One month in Alaska

One month ago yesterday we were getting on a plane and flying to Alaska.  ONE MONTH! We have seen and done so much in the past couple of weeks.  Here's an update:


We bought a truck for Greg.  A big, Georgia-bulldog-red truck.  Some have suggested that we now need a big Georgia  "G" on the back of it (specifically, my brother in law, Bryan!).  Don't expect to find one on it, but it is nice to have a nod to our GA connections way up here!

We have an AK tag for the van now. AND...we BOTH passed our drivers license tests!!  We learned from my first attempt (where I failed it miserably!) and studied hard and were prepared for the test.  It was still pretty tough, but thankfully it's all behind us now!

Our boys have had a couple of moose sighting - Jackson and Turner saw a momma moose with her two babies in the driveway one morning.  Then Greg and the boys saw one while they were fishing a few days later.  Also, there were reports of a momma grizzly bear and her two cubs in the neighborhood.  The kids and I were taking the dogs for a walk when a nice man stopped, rolled down his window and told us that he'd seen the bears in his yard that morning, and he lived right down the hill from where we were walking.  We thanked him, and as he drove away, I looked at the kids and told them to turn right around and head back to the house.  It was the shortest walk ever, but I am not yet enough of an Alaska girl to want to run into a bear!

Caroline has completely gotten over her fear of Maggie and Molly, the two dogs we are living with.  She even had them sleep in her room some, and she can be found sitting on her bed with a dog on either side of her.  It's been amazing to see the transformation!  We are so proud of her!

The kids are officially registered for school now.  They will be attending Birchwood Christian Academy at our church.  Their first day is August 22, and we are heading out to buy school supplies and school clothes in the next few days.

We have spent many evenings at the park near our home.  We've played more soccer in the past week than I ever have in my life!  Our basketballs are still in storage, so we bought a new one so we can shoot some hoops before the courts are full of snow! Greg got the kids' bikes in working order, and they have enjoyed riding them. When the weather is nice we are trying to get outside as much as possible.  We have been urged by many to enjoy the nice weather while we can - we know the snow will be here before long!


We have a few requests we would love to ask you to pray with us about...


-We are all meeting new people every week, and with school starting we will be meeting even more. Please pray that God will provide us all with good, Godly friendships as we continue to adjust to a new home, new school and new church.


-God has graciously provided a place for us to live in Chugiak with a super couple from the church.  We have lots of space and feel so blessed where we are.  But, we would love to have a place of our own, where we can spread out, unpack all the rest of the boxes, settle in and feel like we are really home.  We are trusting God and His timing - He called us to AK, He knows we don't need a home that's 4000 miles from here, and His plans are perfect and for our good.  But He also says in His Word that we don't have because we don't ask.  So please join us in asking Him to provide the right family to buy our home in Macon and the right home for us here.


-The Crossing at Birchwood is doing so much to reach out to the community.  God is changing lives week by week.  It is an exciting place to be and we are so thankful that God is allowing us to serve Him here!  But there is one specific need we would love for you to pray about.  A while back, the church began the process of adding on to the church building, planning to add more children and student space. The local government is causing lots of problems and keeping us from finishing the job - for no real reason except that we are a church, and they are not in favor of what we are doing and what we stand for.  Please ask God to soften the hearts of those in the local government and for wisdom for our pastor and others who are interacting with them.  Pray that this will be an opportunity to share the Gospel and for lives to be changed.


-We have less than two weeks left before school starts. Please ask God to prepare us all for this new school experience.  I am thankful that school and church are all in the same building, and lots of the kids at school also go to our church.  That helps a lot.  But there will be many new things to get used to and figure out and names to remember and schedules to keep straight.


-Jackson has been going to Fusion in Anchorage with the youth group from church this Wednesday through Friday.  Pray that God will speak to him, challenge him, and give him opportunities to make friends.


-We have a number of decisions to make with the start of school.  Jackson and Turner are both considering playing soccer for school.  I am praying about what God wants me to do this year while the kids are in school. We have small group/bible study options we are considering. Please pray for wisdom for all of us.


Here are some picture...

we are loving this truck!!

the view from Greg's office window...that's Denali behind the telephone pole

we walked part of the costal trail in Anchorage and saw incredible scenery...

and ended up at a beautiful lake...

and we were able to watch the Thunderbirds practicing for the Air Show that was coming up that weekend.  It was amazing! 

after unpacking some of the kids' boxes, I realized that the house was VERY quiet... this is where i found them - reading their books 

we've spent many late nights watching the Olympics

Caroline and her new buddies

 

this huge mushroom appeared in the yard last week...we'd never seen anything like it!

Greg and the boys went for a hike with our pastor up the Bear Mountain where they live. 

Week 2!

Our family has had a busy, great second week in our new home state of Alaska.  We have been looking at used trucks for Greg, and are hoping to make a decision soon. Also, the container carrying our home and van made it to Wasilla Thursday.  It feels a little strange driving our Georgia van up here!  But it also feels like a little piece of home! We sorted through all the boxes in the warehouse and pulled out all we want to keep with us for now - important things like barbies, legos, winter boots and more clothes and shoes for me! The rest has been put into storage while we wait for our Macon house to sell.  

This is all of our belongings that made the move from GA to the warehouse in AK.

We rented a U-Haul to bring some of our boxes to the house we are living in for now.

Our van!

Boxes and more boxes

Here's an update on our family:


Jackson just keeps growing...and growing!  He is starting to tower over me!  And when he hugs me he has to bend over some!!  A man at church told us that everything - including kids - grow faster here because of all the extra sunlight. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but something is happening!  He went to Bible study Sunday morning for the first time and had a good time meeting lots of new middle schoolers.


Turner is growing too - especially in his feet!  We bought him new tennis shoes Saturday night...and he now wears men's sizes! He also went to Bible study for the first time Sunday and met a boy who just moved to Chugiak from Japan.  They had been here only 4 days - I think it was nice to have another new boy there!


Caroline is our social butterfly.  She made a couple of friends when we were here in March and has picked right back up with them.  She spent the night with one friend last week, and her Sunday School buddy has been showing her the ropes - and where the donuts are kept! She is really adjusting well to life in Alaska.  She is even working on her fear of dogs.  The family we are staying with have the 2 sweetest, most well-behaved dogs on the planet.  But she has been very cautious around them...until the past few days.  She is getting more and more comfortable having them around, and even has started wanting to walk them every single day!  I'm so proud of her!

Greg is enjoying his role at The Crossing. He is getting to know the different members of the worship team and is doing a super job planning and leading worship. We had supper at the pastor's house Wednesday night with all of the staff and their families - God has blessed this church with a great team and I am grateful to be a part! And this Sunday after worship Greg helped with two baptisms in a very chilly lake. But it was a beautiful place to celebrate baptism!

The Crossing at Birchwood

Baptism at Mirror Lake

This continues to be a sweet, overwhelming experience for all of us.  While we still miss our family, friends and church in GA, we are loving this new place of service. God is pouring out His blessings and His presence on us daily and we are so grateful!

Our first week in Alaska

                                                                              
                                                                                

Our family has now lived in Alaska for an entire week!  And what a week it has been!  We have gotten a lot accomplished, seen friends from Macon, made new friends here, and had tons of fun!  Here are some pictures from the past few days.

The view from the top of the Anchorage Museum.  Aren't those mountains beautiful???

 The kids had a ball on the first floor of the museum - all the hands-on activities were so much fun!

 

The bubbles were the most fun!

This may be what we all look like in a few months!

Greg and Betty Hudgins (from Macon) were on vacation in AK and we met up for the Bear Paw Festival on Saturday. They also came to worship on Sunday morning. Such a sweet treat for us!

 We think it's cool that there is a Northwoods Drive in Chugiak...just like our home street in Macon!

 We went for a hike to Thunder Bird Falls with a few families Sunday evening.  It was beautiful!  

They were serious...the side of this trail was real steep!

       Thunder Bird Falls

Caroline and her sweet new friend Morgan

Yep...they really make bear spray.  Thankful that we didn't have to use it on this trip!

They have HUGE mosquitoes here

It's been an incredible week!  We are so thankful for the call God has put on our lives to bring us to this place.  We are excited to see what He has in store for us!  Thank you for praying for us!

The first 48 hours

Our family has had a busy, fun, productive first 48 hours in Alaska.  

We now have an Alaskan mailing address.  

We opened an Alaskan bank account.  

Greg opened all the FedEx boxes that contained our instruments - they all arrived intact and still in tune!  

After living out of them for two weeks, we are completely unpacked from our suitcases.  

 We took a walk through the neighborhood where we are staying - at 9 PM in the bright sunshine! 

We saw Denali right above the steeple of our new church.  

We ate lunch in Anchorage with the high school missions team from Ingleside.  

 

We went by our new church - The Crossing at Birchwood - and saw the pastor and a few of the other staff.

It has been an incredible two days!  We can't wait to see what God has for us tomorrow!

Here we go!!!

Well, the day has finally come.  We have spent months praying and asking God for His guidance and wisdom.  We've spent the past couple of months preparing our hearts and our home for a cross-country move.  We've spent the last few weeks saying goodbyes - first to our church family in Macon, then to Greg's family in NC and mine in SC. And now...it's time.  Time to pack the suitcases one final time.  Print off the boarding passes.  Say our final farewells.  And step into this new adventure, this new chapter of ministry that God has called us to in Alaska.


Over the past months God has used His Word to encourage me in countless ways.  But there is one verse that He has me going back to again and again. 


Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.


There is much that is uncertain in our future.  Many unknowns.  But one thing I DO know - God is faithful to His Word and His promises, and because of that we have nothing to fear!


So...here we go!!!

Hitch Up the Sled Dogs, We're Moving to...

 ALASKA

It's official.  Our family is making a move.  To Alaska.  Never really thought much about Alaska.  It's far away.  And cold.  And dark in the winter time.  Sun's always out in the summer time.  People hunt big animals like caribou and moose and dall sheep.  People fish and catch giant halibut and salmon bigger than anything we've ever seen.  But, nope, never really thought much about Alaska.  Until last summer.  We heard of a need there for a Worship Pastor in a growing church.  As we found out about this church and began to talk to the Pastor and leaders of it, we discovered this church was really working hard to impact it's community for God...in a place where the Gospel is just not as accessible as it is here in the deep south.  God was using all of this to absolutely draw us there.  Julie and I made a visit there last October and found out there was actually real possibility to a move there.  We prayed and talked and prayed and talked and prayed some more and decided we needed to make a 2nd visit - this time, with our kids.  We were really serious about it to make a 2nd visit.  After this 2nd visit back at the end of March, we've determined this is where our family should be doing ministry right now.  We are stunned.  And grateful.  And excited beyond words.  While we are excited beyond words, we are also saddened at the thought of leaving a place that has been home to us for 14+ years.  Macon, Georgia: Our kids were born here.  Many people we love live here.  It's home.  Ingleside Baptist Church: what an amazing team of staff leaders and a church committed to taking the truth of the Gospel literally around the world.  What an absolute privilege and blessing to have been on this ministry team.  We will do ministry for the rest of our lives having been impacted by our wonderful church family here.  In so many ways, because of the strength of the ministry and the team and our experiences at Ingleside, we feel God has been readying us for an assignment like this one.  So here we go.  To Alaska.  This summer.  Specifically, we will be in Chugiak, Alaska - this is 20 miles northeast of Anchorage and is just south of the Knik Arm (pronounced "ka-nick").  Denali (Mt. McKinley) is some 300 miles north but is easily seen on a clear day.  You don't step off of the plane and see igloos and polar bears, but you do see a few things you don't see around Macon:  snow and mountains and glaciers and moose walking through your back yard to name just a few.  The church we are heading to is The Crossing at Birchwood.  A great team of God-following people who are working hard and trusting God to help them to be a bright light in a dark place.  Pray that as we join them, we will be able to help them to do that very thing.  Ephesians 3:20-21.

49 Reasons to Rejoice This Easter

There are many, many, many more reasons than these, but it was good to just think about and write down the difference in our lives Easter makes.  Every one of these is an enormous truth that is worth pondering.  Do you believe this?

"...He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

Christ is freedom from fear,
Christ bears our burden,
Christ heals our hurt,
Christ handles our hardship,
Christ descended into our depravity,
Christ dissolves our darkness,
Christ forgives our failure,
Christ walks with the weak,
Christ helps the hopeless,
Christ holds the helpless,
Christ binds up the broken,
Christ carries our concerns,
Christ is the foundation for the fallen,
Christ is riches for the ruined,
Christ rewards us with rest,
Christ preserves His people,
Christ presents us faultless to the Father,
Christ ran our race,
Christ defeated our doom,
Christ won our war,
Christ controls all creation,
Christ receives the repentant
Christ rescues the ravaged,
Christ is always aware,
Christ shelters in the storm,
Christ restores the rejected,
Christ renews the rusted-out,
Christ secures our safety,
Christ obliterates our obligation,
Christ defends the desperate,
Christ patiently pardons,
Christ's love never lets go,
Christ character is changeless,
Christ is our matchless mediator,
Christ is a limitless Lion,
Christ roars at our regrets,
Christ runs after the rebel,
Christ is compassion for the condemned,
Christ is confidence for the confused,
Christ finds the forgotten,
Christ is our future forever,
Christ saves the sinking,
Christ will one day sink Satan,
Christ conquered the Cross,
Christ devoured death,
Christ is greater than the grave,
Christ is our everything,
Christ is not dead,
Christ is Risen.