What are we doing??

We have been up here in Alaska about two weeks now and some of you may be wondering, “What in the world are they even doing up there?”  Well, our job title here at Echo Ranch is Internal Facilities Coordinator.  Traditionally there has been a person in charge of housekeeping and a person in charge of hospitality.  This year, they are joining those two jobs into one, and we get to do it.  So, I am affectionately calling this job “house-itality”.  Because it’s the first year to join these roles, some things are still being figured out and we, still trying to get to know the nooks and crannies of the camp, are jumping in with hopes that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.  Essentially, the housekeeping role coordinates the cleaning of the facilities used by campers/retreaters.  During retreat season right now, the staff shares responsibility for meal preparation and cleaning bathhouses.  During camping season, we will be in charge of the work staff (half of the counselors each week are actually counselors and the other half are work staff, doing jobs around camp and helping with meal preparation and clean up.  They switch off each week.).  We will also do daily devotions with the work staff. The hospitality role sets up and cleans the housing for work teams, guests, volunteers, and speakers and makes sure they have everything they need.  In addition to this, we join the rest of the staff in helping clean up after meals.  I am also in charge of the garden, which will be a fun challenge!  I’m familiar with Kansas gardening, so it will be neat to experience Alaskan gardening.  We have a good plot and the goal is to have produce to use on the salad bar and with other meals.

So what does a typical day look like?  Well, during retreat season it depends on the day and which retreats are going on and whether or not we have a work team. Some days are really busy, others are fairly laid back.  It’s always kind of different, but I’ll give you the run-down of a couple days we've had recently:

6:30 – wake up, devotions, get ready

8:00- breakfast at the dining hall

8:30 – help clean up breakfast

9:00 – 12:00 – clean our two designated cabins from the retreat group, begin the laundry from the “extension” (the housekeeping building where all towels and sheets and many other things are stored), play with the kids.  While I do some of these things, Ryan is either helping or doing another task around the camp.  On this day, he drove the tractor around with something on the back that spread out the horse manure around the grounds.  The boys got to each take a ride with him.  I also use this time to do things around the apartment, depending on where the kids want to play and the weather.

12:00 – lunch at the dining hall

12:30 – help clean up lunch

1:00 – 3:00 – Naptime for the kids (or so that is the goal).  It varies between Ryan and me, but usually I go up with them and have them lay down for a bit.  This is when I get some newsletter writing and other correspondence or cleaning done.  Because we’re up later than we were in Kansas, most days all the kids need a nap, even Asher, who hasn’t napped for a few years!  Ryan does other things around camp and yesterday he tilled the garden for me.

3:00 – Right now, we have a work team from Minnesota here and they work HARD!  One of my duties with hospitality is to bring them coffee and cookies in the afternoon.  We drive around on the golf cart to their work sites and deliver treats and sit and chat for a while as they take a break.  It’s wonderful to build relationships with these people who come from far away and help so much with the maintenance and running of Echo Ranch!  We couldn't do it without them!

4:00 – Other random jobs.  I may need to set up a room for a volunteer or clean something.  Sometimes I work in the garden and Ryan might help with other things.

6:00 – Supper.  Clean up after supper with rest of staff.

7:00 – Hang out as a family, have a staff meeting, have a campfire, etc.  It all depends.

9:00 – Get the kids ready for bed.  I know this is late, and they usually aren’t actually in bed and asleep until well after 10:00.  We’re still seeing how the schedule is fitting, but an early bedtime just hasn’t been possible here yet.  It’s worked out fine so far J.

Again, this schedule looks different each day.  It is way different when there are retreat groups here and will be even more different once camp starts.

The main focus here is ministry.  Yes, we have jobs to do, but we are first and foremost serving God and serving people.  As our director said, “Sometimes we’re the missionaries and sometimes we’re the mission field.”  We all need to be ministered to and encouraged and taken care of, so we need to be looking out for each other and taking opportunities to minister.  The schedule is flexible so that ministry can happen when it needs to happen.

The other question I have heard from several people is, “What do your kids do while you work?”  Good question.  We just gave them each a rifle and told them to keep the bears away :).  Okay, maybe not.  This job is actually great for having kids around.  They’re with one of us all the time.  The area is set up so that they have quite a bit of freedom to run, ride bikes, play on the playground, etc, and they know their way around pretty well now.  There are also several places to play indoors wherever we need to be.  And sometimes they even help!