Dear Loved Ones,
In just a few days we will be celebrating 3 months since Cassie’s surgery. I’m thrilled beyond words to tell you she is doing better and better everyday. The sparkle is back in her beautiful eyes and she is so ornery I sometimes think I’ll have to “sit on her” good before long. Our GOD is the One to be praised and thanked-join us in our songs of praise and thanksgiving. I heard myself telling someone this evening, “Gary and I feel like we can finally let our breath out and relax a little.” Cassie and I have been working somewhat diligently on her school work this past 6 weeks-it is very difficult to be consistent in the summer time! Still, I can honestly see improvement since we started in her ability to retain what she reads and to process the thoughts.
Cassie participated in a community Christian concert this evening at the Kenai Central High School. She signed for two songs. The whole concert was wonderful! It was especially exciting to see so many young people truly praising the Lord with their songs. After the concert Cassie had another “first” since her surgery. I dropped her off for the cast party and left her all by herself with her peers. Believe me, this is harder for me than it will ever be for her!
Meanwhile, Chelsie, our oldest daughter, will be flying to Juneau, Alaska around the 26th of August. She will be attending University of Alaska (SouthEast Campus) and she is so excited about college. Gary and I are praising and thanking the Lord that a family from our church has moved to Juneau for this coming year and will be close by if Chelsie needs a touch of home while she is at college. Please keep Chelsie in your prayers. We have loved every moment we have been able to spend with our beautiful daughter this summer-though they have been few and far between. Work at a cannery doesn’t leave much time for socializing and Chelsie being who she is, when she gets some socializing time she is on the go. We wouldn’t change a thing about her-we just miss her and love her so much!!Ty, 0ur oldest, was planning to move to Oregon sometime in August, but it would seem he is changing his mind. He told me today he thinks he will stick around a little longer--get his own place and maybe even try to get on with one of the other oil companies in the area. Currently he works for a company that provides service contracts to some of these companies but he is hoping to find steadier work and build up a good savings before leaving Alaska. And here I was thinking he wouldn’t be showing signs of real maturity for another couple of years! Shame on me!! Still, we covet your prayers and thank you with all our hearts for keeping our precious Son before the Lord. We see signs of tenderness towards the Lord from time to time, but nothing life altering as of today.
Speaking of oilfield - - - Gary and I were priviledged to be invited on a VIP tour of ConocoPhillips Alaska Pipeline facility at Kuparuk, Alaska. That's way up on the North Slope. We were flown up and spent the day. It was fascinating. So, next time you hear about the Alaska Oil pipeline, just think that we were right there touring the facility where it all comes up out of the ground. The picture included is of a true "Fly-by" of Mt McKinley on the way up. Since this was a VIP flight, the plane actually turned around and flew back past so everyone on both sides could get a good picture.
Gary is going full boar, none stop from the minute he gets up in the morning until the time he finally falls into bed at night. We praise God for the added work for Gary-it means more income for our family (yippee!!!). But, as his wife, who loves him dearly, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for his ability to turn off the work and rest in the evenings. By the end of the week his mind and body are exhausted. And he is still teaching a wonderful Sunday School class every Sunday at our church. We are studying the Pauline Epistles, Ephesians at this time. I always knew God had gifted him with the ability to teach-it is so wonderful to sit under his teaching and to just see him shine.
Me? Well, I feel like a little butterfly who flits from one task to another. As I look back over my summer I have a hard time seeing a whole lot of fruit for my labor-but I am surely worn out when I finally go to bed every night. This has been a wonderful summer for me. I’m only working a few hours a week at New Hope until about the middle of August. So I have had lots of time to work in my yard, play my piano, visit with friends, help Cassie with school work, clean my carpets(!!), catch Salmon (and fillet them AND freeze them - see picture), take naps, take walks and bike rides. God is good! If you think about it, you can pray I’ll adjust quickly to my new schedule in about 3 weeks. I’ll have to actually be presentable and at work by 9:00 a.m. 4 mornings a week!
Gary and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next week, August 8th. We will be acting sort of "tourist-y" by going to Seward, Alaska and spending an evening in a local B & B and then taking a Kenai Fjords tour the next day - - - something I have wanted to do from the first day we arrived here in Alaska 8 years ago!
We love you very much. Thank you for your prayers, and for those of you who live close by, thank you for your hugs and smiles. This has been a difficult year for the us. But we KNOW Our Redeemer Lives and He has surrounded us with wonderful godly people who have been there for us in our times of deepest need. May we all live to bring glory to our God and to shine brightly to the world around us-for He is coming soon.
God Bless,
Kris
