August 6, 2024
The East Texas Baptist University Bass Fishing team embarked on an unforgettable journey to Soldotna, Alaska, as part of ETBU’s Tiger Athletic Mission Experience (TAME). This trip marks the 21st mission initiative for the ETBU Athletic Department and the second for the Tiger Bass Fishing team, following their 2018 trip to the Amazon River in Brazil.
“Praise the Lord for allowing me to be able to take college students away from their everyday lives, travel many states over and plug them in with a youth camp, a church, and the Kenai River,” Burger said. “It’s hard to go to Alaska and not be blown away by its beauty. From the wildlife to the millions of acres untouched by humans, it really blows you away. I am thankful and extremely blessed that the Lord called the Tiger Bass Fishing team to Soldotna. It could not have been possible without the hundreds of donations and prayers to all the anglers on the team. Alaska ‘The Last Frontier’ we will be back,” Burger said.
The team of 16 set out early Saturday morning from Texas, traveling from Dallas to Anchorage with a stop in Seattle before a three-hour drive to Soldotna. They arrived at First Baptist Church Soldotna just before midnight, ready to begin their week of service.
On Sunday, Junior Brett Jolley led a Sunday School lesson, and senior Cade Nettles preached during the main service at First Baptist Church Soldotna. He preached on the “Prodigal Son” and emphasized the importance of serving the Lord through seemingly mundane tasks. After church, the team spent the afternoon fishing in a local river and caught 37 salmon.
“My dream is to serve in ministry the rest of my life, so seeing new forms of ministry has been a blessing,” Nettles said. “Through painting wooden planks for a schoolhouse at a camp and landscaping and helping with the boardwalk around First Baptist Soldotna have taught me about serving the Lord in the sometimes mundane and unseen tasks. Each aspect of ministry is so important while working toward a larger purpose in glorifying the Lord.”
Throughout the week, they served two ministries, Solid Rock Bible Camp and First Baptist Church Soldotna.
“This was my fifth trip to Alaska serving on various mission trips, and it never ceases to amaze me that the Lord continually teaches me different things each time I have been,” Head Bass Fishing Coach Cameron Burger said. “This trip specifically, the Lord taught that the little projects and acts of service mean the most to some people. Before the trip, I found myself getting caught up in feeling like I was not making a difference because I wasn’t doing a big project or one of notoriety, but this week, the Lord brought me back down to really see what was important to Him.”
The Tigers spent time splitting wood and painting at the youth camp, which uses upwards of 150,000 pounds of firewood each winter. ETBU partnered with another mission team from Michigan, which was building a teaching facility from the ground up, painting all of the siding for the project.
The team also focused on rebuilding the boardwalk at First Baptist Church of Soldotna. They removed old lumber, replaced it with fresh wood, and ensured it was sanded and water-sealed. The ETBU Bass Fishing team also worked on landscaping projects for the church.
During the trip, the team had the opportunity to fish for salmon on the Kenai River, where they fostered connections with local anglers.
“While fishing on the trip, we caught a lot of fish, but we also talked and got to know other anglers from Alaska and so many different parts of the U.S.,” senior Cory Morris said. “We were able to tell them that we were there on a mission trip serving the Lord through serving the local church. I was able to help a couple of anglers who were salmon fishing for the first time and teach them how to ‘floss’ for the salmon. It was clear that the Lord opened up these opportunities to serve others while out on the river and to show them the love of Jesus.”
The Tigers enjoyed a day on the water fishing for halibut with a private charter out of Homer, Alaska, renowned as the halibut capital of the world, located in the Gulf of Alaska. On the final day of the TAME trip, the team split wood, cleaned up around the church, and hiked in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. They packed over 550 pounds of salmon and fish before returning to Texas.
“This week, I found that the anglers of the ETBU Bass Fishing team were most comfortable sharing our mission and talking about the Lord when they are familiar and confident in something; in this case, it was fishing the Kenai River,” Burger said. “As much as I wanted the majority of our trip to be centered around construction and remodeling projects that the church and Solid Rock Bible Camp needed, the Kenai River is where I saw the guys really open up. The stories I heard each evening were those of successes on the water and conversations they had with locals and other people who had traveled to enjoy Alaska. I saw the guys grow in acts of service and how they show the love of Christ.”