Work and Such

Finishing up my second week of work today, I’m beginning to get a feel for my job – the service placement where I will spend approximately 40 hours each week. For me, this service placement is at the Bureau of Land Management (others in my unit volunteer at a soup kitchen, a Habitat for Humanity building project, a women’s abuse prevention center, and elsewhere). My position at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is maintenance worker, where I help keep the BLM Anchorage Field Office facility up and running.

The workshop at BLM

My initial impressions of the job weren’t overly enthusiastic. When I originally applied for Service Adventure and listed the BLM as my primary service placement choice, I was envisioning time spent out in the field, doing trail work, grooming ski trails, and engaging in other “outdoorsy” sorts of activities. In fact, previous Service Adventure participants at the BLM worked with Recreation instead of Maintenance – the former being more of the outdoorsy association and the latter being more upkeep of the facility. When I heard that unlike previous Service Adventurers, I would be spending most of my time with Maintenance, I was initially disappointed. I was also nervous, as I haven’t had a whole lot of experience in construction or the operation of heavy machinery, both things that I would be doing. My feelings towards the job have changed a little since then, however.

The mountains which can be seen by stepping out the back door of the shop

Things I like about serving at the BLM:

·    Varied tasks (in the past several days, I’ve: helped install road signs, cleared brush, set the flag to half-mast for 9/11, cleaned, worked on a large sign for the BLM, inspected trails and foot bridges, helped install a swinging door, and more…) Though there will be some things that I do on a routine basis (clear snow in the winter for one), I have chances to do a whole multitude of different jobs and tasks during the year.

·    Learning valuable and practical skills. I hope to come out of this year at the BLM with all sorts of skills that will be beneficial down the road

·    Get to spend time outside in God’s creation. The facility where I work is located on a 730 tract of forested land on the edge of Anchorage. I can see the light and weather changing on the mountains from the door of the shop, and I’ve seen several moose thus far (with hopes to see a few bears, lynx, or other animals).

A typical scene biking to work - overcast and drizzling!

Finally a clear morning to bike to work!

Things I don’t like:

·    It can be hard to feel like you’re serving others. Installing a stop sign, though necessary and potentially interesting, just doesn’t feel as serving-the-least-of-these or disciple-like as, say, serving at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Which leads me to the next negative, which is…

·    I wish there was more interaction with other people. A big part of why the placement at BLM might feel a little removed from serving others is because there isn’t much interaction with others. Though I’m introverted — not needing interaction with others 24/7 – I find myself craving the kind of service that brings me into more contact with others. The vast majority of my time at the BLM is spent either working by myself or with one other person.

Both of the two aforementioned items are things that I hope to work with, and hopefully turn into positives or see in a new light. Continued thanks to everyone who is supporting me and the rest of the unit as a whole through prayer, keeping track of our exploits, sending letters or emails, or any other means. 

This has nothing to do directly with work, but to leave you with, another scene from a recent little afternoon hike in the Chugach Range.