Bethel!

My dad, mom and I were very excited to be back in Alaska again.  We spent two weeks in Bethel and a couple of days in Anchorage.  Last Sunday in Anchorage, we wanted to take one of the day or half-day cruises to see wildlife and glaciers.  But none of them had started yet, so we rented a car so that we could drive around and sight-see.  Even though it was cloudy, windy and rainy, we got to see many beautiful views of the mountains. During the whole ride, we saw four moose, two bald eagles, and a mountain goat in the wild.
The three of us went to an outdoor wildlife center where they rescue hurt animals and those in danger of extinction.  It was a very convenient place to visit. You could stay in your car the whole time to view the animals, or you could go out and walk around. It was very exciting to be a couple feet away from moose, bison, and bears. We also got to see a bald eagle. It was sad to watch it because it only had one wing, so when it tried to fly, it fell down. :(

We also went to an aquatic sea life center in Seward (about two and a half hours away from Anchorage). They had sea lions, puffins, fish, octopus, seals, and a lot more.  The museum had interesting facts on different kinds of salmon, the Bering Strait, changes in fishing, sea anemones, and a ton more. One of the male sea lions on exhibit was gigantic! It was about 8 feet long, and it weighed around 1200 pounds.

Now here are some facts about Bethel and Alaska in general.
- Right now the daylight increases five and a half minutes everyday in Bethel until the summer solstice when the sun never sets.
- It's also interesting, because the sun there rises in the northeast and sets in the southeast.
- Because there are so many small airplanes in Alaska, many of the roads are used as runways. 
- In places in Anchorage, an earthquake made the ground sink down. Since the ground was lowered, salt water from the sea came up, and killed all the trees. But the interesting part is that instead of knocking the trees over, the salt from the water preserved the trees dead.  Now many different types of birds nest in those trees.
- We learned that "hello" in the Yupik language is "cama-i" and "what's up" is "waqaa."

Back in Bethel

Yes, we're back in Bethel, Alaska. We flew here from Anchorage on Wednesday afternoon. We had a new experience while we were boarding the plane for that flight. Just as we were standing in line to board, the airline personnel told us to have a seat because there was an emergency situation. They called several passengers up to the podium to give them new seat assignments. Brian saw an ambulance go to the plane along with several TSAs. We eventually found out that someone was being transported from Anchorage to Bethel on a stretcher, and that isn't a quick or easy task! There was no jet bridge for this plane, so all of the passengers needed to go outside and climb the steps into the back of the plane. This obviously wouldn't be possible for someone on a stretcher. In addition to that, many commercial planes in Alaska have passengers in the back half of the plane and cargo in the front. So the cargo needed to be unloaded, the individual on the stretcher was taken into the plane through the cargo area, then the cargo was reloaded. Three rows of seats were "flattened" to allow the stretcher the lie flat. All in all, the process took about 40 minutes, and we were soon on our way.
When we got to Bethel, Peter, one of the pastors of the Moravian Church, was there to pick us up. He had told us ahead of time that we would be staying in a house that his family is moving into in May. But we didn't really know what to expect. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to find a fully furnished house with a full kitchen, family room, and two bedrooms for us to use. The one thing the house doesn't have is internet access, so we're making good use of the public library's free wireless internet!
The work with the translators seems to be going well. Even though Brian just worked with them six months ago and has gotten some updates of their progress, it's always a bit of a mystery to know exactly what work they've done. There are always surprises (both good and bad), but all in all he feels they should be able to meet their deadline of finishing the project this year. Bob Bascom is here as well this week, and it's been fun catching up with him and getting together for meals.
Speaking of food, we've been buying quite a few groceries and cooking at the house to avoid having to go out to eat all of the time. I know I wrote about this last time, but it always amazes me how expensive food is here! I'm just not used to paying $7 for a box of cereal, $2 for a pound of bananas, $8 for a gallon of milk, or $7 for a small bag of chips. We pretty much just buy whatever is on sale and eat that! But that's better than going to a restaurant and paying $12 for a hamburger!
The weather has been cold and windy everyday with some snow. Good thing we were prepared and brought along mittens, boots, stocking caps, and winter coats. I know no one in the Midwest feels sorry for us having to deal with blizzard warnings right now after we avoided most of their awful winter! Despite the cold, the days are incredibly long already with over 14 hours of daylight. It seems so strange to have the sun still shining at 10:00 p.m. I can't imagine being here those months when the sun never sets.
Well, the library is about to close, so I better close as well. We're looking forward to attending the Moravian Church tomorrow morning (see picture), relaxing in the afternoon, and then preparing for a full week with the Yupik. Please be in prayer for Mary Jane, one of the translators who was admitted to the hospital here in Bethel yesterday with possible pneumonia. We constantly see how the devil does not want this work to be accomplished! Thanks for your support of Bible translation! Donna

On the Road Again

After being home for a little over two months, Brian, Rachel and I are traveling together again! Since we came back from Mexico on February 2, Brian has gone to Guyana and Paraguay in recent weeks. He was supposed to go to Pakistan this past Thursday, but he didn't receive his visa on time. He was disappointed that he wasn't able to help with the translation workshop taking place in Lahore. But there's a possibility he may travel to Pakistan at a later date for a follow-up to the training they're receiving this week.
Since that trip was postponed for now, we were able to go to Alaska earlier than expected. So yesterday (Tuesday) we woke up at 3:20 a.m., drove to the Omaha airport, and after a connection in Minneapolis, made the 6-hour flight to Anchorage. We checked into our hotel, then headed over to The Sourdough Mining Co. This restaurant housed in an actual gold mine is a popular Anchorage destination. We shared a delicious meal of salmon and halibut, did some browsing in the gift shop (and Rachel made some friends, as you can see in the picture below), and made our way back to the hotel. By 10:00 we were ready for bed - after being awake for nearly 22 hours!
This morning we woke up to over 3 inches of snow on the ground and snow still falling. Our flight to Bethel is at noon, and Brian will start working with the Yupik team tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how much progress they've made since our last visit in September, and also exciting to think that they plan on finishing their translation this year.
By the way, Brian has been in contact with two of the computer consultants in Pakistan that did get their visas. It sounds like the training is going well despite the change in plans. It was reassuring to see how God put other people in the position to assist the Pakistan translators.
Thanks for your prayers as we spend the next two weeks in Bethel and as we prepare for other trips this spring and summer. Donna