Welcome to Savoonga!

Savoonga is a happening place these days. They are finishing building a new school for this coming school year so many construction workers have been in and out this past year. Now they are expanding our airport so that cargo planes will be able to land here. A few barges have delivered some large equipment and supplies so most of the workers arrived today. We awoke to the 3 supervisors of the project moving into the home across from us. We also awoke to the realization that the toilets weren't flushing. Bummer! We have a vaccum system here (like on the airplanes) because all of the pipes have to run above ground (and probably other reasons that I'm unaware of!) Also, all of our waste water that goes down the sink is stored in a holding tank that gets sucked out whenever it is full. So, I just did a days worth of dishes by washing and then throwing the water out the window...good thing for that environmentally-friendly soap we sent up:) I've been thankful for the boys little potty stool and for their removable potty seat that fits perfectly on our nice bucket. This may be too much info for some, but it is life in Savoonga:) No, after living here almost a year, this is only the second time this has happened. I just think it is so very funny that it happened on so many workers' first day in Savoonga! They are hoping to fly someone out to fix the problem soon. Until then, I'm looking forward to trying out the boys inflatable bathtub in the morning:)

A Somewhat Quiet House

With the 4 of us living here, our house is never quiet, but it is much quieter now than it was last week when it was full with 6 teenagers, 5 young adults, 2 adult leaders, and a Boy Scout Man even joined us for a night! We were also often joined by 80+ Vacation Bible School children and 20-30 youth, although they usually kept to the church side of our house:) And...we loved it so much and miss them greatly. The group was from First Korean Presbyterian Church of Anchorage. They kept busy doing work projects in the morning, VBS in the afternoons, and worship services with their praise band in the evenings. I honestly saw more young people at church than I've ever seen since being here (except for Christmas, New Year's, and funerals). We pray that we are able to continue the ministry they began while here. The following are photos from the last couple weeks.




We ate amazing Korean food all week and the boys were able to practice using chopsticks again:)


Logan and Owen were kept entertained. The girls played with them any chance they could get and the boys were always busy doing something exciting. We tell everyone that we don't need a TV because we just watch out the window for entertainment. The group thought this was funny at the beginning, but by the end of their 10 days with us, they too were excitedly calling people to watch exciting happenings out the window!


This particular day, the boys watched Justin and Joe lift very large rocks and throw them into the deep puddles that surround the church..."Mama...SPLASH!" The purpose of the project was to prevent kids from cracking their heads open when they fall off of the church bell stand that they constantly climb on and then fall off onto the rocks...and also to fill the holes that create the puddles so that young children don't fall into them and drown. I don't know if the project was successful, but it was definately entertaining to watch:)


I just thought this was a cute picture of Logan and Owen, once again, helping themselves into their rain boots and going outside to join Jacob. I suppose it is pretty exciting to see rain when you've seen nothing but snow for the past 8 months!


This is a photo of one of the evening worship services. The drumset drew people in from all over town! They left it behind for our church. I don't think anyone in Savoonga knows how to play yet, but Owen set himself upon the stool and was pretty good!


The boys weren't very interested in joining VBS...I think there were too many people and too much noise for their likings. I found them sitting together reading magazines one day while I was running back and forth between them and VBS. They read like this for a good 20 minutes! They did join the 1st grade class one day for craft time. They were supposed to paint a little ceramic animal, but Owen declared, "Already painted, Mama...white." They enjoyed painting the drop cloth instead.


A photo of VBS.


Owen: "Take a picture of us Mama. We're friends."
Me: "Do you want to go to VBS?"
Both: "NO!"
At least they have each other!:) We're still working on the making friends part!


It's hard to capture dance in a picture, but the group went to an Eskimo Dance one night. Maybe you can get some idea of what it looks like??


This is a picture of the Korean church's "groupies"! There are several young women in the village who are still asking for their phone #'s! It's not everyday "a band" comes to Savoonga!


And they are off. I included this photo so you could see our airport...high security:)

Our 14 Friends

I realize that it is after midnight, forteen people are arriving in the morning to spend a week doing VBS and worship, the house has yet to be cleaned, the whale awaits marinating, and I'm posting to our blog. I'm not addicted, I just figure this may be my last chance until they leave us because several will be sleeping in this room. So, I will leave you with just one last funny little story. I wrote out a list of things for Jacob to do to help me prepare for our guests. He caught a glimpse of this list while we were in his office, which, much to his dismay, is the only room in our house without a window...even the attic has a window. So, he read the list and informed me that he would not be able to do the items involving the attic (fetch the air mattress, sleeping mats, etc.) until morning because there is not enough light in the attic at night. I was slightly discouraged because I really would like to make up the beds while the boys are asleep. Then it occurred to me, "Jacob! It doesn't get dark at night anymore. It is as light outside now as it will be in the morning! Nice try!" He realized the faultiness of his excuse, laughed and said, "Well...I need my sleep!" I think I better have the air mattress tonight or else you better start praying for our marriage! :)

The Meadows Family in Church

I think that I mentioned in a blog long ago that the woman who played the piano in church for the past many, many years was in a honda accident prior to the Thanksgiving service. I was asked to play and have been playing ever since (the woman has healed well, but is getting older and would rather not play with her failing eyesight). This has presented some challenges. First, I hadn't really played the piano for 12 years and wasn't all that great even then. Secondly, I'm also the mother of 2-year old twins who sit with me during church. In all honesty, I've enjoyed having to play the piano and watch the boys at the same time...they provide a good excuse for my poor playing:) If nothing else, we keep the congregation entertained. There was the time that I thought the boys were playing happily in the back room, when in the middle of a song, they came crying down the aisle one by one. There was the song during the funeral when Owen decided to dump out his Cheerios and jump on them. A few other children thought this looked like fun so they joined him. Ihhh! There was the song during the baptism, when both boys decided to join Jacob up by the pulpit. I kept playing because they seemed to be content enough. Apparently, they had discovered the baptismal water that Jacob had left under the pulpit and they were having a grand time...seemed a bit sacreligious, but we didn't know until after the fact. Woops! Often, one or both children join me on the bench while I attempt to accompany. For the most part, they have done quite well, especially these last few months. I stuff them full of snacks and generally they read while I play. This morning, however, they both woke up on the wrong side of the bed! In the middle of, "I Know Whom I Have Believed" I heard an angry whisper, "No!" Soon it escalated to full volume. I just kept playing louder in hopes of drowning out my children's squabble. Unfortunately, it escalated to pushing which brought Daddy down from the pulpit which pacified them through the last verse, after which I promptly rose from the bench to continue mediation, only to hear Jacob belting out the last verse again! I was sure I'd played all 4 verses and by the looks on the congregations faces, they were sure they had sung all 4 verses...but there are some things that when started from such a public venue, must be carried out to completion!:) During the evening service, I heard "meow...ribbit, ribbit" very loudly in the middle of "Amazing Grace". Logan found some play animals in his bag and apparently the cat was chasing the frog across the front of the church. Never a dull moment when the Meadows Family is around:)

The Great Outdoors

The last couple days have brought temperatures in the 40s/50s and much sunshine. We have spent much of our time outdoors. The boys love to splash in the mud puddles and watch bugs in our "frontyard". Logan is in the yellow pants and Owen in the blue.



Yesterday, 2 older boys joined us as we played. Owen found a spider on the rock and was enjoying watching him. The older boys couldn't help but poke the spider with a stick and such until they final killed it. I could tell Owen was a bit sad, but just retreated to another large rock where he was obviously watching another spider, in silence. Soon, the boys joined him. When Owen saw them approaching, he jumped up and down, started waving his arms, and shouted, "Run spider! Run!" I was so proud of my little animal rights activist:)

In an earlier post, I showed a photo of our tree. Someone from a church in Anchorage decided we needed a cut Christmas tree and shipped one to us. It was beyond words to smell the fresh pine scent as we took it out of its box! Anyway, after Christmas, we "planted" it in the snow. During the 115mph blizzard, it blew under our house and was buried in snow. When we found it this spring, we planted it again. Yesterday, 2 junior high aged boys approached the tree. As they came banging sticks down the road, I figured it was all over for the tree. I watched them stop, stare at the tree with questioning looks upon their faces. One boy gently touched it. The other boy smelled it. They just stared at it for the longest time and kept walking. That seems to be the typical response to our tree, the only tree in Savoonga. Many youth have never travelled farther than Nome, which means they've never seen a tree in person. It is such fun to watch them explore one (even if it is dead!)

"God is Good"

Last week, Jacob conducted his sixth funeral since moving here nine months ago. The month before we arrived, there were three deaths within the same family, three days in a row. The causes are varied: cancer, other health complications, construction accident, alcohol poisoning/exposure, miscarriage at 6 months, stillborn baby. Only a few years before we arrived here, Savoonga had the highest rate of suicides in Alaska. Death is no stranger to the people here. During a recent Women's Bible Study, the question was raised, "How do we continue to have joy when bad things happen?" One woman replied, "My husband was killed in an accident when my daughter was just a baby. Years later, both of my sons died. This was very hard for me, but God is good." Time and again since living here, I have heard people share heart wrenching stories of losing loved ones and almost every person has ended their story with "But God is good." I haven't heard one person display any hint of anger towards God for these often tragic and seemingly unfair events, rather they thank God for providing for them during these times and for helping them carry on. Their faith and attitudes have been quite humbling for me. A few days ago, a woman visited with me and our conversation led to the remembering of the 3 deaths in a row this past summer...one death was of her little sister. She said, "But I'm hanging in there. It's not easy, but there's nothing else we can do. I tell people, `You need to pray and trust God.'" This morning, I read the following passage from Isaiah 41:27-31: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, `My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God'? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increaes the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strengh. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." After reading this passage, I realized that it is verses such as these that the people I wrote of above cling to. They seem to have an intimate understanding of the power and vastness of God. We do not understand why seemingly bad things happen, but we do understand and know that "God is good" and if we cling to that understanding, He will carry us through what we don't understand.

Favorite Phrases

I came upstairs last night to find Owen like this! He had moved the big table over to rest his feet and he moved the little table over for his books. Not the best picture, but it was pretty cute in person:)

Meanwhile, Logan was repeatedly jumping off of the potty stool. Notice his nice striped socks that he picked out to wear with his striped shirt:) As you've probably noticed from previous pictures, my children are opposed to wearing pants and socks. However, yesterday morning, that little table that Owen laid his books upon, fell over square on Logan's big toe. His toenail turned black right away and he cried off and on all morning until we discovered that his toe doesn't hurt if he has socks on. Imagine that! He walks normal with socks on, but has quite a limp when they are off! He wore socks all day today too and when I went to take them off for his bath, he cried:( Poor little guy.

So, I entitled this post "Favorite Phrases" because I thought I should write down a few of my favorites before I forget them. I think the boys have more sound effects than words! Some of the regulars are "whoa" instead of "big". We take a nap in the "whoa bed" and tonight instead of playing a little bit longer, Owen wanted to play "a whoa bit longer, Mama." They say "kaBOOMba" instead of "fall". This morning Logan reported, "Owen kaBOOMba-ed off his car." They describe their actions as "on poipose" or "accident" or "not thinking" which is usually followed with "Next time, me (will) think." And finally, last night as we sat down to dinner, Jacob looked at the food and said, "This looks sooo good." Owen looked at the food and said, "Sooo ooey." It was such a treat to hear that tonight the meal I slaved over was not just its typical "ooey" but "sooo ooey." (By the way, we are trying to break him of this table rudeness just in case we ever eat somewhere other than our own kitchen...fortunately, I think we still have a few months to instill some more manners!)

My Little Helpers

This evening, Owen was pretending to be my pet crocodile, which was fine until he ate my pretend pet goldfish. I said, "You can't be my pet anymore. I'm going to kick you out of my house!" Logan jumped up and said, "Me do it, Mama." He promptly jumped up and kicked Owen's bum in the direction of the door. Oops! I guess I should have anticipated that coming!

Earlier today, the boys were ready for lunch before I was so they climbed up into their seats and apparently Logan was snitching some food because as I was working at the kitchen counter I heard Owen frantically shout, "Logan! Stop eating! Pray!" This was followed by a pause and then Owen singing, "Ohhhh...yah, yah, yah...appleseed...Amen!" and then enthusiastically, "Okay Logan...Eat!"

The Yupik Language

We have heard that the Yupik language is one of the last of the Alaskan native languages to be retained. Some think the reason is because Yupik people have remained so secluded and isolated on St.Lawrence Island. Still, today, even on St.Lawrence Island, Yupik elders are watching their native tongue fade away. The pastors who lived here 20 years ago had a 2 year old daughter who spent the first years of her life here. She recently visited and is still fluent in the language. The elders tell us that will not be true of Logan and Owen because, as we have discovered ourselves, many of the children in the village do not even know the language themselves. Many adults are being very proactive to only speak Yupik to their children and beginning this year, it is supposed to be really taught in the school again. I wanted to let you view the song, "Jesus Loves Me" in Yupik so that you can get an idea of the difficulty of the language to this English speaker's ear!

Jesus piniqaanga liisimakaqa inqun Bible-et apeghvikaatnga;
mekestaaghhaat ellngan pikii; taakut kayaatut elnga iknaquq.

Chorus: Aa, Jesus piniqaanga, Aa, Jesus piniqaanga, Aa, Jesus piniqaanga,
Bible-et tawaten apeghvikaatnga.

I believe everyone in the village speaks English, but most adults still converse in Yupik. Thanks to a couple who has lived in Gambell for the past 50 years as Wycliffe Translators, we have a songbook that was created in 1983. It contains 43 hymns that were translated into Yupik and the other 110 songs are original Yupik songs written by natives living on St.Lawrence Island. Most Sundays, people from our church will share a song or two with us and some or the songs are also played on the radio station that comes out of Nome.

Logan and Owen, being twins and boys(that's my excuse, anyway!), have been rather delayed in developing their verbal skills. We joked that our fear was that they would begin speaking Yupik rather than English and then we would be in big trouble! For a few months, after first moving here, Owen would only say, "Dobboo" and "Dobbeddee". He said these words very consistently and one day, Jackson, a 12-year old boy who visited often asked what those words meant. I told him that I thought they were Yupik and I also wondered what they meant:) He assured me they were not Yupik words. I assured him they were not English words. Jackson decided that Owen was "Dobboo" and Logan was "Dobbeddee." He has called them by these names ever since. We hadn't seen Jackson for a few months when we saw him again last night. He said, "It's Dobboo and Dobbeddee!" Logan said, "No! Logan and Owen." I guess maybe their English language skills are developing after all:)

Ohhhh Appleseed

Before we eat lunch, we usually sing the Johnny Appleseed Prayer. Logan and Owen LOVE to sing. When they talk, they use many words now, but when they sing, they usually just sing, "Ya,ya,ya" or something of the sort very loudly. Today, I watched them set up a lunch party. They brought in a table and two chairs. They set the table and both sat down. I watched as they both folded their hands, bowed their heads, and sang, "Ohhhhh appleseed...Ohhhhh appleseed....Amen!" They clapped their hands and began "eating." :)

Before I sign off, I just thought of another story. Some girls came to visit today while I was busy hanging our clothes on clotheslines strung all over our living room. One girl said, "You have a dryer." I replied, "It broke." A big smile swept across her face and she said, "Now you have to dry your clothes like us." Fair enough:)

More Photos

Owen was very excited to have a 6 month old in the house. We have a lot of older kids visit, but not many under the age of 8.


I went into the church Sunday afternoon to find Owen "preaching" (so he told me!) and I guess Logan was the praise band??:)



I think it would always be a joyful thing to see your child enjoying his/her first greens, but extra exciting when you live in Savoonga where you don't see many fresh fruits or veggies. These were our first greens from our AeroGarden. After their first bites, both boys said, "Mmmm!" and finished the entire leaf asking for more. Yeah:)...now if only we cold grow mass quantities!! (Note: Apparently greens are more enjoyable with your eyes closed.)

Happy Birthday Mama!

Jacob and the boys helped me celebrate my birthday yesterday. The focal point this year was the cake! I promised some of you that I would post photos of the process. Papa let the boys crack the eggs...he fished out the shells and salvaged the egg off the table! But the final product was beautiful and quite tasty!







Logan and Owen gave me kisses for my birthday:)


We had impromptu visitors after dinner, so I called them my party guests!

First Picnic of the Season

We had a beautiful day on Saturday (upper 30's and sunny!) so we decided to go on a picnic. St. Lawrence Island is privately owned by the Yupik people, so we are only permitted to be in the village and on the roads unless we purchase a pass and are accompanied by a native person. These are pictures from our picnic spot. That is the road behind us that goes out to the dump. We kept being passed by hondas full of families out for Sunday drives! Good fun.


We watch this cliff from our window. This time of year, thousands of birds fly in and out of the cliff everyday to lay their eggs. Soon, people from the village will go out and gather eggs to eat.


The above picture is part of the mountain range and the below picture is of the village from afar.


The boys were very excited to jump in puddles with their "walking sticks". We only lost Owen once, but by the time we drug him through the snow on his bottom, the mud was all cleaned off and he was good as new for the ride home:)