Alaskan Winter Wonderland

Hello again,

Well, winter has come in with full force these past two weeks. We now have about a foot of snow blanketing the Alaska ground around us. It is really pretty to look at, but not much fun to shovel. I would say it is good exercise though!! I think there is still snow forecasted for the rest of the weekend as well. Maybe we will get our snow shoes out and go for a little hike! I took Eli out last week for some pictures in the snow and he really did well. I think he really likes the stuff! I guess he would though since he is a born Alaskan!

We had our winter meetings earlier this month and they went very well. We discussed planning and personnel issues amongst other things. The in-town coordinator job was up for grabs this year and I have decided to take it. The job includes being the hospitality person who will meet people at the airport and ferry terminal and make them feel comfortable. I will also be responsible for touring them around town and showing them the sights. Another job will be doing all of the grocery shopping for camp each week as well as doing other shopping errands for people out at camp. I will also act as office manager answering many of the calls that come through during the year. This will probably be my least favorite part of the job for me, but it should be a good challenge for me. I will also be in charge of maintaining the camp's in-town dormitory. I will also act as a liason to workteams, area coordinators, retreat groups and school groups. It is going to be a busy year for me. I will miss working as the Wilderness Program Director, but I am looking forward to this new challenge and I know God will give me the abilities I need to do a good job.

Jessica will continue her duties as the financial director of the camp. That will now include doing all of the bookkeeping. She will be able to do these jobs from in town. She will be giving up the Trading Post job that she has had in the past. She will miss the interaction with campers she had through that job.

We will be moving to a new house for us in late February. It is the house that also contains the camp's in-town office. That will be very convenient for our jobs and we are very excited about the move. It will be a much larger space than the place we live in now and will give Eli a little more room to run around in...when he starts to walk!!!!

Speaking of Eli, he is doing fine. He sleeps through the night and is generally a very happy baby. At his last check up he weighed in at just over 20 lbs. at just five months! He's a big one!!! We are anxiously waiting for him to roll over. He comes pretty close to it, but has a chubby arm to overcome first!!!

One of the things that were determined at our winter meetings was that the new lodge project would begin this summer. It is a very exciting project for us. It will enable to enhance our abilities to witness to the people of Southeast Alaska. You can see more at the link to the right.

We are also excited that Jess's brother and family will coming to Echo Ranch this summer as summer volunteers. He will serve as the camp pastor for the summer. He'll do a great job. His wife and kids will help around the camp wherever they can. The kids are counting the days until they get here!!

Alaska is a great place to be!!!!

My First Thanksgiving (3 Months)

Hi,

Here I am at my first Thanksgiving! In this picture I am in Georgia and looking pretty sharp in my derby aren't I?

Eli

A New Year in Alaska

Hello from Alaska! We arrived in Alaska on Wednesday after enjoying two months on the "Elijah Arrives" tour of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Washington and Mississippi! What a whirlwind it was! He was great through it all. He is quite the traveler. Having said that though, we are very happy too be back in Alaska in our own home.

Our flight home was a bit of an adventure. We flew out of Chicago where we were told we were going to be leaving late which would probably make us late for our connection in Seattle. We did leave about an hour late, but luckily the flight in Seattle was also late so we went straight from one plane to the other. We were to have a quick stop in Ketchikan before going on to Juneau. When we landed in Ketchikan we were told that our flight was terminating in Ketchikan due to "freezing fog" in Juneau. Only in Alaska!!!!! That was a pain for us since we had so much luggage. I forgot to say that there were three of our friends and co-workers on the plane too. We all stayed at our camp director's apartment for the night, so that was a good thing. We finally made it to Juneau the next day in time to start our Winter Planning meetings for the coming camp season at camp. Those three days passed quickly and here we are today relaxing for a change and unpacking! Eli is loving it as are we!!! We are happy to be here again and are looking forward to what the next year holds for us.