Life and Adventures of the Hirst Family: Another Crazy Week of Surprises and New Beginnings!

At the beginning of the week I started writing this post. I saved it and now come back, realizing so much has happened in only a week! We started off the week with Sunday off work. The first Sunday since we first got up here. It was such a blessing to be able to just relax together! After not being able to go to church for over a month, I have never been so excited and thirsty for the Lord. When able we have been going to Kalifonsky, the church where one of the fishing guides leads worship at. It was a fun service with a good majority of the Jimmie Jack fishing team there. There was a guest pastor from India who shared a powerful message about the power of God and the need to unveil ourselves before Christ and live in complete freedom in this way. He shared many powerful testimonies. His mission for the past few years has been to plant 25-30 churches every year in various locations. WOW!

For the fishing report this week, both the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers were closed earlier this week to King Salmon fishing. Our guests have been extremely disappointed. Many travel up here specifically to fish the Kenai King Salmon. However, because of the lack of fish this summer, many people believe that this is necessary in order to save and regain the species for the future. There continues to be a lot of controversy between the sports fishermen and commercial fishermen. Because of the lack of fish, there isn’t enough for everyone, which means someone won’t be happy. Since they closed the King Salmon Fishing, no commercial fishermen are allowed to fish either. All the neighbors at the lodge are commercial fishermen, which makes things interesting :)

The Sockeye Salmon have also just showed up in the Kenai this week. The Sockeye are also called “Reds.” We knew the reds were in when it became a lot busier in town and off every bank there were people dip netting. The sockeye run will only last until the end of July, so just a few more weeks. The residents of Alaska are allowed to keep 25 Sockeye Salmon per head of the household, plus 10 fish per additional family member. For some families, this means over 50 Sockeye Salmon, hundreds of pounds of fish that will last all year! Everyone is traveling here to fish for the Reds, so the rest of July in Kenai will be pretty busy and full of dip netters.

As for the fishing at Jimmie Jack's lodge, Jacob and the guides are taking the guests on Sockeye trips. They are fishing from the banks of the river. Although some guests seem to be disappointed that the King Fishing is closed, most are still enjoying the fishing. Sockeye is one of the best Salmon for eating and they have been limiting out, so lots of fish!!

At the beginning of the week our lodge mama here at Jimmie' Jack's had to leave for the rest of the summer. After receiving some unfortunate family news, she decided it would be best to be home in Wasilla, Alaska. Needless to say, I am now the new lodge mama! Wow. I have been promoted from boat washer and lunch maker to the lodge mama! God always has different plans than our own, and I believe this just may have been one of them! We are incredibly thankful that god's plan is bigger than our own and we continue to have faith and be reminded of that! I also feel as if I got a glimpse of God's plan coming full circle, after working the past four years as a caterer and groundskeeper for the Gonyea Fellows at PLU. My experiences there and what I have learned from the Anderson's about hospitality has truly helped equip me in this new position. I must not go without saying that all my Dad's Saturday morning breakfasts and mom's great cooking and baking has also helped me as lodge mama. Thank you!! :) My new role includes making and overseeing breakfast and lunch every day, as well as all the housekeeping and cleaning that we do here. The key role is to be hospitable to our guests and help them have the best trip possible. It is an honor to be in this position. It has been a crazy whirlwind of a week, trying to learn and figure out how everything works here, but I have been enjoying it!