Sunday in Bethel

What an enjoyable day we had this past Sunday in Bethel. Our plans were to go to the Bethel Moravian Church in the morning, then relax at the Bed and Breakfast the rest of the day. It didn't turn out quite that way, and we're so glad!
We did worship at the Moravian Church in the morning. This church was established by missionaries back in the 1800's. The original church building was built right on the tundra (oops) by well-meaning by unaware outsiders. That building eventually began to sink into the permafrost and had to be condemned. A new, raised church was built, and that is where Brian and Bob Bascom (the UBS Translation Consultant that we've been traveling with this trip) worked with the Yup'ik team all week.
The church service was in English, but over half of the worshippers' first language was Yup'ik. The worship leader, several members from the congregation, and pastor did a wonderful job of leading us in worship, even including Brian and Bob in an impromptu church choir.
After the service we visited with several members of the congregation who were incredibly friendly and welcoming. A former pastor of the church and current university professor, Will Updegrove, invited us to his house for lunch. We had a great time visiting with him while he shared his experiences of more than 20 years of living in Bethel.
After lunch we spent a few hours relaxing at the B&B. Then Will picked us up for a very special occasion. He had been invited to a wedding celebration feast, and he asked us if we wanted to go along. Of course we said yes! The couple had gotten married the day before at the family's fish camp. The bride was Yup'ik and the groom was gussik (non-Yup'ik), so the celebration was a beautiful combination of the two cultures. The food included salmon caught just hours before, German potato salad, rice, moose stew, chicken and stuffing, ham, Eskimo ice cream, brownies, as well as many other dishes.
At first we felt like we were crashing their party since we didn't know either the bride or groom, but everyone made us feel welcome and invited. I chatted with Martha, the pastor's wife and aunt of the bride. She filled me in on most of the people who were there, and I had a good time playing Dutch Bingo (or should I say Yup'ik Bingo).
After watching the bride and groom open presents and cut the wedding cake, we said our farewells and headed out for a tour of Bethel. Bethel isn't a very large city, but for the next two hours Will showed us every part of it, giving us a history lesson on how certain sections of town got their names, which buildings used to be owned by the Moravian Church, who owned particular pieces of land, etc. We also saw the Kuskokwim River and not only the area where barges bring supplies into the city, but also the good salmon fishing spots.
So our day turned out quite differently than expected, but what a great surprise! We got in on a cultural event, learned more about the town, and met some great people. It was a great way to spend our last day in Bethel before moving on to Barrow. Donna