Destination: Alaska

Erika Sites

Erika, a registered nurse, has been serving as a short-term missionary with SEND International at a mission hospital and clinic on an Indian reservation in Alaska. She is the daughter of Dennis and Annette Sites, who pastor the Jerusalem Chapel UB church in Churchville, Virginia.

It seems like just yesterday that I arrived in Alaska, scared to death about what I was going to be doing, who I was going to be living with, where I was going to be ministering, and how my nursing skills would shape up. Fresh out of nursing school and looking for an adventure, I thought that the Summer Missionary Program (SMP) sponsored by SEND International in Glennallen, Alaska, was just what I needed. Three months later, I can hardly believe all that the Lord has taught me about himself, about loving people, about nursing, and about myself.

My work began with a two-week orientation process, where I joined some 48 other summer missionaries in learning about an entirely different culture. Glennallen sits at the foot of the Wrangall Mountains, with Mt. Drum right at the end of the Glenn Highway. The weather is in the 40s at night and 60-80s during the day. Orientation was focused on building relationships with our teammates, learning about the people who we would be ministering with, and just learning about the culture. In this area of Alaska, one-fourth to one-third of the population is Native American. In the Copper River Valley, famous nationwide for Red and King salmon, live many native people with an Athabascan history. Alcoholism, the number one problem among the native people, affects their lives individually and affects the community as a whole.

After orientation, we broke up into 6-8 person groups and into our assigned ministry locations. One team remained in Glennallen, while six other teams set out for villages throughout the interior of Alaska and into the Yukon territory of Canada. Some had to drive 24-36 hours to get into the villages, and others had to fly in bush planes to specific villages because there are no roads available in many situations. The teams went into the villages for visits of 1-3 weeks to work at camps or do Vacation Bible School in local churches. The eight of us who remained in Glennallen were chosen to work in maintenance and radio, and at Cross Road Medical Center (CRMC).

Being a new graduate of nursing school, I started at the medical center as a nurse, working with another RN while I was learning the way things run at the clinic. During the daytime hours weekly, there are clinic hours where patients can come in for regular doctor visits. In addition, the clinic is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for any medical emergencies or trauma. The clinic is the only MD- level provider of medical and emergency services in an area the size of Ohio. In addition, the closest hospital is a four-hour drive away and a one-hour flight provided a patient has to be airlifted from our clinic.

Going into the summer, I really had no idea what to expect in regards to what I might see in the clinic. During the days, our patients were fairly well-- just in need of a physician exam and perhaps medications. At other times, I had the opportunity to take care of many patients who had been in motor vehicle accidents. As a nurse, we have extra responsibilities that are not required of us in the lower 48 states. For example, we are responsible for ambulance dispatch, Medivac coordination, and shooting/developing x-rays.

One of the biggest struggles for me in dealing with patients was the widespread effects of alcohol. I found that it was a struggle to really love these people. As I was watching them ruin their own bodies and also destroy the lives of their spouses or children, it was very hard to have compassion and love. In my clinical experience in the past, I feel like I just brushed off the hard or challenging patients because there were so many patients doing great. I think that God has really shown me how hard it is to really love people, especially the unlovable onesÉthe people who are destroying their lives and the people who need him most. However, that is what Christ does best and, as believers, we are called to the same level of love and compassion (Philippians 2).

In addition to my work at the medical center, I also got to participate in a lot of relational ministry this summer. During the first part of June, we organized activities for the teens during the annual Wrangall Mountain Native Bible Conference. We were able to provide a place for them to play basketball and just hang out. We were able to meet a lot of the local youth and also incorporate a biblical truth at the end of each night. Although the conference only lasted eight days, it was amazing the bridges that were built, and it was exciting to have follow-up with some of the kids throughout the summer. We also were invited by a local village to come and participate weekly in playing softball with the members of their community. It was such a blessing to build relationships with the kids, teens, and even some adults from the village.

Toward the end of the summer, I had the opportunity to go to Strelna Bible Camp and help out as a counselor for the 8-10 year-old camp. It was about a two-mile hike into the camp, which was located on Strelna Lake and consisted of a cluster of four sleeping cabins, a cook shack, a supply shed, and a chapel with two outhouses.

We had the opportunity to share in some great times with the kids, fishing, canoeing, swimming, hiking, cooking and crafting. In the mornings and in the evenings, we had devotions with the kids where we learned about Gideon and how God worked in his life. It was a great change from the norm, and for me personally, a big challenge since there was no running water or electricity. Just loving on the kids was so refreshing, and it was great timing to do a different type of ministry at that point in the summer.

Finally, my summer finished up with a teen lock-in where we had over 20 local teenagers come to hang out all night and into the morning. The awesome part is that some of the kids that we met at the conference during the first few weeks were kids that we were really able to follow-up throughout the entire summer.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to spend this summer in rural Alaska doing relational ministry with local natives and also working at the medical center. God has taught me so much about the lack of importance that my will plays into what He has for me. I think that my organizational skills can get away from me sometimes when I start trying to control every aspect of my life. I am learning to have faith in what God is bringing me and to have faith that he is 100% in control at all times.

God also reaffirmed the desire for missions that is in my heart. I love to teach people more about how Christ loves them and about how they can know him more. Although I am no longer in Alaska, I think that I left part of my heart there where I saw people hurting the most. Please continue to pray for the ministry that CRMC and SEND have in the Copper River Valley and all over the interior of Alaska and into the Yukon, that God would open the eyes of the native peoples and truly raise up a generation sold out for Christ.

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