Elder Dinner Video

48 Kalskag Elders were served dinner and given gifts Dec. 11, 2013 at Calvary Mission in Kalskag.

Calvary Mission Elder Dinner

Kalskag Christmas Video

Kalskag was a little different this year at Christmas...click the link to see why-

Christmas in Kalskag

The Shattered Glass: Another Media Article

The Lord once showed me a vision of an empty glass wine goblet sitting on a pedestal in the middle of an empty darkened room.  The only light was on the glass.  He told me to watch it closely and instantly it shattered into a million tiny shards flying everywhere. Jesus told me that is how my ministry will be, shattering and instantly flying in all different directions.  He is bringing that vision back to my remembrance as the news media has taken the story of Christmas in Kalskag across the Mat-Su Valley with the Frontiersman’s article, then across Alaska with KTUU Channel 2 news story.  Now here is another media outreach published in the Open Bible online Magazine. The Lord never ceases to amaze me!

 
Open Bible online magazine article

Christmas in Kalskag 2013

Christmas was a little brighter in Kalskag and Lower Kalskag this year.  Over 300 Christmas gifts were bought, wrapped and mailed out to give to all 220 children in the Yup'ik Eskimo Villages.  The children were so happy and tears were in some parents eyes as we delivered these gifts on a flat bed truck with a lighted Christmas Tree and music blasting away. 

 

 

 

 

Children followed the truck as we delivered the gifts from door to door.  It took us three evenings to get all the gifts delivered!

 

 



KTUU Channel 2 news Dec. 24, 2013

Emerald is a five year old Kalskag girl fighting Leukemia in Anchorage.  I delivered the last gift to Emerald and her siblings on Dec. 23 when I flew into Anchorage. Here is the News link of Emerald.

KTUU Channel 2 news cast Five year old Special Christmas from Kalskag

Shelly, Emerald & Andrea (mom)

Frontiersmans Newspaper Article

http://www.frontiersman.com/news/wasilla-woman-organizes-coast-to-coast-christmas-project/article_44e7111c-6435-11e3-a791-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=story

 

Frontiersman article

Wasilla woman organizes coast-to-coast Christmas project

 vious Next

Courtesy photo

Shelly Blocker

Shelly Blocker stands on Kalskag Hill. She is from the Mat-Su Valley but has taught Head Start in Kalskag and Lower Kalskag for the past two years. Her latest service project will share Christmas gifts with every child in Kalskag and Lower Kalskag.

Courtesy Photo

Gifts to Kalskag

Some of the gifts that will be distributed to students in the Bush villages of Kalskag and Lower Kalskag. All 220 children in the two villages will receive Christmas gifts thanks to a community service project organized by the Valley’s Shelly Blocker who teaches Head Start there.

Posted: Friday, December 13, 2013 12:45 pm

Wasilla woman organizes coast-to-coast Christmas project

Posted on December 13, 2013

by Heather Resz

WASILLA — This isn’t the first service project Head Start teacher Shelly Blocker has organized during her two years working in the villages of Kalskag and Lower Kalskag along the 100 miles up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel.

Blocker organized a coat drive that shared coats, boots and other winter clothing with Kalskag kids last Halloween, and she’s collected school supplies and other simple items to share.

“I’ve done all kinds of projects over the last two years, but this is the big one,” she said.

This time her generous heart and knack for organizing led to an effort that drew together like-minded people from Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon and Alaska who have shopped, shared and shipped gifts for all 220 children in the neighboring villages on the Kuskokwim Delta.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Blocker said of the effort fueled in part by Facebook posts about the project. “I began realizing that children don’t get many gifts out here.”

When she shared the idea with Pastor Larry Hobbs from Louisiana, he was eager to help. It was Hobbs who pushed the ripples of the project beyond Alaska, Blocker said.

She said when she began explaining to Hobbs what life is like in rural Alaska, the pastor asked about the children.

“Well, what about the children? Do they get Christmas gifts,” he asked Blocker.

This year the answer is yes. Every boy and girl in Kalskag and Lower Kalskag will receive a Christmas gift shared by anonymous Santas from around the United Staters, Blocker said.

“It’s just an act of kindness,” she said. “It was way too big for me to handle. I didn’t see how it could happen without the people from all over.”

Sally Beach is part of the congregation at Wasilla Christian Church on Knik-Goose Bay Road. The youth group there adopted the 64 high school students in the two villages, Beach said.

Blocker sent a list with students’ first names, ages and gender and Wasilla students adopted someone from their class who goes to school in Kalskag and purchased a $10 to $20 gift to send to their student, Beach said. 

“The youth group just jumped on board,” she said.

Blocker said the gifts will be distributed to Kalskag Dec. 20 and 21, before she heads home to Wasilla on Dec. 23 to spend Christmas with family and friends.

Beach said Blocker used to teach at Wasilla Lake Christian School, but felt called to serve in rural Alaska where it is difficult to recruit and retain teachers.

Blocker said if people want to help, the Head Start program she leads always needs socks and school supplies for students in kindergarten through third grade.

She said the effort this season is still a little short of toys or small gifts for children ages 0 to 3. Send items to Calvary Mission Christmas, P.O. Box 99, Kalskag, AK 99607.

For more information, contact toughalaskachick@gmail.com.

Elder Dinner

Calvary Mission hosted an Elder Dinner to honor 48 Elder’s in Kalskag and Lower Kalskag on December 11, 2013.  Traditional native food was served, moose roast, dry fish, salmon chowder, black chicken stew, fry bread and three types of agutaq (Eskimo Ice Cream).  Christmas music was playing in the background during the fellowship and food.  Calvary Mission members served each Elder.  Pastor Mark & I greeted each honored guest, prayed and gave out gifts.  A special tribute to Martin & Audrey Ausdahl (founders) was given by Annie Lou Williams.

 

 

 

Table is set & Dora is playing Christmas music.

 

The church is full of Elders waiting to be served.

 

Gifts of Carhardt gloves, Bible, candy

coins, washcloths and soaps all

packaged in a berry bucket.

 

Gifts waiting to be distributed to each Elder in the Village.