Chapter 2: North to Alaska: July 2019

Before I get started here, let me just apologize for the length of time since our last update. We like to try to get something out about every 2 months, and if you take time to look back, it's been more than 4! Somehow time just slipped away from us, and before I knew it there was soo much to write about that I was too overwhelmed to figure out where to start! All that to say, I'm going to try to make this a pretty brief overview of this past spring and summer, but quite a bit took place. So you may want to grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and plan to be reading for a bit if you want to get through this whole thing!

It's been hot...

Before I jump into the months we've missed, let me just fill you in on the present. In case you do not regularly check the weather in Bethel, Ak...you may have missed the fact that we just survived an unbelievable heat wave! From July 5th-9th our temperatures were near and sometimes above 90 degrees! That may not seem like a big deal to those of you living in PA who are used to some summer warm stretches, but let me just tell you, it feels hotter here. Houses and businesses in Bethel are not designed to be comfortable in heat...they're made to keep us all from freezing in the dead of winter. There is almost no air conditioning in town (that includes the PT department in the hospital), and in fact the town is also completely sold out of fans! On top of all that we live in a part of Alaska where there are very few trees, so there is very little shade. To make matters slightly worse, prior to the heat wave several thunderstorms hit our area (which is rare) and due to the dry conditions several small tundra fires were started. These will all likely burn themselves out, or be put out by rain, however in the meantime they produced enough low lying smoke to fill Bethel on Monday and prevent planes from flying to the villages due to low visibility.

In the midst of the hottness, we decided to go camping up river with Keira and Jesse and their 2 little kiddos. It seemed that it would be more comfortable sleeping outside than in our hot houses, which eventually was true. But since it is summer and the sun doesn't set until nearly midnight, we roasted for quite some time. In the hottest part of the day Colby and Jesse built us a little shade canopy which we all huddled under until sunset :-P As uncomfortable as it all was at moments, we had a great time of fellowship in the beautiful outdoors, and in the end I'm so thankful we went!

Iditarod Champion!

Now back to march...Most of you have heard of the Iditarod. It's the big, famous dog sled race that happens every March where teams travel between Anchorage and Nome, a distance of over 900 miles. Just finishing the race is a really big deal, but winning is huge. Well, this years Iditarod winner just so happened to be Bethel's own Pete Kaiser! This was a huge bright spot for our little town in the usually long grey final months of winter. When Pete came back to town he got a firetruck escort from the airport to his home and the whole town lined the road to welcome him!

Clinic Travel

Since my last update I was able to make 3 trips to Hooper Bay (March, May and June) and 1 trip to the village of Emmonak. Jesse usually travels to this village, but since Keira had just had a baby, it worked best for him to stay in town a little longer and gave me the opportunity to see another part of this region! I enjoyed the time so much. The clinic staff was so friendly and helpful and I was able to meet a whole new community of people. It's amazing how much easier it is to connect with patients when I'm able to say I've spent at least a little time in their village and have some idea where they are coming from.

Breakup 2019

This years official Breakup occurred at 4:02 p.m. on April 12th. The earliest break up on record! If you remember from last year each spring the town sets up a tripod on the river with a line tied to it which is attached to a clock. When the ice "breaks up" enough for the tripod to travel down river, the string pulls and stops the clock, marking the official moment of breakup. This year Colby and I were able to attend the "Breakup Bash" celebration the day after the river started flowing. The town gathers at the river for some live entertainment and free hot dogs to ring in the start of the summer boating season.

King's Kids

As usual we ended King's Kids for the summer in May when school left out. It was actually pretty sad to see the kids go for the year. We've really started to build relationships with many of them who come almost every week. This year we held a special celebration on our last night where we invited families for an awards ceremony and then had snacks and root beer floats : ) We were able to see most of our usual kiddos again at our churches Bible school in May. Several kids excepted Christ as their savior this year at Bible school, including at least 4 from our King's Kids crew! We plan to start meeting again in September. Be praying especially for these kids, that they would grow in their new relationships with Christ through our time together.

Family Fun

The highlight of these last few months happened in May when Laura and mom flew to meet us in Anchorage. We spent several days exploring around the city and did some hiking and biking. Then Colby returned to Bethel and Laura, Mom and I explored South (Seward) and North (Denali) of Anchorage. As this was mom's very first trip to Alaska Laura and I did our best to show her as much as possible. In the end God blessed us with beautiful weather and we were able to see the ocean, the mountains, glaciers and so much wildlife! We were even able to see Mount Denali clearly every day we were there which is very rare. In fact, only about 1/3 visitors to the park are ever able to see the mountain.

Perspectives

Several years ago, after I returned from my last short term missions trip with SIM, the missions organization suggested that a good next step for me would be to take the class "Perspectives." I convinced a few people (including Colby) that it would be a good idea to take the class online with me. It was a 15 week course and included A LOT of intense reading, but on reaching the other side we all agreed it was one of the most worthwhile thing's we had ever done. Last year as part of his classes through Eternity University, Colby took the class again, this time for college credit. The course is designed to educate students about God's purpose to be glorified among all nations. It's broken up into 4 parts Biblical, Historical, Cultural and Strategic. It begins by explaining how Gods design from the very beginning was to reach all people and gives a Biblical foundation for missions, then talks about the history of missions, the good and bad. The second 2 sections talk about what our roles might be in accomplishing His purpose today and how to approach reaching unreached people groups in ways that are culturally relevant and helpful rather than harmful. All that to say, its just a really really good course. And recently we felt God laying it on our hearts to see if we could get a class started here in Bethel.

In June I flew down to Boise, Idaho and took a 2 day class to learn the steps involved in actually planning and hosting a live course. It was such an encouraging time with a group of people who so much loved the Lord and desire to see his glory spread to all places. I was able to stay with a host family along with another Alaskan, Holly, who had traveled down from Fairbanks. In the end it seems that for now what will work best is to get a group of people from Bethel to take the class online together (much like we did in PA). We may try to host a live course in the future, but it will be much easier to plan/coordinate with a team of people than it would be for just Colby and I to try to pull this off. At this point we are planning to start the online class in October and several couples have expressed interest in joining. Pray that God would bring the right people to take the class and that he would use this time to open hearts/minds in this area to where He is leading!

Early Summer

Aside from those trips, our summer has mostly been busy at home. Ministry slows down a bit in the summer as families scatter for subsistence activities, so we've taken advantage of the time to do some much needed work on our house. Earlier in the year with the help of a few work friends, Colby lifted our house 24 inches! This very much needed to be done and has allowed for a much better foundation for leveling purposes as well as easier access to plumbing. But let me tell you it's a bit nerve racking to spend a day at work knowing that your husband is slowly raising your entire house :-p

Colby also got to spend some time out on the river early in the summer hunting ducks! His friend Carl from work (on the right above) invited him to go along on evening trips several times. I think he actually enjoyed hunting the ducks as much (or more) than hunting moose and caribou! Though the end result was a lot smaller...and I have to admit didn't taste nearly as good.

4th of July

As I probably mentioned last year, Independence Day is a big deal here in Bethel. This year was no different, and the weather this year was amazing, which may have made it an even bigger deal! The day starts off with a parade, which everyone in the whole town comes out to watch. This year our church set up a little stand and gave out free hot dogs to spectators before and after the big event.

After the Parade we all migrated to Pinky's Park for carnival style food stands, games, and some live entertainment. It was just a great day of visiting, eating and enjoying the beautiful sunshine :)

Finally....

That should bring us just about full circle, back to about where we are right now. The weather has cooled down just a bit to our normal 50-60 degree temperatures. We're still in need of some rain but we've gotten enough to make the tundra not so crispy feeling. In my opinion one of the most beautiful parts of summer is the Fireweed that lines the roadways here. These are currently in full bloom and make every trip in Bethel just a bit more scenic. The plants are beautiful to look at, but they also serve as a reminder that summer is already slowly winding down. The tall cone shaped flowers begin to bloom at the bottom, then slowly work their way to the top and go to seed. They serve as a sort of hourglass to countdown the days until Autumn. When the blooms hit the top and the plants go to seed, fall weather is said to not be far behind. Because so much needs to be done here in the summer, that just can't be accomplished any other time, there is a sense of urgency to complete tasks before the petals fall, the daylight fades, and the chill sets in.

I was reminded just today that as Christians we should always have a sense of urgency to complete the work God has called us to. We don't really have a visual reminder (like Fireweed) that time is ticking away and days are numbered. In fact, none of us knows when our last petal will fall (or when Christ will come back). And I think because of that, we are often too easily lulled into a comfortable sense that we can do what needs done tomorrow. I know personally how easy it is to get sucked into the daily routine of life and let days slip away without truly considering if I'm making my time count in light of eternity. When we first moved to Bethel the needs and the sense of lostness that seemed so overwhelming here, gave us a renewed sense of urgency for this area. As we're nearing the end of our second year here though, it seems that some of that has worn off. It's easy to become a little callus to the hurt around us when it seems to be everywhere. And it's easy to be distracted by our own selfish desires and needs and feel that it's ok if we put off reaching out or stepping out as God is calling us to do, especially when we loose sight our true purpose in this life. The bible is full of warnings to "Keep awake" (1 Thessalonians 5:6, Mark 13:32-37), and "Make the best use of the time" (Ephesians 5:15-17), and I feel like sometimes we all need a little shake to make sure we're not dozing. Someone shook me a little today, so I thought I would pass on the encouragement. It's never a bad idea to spend some time in prayer and in God's word and be sure you haven't allowed yourself to drift off to sleep for a minute : )

Prayer Requests

We would really like to have most of the major projects in our home finished by fall to allow us to use this space God has blessed us with and begin pouring back into others, rather than spending so much time in here. God has given Colby unbelievable energy so things are moving along quickly despite all of the other areas he needs to spend his time. We would appreciate prayers for continued wisdom and energy to do things well but simply and make this a comfortable, inviting space to bring others into.
Pray that God would be preparing our hearts and minds for the coming fall as we jump back into our much busier routine of life and ministry. And again be praying that God would be working in the lives of the kids that will be coming out to King's Kids.
Last but not least, pray that in the midst of all of the tasks, the house, work, church, and relationships we would keep our eyes focused on Christ, be spending time in his Word and in prayer and be sensitive to where He is truly leading us to spend our time and energy.