It's been an incredibly long time since we put out an update, about a year and half if you look back. Part of me was ready to let go of this, especially as more and more time has past, but, for whatever reason, I've felt so convicted to write. I prayed that God would give me the time to set aside, and a clear enough mind, if this was truly something he wanted me to put time into. I didn't expect that prayer to be answered with a case of laryngitis, at 39 weeks pregnant, causing me to take a day off work and sit in silence...but here I am, so we here we go! I'm sure not going to give a detailed account of all the time that's flown by, but I'll try to hit the highlights.
The Return to (Almost) Normal
Although COVID related requirements, restrictions, and cancelations held on quite a bit longer out here than they seemed to have where most of you are reading this from, we did start to see a gradual shift back towards life before the pandemic. You can now enter most public places in Bethel (except the hospital) without wearing a mask and travel between villages or to and from Anchorage without jumping through hoops. One of my favorite parts of this return to normal has been the re-emergence of community activities.
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Bethel's big dog sled race was up and running again this year and spectators were allowed, though they were encouraged to remain in their vehicles. Unfortunately, David tested positive for Covid the day of the race, so we had no choice but to remain in our vehicle. We were still able to drive down and watch the start and finish of the race this year though! We were also able to watch the annual fireworks show from the warmth of our truck which I certainly won't complain about.
Cama-i
After 2 years without it, the Cama-i Native dance festival returned to Bethel this year. The event looked quite a bit different than it did in the past; It was held at the smaller cultural center rather than the high school, masks were required, and tickets were required to limit the number of attendees. But it was still good to see this cultural gathering come back. Colby has never been a big fan of this sort of thing :-p, so he offered to watch David and I was able to attend with 2 of my coworkers.
NYO
Since we moved here I've treated many junior high and high school students who enjoy participating in NYO (previously Native Youth Olympics). I had a picture in my head of most of the events and had seen the basics demonstrated, however, Colby and I had never had the chance to watch a competition. This year, with the gym again open to spectators, we were able to find a babysitter and spent an evening taking this in. For those of you from the lower 48, you can picture something almost like a track and field competition. NYO is made up of 10 different events and students can participate in 1 or several of these. All of the events are based on games used by past generations of Native Alaskans to test their hunting/fishing skills and to keep themselves strong and prepared for subsistence tasks. The events are not only an extreme display of strength and agility, they're also a lesson in culture.
One of the events we were able to watch was the Alaskan High Kick. In this event the athlete starts on the ground grasping one foot with the opposite hand. He/she then balances on the other hand while using the other foot to kick a ball suspended in the air above them. One hand must remain in contact with the ground at all times and they must land on the same foot they took off from. The most current high school record I found for this was 86 inches to put it in perspective.
Another event was the One Hand Reach. Here the athlete suspends all of their weight on one palm (no other part of their body can touch the ground) while they reach to touch a ball suspended over their head with the other arm. The record I found for this event was 64 inches.
4th of July!
The biggest event in Bethel, which had been on hold the past 2 years, was back up and running again! I will say it was definitely not what it once was (which honestly was not all that much haha) but it was so good to see the community out and about again. The day started with the annual Independence Day Parade which ends at Pinky's Park where vendors set up for a carnival like event. Unfortunately this year there were only about 3 food vendors and a very small handful of other things. It was a step in the right direction though, and I look forward to continued growth next year!
Amy's Work
I have been working part time since shortly after the arrival of David, which I like so much. At this point I'm thankful to still be able to use my skills to care for patients and build relationships within the community, but I'm grateful for the extra time at home. I returned to doing village travel about 1x/month and have made several trips to Hooper Bay, Kotlik and Mekoryuk. I look forward to traveling to all of the communities but I have especially enjoyed my trips to Mekoryk this year. Prior to my first trip out in October of 2021, this was not a village Physical Therapy had previously traveled to. Mekoryuk is located on Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea and is notorious for bad weather and canceled flights, but is also unbelievably beautiful when the weather clears. Nunivak is also known for it's reindeer and musk ox herds, and is a popular destination for hunters. I was able to travel to the Island 3 times in the past year and enjoyed every visit. The clinic was incredibly clean and well run and everyone I met was friendly and welcoming. I was blessed with beautiful weather and was able to walk the beach in the evenings, during my fall and spring visits, after seeing patients.
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Another very fun work event over the past year was the arrival of Nicole Rayson, who graduated with me from Greenwood. One of our therapists went on maternity leave and we were badly in need of some additional help. We attempted to find this through a traveling company, but no one seemed willing to travel to Bethel. At some point I remembered that Nicole had also gone to PT school, so I reached out to her and she was up for an adventure! She ended up spending 9 months here on an initial 3 month contract (this happens a lot in Bethel ;-) In addition to being an amazing Physical Therapy teammate, she also became below zero early morning running buddy, biking and berry picking friend. It was definitely hard to see her go, but I am also happy to say she recently came back to fill my upcoming maternity leave!
Colby's Work
God has continued to bless Colby's business in many ways and there is definitely no shortage of work. As is true with most good things, however, there have certainly been some tougher times and challenges. Unfortunately, Colby's initial employee is no longer working with CDS Construction, which did leave a pretty big hole for awhile. Around the time he left I began intentionally praying that God wound send a younger employee that Colby would be able to disciple. In almost immediate answer to my prayer, he sent Mason, who moved to Bethel last year to pursue ministry, but also needed a job. As we continued to pray for dependable workers God also provided Carl and then just last week Carl's cousin Tony! Overall the business continues to be such a great opportunity for Colby to be out and involved in the community, forming relationships with homeowners and employees but it can also be a pretty heavy weight to carry. There is a constant barrage of phone calls/emails and text messages, juggling of jobs dependent on the Bethel weather (which for as long as I can remember has been rain with high winds), dealing with delayed/lost/damaged materials (as everything needs to be shipped from somewhere else), and just the usual responsibilities of managing employees. Prayers would be much appreciated as he continues to balance the demands of work with family time, relationships and ministry.
Visitors!
In march of this past year Colby's dad and his brother Brenyn made the trek to Bethel! This was not only their first Bethel trip, but it was the first time on a plane for both of them. Definitely not easy travel to choose for a first adventure, but they made it with no problems. David was in his glory having both Pappy and Uncle Brenyn around to play with. We did not have the best of winters, and much of the snow we did have melted just before they arrived. Thankfully though, they did get to experience a few colder days. Brenyn was able to get out for a few snow machine rides and watch Colby catch a Ptarmigan. We were even able to take both of them for a drive on the river to Napakiak.
Brenyn must not have been terribly scarred by his winter trip to Bethel, because he decided to come back and spend a month with us this summer! He flew back up by himself at the end of June and stayed until early July to work with Colby (and spend some time with David...maybe me too). This timing was a huge blessing to Colby as it was during what turned out to be the driest part of this summer when so much outdoor work was able to be done. Keeping up with Colby might have been a bit of a shock for him at first (it would be for pretty much anyone) but Brenyn was a huge help both during business hours and on weekends at our house. He was able to help complete some much needed projects here (like replacing our septic tank...poop tank as David would say) and David soooo much enjoyed having someone else to play with. It really was a great month for all of us and we were so thankful he could come (except when he was beating us at Dominoes).
Travel
My favorite little sister had a big birthday this year, so to celebrate and to take advantage of the opportunity to spend some 1:1 time with her before the arrival of another little one, we took a weekend trip together in April. Colby was gracious/brave enough to spend an entire weekend alone with David to allow this to happen. Since we were coming from opposite ends of the country, we met in Bend, Oregon. Colby and I had traveled through Bend on our honeymoon and really enjoyed the area. It's a nice little town with a few downtown shops and restaurants and also very easy access to beautiful hikes and outdoor activities. We hiked many, many miles that weekend, and I will admit we were both just a bit sore afterwards, but it was incredible to have the time to catch up and explore away from the usual responsibilities of home.
Colby was also able to step away from work for a bit this spring to allow us to do a little Alaska exploring as a family. My sister and her boyfriend Tim flew up from PA in May and met us in Anchorage to take a drive south to Anchor Point and Homer. Our very good friends (and David's honorary extra set of grandparents) Bonnie and Palmer Bailey, who manage the KYKD Christian radio station here in Bethel, happen to have a house in Anchor Point. They were gracious enough to open their doors and host us for a few days while we spent time in the area. God was soo good, and everything about the trip was perfect. We had beautiful weather and good health the entire time. We took a day each way to drive from Anchorage to Anchor Point and were able to stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, to see our friend Derek Black and get caught up on his ministry in Soldotna, go to a church service in Soldotna (also associated with Derek's ministry), to visit Whittier, and to do a short hike outside of Cooper Landing.
Our stay at Bonnie and Palmer's was an amazing time to relax and recharge. Their home is beautiful and was a short drive from the beaches of both Anchor Point and Homer. One of the highlights of our time was taking a water taxi from Homer to Kachemak Bay State Park. The taxi dropped us off at one end of the Galcier Spit trail/Saddle Trail hike and picked us up later that day at the other end. We packed a lunch (and bear spray) and hiked to the Grewingk Glacier, then finished our trek and were retrieved at Halibut Cove. The entire time was an incredible blessing in so many ways. Thankful for the time to enjoy Gods creation as a family and make some very precious memories.
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Changes
This next week in our lives is going to bring some pretty significant changes that we've been anticipating for awhile. On a pretty sad note, for us at least, our very good friends, and my coworkers, Keira and Jesse will be leaving Bethel. They have been such a huge part of our lives here to this point and will definitely leave a hole in more ways than one. One of the other therapists in our department will be stepping up to take Keira's place as manager, so we will be very short staffed for a period of time. If anyone knows a PT who would like to work in Bethel, Ak let them know we are hiring!!! But on a much more personal level, we'll be saying goodbye to our closest friends for the past 5 years, which is still pretty hard to comprehend. We are so very thankful for the time we've had with them, and excited for them as they follow where God is leading next, but goodbyes are still very hard.
In God's perfect timing, the second change I planned to write about happened before I was able to finish this post, and is currently sleeping on my lap! Micah Lee Spatz made his whirlwind arrival into this world at 8:08 a.m. on Saturday morning. I felt my first contraction at 6 a.m., woke Colby just after 7 a.m., he dropped me off at the hospital on his way to take David to our friends, and 4 minutes after entering the hospital room (unfortunately before Colby was able to make it back) Micah was in my arms. God is sooo good! Both Micah and I are doing great so far and David is enjoying (and adjusting to) his new role as a big brother.
Please Pray...
- This past month has brought a number of tragedies to Bethel and left the entire community hurting. Early on the morning of Aug 12th a fire in an apartment complex took the lives of 2 teenage girls and their grandmother. Both of the girls were regular attenders at our King's Kid's children program in the years prior to Covid, so Colby and I knew them well. We do remember both of them accepting Christ at our churches Bible School a few years ago, which is a great comfort, but still an incredibly sad loss. Additionally, on August 30th 3 moose hunters who had left Bethel by boat went missing, initiating search and rescue efforts. Two days later, another hunter who had been staying at a camp near the village of Kalskag, also went missing. Please be praying for the ongoing search and rescue efforts as well as for the families and friends of all of these individuals and the community as a whole.
- Colby and I are again at a transition time in our lives. Obviously we are learning how to be a family of 4, but we are also seeking God's guidance in regards to what ministry should look like for us here in this next phase. Organized ministry has continued to be slow since the pandemic, but most things are starting back up again. There are a number of possibilities and so many needs. We are praying that God will show us exactly where/how he can best use us at this time.
- As I mentioned earlier there are many changes coming our way very quickly. Please pray that we would continue to find our strength/joy in Christ, continue to follow where he's leading, continue to love each other well, and just keep our heads above the water as we go through these next waves.
- Please also be in prayer for Colby's mom. She continues to fight her battle with cancer but has had several very difficult months. She is currently in rehab after having suffered another stroke. Pray that she would continue to regain her strength and independence.
Final Thoughts
Anxiousness over...pretty much anything...has been a struggle for me for as long as I can remember. Over this past year (several years really) with all of the turmoil within our country and within the world there has often been a feeling of heaviness or vague fear trying to creep into my heart. I remember that feeling being particularly strong the morning that I heard that Russia had begun it's attack on Ukraine. By God's grace when I opened my Bible to my reading for that day it fell on Psalm 46. I'm not going to quote all of it here, I recommend you take a moment and read it, but it was such an encouragement to my heart that day....
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though mountains be moved into the heart of the sea....The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress...He makes wars cease to the end of the earth....Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth!"
How incredible is it to know that in the midst of droughts, floods, wars, political tension and rising interest rates we have a God who is our refuge and who controls the things we can't, with his voice? I hope that if you have a heart that bends toward anxiousness like mine, you will take some time today to be still and know our God is in control and that he will be exalted in all the earth. No matter how bleak circumstances may appear today, not one detail is beyond his reach or out of his control!
A Few More Pictures
