Savooooonga
Lydia & I made it to our first village this past weekend! On Saturday morning we went to Savoonga, a small village on St. Lawrence Island, of about 700 people. We flew in a small 18 seater, and it was about a 45 minute flight from Nome. When we got in, we were greeted by what must have been the only guy in town that owned a truck. That’s right folks, this was a four-wheeler heaven.
We stayed in the local Presbyterian church’s parsonage, and after getting settled there, we went and explored the city on our way to the local native store. I guess most villages have these little “everything” stores, where prices if you can believe it….are more expensive than they are here in Nome. Lydia tells me that a large bottle of V8 Splash! was $14.
Saturday evening we hosted a ‘listener appreciation’ spaghetti dinner, and had 125 people show up! After the dinner, we went back over to the Presbyterian church and held a service where locals could come up and sing a praise song, usually in a native language. Sunday morning we got up and went to the service, and then took a hike out to the cliffs.
One thing that really hit me while in Savoonga, was the passion of one man that I met while on the island. He is often in Nome, and actually took a majority of our dinner supplies out to the village for us ahead of time. This guy is amazing. I don’t think I have ever met someone who had as much joy as this man. During worship while others were singing, he sat there the entire time with a huge smile on his face. This guy has a passion for his fellow natives, and feels deeply for some of the problems that plague the villages such as drugs, drinking, gambling, and suicide. He shared with us the hatred he has for the darkness that satan brings to the area. He also shared that he knows God can use him to reach these people, because he can relate…he has lost two of his own children to suicide as they were involved in drugs & drinking. One 11 months ago, and one three weeks ago. THREE WEEKS. He said that while he is still grieving the loss of his daughter, he feels like the Lord can use his situation to reach others. And while he does not channel his anger to the people he feels are responsible for his daughter’s death, he is channeling it to fight the powers of darkness that have a strong hold in the area. It was really a blessing to meet this man, and see that despite one of the worst things imaginable happening to him, he still shines Christ’s joy.
I also learned that Nome is ‘the big city’. This was very good for me to realize, and it helped my perspective on our situation quite a bit. It was great to get back home and see cars, paved roads….and paved airstrips among other things.
Pictures from the trip can all be viewed (here).
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