Chapter 2: North to Alaska: We're Still Here!

Have I really not written since September? Time goes so fast, it hardly seems possible that it's been 6 months. As I look back over these posts, in our first years here I got one out about every 2-3 months, but since David, it looks like my productivity has been cut at least in half. Really, that's how most of life feels right now: I get about half as much done in a day as I used to. Sometimes the goal oriented, achievement driven, side of me gets frustrated when it seems I spend my days off work changing diapers, making food, feeding David, cleaning up food, cleaning up David, and playing on the floor (repeat) while my untouched to-do list sits on the counter. So slowly though, the Lord is teaching me to find purpose and joy in the mundane tasks and the seemingly unproductive days. And he's teaching us as a family to follow his leading during this season of life, to set aside some non-essentials and make room for the most important things. Although there were ups and downs, the last half year has been full, and we've seen God working in so many ways.

Pennsylvania

Although Covid cases were up on both ends of the travel, we were able to make our usual trip back to PA in the fall. Going home is truly the best kind of vacation. We weren't able to see as many people as we would have liked, but the time with both of our families and a few friends was so good! Because we still very much value the relationships we have at RLMC and the huge roll the church had in equipping us for where we are now, we wanted to have David dedicated there. Although David is named directly after his Great Grandpas, we also love that he shares his name with one of Israel's first kings, who had such a special relationship with the Lord. Our prayer for him is that he will grow into "a man after God's own heart" like David was (Acts 13:22). We're so thankful for the prayers and support of our church family as we do our best to shepherd his little heart in that way.

Once again our beautifully timed trip allowed for the fun of (smaller than usual) Thanksgiving celebrations with family around a table as well as the joys of hunting with family in the woods. I especially value this time as I am not able to participate in as many fun outdoor activities in AK. Once again God was so good and blessed me with a buck! Not a trophy :-P but I don't think I could have been any happier if it was. Colby was also able to watch his younger brother harvest his first buck this year!

Winter Hunting

Colby may not have brought home a PA whitetail, but he's made up for that by far with his Alaskan adventures. In January he reunited with his old coworkers, Francis, Pedro and Carl, and made a trip to the Yukon. The weather was beautiful and clear and they were able to see the northern lights on their way out! Between the 4 of them they brought home 3 moose and had a great time catching up together.

One moose was more than enough to refill our freezer, which allowed us to give away some of the meat. However, since we still knew several people in town who were in need of meat, Colby was more than willing to make a second trip. This time he went with Jesse G. and Jesse E., two good friends from our church, for an overnight camping/hunting venture. It was -20 degrees when they woke up after their night out...and the cold may have been a bit much for Colby's nose. But he filled his second tag and with the help of a little Aloe and Aquaphor (to treat the frostbite) his nose is almost as good as new!

Of all of the meat we've tried since our move out here, Musk Ox has been our favorite. These unique looking fur balls also happen to be probably the most sought after game animals in AK. They live in small herds on Nelson and Nunivak Islands here in Western Alaska, on the coast of the Bering Sea. They are desired both for their tasty meat and for their thick, soft, under wool, known as qiviut. This can be combed out, processed and spun into yarn which is used to make all sorts of cozy apparel.

Totally didn't take this picture...but thought it might be helpful

Each year a very limited number of tags are given out to those who desire to hunt these animals. Some are available in the villages closest to the herds, several are awarded through an online raffle, and a few are dispersed from the Fish and Game office here in Bethel. This year, exactly 4 tags were handed out in Bethel. In years past hunters have camped in the fish and game parking lot for up to a weak to be first in line for such tags. This year, however, the night before the tags went on sale came, and only 1 person was sitting in the parking lot. Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, Colby and Francis

packed some snacks and coffee, spent the night in their trucks in front of the office as well, and purchased their tags!

The most difficult parts of harvesting a musk ox are getting to where they are, and shooting the right one (male or female). On this hunt, Colby happened to have a bull tag, and Francis had a cow tag. Because Francis grew up in Toksook Bay, the village closest to the Nelson Island musk oxen, he had caught several of these in the past and was a perfect guide for Colby. The two set out on a Friday afternoon to make the 135 mile journey by snow machine, and arrived at their destination around 8:30 p.m. The last 10 miles of the trip took about 2 hours due to some mechanical complications and overflow. Because of Covid restrictions, they were not able to enter the village of Toksook. Instead, they camped on the beach of the Bering sea in Francis's ice fishing shanty (see picture above). The next morning they road out to where Francis suspected the herd would be, and after a very quick hunt, came back to their shanty, each with the correct ox in tow. They spent a second night on the beach and made the journey home the next day. The weather was a bit intense for a good part of their ride home (50 mph winds and blowing snow!!). But by Gods grace, once again, they were able to make it home safely and successfully!

Last but not least for Colby's adventures this winter, Colby was again blessed to have the opportunity to take our friend Derek (a pastor currently living in the Soldotna area) to the Yukon to harvest a moose for his family. His trip was a whirlwind again this year, but God allowed all the details to fall into place perfectly. He flew into Bethel on a Thursday evening and began organizing and packing supplies with Colby as soon as his feet were on the ground. The two left for the Yukon on Friday morning, caught a moose, and were back in town in record time by early Friday evening. We spent all of Saturday cutting, grinding and packing. The process was minorly delayed at this point as the meat had frozen solid over night (the temp was around -20 degrees outside), but we were able to defrost it by bringing it all inside, and we had the help of a few good friends which made the work fly by. By Sunday morning he had several totes packed with 260 pounds of meat and headed out of town again around 10:30 a.m.!

My Turn!

My village travel for work came to a halt for a full year after David was born. Although I had loved the opportunity to get out into communities, it was a huge blessing to not have to leave the little man for that period of time. As David turned 1 in January it's time for me to start doing occasional travel again. Prior to the pandemic, our Physical Therapy department only traveled to the 5 larger subregional clinics, however, because patients have not been able to travel as easily to Bethel this year for a variety of reasons, we began making trips to some of the smaller villages as well. This past week I was able to make a 2 day and 1 night trip to the village of Kotlik, my first trip to that village, and my first night away from David. I'll admit I had mixed emotions the whole way through. I was excited to be getting out again, to fly on a plane and to see first hand where some of my patients are from and to see another part of this region. However, at the same time I was dreading being so far from my little person for a night. Colby's feelings were somewhat less mixed, I'd say he was completely dreading taking on full parenting responsibilities for a night. God was soo good though, in every way! I was blessed with beautiful weather and smooth flights. The staff at the clinic was so helpful and I was able to see quite a few patients and meet some wonderful new people. Colby did an awesome job on his own for the night! We were all pretty happy that I made it back right on time, but I'm excited to be stepping back in to this part of my work role up here.

One Year

Speaking of David turning 1, that did officially happen in January. This truly was one of the fastest years of our life with some of the very longest days! Really though, this new adventure of parenting is terrifying and we often feel like we are just flying by the seats of our pants, but it has been one of the biggest blessings of our entire lives. David has grown into an incredibly active (we have no idea where he gets that from...) and joy filled little boy with such a big personality. We are so excited to see what God has in store for his life, and we continue to covet your prayers as we do our best to raise him in a way that is honoring to the Lord.

CDS Construction

God has continued to bless Colby's business throughout this last year. Work was steady even through the usually slower winter months and is already beginning to pick up as we move toward spring. Colby has definitely learned a lot throughout the year and made small adjustments along the way, however, overall everything has gone unbelievably well. He is so blessed to be able to work with Francis every day and values him as a dependable coworker, and one of his closest friends. He has also enjoyed building relationships within the community with homeowners, other contractors, and local business owners. This was a questionable year, to say the least, to step out and start a business but we are so very thankful to have seen God's hand at work through the whole process.

Awana

Because Bethel remains very closed due to the Pandemic, and schools have not yet reopened, we were not able to resume our usual King's Kid's program this year. In person ministry opportunities have been limited in general, so we had been praying that God would show us how he would have us best use our time. Sometime in December we were approached by a friend from the local Covenant Church to ask if we would consider temporarily filling a need for leaders for their Awana program, specifically for the Trek (middle school) group, which has continued to meet over Zoom. We prayed about this for a few weeks and both felt that God was calling us to say yes. We had never taught middle schoolers before, and neither of us enjoy doing things virtually, so we were a little hesitant, but we moved forward anyway. So far, we have enjoyed this so much! Our group of kids is small, but they participate well and they're at an age where they understand technology and are much more comfortable with doing things remotely than we even are. We really appreciate the Awana curriculum and the way that each lesson is grounded in scripture, points toward Christ and encourages real action based on God's word. One of the other great benefits to teaching over Zoom is that we can do this from our home after David is in bed! There is only about 1 month left for this year, so we are praying about what doors God might open next and about how he might use this opportunity to shape our future ministry involvement.

Final Thoughts

This has been another real Alaskan winter, and there has been more snow in Bethel than some say we've had in decades. We have all thoroughly enjoyed the white and the cold, though it has meant battling snow drifts, plugging in cars, piling on soo many extra layers of clothes, and sometimes being stuck indoors while snow and high winds wreaked havoc outside. As I'm writing this the thermometer reads 1 degree, there are still feet of snow visible out the windows, and snow in the forecast almost every day next week. It's still morning though and the sun is already shining, I can see some little birds bouncing around in the trees, and the calendar says we're over half way through March, all sure signs that, although winter is still holding on for dear life, spring is on it's way.

Life in general feels a little bit like our current transition between seasons. Many people are still hunkered down, lots of things still are not open, masks still have to be worn in our public spaces, and we are now weighing decisions about vaccines, but there's some daylight shining through the windows! Covid cases have been very low in Bethel again, schools are slowly reopening, and there is just more hope in people's voices.

Even as we anticipate the spring time, there is some concern about the possibility of flooding as these piles of snow and layers of ice begin to melt. Similarly, as we begin to see signs of life as before the pandemic, there is still a sense of apprehension about what may be coming our way in the future. At the start of this new year, amidst all of the uncertainty of what it might bring, a very good friend encouraged me to read Psalm 112. It's only 10 verses, and I highly recommend you all read it for yourselves and spend some time there. I have gone back to the words of this chapter many times over these early months of 2021. Verses 6-8 have been especially encouraging to me:

"For the righteous will never be moved: he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries."

As we continue to walk forward during these ever changing times, I am so thankful that I do not have to fear bad news! No illness, or mandate, or circumstance is outside of God's control. No matter what comes our way in these next days or months it is so good to be able to trust the Lord with all of the details of this life.

Prayer Requests

We would very much appreciate prayers for wisdom as we navigate these next months. It seems like we move from one big decision to another, which I'm beginning to think is just what life is. Our desire is to walk in faith through all the choices.
Please continue to pray for this community. There is still very much fear associated with the pandemic, but there have also been so many heartbreaking tragedies recently. Pray that more people would come to know Christ and receive the peace and comfort that can only come from him.
You can also continue to pray for Colby's family, especially his mom. She's tough and doing well, but she recently started chemo again. Pray for healing and God's strength and comfort as she walks through this time.