Our first trip to a native village finally happened! Our school did a short trip to the small island of Ouzinkie, near Kodiak. Before taking the tiny boat to our destination, we practiced putting on red lifesuits. If you have to abandon ship, these increase your chance of survival in cold water. It was pretty funny to see everyone struggle to get into these rubbery suits.
Squeakums did amazingly well on the overnight ferry to Kodiak, and sleeping in a new location. We brought a playpen to use as a crib, and threw some extra sheetrock under it for support.
Our primary work on Ouzinkie was to put insulation into a Baptist missionary home. We also began building relationships with people in the community. They call themselves Aleutiq, and are of Russian descent if I understand correctly.
We are enjoying the camaraderie with the new set of students. It will be sad to see them leave for outreach without us in April.
