Kodiak Baptist Mission
1944 Rezanof Drive
Kodiak, Alaska 99615
Phone: 907-486-4126
Fax: 907-486-5567
Mission Team FAQs
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Presently Mission teams are housed in the McWhinnie cottage. This house was built as one of the three original buildings after the mission was moved from Wood Island to its present location in Kodiak. McWhinnie sits in the center of the campus overlooking the pasture and Shahafka Cove with a view of Wood Island, where it all began in 1893. The cottage has five bedrooms upstairs with a separated shower room and bathroom. The main floor has an ample kitchen with a dining area squeezed into it. The living room and three additional bedrooms and bathroom are also on the main floor. There is also an additional shower room, bathroom and laundry facilities in the basement available to the Mission Team. During the winter this cottage is used for housing students who come from the villages to participate in school programs for a week at a time. To meet our student needs all the beds in McWhinnie are bunk beds. Four of the rooms contain two sets of bunk beds (4 beds), two of the rooms have three bunk bed sets (6 beds) and two of the rooms have a single bunk set (2 beds). In total, with every bed full, the cottage can house 32 people. This would be very crowded for 32 adults and so we are recommending groups of 20 maximum.
Transportation
Alaska Airlines and Era Aviation are the only two carriers for Kodiak. Mission teams are responsible to arrange their own travel to Kodiak. Many people are interested in possibly taking the ferry to Kodiak. This is a spectacular trip for those with a sturdy constitution, but is pretty impractical for most people coming from the Lower 48, as you have to find a way from Anchorage to Homer or Seward where you can catch the ferry for Kodiak.
Once in Kodiak, our staff will pick you up at the airport and transport your group to KBM. During the week all the mission vans are needed for programs, but are available after work and on the weekends, so there is no need to rent vehicles during your stay.
Other Questions
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Do I need to bring bedding? No. McWhinnie Cottage has sheets, blankets, pillows, towels & washcloths.
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Do cell phones and phone cards work? Yes, usually. Almost all cell phones work up here, however, we also have a lot of dead areas.
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What type of clothes should we bring? Think rain! It rains about 50% of the time here, so don't forget your rain gear. The temperatures range from the mid-50's to mid- to high-70's. Nights are generally cool and you can expect a breeze during the day.
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Should we bring food, how expensive is it up there? Remember, we are an island, so everything has to be shipped in from either Anchorage or Seattle. The food is more expensive up here than in the Lower 48, however, it is not unreasonably expensive. You can expect food costs to be about 30% higher than the national average. We have 3 grocery stores, Safeway, Alaska Food for Less, and Costco, also if anyone in your group is retired military (or active duty) there is a commissary on the Coast Guard base. Some groups have brought up some food with them to save on costs, but that is entirely up to you.
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What will we be doing? It is very early to determine the specific tasks your group will be working on. An entire season lies between now and when you will come. Much will depend on what will be accomplished in the 2005 season. One of the tasks you can count on is painting. We almost always have a painting project going on in the summer. This involves often working high off the ground and lots of prep work (i.e. scraping!).
We will also have other jobs for people in your group around KBM. Often we look for a couple of people to work in our Food Bank and Sale House (second hand store). Sometimes we can use extra help in our preschool and Summer Day Camp program, so we may ask some of you to help in these ways. -
What can we do when we aren't working? Kodiak has two museums (the Baranov and Alutiiq), fishing charters, flight seeing, tour Woody Island, lots of hiking, possibly go out in the mission boat if it is up and running.