Thursday, November 19, 2015
Work in the winter
As many of you know Aaron has spent a lot of time the past year and a half designing and building an internet cafe at camp. This is a space open to the community as an MTA internet hotspt and will also be available to our guests and staff year round. He has completed the Cafe side of it and now has the snack shop side torn apart to remodel that side. Here are some pics of the finished side... It has been fun to see his creativity and execution of this project.
These doors go into the snack shop and sadly will be hidden when it is open, because they tuck into the wall.
The table with the poinsettias on it is where MTA will install a couple of computers for the use of the community.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Fall already?
It really doesn't seem like that long ago that I was writing to update you on the kick off of Aaron's busy season. This summer he hosted 4 groups ranging from 8 people to 25 people. There was 2 from Michigan, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from the Washington DC area. It was a crazy busy 6 weeks with only a few days off between a couple of the groups, but it was a great time to show these groups our lives, in a beautiful state (I love seeing it's beauty through their eyes for the first time), and have a chance to work with them pushing them closer in their relationship with God.
Here is a normal week for Aaron when he had a team in:
Day 1 (Saturday) - Pick up group from Airport and try to manage to get them to a store to buy snacks and forgotten supplies
Day 2 (Sunday) - Church, lunch at lodge, then a hike on the Matanuska Glacier
Day 3-7
Day 9-11 - The groups would pack up and head out for their destination of choice. We had 2 groups choose to go white water rafting in Denali National Park, and 1 group do a day cruise out of Seward. At the end of their trip Aaron would take them to the airport and take a few days of Rest and Recovery before the next group arrived.
Of course their were a few exceptions to this schedule, but this was the general schedule... Some groups got to go flight seeing during one of their work days, and one group opted out of the weekend trip, so Aaron put 2 of the groups back to back with only an 8 hour break in between... but it gives you an idea of our summer in ministry at camp.
The girls and I would tag along as much as possible. We usually ate lunch at the lodge and it didn't take much of not seeing my husband to want to eat dinner there too. I would lead the Lion's head hike most of the time so Aaron could spend time with the girls and relax watching "Frozen" and we went on a couple weekend trips, river buggy rides, and waterfront nights. I never got to hang around during teaching time due to my little distractions, but I love my little girls and know that this is a stage that will be gone way to soon, so one day I will again get to do teaching times with my husband.
Aaron's program this summer went rather smoothly. We appreciate your prayers for him as I know he had a huge impact on some of the lives that came through his program. He was healthy all summer and able to find a bit of a balance between family time, work, and being an introvert. After each group he was tired, but with a task well done. We are hoping to recruit help for his program in the years to come, so that he has 1 or 2 more people working with him, so continue to be able to build deeper relationships with the kids and leaders that come, and to help give him a little more family time in the evenings.
Camp as a whole this summer has been going through a lot of changes. Through one thing or another many of the families that we have served with and grown to love have been called out of serving alongside us in Victory Ministries to other ministries. Although we are excited to see where God is taking them and how He is at work in their lives, they have left a few holes here in our staff. Be in prayer that as God has been working on the hearts of our people to go, that He is faithful and has a plan and has been working on the lives of others to come. We are currently in great need for an auto mechanic, a camp director (currently Brian Headdings our Executive Director of Victory Ministries is filling in), Guest service help, and Kitchen help. A couple arrived this week to help in Guest service and program and we do have some other people on the horizon to come that are currently raising support, so pray for them that God's will be done in their progress and they would be able to join us soon fully supported and ready to do God's work here in Alaska.
Lastly... Here are some pictures of our summer adventures!
Raylee hiking out on the Matanuska Glacier (photo credit to Kent Huey)
The Glacier that is in our front yard (photo credit to Kent Huey)
First Doulas group leading VBS at Glacier View Church
The business center project Aaron has been working on... finished ceiling
Sliding doors Aaron and his team built
view from Lion's head hike
one of our groups left late, so we hiked them up Flat top in Anchorage
View of Anchorage from Flat top
End of the summer is a good time to go on camping trips with the family! This is skipping rocks at Eklutna Lake
Raylee and Skyler camping.
Here is a normal week for Aaron when he had a team in:
Day 1 (Saturday) - Pick up group from Airport and try to manage to get them to a store to buy snacks and forgotten supplies
Day 2 (Sunday) - Church, lunch at lodge, then a hike on the Matanuska Glacier
Day 3-7
- Wake up at 7:30 for individual quiet time (many complained of the early hour, but really enjoyed the time since they had never been pushed to do this)
- Breakfast at 8:30
- 9:15 - meet to be assigned work projects for the morning
- 12:30 - lunch
- 1:15 - continue work project or get a new one
- 5:30 - dinner
- 6:30 - evening activities (different every night... Lion's head hike, Cliff jumping hike, River buggy trip, dinner and dessert at our house, horse rides, waterfront, chapel... you get the picture, nights were easily busy, fun and full!)
- 9:00 or whenever evening activities were done - Aaron would do a wrap up discussion on servant leadership. Challenging his campers in their relationship with God and pushing them to making their Christian walk a lifestyle that has fruit even at their young age.
Day 9-11 - The groups would pack up and head out for their destination of choice. We had 2 groups choose to go white water rafting in Denali National Park, and 1 group do a day cruise out of Seward. At the end of their trip Aaron would take them to the airport and take a few days of Rest and Recovery before the next group arrived.
Of course their were a few exceptions to this schedule, but this was the general schedule... Some groups got to go flight seeing during one of their work days, and one group opted out of the weekend trip, so Aaron put 2 of the groups back to back with only an 8 hour break in between... but it gives you an idea of our summer in ministry at camp.
The girls and I would tag along as much as possible. We usually ate lunch at the lodge and it didn't take much of not seeing my husband to want to eat dinner there too. I would lead the Lion's head hike most of the time so Aaron could spend time with the girls and relax watching "Frozen" and we went on a couple weekend trips, river buggy rides, and waterfront nights. I never got to hang around during teaching time due to my little distractions, but I love my little girls and know that this is a stage that will be gone way to soon, so one day I will again get to do teaching times with my husband.
Aaron's program this summer went rather smoothly. We appreciate your prayers for him as I know he had a huge impact on some of the lives that came through his program. He was healthy all summer and able to find a bit of a balance between family time, work, and being an introvert. After each group he was tired, but with a task well done. We are hoping to recruit help for his program in the years to come, so that he has 1 or 2 more people working with him, so continue to be able to build deeper relationships with the kids and leaders that come, and to help give him a little more family time in the evenings.
Camp as a whole this summer has been going through a lot of changes. Through one thing or another many of the families that we have served with and grown to love have been called out of serving alongside us in Victory Ministries to other ministries. Although we are excited to see where God is taking them and how He is at work in their lives, they have left a few holes here in our staff. Be in prayer that as God has been working on the hearts of our people to go, that He is faithful and has a plan and has been working on the lives of others to come. We are currently in great need for an auto mechanic, a camp director (currently Brian Headdings our Executive Director of Victory Ministries is filling in), Guest service help, and Kitchen help. A couple arrived this week to help in Guest service and program and we do have some other people on the horizon to come that are currently raising support, so pray for them that God's will be done in their progress and they would be able to join us soon fully supported and ready to do God's work here in Alaska.
Lastly... Here are some pictures of our summer adventures!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Week 3... or week 1...
Week 3
I have been meaning to write this post now for a few weeks... In fact I took notes on the camp theme when Justin (our program director) talked in church at the kick off of the camp season, but enough time has now passed and thoughts have come and gone and with that I have misplaced my notes... if if they show up i will be sure to come back tell you more about the them. But for now I will tell you this. This years Camp Theme is "Transformed" I think it is an excellent theme for campers and staff to study throughout the summer because camp is a great place to let God start or continue the work that He wants to do in your life. I am excited as I hear stories of change and see God working throughout camp.
Summer camp is now on Week 3 of campers and we have a very full week. We are hosting hockey camp (campers come from all over state come and bus into the valley to play hockey and back for the day) as well as 3 of our core camps. It is going really well! Weeks before camp started we were still not sure how we were going to have enough guys to staff all of the guy cabins, but God provided and the day after making our prayer request known at church, Justin had 3 applications on his desk and a few more coming. We started out the summer staffed with enough people, and although everyone is stretched, kids are coming to camp and making decisions.
Aaron and I have been a little less involved in the training of staff this summer and the overall summer camp process. But we have had the opportunity to help with camper transportation and the very first week we took the van into Anchorage with campers on it and a little girl greeted her parents with her first words being that she had asked Jesus into her heart. It was beyond cool and a good reminder of why we are here doing what we do.
Since Aaron has been a little less involved you may be wondering what has been keeping him busy. Last year Aaron designed a renovation project for his Doulos teams to work on in the snack shop/Business Center. His goal was to combine the two spaces and update it with a more functional purpose. He had a plan, thought he had the funding, and started demo last summer with a group. Then everything stopped when we found out a new opportunity for funding. He has since been negotiating a contract with MTA for funds to complete the renovation in exchange for having it be a community "internet hotspot" equipping the community with faster internet. This spring he was given the go ahead to start. Every free day he has been there working on renovations trying to get it ready for business this fall. I NEED to go get pictures soon to show you. It is turning out great! He has had the help of some work teams and his dad, but still has a ways to go on it. But last Saturday he had to hang up that tool belt as we picked up his first group of the summer... Hence the wk 1.
WEEK 1
Our first Doulos group is from Hudsonville Reformed church in Michigan. It is fun to show off our beautiful state to so many newbies! There group is 22 high school kids and leaders. There work time has been spent doing a VBS at GlacierView Church, cutting, chopping, and splitting wood, cleaning out the brush around the sewage pond, and scraping paint. They have been great sports, and we have taken them to do some fun things most evenings. It has been fun for me this week because with VBS and a few other things I have been with this group a lot and have had opportunities to talk to them. We will be taking them to Seward on Sunday and back to the airport early Tuesday morning. I am looking forward to taking the kids to the beautiful port town of Seward and having some husband/daddy time... even if it is a busy trip!
And here are pics of our summer so far!
Raylee was a flower girl at my Cousin Jillian (Floyd) Eppler's wedding!
Aaron talking about the glacier to the group Sunday Before the hike.
Skyler loved her first time at water front this year! And our Michigan group enjoyed the Blob!
Prayer request:
1. Safety as groups come and go and are working on the grounds.
2. Health for Aaron and other camp staff as busy summers usually take a toll
3. RAIN!!! Such a weird request for summer camps, but Alaska has had incredible weather, but it has left everything dry and fire danger at a high with many fires throughout the state.
Praises:
1. Kids accepting Christ
2. Staff to run summer camps
3. Excitement to see how God is continually at work
I have been meaning to write this post now for a few weeks... In fact I took notes on the camp theme when Justin (our program director) talked in church at the kick off of the camp season, but enough time has now passed and thoughts have come and gone and with that I have misplaced my notes... if if they show up i will be sure to come back tell you more about the them. But for now I will tell you this. This years Camp Theme is "Transformed" I think it is an excellent theme for campers and staff to study throughout the summer because camp is a great place to let God start or continue the work that He wants to do in your life. I am excited as I hear stories of change and see God working throughout camp.
Summer camp is now on Week 3 of campers and we have a very full week. We are hosting hockey camp (campers come from all over state come and bus into the valley to play hockey and back for the day) as well as 3 of our core camps. It is going really well! Weeks before camp started we were still not sure how we were going to have enough guys to staff all of the guy cabins, but God provided and the day after making our prayer request known at church, Justin had 3 applications on his desk and a few more coming. We started out the summer staffed with enough people, and although everyone is stretched, kids are coming to camp and making decisions.
Aaron and I have been a little less involved in the training of staff this summer and the overall summer camp process. But we have had the opportunity to help with camper transportation and the very first week we took the van into Anchorage with campers on it and a little girl greeted her parents with her first words being that she had asked Jesus into her heart. It was beyond cool and a good reminder of why we are here doing what we do.
Since Aaron has been a little less involved you may be wondering what has been keeping him busy. Last year Aaron designed a renovation project for his Doulos teams to work on in the snack shop/Business Center. His goal was to combine the two spaces and update it with a more functional purpose. He had a plan, thought he had the funding, and started demo last summer with a group. Then everything stopped when we found out a new opportunity for funding. He has since been negotiating a contract with MTA for funds to complete the renovation in exchange for having it be a community "internet hotspot" equipping the community with faster internet. This spring he was given the go ahead to start. Every free day he has been there working on renovations trying to get it ready for business this fall. I NEED to go get pictures soon to show you. It is turning out great! He has had the help of some work teams and his dad, but still has a ways to go on it. But last Saturday he had to hang up that tool belt as we picked up his first group of the summer... Hence the wk 1.
WEEK 1
Our first Doulos group is from Hudsonville Reformed church in Michigan. It is fun to show off our beautiful state to so many newbies! There group is 22 high school kids and leaders. There work time has been spent doing a VBS at GlacierView Church, cutting, chopping, and splitting wood, cleaning out the brush around the sewage pond, and scraping paint. They have been great sports, and we have taken them to do some fun things most evenings. It has been fun for me this week because with VBS and a few other things I have been with this group a lot and have had opportunities to talk to them. We will be taking them to Seward on Sunday and back to the airport early Tuesday morning. I am looking forward to taking the kids to the beautiful port town of Seward and having some husband/daddy time... even if it is a busy trip!
And here are pics of our summer so far!
Raylee was a flower girl at my Cousin Jillian (Floyd) Eppler's wedding!
Skyler got to visit the neighbors new chicks... she thought they were fun!
The Family on the glacier!
Aaron talking about the glacier to the group Sunday Before the hike.
1. Safety as groups come and go and are working on the grounds.
2. Health for Aaron and other camp staff as busy summers usually take a toll
3. RAIN!!! Such a weird request for summer camps, but Alaska has had incredible weather, but it has left everything dry and fire danger at a high with many fires throughout the state.
Praises:
1. Kids accepting Christ
2. Staff to run summer camps
3. Excitement to see how God is continually at work
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Spring, Easter and Squirrell hunts
It's Spring here in Alaska!!! What that means is we are in full MUD Season.... the little snow that we did get this year is melting slowly each day we get above freezing and refreezing every night, so everything is a muddy mess, but it's good because summer always comes shortly after. Our days are getting longer and I no longer put the girls to bed when it's dark. They are learning again that darkness doesn't mean it's time to sleep.
House
As far as Aaron and I goes, we have not had much of a break this year. I feel like as we get older life just speeds up and will NEVER slow down again. But it's been good. We are still working on the house when we find time. Aaron has laid the floor in the living room and kitchen and it looks AMAZING! and it is so much easier to clean. He has also installed a water softener, got the garage to be a place that actually fits a car in it, hung curtains (to block out the light when we don't want it) and built one of kind lights for over our kitchen counters. He has been super busy, and with each new piece our house looks a little more complete.
Youth group
Aaron and I are both working with the youth this year at church. I am less involved then usual as I figure out how to do ministry as a mom, and sometimes have to care for sick kids, but each day many conversations are had of how to best reach our youth and how we can do something different or change something up. This year has been a HUGE change for us, as we saw the last of the majority our original kids graduate and brought in a big 6th grade class. I have been challenged more to pray for these kids and Aaron and I have walked away from many youth events knowing that God is an all powerful God that knows. A big example of God being awesome and working for good was our youth retreat at the end of April. Aaron and I were set up to chaperone it all by ourselves (neither of our youth workers were available) and we had done stuff like this before. We had 17 kids coming and knew that it would be a tough weekend... A week before the event Aaron was expressing a few concerns to a friend and elder of the church and the next day he and his wife volunteered to come help us out! It was so big for us and such a blessing. Even more so when both my girls and my babysitters ended up sick so I was not able to be at the retreat each night. God is so good and He knew exactly what we needed for encouragement and to pull off his plan for that weekend.
Aaron teaching during the main sessions
Neon bowling! always fun to take our non city kids to
Raylee swinging at the retreat
Skyler is a little monkey
what do kids to that live in the middle of nowhere? Master uni cycling...
The whole youth group
Camp
Aaron has found his spot at camp. He is often in the office Wednesday's working on getting town trip together and then Thursday he is the camps shopper! He is finding ways to save money for camp online and working on stuff for his Doulas groups summer. It has been a good niche for him, but you can definitely pray for camp as a whole. Anywhere that God is at work Satan also likes to be, and there have been some stress and struggles as a staff as we figure out God's plan and what is a direct attack from Satan.
We continue to be fully supported financially at camp, but have asked for a raise recently to help cover the costs of home ownership and living outside of camp. If you would like to partner with us in this financially please contact me and I can tell you how! My e-mail is chelsea.meeuwsen@gmail.com or Aaron is aaron.meeuwsen@gmail.com
You can also partner with camp through shopping with Amazon... have you ever hear of Amazon Smile? if you shop amazon smile you can choose victory as your benefiting ministry and a percent of all you spend with AmazonSmile will go to Victory. (and is all of Amazon's normal products!)
Easter
We had a great Easter. It was fun because my parents finished a month long road trip that brought them up the Alcan at our house, so we got to see Grandma and Grandpa. and Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Shannon, Makayla, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Scotty and Kayden all came to visit. It was a full house, but they all stayed in camp housing at night and each day we got to enjoy just hanging out at our house. The guys got to go shooting, and the girls got to go for a walk, so overall it was a good couple of days.
Squirrel hunting
Speaking of shooting... The ongoing hunt for squirrels is a big deal in the Meeuwsen household. It all started when we were building and they got into our insulation we had just stuffed in the walls... since then Aaron is on a continual squirrel hunt, and between him and our cat the populations has taken a little bit of a hit, but it didn't keep the guys from managing to get 3 in their time they were out shooting Saturday! It is such a big deal to get a squirrel that when Raylee uncovered a water gun in the house today she was excited to show daddy and her Uncles so that she could attend the next squirrel hunt. We are definitely raising Alaskan girls!
That is all I have for an update right now, as far as how you can partner with us in the upcoming month through prayer I do have a few requests.
1. My (Chelsea) Grandpa Clair Floyd has been struggling with his health since last summer. Pray for him and our family during this time as he may recover, or meet his Savior.
2. Aaron and I are going to a Weekend to Remember (a marriage conference) April 24-26 and are really looking forward to a time away to invest more in our marriage. Pray that we can come away from that refreshed and ready for summer.
3. Camp is still in need of some male counselors and other staff. If you know of anyone that wants to serve the Lord this summer send them our way!
4. And lastly just pray for a presence of peace in our life and our jobs. We know God has called us to be exactly where He has us right now, and we want to be able to live in the moments and enjoy what He is at work doing.
House
As far as Aaron and I goes, we have not had much of a break this year. I feel like as we get older life just speeds up and will NEVER slow down again. But it's been good. We are still working on the house when we find time. Aaron has laid the floor in the living room and kitchen and it looks AMAZING! and it is so much easier to clean. He has also installed a water softener, got the garage to be a place that actually fits a car in it, hung curtains (to block out the light when we don't want it) and built one of kind lights for over our kitchen counters. He has been super busy, and with each new piece our house looks a little more complete.
Youth group
Aaron and I are both working with the youth this year at church. I am less involved then usual as I figure out how to do ministry as a mom, and sometimes have to care for sick kids, but each day many conversations are had of how to best reach our youth and how we can do something different or change something up. This year has been a HUGE change for us, as we saw the last of the majority our original kids graduate and brought in a big 6th grade class. I have been challenged more to pray for these kids and Aaron and I have walked away from many youth events knowing that God is an all powerful God that knows. A big example of God being awesome and working for good was our youth retreat at the end of April. Aaron and I were set up to chaperone it all by ourselves (neither of our youth workers were available) and we had done stuff like this before. We had 17 kids coming and knew that it would be a tough weekend... A week before the event Aaron was expressing a few concerns to a friend and elder of the church and the next day he and his wife volunteered to come help us out! It was so big for us and such a blessing. Even more so when both my girls and my babysitters ended up sick so I was not able to be at the retreat each night. God is so good and He knew exactly what we needed for encouragement and to pull off his plan for that weekend.
Camp
Aaron has found his spot at camp. He is often in the office Wednesday's working on getting town trip together and then Thursday he is the camps shopper! He is finding ways to save money for camp online and working on stuff for his Doulas groups summer. It has been a good niche for him, but you can definitely pray for camp as a whole. Anywhere that God is at work Satan also likes to be, and there have been some stress and struggles as a staff as we figure out God's plan and what is a direct attack from Satan.
We continue to be fully supported financially at camp, but have asked for a raise recently to help cover the costs of home ownership and living outside of camp. If you would like to partner with us in this financially please contact me and I can tell you how! My e-mail is chelsea.meeuwsen@gmail.com or Aaron is aaron.meeuwsen@gmail.com
You can also partner with camp through shopping with Amazon... have you ever hear of Amazon Smile? if you shop amazon smile you can choose victory as your benefiting ministry and a percent of all you spend with AmazonSmile will go to Victory. (and is all of Amazon's normal products!)
Easter
We had a great Easter. It was fun because my parents finished a month long road trip that brought them up the Alcan at our house, so we got to see Grandma and Grandpa. and Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Shannon, Makayla, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Scotty and Kayden all came to visit. It was a full house, but they all stayed in camp housing at night and each day we got to enjoy just hanging out at our house. The guys got to go shooting, and the girls got to go for a walk, so overall it was a good couple of days.
Squirrel hunting
Speaking of shooting... The ongoing hunt for squirrels is a big deal in the Meeuwsen household. It all started when we were building and they got into our insulation we had just stuffed in the walls... since then Aaron is on a continual squirrel hunt, and between him and our cat the populations has taken a little bit of a hit, but it didn't keep the guys from managing to get 3 in their time they were out shooting Saturday! It is such a big deal to get a squirrel that when Raylee uncovered a water gun in the house today she was excited to show daddy and her Uncles so that she could attend the next squirrel hunt. We are definitely raising Alaskan girls!
That is all I have for an update right now, as far as how you can partner with us in the upcoming month through prayer I do have a few requests.
1. My (Chelsea) Grandpa Clair Floyd has been struggling with his health since last summer. Pray for him and our family during this time as he may recover, or meet his Savior.
2. Aaron and I are going to a Weekend to Remember (a marriage conference) April 24-26 and are really looking forward to a time away to invest more in our marriage. Pray that we can come away from that refreshed and ready for summer.
3. Camp is still in need of some male counselors and other staff. If you know of anyone that wants to serve the Lord this summer send them our way!
4. And lastly just pray for a presence of peace in our life and our jobs. We know God has called us to be exactly where He has us right now, and we want to be able to live in the moments and enjoy what He is at work doing.
Monday, January 5, 2015
New House Update
We seem to have forgotten to update our blog with the latest progress on our house. We were able to move in November 17th with the help of many of our neighbors, My parents, and their friends. It was a HUGE task. I never realize how much stuff I have accumulated over the almost 7 years we have lived here. But we did it, and just in time for us to fly out of state on the 18th to visit Aaron's family. It was a move and go, and I knew that we were going to come home from vacation to quite a mess... But that was okay!
Our Trip to Michigan...
We were in Michigan for just over 2 weeks and were able to speak at Aaron's home church, and share the Doulas program with a few potential groups for this summer. It was a good time to share what God is doing at camp, and help keep some of our supporters up to date on what is going on in our ministry. Aaron and I were also able to get away just the 2 of us for National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta, Georgia for a few nights. This was a GREAT time for Aaron and I to hear about what is going on in youth ministry all over the country and to reconnect with each other. Then we were back to Michigan and able to do all sorts of non alaskan things, such as a trampoline park, giant indoor playgrounds, and paint a pot... It was a good and much needed family time!
Back to the house...
Coming back to the house we had just moved into, When we returned the only working sink was in the bathroom, so our house was livable, but not super comfortable... Aaron quickly got a laundry sink installed and the washer and dryer working and we started to sort through the mess of all our life possessions. We moved into a project, but are super relived to just be here and not living at 2 places as we try to complete this house and maintain another one. So we just started plugging away at projects and knew that we would get a lot done when Paul and Karie came for a couple weeks in December. And we survived until they came!
While Paul and Karie were here we were able to get the kitchen sink and dishwasher installed (AMAZING!) kitchen cabinets painted and in place (I can unpack boxes), the Garage cleaned out (it was floor to ceiling stuff), the entryway tiled, the shower tiled, and the girls room painted and closet organizer installed.... They left us with a house that feels livable, and places to put things. Here are some of the pics of what they did...
Paul grouting the shower...
The new entryway tile
the Garage fits a truck in it!
The kitchen "island"... countertops are still on the "to do" list
shot of the kitchen from the living room... do you notice the way our dishwasher currently drains?
Overall we are loving our new house... It is fun to work on and know it is ours and we know that it is a long way from done, but Lord willing we will have the next 50 years to work on it!
Our Trip to Michigan...
We were in Michigan for just over 2 weeks and were able to speak at Aaron's home church, and share the Doulas program with a few potential groups for this summer. It was a good time to share what God is doing at camp, and help keep some of our supporters up to date on what is going on in our ministry. Aaron and I were also able to get away just the 2 of us for National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta, Georgia for a few nights. This was a GREAT time for Aaron and I to hear about what is going on in youth ministry all over the country and to reconnect with each other. Then we were back to Michigan and able to do all sorts of non alaskan things, such as a trampoline park, giant indoor playgrounds, and paint a pot... It was a good and much needed family time!
Back to the house...
Coming back to the house we had just moved into, When we returned the only working sink was in the bathroom, so our house was livable, but not super comfortable... Aaron quickly got a laundry sink installed and the washer and dryer working and we started to sort through the mess of all our life possessions. We moved into a project, but are super relived to just be here and not living at 2 places as we try to complete this house and maintain another one. So we just started plugging away at projects and knew that we would get a lot done when Paul and Karie came for a couple weeks in December. And we survived until they came!
While Paul and Karie were here we were able to get the kitchen sink and dishwasher installed (AMAZING!) kitchen cabinets painted and in place (I can unpack boxes), the Garage cleaned out (it was floor to ceiling stuff), the entryway tiled, the shower tiled, and the girls room painted and closet organizer installed.... They left us with a house that feels livable, and places to put things. Here are some of the pics of what they did...
Paul grouting the shower...
Saturday, October 18, 2014
The New House
We have been very busy this fall. We decided in May that we were going to pursue buying a house in the Glacier View Community. We closed on the property in June and began construction in July. There was much work to be done to make the house a home. First of all we needed to remove the mobile home that was currently located right down the middle of our house. Here is a link to the video of the mobile home being pulled out.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203118456015581
It is on facebook, and i am not sure if you need an account or not to see it.
Then the construction began. The month of August was filled with foundation work and framing.
Lots of photos, but they say it best. I thought that at some point in my life I would build a house, or at least remodel one. This has been an adventure. I have learned a ton, and I am excited about the opportunities that this is opening us up for ministry into our community. We are still hoping to be moved in before we head to Michigan mid November, but we have a lot to do before it is livable, at least with most comforts we are used to.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203118456015581
It is on facebook, and i am not sure if you need an account or not to see it.
Then the construction began. The month of August was filled with foundation work and framing.
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| The House is floating and the foundation is going in. |
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| The shoot that the mobile home was once in. |
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| Getting the insulated concrete forms ready for concrete. |
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| Skylers view for much of the construction time. She loves to help. |
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| Cement truck in the house. It took a good tug from another truck to get it out. |
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| The house landed back on the foundation and ready for framing. |
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| Floor supports in and subfloor on its way. |
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| Exterior Framing all wrapped up. |
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| Repositioned windows on the front wall to take full advantage of the view. |
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| We added 6 feet to the existing roofline. |
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| Framing in the Front wall where the mobile home came out. |
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| Moved the front door to its new location. |
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| Windows. Lots of windows. Can you guess where the sweet view is. |
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| The look when you walk in the front door.This is the location of the future kitchen. |
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| The living and dining room. |
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| I know some of you can picture everything better from this view. Gives you an idea of our final layout. As of right now we will not have a front deck or finish off the master bathroom. We will add those as finances allow. |
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