Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Pitfall to avoid: Bill

It's amazing how doing a good deed can bring misunderstandings. Even in the best of circumstances, you can find yourself in bad situations, as I did this morning. I feel I handled myself well and avoided a confrontation without appearing weak. Minutes later, I over heard several black guys speaking of a white volunteer who didn't handle his situation well, and he did show weakness. He lost their respect forever while becoming prey to the stronger, if he ever returns, hopefully he won't.
A couple of the same black guys uplifted me for the extra work I did to make their job easier in the name of team work. They know I'm there to work and will stand up for myself. I made a couple more friends in a place where opening yourself up is so difficult to do.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Arctic Village: Gardening Project 2010

The ripple effect of the 2009 project has been amazing. We have had visits to our blog from folks living around the globe. They flew to Arctic Village to be flown to different points in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They were told not to walk into the village unless invited so the only way to meet and speak to them was to walk to the runway. Occasionally we would walk out and we were so surprised at the number of people that would say " Bill and Penny, We have heard of you two and your garden project". Then they would say when and where in Alaska they had heard of us.
This project now has a life of it's own and we now must try and keep up. The grant money is going to produce jobs in the village like we had only dreamed of, many jobs! More money will go towards this effort than we even prayed for and Penny knows that I will not let this opportunity pass us by. Even if it means we must move to Alaska we will. How often does one have a chance to be a part of history. We have sacrificed so much time, and money, and more. Now we are seeing why we were called to this mission. Three years ago Penny asked "out of six billion people, why you, why us"? Because they trust and believe and care for us. Penny and I are, and will always be a part of the people of Arctic Village.