Adventures Continue

Just a little update on how we're doing and what has been going on.  We've been going strong with the preschool teaching, which is getting easier for both of us.  We've been trained to lead challenge courses which I have already started doing.  We've seen many new Alaskan things.  For instance, we stayed up late a couple nights to see the northern lights and that was very cool. Although we couldn't see the brilliant colors this far south, we did see white lights shoot up the night sky.  There are Bald Eagles who have nested in a tree about 100 yards outside our window.  It's fun to see them fly by and hear them every day.  We went to a place called Pasagshak to see dozens of whales on their migratory journey up to the Bering Sea.  It was amazing! We've taken many hikes through the brilliant green forests around the island. The ground is covered in bright green moss as well as the trees. It is so beautiful.

We've had so many sunny days and we've tried to enjoy them as much as possible.  The temperature has been staying warmer (which means in the 40's) and we've had more and more daylight every day (the sun sets at 9:50 and there is still light in the sky at 10:30).

Sunset walk (at 9:30!)

Moss-covered forest

Smiling at work!

Where are those whales?

Some prayer requests:

•  Pray that God provides us the support we need to meet our financial needs this summer while we volunteer for the day camps.  
• Pray that we can continue to have servant's hearts to effectively minister to these kids at the mission.  
• Pray for continued strength and energy as we finish this last month and a half of preschool.  
• Pray for good health.  

Introducing the Kodiak Brown Bear

We saw bears!  We had heard of a mother and her cub who had made their den in a whale carcass on the beach near a place called Chiniak.  So a couple of weekends ago we decided to go see if they were still there.  We get there and sure enough, there's momma and the cub just hanging out on the beach.  It wasn't hard to miss either because there were 10 other people there who were doing the same thing we were doing.  It was like going to the zoo, except there was no enclosure.  The only thing that separated us was a beach cliff about 15 ft. high.  As long as we didn't go on the beach the bears didn't care one bit about us.  So, we sat there for about 45 minutes watching the cub chew on it's mother's ear and the mother swatting the cub away.  It was so cool!

Play with me!

We're getting more and more daylight (about 13.5 hours) and have also had some beautiful weather.  It's been more sunny than rainy or snowy.  We've enjoyed going on evening walks/hikes in the evening.  There's so much beauty only a few miles away.

Never get tired of this. 

We enjoyed spending Easter Sunday with family and watching the sun rise over the ocean at the sunrise service. 

 
We're looking forward to the summer camps that we will be helping with.  At the end of May, the camps will begin and preschool will end for us for the summer.

Some praises and prayer requests:

• Teaching the kids has become more comfortable for both of us.  Pray that God will continue to give us strength, patience, and wisdom daily. 
• As we approach a summer of working as volunteers, pray that God will meet our needs financially and that we will trust Him to do so.  
• Good health-we've found that working with kids has challenged our immune systems.