This post is a long time in coming. (And this isn’t Jason…it’s Jessica).
It has bothered me quite a bit over these months that there did not end up being a Week 9 update to wrap things up from our summer in Alaska. I know many folks were following along with Jason’s regular posts. I really felt like there should be a final entry. But when we arrived back in NY and then Virginia, we literally hit the ground running. Jason and I were immediately caught up in all the busyness of the start of the school year at the Academy (he helping out in the Quartermaster Department and getting his room and first term class ready, and I working almost full-time hours in the Sewing room in order to get cadets into uniform for the school year).
And life goes on. And time goes by. And Alaska is on our mind. And in our hearts. The congregation is being faithful, so we give space and time their due…knowing that it is time to move into whatever the next season brings…
I asked Jason at one point if he was reluctant to write a final blog entry because it would be just that…final. Of course, he’s a guy so he thinks differently than I do. He told me he figured his second-to-last-post had left things off well enough. All he had said as he finished the last post was: “Well, as we work our way into the last week I will probably post some miscellaneous pictures. We have been so thankful for our time here, and the congregation has been a huge blessing to our family, and the work has been a huge blessing to me. We are so very thankful.”
I told him maybe I would write a “last post” for him. He thought that was a fine idea, if I wanted to do it. Well, that was a few months ago, but I guess “better late than never.”
So, I want to pick up and “report” on our last week in Alaska as best as I can remember it. Early in the week our family headed out to Quartz Lake for a 1-night camping trip at a public use cabin. We reserved a boat so we could take the kids fishing on the lake, rather than on shore like we had done all summer. It was a drizzly day. I will list the highlights of our camping trip:
- The cabin was a little more than a half-mile off on a trail on the side of a hill in the woods, overlooking the lake. It seemed like it was even farther, lugging borrowed sleeping bags and a borrowed cooler up the muddy path!
- There were raspberries all along the path…but our hands weren’t free to pick them!
- When we arrived at the cabin, there were raspberries growing on the roof! Yay! A refreshing treat.
- The guest book/log in the cabin told of previous folks’ close encounters with moose and sightings of bears!
- The outhouse had three walls…no door…with a great view of the lake…a great view from the trail…a “great view” for everyone and anyone! (Nobody else was about those couple of days).
- Whenever we walked on the trail we were aware that wildlife may be around (do bears move much in the drizzling rain?), so we let them know that WE were around. Josiah sang, “Sweeeeeet Caaaroliiiiine!” And the girls responded: “Ba…ba…baaaaaaaam!” Over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. At the top of their lungs! We decided if we were to encounter a bear, its name would be Caroline. We didn’t see any bears but one trip down the trail revealed some bear scat. We also saw a ptarmigan on the trail!
- We fired up the wood stove in the cabin to take away the chill and the damp. Soon it was 85 degrees in there and we were cracking open the windows to get some relief! We made jiffy pop and hot chocolate. The kids didn’t finish their hot chocolate…overkill on the heat.
- As soon as we turned out the lights to get some sleep, we heard squeaking. Turned them back on. Looked around, trying to identify the creatures making the noise. Huddled in the corners of the eaves were cute little faces looking down with big eyes and little ears. When we turned out the lights again they started squeaking again and moving along the logs just under the ceiling. Little bat arms and wings. Then they started flying about the cabin! It was a bit too much for me to allow them to fly about over my sleeping kids all night. The kids were lying sprawled on their backs, mouths wide open! Jason and I found that whenever we turned the flashlights back on they would retreat to the eaves and just shuffle around and squeak a little. So, I kept the lights on all night. And the bats and I cautiously regarded one another…all night. Taking on all-night sentry duty is worth peace of mind, right? I was pretty tired the next day but I know those bats didn’t drop anything in the kids’ mouths overnight!
- The next day was chilly but sunny. We got out on the water and had a morning of fishing. The kids enjoyed the new experience and before calling it a day everyone had caught at least one trout. (Not me…I was trying to doze a bit). Jason caught a big one that was quite the fighter!
Those were the highlights of our camping trip. We left a note in the log book at the cabin and the next occupant wouldn’t have to buy firewood as we left all the wood we didn’t need to burn. We returned the camping gear. It was a blessing to be able to borrow the equipment from the generous folks in the congregation. It was fun how excited they were to hear about our adventures.
At some point that last week we returned our temporary library cards and the last of the books we had borrowed from the Noel Wein library. The kids and I got frozen custard one afternoon. We ordered pizza one evening and ate it back at the ranch at Camp LiWa. Everyone got their own medium pizza from Domino’s with whatever toppings they wanted. The pizzas ended up being supper, and then lunch and snacks the following day. We decided we could fit a small gold pan and bag of pay dirt in our luggage to bring to NY and share with family, so we purchased those. I also ran into the Santa House one last time to buy ornaments to surprise the kids at Christmas. I think we bought a couple more gifts for family and some souvenirs that last week. We also accompanied one family from the congregation to Chena Hot Springs (what a fun time and a sweet blessing it was!) that last week. We were treated to a wonderful dinner meal at a great Fairbanks restaurant by another family. The congregation is kind and generous.
Jason worked on his last sermon and prepared for the baptism. Fellowship time was also planned for Sunday after the service. That Sunday was such a good day.
Little Winnie Mae was baptized. She cried…until, in the course of the verses and words spoken, Jason said the word “peace.” She stopped crying and everyone chuckled! What a sweet picture of a brand new covenant child and God’s relationship with her.
We had out of town visitors that day. We were able to have fellowship right at the church, in the fellowship hall. We shared a potluck meal, and strawberry shortcake served up by the girls in the church, and a time of Q&A as the congregation wanted to know that they had answered all of our questions about Alaska and the opportunity of full-time ministry to the congregation. Also, we wanted the congregation to have one last opportunity to ask us any questions that they might have. We left fellowship early to make it to the airport on time.
It’s hard to say goodbye, especially when there has been such kinship. You know how they show it in the movies– there’s always someone running along after, waving and shouting goodbye. Tear-jerker. I still remember vividly all the kids of Covenant Reformed Church running down the sidewalk along Cowles Street, waving and shouting “Bye!” as we drove off. And our own kids’ shouts of farewell through the open windows of the car filled the air.
We unloaded at the airport and said goodbye to the generous family who had loaned us their “spare” vehicle all summer long. Then we were on the “red eye” flight to Chicago. Then to Albany, NY. Nine-thirty in the morning the kids looked positively sick! The next couple of weeks are somewhat of a blur as we recounted our summer ministry and activities to family in NY and then traveled back to Virginia and got back into the work and life we had left back in May.
Some things we did not expect:
The kids went into mourning. For real. They were greatly affected by the loss they experienced after we left Alaska.
Jason and I arrived home exhausted and didn’t quite know how to decompress. We didn’t really have a chance.
The church issued us a formal call in October. We took our time trying to figure out if we could/should take it, but…Alaska? Who just up and moves there?
We turned down the call. And I for one immediately went into some sort of period of grief.
Meanwhile Jason had several other possible opportunities for ministry in different parts of the “lower 48,” but one by one they did not pan out for a variety of reasons, all which point to the hand of God in our lives and in the lives of others.
The majority of the time during the months between October and March was spent trying to be faithful where we were and with what God had provided for us. We fully embraced and joined a church plant on the outskirts of Charlottesville that we had been involved with since the spring of 2017. During this time the Lord provided in a round-about way an online job for Jason which grew, and grew, and could go anywhere with him. And Alaska was still on our minds and hearts every day.
The main thing we had not been prepared for when we took the summer position in Alaska, and then came back home to Virginia, was that we had gotten back into pastoral ministry again. And then we “lost” it again. That loss hit us unexpectedly. But it made sense. Jason has always felt a call to pastoral ministry. But he hasn’t pursued it the same way some other men do. He has been faithful where he is and has pursued it when it calls for him. But who moves to Alaska? Well, lots of folks do for lots of reasons. Who takes a bi-vocational call to a small mission church? Well, those called by God do!
I am thankful for all the pastors and missionaries and faithful laypeople in history who have gone before us, and all those who go with us, and all those who will go after us…in the footsteps of Jesus and his disciples. God has prepared a way and there is still a call…and we are now going to be moving to Alaska to answer that call. Mysterious are His ways. Thanks be to God!
There are some additional photos that should go with this post, but I can’t access them right now. Hopefully we can add them in because they’re great.
So…watch for more “updates” from Jason. 🙂
You'll Meet The Lord In The Furnace 