In Need of a Visit to the Lower 48!

My father very thoughtfully sent Logan and Owen some newspaper clippings from their local paper. It was so nice to see photos of trees, mountains, and many animals that we don't have on the island. We looked through the pictures and really enjoyed them, even though they made me a bit homesick for the northwest. But there was a moment that made me realize that we really need to visit the lower 48 soon! I showed Owen a photo of some pigs and jokingly asked him if he remembered what they were. He smiled and said, "Yes...sheep." Oh my, I thought. So I say, "Logan, are these sheep?" Logan confidently replies, "Nooo. They're goats." Oh my oh my! (Just a note that when we looked at them later in much better lighting, both boys identified them as pigs...thank the Lord:)! )

We are beginning the 2 month countdown until our vacation. I'm glad to say that our days will be quite full until then. Marissa, a camp counselor who we met in Fairbanks, just arrived this afternoon and will stay with us 2 weeks. She's out visiting with the youth as I write. When she leaves, we will be hosting 4-6 Russians for a couple weeks. The new school is opening soon and Savoonga is inviting people from Siberian Russia to join in the festivities. (There are some Yupik Eskimos 40 miles across the Bering Sea from us and they all try to gather together for big celebrations.) After the Russians leave, YWAM (youth with a mission) will join us for the month of September and then we fly north to Barrow, AK for a meeting and then south to Seattle/Ohio the beginning of October. I'm excited to see this year unfold as we know more people and feel more able to encourage them to participate in (and hopefully take leadership in) church life. It's also excited to meet the new and returning teachers as they come back into town. There's also a Baptist family with young kids moving here and we just met our new neighbor today...a doctor! Yeah...I hope we never have to visit the clinic, but it makes me feel better to know that someone with more medical knowledge is residing here now. During dinner, we watched him receive his first Honda(ATV) driving lesson...I have to admit he was much better than me:) Sivoy let me drive his Honda the other morning and as I backed up, I caught a glimpse of the 4 construction workers who live across the street from us, all watching me out their window...entertainment in Savoonga!