The overwhelming beauty of this place cannot be denied -- even by the locals who have lived here forever. But what a six hour flight and 3,000 miles cannot eliminate is a reality which is "real" no matter where you live (or visit) and which is impacted by the presence of God.
Dealing with death is never easy -- never invited -- but faces all eventually. Pastor Dale of Turnagain UMC (our hostess) has shared with me the agonizing story of a Matriarch not only of her church, and not only of her family, but even of the Alaska Missionary Conference here in this frontier.
She was near death when we arrived. We'll call her Francis (to protect the identity of the family). Francis, a spunky 80 year old native Alaska, was placed in an assisted living facility due to her inability to be truly self-sufficient. While there, she contracted an infection. That infection finally took her life last night. It was a moment by moment, agonizing vigil that had prevented Pastor Dale from joining us for an outing to the Girdwood Forest Fair. This was an extraordinary person. I will share more about her life as her Memorial service draws near in a couple of days.
But several "something elses" happened in the past 24 hours. While some of us were at at the Forest Fair, others chose to ride the Alyeska Tram to the top of Alyeska where they were going to enjoy lunch. While in line to purchase their tickets the noticed the line was no longer moving.
The EMT arrived first, then the police, then fire -- it seemed an elderly man, apparently on vacation with his wife and daughter, suffered a life-ending incident while traveling up the slope.
The impatient crowd suddenly became a momentary congregation as they surrounded this grieving family with sympathy, quiet prayers, and shared grief. All were moved by the tenderness of this sacred moment which touched every heart.
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