Shaktoolik

After our staff training, I was able to travel up the coast to the village of Shaktoolik.  Shaktoolik is about a half mile long- one long road with houses on both sides.  On one side, the houses are along the  the Bering Sea, the other is on the bank of the Shaktoolik River.  There are about 200 people in the village. I was able to travel with a friend of mine- Cora- who is from rural Alaska and had visited Shaktoolik before and knew a few people there.

Life in Shaktoolik is definitely different from Anchorage! Anchorage is big and bustling and wall to wall people.  Shak is 1 street, I met the entire town at a funeral the day after we arrived so everyone was familiar as we would walk down the street. 

My time in Shaktoolik gave me some great insight into life in Rural Alaska (This year, I will be ministering to students from similar communities).  I got to know some of the village elders, hear about the needs in the community and church and spend a lot of quality time learning practical things about life in rural Alaska.  I spent hours fishing, berry picking, and getting an in-depth historical background of the area.  I love that friends would just call us up and say "I'm going berry picking- come with me!" at 10:30pm. The sun didn't set until after 1am- so we utilized all the daylight we could.  

 This is my friend Gary and I holding up the upper jawbone of a Bowhead Whale.  It was GIGANTIC!!

 Gary and his wife Lynda were fabulous!  They were such a great resource for culture questions (Lynda- not in the picture- is a school teacher from the Lower 48.  She has lived in Shaktoolik for years and is a wealth of knowledge about village life!) They taught us about the history of the town (there is an ancient village- like about 10,000 years old- near the village), taught us how to make Fireweed Jelly (jelly made from the petals of flowers that are blooming right now), taught me the best way to cook fresh salmon, and how to work and live and minister in a tiny community. 

 Shaktoolik is right on the Bering Sea- we ran across a few star fish, lots of shells, a dead walrus and some BIG OLD BEAR TRACKS.  We were out with Gary on his ATV, he had his gun on him so that was good, but these tracks were huge and very fresh.  I want to see a bear but not that close!

 

Now, I'm back in Anchorage and gearing up for college ministry!  This will be different than any work I've done before but I'm excited for it!