Wolverines, Anthropology and Spring Break

Today, I am an armchair anthropologist.  I have come to understand this as I watch Caiden, my eight-year-old son, run in circles around our couch.  Nobody had to teach him this action, in true Nike form, he is just doing it. I’m not sure what is going on in his mind.  What could he possibly be thinking about? Is he subconsciously connecting to another world? Is this my son or this his avatar?  What is it about running circles around the couch that caused him to abandon superior entertainment forms like annoying his siblings with blow-out party favors?   I am studying him.  Today, I am an armchair anthropologist.

I have only seen this action one other time in my life and it was while I led a gaggle of second grade boys on an “educational” field trip to the Anchorage Zoo.  During this trip, it was my duty to assist these boys, including my oldest son, in discovering facts about various zoo beasts.  Nobody told me where the facts had to come from so there was some question as to the validity of some of the animal facts that the boys gathered.  By far, our most memorable experience was with the wolverine.  This vicious beast was hissing and seething with white foam dripping from his gums and fangs while proudly showing off his homo-sapien-like tongue-rolling-gene.  (In a head to head comparison, our genetic superiority over the wolverine only revealed itself in that we all had lobed ears and opposable thumbs.)  All the while, Mr. Wolverine was running in continuous circles around his cage, ferociously batting his razor-sharp claws at us.  That’s when I told the boys the first and most important fact of the animal kingdom, “Boys, wolverines will RIP YOUR FACE OFF!”   At the exact moment I was expounding this irrefutable truth to the boys, an innocent mother-daughter pair walked by us, hearing the frightening fact about wolverines.  The mother quickly embraced her concerned daughter and calmly said, “Oh honey, wolverines won’t rip your face off.”   I thought to myself, “Oh silly mother,  yes they will!  Pound for pound wolverines are the most vicious beasts on earth!”

So right now, I’m watching my son run in circles around the couch just like that caged wolverine – minus the foam, hissing and seething, of course.  I honestly understand the poor kid…it’s day two of Spring Break and we just got two more feet of fresh powder in our yard on top of all the other snowpack.  We are truly snowed in!  We can’t get out until we’re dug out and I’ve literally been advised to duct tape orange snow machine flags on our children before sending them outside to play. So with all things considered, my son running around the couch is understandable when you consider the cabin fever that he is experiencing.  Like I said, I am an anthropologist today.

You know, outreach and anthropology are closely connected.  In order to be effective in outreach we must, from our careful observation of others, take cues on how best to demonstrate the heart of Christ to them.  For example, a few weeks ago, I met Olga, Sergei and his three boys while sledding at Service High School (see the February blog post).  Shortly thereafter, I spent two hours listening to Sergei’s story over lunch.  Since then, we’ve met again, talked multiple times and he and his entire family have come to a weekend service at ChangePoint.  My family is currently invited to Sergei’s place to have a yummy Russian feast prepared by his babushka (grandma)!  I wish I could say that I’m the master at observing and acting accordingly, but so often I speak and act without listening and observing first.  By God’s grace I’m still learning how to demonstrate Christ’s heart to others, including those closest to me… which brings me back to my son who has just about worn a wolverine path around the couch.  If my anthropological observations are correct, I believe he needs me to go and wrestle him.  I think he needs to gain a hard-fought victory over dad…I just hope he doesn’t go rabid-wolverine on me and rip my face off!

How about you?  Who are you observing?  How can you best demonstrate the heart of Christ to that person?  What’s your next move?  Please do share your comments and thoughts.

Be sure to get involved in ChangePoint’s outreach ministries! To learn about opportunities contact Jim Capaldo at jimc@changepointalaska.com or (907)646-4880.

The Ethnically Diverse and “Equipmentally” Challenged Conquerors of the Service High School Hill (of death)!

For the economically élite Alaskan there is Alyeska.  For the rest of us there is the Service High School hill (of death)!  That’s where you’ll find Anchorage’s ethnically diverse and “equipmentally” challenged gathering for their own version of the winter olympics on any given winter weekend or holiday!  The only medals given during these games are the hard-earned scars, cuts and bruises borne by the mighty conquerors of the Service High School hill (of death)!

Now I, like other responsible-non-conquering-coffee-bearing adults, was observing the international sledding gauntlet from the top of the hill and mentally preparing for the eminent emergency room visits from head, back, arm and/or leg injuries.  My team, consisting of my two sons and their Bulgarian buddy, was taking on the hill with all the passion of true Olympians, but with none of the critical motor skills.  In the unmarked lanes to our immediate right and left were the Japanese and Russian immigrant family teams.  The Japanese were more subdued in their high-tech approach to the hill while the Russians were down right ruthless, conquering every bump and jump in their old-school plastic toboggan sled with bolted in guide ropes.  The Hispanic, Pacific Island  and Hmong disc-sled teams were far off to the right flank, so I couldn’t get a good feel for their strategies, but I do know that they were watching us… plotting… scheming.  So in an attempt to learn about my team’s sledding competition, I decided to linguistically go underground and to strike up a conversation with the Russian speaking but non-coffee-bearing team captains in the lane next to us.  The team leader was Sergei (who came to the U.S. 10 years ago), assisted by Olga, (who arrived just two months ago),  and just like my team, their team consisted of three fearless boys.

I had no expectations in getting acquainted with these two people but Sergei’s and Olga’s stories really took me back as they opened up to me.  I still have a million unanswered questions to ask them.   Sergei and Olga just happened to meet out on the streets of Anchorage but it was in a most unusual way.  Sergei is a small business owner who is employing several Slavic immigrants in a very necessary and reputable business operation.  Olga came to Anchorage on an invitation to work as a nanny but, for her, everything fell apart upon her arrival and within a month she literally found herself  holding up a “WILL WORK FOR FOOD” sign on an Anchorage street corner.  Anyone who has lived in Eastern Europe or Russian Asia can tell another Slavic person from a mile away and that’s how Sergei noticed Olga… from a distance… on a street corner… desperate… begging.  You know, it’s not often that a non-English-speaking, 21 year-old Ukrainian girl shows up in Anchorage begging for work and food on a street corner.  This picture itself represents brokeness…broken plans, broken relationships, and perhaps a broken life.

As Olga took her turn on the beat up plastic toboggan, Sergei and I swapped phone numbers.  We both smiled as Olga laughed, jumped and screamed her way down the hill (of death).  I think we both sensed that she was long overdue for good memory like this.  As of this moment, I don’t know anything else about Olga or Sergei but I do know The One who does and I do know The One who restores broken lives.  We all departed on extremely good terms and I have an open door to meet again with Sergei, Olga and their sphere of Slavic friends.

Now I’m standing on a different relational hill and looking down it.  I know that the Creator of all sledding hills has opened a lane for me and my family to share His love with Olga, Sergei and their circle of influence.  I’m wondering just how He would have me navigate the bumps and jumps while demonstrating the heart of Christ to these image bearers of God?   I’m sure that this hill will be a wild ride with laughing, crying and memories!  Hang on tight and pray with me for an eternal victory!  While you’re at it, why not join in the adventure?   This week, be on the look-out for how you, too, can demonstrate Christ’s heart.  There is no lack of opportunities!

Comments? Questions?  Want to get involved in ChangePoint’s outreach ministries?  Give me a holler at (907)646-4880 ext 236 or e-mail me at jimc@changepointalaska.com

Alaska’s World Dominance

During a recent stop in Moscow, Russia, I had an interesting discussion with Pavel, a Georgian taxi driver.  Not the Atlanta type but rather the Tbilisi type from the country of Georgia.  After a while, Pavel asked me how I learned Russian and so I told him a bit of my story and where I had lived…out in Siberia in a placed called the Republic of Tuva.  To my surprise, he knew the place well, not because of the missionary work or the unique people who live there but rather because of Tuva’s famous cash crop (marijuana) that he had helped to harvest during his younger “stupid-huligan days“.   After we broke the ice with a discussion on his illegal involvement in Tuva’s marijuana industry, we could talk on just about anything!

So Pavel naturally asked me where I’m from.

Now, before I go into my response to Pavel, you must understand the thinking behind it.  I am clearly and unashamedly an American, who is a proud resident of Alaska but also proud to have been born and raised in Iowa.  However, during international travel through nations with a less-than-warm-relationship with the U.S.A., it is often advantageous to say that I am from Alaska as opposed to saying that I am from the U.S.A. or from America.  In stating that you are from Alaska, American citizenship is clearly implied, but you often feel a very big difference in how you are received by others.  You must also know that the word “America” almost always refers to the U.S.A. and is used in utter disregard for Canada, Mexico and other Central and South American nations.  I offer my heart-felt condolences to the rest of the Americas.  So now you understand that in foreign contexts, the word America communicates the U.S.A. and everything it stands for and against.   But ALASKA…now that communicates something very different.

In my world travels, only four or five other states could brag about world fame and Iowa is unfortunately not one of them.  In order of frequency they are 1) New York 2) California 3) Texas 4) Hawaii and possibly Florida.  Let it be known that none of these states even holds a candle to the awe and reverence that the word “ALASKA” evokes.  To the rest of the world ALASKA is way more than a place and it even transcends the realm of nouns.  To the rest of the world ALASKA is a concept, a kingdom, a dream, an adjective, an ongoing action, an unattainable aura, a type of harmonious mountain nirvana and the fulness of all verb conjugations. ALASKA is!

So, I answered Pavel with a deliberate slowness  saying, “I – am – from – A-LA-SKAhhhhhhhhh!”

It rolled nicely off of my tongue, even in Russian, and it was as if I had blown fairy dust in Pavel’s face.  His eyes lit up!  He couldn’t believe it!  He had an ALASKAN in his taxi!  As a matter of fact, he said, “You Alaskans are different from other Americans.  We like you more.  You are more independent and considerate of different nations.  I knew you were Alaskan because you learned our language and you are pleasant.” Now, I was the first ALASKAN that Pavel had ever met, so I haven’t a clue from where he was pulling all of this stuff, but being from ALASKA made all the difference for him!

From the platform of ALASKAN residency, incredible conversational doors opened up to me!  For the rest of our taxi ride, I openly communicated that I was a Christian and clearly communicated the gospel as I explained the missionary work in Siberia and Alaska.  Pavel listened intently!  All I know is that being from ALASKA opened an unexpected door of opportunity to demonstrate the heart of Christ to a Georgian taxi driver.  As a matter of fact, when we got to the airport, he even refused a tip!  Can you imagine that?  A taxi driver, in Moscow, refusing a tip???  Inconceivable!  Amazing things can happen during a taxi ride…when you’re from ALASKA!!!

Well, all this goes to show that it does makes some sense to launch global outreach from a local church in Anchorage, ALASKA!  God has truly gone before us and prepared the way!  By the way, you’re just in time to get involved in outreach at ChangePoint because we are actively recruiting ALASKANS!

Interested? Reply to this post, send me an e-mail at jimc@changepointalaska.com, go to our website at www.changepointalaska.com or give me a call at (907)350-1168.