The four "F's" of April

Flying

The week of April 13^th, our family of three headed to Anchorage in the Cherokee 6 to do a BIG shopping trip. We left on a Monday afternoon with the last minute decision that we were leaving that day. It’s nice when the weather is beautiful and you have the flexibility to fly yourself in. Generally, we fly commercially if we need to get somewhere at a certain time, especially in the winter time when the weather is so iffy. Initially, Jeremy was planning on flying to Kenai as well, and so we were going to combine a trip; but the Kenai trip is postponed for now. When we arrived, it was basically time to eat something and get the boy to bed. We are so thankful that we have a place to stay while we are “in town”. Some friends with SEND almost always have room for us and many times they have an extra van for us to use. What a huge blessing with all the grocery shopping and shipping!!

                                       The flight on the way to Anchorage

I think at one point during the trip I lost track how many times we did a Costco run, but it was at least four or five times; plus Sam’s Club once, Walmart (only!) once, and Fred Meyer at least three times. We were doing shopping not only for ourselves, but also for our VBS summer teams. If you’re curious more about what all is entailed in our shopping trips, feel free to ask. Malachi did an amazing job and loved all the shopping. His favorite part was jumping over all the cracks in the floor at the stores and riding in all the carts. He would “organize” the food for me as I put it in the cart. He didn’t want to buy food for the VBS team though, because he knew it wasn’t going to be for him. Typical preschooler.

In addition to grocery shopping, we also bought a new mattress (yay!) and even had time for….

Fun

Malachi’s absolute favorite thing to do in Anchorage is to go to the mall and ride the elevators and escalators over and over and over again. He knows the routine too. Daddy takes him on numerous rides and Mommy goes clothes shopping. So, it’s a pretty cheap source of fun while there….for the boys anyway. ;)

We also took M bowling for his first time. He loved it! We were able to have bumpers and the ramp thing you roll the ball down, so no gutter balls!

One of Jeremy’s favorite parts of trip was his chance to fly a Piper Super Cub simulator with our friend from SEND.

We stayed in Anchorage for a week, which was great to be able to have that much time to allow ourselves limited stress. Limited stress there anyway…

Fear (for Lacey)

The day we decided to head home it was snowing there and a little bit at home. It was in the afternoon and the snow was coming down in huge flakes. I guess it was trying to make up for lost time with the mild winter we had. We thought, “Well, maybe we’re going to have to stay here one more night.” Surprisingly though, around 6, it really cleared up and the weather looked great all the way home. So, we quickly just packed up the stuff from the fridge and freezer and headed out to the airport. We took off shortly after 7:30, after Malachi decided to walk under the fuel vent and got a fair amount of avgas on the hood of his winter coat. Great. So, we stuffed the stinky thing (the coat) into a few plastic bags and layered the boy with a pj shirt.

 Ok. In the air. The flight through the mountains and pass was as beautiful going as it was coming. Crystal clear. Basically half way through the trip we flew past Port Alsworth (this place has been mentioned before in past blog posts) and noticed about 15 minutes out that it looked just a tad hazy. Jeremy mentioned, “I think I’ll call the weather service to get an update since it’s been since Anchorage that we had one.” No problem. Wellllll…..He called and Naknek weather didn’t sound so great. There was a chance we could dodge it by flying “off course” a bit which normally would be no issue, but we were pushing daylight. So we (or the “pilot husband” rather) decided that we turn back to Port Alsworth, because it was so close and we had friends there. We got about 8 miles from PA and the snow was starting there and making visibility horrible. Whoops. Turn around, again? At this point, I was getting pretty nervous, but not quite to the fear point. Yet. To make a longgggg story just long: we weren’t able to go home. We weren’t able to go to PA. We weren’t able to go to Illiamna either which was the next option, so what literally seemed like our last chance we landed in the small village of Nondalton with about 100-150 people. Jeremy was super calm during the whole time and promised me we would be fine. Malachi was completely happy and oblivious and playing the Kindle about two hours after his bedtime. Thankfully, Alaska has so many runways around, even if there’s no villages connected to it. (Summer lodges, fishing/hunting locations/etc)

As soon as we landed in Nondalton, Jeremy immediately threw on the wing and engine covers on the airplane and we thought, “Now what?” We didn’t have a cell phone that worked in those area villages, so we couldn’t call anyone. (We’ll be changing that soon) Since Jeremy is into ham radio, he had a hand held radio with him that he always carries with him when he flies, because villages typically have marine band radios that they monitor. While J was throwing on the covers, I did a few calls on it to see if anyone heard us. No answer. After he was done, we decided we would have to walk into the village and knock on someone’s door to see if they would take us in. As we started walking, J decided to call out on the radio again and there was an answer! The person on the other end sent her 20 something year old grandson out to get us. He happened to be someone who had worked at the Bible Camp in Port Alsworth for a couple summers! Alaska is huge, yet so small. AND they had a place for us to stay. We saw so many answers to prayer, including the next morning when we went to leave and all our fresh and frozen food was as we had left it, fresh and frozen!

                                          The view from our "Nondalton housing" window

                                          "Nondalton housing" (ignore the mess)

                                          Through the mountains and pass on the way home. See how clear it was?

We got home Tuesday late morning with a couple days to unpack our food that was with us and stuff that came that was shipped with the cargo planes. Oh, and to prepare for a Birthday boy….

Four (years old)

Malachi turned 4! His birthday this year was at our church, so that we could invite more people than would fit in our house. It was a puppy/ paw patrol themed party and a lot of fun! (See pictures)

                                          Puppy- themed food

Easter Egg Hunt

Back in December...

                                                                             
 Last week

Can someone slow down time please?

It is hard to believe that it is officially Spring (hooray!), Malachi will be FOUR next month (eek!), and a blog update is overdue -again. (surprise, surprise)

Life has been the “normal routine” I guess, so that’s my usual excuse. Ha-ha. Winter was very tolerable this year with mild temperatures and LITTLE snow. The last time we had snow worth mentioning was Christmas Eve!

We enjoyed a good Christmas with my parents here and were glad they could stay until the beginning of January.

Mid-January we started attending a parenting class with about 4 other couples, give or take. We went over a book called “Boundaries with Kids”. There were some good insights for both, now, as well as when Malachi gets older. We always enjoy fellowship and being able to “hang out” with those we don’t see as often as we would like. Added bonus- two babysitters watching the kids during the class!  

Something we have learned the last few years, but have had a hard time actually putting into practice, is having someone else watch Malachi so that we (or just one of us) can have a break. We are working on it, because I know it is needed. I’ve told many friends that sometimes it’s just “easier” to stay home like Malachi and I normally do, rather than make an effort and reason to separate ourselves from each other- the testing preschooler and impatient mom. :) Actually, one of our pastor’s daughters is staying in the one bedroom apartment here for a few weeks and it’s been nice when Malachi’s wanted to go over to “bug her” even if it’s just 10 minutes at a time.

Now if you’re starting to think that our child is a typical preschooler who tests our patience----you’re right! But he is such fun! He has been using his imagination a lot and is learning more and more. His favorite things right now are probably “puppies” (dogs of any size, age), playing the Wii (watching us play), numbers (and wondering why he can’t add and subtract yet), going outside and noodles. ;)

Jeremy has been working on the Annuals on the planes. He just finished the mission’s Cessna 175, started working on a Cessna 150 owned by a couple in our church, is at someone’s house now working on their plane and he will also be doing the mission’s Cherokee 6 in the very near future. There is a lot more flying in the summertime, so it’s good to have the planes ready. Week by week he’s not really sure what he’s going to be doing as set plans aren’t really set plans. So, I think he’s been enjoying working on the planes, even if it keeps him busy.

Last month, I was able to go to a Women’s Retreat hosted by Arctic Barnabas Ministries located in Soldotna (AK). It was a wonderful time of fellowship and so much fun to be around ladies! J It was a full (extended) weekend with great sessions, encouragement, delicious food, free time, visiting, small groups, little sleep, laughter, and much more.

As we look to the next few months, we are gearing up for the summer that is rapidly approaching. Plans are starting to come together, but we always appreciate your prayers!

In June, we’ll be heading to the AFLC’S Annual Conference in WA and we’re really looking forward to that time to visit with many friends and family! 

AWAKEN

What do 80 youth, 7 airplanes, two “sleepless” nights, tons of fun and Jesus all have in common? A Youth Retreat! A few weekends back we had an annual retreat called “Awaken”, hosted by two of the local churches here, Naknek Community Bible and the one we attend, Hilltop Christian Fellowship. We had about 10 willing leaders/chaperones who put in several hours beforehand prepping for the retreat. Each of the leaders had a “job” and things went really smoothly in prepping for it. (PTL!) We have learned from previous years what could have been different and it seems to get better and better each year. (Not that previous times have been bad) This year we had it for two overnights for the first time. So, we flew in the kids on Friday afternoon/early evening and then didn’t go home until Sunday afternoon. 

I’m going to break the weekend down a bit, not to bore you, but to give you a little glimpse into the fun we had and hopefully the impact God had on the teens.

First off, we are always praying that the weather will behave to fly the teens in on Friday.  We seem to worry, but year after year, God never seizes to amaze us. The weather was perfect for both the flying, and the bonfire and games on the beach that night. (It started to cloud up and rain right when we were leaving the beach) And the temperature was perfect. Like I said, we had seven planes doing the flights with a couple of them doing two trips! We had 44 youth from the village and 36 locals! I think this was the biggest group yet.

Friday night also included one of two “talks” that Josh Young, a nephew of someone here in Naknek, shared. He flew all the way in from Colorado just for the weekend! God must have had a perfect plan because it happened to be the same weekend as the 1 year Anniversary that his Aunt and Uncle lost their son and daughter-in-law in a tragic situation. Be praying for the Anderson family. There was also time of worship before each “session”, led by Mark McGee of Tanalian Bible Camp. (google it) ;)

On Saturday there were a couple of different activities. In the morning the youth played a very unique version of “softball” using a big rubber exercise ball. (I heard it called “Norwegian Softball” during my youth group days) Later in the afternoon there was the option of either paintball (an Awaken tradition) or “Cupcake Wars” (something new, different and fun) Cupcake Wars is basically a competition on who can bake and decorate a cupcake the most creative way and taste the best. Immediately following that was Swimming at the pool. (I, Lacey, went home and showered! Jeremy was on “Malachi duty” for the weekend most of the time) There was also a morning and an evening session. The kids seemed to respond well. After the evening session everyone watched “God’s Not Dead”. If you have not seen it, you are missing out on something great!

I chaperoned the whole weekend, which meant sleeping overnight for both nights. Of course, being girls, we had a hard time getting them to “BE QUIET!”. But I think by the second night people were pretty exhausted, so we didn’t have to fight them as much that night.

Sunday morning was a blast! Because we had 80 youth and because there wasn’t room at either church for all of them plus normal Sunday morning attendees, we had a Community Wide Worship Service at the school in the auditorium. We had music led by a few from the community and again by Mark McGee. That was an impactful time for me. Pastor Jeff gave the message and touched on how we need an “awakening” in each of our lives. Josh Young gave a testimony. His Aunt was also there and I think the service meant a lot to her. I couldn’t help but tear up a little bit when I saw Josh’s arm around her shoulder. Immediately following the service they started flying the kids back home and, again, the weather was just fine.

The weekend as a whole went really well. We didn’t have any emergencies, misbehaving teens, akward situations, sickness (besides colds that everyone seemed to get afterwards), we had the perfect amount of food, great help from the community, loads of fun, etc.

I’m reminded of the verse in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the Earth.” I am sure Jesus was including our small villages here in Bristol Bay!  Keep praying for the youth who came that they would remember what was shared.

                            Whoops, reverse order on the days, but oh well.... you get the idea.

                                         BEARS IN NAKNEK ON AN EVENING FLIGHT

                                                               MICHIGAN VACATION

I have come to realize that either our lives aren’t exciting enough to update the blog weekly, not enough happens, or I just am not as motivated as some. Haha. I could start writing about poems or song lyrics, solving world problems with a very opinionated forum or taking pictures of our dinner. Oh wait, that’s facebook.  :-D

Anyway…

Our activity has certainly slowed down, but we still had a great rest of the summer. The last time I wrote, all the teams were gone and there were just a few “stragglers” left. We had a wonderful time with Bobbie Overgaard here helping at the radio station after the Net had closed for the summer.

The very end of July we took a much over-due trip to Michigan. I spent a few years growing up there and hadn’t been back since 5^th or 6^th grade. Almost 20 years! Jeremy has never gone. We also hadn’t seen my grandparents since Malachi was 8 months old. It was great catching up with them. We also got to drive by my old house and see a childhood friend who I hadn’t seen in years as well. Malachi had a wonderful time! We were constantly go, go, go with activity. My parents have only been in Bellaire a little over a year and have a house right on a Lake with a pontoon and everything. They are also close to Lake Michigan where we spent a few days throughout our trip on the beach. We also went fishing, went to a fair, ate our years supply of ice cream, spent a lot of time outside, etc. It was fun to watch Malachi explore and discover new things.  We were gone for a tad over three weeks, so we got used to being there and hard to leave. It was nice to come home too.

While we were gone the radio station went “hay-wire” for lack of a better terms (and that I don’t want to go into a huge, technical description). It was actually off the air for about two weeks. Problem solved now though.

Now that we are home, we are back to the usual activities. Jeremy has been busy working on stuff here at the radio station being Mr. Fix It on some things related to being off the air. He has helped a guy here with his Annual on his airplane as well. The weather hasn’t been very cooperative on Sundays for flying, but he still has plenty of things to do.

I have started leading the local Women’s Bible Study again and we had our first week on Thursday with 9 ladies! (average is 5 or 6)

The biggest thing coming up in just two weeks is called AWAKEN. I have mentioned it before, but it is a Youth Retreat that we help out with here once a year. It was started by our good friends and it has been a lot of fun helping out with since living here. It also takes a lot of preparation, helpers, money and good weather too! Half of our attendees and some leaders are from different villages, so there are lots of flights that take place this week. It is Sept. 19^th-21^st if you think of it! ;) I will try to update shortly after that, so stay posted!

Blessings!

Jumpin' June!

                                                       GARAGE APARTMENTS- DONE!

                                          GROUP FROM WILSON, WISCONSIN

                                           SOME OF THE VBS HELPERS (WITH MALACHI)

                                                  THIS KID LOVES RIDING ON A 4-WHEELER

Whoa. HOW in the world has it been two months already???

Seriously, this whole “keeping the blog updated” is hard work! ;)

So, as you can see from the title, June (and July) has been busy! We have had a bunch of visitors, a bunch of activity and a bunch of fun!

Late May brought a team of four up to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) in a couple of the villages in the area. Josiah and Courtney Rolf, Stephanie (Steph) Kantonen and Michelle Alverson. It was/is such a blessing to have them here and we’ve had a good time! They went to Ekwok, Kohkonok, Igiugig, Egegik and South Naknek. Josiah and Courtney went home about two weeks ago, but Steph and Michelle are still here until Monday. Malachi loved having them around! The two girls still here have become two of his most favorite people e.v.e.r.

June brought the salmon coming full force which meant our helpers at the Net came. Bobby (Roberta) Ovegard from Camarillo, CA has committed most of her summer to be here. She has worked SO hard. They have made OVER 300 dozen cookies down at the NET!! She has put in super long hours, but has had some great visits with the hundreds who have walked through the door. Les and Kathy Carlson from Amery, WI came up here for two weeks and worked non-stop all day long baking cookies, visiting with people coming in and much more! They had a wonderful time and didn’t want to leave. (And we didn’t want them to leave, but the radio station was about to burst at the seams…..)  Before I mentioned why the radio stations was going to be full, back up just a hair…

The Net- a place rented out by our church here to use for ministry year long, but particularly in the summer for a place of rest, coffee, cookies, tracts, bibles, fellowship and internet. It is right on the “main strip” of town. There are six (?) Canneries in our small town that hire people from all over the world (literally) to work.  Plus, there are many, many fishing boats who hire people as well from out of town. So, during the “off” time, either waiting for fishing to start or waiting for the canneries to be in full swing, people are constantly walking back and forth. (because most likely they don’t have a car if they’re from out of town) They have had a few days down there where they went through 400 coffee cups in one day!

Another side note- salmon, salmon and more salmon! “Commercial fishermen continue to harvest huge amounts of sockeye as the total run to Bristol Bay has exceeded 30-million. Monday’s sockeye harvest was just over 1-million sockeye. That pushes the season total to over 21.1-million.”

Ok, back to the packed radio station. A few days after the Carlsons left a team of 6 from Amery, WI; plus 2 from Fergus Falls, MN came up to finish up the apartments in the garage! WOW, Were they hard workers! The ladies were cooking meals and painting and the men literally worked  from 6 am-10 pm several of the days! They got so much done! What a blessing to have them! While they were here we were able to have a bonfire on the beach with the nicest weather we could ask for! We also celebrated the 4^th with a big crowd and that day was almost just as warm! And no bugs! The 4^th we also had a garage dedication.

This week has been busy. We are having our Naknek VBS and have some great volunteers. Everyone has stepped up and taken responsibility, so it hasn’t been overwhelming. Malachi has loved this week too, especially the puppets, fun songs, and being a “big kid”. Steph and Michelle are still here and we’ve really enjoying getting to know them and hanging out. This week Jeremy and I also nailed down dates and purchased tickets for a trip to MI to see my parents! I spend a few years of my elementary age years there and haven’t been back for a LONG time, so we’re looking forward to the trip.  Jeremy is flying an airplane back with a guy from here who bought the plane in Pennsylvania, so Mally and I will spend about a week and half more in MI.

I THINK this caught you up on our activity. Whew, that was long! J So, I stuck a few pictures on here, but if you want to see more, check out facebook! Thanks for your prayers!