Coming Soon! The Center is off to Alaska

by Tracy Sachs

Preparations are under way for the Center and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) joint expedition to Alaska! Together, we've organized a week-long trip to the wilds of Alaska with 5 prominent scientists and 5 evangelical leaders to witness together the effects of climate change on people, glaciers and ecosystems in our northern most state. The trip is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for all 18 of us. Three people on the expedition are from PBS, a film crew who will be shooting the trip for a documentary to air on NOW in the fall.

We'll begin the trip with 2 days in Shishamaref, a tiny island community located 2,700 miles north of Seattle, inhabited by about 500 people, that is faced with the awful prospect of having to relocate their village because of the drastic effects of climate change.

With the trip officially starting in just 2 days, we're down to the final items on our list. Meg and I are really ready to "get this show on the road" as it has been at the top of our list for the past 4 months. Meg just finished wrapping about 40 pieces of Eric's fruit from his orchard that he is going to share with group. I'm about to track the Country Ham I ordered from Calhoun's Ham Shop in Culpeper, VA for delivery in Shishmaref - last I checked the ham had made it to Louisville, KY - next stop Alaska. At this point our thoughts are on food as the group will be preparing all our own meals, with food we are bringing with us, while we are visiting this tiny village way up in the Bering Strait. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the stove will be in working order and that there will be some running water....if not, it will be nuts, cheese, bread, ham and chocolate all around...