Ministry Trip & 6 Months

We just returned this past week from our first trip as a family to an Alaskan village!  We were part of a team sent to Port Lions on Kodiak Island that set to work helping a new ABM staff couple finish their house to be sold and move up here to Kenai and join the team.  The 4 guy work crew did a lot, framing windows and working on siding while the children enjoyed the nearby beach with its shells, rocks, and bull kelp.  Bethany made a quilted table runner and worked with Zeke on school.  The ferry ride there and back was a new experience for us too!

Port Lion was Jeffrey’s 6th village to visit.  On one trip, one of the men in ministry had a great perspective on the lack of change he is seeing in people when he humbly shared, “I realize maybe God put me here for me, to work on me instead of working on others.”

In January Bethany helped facilitate a retreat for bush ministry ladies.  It was wonderful time for them to have fellowship with friends they see infrequently, but fed in the Word, worship together, and encourage each other as they are aware of the difficulties of their fellow co-workers.

We are in the process of getting a permanent home! Please pray for the Lord’s guidance, direction, and peace in the process.  We want what He wants, not just what makes us comfortable. Along with this, right this moment we do not know where we will be living after this weekend, so please pray with us for temporary housing until the permanent home goes through.

To “shake things up” a bit, we had our first Alaska earthquake at the end of January,  a 7.1.  Sure puts into perspective how utterly powerless we are and how in control our God is.  In fighting the fear (oh! is that another one starting!) in the following weeks, I found great comfort in remembering nothing happens without His allowing it.  His plan are for my good, even if those include trials, sadness, even death.

Zeke, 7, enjoys parts of school, especially learning about the Greeks and their wars, about the Israelites in the Bible and their wars, and making the connections when the two subjects cross paths in history (especially in war…) 🙂  Jed turns 5 this week! He is catching on to all sorts of things and we sure love his determination to finish what he chooses to start.  Asher, 2, is at that “ham” age where just about anything he does is way too cute.  He loves his 8 month old sister.  Selah is crawling, standing, and getting into anything she can manage to reach.  She is our thrill seeker, and really, gets grumpy if she is away from her energetic brothers for too long.

You may get tired of us asking, but please pray for the remaining $700 a month of our needed monthly support to come in.  We love the relationships that we have with you all and are thrilled when one of you says, “You know, we’ve been thinking a lot about joining you…” We love when a friendship that’s spanned so many years gets to go deeper with a partnership, knowing you pray for us often, and that you are willing to invest in our lives and the lives of these pastors here in Alaska!  This last little leap financially will allow Jeffrey to work full time in the office, will allow us to pay necessary bills, and will allow us to do more fully what we have come here to do!  Thank you for your part!