Merry Christmas

Christmas Time! 

It didn't really seem like Christmas season leading up to December 25th.... maybe because I was working so much and also I've been housesitting. I didn't get to enjoy the decorated tree and secrecy of wrapping presents that goes on at my house. But it still was a good time. For one thing, I am thoroughly enjoying the break from school. The last couple weeks of the semester were rough; I had several large projects due, plus studying for finals and work was a little hectic at the same time. Hence the lack of blogging, BUT it is now finished! (for another few weeks)

This Christmas my older brother, his wife and son spent the day with us! It has been so much fun having my brother and his family back in Alaska. They come over frequently for dinner and Christmas spent most of the day at our house. 

dad modeling his new googles

Nanook jersey from my awesome bro

Dinosaur puzzle from Aunt Lacey

Hope your Christmas was peaceful and wonderful. May we never forget what Christmas is really about. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to that manger bed so many years ago, so we could have a Saviour and be reconciled to God.

Thanksgiving Day with the Nephew

Well this post is slightly overdue. These pictures are from Thanksgiving Day. My sister-in-law and nephew came over to enjoy a quiet day with lots of food! Eventually my brother came too when he got off work. It was a nice, relaxing day. I was excited to sleep in, since I had just gotten back from India four days prior. 

gonna play hockey one day! 

getting a hair cut from Maha

sledding with Nana

yay for a driveway to sled on!

The Traveling Life

I love traveling. Not just the part about going to new places and experiencing new cultures and languages, but also the the actual travel part. Flying is part of the adventure (even though I do admit the 9+ hour flights are a bit long). And airports are some of my favorite places to hang out. Seriously. 

People watching can be so entertaining. Just have to be sure not to laugh out loud so they don't know they are being watched. And I can stare just as well as any one else. I have to resist the urge at times to make faces at those who are staring... my mom always told me it was rude to stare, but guess that's not universal. 

chilling at SEA-TAC airport

Sipping coffee or munching on a meal in airport, just part of the traveling scene. Sometimes the food's great and other times... well let's leave that memory alone. The price can be out of this world, too. Whew. 

7 hour layover in Bangalore

Personally, I love layovers. At times, I purposely plan for layovers of more than 6 hours, then I can go out and explore. On my way home from the last trip, I had 27 hours in Dubai. Figured since I was traveling through anyways and it didn't cost any more for the flight to stay longer, why not? But it did cost me more in the long run... hotel, transportation, tour, etc, but it's not like I'm passing through Dubai on a regular basis. 

tallest building in the world - Dubai

I heard once that Dubai had more cranes than any other city in the world. And I believe it! There's buildings going up everywhere. Amazing how they have made a city at the edge of the desert. In town, you see green grass and trees, massive buildings and a regular city, then a random city block of sand. And outside of town, the sand dunes stretch on and on. And on. 

hotel construction

Have to say I like international flights better than domestic. For one you get food. :) And usually the flight attendants are much nicer. Not to mention the personal TV screen in each seat. This was my first time flying Emirates Air, but have to say, it's one of my favorites. Their food was better than most, service was great and the seats all have individual plugins! Was surprised to find out the flight crew was from a diverse assortment of countries. I don't think I met anyone actually from UAE. On one transcontinental flight, there were flight attendants from Egypt, UK, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Lithuania, USA, Thailand, Ecuador, China and a few others. So cool. 

Representing Spain  - USA - Egypt 

Two Week Trip to India

So the adventure I alluded to last post.... I just got back from south India, where I spent two weeks teaching English. It was a GREAT time. On the way there, it took four flights and 36 hours traveling. Left home Friday morning early and arrived local time Sunday late morning. Yes, I was tired, but it only took a day and a half to adjust to the new time (14 1/2 hours ahead of Alaska). 

view from the roof of the guest house

I stayed on the campus of a Bible campus. My class consisted of only seven students and they worked hard for the two weeks at English Writing. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this class and this subject. We had a great time not only working on writing, but also singing, laughing and getting to know each other. I now have a desire to visit their home places. 

MABT students

walking to class

It was an encouraging time for me. Getting to know other young people with a great desire to serve God with their lives is always encouraging. God also worked on my heart much during this time, through my students, our singing, the chapel services and His Word.

God is faithful. 

October's Disappearance

Wow, where did October go? I had every intention of blogging during October, but as you can see, that didn't happen. October disappeared in a sea of teaching/tutoring, Shakespeare, South Pacific literature, classes, working, Missions Conference, accounts receivables, studying, writing papers, deciphering morphology, researching, reading..... and the list goes on. 

It is not slowing down at all either. I will attempt to be more faithful at blogging, but I make no promises. You have not been forgotten though! 

Super excited about this week. Big things happening this weekend. But I will leave in you in suspense for a little while longer..... 

Until then, enjoy some sunshine!! :) 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

Maybe you were thinking, it's too early for Christmas. Well it is, but it's not too early for HOCKEY! My sisters and I went to the first game this past Saturday and one of them started singing that song. We laughed, but it we do love this time of year. Doesn't seem like it's been 5 months since our last game, seems like 5 years! Just kidding, but it has been a while. 

So, Saturday night, found us at the ice rink, watching the first game of the season. Well, first unofficial game; it was really a scrimmage, but it was still hockey. Here's to a good season. Hoping our incoming freshman can step up and fill some gaps and our returning players ramp it up even more. Conversations the past couple days at our house has included more and more references to hockey. Wouldn't surprise me if one night this next week when I get home, someone puts Miracle on to play. Nothing like watching the 1980 Miracle on ice to get one's blood pumping. 

many of the freshman

almost the whole team

If you notice a lot of bald heads, that's because they all shaved their heads in support of Justin Woods, #8. He is from here and was a freshman on our team last year. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer this past spring. He's currently undergoing treatments. Hopefully he'll be back next season, ready to skate. :)

Complete Randomness

If you are wondering what my days have been consisting of -

I could tell you of how yesterday I spent hours contemplating Shakespeare, or how this week I've been reading a random, weird, mind-boggling perplexing book (for school), or how I have played volleyball twice this week and lost both times. 

I could tell you about my love/hate relationship with school. Love the learning, hate the mounds of homework. 

Or maybe you want to hear about my sudden aversion to any kind of communication. If I've ignored your calls, texts or emails in the past two weeks, I still like you. Just haven't been in the mood to talk. 

Perhaps, you are wondering when "my next big trip is." Well, join the club, everyone does. At least they all appear to, since that's about the only question I get asked regularly. 

This is a completely random post, but hey, sometimes I am a strange person. So to close out this irregular post, I leave you with a random picture. 

sometimes you just need to act like a kid again :)

Mornings

On my way to work the other day, these random thoughts flooded my mind.... "I have so much energy! I am not tired! It's 7:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake!" 

You know how nice it was to have those thoughts!? It's easy to forget what it's like to not be tired when you live tired all the time. I enjoyed everything this summer, but the lack of sleep does get to a person after a while. Now that things have slowed down some and sleep is a regular part of my schedule again (a full night's sleep), I feel like myself again! And it is a wonderful thing!! I'm not going to make any ridiculous promises like - it will always be like this.... or I'll never have such a crazy schedule again.... cause we all know, those promises wouldn't last. But for now, I'm going to enjoy it! 

Another morning this week, I looked out the window when I first got up. Wow. Looked frantically for a camera, but couldn't find one, so I'll do my best to describe what I saw.... 

The firmament was shrouded with a dark blanket of cloud that ended abruptly just above the visible mountains on the far southeastern horizon. The sun was rising, but was yet unseen from my location; however his rays were cast on the distant mountains, causing it's snowy tops to flaunt their crystal clear details. What were previously dull orange birch leaves encircling my view of the mountains were now illuminated by the sunlight. Brilliant, florescent yellow and orange leaves glowed against the dark gray sky as a forest fire's blaze. Truly amazing morning view. 

Hard to understand how people can look at our world and deny there is a Great Creator. My God is an Amazing artist! 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Slowing Down....

"Ready for life to get back to normal." My friend recently said this to me about moving to China. We laughed about the irony of that statement. China isn't exactly "normal" for an American. But I understand what she meant. This summer for me had a pretty crazy schedule and I've been looking forward to getting back into a somewhat normal routine. Was hoping with the start of school, my schedule would even out. So far that hasn't happened, but there's potential there. 

Why is it that time/life never seems to slow down? I'm not the type to not be busy, so guess it won't ever slow down for me.

Here's a few more random pictures from Selawik. 

i love reflections

Marie and Clara -  Rock Crossing buddies

sunset on the river

Camping in Denali

After returning from Selawik and working feverishly for two days, I took time off to show my friends more of Alaska. I was extremely glad for some mornings to sleep in. We got a late start Thursday, but it was a nice day for a drive and we were just enjoying each other's company. Had intended to camp at Hatcher Pass, but we didn't make it that far. So we camped closer to home - in Denali! 

Road Trip!

For sixteen years, I had dreamed of eating at Lynx Creek Pizza in Denali. I had been there that long ago when my Grandma and two cousins visited. The memory of that delicious pizza stayed with me. Well, I visited again and was not disappointed! We were famished by the time we arrived in the Park, but even if we weren't it still would have been amazing! 
We joked about how no one in the Park is from Alaska. Even the majority of the workers are from out of state or out of country. We met people from Bulgaria, Serbia, Utah, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, Louisiana and Michigan. And every once in a while you'd meet an Alaskan. 

We got our camp put it in a short amount of time. It was fun setting up the tents and getting all cozy. Tim made us a fire in no time and we cooked up some grub before hitting the sack. It was cold, but we were all toasty in our sleeping bags. The next morning was wet and drizzly, but we still had a grand time.

setting up camp

the Master Fire-Maker

I love cooking and even though over the campfire is a bit more challenging, it's still fun. Well, except for when the wind changes direction abruptly and sends smoke in my eyes. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and coffee that morning. My sister told me an old cowboy trick about making the coffee and it worked. Thanks, Nan!

cooking

"washing" dishes

Our second night was supposed to get really cold and since Levi was developing a bit of a cold, it was decided it would be best if we got a hotel room for the night. No one likes being sick, but it's pretty miserable for a two month old. So, we had a good night's rest and then still cooked our breakfast over the fire the next morning. Steak with our eggs this time! Yum! 

Saturday morning was super clear. A bit windy and cool at first, but was a gorgeous day to continue our drive. We stopped several times to take pictures and just enjoy God's creation. I felt like a tourist at one point, when we saw two baby moose on the side of the road and the rest of the people in the van wanted to turn around and take pictures. They got their photos. 

in the Park

awesome travel companions

taking it all in

Since it was such a clear day, Mt. McKinley was clear as day. As we rounded one curve on the Parks Hwy, Bam! there it was. Standing tall and proud, miles above the surrounding mountains. Such a pretty mountain. We stopped a couple times to get pictures and just soak in the awesomeness. At one of our stops, Tim even got to meet an Alaskan State Trooper. 

I sure live in a beautiful state, don't I!?

Weekend in Selawik

This past weekend, God worked it out that my friends visiting from the states, myself and two others from Fairbanks were all were able to fly up to Selawik for a few days. I've talked to our missionary there for the past couple years about coming up for a visit, but it's always so expensive to fly there commercially. But God worked it out that we were all able to go on a private plane for the price it would normally cost for one person commercially. 

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Only bit a little bit of cloud cover during the approach into Selawik. It was a lot warmer there than I had anticipated. We had a good couple days there, exploring the town, visiting with friends, making new friends, tramping all over the boardwalks, having church activities and fellowshipping late into the night. 

our littlest traveler, Levi

Welcome to Selawik! This a village located among the tundra, rivers and lakes. It's pretty much a swampland. There are no large vehicles there; everyone travels by 4x4s or boats in the summer and snowmachines in the winter. Their road system is made up of a series of boardwalks, complete even with Stop signs and Speed-limit signs. Flights come in a couple times a day from Kotzebue, that is when the weather is good. It's a small town, but still 3rd largest in the North Slope with a population of 1000. It boasts of one of the largest ATV bridge which spans across the Selawik River. 

The Rainbow Bridge

In the center of town stands a Beacon of Truth, the Selawik Baptist Church. Our missionaries the Comptons have been a witness in this village for 18 years! They know everyone in town and everyone knows them. While Satan does have a strong hold on this area, God is still at work. The Comptons have been faithful and have remained strong in the work of the Lord. It's a hard area. While English is the spoken language and all are Americans, it can feel like you are in a different country when you visit. Pray for strength and grace for the Comptons and those who are striving to fight against the peer/family pressure to live for Christ.

the Lighthouse of Truth

Saturday night we held a teen activity at the church. I was in charge of games, though some others also introduced other games as well. We had a good group of almost twenty teens, including those of us visiting and the missionaries, we had about 30 people in the building. It can get quite loud very fast when you play an animal matching game.... Also had fun with a new game called "Mingle." It could lend to some awkward moments if one doesn't pronounce words correctly. :)

playing Assassin

the Teen group (minus the photographer, me)

One of the things I love most about Alaska is it's beauty. It's not a refined or cultured beauty, but a raw, wild, rugged beauty. Probably because I'm an Alaskan/country girl at heart, I love the wilderness. We reached Selawik after two hours of flying over just a handful of villages and mile after mile of nothing but wilderness. Lakes, streams, mountains, rivers, gorges, tundra - it's all beautiful to me. Coupled with a blue sky dotted with big, fluffy white clouds, it's breath-taking. 

Sunday was a full day with morning services, Sunday School for the kids in the afternoon and then an evening service. I enjoyed seeing some of the teens that have come to camp during the weekend. Several came to the teen activity and/or church Sunday. A couple really have a heart for the Lord, but it's a challenging place to stay true and faithful to God's Word. If you would, please pray for the teens that want to live right in a world of evil and darkness. Several asked why I wasn't at camp this summer. Really going to try to go next summer. 

hanging out on the Big bridge

crossing the "scary bridge"

Even in remote Alaska, Everts has a junkyard. :) 

old Evert's plane

We had a blast with the Comptons; with Gayle's good cooking, Warren's crazy (long) stories, Bethany's sweet spirit and Caleb's goofiness. It's a blessing to see a family so committed to where God has called them and who have stayed faithful for so many years. And even with all the trials and struggles they've been through there, they still love the Lord, love the people and want to see them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We were on Village Time while there, so staying up late and sleeping in was the norm. I was just grateful for sleep. :) 

The Selawik Seven

our transportation

Goodbye Selawik! Until next time, which I hope won't be forever in the future. 

Selawik from the air