July 16, 2012

Many people have been contacting us to find out where we are and what is happening. It has been about a month and a half since we landed on USA soil, so we felt our story began in Alaska and we will complete this blog in Alaska where we are currently still in transition.

When we last posted a blog, we were in Lakeland, Florida, visiting with relatives and doing some work on a little house we own there. Returning to the states has taken some adjusting, it seems like everything is so quick, full of endless choices, and lots of events to participate in. Our first night in Lakeland, we went with family to support a local football team in their final game of the year. We were able to have front row seats, as many in the family needed space for wheel chairs.

It was a fun filled evening and a successful win for the home town team. We were also able to spend a couple of Sunday services at the church with family. Colin is pictured below with his cousin Pat, and two of her adopted sons in front of the small church we attend when visiting.

Our time with family was filled with fellowship, food, and a good place to regroup before continuing  forward in faith. Julie continued to apply for jobs and even had an interview with the Anchorage School District while there. The interview went well, and she was placed on a "pre-hire" list. Not wanting to live directly in the city, she had applied for a few jobs in a couple of outlying suburban areas.

After ten days in Lakeland, we flew to Colorado for Julie to take two courses in order to get the six credits needed for re-certification of her teaching credentials. The "Teaching for Excellence" institute was held at a nice hotel in Vail, right in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The resort area mostly caters to skiers in the winter, but also had a lovely atmosphere in the summer. We found everything so manicured and a bit like visiting Disneyland with the area built to look like a village in Switzerland. Below, Julie is sitting by a statue of Mark Twain, one of many statues of famous people placed around the resort.

While Julie was attending her sessions at the institute, Colin explored around the area and was able to relax during the day. In the evening, we would walk around and enjoy the beautiful scenery and flowers that surrounded us. Colin is pictured next to just one of the many wagons full of colorful flowers.

 The time at the teaching institute was extremely valuable to Julie. She participated with over 400 people, and spent her days in the large ball room at the hotel.

On Father's Day, Julie had a break in classes so we made plans to go up the mountain by tram and spend the day exploring the mountain top. We were already at 8,000 feet in Vail, and on top it was 11,000 feet. Colin is pictured while we waited for the tram to open, and notice the ski slopes in the background.

The ride up the mountain was gorgeous and gave us more of an aerial view of the area.

On top of the mountain, there were restaurants and information mostly designed to accommodate skiers in the winter. Reservations were in place to conclude the outing at a restaurant with a beautiful view and excellent brunch.

We were surrounded by mountains and had arranged to take a mountain tour in a safari vehicle. Like everything we were seeing, the truck was top quality and flashy. The seats were very cushioned and all the seats had seat belts. Nothing like the safari trucks we rode in while in Botswana.

As mentioned before, we were surrounded by mountains and the scenery was spectacular. Seeing the mountains, was preparing us for the return to Alaska.

The tour was one hour and we traveled over a few ridges overlooking valleys with numerous ski slopes. There was a cold wind on top, and on the midway break we needed heavier clothing.

Not only has it been somewhat difficult culturally for us to return to the states, but additionally to the cooler climate. Though, we were grateful to be in the mountains and not in the lower levels of Colorado. At that time, all over the states there was a major heat wave and many fires burning in other places of Colorado.

Our travels continued on the 25th of June, when we arrived in Anchorage Alaska five and a half hours after leaving Denver. We were met by endless daylight, rain, and some of our closest friends when we arrived. The next 11days were spent living in our friend's basement in Wasilla, looking for a car, and seeing other friends in the area. We even got to see Travis [the young pilot we started off with in Maun], before he left Alaska to start medical school in Iowa. When we were with friends, we were so engaged in visiting, that we never snapped any photos....The only pictures we took were of our friends, Joan and Jerry, in front of a triple Cape Buffalo podium mount when we had dinner with them one night. It was last July when they came to visit Botswana with Joan's sister who we knew from Galena.

On July 6th, we purchased a ten year old Ford Explorer and set off the next day for Tok. While staying with our friends in Wasilla, Julie applied for a position with the Alaska Gateway School District and was hired to work in a small village school in Tetlin.  The village has no running water, or suitable housing, so the teachers commute 22 miles on a dirt road from Tok.

During our time in the southern part of Alaska, it rained all but 2 days. The day of our departure, it was cold and wet. Even so the drive north/east was beautiful through the Matanuska river valleys.

Our new car did well climbing up over the mountains and winding two lane roads.

We even passed the Matanuska Glacier pictured in the distance of the next photo.

As we got closer to Tok, a large bull moose even posed for us near Mentasta Lake

Finding a bed and breakfast on our arrival in Tok, we spent the next three days looking for housing and seeing the school that Julie will be teaching kindergarten through 2nd grade students. Tok is more like a small town with a population of about 1,500 in the area and is on the Alaska Highway bordering Canada. We found people to be friendly and helpful. Our prayer had been to relocate someplace where we could continue to serve, and we already see that we can be used in a number of ways.

Looking for a suitable place to rent in a range we could afford was more difficult that we had expected. Finally, on the last morning in town we found just the right house for us and the owner agreed to lower the rent to what we could afford. We felt blessed and relieved! On our return in about a week, we were told that we could sign a lease.

July 10, we set off on the 4 hour drive to Fairbanks. Again, we had a place to stay and met with long time friends to catch up on the last few years. We were also pleased to find out that our youngest son had married his long time girlfriend! Both being very practical, they had eloped to avoid a fuss. Julie has been telling everyone that, "We have a daughter-in-law!" The following picture is of Clinton and Valerie on the day that they married.

While sorting through our things in storage and making plans to move things to Tok, we realized our car was in need of some repairs. Though more than we had expected, the Lord blessed us with a Christian dealership that gave us with numerous discounts. Everything was completed and a van reserved for our final leg back to Tok on Wednesday, the 18th of July.

 During our time in Fairbanks, we got more excited about the new position and community where Julie had secured a job. There is still a lot of need in Alaska villages and in the area we will be living, there looked to be many ministry possibilities.   

The afternoon of the 17th at 3pm, we picked up a 14 foot U-haul truck and began making rounds to pick up things in storage at 3 different locations. We had purchased a bed, so the first stop was to get it, then to the cold storage unit. By the time we got to our warm storage unit we had help for the majority of stuff we had moved out of Galena 4 years ago. The final loading location was at our friend's house, where we had more boxes stored in a shed. Below is a picture of the loading process at our final stop.

 

By the time we were finished, the inside of the truck was filled solid from top to bottom.

The next morning, we began the 4 hour drive to our new home. Along the way, the woman we had secured the house to rent from called to say there was a buyer for the house and we may only be able to stay there for 1 month. Hearing the news was a big blow, and as we both traveled in separate vehicles there was plenty of time to think. The photo below is of Colin driving the truck about 1 hour from Tok.

 

When we reached Tok, we had both felt that we were going to try to counter offer and buy the house we felt was for us. That day, we started the process with the bank, and by the end of the next day gave an offer that was accepted. As of this posting, we have been in a Motel for 3 days and plan to spend our first night at the house tonight [21st of July].  Internet has been a difficulty through most of our travel so far, and even more so for a while, when we move into the house. Please pray for us, as there are still a number of "hoops" to jump through before closing. If things do not line out just right we will have to move again and in addition, we could lose the earnest money down on the house....Pictured below is the house we feel is perfect for us in this new season and venture in or lives.

We had hoped for this to be the final blog with our Botswana adventure starting and ending in Alaska. It is possible that we will add a posting of the outcome of the house purchase, but we will be extremely busy for the next few months settling in and working at the school in Tetlin. Ourwish is to begin building relationships with families in the village soon and preparing the classroom for the start of the school year. It may be around Christmas before we will completely end this blog...Until we write again; we cherish your prayers while we transition. And may, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’Numbers 6:24-26