Orientation Week

The view from Victory road

The girls playing in the garden outside our house

We are right in the middle of orientation week, which is when the summer staff are trained for their specific jobs and schedules. This is also the week that's super important for bonding together as a staff and making sure we all have one goal in common: Christ-like servanthood and a heart to share Jesus with others. There are lots of classes that the staff have to attend to be educated on important issues that they may face with campers, and there are also lots of fun activities planned for the staff to get to know each other and camp better. We have been having lovely weather (for Alaska anyways :) with the occasional rain shower, which is a blessing because it keeps down the dust from the roads!
The ice is out on the lakes, FINALLY, and the docks were put in Index Lake today! Swim test for the staff is on Monday and the water should be right around 40ish degrees.
We're asking if you would join us in prayer for the coming summer. Camp starts Wednesday, June 12th. It's always amazing and heartbreaking to see the children that come through camp; some come from good homes and some definitely do not. We love that camp is a place where these kids feel comfortable enough to share their lives with their counselors and take steps closer to Jesus, whether they have a relationship with Him already or he is still preparing their hearts. Please pray:-That the soil in these young people's hearts would be soft and open to receive the seeds of the gospel

-That those who already know the Lord would grow in their faith in life-changing ways through their time at camp

-For health and safety for all kids and staff this summer

-For unity within the staff and a God-focused outlook

-We still have needs for chapel speakers and worship leaders for a few separate weeks of camp- pray that the gaps would be filled!

Thanks as always for your support of our family here at Victory! We love being here and God has made that possible through you!

May 22nd Update

The parking lot outside Miracle Lodge had to be completely dug up to reach the piping

The girls wave from inside their new fenced yard

Evie tries out her new big girl bike!

Norah tries out Evie's old tricycle which is now hers :)

We still have a few staff needs here at camp, but for the most part we are set and ready for summer! Orientation begins June 4th and the first day of camp is June 12th.
Most of our snow here is gone, but the lake is still frozen and that is a concern. We have one more guest group coming this weekend that sadly won't be able to use the lake like they normally do. It has just been one late spring for all of Alaska! Temperatures are still dipping below freezing every night and that makes it impossible for the lake ice to break up. Last weekend we had what we hope is the last snowstorm of the year. Apparently Anchorage and surrounding areas set a new record for longest season of snowfall, totaling 232 days of the year. That's a solid 2/3rds of the year! Sometimes I question why we live in Alaska! But then I see God's incredible creation that is everywhere you look, and I remember. :)
The mess with the water pipes to Miracle Lodge has been mostly resolved from what I know, and there is only a small hole left in the main parking lot instead of a gaping chasm. The maintenance men are certainly the unsung heroes of camp ministry!
We have transitioned into springtime with our family life, and the girls have spent a lot of time outside lately. We were able to get our front yard fenced, which gives Evie and Norah a lot more freedom because even if Mom is busy they can go out and play and I don't have to worry about cars driving by on the road that runs next to our house. Now it just needs to warm up a bit more, so we can swim!
Some summer staff has already arrived, mostly leadership, and they have been working on things like setting up summer schedules, taking CPR and first aid classes to get certifications, and next weekend they will take a camping trip together to build team unity! I am feeling led to take up the ministry of prayer for the summer and the summer staff, like I did the last summer we were here, as I know it's a very needed thing and something I can do to support the staff.
If you or someone you know is not sure what to do with their summer and would like to enjoy God's amazing creation in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, we have a need for lifeguards, Wilderness Camp staff, and a few other spaces for college age and up. Contact Justin if you're interested! 907-745-4203 or justinh@vbcalaska.org.

Some ways you can pray for us right now:

-That the lake will thaw sooner rather than later so that the orientation swim test doesn't have to be taken amidst icebergs
-Continued healing for permanent staff Jennifer, Carole, and Abigail
-For the summer staff positions to be filled by people desiring to serve God this summer

Let the fun begin!

As Evie sits cluelessly enjoying her movie and snack, our friend Kyle's dog intently begs for a bite!

The girls love to swim!

...And they love to swim with Grandma and Grandpa even more!

Evie shows off the ice cream truck she made for the AWANA grand prix

She is so proud of her ribbon

Sadly, this is what our May has looked like so far. More like March!

Let's hope the sunshine melts the snow soon

Despite the snow, we have strawberries sprouting in our garden!

We also have rhubarb coming up. Looks like I'll be making pies this summer! Yum!

Today is May 6th and it has finally stopped snowing! We had several days straight of non-stop snowfall and it certainly didn't feel like May. But today it's 45 degrees (warm for here!) and we are enjoying sunshine!
There is a lot going on at camp right now, some of it good and some not so good. Today is the first day of Outdoor Education groups on the grounds, and Victory both hosts the groups and leads some of the activities for them. It has been a little tricky for the staff trying to figure out how to get everything for the groups done since there's not usually this much snow left at this time of year, and it has hindered some of the things that are always planned.
We have had some major issues with water again in the camp. Right now the maintenance men have dug up hundreds of feet of ground trying to find one specific break in the water lines that has left part of camp and the main lodge with little to no water. The phone lines were accidentally hit during the digging which cut off all our camp lines (at least we still have outside lines, thank goodness!) and the internet at the main lodge. But the men are faithfully working away at all the problems and it's so encouraging and humbling to see their happy attitudes despite long hours and little rest.
Justin is only planning 2 church visits this month which is less than last month, so there should be less traveling in our family's future. The leadership staff for the summer (the Alpine, Ranch, Frontier and S.A.L.T camp directors and their assistants) will begin arriving in about 10 days, which is very exciting! They are taking time to arrive early and have about an extra week of training before the rest of the summer staff get here for orientation, which I think is very wise and should allow for more unity and a very cohesive staff this summer. We are getting really excited to see what God is going to do in people's lives this summer, and in fact we have already begun to see the awesome works He is doing in some of the summer staff's hearts. We were able to talk to one girl who has had an amazing awakening in her life- the belief in God was always there but it is REAL now, she is soaking in the truth that only comes from God and she is excited and so eager to serve Him his summer! Seeing things like this happen in young people's lives are the reason we love being here at Victory!!

Some ways you can be praying for us right now:

-One of the staff wives, Jennifer, had to have unexpected brain surgery to remove a brain tumor last week. She is recovering well but is not able to come home yet. Please pray for her to continue to get well as she has to relearn some basic things, and for their 3 young children who are still here at camp. God has been very present in the entire situation but it is very hard on a husband and kids when mama is not well! Pray for encouragement!

-For continued healing for Carole and Abigail- 2 staff ladies who have neck & back injuries that require patience for healing and grace to cope with daily pain.

-For our water situation to be resolved once and for all! The maintenance men are super busy on a normal day, and to have this problem as we head into summer could be overwhelming.

-This is a praise- yesterday evening we had an amazing time of sharing God's word with each other, and prayer for the camp and each other as a staff. It was an incredibly uplifting time. It's awesome to be reminded of what we're doing here and what an awesome God we serve!

April 23rd Update

A more recent family picture

Evie, Justin and the Grandparents hiked with the dogs up Teepee Ridge in the snow

The view of the highway coming up to camp from the top of the ridge

Evie sits with Grandpa Steve at the top

It's officially breakup in our neck of the woods! While we are still having days when it snows, the sun is definitely winning in the long run, and the roads around camp are all mud and slush. The girls have had a blast playing in the puddles outside.
Our guest groups at Victory have subsided for the most part now, and the focus is turning to preparation for Outdoor Education camps that will be held next month, and being more and more ready for summer camp.
Justin's parents arrived for a visit this past week and we've also been kept busy with Justin's camp presentations. We spent last Saturday at Anchorage's Promise Kid's Day- a positive community event with 70 booths representing businesses, organizations and camps, and each one had an activity or game for children. There were an estimated 10-15,000 people who came through the Denaina Center in Anchorage where it was held, and we brought the girls. While Justin and the rest of the program team worked at our Victory booth, talking to people about camp, handing out brochures, and helping kids assemble a VBC headband craft, the grandparents and I walked around the center with the girls. It was a long day but hopefully a fruitful one for camp, and definitely a fun one for the girls!
We presented at Lazy Mountain Bible Church in Palmer this past Sunday, both for camp and to give a personal update on our ministry. We are hoping that these many appearances that have been made on Victory's behalf at churches and youth/children's events will draw campers and staff to come experience camp this summer, and learn about the awesome love of God.


Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-That the staff team that is being built for summer would be made of God-loving, servant-hearted, teachable people who will also be able to grow personally through their summer here
-That God would provide more college-age male counselors for the summer, as we still have a shortage
-That there would be safety at camp and on the lakes with all the snow & ice melting and making a bit of a mess
-That our family would remain God-focused through the last part of this exceptionally busy month

As always, thanks so much for your continued prayers and support! You all mean so much to us!

April 4th Update

Just over halfway through the pregnancy!

Easter egg fun at Grammie's house

Norah thought that the egg dye tablets were candy, and she was too quick for us. Good thing they're non-toxic!

Dyeing eggs with aunties and uncles!

The joy of finding an egg during the egg hunt!

Posing with their Easter baskets...or yawning

Norah finds an egg

Evie shows her finds

One of Evie's favorite things about visiting Grammie  & Papa is that her aunts doll her up. She loves it!

 We just returned from an 8-day trip to Kenai for Easter, and to North Star Bible Camp in Willow for a CCCA conference. We're glad to be home for a couple of days before hitting the road again, this time to Glennallen so Justin can present at Glennallen Community Chapel and Alaska Bible College on behalf of Victory.
We had a fun time in Kenai with family. The trip turned a little bit frightening when we experienced a health scare with my dad, but God is good and He did an amazing work, and I'm thankful to say my dad's doing much better now. We headed up to Willow very early Monday morning for a conference held with several other camps from around the state.
I hesitate to say it,  but breakup could actually be on the way for our part of Alaska! It has already begun in other areas and the patches of snowless ground outside are slowly growing bigger and bigger! I even saw several trees sprouting fuzzy buds as we drove around the state last week.
Camp has had a few issues lately with injured staff and damage to guest housing. We could use prayer as we are also shorthanded since a couple of the staff families are traveling to raise support this month. It's wonderful to see everyone step up and fill in where needed, but it definitely puts stress on staff and, in turn, staff families.

Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-That maintenance issues would be solved with some of the camp housing that was severely damaged due to water
-That Abigail, a member of the program team, would have quick healing after injuries from a snowmachining accident, and that a staff wife would have healing after being injured in a car accident
-For our family, that the issues with our housing would be resolved. Our pipes froze yet again while we were gone last week
-For a reminder during busy/stressful times that we are here working for the Lord and not for ourselves

Happy Spring?

Spruce Lodge on a sunny, pseudo-spring day

Victory Peak as seen from outside our house

Norah is getting big- we've begun potty training and she's doing great!

Justin likes it when I get bored, because I bake!!

Norah put 'covers' on our friend's puppy. She loves animals!

The men play floor hockey on Sunday nights. This is what happens when Daddy plays :)

"Just be quiet and eat the brownie batter, Norah..."

Hooray! Our prodigal camera charger has returned home! And a second note: I honestly do dress my children. They just choose to wear  bathing suits and dress-ups constantly at home. :)

Happy first day of spring! That's what my calendar says, anyway. It is high noon right now, and the temperature outside is 9 degrees. Doesn't feel like spring to me. But I will take the sunshine and the longer days!
We are definitely going a little stir crazy here at this time of year and I am trying to come up with lots of creative things for the girls to do so that they (and me as well) don't go crazy since we can't go outside. Hopefully about a month from now the snow will finally be melting, but I'll try not to get ahead of myself. :)

We had a bit of an adventure last week. The temperature dropped to around zero during the night and a very cold wind was blowing in off the lake. We woke the next morning to find that our pipes had frozen, which has happened before, but when Justin put the space heater on the pipes, we realized they had broken and within minutes there were a couple of feet of water and more pouring into the bottom of our house. Thankfully, the space down there is only used for pipe access and we had nothing stored there, because it would have been destroyed! The men were able to get the problem fixed within a couple of hours, so we weren't without water for very long.

Our two biggest retreat group weekends went really well and I hope that being here at camp was a blessing to all several hundred people that attended! I had been planning to sit in on the field dressing and dutch oven cooking classes that Becoming an Outdoor Woman put on, but that weekend Norah came down with a little case of croup and I didn't feel like I should leave her with anyone to share germs. But later that weekend we got to sit in on an Alaska's owls presentation, where we were introduced to all the different types of owls that live in Alaska, and then we got to see a live great horned owl! The girls enjoyed imitating each example owl sound that they heard. They also got to look at the caribou (that were going to be shot and cleaned the next morning, but we didn't tell the girls that!) in the pen near our house, and that was exciting.

My friend Bridget and I started a ladies' Bible study and last night was the first meeting. It's a study by Lysa Terkeurst and I think we're really going to enjoy it. It's awesome to be able to get with so many other ladies from the staff and community and fellowship and laugh and learn things together.

We are coming up on April which is going to be a very busy month for the program department. Justin will be gone nearly every weekend to present at churches and schools and to encourage campers and recruit staff. Hopefully the girls and I can join him on a couple of trips so that we can actually see him sometimes! :)
Also in April, and very exciting, Justin's parents are coming up from Minnesota for a visit. Evie keeps asking how long it will be until Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Steve get here! I hope that the weather will be more mild then than it is now, so that we can get outside, even if it is muddy or slushy.

The summer staff is coming together slowly but surely, and Justin's board of positions is being filled bit by bit. We are in need of male counselors, so if you know of any college age or older guys who are not sure what God wants them to do with their summer, send them to Victory's webpage to get an application!

Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-That the summer staff will continue to fall into place and be exactly the people that God has chosen to use this summer
-That there will be safety in all Justin's travels next month and that the trips will be fruitful 
-That we will continue to parent our children with the mindset of shepherding their hearts and teaching them to love the Lord, even when discipline is difficult, and that the boredom will stay at bay!

Quick Update

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!