Adjusting

Greetings & happy resurrection weekend!

All is quiet at Victory Bible Camps & Conference Center. For the staff here, it is a much needed time slotted with no guest groups on site. This allows them to get away as families and get some refreshment before the spring/summer sessions & groups. As for me, my mind is like a flywheel. It is just getting going.

Snow still blanks much of the ground here at Victory. In the morning it can be a little treacherous when walking to the office. Much of what melts during the day turnings into ice during the cold overnights. But as the temperature starts to rise during the day, the walk between work and home becomes slush and mud.

Work is slowly taking shape. It is taking a little to get in the swing of things. Going from standing behind a espresso bar to sitting behind a computer screen is a mighty big change. Many of those that saw me work at the coffee shop were amazing at what it took to craft an espresso drink. You would probably yawn and go out of you mind if you had to shadow me. It's a complete pace change. My skill and mind are some what out of practice. But that is slowly changing. Hope to share some work with you as things get finalized.

With spring comes the winter thaw. And with the thaw comes waterline issues. For me, this makes two since I got here. The first was discovered after midnight when water started coming into my bathroom. A little 1am trenching in ice session occurred to prevent any further flooding. Thankfully it was only a valve connecting to my cabin that thawed, showing us that it was left open. After that quick fix, it was back to normal in Kenai (my little cabin). Than last weekend came the next little issue. A seal on some piping came loose, causing us to loose pressure, as well as loose much of the water out of our tank. The problem was quickly found, and maintenance went to work. Now water is running fine.

Work on finding the water leak
(My cabin "Kenai" in back ground)

Mark working around our Alaskan bandaid

Maintenance staff doing what they do best

Mark and Chris shaping some piping on site

End results. Glad they didn't use my cabin to fill in the hole

Living in Alaska has it's perks and quirks. In this little segment I want to point out some fun things I am learning about as I adjust to life here. Perk: awesome scenery. Quirk: little shrew that is being very brave for a rodent. Perk: a lot of quiet time. Quirk: Small septic tank = tossing the wash water outside.

In all honesty it is fun. I don't mind the quirks what so ever. It is humbling being in the position I am, and taking everything with a grin and coping with it. But with that, be praying for my septic system. It's having some issues which makes us have to pump it very frequently.

Hope you enjoyed this little post. Can't wait to continue to share what is going on, and what God is doing here in Alaska. Don't forget to visit Victory Bible Camps & Conference Center on Facebook. We are starting to post information on summer, as well sharing some of what is going on behind the scenes.

Grace & Peace,
Daryl J. Howard

P.S.- Forgot to mention. I'm officially Alaskan (document wise). My car and I are both licensed here.

Behind the Scenes

What you are going to see on this blog is hopefully going to be a good look at what is going on at Victory, as well as the work I am doing here at Victory. Behind the photos, videos, stories and of course the breath-taking scenery shots is a project of rebuilding and renewal. Upon returning to PA in order to raise support, I found myself creating bad habits and building upon ones already instilled in me. Then came the call to Alaska. Support isn't at 100% and I'm honestly insecure in my abilities. With coming to Alaska there is a joy of serving with amazing group of believers and reaching the people of Alaska, but there is also the newly formed struggle that will happen with finances as tight as they are. Over the next few months, I will face some of the hardest times of my life, and I welcome them. They say don't ask God for patience. I asked God to show me what it means to be a better steward of what He has given and will give, as well as what it means to rely on Him fully. What a reality as I had to leave a bunch of things in PA and my budget is completely shredded to a basic needs list, and I wonder how some needs will be met. But within this reality that would make people upset comes a peace knowing there is no escape from this, and it shall be met with welcoming open arms.

It's funny how sometimes we don't need to ask God for some nugget of truth or a reminder of His control. Most of the time we just need to open our eyes and become aware of what God is doing around us or saying each day. There is one particular verse that is underlined in my Bible. Not sure why it is underlined, but it is for a good reason. Before my trip this verse came up in devotionals. Lately it keeps popping up in letters, messages, cards, etc. So obviously, this verse is meant to be my motto as I go forward.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.
Always work enthusiastically for the Lord,

for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)

As God sends me forward, no matter what happens, this time here in Alaska will not be useless, but a joyful offering to God.

Grace & Peace,

Daryl J. Howard

The Beginning

This week was the official start to the working at Victory. For many that start a new job, there is a lot of learning the ins and outs of the daily job. This was true of some areas this week. But in reality there is a lot that will have to be learned and figured out along the way. And with a unique job at Victory, there is more than just PR work that will be done during my time here.

To start off my work here, there was a simple shaking off the dust by putting together a slideshow that will run on a loop for the fundraiser banquet next week. Once I remembered what I needed to do, it became an afternoon project. Other projects had me reworking our name tag template so it works across all the campus computers, and is able to be worked and printed by anyone from pro to novice.

The actual work week actually started with sitting in on the CCCA conference hosted at Victory. I chose to sit in on CCCA president Gregg Hunter's talk(s) on "Branding" and "Tell You Story". This got a lot of gears turning on some project ideas that will take some time to develop and get out. Time was also spent meeting with various camp staff from all over Alaska, as well as sharing resources, ideas and praying for each other.

Away from the PR/media work, there was learning the ropes of guest service duties. Since getting here, there have only been a handful of days that there hasn't been guests on the grounds. As one group leaves, another arrives. This is becoming the norm here as groups see the potential Victory has for hosting groups.

To add a little excitement to the start of my stay here, I decided to fulfill a promise made to friends back home. When a baptismal was cut into the ice, a few of us thought it would be fun to do a polar plunge. In reality, the water wasn't bad. Once out though, things started to ice up, so a toweling off was needed ASAP. It wasn't till after a shower that I noticed abrasions and cuts from jumping through a thin layer of ice and climbing out of the hole. This will need to become a tradition.

As things start to settle out at work and with life, I'll start to work on some fun updates. Many want to see what I do, as well as see how I live in Alaska. There are some Q&A's coming, as well as some videos. My goal in the coming months is to start to share what goes on behind the scenes at Victory, as well as the ins and outs of daily life here.

Thank you all for joining in on this adventure. There is a lot that is going on and much more to come.

- Daryl J. Howard

P.S.- With only having internet access at the main lodge, updates won't happen as frequently as I wanted. So be patient me.