Back from a visit to Victory

This is a copy of an email I sent out on June 7:

Greetings, all!!  I'm not even sure where to start.  We just got back from Alaska and
it was AWESOME!!!  More than awesome really, but it will take me a small book to
describe it all so settle in for a long read or hold on until you have time cuz this
isn't going to be a short one!  For those who have not heard, we're looking at
joining Victory Ministries out there.  http://www.victorymin.org/  The story of how
that all came together is ANOTHER long one, and not one I'll fill in today!

We arrived in Alaska at about midnight May 30 and it was still light out.  Rodney
never did get used to that but I was sleeping just fine within a few days.  Tin foil
taped over the windows would definitely help!  I was waking up a lot earlier than
necessary, though the 4 hr time difference also probably contributed to that.

We went straight to the camp so that we could go to the church out there (about 15
mi from camp) on Sunday.  Sunday morning we went to church and it was
AMAZING!  I have not been able to sing in 4 yrs.  Now I know that I've NEVER
been able to sing WELL, but I do like to make a "joyful" noise (Psalm 100:2).
Additionally, there is something about the sound system in church that makes
me REALLY sick so I can't even sit in church.  We sat at the back in case I had
to leave but I was able to sit through the entire service and sing EVERY song
with a full "carry my tunes in the bucket" voice! A couple came in with a bunch
of special needs kids and that just touched my heart because it is one of the
things I most appreciate about our church - how everyone is accepted.  Then the
pastor's sermon felt like it was tailor made for us.  Granted, it was also the first
Sunday for the 100+ camp summer staff so it was probably also directed to them.
They also had daily devotionals at camp that hit the mark every morning.  I kept 
thinking about our pastor's wife praying for us that God's will would be clear and
the message just kept on coming though LOUD and CLEAR.  We really feel like
Victory is where we need to be.

Monday we started with touring the camp, primarily with Rod who will be Rodney's
boss.  We saw a LOT and didn't even begin to see it all!  Then we went to Rod's
house for desert and got to meet his wife and some of his kids.  He and his wife
Dianne have 13 kids, 6 at home now are adopted (5) or foster kids (1).  They were
the ones we saw coming into church.  I pretty quickly fell in love with their whole
family.  They are wonderful, sweet people.  We had dinner there later in the week
and had bear for dinner.  Dianne is also a fantastic cook!  The strange and funny
thing is that whenever there would be a Rod story, there would be a comparable
Rodney story with a few details that were different.  Rod and Rodney are similar
peas in the same pod!  Too funny!

Tues we went into Palmer (about half way between Anchorage and camp) to visit
my cousin Jeff and his wife Luci and their kids, Nicole and Katy.  Luci fed us
lunch and dinner - another great cook!  After a week up there I'm beginning to
feel like Alaskans are all great cooks but I'm sure there have got to be some that
aren't!  We had a great time catching up a bit, seeing the work they've done on
their house, seeing Jeff's farm (he works for the experimental farm part of the
university) and picking their brains a bit regarding living and farming in Alaska.
They've been there for about 10 yrs so it is great to have their wisdom to fall back
on.  Unfortunately we didn't get to spend more than a day with them.  We were
way too busy!

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of visits and tours of camp.  We had a busier
social life than we've EVER had in our lives!  That's ok.  I KNEW Alaska would be
beautiful.  What I really wanted to know was whether or not I would like these
people and want to live in a small insular community with them.  Nate is an
interesting character.  He barely made it through high school because he didn't
care, not because he wasn't able (sounds a LOT like Sergei).  His dad was
frustrated with him and asked him how he would get into college with those poor
grades.  He said he was going to learn 6 different trades instead.  And he did.
He's about the most creative, inventive, handy person you've ever met.  He is
primarily the auto mechanic at camp but he does a lot of other stuff too.  We went
to lunch with Nate and his wife Maggie and Rodney was about to order Halibut
until Maggie stopped him.  She had some in the freezer at home which she said
she'd be glad to cook up for us so she invited us to dinner that night.  That's pretty
much how things went all week.  When we weren't looking at camp buildings
figuring out what all needed to be done, we were VERY busy meeting people and
talking and eating.

I wish I could tell you stories about every person we met.  They were all very nice
and most were fascinating as well.  I can't even begin to really characterize what
made them so much fun without writing an entire book.  Suffice it to say that
each one is as interesting as Nate and Rod.  It is really amazing how people who
come from so many different backgrounds and places can all come together to
work and have so much in common.

And to top it all off, I felt GREAT!!!  It was truly amazing.  I honestly didn't realize
that I could feel THAT good ever again in my life!  I had energy, I could remember
things - I met about 100 people and remember 100 names.  I'm not a ditz!!  I was
driving Rodney a little crazy with my energy.  I didn't have a Woo to walk so I had
to walk Rodney!!!  Ha ha ha!!!!  He had a rough week between the hiking and the
abundant sunshine and will need to sleep a week to catch up!  When we came
back, as soon as we got off the plane in Rochester it all started coming back -
the stuffy nose, sinuses, head, ears ringing, stomach churning, voice cracking,
chest heavy, etc.  The longer we're home the more it settles in.  I can slowly feel
my brain slipping away and I do NOT like it!!!

Oh yeah, and housing...  My cousin in Alaska has a coworker who had no running
water for 18 years and just recently got it.  Rodney was telling my mom and dad
that he was going to take me up to Alaska to a place with no running water and
no electric.  I laughed & said, "Right!!!"  So we were out for a walk the first day at
camp and we look across the lake and see our DREAM home and say to each
other, "What we wouldn't give to live there!!!"  Guess what!  That is one of the
houses they were considering for us but it is off grid and the water supply freezes
up part of the year!  And I don't care!!! I must be CRAZY, but I LOVE it!  There is a
guest cottage right behind the house so yes, people can come visit.  They can
also stay at camp VERY reasonably but it can be hard to get spaces in the
summer so you need to reserve dates ahead of time.  The guest cottage doesn't
have a bathroom but there is one pretty close in the house and there is also an
outhouse.  Shoot, there's also enough room in the house to have people stay.
We'd DEFINITELY love to have company!!!  Sign up now!!!  The house is a 10-15
min walk right now but they'd like to build an ATV trail for easier access.  We can
also take a boat in summer or a snow machine (snow mobile in the lower 48) in
winter.  I'm already thinking in Alaskan.  It really feels like home.

I'd leave tomorrow if we could BUT we do have a house to sell!  Granted, the first
time I said that we had a guy call a few days later to talk to Rodney about the
place.  He's VERY interested and would like us to give him a call when we're
ready to sell.  I'd really like to get the living room floor finished before we have
anyone in so that is first on the agenda this week!  Meanwhile, last night when
we got to the airport we ran into someone who works in the same department as
that guy, someone Rodney knows through work.  Rodney told him to tell the guy
we're ready to move!!!  The longer we were at camp, the lower the price we
wanted for this house!  We'll see!  We also need to raise a list of prayer supporters,
people who will commit to praying for us at least once a week. So that's pretty
much the first chapter in our Alaska story.  I'll keep you posted on when the next
installment comes out!