North to Alaska

Joel and I realized it’s been a long time since we given an update. I thought I had done one a week ago, but I guess it never left my thoughts and materialized on paper. So it’s time to catch you up!

We left Texas as planned on Sunday July 16^th at about 5:30 PM; we drove straight through to Michigan and arrived somewhere around noon on Monday. It went GREAT, thanks for all your prayers. Abigail pretty much slept for the whole time, with very little cry time. Joel was able to drive the majority of the way, with myself filling in when needed. Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday, were spent getting settled at my parents, which will serve as home base till we move to British Columbia. Wednesday evening we connected with some friends and family that won’t be in Michigan when we return. On Thursday morning we got to participate in a Carpenter Cousin’s meeting to pick out some of our Grandparents things, since they have sold their house. About 2:00 PM we left for Chicago to catch our plane. We finally arrived in Alaska about 12:00 AM, Alaska time, (which is 4:00 in morning in Michigan). But again things went GREAT, prayer is powerful, Abigail slept most of the flight and Joel and I were even able to catch some rest.

Friday morning we woke up semi-rested in Alaska!!! The first thing I realized when I stepped outside is that Alaska has its own smell. It is good to be able to visit again. We spent the next two days able to relax a little and even got to see my cousin Karla before she flew back to Michigan (she was in Alaska for the summer). Sunday we were able to present at Sand Lake Baptist Church. Joel was the youth pastor there while he lived in Alaska five years ago. It was good to see old friends and be able to share how the Lord is working on our lives. We hope to have some good contacts from that time as we sure love and appreciate those people.

Monday morning found us on a bus full of campers bound for Victory Bible Camps. We arrived and got settled into a wonderful cabin that we get to stay in for a total of two weeks! Joel is the evening speaker, every night, but other than that we don’t have a set schedule. Joel spends his time studying and he also hangs out with the kids a lot. I have been able to relax, which is so nice. The Lord has been working in kids lives this week and it’s so awesome to get to be a part of that (we’ve been able to see some kids come to know Christ as Savior). We are so excited to be where God has called us to be. There are so many stories we could tell of how the Lord has blessed us in just the last week, but I’m running out of space. Thanks for being a part of our journey. –Amanda (for the 3 of us).