Alaina Miller (‘18) and Adrianna Thomas (‘19) had the opportunity to participate in a week-long trip in July with their church, Emmanuel, to Anchorage, Alaska. There they worked with local kids at a playground in the middle of a low-income neighborhood. In this area, in particular, the majority of the population had somewhat recently immigrated to the US resulting in a lot of cultural diversity. The goal of the week was simply to show the kids that people care about them, and more importantly that God loves them and cares for them. Each day the team would play games, have time at the playground, assemble crafts, sing songs, and tell Bible stories with the kids. Anchorage has much brokenness due to parental drug and alcohol abuse and the effect is on their children.
“It was super powerful to see how God worked through us to cause transformation in these kids’ lives throughout the week,” Alaina commented. The team saw relationships growing each day. In the middle of the week, the team hosted a community park party for the families, and several kids accepted Jesus into their hearts. Families were thankful. Adrianna added, “Alaska was an incredible experience and blessing! It was truly beautiful to see how God worked in the hearts of the people there and our own team. The Lord is working in Anchorage, Alaska, and I am so humbled and blessed to play a small role in the work there.”
