions (Matthew 14:10) – exposure to deadly viruses, unsafe drinking water, financial poverty, and threats to personal security.

Mushers command their dogs toward the finish line.
Missionaries are commanded to tell everyone about Jesus (Matthew 28:19).

Are you a musher or a missionary? Before you answer the question, I’d like to point out one of many major differences between the two races…in the Iditarod, only one person can win!

The Last Great Race on Earth

The Iditarod compares to few other competitions in the world. The race covers the roughest and most beautiful terrain – mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra, and a windswept coast – between Anchorage and Nome. Mushers cover 1,150 miles leading teams of 12-16 dogs in temperatures far below zero. Contestants finish the race in anywhere between 10 and 17 days.

First running in 1973 and later achieving worldwide acclaim, men and women from all walks of life compete: fishermen, lawyers, doctors, miners, and artists. Each musher has his or her own story, his or her own reason for going the distance. This year, my story will become intertwined with the story of those so dedicated to this legendary race.

Alaska Missions

The first week (March 19-25) of my mission trip to Alaska will be in Nome with Alaska Missions. They are the mission mobilization arm of the Chugach Baptist Association in Anchorage. They target regions of Alaska to break down barriers to the Gospel with a servanthood evangelism approach.

Specifically, I will be working in the Iditarod outreach with tough jobs like caring for the musher’s and their dogs, serving at the musher’s banquet, senior adult ministry, village visitation, and Bible-in-a-bucket distribution. Watch this short clip to get a feel for the woman who leads the mission and the work we’ll be doing while there.