Nome, Alaska
64.5039° N, 165.3994° W
Population 3,797
Current temperature: 15 degrees and snowing!

I made it! More importantly, I LOVE IT! It is absolutely beautiful in the most unexpected ways. Remote doesn’t even come close! There are NO roads to Nome with the exception of three that venture between 70-80 miles outside the city to remote villages. Every single thing in Nome is shipped or flown in. The children at the local high school FLY to play basketball against their opponents. Fly!

I’d love to be able to describe everything in detail, but that would imply I’ve seen it. Given the daylight limitations, I have not. Daylight time is increasing, and it is currently just a little over five hours. Sunrise was at 11:34am today. Sunset at 4:42pm. It is cold and snowy, but it was definitely not unbearable, although it became noticeably colder when the “sun” { which I never saw } disappeared.

Nome is literally a beach town; however, given that the Bering Sea is currently frozen, there is not a big run on swimsuits. Here is a picture of it, although I certainly hope to get a better one tomorrow when the sun comes out. We are not due for any more snow until Sunday.

We did a prayer drive of the city by going to the four corners surrounding the city, and that enabled me to see the Junior High/High School… which I later discovered has an indoor swimming pool. #notkidding

The oldest newspaper in Alaska is here: The Nome Nugget. And they have not one, but two radio stations. Where we are staying is across the street from KNOM. They also have a hospital, two grocery stores { where you can also buy a snowmobile }, Airport Pizza { which is supposedly a-maz-ing! }, various other coffee bars and restaurants, and believe it or not, a Subway.

We are staying at Community Baptist Church. And get ready for this: The pastor is from Copperas Cove, Texas! You cannot make this stuff up. And, even better… He was the announcer at the Crawford v. Goldthwaite playoff game when he was home visiting his family for Thanksgiving. #smallworld The church is a three-story building with the church on the bottom floor, and then dormitories on the second and third floors. There is a common kitchen/dining/ living area, and we enjoyed great fellowship around the table. Linzay { one of the girls with Alaska Missions } is a graduate of culinary school and she has made us two absolutely fabulous meals. #nosealorwhaleyet

Tomorrow I head to Anvil Mountain Correctional Facility to spend the day in prison. I know you are not surprised by that. The facility houses about 100 men and 7 women. It is my prayer that I can be a blessing to the inmates and staff there. The women’s conference begins on Friday, and I’m more than a little excited for it.

I’ve had a lot of thoughts since arriving in Nome, but undoubtedly the biggest one is this: It is NOTHING like I expected. Nothing. And all day the same verse has rolled around in my head and my heart: Isaiah 55:8. From the NLT, it reads, “”My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Indeed, God. I had a picture in my mind, and You’ve revealed something remarkably different. And so it is my prayer that my entire journey here will be exactly that: YOUR thoughts and YOUR ways. God, please do not let any of my SMALL thinking seep in. Please do not let my limitations of what I can do influence in any way what YOU alone can do. May YOU be revealed here in the most amazing, unexpected ways. Overwhelm me. Surprise me. Unsettle me. Use me.

#farbeyond #nomedayone

{ Side note: It is just the tiniest selfish prayer I have while I’m here, but I really really want to see the Northern Lights. I mean I did come all this way and everything. I’m tracking them on the Aurora Forecast app on my phone. And I might be praying. You can, too. }