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Stories: The Long Walk, An Alaskan Conversion Story
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| The road to conversion was a long one. When I pause to reflect on all the events that occurred this past summer leading up to my baptism in the Fairbanks First Ward, it becomes clear that it was the guidance of the Lord that brought my conversion to fruition.
Upon graduating from the University of Oregon this past March, I boarded a train for Washington D.C. looking to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland. After four months of hardship living in the city, I knew D.C. was not where I was going to make my life. In late June I left for Santa Fe, New Mexico.
It is stated in 2 Corinthians to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7) and walk I did; from Santa Fe, to Los Alamos (where I received a copy of the Book of Mormon), on to Taos, north through Alamosa, Colorado, and finally to Denver where I boarded a plane for Anchorage, Alaska. Upon arriving in Anchorage, I walked to Eagle River, and north to Wasilla. In a café in Wasilla, a woman seeing my backpack asked me where I was headed. I told her Fairbanks. She asked if I had ever been there. I told her no and that I did not know anyone there, but I was going there to attend school.
She paused and politely asked, “You are walking to Fairbanks, you have never been there, and you don’t know anybody there?”
“It will work out for me. I know it is the right thing to do.” I told her.
It was twenty-two days walking through Denali. I camped where I could and stocked up on food and water at the gas stations along the way. I was traveling only with the clothes I needed, a few pictures, my degree, and a writing sample to give to the English department at the University when I got there. Also, I had my Book of Mormon, which I read as I camped.
On Friday, July 30th, I arrived in Fairbanks. I had been walking for almost fourteen hours that day and had stress fractures in both feet and a torn ligament in my knee from a fall outside of Healy. I was walking down Geist road and spotted some picnic tables in front of a building a short distance ahead of me. Needing to get off my feet, that unknown building became my new destination.
It was late in the afternoon. I slipped off my pack and sat at one of the tables. The surrounding parking lot was empty. It had been almost two days since I had eaten. A few minutes after I sat down a car pulled up. Two missionaries approached me and introduced themselves; Elder Herrick and Elder White. As it turns out, I was sitting in front of the LDS Institute Building. Of all the places in Fairbanks I could have arrived at, and LDS Church became my first stop. Coincidence? I hardly think so.
I unloaded my pack to retrieve some bread and a banana. Elder Herrick asked where I was coming from, and offered me a granola bar and bottled water. I gladly accepted and told him I had just walked up from Anchorage.
There was no scheduled activity for the missionaries that day. That had come by the Institute to pick up a few items for a barbecue they were having the next day. I thought of the three weeks I spent walking to Fairbanks, and how fortunate I was to have arrived at the same destination, at the same time, as the Missionaries.
As I unloaded my backpack, I removed the Book of Mormon that was given to my by Sister Maughan in Los Alamos New Mexico.
“I see you have something to read.” Elder Herrick said
“Yes, I do” I replied.
“Do you have a place to stay?” he asked.
I told him no, but I could manage. I could not walk any further. They left me a dozen granola bars and some bottled water. I slept on the picnic table that night. The next day, the Missionaries returned. I was introduced to Brother Ingo Kupiec. He put my backpack into his truck and drove me to his home on Chena Ridge. I stayed with him and his wife Maria for the next two weeks.
During that time, Brother Kupiec drove me to the University each morning so I could put my application materials together and submit it to the graduate school. The deadline for admission had long past, but the University of Fairbanks, like the rest of the Community, believes in doing the most they can for someone. I got work at the University as an electrician and found a place to rent. My life was coming together.
On August 8th I was baptized into the Fairbanks First Ward. I had chosen Elder Herrick to do the baptism since he was the first person I had met in Fairbanks. He was glad to perform the ceremony. Elder Herrick was transferred down to Anchorage a few weeks later. He gave me a suit, tie, and white shirt to attend Church in before leaving.
When I reflect upon all the events that have transpired over this past summer, I am humbled at the power and grace of the Lord. A few months earlier, I was leaving Washington, D.C. with no prospect of work or attending school. With limited resources and no transportation, I spent nearly two months walking to a city I have never seen, and applied to a University I had never visited. Within two weeks of arriving in Fairbanks, I became a member of the Church community, began studies as a graduate student, found housing, and secured employment.
I would like to say that I had planned for all these events to happen, but I had no plan at all. I had only the belief that what I was doing was right, and the firm conviction that this journey would work out for me. I often stop and reflect back on the nights I spent in Denali reading Alma and Moroni, while watching the sun set on the most magnificent landscape I have ever seen. I think of all the prayers I engaged in each day while walking. I remember the days of fasting, by choice and by circumstances, and how I felt the cleansing of my soul because of it.
As winter approaches, I am grateful for the warmth of my house. My kitchen is well stocked with food. My bed is comfortable and classes are going well. As I pray each night and reflect upon the completed tasks of the day, I think of the Missionaries. I pray that their day was productive and they are safe during their journeys. Each night as I read a portion of Alma, I no longer have the beauty of the Denali landscape to look at. Across my room, I see the suit that Elder Herrick gave me on the day he performed my baptism. Of all the visual splendors I have seen here in Alaska, this has become the most cherished view of all.
I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I see His hand in my conversion and in every aspect of His Church. This I testify in His name. Amen. |
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