Community Miracles

Hello again, everyone



yes, I have to returned :-). I apologize for the delay in writing this post. One of the things I have been investigating for this blog is exactly where it will be most accessible to the community. Speaking of community,… Before I delve into the wonders of the Alaskan landscape and what lessons can be learned by surrounding yourself with such breathtaking beauty, it seems appropriate to take this opportunity to discuss miracles. Those of you who know me will attest to the that I absolutely believe in miracles! I believe that mankind is designed to be infinitely creative and that this creativity comes from the One who created us! But I also believe that we are expected to use our incredible ingenuity to bring about positive change. In other words, miracles do occur but sometimes, we can use our skills to help ensure that they come to pass. Never has this been made more apparent to me then when I asked a good friend and founder of Good News Good Deeds, a Facebook page designed to promote positive happenings and community outreach, to assist me in sharing my love story and plea for help in reaching Juneau. As you will remember from my first entry, this was no mere pleasure trip for while it was the vacation of a lifetime, it was also a purpose driven journey to come face to face with the woman I love and ask her to honor me by becoming my wife.



Now, you might be wondering why I would ask for help in achieving this, the average cost of flying from Logan Airport to Juneau is around $2000.00 per person round trip.  Don't let this discourage you from visiting, because Alaska airlines has an excellent frequent flyer program, so it's pretty easy to quickly build up miles for your next trip.  Since the distance between Portland and Juneau is roughly 4,000 miles each way.  So my only problem was to raise enough funds to allow myself and my Personal Care Attendant to take the initial trip.  And in the process I learned a  lot about fundraising.  I began my efforts by turning in cds, and dvd's I felt I could part with to Bull Moose Music.  They have an excellent program that provides either in store credit or cash back for all used cd's, dvd's, vhs's, and cassette tapes.  So if you're trying to raise money for something and you wonder where it will come from, I would encourage you to have a good look around your home.  We all own more than we think we do, and if you haven't watched or listened to it in 6 months to a year, chances are good you're probably not going to.  And you'd be surprised just how much money you can get turning things in.  I raised $1,200.00 just for returns.  Meanwhile, the Facebook community were pitching in to help me raise the remainder.  When everything was tallied we raised over $2,300.00 collectively.  So for those who think that social networking is just a way for the anti social to keep busy playing mindless games, I say that while certain places that certainly does occur, sites like Facebook can also be wonderful outlets of out reach and encouragement.  When people heard my story every one commented and even those who could not contribute financially offered to go through their own collections to see what could be donated.  The moral of this story is that miracles happen, but some times it takes a community coming together to bring them about.  So if you need a miracle and at some point we all do, just know that help may come from places you least expect.  While I can't personally can't thank every individual involved, I can say that without each of your efforts I would not have been able to go on my Alaskan Adventure!

Hello

Thank you for checking out my Alaskan Adventure Blog! The experience of traveling from Maine to Juneau to be with the woman I love has certainly impacted my life beyond all words. I certainly can't put all my feelings into words, and since there are other people involved, you're not going to get every detail here. What I can do is tell you a little about what I discovered during my journey and how it changed me.