November 30th Update

Grady takes in his first hockey game and watches his Uncle Isaac play. I told Grady to take notes!!

The girls helped bake and decorate their own fall cupcakes!

The quality of light around 3pm. The sun no longer makes it over the ridge. We'll see it again around February! :(

Norah loves school too when she can help Evie with projects. The volcano before...

And after!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was a little interesting due to having the stomach flu visit our house the day before Thanksgiving.We'd had a plan set in place with some good friends and so of course that didn't work out. Our poor little girls were not in good shape so we spent Wednesday cleaning up messes and watching cartoons and on Thursday we slept in and had Thanksgiving dinner at our leisure  (well, Justin and I did...the girls' appetites weren't up to par). All in all, though it would have been more fun to celebrate with friends or family, it was a relaxing day and we enjoyed the company of our kiddos and were able to focus on our many blessings without the worthy distractions of traveling, cleaning house, or being busy!
Victory's high school retreat was cancelled last weekend due to some pretty awful weather. If you live in AK, you know what I'm talking about! When roads close in Alaska due to weather, you know it's bad. Anchorage, Palmer and Wasilla received freezing rain which turned cars to ice cubes and roads to skating rinks. We didn't get much warmer than 13 degrees here at camp, but we got some wind and blowing snow that caused a power outage that lasted about 36 hours. That was a bit of a challenge with 3 kids, being the longest outage I've experienced since living up here. (We have frequent power outages but they usually only last a couple of hours.) We were thankful to have lots of candles and flashlights, a gas range rather than an electric one, and a woodstove! We ended up putting the contents of our refrigerator and deep freeze into coolers on the back porch. Did you know that you can freeze eggs and then thaw and use them again? I didn't either, but now I do. :)
We are looking at December now and the girls are awfully excited about Christmas. Last year we started what seems to be becoming a family tradition of making an advent calendar with a fun Christmas activity to count down every day till Christmas. It especially helps Evie because she can see the time pass in a more understandable way (versus Norah who is still at the age of being excited but not completely sure why).
We hope your holiday season is great and that you don't let the happy chaos of the next month or so overshadow the TRUE reason for the joy that we can have! I will be telling myself that often enough in the next few weeks. :)

November Snow

Our resident beaver was making himself a little too comfortable. The pond was starting to flood. So now the beaver is trapped and skinned and we got to watch the breaking up of the dam by heavy equipment!

Right before our big snow. You can see the mountains were ready!

Our new mouser Rajah really loves Norah...even though she tries to kill him daily!

This little man is almost always smiling! If you place him in the middle of a blanket he will have used his legs to push himself across it within minutes! He just needs to figure out the use of his arms. :)

The snow is here! We got around a foot in a night & a day. Evie's snowpants are mysteriously lost in our house at the moment, so the snow outside remains mostly untouched by little footprints. (They are like their mother anyways: huge lovers of the outdoors but only if the temperature remains above freezing!)
November as a whole is pretty quiet this year around camp - last year it was quite busy so it differs from year to year. There will be plenty of snow removal duties for everyone, though, so they shouldn't get too bored. :)
Evie came down with an ear infection over the past weekend and we made the drive to town to see the doctor on partially unplowed roads and lots of fresh snow. The highway was cleared  much better by the time we drove home in the dark, but we are thankful for snow tires and 4-wheel drive!

Ways you can be praying right now:
-For safety for staff members on the roads & around camp with all the new snow
-For wisdom & discernment as Justin and the program staff discuss next summer and any program changes that may need to take place
-Though there is a lot going on at camp, it is far too easy for me to get my focus stuck inside my own little bubble. Please join me in praying for the recovery from typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines, and the many hurting survivors who lost loved ones. Please pray also for North Korea at this time to be freed from the evil that is going on there. Pray for God's love & power to be shown in both these places right now!

Fall Update

The view from the living room window of our new house

Grady is 2 months old now!

The house has no bathtub so we bathe the girls in totes...Norah is also a ham!

She loves her baby brother

The girls decided our pumpkin needed makeup

He is definitely our most smiley baby!

Norah plays at Grammie's house with our new kitty...his name is either Rajah or Plum, depending on who you ask

Hello after a 2-month break!  (An unintentional one, of course...)
Fall has come and gone up here at Victory and now we are waiting on winter to show up. It's been a very mild fall (usually we have snow on the ground by now) that seems to be imitating our higher-than-average summer temperatures. I am personally just fine with no snow yet...because when it does come it stays much longer than you want it to!
We moved into a new house on September 24th. It is far bigger than the 700-ish square foot house we had been living in, so we are very thankful for more space so our growing family can spread out! We have space for a schoolroom as well so that has made school much easier & less stressful when we can leave projects out and have a defined space to do schoolwork.
Evie is loving Kindergarten and is eager to learn every day (she is bummed on Sundays and Mondays because they're not a school day!). She is learning in her ballet/tap class as well and is excited for the several recitals she'll have throughout the school year. We like being in the IDEA program. The only tough thing about school is fitting it into our shaky new routine with now a school-age child, an active toddler, and a newborn!
We are now going in to town once a week (Evie has dance on Mondays, Justin's day off) instead of twice a month, which means more trips in the car, more appointments and shopping trips all crammed into one day, and more general busyness!
Norah is going to be 3 in just a few months and she is always looking to Evie as her example, which can be both good and bad! She has been kept very busy the past few days with the new kitty that has joined our home. She likes to spend lots of time playing with the kitty but has also unintentionally nearly murdered him a couple of times...he will grow up to be a tough cat and hopefully a good mouser!
Grady got to meet my family (those who hadn't yet seen him) when we visited Kenai last week. It was fun to introduce him to my dad and watch him smile & coo at his Papa, whom I think Grady resembles greatly when he smiles! We were also able to have Pastor Phil Reemtsma, at our sending church in Kenai, do Grady's baby dedication. It is special to us because now all 3 of our children have been dedicated by the same dear friend & pastor in the same church.
Camp has been very busy over the last couple of months. To take from a fellow camp wife's blog:

Here comes a huge stretch of groups coming to Victory. We have a secular competition choir, a mission organization bringing in all of their field families, 2 air force groups, a pastor's retreat of local pastors, a group that has been coming for the last 30 years, 3 large youth groups, and a men's group that helps men battle addiction and struggles in their lives. And that's just October. What an awesome opportunity to show the love of God by serving these groups. Please be praying for their retreats and our interactions with them.

Justin got to enjoy a Halo party yesterday evening with some of the other men on staff (and one good friend who drove up from Palmer just to play!). They were out till midnight. :) I love that our coworkers here are also our friends; we are blessed to live in a community that is also our family!

I am adjusting being a mommy of 3 and the constant prioritizing that comes with it. I am constantly tempted to get frustrated because I tend toward needing to be in control of my surroundings...and with a family like ours that is simply not possible! There are so many voices (and not necessarily bad ones) in the world that tell you that to be a successful wife & mother you need to have an organized home, well behaved children, a hot meal on the table 3 times a day, and a creative hobby on the side that you are good at...and while these are all great things, they are very hard to achieve at the same time! I struggle with being frustrated when I don't see myself measuring up to that standard. But I read a blog posting the other day that was very encouraging to me; here's a snippet:

Our pastor was pointing us to the Scriptures and encouraging us to minister to our children, reminding us of our call to disciple them through instruction, discipline, and relationship.  I think being reminded of all of the good we can do in our children’s lives might be what caused the Spirit to prick my heart at that moment with this thought:
I process my life through the lens of failure.  I have trouble seeing the good and focus only on what I’m not doing or can’t do.
Like a camera with an improperly focused lens, my perspective was blurring what should have been in crisp focus and drawing my eye to what belonged in the fuzzy background.
- See more at: http://www.itakejoy.com/is-your-lens-properly-focused-mine-wasnt/#sthash.zenNHfVR.dUATyZc1.dpuf

Our pastor was pointing us to the Scriptures and encouraging us to minister to our children, reminding us of our call to disciple them through instruction, discipline, and relationship.  I think being reminded of all of the good we can do in our children’s lives might be what caused the Spirit to prick my heart at that moment with this thought:
I process my life through the lens of failure.  I have trouble seeing the good and focus only on what I’m not doing or can’t do.
Like a camera with an improperly focused lens, my perspective was blurring what should have been in crisp focus and drawing my eye to what belonged in the fuzzy background.
- See more at: http://www.itakejoy.com/is-your-lens-properly-focused-mine-wasnt/#sthash.zenNHfVR.dUATyZc1.dpuf

Our pastor was pointing us to the Scriptures and encouraging us to minister to our children, reminding us of our call to disciple them through instruction, discipline, and relationship.  I think being reminded of all of the good we can do in our children’s lives might be what caused the Spirit to prick my heart at that moment with this thought:
I process my life through the lens of failure.  I have trouble seeing the good and focus only on what I’m not doing or can’t do.
Like a camera with an improperly focused lens, my perspective was blurring what should have been in crisp focus and drawing my eye to what belonged in the fuzzy background.
- See more at: http://www.itakejoy.com/is-your-lens-properly-focused-mine-wasnt/#sthash.zenNHfVR.dUATyZc1.dpuf

"I process my life through the lens of failure. I have trouble seeing the good and focus only on what I'm not doing or can't do. Like a camera with an improperly focused lens, my perspective was blurring what should have been in crisp focus and drawing my eye to what belonged in the fuzzy background....
You have had a unique life during which you have had experiences and training that make you who you are as a person and a mom.
...So, stop feeling bad that you're not doing life with your kids someone else's way, and do it your way. That's the way the Lord would have you do it. After all, he did give your kids to you! And I have a strong feeling that there are wonderful things happening in your home simply because of who you are as mama to your little ones."
(From itakejoy.com)

You are “Just Right”:  You have a unique life during which you have had experiences and training that make you who you are as a person and a mom.  I think that’s pretty stinkin’ cool!  You may be a crafter extraordinaire.  If you are, craft it up with your kids.  Share with them what makes your heart sing.  Or, you may be useless in all things domestic but love the great outdoors.  So, stop feeling bad that you’re not doing life with your kids someone else’s way, and do it your way.  THAT’s the way the Lord would have you do it.  After all, He did give your kids to you!  And I have strong feeling that there are some wonderful things happening in your home simply because of who you are as mama to your little ones.  (Don’t believe me?  Ask an outsider for their perspective!) - See more at: http://www.itakejoy.com/is-your-lens-properly-focused-mine-wasnt/#sthash.zenNHfVR.dUATyZc1.dpuf

And it's true! While I may struggle with keeping the laundry caught up (...ok, it's NEVER caught up) or the dishwasher loaded, it is very easy for me to spend the whole afternoon reading with my girls or taking them outside to explore the yard & woods around our house. As my super wise, super experienced mom told me when we visited last week, "It's OK to lower the bar a little bit!"
...So if my husband comes home tonight to find the house a wreck, one of the girls up to her elbows in peanut butter, the other girl with a whole bowl of cheez-its dumped out all over the floor (that actually happened yesterday), the baby screaming, and me happily reading a book, I'll tell him it's OK because I'm lowering the bar just a bit. Alright, just joking, but really, it is comforting to know that I simply need to love my children and I'm already doing the only job that I TRULY need to do!

So here are some ways you can be praying right now:

-For the groups that are coming through Victory in the month of November to be ministered to by the staff here, to feel the love of Christ and see the beauty of God's awesome creation in their time here.
-For Justin in his daily job of seeing to details and dealing with individuals in the workplace, that he can do everything as though for Christ
-And the same for me in my job as wife, mommy, homemaker, and schoolteacher, and for a consistent routine to begin to take shape in the midst of our busy life
-On a side note, please pray for my brother Luke and his wife Holly in Kenai. The heavy rains that covered much of the state this past weekend caused there to be flooding in the area of Kenai that they live in. They are currently faced with the choice of trying to save their apartment or abandon it...the state is going through the measures of declaring disaster and sending relief but in the meantime there isn't a lot of help for them.

Welcome Grady James!

While we waited for Grady to show up we picked lots of wild raspberries! Yum!

Family picture while out berry picking

We celebrated Evie's 5th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese

Evie loves her new brother!

Grady James

His hair is red, he just doesn't have a lot of it!

Baby Hostetter #3 finally decided to join us last week! Grady James was born last Sunday evening after a quick labor, weighing 7lbs 12oz. We were all surprised (and pleased) that he is a boy!
Evie immediately became a little mother hen and wants to hold him all the time. Norah is not so sure of how she feels about him but has shown more interest in the last couple of days. All in all it has been a smooth transition to family of 5 so far! We are so thankful for a good birth and a healthy little boy. Thank you for your prayers!
Around camp, things have slowed down a little bit. "Blackout week" is this next week, which means that there are no groups scheduled for a full week and those who want time off can easily take it, and everyone gets a bit of a breather from the busy summer before fall gets into full swing with the schedule here at Victory. We are taking a family trip to Kenai, so that the rest of my family can meet Grady as well as our friends there in town. Speaking of trips, we entered the lottery to be able to drive our personal vehicle into Denali National Park and our name was drawn! We will get to drive into the park on Sep. 14th. We're excited to see God's amazing creation there but we're hoping it doesn't snow (too much!) so that we're able to drive all the way in.
Looking back over the summer, here are some numbers from the summer camp season. Keep in mind that these are based on the camper evaluations that the counselors fill out at the end of each week.
This summer at Victory, there were:

56 first-time decisions by campers to accept Christ
94 rededications by campers while at camp
91 different churches from around AK and the lower 48 that were represented by campers attending, and many campers made a commitment to go to church regularly.

While we tend to get excited about these numbers, and it's beautiful to see kids entering God's family, it's also important to realize that of the many kids who did not make decisions for Christ, and did not appear to get anything in the way of spiritual growth out of their time here, we never know what seeds God has planted in the hearts of young people, and how many He will call to Himself later down the road, beginning with hearing about Him during their time here at camp.
Oswald Chambers also said something in My Utmost For His Highest that I thought made perfect sense in relation to the work we do: "Jesus Christ says, in effect, don't rejoice in successful service, but rejoice because you are rightly related to Me. The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in the fact that God has used you. You never can measure what God will do through you if you are rightly related to Jesus Christ. Keep your relationship right with him, then whatever circumstances you are in, and whoever you meet day by day, He is pouring rivers of living water through you..."

Ways you can be praying right now:

-For our family, as we come into a very busy season of family life right now, with a new baby, Evie starting homeschool, and a few other things
-For the staff at camp- pray for Abigail from the program team, as she is leaving for Michigan for several months to raise her support to the level that it needs to be; for the Klapak family, who will soon leave for Oregon to do the same. Pray encouragement for them and for God to move mountains as we know He can!

Thank you for reading and for your support and encouragement!

Weeks 5-7 and the end of camp!

Hiking down to Hicks Creek with Daddy

The girls and I hiked back up in the pouring rain!

Justin and a group of staff hiked up the creek one Sunday

Norah, Evie and Max look down from Inspiration Point.

"Granny Wrangler" Eileen gave us a treat- rides on the cart with her miniature horse, Pipsqueak

Well, the summer camp season is officially over! I for one feel like my head is still spinning. We had a great last few weeks of camp and I know that God worked powerfully in the campers and staff's lives. Here are a couple of testimonials from this summer:

"Well, Victory 2013, it's been amazing. From songs about diseases, to poison darts, to shenanigans in Seward and more, I couldn't have asked for a better summer. God definitely showed me that He is the source of ultimate strength and that I can always rely on Him no matter what. I'm sad beyond belief to be leaving but I know that it's not goodbye, it's just a "see you later." Thank you Lord for blessing me with such an amazing summer with such an amazing group of people. I love each and every single one of you and feel so privileged to have met you all."

"I'm so thankful I got to go to camp this year! I learned so much and was challenged and encouraged! It's beautiful, what can happen when a bunch of believers come together in His name. I'm so thankful for the challenges I faced, and for the friends I made. I came home today and am already planning signing up for next summer! God is so good."

Please continue to pray, as those whose lives have been changed while they were here are now going home and down from their mountaintop experience, back to their regular day-to-day routines. The enemy really tries to pull you down at a time like that, and we need to pray that God will continue to be real and present in the lives of the young people who made decisions for him this summer. Pray that those who made first-time decisions to accept Christ would be able to connect with local youth groups, mentors, and people that they can receive advice from and stay accountable to in their faith daily. For those who decided to recommit their lives to God, pray that they will grow in their faith, in the knowledge of God, and in love for others as they put into practice what they know God is asking of them. The theme this summer was Be Different- and we pray that so many lives will be!

We also got to have some of my (Lynsey's) family come up for a visit during the last week of camp, as I had several siblings attending as campers. We 'only' had 2 emergency trips into town for sickness! What a crazy week! Thankfully both brothers that needed medical help are fine now. God is good and it was awesome to spend some time with family as I was missing my husband and it helped the last week of camp (and missing him) to go by very quickly!
Now we are looking ahead to the arrival of our new baby and preparing for that. I'm due in less than 2 weeks but not getting too excited yet because my babies like to be born late. :)

Ways you can be praying right now:

-What was said above, about campers and staff going home, is so important. Pray that they will take new steps in their faith and trust God to help them change their lives. Also, pray for those who acted indifferent to the gospel message. We know that seeds of faith were still planted in their hearts and someday they may grow...God never forgets about anyone!

-Pray for Victory's permanent staff as we transition immediately into the conference season. It can be hard to shift gears from summer camp to conference time. Pray for organization and enthusiasm for hosting guest groups.

-That the birth of baby Hostetter #3 will be smooth and enjoyable, and that baby and I will be safe and healthy throughout. Also pray, mostly for Norah but also for Evie, that they will adjust easily to a new family member and that we will be able to remind Norah that she is still our sweetie!

Weeks 3 & 4

Exploring anemones at the Sealife Center in Seward

Evie & Taylor watch the sea lion swim

Visiting Grammie's- Norah and her Uncle Max make a mess!

Playing in the mud at Hicks Creek

The view from the creek bottom

Our friend Iso helped Evie and Norah make their own boat for the boat race

Dropping the boats in the water

View from Victory's airstrip

Justin & I prepare to teach the campers our life session on how to do dating in a Biblical way

Showing off our huge, abundant rhubarb leaves!

We have harvested twice and probably have around 12 lbs in the freezer. I need to try canning!

We ended week 3 of camp and then set off to Seward with the summer staff for a mid-summer staff break! We stayed at a church in Seward for 2 nights and the staff were free to rest, walk around town, and do some exciting activities like kayaking and white water rafting. It was hopefully a refreshing time for everyone, and then it was time to head back to camp for a few more days off and to pitch in on some work projects around camp. The girls and I used that time to go to Kenai to visit family and spend the 4th of July. It was restful for us as well! Week 4 of camp went well with only a few mishaps and injuries. A black bear was shooed away from the pack trip campsite, so pray that he doesn't get any ideas from the tempting horse and food smells and that he stays away!
It was awesome to be able to sit in prayer group on Sunday night and listen to a counselor tell how she felt that her week went terribly and how she continually clashed with her campers- only to see them completely changed at the end of the week and have them thank her for being a great counselor!
We are currently in week 5 of camp, and this week we have our one week of wilderness camp happening as well. Wilderness campers stay in unheated cabins about a half mile from the main Victory campus, and do several different hikes and activities that have to do with the outdoors. Several staff are having to shift roles and cover for the staff members doing wilderness camp, so there may be some stretching going on as people are pushed out of their comfort zones and try new things this week.

Some ways you can pray for us this week:

-That those who are sick or hurt will be able to recover and heal quickly, and that the rest of the staff will take their rest and stay well (most summer staff work 80+ hours a week)

-For continued unity with the staff. I feel like this part of the summer has gone incredibly well and that everyone has worked together wonderfully, so this is also a praise! Pray that it continues

Weeks 1 & 2

The staff hiked down to Hicks Creek during orientation to set up the campsite & eat dinner

Norah found herself a perch

Preparing to take the swim test in Index Lake

Evie wanted to document how big my tummy is

Welcoming new campers as they get off the bus!

Trying to beat the heat in our homemade 'pool'

A better way to stay cool was by running through the fire hose that maintenance man Ryan hooked up. Awesome!

We have had a great first 2 weeks of summer camp. We have had some crazy weather with new record high temperatures for this area, which left some of us a little too warm...you don't ever expect 90 degrees in Alaska and therefore none of the buildings have air conditioning!
We have only had a few minor injuries and a few summer staff sick so far, but there is still plenty of camp left and we are continuing to pray for health and safety.
We had a few moments of worry last week when the weather turned from clear and sunny to completely hazy and dark in just minutes- there was smoke from a forest fire obscuring everything. We quickly found out the location of the fire, which was hundreds of miles away, and were relieved that we didn't need to worry about it. The wind was blowing strongly and we were just seeing smoke from a fire in the Wrangell-St. Elias mountains.
We have a great staff this summer and I think the campers have been having a blast. To quote a friend and S.A.L.T. camper, "Wow! What A Great Week And A Half At Victory Bible Camp. I Learned A Lot Over The Past Week And A Half. Believe It Or Not, I Think God Made Me A Bigger And Better Person. I'm Not That Shy Girl Anymore. I Can Just Be My Normal Self Around People And That Feels Really Great! My Relationship With God Is Stronger Now Than Before I Went To Camp(:" ...It's also wonderful to hear counselors relate stories of campers who were angry and disinterested at the beginning of the week, and by Friday were involved and having fun with their cabin and some had even made decisions to accept Christ. We love knowing that God is doing things like this in the hearts of the kids who spend time here!
Today is the beginning of week 3, and new campers should be arriving in about an hour.
I've been privileged to get to lead one of the small prayer groups that the staff divide into after our Sunday night chapel, and it is always so cool to hear the staff praying for the kids that have just left the day before, and praying in advance for the kids that they'll meet the following day.

Some ways you can pray for us right now:
-For the kids who made decisions to follow Christ in the past weeks to stay strong after they've arrived at home, sometimes to unsupportive situations. Pray for them to connect with a youth group, or spiritual mentor who will encourage them to grow in their faith
-For this coming week of camp, for health, safety, and open hearts for kids and staff alike
-For our family specifically, for Justin to keep up his health and energy as he often works 15hr days
-For me and the girls at home, as my pregnancy draws toward the end it is often very tough to keep up with the girls and I don't usually have help. Pray for me to remember it's OK to rest!
-Pray for a community family, the Beachys, who lost their 29-year old son Ryan in a motorcycle accident last week. He was known & loved by the entire community and this is a very tough time for everyone here. Pray for comfort. Also pray for his girlfriend Tracy who was critically injured in the accident and has a long road to recovery.