The Fall Has Come and Gone

Blueberry season is over and cranberry and blackberry season is quickly ending.  Most of the fall colors have faded away to brown.  The birds continue to fly in formation above us heading south.  The ice in the puddles get thicker each morning.  The vehicles need to be running a while before they can be driven (and defrosted).  Snow has already begun to fall and the mountain tops are white.  The sun rises later and sets earlier.  I think Nome is confused about what season it is because it feels a little too much like winter already.  I may be in trouble when the real winter hits!

Greg and I continue to explore, learn, and familiarize ourselves with the area and the culture.  We love being here and know that this is where we are meant to be right now. 

For those who are still unsure what we are doing here in Nome, I wanted to share a brief outline of what we do.  We work for Nome Community Center, which is an organization overseeing many other organizations that work to enhance the quality of living here.  Greg works at the XYZ Senior Center, which is a program to help support and promote independent living for seniors.  They offer lunch every day, lead various programs, and go on trips around the area.  He also runs the Nome Food Bank, which provides food items for individuals and families who cannot afford it. We are in the process of starting the coat drive for this winter, as well.  I work for the Boys and Girls club providing a safe and healthy environment for children after school.  We do a variety of activities, provide snacks, help with homework, and build relationships.  We will share more about our roles and activities that we are a part of as we go.

I realize that we have been sharing the many bright and cheerful aspects of Nome, but we haven't been sharing much about the hard reality here.  There are some spoken and unspoken challenges in this community.  Alcoholism, abuse, and poverty are very real here.  We have seen first hand the hardships of this beautiful and broken community.  As we build relationships, we begin to hear stories and witness the pain surrounding us.  We see the abundance of how people live off the land, yet we also see the struggle families have to provide meals at home for themselves and their children.  We see inebriated individuals wandering throughout town at all hours of the day.  As the winter gets harsher, there will be volunteers that patrol the streets to make sure that no ones passes out in the snow and freezes.   Children share their stories of what home life looks like for them, many would rather be other places.  One young child I met had a swollen black eye from his father (it's been reported).  An older women told me about her grown children and how one of them died younger in life from alcohol poisoning.  There were five suicides during the summer in Nome alone.  The pain is real and prevalent.  As a missionary, I only hope that I can share my love and hope for life.  I hope that I can share a glimpse of God's light and joy and plant a seed for a healthier and stronger future.

As Greg and I continue to learn about the culture, the lifestyle, the weather, and ourselves, we understand more and more about why God has called us here.  We are both blessed to be in such an amazing community and called to help in ways we don't even know yet.