Thoughts on Alaska, Part 1

Many people I talk with are curious about my time in Alaska. The big question is always, "What were you doing there?" The answer is a little complicated. Each week I was involved in a different ministry, but the common thread that tied them all together was outreach/evangelism to a nearby trailer court called Penland Parkway.

First of all I was astounded at the racial and socio-economic diversity of the people living in Penland Parkway. The trailer court consisted of over 300 trailers, some of which were new and adorned with potted flowers while (many) others barely had a front door and wreaked of garbage from several yards away. Culturally, the largest population in the trailer court was Alaska Native but there were also large numbers of southeast Asian people, white people and a small number of African Americans.

I snapped this picture of one of the trailers. This is an average trailer in Penland Parkway. Some are nicer but many are in worse shape than this one.

My main objective was to visit each trailer during my 5 weeks in Anchorage and share the Gospel with whoever lived there. One method I used was inviting any children in a residence to our Bible Club (which was like a small VBS) or the church's Vacation Bible School. The other, more direct method, was handing out DVDs of The Jesus Film to anyone who would accept it. I attempted to strike up a conversation with each person I came saw and steer the conversation towards spirituality, Christianity, church or whatever he/she believed in. When people didn't want the DVD, they would willingly offer their opinions and reasons why they thought I was selling snake oil.

In general, the residents of Penland Parkway were very accepting and amicable. Most people would answer there door with some skepticism on their faces, but after I assured them I wasn't selling anything they literally and figuratively opened up to me. By the end of my 5 weeks I was able to knock on over 300 trailer doors and distribute over 50 DVDs. We also brought more than 20 kids from the neighborhood to our VBS.

I'm not exaggerating when I write that God taught me a lesson about Himself, myself, the world, evangelism, or his people every day I was in Penland Parkway. I will write some of those thoughts in Part 2 of this series of blogs.

Thanks for reading!