Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Gotta Love Summer!

I cannot believe how time flies! We have been home from Alaska for 3 weeks! That is hard to imagine. We have been up to much. The boys are busy with legos, swimming, Wii, riding bikes, playing in the woods, playing with friends, and finishing the baseball season. Isaac has been planning his birthday party since we got home and has been changing his mind daily as to what he wants. We finally decided on a theme and invited his friends. We bought some flowers and tomato and pepper plants and have planted them in pots all around the house. Cade helped with this venture. That was fun and now everything is starting to look like summer. We have tadpoles on the back porch as well as a pair of wrens building a nest in a box on the back porch. It will be fun watching baby birds learn to fly. Let's just pray that the cat doesn't eat them! Russ has been spending his spare time working on our camper. Hopefully we will be going camping in the near future! We also celebrated Russ' birthday this month. We won't talk about how young he is! Today was a first for the boys. They rode down the road on their bikes to a friends house alone! It is the start of many new beginnings. Gotta love summer. Today it got up to 90 degrees. The cat spends her days lazing in the doorway or window trying to catch a breeze. We are looking forward to the lazy days of summer. Adventure is out there!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Alaska Day 14!

Day 14 in Alaska! I cannot believe this is our last day in Alaska! We head home tomorrow. I don't even know where to begin. I am going to try and catch up on the events of the last week. Monday - halibut fishing, saw sea otters and sights around Homer and Kenai. Tuesday - rest from total exhaustion, went to beach on Kenai and looked for Jade and other cool rocks and gems. Russ led worship at Henry and Nancy's church. It was incredible ministry. We got to pray for an incredible lady for marraige restoration. She goes to the streets of Kenai and rescues lost and hurting young people. She brought at least 3 with her to the conference. Wednesday - Russ and the boys went 4 wheeling with Mike McDonald. They had a great time playing in the mud! We also enjoyed playing with their cats. Mike and Lisa were extremely generous with their home, motor home, and truck, and anything else we needed. They were awesome hosts! We went back to Henry and Nancy's church that evening for another night of awesome ministry. It was a blessing seeing their home church and meeting all the people. The people in Alaska are extremely giving and have much hospitality. they make you feel right at home. That was the case everywhere we went. An extremely friendly and giving people. Thursday - An adventure to say the least! We drove from Kenai to Delta Junction. It only took us 13 hours and 1 flat tire later and we finally arrived! I have to brag on my boys, they were excellent the entire trip. Never once did they complain or whine or fight. I was a very proud mama! But the drive was amazing! We saw huge mountains, glasiers, moose, and lots of caribou. We stayed at Evelyn Glass' church in Delta Junction. We had a nice room to sleep in, a large kitchen full of food, and a nice hot shower every morning. The best part was we didn't have to leave when church was over at night and didn't have to get up extra early to drive back to the church in the mornings. They also had a gym for the boys to play in. We were very blessed! The ministry in Delta Junction was just as awesome as Anchorage and Kenai. The attendance was not as large but the life changes were just as dramatic. One lady came to Nancy sunday morning after the service and said that her husband had come both nights of ministry and when he came home on friday night, he was a different man. We have truly seen Holy Spirit encounters the last 2 weeks. We have witnessed healings, the bondage of depression vanquished, and lives changed to the point of never being the same again. People are truly set free from every kind of weight imaginable and commisioned to go into their communities, using the gifts that God had given them and turn people's hearts to God. It is an amazing thing to witness. The conference in Delta Junction was all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday morning. Russ did his workshop on saturday afternoon. We left Delta Junction today around 1:00 and arrived in Anchorage around 8:30. We saw the same amazing sights: huge mountains, glaciers, moose, caribou, and swans. The only thing that I did not get to see on this trip that I would have liked to see is a bear in the wild and whales. Oh well, there is always next time! Adventure is out there!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Day 9 in Alaska! A lot has happened since my last blog. Last Thursday - Saturday we had the Anchorage conference. It was a very blessed time. Many people were delivered of things during the weekend. One lady in particular was freed from depression. She said that she felt like a new woman. Praise the Lord! Sunday, Russ, Nancy, and Sarah flew down to Nikiski and Russ preached at Henry and Nancy's church. Sarah led the worship. The boys and I road down with 4 other cars following behind. It was a beautiful drive over and through the mountains. Monday, we went halibut fishing with Lisa McDonald. She also has opened her home to us while we are on the peninsula. We saw several hundred sea otters. That was amazing! They would let us drive pretty close to their pod without going under water. I guess they did not think we were a threat. We did not catch any fish but the views were awesome and the sea otters were worth the trip alone. The waves started getting pretty high and the water was real choppy so we headed in. Evedently, there were several earthquakes in Japan, Thailand, and several other places and Alaska was feeling the results. So far, other than fatigue, we have had a great time in Alaska. Now we will have a short conference at Henry and Nancy's church, then up to Delta Junction! (To see more pictures, I will try to make an album on facebook.) Adventure is out there!