Where has the summer gone?
Like many of you, I'm sure, our summer seems to have gone quickly by. Maybe it seems a little faster here in Alaska, since it's slow to come and quick to go thanks to our arctic location; but we've enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and warmer weather very much this summer after a particularly cold and snowy winter... but let's not remind ourselves to much of that--we've still got two months before the snow starts... hopefully.
As I write this note, Karin is still enjoying some warm temps in Michigan and Indiana as she enjoys a short visit with her family. She's had a wonderful time catching up with her dad, brother, sister, their families, and other relatives and friends. I stayed at home to keep the cats company and get a few projects done, but we manage to talk to each other frequently nonetheless. She'll be back this Wednesday evening, the 22nd. Her family had a great time at the Indiana State Fair this year (which thankfully was much less eventful than last year's fair!), where our nephew Lucas placed 2nd in the state in his 4H biking competition. I'm sure a few fried foods and maybe a ribeye steak sandwich or two were consumed during the fair-going process too :-)
Here I treated myself with a drive to Valdez in conjunction with a quick trip to Anchorage. It was a beautiful drive, and I camped overnight on the outskirts of town near the Valdez Glacier. I've also managed three other hikes on the weekends while Karin has been gone too, so I haven't been at a loss for things to do. (I've included some pictures down below of some of my hiking adventures.) Karin was glad to not be here with me on the hike where I finally got some bear pictures. It was only a black bear, so I still haven't seen a grizzly up close and personal (maybe that's a good thing), but while I was driving on Saturday I did get to watch one drag a salmon out of the river. No, it never gets old seeing the wildlife here in Alaska.
After an incredibly busy summer of flying for the kids Bible camps around the state, our MARC pilots have slowed down the pace just a little now. Our summer flying typically centers upon flying camp kids, counselors, and work teams; but in the fall and winter, our flying shifts to supporting more church and youth group events. Because many of the 200+ remote villages have small populations, the various denominations will gather together periodically in the winter months for multi-day fellowship and "singspiration" type of events. This helps energize the churches and their youth groups as they're able to spend time with their fellow Christians from surrounding area villages. If you ever have the "opportunity" to experience -20F to -60F temps in an isolated place of extreme spiritual and physical darkness, you'd understand why these encouragement events are so important... but I'm sure you can imagine the need. Our MARC team is privileged to help minister to these and other needs of the missionaries, pastors, churches, and youth groups across remote Alaska!
MARC is also in the process of exploring a merger opportunity with two other local missionary organizations. Arctic Barnabas Ministries and SOAR International Ministries actually have their roots in MARC, as both ministries were started by former MARC missionaries. Together as we watch the ministry needs of Alaska continue to grow in response to both the increased Christian outreach and increased spiritual needs within the remote villages, MARC and our various ministry partners are trying to ensure we work in close collaboration and unity with each other. From these collaborative ministry efforts, the boards from MARC, ABM, and SOAR are now evaluating the feasibility of merging together officially. Such a merger could offer great efficiency and effectiveness improvements by the combination of ministry capabilities, manpower, facilities, and overall Christian impact. Pray for our leadership teams as these discussions make further progress.
I've also included some pictures and the story of Operation Heal Our Patriots. The official opening of Samaritan Purse's retreat lodge for military veterans was the recent culmination of much flying by our MARC team over the past two years. Please take a moment to read the story further below.
Otherwise, God continues to encourage us here in our ministry efforts to make an impact for Christ in remote Alaska. Our MARC family continues to grow, as Harlan & Josie Lloyd were able to make the physical transition here to Alaska this past month. Harlan is both a pilot and mechanic and is a much-needed asset in our hangars! And, we still have six families in various stages of raising their financial support to come join our MARC family. Two of those families may be able to make the transition this year still... pray God will continue to bless their final deputation efforts before winter sets in and makes travel/transition very difficult to Alaska.
Karin's school begins again next week, so she'll quickly be "at it" once again. She's really enjoying the classes so far... hopefully that won't change this semester as Calculus will be one of her classes this time around :-) Additionally, Karin was asked to serve on our church's leadership team, and I'm leading the church's finance team. Pray for our church as it's in a stage of growth and increased impact here in the local area... we love it! Pray that God will use our stewardship in support.
The consulting practice we opened "on the side" to help raise our personal finances has been showing promise. I've been able to make several great contacts over the past two months and have the first real "work" lined up for September in New York City. Pray God will bless those efforts to generate more income to enable us to remain in Alaska and to remain engaged in missionary service with MARC. Pray God will stretch our existing finances until business income actually begins to start.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and for remaining engaged with us as we strive to make a real difference for Christ here in Alaska! We're privileged being able to serve as your "hands and feet" on the ground here in Alaska and often thank God for your encouragement and support. God bless!
David & Karin
Each month since we've arrived here in Alaska, God has constantly amazed us with His continuous provision of tangible support through faithful supporters who share our vision of making a real difference in the remote villages of Alaska with the hope of Jesus Christ!