Two Traveling Days

The new bridge across the McKenzie River

We left Yellowknife, NWT on Tuesday morning. Not as early as we had planned, but we were on the road at 6:30am. It was a LONG day of travel, but we did make it 17.5 hours! The boys did fairly well, but it was a long day for everyone! I'm thankful that we took the trip to Yellowknife and were able to greet old friends and make new ones. We praised the Lord when we finally arrived in Vegreville, AB about 12:00am. It was a short night's rest, but we were on the road again at 9:30am.

Praise the Lord for safety to Prince Albert! We reached Prince Albert about 4pm. and the boys were thrilled to be out of the car. (And I was glad to let them out!) I worked on a slide presentation for the service tonight, and Roger was able to visit with Pastor Webster. We enjoyed a delicious meal made by a lady in the church, and then headed off to church. The service was a little rough on the boys as sitting again was a little challenging! I was able to play the piano for the church services, since their piano player was out of town. Roger did a great job preaching, but I think the slide presentation needs a little (a LOT) of work!

We are thankful to renew friendships with old friends. We stayed up late visiting, and we are headed out to visit more old friends tomorrow. We still have almost 18 hours of travel left, but Wisconsin is getting closer! We've put over 8000 miles on our vehicle since leaving Wisconsin in November! And we praise the Lord for His safety every step of the way.

Thanks again for all your prayers,
Sarah

A summary of two days

January 27 and 28

Sunday: We spent today fellowshipping and worshipping with believers at Central Artic Baptist Church. Where did you worship Christ today? I can tell that the boys have spent a lot of time with their parents these last few weeks and months. Travis and Wyatt both struggled with being left in their Sunday School classes, and eventually, I just brought them both to sit with us in church. (I realize that’s not the decision that many of you would have made, but I firmly believe it was the best choice for my children.) Chandler did not want to go to his Sunday School class, but he was okay with it once he realized that Garett was in the same class. They’ve had their mom sitting in on their Sunday School classes for the last 10 weeks, and none of our children have spent time away from us. So, I’m praying that they will easily transition back to their classes in our church once we reach Wisconsin. Once again, I was glad my parents paid for me to take piano lessons as Central Artic Baptist Church does not currently have a piano player for the song service. I was able to play the piano for all the services, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The preaching was good, the fellowship was enjoyable, and the feast of a church dinner following the service was delicious! J It was wonderful to meet a lot of Roger’s old friends and to see how the church has grown and matured in the last ten years.

We spent the afternoon relaxing with our friends, Frank and Vivian. Roger preached the evening service and shared his testimony of what God has been doing. The church also filled up our truck with gas! Yay! J

Today (Sunday) also marks the birthday of my little sister, Kendra. My mom gave birth to a baby girl in 2000, but Kendra was born still-born. It’s hard to believe that she would have been thirteen today! It makes Heaven all the more sweeter to realize that loved ones are already there, and that I’ll get to see my loved ones again someday. Praise be to God for the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who made my salvation possible!

Monday: We were planning on leaving today for Prince Albert, but the Lord rearranged our plans slightly. We are leaving tomorrow morning for Prince Albert. We spent the day visiting the places where Central Artic Church has been located, and drove on the ice road to Detah. Then we came back to Yellowknife, coming pass the old gold mines. It was interesting for the boys and they enjoyed it. The boys spent some time playing outside today even though it was cold. The temperature was at -26 degrees with the winds making it feel like -47 degrees! It certainly didn’t faze the children though, and they came back in with rosy cheeks and ready for hot chocolate! J

Wyatt is ready to be back in Wisconsin. He told me today, “Mom, we’re NEVER going back to Wisconsin, are we?” L Poor kid…he anxious to return and says that he misses his tree house and his friend, Amelia. I looked up our travels on the map, and we still have 47 hours of driving left before we’ll reach Wisconsin! I’d appreciate your prayers for us!

We spent the evening enjoying a fabulous dinner with old friends. The Castro’s invited us for dinner, and it was a feast! We enjoyed salad, chips and mango salsa, roast and potatoes, salmonJ, strawberries, rice and spring rolls! It was all delicious and the fellowship was great. Frank and Vivian came along with us, so it was a great way to spend our last evening in Yellowknife.

Well, I need to get going. We are aiming to leave at 5am. to make as many hours as we can tomorrow. It’s going to be a LONG day, so I’d appreciate your prayers. God is good, and I’m rejoicing in all of His blessings!

Pictures!

Ski Plane Base

Ice Road

Birthday Boy!

Joy of presents!

Praises for Birthdays!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Today Chandler turned five! He is very excited about his birthday and has reminded us numerous times in the last few days that his birthday is coming up. We love this little boy so much and it’s hard to believe we are celebrating five years of life with him. This little boy is full of life and energy and gets into more scrapes, troubles, and mishaps than I could ever retell! When he is sweet, he is very sweet, and when he is naughty, he is VERY naughty! He’s a hard worker and can usually outwork his siblings. He has a hard time with being thankful at times and that is something we’re working on. He loves schooling, books, and puzzles. We are so thankful that God blessed us with this wonderful, little boy!

The weather was nice today at about -6 degrees, so we spent the day driving around Yellowknife and visiting a few places. We went to the ski plane base and got to see a Twin Otter there; then we went up to “Pilot Hill”, which is a spot you can climb the stairs and have  a view of many things. Following that we did a little more walking, drove on the ice road J and then went to the “Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum”. The kids really enjoyed it, and it was educational; but best of all-it was FREE! J The museum offers a discovery area for children where the kids can row a boat, see a cabin, live in a tent and put on dress-up clothes. It was a good time! Then we went to the grocery store and picked out a cake for Chandler’s birthday. He picked out a lemon-raspberry cake with lots of frosting! J The boys also got to ride on Frank’s snowmobile, so they really enjoyed that too. It was a very full day for them, and I sense some tired children. J

We are making home-made pizza for supper along with fruit salad. We are also having some friends for dinner that Roger has known from years gone by, Ann and Alicia. We are looking forward to a good time and Chandler is very excited about cake! J

We are planning on attending Central Artic Baptist Church tomorrow. Roger will be preaching the evening service, so I KNOW that he would appreciate your prayers!

On each birthday for the boys, I try to have an interview with them. I ask the same questions every year, but I love to see how their answers change from year to year. Tonight I asked Chandler his birthday interview questions and his answers were as follows:

1) What is your favorite thing to do? Go on a snowmobile ride

 2) What is your favorite food? Black olives

 3) Who are your favorite people to be with? Mom and Dad and Bernt (the black Lab that belongs to Art and Damaris from Manley) J

 4) What would be the best birthday present ever? A dog

 5) What is one new thing you learned this year? Got to go to Manley Hot Springs

 6) What would you like to be when you grow up? Maybe…a policeman

 7) If someone was to give you money for a birthday present, what would be the perfect amount? "maybe…six dollars”

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay for Yellowknife, NWT!

Sunset along the way

Really, I don't have any words to describe how relieved I am to be in Yellowknife! Knowing that we don't have to travel tomorrow, don't have to try to entertain bored children in the car, do not have to try to do another day of school in the car, all that leaves me in a very contented mood looking forward to a great night's rest!

We made excellent time from High Level, Alberta to Yellowknife, NWT. The roads were snowy, but clear and fairly well maintained. We got to cross over the McKenzie River on the new bridge! It's only been open a few weeks, so that was exciting! (Also, it meant that we didn't have to take the ice road across, which I know my mother is very relieved about!) We arrived in Yellowknife about 4:30pm. so the boys had plenty of time to try to burn off excess energy before bed time. It's a privilege and an honor to meet Frank and Vivian as these two people influenced my husband in so many positive ways. They've both accepted Christ as their Saviour so it is even more precious to visit with them. They've welcomed us to their home with open arms, lots of tea, delicious stew, and a very friendly dog, named Sparky! We are blessed!

The plan is to visit Roger's memories from long ago, enjoy our time here, and I'm trying to catch up on some schooling with Garett. The boys were relieved that the day today wasn't as long driving, but it was a little bit of a rough day. Travis was not happy with his car seat, so I gave him so M &M's. He had taken off his socks earlier and entertained himself for over 20 minutes with stuffing the M&M's between his toes! It made a mess, but he was one happy camper! Chandler is very excited about turning five on Saturday, so we are trying to plan something special for his day. Wyatt did not sleep at all today in the car so to say he is acting like a GROUCH is a gross understatement! Garett did not have any schooling today as I wasn't feeling well, but I am amazed at how much he's learned in life experiences. He can identify the difference between a caribou and an elk, he knows what a burned tree area looks like, he understands outhouses, and always dresses appropriately for cold weather. (Don't worry...I still plan to school him in Math, Reading, etc.!)

My eye infection starting draining today, although it is still very swollen. I'm hoping for some relief tomorrow since it is draining. I'm on an antibiotic now so that should help as well. Thanks for your prayers.

Sarah

Another day of travels!

We left Fort Nelson and arrived tonight in High Level, Alberta. The road conditions today were the best we've had so far, although we still did have about three hours of driving in snow.

Road conditions yesterday.

The Lord was merciful to the parents today and allowed us to find a McDonald's in Fort St. John. And this McDonald's had a great PLAYLAND! YAY! We made decent time to High Level, and even found a Best Western Hotel that has a pool, waterslide, and a breakfast! The best part...it was under the budgeted hotel money allotted per hotel! Awesome!

Many of you know that we are planning on visiting some friends in Yellowknife, NWT. However, there is not a direct road to Yellowknife from the direction we are coming from. I've added a link that shows how the road goes to Yellowknife...it's a hike! 
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Fort+Nelson,BC&daddr=High+Level,+AB,+Canada&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.188298,93.164063&geocode=FRlLgQMd7Mmv-Cn9hqANka3uUzFwAF69WEIuXw%3BFQfMfAMdZrEE-SmzFk6dUoPAUzEJjmLVVRI12g&oq=high&mra=ls&t=m&z=7  We should make it to Yellowknife tomorrow, Lord willing. It will be a relief to stay somewhere for a few days without having to travel for hours on end! We're looking forward to a great visit with our friends.

Sunset in Manley Hot Springs

We appreciate the continued prayers for health and safety. I've developed an infection on my eyelid that has my eyelid all swelled up and is very uncomfortable. Please pray for some relief from the swelling and pain.
Sarah


World's largest wind vane in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Two LONG days of travel!

Well, after two tedious days of traveling we have arrived in Fort Nelson, B.C. Praise the Lord!

We left Fairbanks on Monday morning about 9:00am. The roads were slick from some freezing rain that had come earlier in the week. We passed two trucks in the ditch and passed a car accident, but the Lord kept us safe. The driving was slow going as most of the way to Whitehorse we only drove about 50 mph.

It was a long day for the kids! I felt that they were at each other's throats all day long and felt like tying them on the roof! Let's see....Wyatt sat in a pint of blueberries and that made a HUGE mess! Chandler found some scissors in the school bag and proceeded to cut up Roger's sermon notes from Sunday-Roger was NOT happy! (Chandler replied, "I didn't cut up the Bible!") And Travis was given a marker by his brother and completely covered his hands and pajamas in purple marker. Needless to say, we were all glad to arrive in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory! We didn't get into Whitehorse until about 11:30pm., so it was a late night for all of us.

We were hoping and praying for better weather today, but that wasn't the Lord's plan. Apparently, we are working on learning to have more patience with each other and our kids! The road from Whitehorse to Fort Nelson, B.C. is not well traveled in the winter time, so I don't think the department of transportation puts a whole lot of time into plowing the road! Most of the road was snow covered with several inches of snow and was packed down from vehicles traveling on it. I was thankful that Roger was driving! It was another full day of slow travel and a little stressful for Roger as the roads were mountainous and curvy. We did see several moose, lots of buffalo and a lynx. We are thankful to be in Fort Nelson tonight and looking to head out to High Level tomorrow. We should be in Yellowknife, NWT on Thursday, Lord willing.

We appreciate all the prayers for safe travels and our sanity!
Sarah

Manley Hot Springs

Sunday, January 20, 2013

As I write this post, it means that we've left Manley behind and are headed to Fairbanks. What a wonderful privilege and opportunity to be able to come to Manley! We've made some wonderful, life-long friends, unbelievable memories, ministry opportunities, and are truly sad to leave. We don't know what the future holds, but we are continuing to trust the Lord to guide us every step of the way.

The cabin is tidied up, the honey bucket is empty and clean, the fire has died out by now, and the only things left are a few missing Lego's and lonely matchbox cars. The little cabin will always bring back memories of laughing children, lots of salmon eating, cozy wood fires, and lots of laughter for sledding memories on the hill. Many people came together to fix up the cabin for us to live in for the weeks we were here, and it was truly a wonderful place to stay. I have a new appreciation for running water, flushing toilets, and electricity!

The friends we have made are life-long friends. Should the Lord lead us back to Alaska, it's wonderful to know that some of the groundwork of friendship has already been laid. If we hadn't come to Alaska, we would have never met some of the wonderful people of Manley Hot Springs and Manley Baptist Fellowship-we are BLESSED!

The church sent us off with sandwiches, cake, and hugs and prayers. They signed a beautiful card for us and gave us a generous love offering to help us on our way. There are not words to express our appreciation and gratitude; but from the bottom of our heart, we say THANK-YOU!

We are in Fairbanks for the night. We are preparing for an early start tomorrow to head to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. It's a full day's drive, so please pray for good weather. The roads on the way here were a little bit slick, but God protected us. There is a light snow falling now, but please, please pray for good traveling weather tomorrow.

Sarah

Friday, January 18, 2013

Happy Friday to all! Today’s temperatures were much colder! We started out the morning with the temperature at -22 degrees, and the warmest temperature we saw today was -20 degrees. J The boys all bundled up to go outside about 10:30am., and surprisingly they all stayed outside for over 30 minutes! Then they came inside and brought the snow with them. They put piles of snow on top of tote lids and then played with the snow in the kitchen. The boys used their diggers and loaders to move the snow around on the tote lids. Wyatt was upset because he thought his brothers “stole” his snow, but he didn’t realize that it was melting! J

Roger and I spent the greater part of the day organizing our stuff and deciding how to pack the truck. I’m thankful that Roger is a great packer as it’s going to take some creative packing to fit everything back in the truck! It seems like every time I thought I would be getting close to getting done packing, I’d open another drawer or cabinet and start over! (But I think we are coming down to the end of it!)

Chandler had a bad experience today. It actually is painful to even write about it! L I have no idea why, but while he was outside he licked the head of the hammer that was outside in the snow! His tongue is now missing several layers of skin and is very sore! L He’s been pretty miserable today and has been asking for cold drinks. Please pray that his tongue will heal quickly…I doubt he will every do that again!

We received another package in today’s mail. A huge box of cereal-YUM! My kids love to eat dry cereal as a treat, so it will be perfect for the ride home. We did have to buy a little milk to go in the cereal, but we’ll use it carefully! At $3.50 for a quart of milk, we won’t waste any! ($14.00 per gallon!)

I made granola bars today using my friend’s recipe. The granola bars turned out delicious albeit a little crumbly. I was going to add more peanut butter to help everything stick together. However, when I went to get the peanut butter I realized that Wyatt and Travis had been eating out of the peanut butter jar. Honestly, I still would have used it even with their germs, but they left the jar on the floor. When I went to get the jar, the dog was licking eagerly out of the jar! I draw the line at dog germs! J So, the granola bars are yummy, but they are a little dry! J

Tomorrow we plan to finish loading everything into the truck. We are planning on going sledding with some friends, but it needs to be a little warmer for everyone to enjoy it. So, we’ll see what the weather is like in the morning and then make a decision.

“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2

 

 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The weather was beautiful today with temperatures at about 8 degrees above zero. We spent a good chunk of the day outside and the other part of the day packing things up. (It was much more fun to unpack for our stay here than it is to pack up! J)

About 10:30am. we headed out to see some friends in Eureka. The kids enjoyed playing together, and Roger and I enjoyed visiting with Ken and Sarah. Sarah fed us some delicious granola bars and gave me the recipe. I think I might have everything I need to make those bars, so I might try that tomorrow. We left their house about 1:00pm and headed back home. We stopped at the dump to drop off some trash and then went home. After a quick lunch, we put the boys down for a nap. Since they had spent most of the morning playing in the snow, they all slept soundly! We were supposed to go to the hot springs one last time today; but since everyone was still sleeping at 4pm. we decided not to go.

Travis’s burned finger is looking quite nasty. The blister popped open today, so we’ve been putting aloe vera on it often and trying to keep it clean. He doesn’t seem too bothered by it which is an answer to prayer.

After supper, we headed out to say our good –byes to some other friends. We went to the Olson’s house. Dana is the postmaster and we enjoyed a cup of tea and a good visit. They recently built a house up here, so they gave us a tour of their home. Almost everything in the house is run on propane like the stove, refrigerator, lights, etc. They do have a battery bank which powers the television and the computers. It’s amazing to me how creative people can be to figure out how to get power, lights, etc.! 

We hope all is well with each of you. We pray often for a lot of you and are looking forward to reconnecting in person with a lot of our friends in a few short weeks. God bless, Sarah

Pictures

 

Just a quick picture as I'm sure everyone looks forward to those!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I’m looking forward to bed time tonight! With all this freshly fallen snow, the only easy walking is the walking done on the plowed roads or trails. It is good exercise though, so I’m not complaining! J I’ll admit this: one thing I’m looking forward to about returning to Wisconsin is the ability to go for a run or walk and then have a SHOWER! J I haven’t done nearly as much exercise as I planned on, so I’m looking forward to getting back into my routine.

The temperature was about 5 degrees today, so it was more of a typical Alaskan day. We decided to go out to visit some friends since it was such a nice day.

First though, I had to make something for supper tonight. Since we are having company, I scrounged through the cupboards to find something to eat. We have plenty to eat, but making a meal that goes together is somewhat of a challenge in these last days. I don’t really want to serve a meal of sugar cookies, beans, pasta without sauce, and ramen noodles! J I came up with round steak with onions and gravy in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, and green beans. And we are having sugar cookie cake for dessert. If you don’t know what that is (since I invented it J), it’s sugar cookie mix spread into the bottom of a cookie sheet. Then when it’s cooled, I frost it and cut it into cake squares. 

After supper was cooking in the crockpot, we loaded into the truck to visit the Redington’s. They live on the outskirts of Manley and raise sled dogs. It was like visiting a history museum! What a great experience for the kids to meet a man who has raced in the Iditarod and continues to raise and train sled dogs!  They offered us tea, peanut butter and crackers, as well as salmon jerky and salmon fish bellies. J The jerky was actually really good, but I didn’t care for the fish bellies. It was a little oily for my taste, but thankfully, Roger ate mine! JWe had a great visit with Joe and his wife, Pam, and enjoyed listening to stories of raising dogs. There are many similarities between raising dogs and raising children! J They both need schedules, attention, discipline, and it is hard work to get them to do right. However, well -trained dogs are much more pleasant to be around then wild, unruly ones…same with children! J

Also, while we were there, Roger succeeded in getting the truck stuck in the snow! J (He’ll be so glad I told this storyJ) It’s the first time in all our weeks of travel that we had to get a shovel to get us unstuck. But Roger is strong and can usually figure out a way to solve his problems, so he did! J I gave lots of advice, and then I decided the best thing I could do was be quiet! J

After our visit, we headed to the post office. Since the mail plane didn’t come in on Monday, due to the snowstorm, we had LOTS of mail today! There is no way that I will be able to reply to every letter/package we received today before we leave, so your letters will be postmarked from various places along our journey home. We really feel so incredibly loved (i.e. spoiled!). We received packages from the Mayo family, my sister (Hannah), Roger’s sister and family (Rachel and Robin), our neighbors (Jay and Kay), my good friends, Jenna and the Longsines, and our wonderful family doctor! WOW! We are set for sugar and sweets! J My children will be bouncing off the walls of the truck, if I don’t ration it out! It’s great to know that we don’t need to put out any money for snacks…at least for the first day! J Travis was so glad to see a Nuk in the package from the Longsines! We received everything from soup, cheese, cookies, chocolate, baking stuff, macaroni and cheese, cereal, and assorted treats for the boys like fruit roll ups (which are $1.00 each here at the store), and even new match box cars! Amazing! THANK-YOU!!!

We enjoyed a good visit and dinner with our friend, Sid. So many people up here have incredible stories about the history of Alaska or their own life experiences. We can learn so much just by listening!

 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Another full day on the Alaskan home front for the Robertson family! We finished up the laundry (quite a bit can pile up in a week of not doing any), visited a few friends, and invited a friend for supper tomorrow night. Roger worked on splitting the wood pile and is almost done with that project.

The temperature was nice today averaging about 17 degrees. J It started snowing again about 2:30pm., and it is still snowing now at about 6:30pm. The snow is so beautiful and is really starting to accumulate! We’ve probably gained about 24” during our time here in Manley, and it’s beautiful!

Travis had a rough day today. First he ran into the corner of the countertop with his head, then he tripped on a rug, an icicle fell down on him, and he gave his hand a nasty burn on the wood stove! We made it almost seven weeks without any burn incidents on the stove, but Travis managed to give himself one today. The skin is already blistered, and we’re going to have to watch it closely. When we went to the hot springs today, we snipped the leaf off of an aloe vera plant and that seems to have given his hand a little relief.

Wyatt told me today that he wanted to go see his “new” house. When I asked what he was talking about, he replied, “That house in Wisconsin that we haven’t been too in a LONG time!”  I had to laugh! J Our children bring us such delight at times.

We are eating through all our remaining food and trying not to waste anything or leave too much behind. We are eating lots of rice and beans, and we have lots of cookie mixes J. We won’t starve by any means, but we are all looking forward to variety in a few days (i.e. fruit and vegetables! J).

Art and Damaris are heading into Fairbanks for a few days to do some visiting and to bring back an airplane to Manley if the weather holds. The Robertson boys are very excited to have Bernt, the dog, visiting with us again. The dog is basking in all the attention, but I think he sometimes looks to go outside as an escape…I can relate to how he feels! J

As we prepare to leave Manley, we can’t help but reflect on all of God’s blessings to us.

First, not many people have the opportunity to take a short term mission trip for 10 weeks, and we do not take that for granted. We are incredibly thankful for each of you that have prayed for us, sent us mail, supported us monetarily, read the blog posts, and have stood with us in any way that you could. We are appreciative!

Secondly, it has been amazing to see how God has used past experiences in our lives to better prepare us for this trip. Roger has the benefit of years of missionary living behind him, a Dad that gave him a love for aviation, and Roger has an understanding of living in a small community. For me, the blessings of learning to serve in a small church, parents who prayed and supported my high school and college missions trips, as well as the Pfaffenroths in Canada, who allowed me to come and serve in Uranium City, Saskatchewan for several summers.

 All these experiences better prepared both Roger and I for the weeks spent here in Manley. We don’t know what the future holds, but we will continue to walk by faith. II Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

Our Last “Monday”

Monday, January 14, 2013

Today marked our last “Monday” in Manley. The day was filled up with laundry (seven loads!), showers, and other various activities. It’s such a blessing to have the truck fixed as it meant that we could do laundry, showers, trash to the dump, and gather water!

Much of the morning was filled with heavily falling snow. The temperature was about 20 degrees for most of the day, and this morning we probably accumulated about six inches in about five hours. It was coming down pretty thick and heavy for a while, but it was absolutely beautiful! (I tried to upload some pictures earlier, but the internet was not working very well at the washateria today.)

Yesterday the electric man came out to check on some wiring problems, and he mentioned that the wood pile that was on the porch needed to be moved per code for the electric company. So Roger and I spent much of the day moving wood around! We moved a good chunk of the pile today, and hopefully, we can get the rest moved tomorrow. Roger spent some time shoveling today as well since the snow is really starting to accumulate! We probably accumulated 12-14 inches of snow over the last week. J

While Wyatt and I worked on getting the laundry done, Roger and the other boys did various other errands. They stopped by a family that borrowed us a trailer hitch and a few other tools. The boys and Roger  enjoyed visiting with their children and family (the Behr family). They also were able to see a wolverine that Shawn had trapped. The boys were really excited about that as we had just studied that animal recently. J

We haven’t really starting packing up. We still need almost everything (i.e. sleeping bags, clothes, winter wear, etc.) Mostly, Roger and I just groan at the thought of gathering everything up. J We’ll probably spend most of Saturday trying to shove everything back in the truck! The hard part is not really packing up our stuff, but rather making all the last minute visits to the friends that we’ve made and saying good-bye. L We appreciate your love and prayers, Sarah

Pictures

Sunday, January 13, 2013

We are rejoicing in God’s blessings to us and to the little church here in Manley. The team from Hamilton Acres Baptist Church in Fairbanks was a tremendous blessing to the church family. Two trailers full of wood were cut, moved and hauled and a huge pile of wood is now at the Preacher’s cabin for anyone who might be staying here. We enjoyed a carry-in dinner after church on Sunday with plenty of delicious food including moose roast, turkey, ham, fish, chili, hotdogs, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, bread, and lots of yummy choices for dessert! J

After the dinner, we said our good-byes to the team and headed home shortly afterwards. We made plans to come down to Art and Damaris’ home later in the evening to use the internet. And I had forgotten a pie on the porch of the church, so we decided to have pie with them too! J I had put the pie on the porch as it needed to be refrigerated, but then I completely forgot about bringing it in for the church dinner!

We walked home and because the temperature was so mild (20 degrees) we played outside for a bit. The boys and I knocked all the icicles off the roof, and we played sword fighting with the icicles. J Then we came in for tea, while Roger worked on finishing up the brake project on the truck. Sid, a man from church, came over to help Roger and together they got the job done. Hooray for a vehicle with brakes again! J

After the boys took a short rest, we piled in the truck to head down for our visit with Art and Damaris. They have truly gone out of their way to help us feel welcome, and we’ve come to love them dearly.

We are looking to head to the washateria tomorrow to do laundry and take showers. J It’s hard to believe that we are in our final days of being here and have lots to do this week. Please keep us in your prayers as we pack up, say our good-byes, and prepare for a long trip back to Wisconsin.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

We had a beautiful day here in Alaska. The skies were overcast, but the temperature was warm at about 20 degrees. The boys spent some time sledding on the hill with some children from the community here. Roger put back the brakes on the truck, but he is still waiting on the bolts to finish up the job. The bolts should be coming with the team of workers coming from Fairbanks today, Lord willing. I spent the better part of the day making chili, baking cornbread, cookies, cake, and shredding cheese. I think I have everything ready for supper tonight at the church. (Then I’ll come home and think of something to make for the church dinner tomorrow! J)

I’m looking forward to having the truck back and in working order! We all need showers, laundry is piling high, and the trash needs to go to the dump. I’m thankful that this morning Art and Damaris came over to get water for us. Roger and Art went to fill up the water jugs, and Damaris and I had a nice time visiting together. We spent some time drinking tea and eating ice cream J when Roger and Art got back from getting the water. It’s nice to have friends that help us out and that we love to share their company.

The team of workers from Fairbanks arrived at about 3:00pm. They had a load of wood from the burned area in Eureka and unloaded that at the cabin. We are having supper together at the church tonight, and they are staying for church services tomorrow. It’s a good blessing to have a large woodpile here for when we have to leave. There is probably as much wood or more here than when we arrived! Which my dad always says, “It’s a good idea to leave things in as good as shape as they were or better when you borrow something!” J

Today marks our sixth week in Manley, can you believe it?! Wow! It will also be our final week in Manley. L We’ve made so many good friends, wonderful memories, and have treasured our time here that it will be hard to leave. But we are looking forward to catching up with friends on the way back to Wisconsin as well. We are especially excited about our visit to Yellowknife, NWT. I don’t think any of us are looking forward to getting back in the car for a 60 hour car ride, but every mile is one mile closer to Wisconsin.

Roger is anxious to get back to work, and Chandler is looking forward to returning to 4K. I’m looking forward to talking to my friends and family (oh, and running water! J). Garett only wants to go back to Wisconsin to get his bike and his ice skates and then he’d like to come back to Alaska! J And Travis and Wyatt don’t seem to have an opinion either way! J We’d appreciate your prayers as we pack up the truck, say good-bye to our new friends, and begin our journey back to Wisconsin. The weather is not looking very good for this week. The forecast is for snow, then a few days without snow, and then another snow storm. So, we would appreciate your prayers for traveling mercies as well. Our love to you all, Sarah

 

Friday, January 11, 2013

For the third time this week, we were greeted with a gently falling snow this morning. The temperature was about 15 degrees today; we probably accumulated about 2-3 inches of snow again. That is wonderful news for dog mushers, trappers, and small children who enjoy sledding! J

We spent the morning visiting with a man from church, who is also the bus driver for the children to school. We had a good visit over coffee and chocolate chip banana bread. The boys played outside in the snow and at 11am. we walked down to where the new airport runway will be located. There is an area there that has been plowed for people to ice skate on and the school children were all there for gym class. J It was fun, although Garett was the only one who had skates. We did get in a nice two mile walk in the snow.

On the way home from ice skating, we stopped at the mail box. I can tell we are coming into our last week of being here-we had NO mail! L Oh well, we came home and ate lunch. Then it was nap time and after a morning of playing in the snow, there were some little boys that willingly went down for nap time! J

Roger got the parts for the brake line, and the bolts will be coming with the team of people coming from Fairbanks tomorrow. There are ten people coming to cut wood. They will be staying in the church, and I’ve been busy cooking up chili, breads, and desserts for tomorrow night. We are looking forward to having them come. Since we’ve been without a vehicle all week, we haven’t been able to update the blog, do laundry, take trash to the dump or get water. Tonight we used up the last of our water, so we melted some snow to do the dishes. Roger hiked out to the well and brought back 15 gallons of water, so he got his exercise in for the day! J

 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

I can’t believe that we only have nine days left in Manley Hot Springs! We’ve enjoyed our time here so much, we are rejoicing in all that God is doing in and through us. I’m going to miss the friends that we’ve made, the memories that we’ve created with our family, the dinners we’ve shared with friends, and the pace of life. The first week here I thought I was going to go stir crazy with the lack of things happening, but I’ve come to love the pace of life. I feel like I have time for my family, making memories, shaping lives, writing letters, craft projects, and loving on my kids. We don’t know what God has in store for us, but we are at peace with going back to Wisconsin and waiting for Him to show us His will.

Today was a beautiful, perfect, Alaskan day. The temperature was about zero degrees with a lightly falling snow almost all day. We probably accumulated between two and three inches which is great for the dog mushers and the trappers. I think falling snow is one of God’s most beautiful creations. It’s a reminder of God’s love, and that by the shedding of Jesus’ blood my sins can be washed as white as snow…amazing Grace!

Roger spent most of the day outside, working on the truck. He spent a lot of time on the ground underneath the truck, so he is a little tired and cold tonight. The tire is off the truck, and we are just waiting on the rest of the parts to arrive so that it can be completely fixed. Please pray that it can be finished up soon.

Garett was able to participate with the school children in cross-country skiing today. He said it was harder than ice skating, but it was fun! J The other boys used out the little skis at home and of course, used the sledding hill. Since it was such a beautiful day, the boys spent quite a bit of time outside. I probably undressed, redressed, and undressed, and redressed, etc. little children about umpteen million times today! J

We enjoyed dinner with the school teachers and family tonight. We had a great time making new friends and learning about each other’s lives. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep in touch with many of these special people here even after we leave Manley, Alaska.

Part of me is ready to return back to Wisconsin as I like running water, daily showers, and flushing indoor toilets! J But then I think about my husband going back to work and being gone all day, the hustle and bustle of activities, and I’m not so sure. But I know that God only had us here for a short time and that He will continue to direct our steps. Please continue to uphold us with your prayers….it’s a long drive back to Wisconsin! J