WELCOME TO KETCHIKAN!!!

The anticipation keeps mounting, as the delay for my Alaskan flight gets longer. I wound up making friends with the captain who ended up buying me a Starbucks chai and delivered it right to my seat right before take-off! It looks like God’s showing me his favor early on.

As my plane lands on the tiny island next to Ketchikan I am reminded that this is it, I’m officially committed to whatever this summer might have in store. I’m 500 hundred miles away from the closest Chipotle’s burrito shop and the rest of civilization. As we descend below the snowcapped peaks I can make out colorful wooden houses built on stilts peaking out from the thick rainforest tree line.

Met a friendly guy who gave me a free ride on his speedboat across the channel and was sooooo excited to finally reunite with my friend Jenna, a fellow nomad, who helped me get this unique job. Alaska is sooooo killer!!! I’m already loving how different and unknown everything is, can’t wait to live it up!!

Stoked on my free Starbucks!

Turbulent Faith

And so starts my Alaskan adventure….. and a rough start I must say. My international flight had severe turbulence for about 7 hrs straight! Turbulence is probably one of my biggest fears and by the first hour I was already a nervous wreck. To keep me from crying, the sweet old man I was sitting next to started trying to distract me by telling me about his life as a farmer in the mountains of New Zealand. This went well until the turbulence got worse and a friendly flight attendant took the vacant seat next to me to try and calm me down as well. I sat there holding both of their hands as the plane drastically dipped and turned and they began to ask me to tell them about some of the important things in my life to further distract me.

Through my tears I began telling them about Jesus. It was the most natural conversation ever because I was just answering their questions. For the next hour the conversation became quite deep as their questions revealed a genuine curiosity about God rather than just trying to distract me.

Over the coarse of the flight I was able to shed some unexpected light on who God really is and as the plane FINALLY touched ground and I prepared to disembark, I handed the stewardess a letter thanking her for keeping me sane and assuring her that I would be praying for you and thanking God for her kindness. There were tears in her eyes as she thanked me in return.

This experience taught me that as we go threw life, weather we realize it or not, we are either carrying each other closer to heaven or tearing each other down. I love that God used my fear to help take people a little higher on a journey I hope is heaven-bound.

Australian Pit Stop (part 2)

Me and Nate takin over the country side by motorcycle!!!

Mrs. Miller dressed me all up

Whenever I spend a long amount of time in a new country I try to find a local family to sort of adopt me while I’m there. I love learning about culture through locals and getting as involved as I can so I cam make the most of every experience.

Nate’s family has done just that for me. We would spend evenings walking along the cliffs on the coast talking. I loved soaking up all their wisdom as they spoke into my life and circumstance. I've been away from home a little over 2 months now and it has done my soul so much good to explore a new country and adventure with friends a little before I take off for the unknown of Alaska.

God used Mrs. Miller in my life in a particularly awesome way! Since I got accepted to work in Alaska, I have been sent a long list of supplies I need to brave the Alaskan wilderness. Mrs. Miller has always said she has the gift of shopping and so during our time together she took me bargain shopping and I was able to get almost everything on my list!! I love these guys!! I already feel like a part of this family and will deeply miss them.

My Australian Pit Stop

The Summit!!

Leaping over mountains! 

The world is my playground!! The nations are at my fingertips and I feel such a freedom that I can travel from one country to the next as I feel led. While I have completely enjoyed every second of my nearly 2 month stay in New Zealand, I am ready to move on the next chapter of my nomadic adventures!! I am on my way to Australia the land of crocodiles and kangaroos, a land where Steve Erwin the croc hunter’s face is in the middle of the $5 bills! The main reason I’m stoked to be headed to the land down under is because my best bro Nathan is waiting for me!!

Me and Nate traveled part way around the world last year and developed the coolest bro/sis relationship ever! I love this joker with all my heart and can’t wait to have some fun and rest up before I head off to work as an Adventure guide in Alaska for 5 months!!!

From my 1rst day with Nate’s family I have felt right at home! Every day someone takes me on an adventure to see a new part of Aussie land. From seeing the world famous Opera house, to playing with Koalas, to hunting for Kangaroos, to climbing epic red cliffed mountains in the Australian bush I am having the time of my life living life to beyond the fullest! 

Twilight Kangaroo Sighting!

Warriors of New Zealand

Resilience, determination, and the spirit of a warrior are some of the traits of New Zealanders that I have come to love and deeply respect. In the face of unimaginable adversity, these people are raising above their circumstance. Rather than just trying to mend their broken country they are believing that God will bring in a revival that will cause Christchurch and New Zealand in general to far exceed what their country was like even prior to the earthquake.


For these last few days I have shared a deep sympathy for my kiwi brothers and sisters as we have stood together crying out that God would show up in a big way. At the end of the conference we were able to worship with a powerful woman of Mauri (native New Zealand people) decent who takes the warrior spirit of her people and applies it to worshipping God. At times she would get so passionate that she would break out into a “Haka” which is a native tribal battle call and encourage us to rise up together.

At the end of the night she led us in New Zealand’s National Anthem which is a song of devout worship to God asking him to defend and prosper New Zealand. Standing among my Kiwi friends our voices combined into one voice as we sang a song of victory and love over this beloved place. Jesus is strong in this country and as He has told us, “the kingdom of heaven is violently approaching and it takes powerful people to lay hold of it.

Building an Unshakable Kingdom (part 3)

Me and Mel having some fun

I am being put to good use here in Christchurch! Everyday is filled with purpose and passion as we stay focused on our mission to help in anyway we can. I gotta take some time to tell you about my dear friend Mel who has become a huge inspiration to my life. She is a woman of courage and ambition who never ceases to do the will of her Lord. This beautiful blonde bombshell has a radical story of redemption and grace as God saved her and her two beautiful girls Katie (16) and Alex (6). 

She was given a mighty calling early on in her journey of faith and has followed her God given purpose no matter how difficult and trying it might be. She moved into a difficult part of town, sold everything and started a “Princess club” for young girls who desperately need to hear they are loved, treasured, and beautiful……more on that later.

She has taught me what it means to believe that God will provide and to live life in a place that welcomes him to show up in big ways. We would sit together late into the night and heard story after story of how specific God is with our needs. When she is in need of anything, weather its financial or simply a new pair of shoes for one of the girls, she lifts it up in prayer and most of the time God will miraculously bring it to her door.

She has become so beloved in the community that many people have turned to her in this time of crisis…..which is where me and my friend Jodi come into the story!

One of the biggest problems after the quake is that many residents in their fear, have packed up, trashed and then abandoned their homes. This has left many landlords nearing bankruptcy as it costs nearly 3,000 to clear out and dump the waste that fills nearly 300 homes in the area. Their tenants left so abruptly that it has become close to impossible to bill them, leaving these landlords with huge debts. Since the quake Mel has been cleaning these houses out in exchange for a small donation towards her dream home which is to be a community house that she will use to help even more girls.

 Everyday we show up at a house and salvage whatever is still in good condition and set it aside to give to people who have lost everything. Most of the day is spent clearing out and cleaning up all the trash and junk and make trips to the dump. Although it’s hard and dirty work; it’s rewarding to be able to bless these landlords that are a forgotten bunch. We do our best to show them Jesus in a real way and love on them as much as possible. I am treasuring every day spent with my friend and am continually blown away by how much fun it can be to be used by God!

Building an Unshakable Kingdom (part 2)

Just a little dumpster diving

With every passing day I am learning more and more about the plight of the courageous people who have stayed in Christchurch. It seems strange to say that it takes bravery to simply live here but it’s the truth. Aftershocks have become the new normal for this place, as the earth continues to settle after such a huge quake.

You never know when they will happen or how big they will be, since they all start the same way no one knows when one will turn into another big one. Everyday, the city holds its breath as the earth trembles praying and hoping that another disaster won’t arrive. The people are constantly tense, as we go about our day everything around us seems like a death trap….walls made of glass that could shatter, pillars that could topple on us, huge buildings that could crumble. Many people probably won’t ever enter a mall or large supermarket ever again due to the traumatic stories that have circulated. Aftershocks are normal but no one ever gets used to them.

As I settle into life here, I am convinced that my survival skills need some work due to my reaction to my first aftershock. It was just after dinner and I had just made myself a perfect cup of English breakfast tea. As I was preparing to take my first sip a tremor hit that rocked the house. Everyone else was looking around for the safest place in case it escalated while I sat there trying to bounce my cup around with the movements worried that it might spill. After a good laugh I came to a realization that my disaster skills need some work!

Building an Unshakable Kingdom (part 1)

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” -Hebrews 12:28

For two weeks my friend Jodi and I have been living and volunteering in the very worst hit area of Christchurch. The earthquake that hit this area less than 2 months ago; left around 200 people dead and  a path of destruction through most of the lower income neighborhoods.

 I have been praying about how God wants to use me to help this beautiful city and he brought my Kiwi friend Mel to mind. Mel runs a ministry from her home and we had become friends during my last stay in New Zealand. Unfortunately, I had lost all her contact info and haven’t talked to her in over a year.

After much research, I finally found her info and was excited to find out that at the very time I had been praying about working with her, the Lord had brought me to her mind after all this time. She began praying for me wherever I might be and much to my surprise, once we got to talking she mentioned that she had been praying about the fact that she desperately needed a few volunteers! Don’t you love how God does that? He takes our separate destinies and weaves them together to create something really beautiful and unexpected. I arrived at the perfect time and was invited to help out in some of the most adventurous volunteer work I have encountered in a while!!

After a joyful reunion, we made our way across the unpaved cracked roads to her home. From the window I could see jagged sidewalks that had been split in two. As we wound our way through the neighborhoods I was distressed to see that some homes survived with only a few cracks while other roads displayed homes completely destroyed and abandoned. Portable bathrooms were placed on the corner of every block for those who were still without plumbing.

It was such an eerie feeling that a 10 min drive from the edge of town had led us into this area that seemed more like a 3^rd world country than a section of a thriving New Zealand city. With a heavy heart full of compassion and love for these people I am excited to see where God will lead me.