Just a quick update on life & ministry here at Victory. We seem to have lost our camera's battery charger so no pictures for now! :( Hopefully once we replace it I can post a longer update and some photos.
It is March! Two of Victory's largest guest groups will be on the ground this weekend and next, and Justin is hosting a work team of 14 people from Ecola Bible School for the next 10 days. So these will be a busy next couple of weeks for us!
I'm excited because I volunteered to help make espresso in the gift shop for mornings when groups are here, and I get to be trained this weekend. I love meeting new people and I love to make coffee, so it's a good combination!
Something neat happened this last weekend. We went to Kenai for a few days to visit my family and watch my sister perform in her theater company's production of South Pacific. We had been planning to give a quick update to our home church there in Kenai, but Justin was asked to fill in for the sermon at the last minute. Our Pastor at Calvary Baptist is recovering from a heart attack and heart surgery, and there had been no one to fill in until we realized that Justin would be able to go to Kenai with us at the last minute. It was comforting to see God's provision for pastor and church at the spur of the moment like that, and Justin was able to share with the church about Victory's theme for the summer, servant leadership, and how Christ-like leadership looks much more like servanthood to the rest of the world.
The girls are doing well. We've recently decided to start school with Evie this fall. Her birthday falls about 10 days before the cutoff for kindergarten, so it was a tough decision of whether to start her as a very young kindergartner, or start her next year as a very old kindergartner. But we've realized she is too hungry to learn and I would be teaching her "school" material anyways at the rate she's going! Norah is suddenly talking not only in sentences now, but with sophisticated and usually correct grammar! It surprises us sometimes what comes out of her mouth! Though the pronunciation of some of the words could use a little help - my recent favorite mispronounced words of hers are "teep" for teeth, and "guggle" for snuggle. :)
We hope you are having a good spring, or if you're in Alaska, a good pre-spring. Thanks as always for your prayers and support!!
Ways you can pray for us right now:
-That the team from Ecola has safety in maintenance, housekeeping, and kitchen work
-That the Church on the Rock ladies would have a great time of spiritual renewal this weekend
-That the B.O.W. group (Become an Outdoors Woman) would see Christ in every staff member strongly next weekend- this is not a christian group so there is a strong chance to show God's love to the people we come in contact with!
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Friday, March 1, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Goodbye, January!
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| We have had several good dustings of snow but not much warm weather |
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| Norah on her 2nd birthday |
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| Getting ready to run the dogs with the 4-wheeler |
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| Practicing making snow angels- that and throwing snowballs are the girls' favorite winter activity! |
Oh, goodness! I haven't written in almost 3 weeks! I will begin marking my calendar again to schedule writing posts. Usually, if it's on my calendar, I don't forget, and it gets done.
We are at the end of January and I must admit that this month alone has felt like a year. The day we celebrated New Years' seems like a very, very long time ago. But I suppose being sick and not doing much will make time drag on. But I am slowly feeling better as I get into my 2nd trimester. A few exciting things have happened and I feel ready to take on the second half of winter! (If you don't live in Alaska, we don't get spring until May up here in the mountains, so it is still a long way off!)
We celebrated Norah's 2nd birthday yesterday. We had a small party with friends over to have cake & ice cream, but I think Norah's favorite part was the many balloons we blew up and released on the floor. She especially enjoyed sitting on them and bouncing until they popped. There are only a few balloons left now! My favorite part was immediately after she blew out her candles, when she tried to plant her face in the frosting on the cake. We stopped her in the nick of time but I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see a face print in the cake. :) Of course, I can't find my camera's battery charger at the moment, so there are no pictures. We were able to get a few grainy shots with our webcam when she opened gifts. We are thankful to God for giving us such a funny, tough, good-natured little girl.
In other exciting news, the sunshine is back! With gaining about 5 minutes of daylight a day, the sun can now climb high enough over Teepee Ridge to just shine in our windows for about 20 minutes each morning! That is, on days that the sun is out. When it's cloudy it's much warmer and we can play outside, so I'm not sure which I prefer.
Today one of the water lines in camp broke, and it caused all of camp except Ranch Camp to be without water. Being the wonderful housewife that I am, I was way behind on dishes and laundry and had planned to finally get them all caught up today. Not anymore! Justin and few of the other staff hauled water from Ranch Camp to the families around campus so that they could at least manage. I did attempt washing a small load of laundry in the bathtub and it did not go well. Am I ever thankful that we live in the age we do and have all kinds of modern conveniences. I would not do well as an Alaskan homesteader!
If you don't receive our mailchimp updates, Justin has announced that we are at about 97% of our support goal and while that is incredibly exciting (I honestly couldn't imagine that we would ever make it so far!), that we now have to raise our goal slightly to $3800 per month rather than $3330. This is for several reasons-
1. Our family is growing- and our budget will have to follow suit! :)
2. We were unaware when we initially set our support goal that all families on staff are required to live at 3% less than they actually bring in. This is to provide a cushion for costs and while we do agree and appreciate it, we were not able to include that fact when we set our original goal.
3. We forgot to allow for taxes to be taken out of our monthly income (silly us- we forgot that Uncle Sam always takes his cut. :) ). While our income has still been enough to live on monthly, our savings funds and things we would like to eventually save for (retirement, children's college fund) have had to be left aside.
We want to be good stewards of the money God has so graciously provided for us and stay honest with our needs. And while it's a terrible sinking feeling to go from 97% to 85%, which is where we believe we fall with our new goal, we know that God always provides, obviously! He has done things that we will never forget and that have grown our faith considerably since arriving here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for supporting us financially and in prayer. We love every one of you!
P.S. If you would like to receive our quarterly updates written from Justin by email, just shoot him an email at justin_scott_hostetter@yahoo.com and he will add you to the list!
Friday, January 11, 2013
January 11th Update
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| After recovering from surgery, the first thing Norah wanted to eat was a cookie. We didn't say no! |
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| The girls' favorite project lately- painting fingernails together! |
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| Norah points to her ears to show where the doctor fixed her up. |
I apologize for skipping a few weeks of blogging...the morning sickness has hit me hard and I have to say that this is the worst I have ever experienced it. It has made even basic things difficult to do!
Justin has taken great care of me, though, and been an awesome help around the house and with the girls (which is actually nothing apart from the norm...what a lucky woman I am! :) ) and our friends here at camp have been wonderful with offers of help as well. Hopefully I am halfway through and will be feeling better by February.
Our Christmas was a mellow and happy one, spent at home here with just our little family of 4. We celebrated New Years by playing board games with our friends the McAlarys and going home well before midnight because I was not feeling too well!
On the 8th we traveled to Anchorage for Norah's pre-op appointment with the doctor who would perform her surgery, and we got up very early on the 9th to go in for her ear tube surgery. The hardest part was denying her any water during the night since she wasn't supposed to have food or drink for 8 hours before the surgery. It was hot in the hotel room and she woke up begging for water and it was so tough to say no!
The surgery was very quick and Norah did wonderfully. She didn't even get upset when I handed her over to the anesthesiologist so she could go back to the O.R. When she woke up she was very mellow and not fussy like we were told to expect. The only bad part was when we got back to the hotel, she threw up in the lobby--in the breakfast room, to be exact, just as people around us were getting their breakfast! That will kill you appetite for sure!
We are thankful everything went so well and we are just going to continue to pray that there are no complications that will come of the surgery, or that she will need subsequent sets of tubes (apparently about 30% of children will need a second set).
Justin and the rest of the staff are gearing up for the Jr. High Blast, a retreat that Victory offers for youth that age over next weekend. If you have a junior higher interested in coming, check out the website at victorymin.org!
The sun is coming!! Yesterday the skies were clear up here in the mountains, and the sun rose high enough over Teepee Ridge to touch the edge of Index Lake. I am thinking that means that withing the next couple of weeks, we will have sunshine coming in our windows! It's very exciting when you haven't seen the sun, literally, for 2 months!
Some ways you can be in prayer for us right now:
-That the Jr. High Blast will go smoothly and many young people will have their hearts & minds turned to Christ over the weekend
-That Norah's ears continue to heal well and that there are no complications later
-That the morning sickness eases up soon since I'm not good for much lately!
-That Justin and I will be faithful in speaking the gospel to Evie. She definitely understands about salvation and has been talking a lot lately about what Jesus did. I'm just not sure she completely understands her need yet!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Merry Christmas!
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| Decorating Christmas cookies at home |
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| Taylor, Evie, Raeghan and Norah play Hungry Hippos on Justin's birthday |
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| Our 2nd new little buddy, Po. The girls love the guinea pigs! |
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| A blurry picture of Justin with his birthday pie :) |
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| Evie and her Uncle Logan watch a movie together at the Mese house |
In case you hadn't heard our news, our family is growing! Baby Hostetter #3 is on the way and will join us sometime around the middle of August. We are so excited and feel it is yet another blessing from God and we are so thankful for the wonderful gifts we've had from Him in the last few months. It cements for us the feeling that God has indeed called us to Victory, and while we know it won't always be easy, it is His faithfulness in the present that will help us trust Him when hard times do come.
We celebrated Justin's 31st birthday on the 15th with friends, dinner, and dessert. I'm so happy to be married to him, and know that he is a gift from God!
Norah has surgery to insert tubes in her ears scheduled for January 9th. We are thankful to have found a good doctor/surgeon and we're just hoping she holds out and doesn't get any more infections between now and then.
While visiting here in Kenai we have had cold & stomach bugs (of course! It never fails! :( ) and have also gotten to enjoy a Christmas singing service with our church family at Calvary Baptist. We've got hockey games on the agenda and tomorrow night Justin is planning a Mission Impossible night for the Calvary and local youth. Thanks to everyone for reading, and for the prayers and support! Have a very Merry Christmas!
Some ways you can be praying for us right now:
-For my energy level and responsibilities as mom...morning sickness has come early :(
-For Norah to stay healthy until her surgery, and prayer on January 9th for a quick, smooth procedure
-For the guest groups scheduled to be at Victory around Christmas time, that their souls are fed and they draw closer to God during their time at camp
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
December 5th Update
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| Thanksgiving fun on Index Lake |
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| 4 o'clock moonrise |
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| Overflow from the lake has made accidental 'ice sculptures' |
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| This is what Norah does to Evie when Evie falls asleep |
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| Evie showing off the advent calendar she helped me make |
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| 'Tis the season for pumpkin everything! |
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| Norah decided Minnie needed a bath...using the toilet and her toothbrush |
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| 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.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!
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| Getting ready to take the dogs for a run |
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| Norah helps stack wood |
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| Decorating Daddy is a fun way to spend the evening |
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| Reading as a family |
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!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Welcome to Winter
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| The girls & I took a trip to Kenai last week. Norah had fun with Uncle Max! |
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| 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
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