Big Changes Are Coming!

If you were to tell me 5 days ago that we would be moving out of Port Alsworth THIS MONTH, I would of said you were crazy. If you were to tell me we were not just leaving Port Alsworth but leaving the whole state of Alaska, I wouldn't believe you for a second and I would of laughed at you. A lot.

We love Alaska! So. So. Much.

We have been praying about our future and where we should be. We didn't have any plans in mind but we were open to eventually moving on from Port Alsworth but had no idea where in Alaska or even how. On Tuesday(4 DAYS AGO) Daniel sent me a text asking how I feel about making a move. Soon after that, he came home for lunch and we talked about it some more. Not even an hour after he left from lunch, our brother-in-law, DJ, called out of the blue about a job opening in Waukesha, Wisconsin and wanted to give us the option. We know this was the Lord. Things are just falling into place.

It has been hard to process this and get used to the idea the past 4 days.. but there doesn't seem to be any time for that. We are trusting the Lord, taking a huge step of faith, and selling the majority of our earthly belongings. In less than two weeks, we will be hopping on a jet plane and saying goodbye to our first home we had together. Hopefully not a forever goodbye. Our rough draft plan is to work for a couple years, save up money, and then move up to Fairbanks so Daniel can get his A&P. That makes the move a bit easier knowing we might end back up here some day. :] We will have to wait and see where God leads.

Moving is always a chore and so tiring... but moving out of Alaska is kind of a nightmare. We have to pay per pound just to get our stuff out of our little village and to Anchorage and we have no car up here. Plus.. we have a few months worth of food and toiletries stocked up. =] Lets just say we are going to have a massive garage sale this coming week.

I always wanted to move to Alaska and we love it more than we ever thought possible. We are so thankful we were able to experience this Alaskan life and have opportunities that we never thought we would. Every place has downsides... of course there will be things we won't miss at all but there will be so many things we do miss.
To list just a few:
-Friends that are so dear to us. We will miss you guys so so much.
-The starry nights with northern lights dancing in the sky in the winter and long light summer days we have here.
-Mountains for days and days.
-Our cozy home with a view.
-An almost endless lake to adventure on. So it seems. =]
-Planes. Planes. Planes. Planes. and more Planes. :] I love those things. Wheels or float planes... it doesn't matter to me. :]

The one thing we are really excited about is being a lot closer to family and living in the same town as Amber, Dj, Jaylea, and Zeke. =] It's a little town but it will feel a lot bigger than it used to after living out in the Alaskan bush. Waukesha is where Daniel and I went to school and started dating. We haven't been there since so it will be cool to be back where "we" started.

Even though this move will be really, really hard... God is still good, He still has us in His hands, and He will continue to provide. I wish I could be that person who is excited for a new adventure and ready to pick up and go onto the next season without skipping a beat. But I'm not like that so it's taking me a bit to come around to the idea and I can say that many tears have been shed. Even though this is moving much too fast for our liking, it has been amazing watching God work. Things really are falling into place.

We will hold the memories so close to our hearts and cherish them.

Alaska will always have a part of our hearts. Always.

Soaking up this view as I write this post.

Is This Real Life?

If I were to tell you what my last few days have been like, you'd think I made it up! It's something out of a movie or likely aired on 20/20..right? You never think it would be someone you actually know!

I've been planning on traveling down to Montana to spend time with my Family! The three of us sisters along with Jaylea and Zeke were able to make it; my Grandpa has cancer and we wanted to all be together!

The thought of traveling 30+hours alone was a little overwhelming, saying goodbye to a good friend not knowing when we would see each other again, and just life right now has been hard and challenging! My emotions were an unpredictable roller coaster! 

...little did I know, it was about to get crazier...

The night before my trip, we got a call from Daniels Mom! Seth, my brother-in-law, was missing! What? Missing? How is this even possible? 

I've seen the posters. I've watched the news showing missing people and their crying relatives proclaiming to the world that they won't give up until they find them! It's extremely sad, but I never, not in my lifetime, ever thought it would happen to us! 

Seth was last seen around 10:00am, Wednesday March 23rd! He missed class, his missions trip meeting and never came home that night! So far, it's been over two days since someone has seen or heard from him! His car is also missing! This is out of character for him! He has nothing to run from and so much to look forward to!

The thought of leaving my husband when his brother is missing crushed me! I knew the unknowns were killing Daniel! I felt like I couldn't possibly leave him! I wanted to be there to love him, comfort him, and care for him as this went on! I wanted to be there by his side as new developments unfolded; good or bad! I talked about canceling my flight, but Daniel told me God had this under control and knew I needed to go be with my family and urged me to continue on with my original plans!

So as you can imagine, my emotions were on an all time high! There were tears of sadness because we love Seth and hate hate hate that he is missing, worrying about mom and dad Clifton and family, Rachel and Susanna all the way in Peru, and sad because I felt so helpless up in Alaska even though I knew God knows exactly where he is and He is in control! There were also tears of gratefulness and appreciation for all the love, prayers, and support we were getting from friends and family all over the world!! People shared the post about Seth on Facebook, let me know they were praying, kept checking in for updates, and locals offering to help! I was just so overwhelmed with a mix of emotions!

I just want to wake up from this nightmare. But the sad fact is...this is real life and it's so hard to accept that!

Our Lord is so much bigger than our worries and fears! He's got this and we will find Seth with His help and strength!

Please continue praying for Seth's safety and return and also peace and rest in the Lord for the whole family as we fight many unknowns!

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let you're requests

be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:6-7

***I mainly wrote this for myself to help process my thoughts and feelings, but figured I would share for those interested!

UPDATE BELOW!!!

💕

• From my Father-in-law-------------------- SETH IS OK ! (THANK YOU MY GOD!) We just got a call from a Largo Fl. Walmart. It was Seth. He has not had a phone, computer or car for some time. The story is incredible, and is full of angels walking beside him the whole way, but he has been sleeping in a sailboat (kind stranger) and working on a charter fishing boat cleaning the deck with pool cleaner. He's allergic to Clorox so his feet are blistered and it's sore to walk. When he got paid, he wanted to call home, so he went to Walmart and got a phone.
  Tristin McCoy, his uncle in Christ will pick him up in an hour and try to find his car hours north which ran out of gas. His wallet is in it. His camera and computer were stolen. He was almost hit by a car, but the stranger picked him up and drove him south. No phone, no money, no id. Another stranger said, "I'll give you a shower and a ride if you wash my car." Many 'strangers' seemed to keep helping him. It was all your prayers. As he talked to us, I realized that the prayers of the people had kept him alive and safe. I don’t know how to thank you all. I can never thank you enough. When I make my million, you’re all in, but you might only get a few dollars out of it. Jesus saw what you did, and I will pray His blessings on your life whether I ever meet you or not. I live in Clendenin, WV. Free bed and breakfast for all 500,000 of you. That includes friends of friends of friends. I’m so grateful to you. Why did you leave Seth? “Dad, I just snapped. I was behind and not even sure I wanted to be in college, and the pressure and stress became more than I could remotely take. I didn’t want to cause all this trouble. I’m so sorry for the people I hurt. I wasn’t thinking clear, and when I wanted to call, I had no phone anymore. I’m very sorry for the people I hurt. Please forgive me.” Do you still have Christ? “Of course I do”
  Apparently, he just drove until he ran out of gasoline on the west coast of Florida, and left the car parked in a Walmart parking lot along US 19. When I asked him what he wanted to do, he said, “I just want to come home”. When I told him he could do whatever he wanted, he said, "I just want to come home”. He’s shaken and still sorting things out. He still needs prayers to heal and get direction. Would you consider that? Please? You cannot imagine how relieved Anita is (and me). Again, THANK YOU. THANK YOU! Tim

Things you might not know..

I have had some requests to post a blog all about the cool and different ways living off the road system, in the bush of Alaska can be! 

I will start out with a few interesting facts about Alaska in general! =)

• The highest temperature recorded in Alaska was 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Fort Yukon in 1915. Yup, I was born to live here! Everyone who knows me, knows I hate the heat! =)
• While it is legal to shoot bears in Alaska, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited!
• Of the 20 highest peaks in the United States, 17 are in Alaska, including the highest peak in North America (20,320 ft. above sea level), Mt. McKinley.
• Alaska’s largest lake, Lake Iliamna, is roughly the size of Connecticut. (Only about a 15 min flight from where we live)

• Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined (more than 34,000 miles). Alaska is also the only state to have coastlines on three different seas: the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea.
• Alaska has the lowest population density in the nation at one person per square mile.

There are so many more cool facts, like a 13 year old designed Alaska's flag, they have grown a record cabbage weighing in at 94 pounds, or the fact there is about 5,000 earthquakes a year and 1,000 of those measure above 3.5 on the Richter scale! But now lets talk about living in Port Alsworth! =)

We live in a small town in South Eastern Alaska! Population is around 150-200 (ish) but in the summer it grows quite a bit, because of the Lodges, National Park, and Franklin Graham's "Operation Heal Our Patriots" and "Samaritans Purse"!

Welcome to Port Alsworth!

It really is in the middle of no where! Usually in the lower 48, that term is used to described a place where Walmart is a 40 minute drive! But we live off the road system, meaning we have no roads connecting us to other towns or villages! To get anywhere, we have to fly in a small engine airplane!

-We have no grocery stores. So if you are missing an ingredient there's no running to the store to grab it!

-If we want to go shopping or buy groceries we have two options. 1) We fly to Anchorage ourselves and buy a cart load or two at Costco or 2) We send a list into town and pay someone to buy it all! Then we pay per pound for it to be flown out to us! Unfortunatly, it just too expensive to go in every month or two so we just pay someone to pick up our groceries! The longest I have stayed in Port Alsworth straight without flying out is 4.5 months and the longest we went without a food order was 2 months(Not counting ordering fresh produce) Thats my current record! =)

Here are some of the things we stock up on! =) No, that is not Hershey's Chocolate Milk, just boxed shelf milk!
It's not too bad! =)

-We have no gas stations...our fuel comes in a "big" plane.

-We have a cafe, The General Lodge, that is open on Saturday nights but its open a lot more in the summer! With how expensive things are here, a latte will set you back 6-7 dollars, but it is so nice to have a place to go for a little date night or special occasion!

-We have no stop lights or stop signs!

We have yield signs though! :)

-Our boss, Glen Alsworth Sr. is also our Mayor! =)

-There is no hospital or clinic here! If anything major happens its is a 55 min flight to Anchorage! Not counting the time it takes to quickly plan it out and prepare a plane so its ready to go!

-We burn our garbage! Any glass or cans get flown into Anchorage!

-The home we rent used to be a cafe a long time ago and they made it into a house! The word "CAFE" is written in big letters on our tin roof!

-We have to cross two airstrips to get home.

-Mail comes three times a week at the most and everyone makes up their own home address!

-I have bells hanging on the outside door of our arctic entry(mud room) so we'll hear if we have any sneaky bears trying to enter! =) It happened once awhile ago, before we moved in! Knowing that, one day I thought a bear did make his way in...I was kind of scared for a minute until I looked in and saw a dog managed push the door open and it started to close behind him making him stuck! Haha!

-We have a marshy area behind our house and the moose like to hang out there in the mornings!

-Our house is feet away from many Lake Clark National Park trails!

-We don't do fire works on the 4th of July because it doesn't get dark enough...so we do them on New Years Eve instead!

-Because of Operation Heal Our Patriots, Franklin Graham often invites well known people to come welcome and encourage the wounded Vets! Greta, Duck Dynasty, Michael W. Smith, Sarah Palin, and so on! 

Everywhere you live, you will have awesome perks and hard things! There have been some struggles while being here but also so much good! I can't think of a better place to spend our first year of marriage! Lots of great lessons learned and awesome quality time together! 

God, of course, has been faithful, continually providing for our needs, and our constant peace! :)

We are Alive!

I'm sure some of you who only see updates here thought we got mauled by a bear or attacked by a pack of wolves...but we are alive... just workaholics! =)
I know its been quite awhile since I last wrote! Yikes! But don't worry, you haven't really missed a whole lot! Seriously, since fall has gone and winter came, Lake Clark Air is not as busy but have fewer employees which makes us work almost more! Several times this winter I have been the only dispatcher for weeks at a time... which means I would have to work every day! I go to work before the sun is up and until after the sun goes down most nights which was around 5 but its getting later now! So it would either be dark when I am outside or else I was in my little office all day! Then to come home, make dinner, tidy up, and shower... blogging was not even a thought. We have more dispatchers now so I should only have to work 4-5 days a week! :) So I will have time to post pictures of our adorable, cozy home!  I can't wait!
**Disclaimer** I don't want to make it sound like I am complaining about my job! I really do enjoy it! But I was just explaining how busy we have been! :)

Also, those of you concerned that your "Thank-yous" from our wedding either got lost in the mail or forgot about... fear not! My busy, long work weeks this winter kinda wore me out! So they will be on their way hopefully very soon! We are very VERY thankful for everyone's such giving hearts and the gifts have helped us make a cozy home together! :) So know that we appreciate you and I will be working on those!!

We were able to go down to West Virginia and Florida to spend a little bit of time with family! It was a lot of fun but went way too fast! We definitely needed that break and refreshment before the busy summer months! I will try to post pictures from our trip as well as daily ones we take!

Here is what our winter looked like!

Please note: There was not always snow on the ground! Unfortunately... but that's when winter is at it's prettiest so I wanted to capture it every single time! :)

We got to hang out with Teco while her
family was out of town for about
a month! :)
Here she is napping with the monkey we bought her! :]

Her favorite place in the house! 

Playing games on a chilly night!

A bit blurry... taken with my phone!

Daniel and I painting together to relax and unwind after a busy day!

During the winter in Alaska the sun only gets that high and peaks through the mountains in Port Alsworth about 3-4 times a day!
This first time its peaks through it shines right in my office! I have to tape a piece of paper on the window so I am not blinded by it and can actually see what I am doing! :]

Walking to work in the morning! This is towards the end of winter when it gets lighter earlier!

Seeding pomegranates to freeze! :)

Daniel caught this MagPie who managed to get trapped in our lobby! 

My work was done so I went out to help Daniel pull the Navajo into the hangar in negative temperatures!

Unexpected snow fall! Should of brought our bike in! :)

I just love these trees!

Enjoying our bike on a sunny, winter day!

Isn't our home so adorable and cozy! We just love it!

People always asked how I would handle the winter and having it get dark so early! I would always say,"Then I can put lights up and it will be so pretty all winter long!" For those of you who don't know...I am obsessed with any type of light! It's my weakness! :)
But for the record, I grew up in the Pacific North West and it gets dark around the same time at night in the winter! The one thing that was different is that it stays dark longer in the morning! The longest it stays dark is around 9:30-10 I believe! But my response to that,"Now I can see the sunrise in the morning and feel like a morning person!" Loved it!

Here we went to the Post Office to pick up some packages! :) Usually the person not driving sit where the packages are. But we made it work and both sat on the seat! ;)

We went for a ride in the Alaskan Wilderness to see Lake Clark from the other side of Port Alsworth!

Okay, this picture is probably my absolute favorite! Haha! ...Just everything about it! :)

Went for a little walk on the frozen bay! :) 

This was right before the sunrise!

This is the HUGE and massive plane that comes to give us fuel! If you want to see it take off, a friend of ours got a great video of it taking off right over him! It kinda went viral! ;) Click HERE!

I love all the old, clunky trucks and vehicles here! 

This was taken after the sun had just set! It was a beautiful night! I wish I had more than my phones camera with me!

These are pressure cracks in Lake Clark!
I just love the color of the water here!

This is my view at work for the most part! :)

Now I can hopefully capture some better quality pictures with this beauty!
Thank you, Clifton Family!!

We got an unexpected, but beautiful mini blizzard not long ago!
Last one of the year...I think! Its not too late!!

Daniel drove me home after an 11 hour day! I had the camera with me and I had to capture this!
Also, the drivers side is on that side of the Mini! :)

Out our back door!

We have to cross two runways to get home!

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.
:)

Our Hike Up Tanalian!

Last week, Daniel and I both had Sunday off! It was wonderful to be able to go to church, meet new people, and catch up with a few I already knew! :) Afterwards, we changed and got ready for the hike we had been planning for a couple weeks! It turned out to be the perfect day for it!
At the beginning, it was going quite well! I was excited yet nervous to conquer this mountain that I have been enjoying looking at since we got here! Absolutely beautiful!
I noticed my blood sugar acting up even that morning during church and was unsure how it would affect the hike! I almost didn't go but I didn't want to miss the chance! We weren't even halfway and I was starting to struggle. Now, I won't blame it all on my low blood sugar... I'm definitely out of shape too... so they both played a part! :] I told the rest of the group to go ahead of Daniel and I and we would be close-ish behind! I wanted to make sure they made it to the top with enough time to get back before dark! But they were stubborn and wouldn't leave us behind! :) They were so awesome! Even if we didn't make record time... I was happy we made it to the top! I am SO glad I decided to do it but I am SO glad its over! :) I don't think its a hike I will do often... maybe next summer! :D
We didn't get too many pictures at the top because it was FREEZING! We could barely snap a picture or two before our fingers would freeze off! Next time we are bringing gloves! Lesson learned! :) One of the highlights was picking wild blueberries on the way up! :)
It was a beautiful day and well worth it!

Our before picture! There are good reasons we didn't take an after picture! Haha!

The crew! Kurt, Adam, and Mr. Smith!

The peak was in the clouds! Thankfully it cleared up by the time we finally made it to the top!

I love Fall!

So beautiful!

My new home!

At the top!

It was FREEZING at the top... even with our many layers! 

Next post: NEW HOUSE! We just need to finish unpacking and settling in... then we will share our cozy new place with you!