Service Adventure News - April2010

8/9/2019 Service Adventure News - April2010

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April 2010

NIGHT OF THE ICE CAVEOne bitter winter evening in earlyFebruary, what started as an

interlude of fun in the snow almost

ended in catastrophe. As dusk drewnear, our band of misfits found

ourselves tunneling slowly, deep into

an enormous mountain of snow.Following the example and direction

of Fred, our wise and fearless leader, Isaac, Margo, and Nicky took turns

crawling into the dark, mysterious passageway where they labored for what

seemed like hours; creating a small cavern to slumber. When darkness fell,the tunnel had been completed and the three youngest misfits decided to

make a procession into the chamber to

finish burrowing out the cavern. Fredand I watched as they disappeared one-

by-one into the passageway laying head

to toe, until no voices could be heardfrom the outside. Pile after pile of snow

appeared at the entrance to the tunnel,

and was dispersed by Fred as I anxiouslypaced around the mountain, looking for

any signs of personal distress or structural weakness. Suddenly, a terrifyingsound pierced the bleak, still, frozen night as the ice cave collapsed leaving

Margo, Nicky, and Isaac trapped beneath feet of snow! I immediatelyleaped into action and began frantically digging into the mountain of snow

with my hands. Fred stood petrified with his shovel mumbling something

about a Level 4 disaster, until I shouted that I could see light dimly shiningthrough the snow coming from Margos headlamp. I dove for the spot of

light and eventually unburied Margos head and grabbed her beneath the

shoulders and drug her out of the grave until we tumbled down the mountainto safety. We immediately returned to search for Nicky, whom we found,

alive and well, completely burrowed in the snow. Thinking the danger had

ended, the four of us began laughing off our stress when we realized Isaac

still had not appeared! Fred dashed over to the opening of the tunnel, wherewe last saw Isaac, and we spotted his legs sticking out as he struggled to

break free of the weight upon him. He broke free of the snow pinning him

down and we all cheered and laughed as the adrenaline faded from ournearly tragic experience.

Based on an actual event, although some poetic

licensing occurred to create a more dramatic

tale.

Prayer Household of the

MonthFor the month of April, please

keep the Anchorage Service

Adventure unit in your prayers:

Isaac Blosser

Margo Regier

Nicky Smith

Kelly & Fred Kilheffer

April Birthdays13 Elena Entz, MMN Staff

22 Marcos Wright Kuhns,

Philippi

Leader OrientationAlbany Mennonite Church is

hosting the upcoming Service

Adventure leaders orientation.

It will be from Sunday, July 25

through Thursday, July 29,

2010.

Applications for

2010-2011We are pleased that as of April

1, we have received twenty

applications. We are

processing them as quickly as

we can. Please keep getting the

word out that we still have

openings in Service Adventure

for next fall! Thanks for yourhelp in encouraging people to

apply.


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M E E T T H E A N C H O R A G E U N I T !

F R E D K I L H E F F E R UNIT LEADER: Works full-time for Home

Restorations, an Anchorage-based remodeling andweatherization company.INTERESTS: Outdoors, hunting, fishing,

conversing, baking bread, discussions, reading

newspaperBEST KNOWN FOR: Sounding wise, being a

handyman, his peculiar vocabulary including, but

not limited to: my boys, rinze, my apologies!

M A R G O R E G I E R VOLUNTEER Part-Time at Childrens Lunchbox

where she makes lunches for elementary studentsin poverty areas

VOLUNTEER Part-Time at Anchorage Waterways

Council where she is the glue and the reason thisnon-profit did not close its doors yet.

INTERESTS: Going to the library, running, art,

skiing, clarinet, pets

BEST KNOWN FOR: Chomping ice, hairy legs,

reading thick books, staying up really late,sleeping through her alarm, taking 2 minute

showers, walking to the van in the snow in her socksbecause shes late!

I S A A C B L O S S E R VOLUNTEER at the BLM (Bureau of Land

Management) grooming trails on snowmobile,welding, arctic survival, working on Iditarod trail,

biking lots of miles to work

INTERESTS: Reading, going to France, walking,farming and tractorsBEST KNOWN FOR: Carrying tractor magazines in his

pocket, jumping out of bed in the morning from his

top bunk and waking the entire house, alwaysanswering the phone, working hard, being good with

kids


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Service Adventure News Page 3

N I C K Y S M I T H VOLUNTEER at Challenge Alaska completing office and administrative

activities, teaching classes for adults with mental and physical

disabilities including: book club, jewelry making, tie dye, cookingINTERESTS: Anything musical! Especially piano and cello, running,

listening to music and books on tape, bakingBEST KNOWN FOR: Mismatching her socks, eating marshmallow goop,

playing piano at church, giggling uncontrollably

K E L L Y K I L H E F F E R UNIT LEADER: Part-time nanny for two different families

INTERESTS: Running a lot, crazy reader, children, piano, leading

worship, working out, injuries, singing in the car, athleticsBEST KNOWN FOR: Giving hair cuts, watching entire seasons of TV

shows, throwing up in the car, conversing to people in her sleep,

being tidy, always carrying 20 inhalers, narcolepsy: falling asleep

anywhere anytimeexample: during yoga

A L A S K A F U N F A C T SNickname: The Last Frontier1/5th the size of lower 48Highest temp: 100 @ Fort Yukon 1915Lowest temp: -80 @ Prospect Creek 1971Heaviest Snowfall: 974.5 inchesLargest per capita consumer of ice cream

Over 3 million lakes, 3,000 riversTallest peak in N. America: Denali 20,320ftOver Alaska residents live in AnchorageIn Western, Eastern, Northern hemispheresHome to over worlds glaciersAnchorage alone = Delaware in square miles3rd largest earthquake in world in 196455 miles East of Russia

F A V O R I T E M O M E N T SClimbing FlattopIce SkatingSled HockeyBoulderingDog-Handling @ IditarodSleddingHiking to Harding Ice FieldSnowboarding/SkiingButchering our MooseEating VegetarianCross Country SkiingTuesday Night Fun Runs (5Ks)Church RetreatCamping along a glacier


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T H E T R A G E D Y O F O M A L L E Y T H E M O O S EVery early one December morning Fred sat reading the

paper as the rest of the house slept while snowflakes and ice

skates danced in their heads. When all of a sudden there rosesuch a jangle! Fred rushed to the phone to see what was the

matter! As he glanced at the time; 5:45, he wondered whocould be up? No friend was calling; no emergency; just a

phone call from the state police! Fred hung up the phone andgathered the troops, for a moose had been hit and she was to be

ours! With only 30 minutes to arrive at the scene, Fred raced

ahead in his truck to claim our meat. The rest of us collectedour tools and warm clothes and stumbled out into the frigid

morning.

When finally we arrived at the scene, our dilemma becameloading the 800 lb. catch into the truck. After a long-suffering hour,

sitting in a fire station parking lot, we had OMalleys head and neck

onto the truck using a winch and the van, but the rest of her refusedto cooperate. Luckily, our local fireman noticed our trouble and

gathered his troops to help us lift OMalley onto the truck. Eight

strong men, a winch, and a van later, OMalley lay prone in the bed

of Freds truck. Off we went to the next phase!In sympathy of those who are squeamish, I will gloss over

the following details and summarize the next few slimy and messy

hours. Its all in who you know, and thankfully we know manyhelpful people! Our friend Joe helped us hang up our moose to

butcher with his forklift, and also helped us grind up the many pounds of meat. A friendly

photojournalist, Antonio from Italy, photographed our adventure, butchered meat, and entertained us

with stories from his home country. Four days later, our meat had been taken off the bones, sliced intosteaks and roasts, or ground three times, and vacuum sealed into 1 lb. packages to fit into our freezer.

The total meat count amounted to around 300 lbs. of ground, and 100 lbs. of steaks and roasts! We are

truly grateful for the meat, but are equally as glad the experience is over...fornow!

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Service Adventure News - April2010