December 5th Update

Thanksgiving fun on Index Lake

4 o'clock moonrise

Overflow from the lake has made accidental 'ice sculptures'

This is what Norah does to Evie when Evie falls asleep

Evie showing off the advent calendar she helped me make

'Tis the season for pumpkin everything!

Norah decided Minnie needed a bath...using the toilet and her toothbrush

Our new little buddy. He's a guinea pig and he has many names at our house! Norah calls him "piggy-pig"

This morning at Victory it is 8 below zero and windy. It's not surprising that I don't want to leave the house today! If we got a little bit of sunshine in exchange for the cold it might be worth it, but even though it's been clear almost every day lately, most of the buildings on this side of camp are too far in the shadow of Teepee Ridge and the sun doesn't rise above it from about November 1st to February 1st. So we are (or I am) definitely feeling the effects of a long dark winter--and it's just the beginning! :( My lovely mom bought me a happy light and I have been sitting in front of it daily. For those of you who haven't heard of a happy light, it's a daylight-simulation light. It's supposed to lessen the effects (low spirits, low energy) that a lack of sunlight can cause. So I'll let you know how it works!
We had a wonderful thanksgiving. Most of my immediate family was able to come up to Victory-- it was about a 5-hour drive from Kenai-- and our awesome friends the Meeuwsens offered us their house to use for extra sleeping space and to cook our big meal in! My family is definitely bigger than average and we always appreciate a little extra elbow room. We spent 4 days together and enjoyed lots of board games, floor hockey and ice hockey, 4-wheeling on the lake, and of course eating! Maybe we'll make Thanksgiving at camp a yearly tradition, who knows?
We were in Anchorage on Monday and saw an ENT specialist about Norah's ears...unfortunately she fits the criteria for needing tubes, and while the choice is still up to us, through prayer and talking to the doctor we've decided that we will go ahead with the surgery. It was comforting to know that it's not a very long procedure, but it will require general anesthesia, which I hate the idea of. We will hopefully know soon the specific date and we would appreciate prayer.
God has truly opened the floodgates of His blessings lately and we are so thankful! Aside from getting to 90% support in the last month, we've had a few surprise blessings that can only be attributed to God and His grace. We hope that you're able to focus on Christ and his love this Christmas season, and pass that love on to others. Thank you as always for your support and prayer!

Some ways you can be praying for us right now:

-Continued health as there are cold and stomach flu bugs still going around camp
-For Norah's ear tube surgery- peace for me and Justin, and improved ear health for Norah
-For the weather to warm up so we can get some snow! If we don't get some snow for insulation soon, there will be a lot of pipes that will freeze around camp and a lot of extra work for our maintenance crew.
-For Justin and the program team; they are beginning work on the summer Bible study. Pray for God's leading as they choose how to write the studies for young people and that the studies will have a positive impact for Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting ready to take the dogs for a run

Norah helps stack wood

Decorating Daddy is a fun way to spend the evening

Reading as a family

This will be a short post because we're busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and I know everyone else is too!
We have BIG NEWS!
If you hadn't noticed yet by looking at our 'thermometer' to the right of our blog, we have reached about 90% support!!! This is HUGE!
We have been astounded the last couple of weeks at God's amazing provision and the people He has impressed upon to join the ministry partnership here at Victory by jumping onto our support team. It seems so fitting, too, that we get to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow because we have so, so much to be thankful for and it's on the front of our minds right now. We feel like a huge portion of the weight of worry about our finances is gone, and while we're still not 100% of the way there it is definitely in sight! We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who supports us and prays for us, because we know the support comes from people who desire what God desires--that more people can know Him--and that the prayers said in intercession for us are the reason we have nearly reached our support goal.
Other interesting happenings/updates: we took Norah to an ear, nose & throat specialist and talked about tubes. We could not get a definite answer and were slightly uncomfortable with the whole experience, so we are taking her to a specialist in Anchorage next month for a second opinion. Prayers for us to have wisdom and discernment and for Norah's ears to be well would be appreciated!
This week we discovered we have mice in our house. I know it's a common thing in a lot of households but it really bothers me! We are setting traps (I take that back: JUSTIN is setting traps) and we are thinking about getting a kitty. I know it's cold outside, but these visitors are unwelcome. :)
We have most of my family from Kenai arriving tonight to spend a few days eating, enjoying each other's company, and giving thanks to God for the awesome things He does daily in our lives. I hope that you will do the same tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to Winter

The girls & I took a trip to Kenai last week. Norah had fun with Uncle Max!

Justin stacks wood for the winter. So far the shed is 3 rows deep!

Greetings from Victory, where it's an invigorating 17 degrees and the sun is shining!
We have experienced lots of adventures lately as we battle against the cold. It's truly amazing what an effort it is to keep up a basic existence in a place like Alaska, and it makes us very thankful for the warm roof over our heads!
We came home from a trip to town a few weeks ago to step inside the house and find that it was only 42 degrees....inside!! (It was about 20 degrees outside.) Power surges around camp while we were gone had temporarily broken our heater and our house was frigid. It was late and we were hungry, so while Justin ran to the camp's woodshed to borrow some emergency logs, I put the girls on the couch with their winter coats and a blanket and started dinner. Justin got a fire going in the woodstove, we pulled out our small space heater, and soon it was a toasty 52 degrees inside! One of the camp's awesome maintenance men came and fixed the heater, but we quickly made the decision to rely on wood heat from there on out.
Justin enlisted the help of a couple of young men from camp and they spent one of Justin's days off chainsawing and hauling wood to our house. In the days since then Justin has spent many evenings out back with the chainsaw cutting the wood, and stacking it. I am thankful for a husband who works hard to keep his family warm, and thankful for a nice big woodstove to heat our home effectively and (somewhat) cheaply!

We woke early yesterday morning to find that our pipes had frozen, and there was no running water in the house. Matt and Andre came to work on the pipes and it wasn't long before I heard running water...coming from the pipe space beneath the girls' room and the bathroom. The pipes were spraying water everywhere and poor Matt was soaked. It was about 12 degrees outside and the wind was blowing off the lake, and Matt and Andre were having to run from house to truck and back again for parts. That is a recipe for hypothermia! The problem was eventually under control, but we need it to snow more here so that our pipes can be better insulated from the outside of the house.

We've had our fair share of sickness here lately, and now to top it all off, Norah came down with a stomach bug today. The crud is definitely going around camp and the community as well. Hopefully we can all be well again soon and not worry about sharing germs with each other!
On the program side of things, Justin is gearing up for Victory's high school retreat from November 16-18. He is also working with the program team on the theme for this summer. The theme has been chosen and now they are just working on the layout of everything.

Some ways you can be praying for us right now:

-That the fall sickness would leave our house and camp
-That we would have wisdom to know whether Norah should get tubes in her ears- (she has had recurring ear infections) we have a consultation next Wednesday with a doctor
-For the high school retreat, that it would be safe and fun, and many young hearts would be awakened to Christ

Setting a New Pace

Our  homemade scarecrow

The view of Index Lake from our kitchen window

Evie loves being a part of the Cubbies group at the church here

This is what we do with our extra time!

Norah's potentially unsafe new 'perch' :)

We are finding out that life moves a little more slowly up here in the mountains! While Justin certainly has an abundance of work to do, my job as mommy is slightly less demanding lately, and it feels so good!
While it felt a little strange at first to realize that I have nowhere in particular to go each day, (since we only plan to do a trip to town for groceries and other errands twice a month), and I had a bit of a 'boredom' syndrome going on at first, I am settling in to the more relaxed pace of living in the mountains far from town. It's a good thing I've got a little extra time on my hands, too, since our little quonset hut doesn't have a dishwasher or washer & dryer at the moment and that means a little extra work for everyone- but we are thankful to be right across the road from the laundry room here at Victory! I know that this nice relaxing time won't last forever, though, so I am trying to savor it while it does last!
Justin has certainly had plenty to do, helping to plan the upcoming Jr. High Retreat here at camp, recruiting staff to help counsel for that weekend, learning to host guest groups (since that will be a rotating duty of his all winter), figuring out the snow removal strategies around camp (we did not realize just how MUCH snow removal there must constantly be here!), and learning to use a chainsaw to cut wood for heating our house. All the work and busyness of the last couple of months seems to have caught up to our family, though, since we are all sick! Thankfully Justin's illness hit him over the weekend and he didn't miss out on too much work. :)
While we are still waiting on word of whether a couple more churches can pick us up on support, we are happy to say we've officially reached a solid 70 percent of our goal! We are praising God for this and praying that he continues to lead people to join the support team for us here at Victory.

Ways you can be in prayer for us:

-That Justin continues to learn his job of Program Director and what that all means
-That we can live as a family with a servant-hearted approach to our ministry here
-That the sickness leaves our house and we can all feel better soon!

Getting Settled In

a last bit of fall fun before leaving Minnesota

this is our new home--Blueberry

We are here at Victory, we are moved in to our house, and now we are settling in!
We had a bit of an adjustment coming in as it was 80 degrees in Minnesota when we left, and 40 degrees in Alaska when we arrived. We were a bit chilly for the first few days!
We had plenty of help from the awesome staff here as we unpacked, and meals brought to us the first week as we tried to find a place for everything and recover from jet lag. It has been a very smooth transition and we are thankful for that!
We are living in Blueberry, one of the quonset hut buildings here at camp. It is a unique little place and it's been interesting for me sometimes figuring out how to decorate a place with inward sloping walls! :)
We met with Jennifer Legg, the assimilation director here at camp, and went over lots of useful information on living here. While we have spent many summers here, we've never spent a winter living here as a family, and conference season can be quite a bit different than summer camp season. We are going to get on a roadkill team (sounds lovely, doesn't it?) and hopefully have a turn at one point or another to help clean a moose, cut and pack and grind and freeze meat for ourselves.
Justin started his first day as Program Director yesterday and he's excited about all the new possibilities for this next summer and the new connections that are being built between camp and local churches and youth groups.
Evie and Norah are adjusting wonderfully. Evie is excited to start Cubbies at the local AWANA group today. She's also so happy to have lots of staff kids to play with, and many of them are right around her age. Norah is still a little confused about where home is at times, but she is settling in.
All in all, we are so happy to finally be landed, and settle in for the winter and for the work of the conference season ahead! (We are just beginning to learn what that all means!)
A quick financial update: Our support percentage is right around 70% at this point. While we are so thankful and praising God for providing, we really need to be at the full amount of our goal in order to live without financial stress. Until we are at 100% we will be living on a smaller income. While it's worrisome, we are also anticipating what God will do to provide and we are doing our best to fully look to Him during this time.

Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-That our support will reach 100%
-That our transition into life at Victory will continue to be a smooth one
-That Justin will learn the ropes as program director and settle into his new role quickly

If it is easier for you to simply send an email or make a phone call rather than send in a pledge card, you can call the front desk here at camp at (907)745-4203 and let the secretary know that you would like to support us. You can also email her at elainea@vbcalaska.org.

Thank you for your prayers and support! 

Our Month-Long Trip

a hike at Silver Creek Falls in Salem, OR

Tubs at Mema's house in Mt. Joy, PA

along the Schuylkill River in Pottstown, PA

At the playground

croquet at Grandpa Elvin's in Winfield PA

Norah decided to climb back into the bathtub!

reading with Aunt Angie and the cousins

a brewing thunderstorm

another playground!

autumn beauty in Bemidji, MN

biking at Itasca State Park

cheese!!

forest fire watchtower at Itasca

It has been well over a month since I last wrote- oh no! We have not had internet access for most of our trip to the lower 48, and combined with a laptop whose keyboard is broken, communication to the rest of the world via computer just wasn't doable for several weeks!

It was perhaps a little bit nice to be away from the time-sucking power of the computer, though, and to enjoy friends and family and playing outside as a family!
So, an overview of our trip:
We spent 5 days in Salem, Oregon. Justin presented at Bethany Baptist Church, where he attended  during college. It was fun to see old friends and our girls had a blast getting to know the Sheets family and their two darling kids. Highlights of our time in Oregon: Hiking Silver Creek Falls, Evie falling into the swimming pool (this was not a happy highlight but a highlight nonetheless), hearing a fantastic sermon in Bethany Baptist on Sunday morning by Pastor Tim Baker, visiting the Trahern family on Labor Day, and soaking up 5 full days' worth of sunshine and 80 degrees!
We went to Pennsylvania for nearly 3 weeks and visited many different towns and communities, visiting family and presenting our ministry at Victory at 3 different churches. It was great to hang out with both sides of Justin's family and introduce everyone to our girls, who have never been to PA. Some highlights of our time in Pennsylvania: taking the girls to a wholesale farmer's market and a petting zoo, spending my 25th birthday with Justin's cousin Josh and his sweet wife Cristina, getting all the little ones together at Mema and Poppop's house to play and run wild, and presenting at the different churches where we had a unique and encouraging experience with each one.
We took a short road trip to North Carolina to visit the Eller family. It was a great time getting our kids together and enjoying the company of good friends!
We journeyed next to Northern Minnesota, where the fall colors are in full display. We've enjoyed relaxing a bit and having a slower schedule, and the girls have loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa every chance they get. Justin did a bit of recruiting for camp summer staff as he presented about Victory at Oak Hills Christian College here in Bemidji, the college that Steve is president at. Some highlights so far have been: deer spotting (we saw 28 deer in 14 miles on the drive up!), biking in Itasca State Park, walking the disc golf course here in town as Justin tried it out, and playing lots of games and enjoying family time.
Through it all, the girls have traveled wonderfully. We have joked that on the day we flew to Pennsylvania where we had a 7-hour unplanned stay at the San Francisco airport due to a delayed flight, the girls were happier than Justin and I! Norah did come down with an ear infection shortly after we got to PA but God gave us a huge blessing in providing quick and free care from a very kind doctor. We were very blessed to meet lots of new folks at the several churches we visited through our trip and were covered in prayer time and time again, for which we are so thankful.
We are still around 60 percent on our support as far as we know, but have hopes that we will have gotten a little further by the time we get back to camp. We are so thankful to have had this chance to say hello to dear ones and get in a trip to the lower 48 before we head up to our new home in just a few days!
Some prayer requests right now:
-That our transition & settling in to camp will be smooth
-That we will have wisdom with Norah's ear issues and deciding whether to have tubes put in
-That we have safety in travel in coming back to Alaska on Monday night
-That God will provide the remaining 40% of our support so we can serve Him singlemindedly!
Some praises:
-The amazing ways we have seen God answer prayer through large and small things, both in the last year and the last month.
-That He is bringing us to Victory after we've waited on Him- He is always faithful!

Treading Water!

Norah helps water my potato plants

...And sports her first real pigtails

It's August 8th. We are in the middle of a fabulously fun VBS at Calvary Baptist. We leave for a month in the lower 48 in 22 days.We have 16 days left in Kenai until we move. It's 13 days until Evie's birthday (if she knew how to count down days, she would be doing it!). Justin has 2 1/2 days of work left at his job, and I have 2 days of work remaining. Those are our countdown numbers at the moment!
This Sunday, the 12th, we will be hosting a soup & salad lunch at Calvary to give one last update on our ministry and support process. We are looking forward to talking about Victory, as always! Lunch will be around 12:45, or after the 2nd service if you'd like to attend!
Next weekend we will be taking the kids of Calvary's youth group to Anchorage for one last youth activity. It'll be an awesome weekend with disc golf, putt putt golf (hmm, I sense a theme here!) and hiking in Anchorage. It will be a little bittersweet, I think, knowing that it's our last trip with the precious teens at Calvary.
Our weekend in Glennallen was awesome! We had a beautiful day to drive up and spent the first night at camp. It was great to say hello to staff and campers we knew and to talk about how the summer went. It was so cool to see people that we'd met at the beginning of the summer and see how their confidence in their staff roles had grown and how God had obviously done some awesome work over the summer! We camped at the Tolsona Wilderness Campground just outside Glennallen. We got to say hi to some of Justin's old friends and meet some new folks too! Evie and Norah had a ton of fun with kids there and went through 3 changes of clothes in one day. (You would think I'd have remembered that we had bathing suits for them, and just let them play in the river/mud that way!) On Saturday night Justin and I got a chance to share our testimonies with the people of GCC. I always dread speaking to bigger groups of people, but am always amazed how God seems to help me to make sense with what I say anyways! On Sunday morning Justin talked about Victory and answered questions about camp. It was so fun to talk with people and find all the connections we had, and mutual friends across the state. Alaska's such a big state and yet you can always seem to find someone who knows someone you know! Another reason why we love this place. :) We believe God was glorified through our weekend there and are also thankful that Norah only cried for the last 45 minutes of a 8-hour stint in the car!
All the busyness of this month has left me wondering when we will find the time to pack our things and say goodbye to the sweet friends we have made during our last two years of living in Kenai and attending our wonderful church. I'm trying to focus on the unseen during this time and let God's peace rule in my heart and mind. Above all, we're excited to see the next 'bend in the river' as God's amazing plan for our family slowly unfolds. We are so thankful to Him for His faithfulness day after day.

Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-That this busy month goes smoothly
-That our move to Victory goes well and that we have safety in travel
-That God is glorified through this week of teaching VBS and seeds of salvation are planted in kids' hearts
-Praise to God for always being sufficient!

Thanks as always for your prayers and support!