Midnight Sun Bible Camp

Well, another busy summer has sped by with very little comment from us. Sorry about that.

The first full week of July, James and I taught at Bible camp again. This year the theme was “I want to know Christ” from Philippians 3:10, and we covered the life of Christ from his birth to his resurrection. In preparation, James and I listened to the four gospels dramatized on CD and watched the Matthew movie. We felt completely saturated with the life and teachings of Jesus, but we barely had time to squeeze out some of the richness of what we had learned in getting ready for camp.

James made a good friend in Kody Knight on the way out to camp. Kody stayed James' "Third Arm" for the remainder of the week. Kody was a "camp brat" rooming with his mother (on staff) because he was younger than the regular campers, so he and James could play while the other kids were in cabin time or otherwise occupied.

It was harder to find activities for the kids to do while learning about Jesus (they were 4th-6th graders) than it was last year with light. We didn’t want to cheapen Jesus’ power and character by playing childish games or turning water into grape Kool-Aid, etc. We finally settled on breaking up our two hours of teaching time with them by showing them short clips from the Matthew movie. Sometimes, we gave the kids specific things to look for (just so that they paid attention) like counting how many times in Matthew 1 prophecies were quoted or people we spoken to in dreams. It seemed to work well.

James and one of the kids from the village that came out to camp this year. It was a good experience for all. They learned more about the Bible, and we learned about interacting with another culture.

We also gave the campers challenging memory verses. Anyone who quoted a verse for us got a piece of candy, but those who learned the verse on each day and told us all four verses on the last day received a special prize from us that was awarded to them in front of the entire camp. Last year this worked fairly well with a decent portion of kids rising to the challenge. This year, however, the head staff got on board with this challenge and made memorizing verses mandatory for swimming in the lake or doing other fun activities back at the cabins. James and I felt bad for these kids stuttering through Philippians 3:8, Matthew 14:13-14, John 13:1, and Hebrews but were utterly amazed when by Wednesday 85% of the campers had met the challenge! Unfortunately, not quite that many completed the four day challenge, but we were proud of those that did reach the goal and won the binoculars that we had for them.

One of our evening devotionals by the lake.

Our other big event this year was our regular “visitor” to our remote camp. A female black bear had been raiding the camp garbage (locked in a trailer) and had been spotted out at camp the week before us but had not been “caught” so campers and staff had to be wary of walking on the trails. Campers could not go on them alone and counselors carried whistles only to be used in an emergency bear sighting. As Bible teachers, we were not issued whistles for our many treks to the cabins to hear memory verses, so I sang loud, enthusiastic Bible and camp songs on my lonely hikes to the girls' cabins.

On Thursday night, just minutes before we handed out memory verse prizes, girls’ cabin 2 was doing a skit about the week at camp and being chased by a bear (really Bill Williams in costume). Three shots rang out over the camp while at the same time a growly Bill chased the screaming whistle-blowing girls. It was chaotic. The people watching the skit thought that maybe the shots were some really good sound effects; the cook staff that had just dispatched our garbage stealing bear thought the girls were screaming because of the shots. Thankfully no one was hurt, except the poor bear.

It turns out, the previously wounded bear had made its den on the upper boys’ trail and had been prowling around only about ten yards from James’ and my cabin trying to get into the garbage trailer. We saw the generously sized footprints on the black trailer door. I am so thankful that on one of my late night runs to the “dome” (bathrooms) I did not run into this angry mama. God protected us all. I wish the bear had stuck to a fish and berry diet and left lasagna alone (this is what they found in the bear’s stomach). Still with all of the bear maulings in the news recently, I’m glad no one at camp became another statistic.

Name them one by one . . .

Dear Loved Ones,

Thank you for taking a moment out of your busy holiday season to stop and check up on our lives. If you are new to this blog, feel free to search through the archives and read about our last year and a half. If you would do us the honor of book-marking this blog or adding us as a link on your blog, we will do our best to keep our updates regular so that your visits will not be disappointing.
* * *
Holiday letter writing is a humbling exercise of looking back over a year of bountiful and undeserved blessings to see God's hand working in our lives. Let's see, if we look back over our year we can see God's working in lots of ways . . .

* James came one year closer to graduating with his engineering degree without allowing ornery teachers or sticky subject matter to throw him off track. He is among only twenty some left in his graduating class that started out with over a hundred. Only one more semester to go! Thank you, God, for giving James the strength and endurance to keep it up!

*Andrea worked another year at a job she loves--helping bilingual kids learn English. James gained a summer of experience working as an on site inspector as a neighborhood road system was built from the dirt up. Thank You, God, for an income we can enjoy and learn from while earning it!

*James has just been hired by his boss from TNH who now works for a much smaller and more focused company that designs roads. Not only did this boss pursue James to hire him and give him a nice sign-on bonus and wage, but the company has agreed that James is only hired for the spring semester, and (although they will offer a full time position in May) he is free to look for work opportunities at other companies that might prove more profitable! Wow, God! Thank You for Your generosity and the peace of mind that comes with a secure job.



*We both participated in another year of classes from our church's Valley Bible Institute which provids college-level Bible classes for those interested in going deeper into the Word. Thank You, God, for VBI.

*The Young Adult group which we've been with from its infancy is growing stronger and more independent from us (good thing, because we're beginning to push the "young" category a little bit!). The relationships in it have helped grow and mature faiths and lives. Now the YA group has its own Bible class on Sunday mornings! Thank You, God, for our friends in the YA group. Please help it to grow as You want it to.

*We worked as Bible teachers at camp this year and loved every minute of it. Junior camp kids have the perfect mix of maturity and humility to love Bible class and still get a kick out of fun activities that instill Bible principles. What an awesome experience! Thank You, God, for the opportunity to be Bible teachers at camp this year!

*We had the opportunity to teach girls' and boys' teen classes and get to know our valley teens better over the past year. Many are excited about the possibility of going to AIM. Thank You, God, for the beautiful hearts of our teens. Help us to encourage and teach them to do Your will.



*Titus has grown up into an obedient, behaved, loveable dog. He's a momma's boy who loves to cuddle, sits and waits (well trained by Dad) for food or leash, and has left 99% of his bad habits back in puppy-hood. Thank You, God, for giving us wisdom to be good dog parents and growing Titus up into a dog we can live with!

*Our loved ones have come through some scary sicknesses. Thank You, God, for your mercy and protection, and please bring them to full health.

*We each lost a grandparent this year. Grandma Kuenning succumbed to pancreatic cancer on March 15, and Grandpa Limberious passed away on June 18 (Grandma Kuenning’s birthday). Although we mourn their passing, we praise God for their lives. Thank You, God, for a loving Grandma and Grandpa and memories we will always cherish.



*Having all of our parents and siblings near by has been a huge blessing. Getting to be a part of our dads', moms', brothers', sister-in-law's (and sister-in-law-to-be's!), and neice's life is special. Who knows where our paths will eventually take us? It is nice now to share this part of life together. Thank You, God, for our family!

*Our little apartment has finally become a home. While James has been busy studying, Andrea has been working on her "home making" skills. Thank You, God, for such a perfect retreat to come to at the end of a busy day.

*On December 31, we will celebrate our second wedding anniversary. What a beautiful year God has given us to get to know each other better and grow closer as a couple. Thank You, God, for our marriage and help it to always keep You in the center.

We truly do not deserve all of God’s good gifts to us. We are so thankful for your friendship and the ways that we’ve been able to stay connected over the past year. We pray that your year was as blessed as ours.

May God bless you in this season of family and togetherness and in the coming year. Keep in touch!

Love,
James and Andrea

Summertime

Midnight Sun Bible Camp



In July, James and I had the exciting opportunity to be the daily Bible teachers for this year’s Junior Camp week. For two hours a day, the kids were OURS to teach and manage on our own. We taught on light: God created light; God, Jesus, the Word, and Christians ARE the light; and we must spread the light. We did shadow sketches and skits, light relay races, blind obstacle courses, and memory verses with prizes. By the time my two hours with the girls were finished each day, I was ready to crash, but then we spent the afternoons studying and prepping for the next day.

It was a blast! I loved working with James each day while studying and prepping for the next day. I loved our debriefing sessions on what worked and what didn’t. And although we DID work hard on our job, we still had a lot of free time to play with the kids, canoe, talk with other staff members, and play games. It’s a good thing it was all so rewarding, because that was our entire vacation for the summer! It wasn’t exactly breakfast in bed and a private Jacuzzi, but the cooks prepared a delicious, hearty meal every morning (there was usually some left by the time the kids got theirs!) and the dome was just down the hill with hot showers and flush toilets (if you really wanted to pass up the outhouses on the way—I usually did!).

Ah, there is no place like MSBC!

Life and Loss


This summer on June 18th, Grandma Kuenning’s birthday, James got news that his Grandpa Limberious (his mother’s father) had died. We quickly drove over to James’ parents’ house to be with his mother. His father and brother were out of town. His mom had some warning, but nothing can ever completely prepare you for the death of a loved one. While driving over, and trying not to cry about my own grandmother, I remembered what my parents had recently revealed to me, that although all of our lives, we had celebrated Grandma’s birthday June 18th, we had recently run across two separate birth certificates that showed that she was actually born June 19th! Why? Was she spunky enough to have decided that she preferred the 18th to the 19th and changed it? Yes. Was it possible that she was born an Italian immigrant in New York City in 1918 and the busy doctors wrote down the wrong date, so the family celebrated the 18th anyway? Yes. I just think how we’ll never be able to have one of her birthdays from now on where we don’t smile thinking of that crazy mix up. We’ll never know.

We arrived at the Smiths and James was a soothing balm for his mother. I played with Niki, our 3-year-old niece, and her doll house. For once, the doting men in her life weren’t around, and I got to be her best friend for a few moments. Then Jeremy came racing down the driveway! He had been out on a rural surveying assignment, but came in for just a few hours to be with his mom. With him came cheesecake and flowers, so we sat around the table sharing or hearing stories of Grandpa that made us all laugh. In the middle, Jeremy said, “So, is anyone going to ask why Sheila’s getting fat?” I shouted triumphantly, “I thought so! She’s pregnant, isn’t she?” Sure enough, there’s going to be another baby in the family, due in early January. God is good.

A few weeks later I was holding the funeral program for James' grandpa, and I realized with a shock that he didn't die on June 18th. He died early in the morning on June 19th, but since we lived in Alaska, we got news four hours earlier on the 18th. Maybe Grandma was born in a different time zone . . . maybe not, but it is eerie anyway.

Mom

Last May, my mother developed a condition that made her extremely anemic. While she was attempting to bring up her iron by supplement and diet, the family traveled down to Virginia one last time to empty Grandma’s house, close it up, and get it on the market.
Either from the plane trip or the lack of energy that anemia causes, Mom discovered on her return that she had developed blood clots in her legs. My active mother, who goes to Curves daily, runs a household for a busy family, and serves the ladies at church, was stuck in an armchair with only minimal movement until her abrasive medicines had started to kick in to dissolve the blood clots. Now, in addition to trying to raise her iron, she had to stridently avoid anything with vitamin K, a blood clotting agent—no more green leafy vegetables!

Still, I was unprepared for a phone call in June announcing that Mom had been taken to the ER because of tightness in her chest. Although she hadn’t suffered a heart attack or stroke, a CAT scan showed that the blood clots had definitely moved to her lungs. After a five day hospital stay to monitor her medicines, Mom went home. Good thing, because I think the lack of sleep was making her go a little loopy.

The past few months have been mostly slow for her with bouts of energy and listlessness. I worry for the lack of energy because it’s not like her, and I worry about the spurts of energy because she might overexert herself. Every once in a while, she will feel that same tightness in her chest, which she waits for to pass, but the doctors told her not to worry unless she passes out cold. Well, last Thursday, September 14, she did just that. An ambulance paid a visit to the house. Isaac and Adam loved the flashing lights and excitement. The EMTs ran an EKG on her with no results. Every test that they and her doctors ran on her that day showed no reason for her loss of consciousness. So we are still in the dark. She still has a potentially life threatening condition. Should a blood clot break loose and move to her heart, brain, or even a different artery in the lungs, we could loose her in an instant.

Please, please, pray for her and don’t stop.

Bits and Pieces



Well, one marathon blog entry once a season is not how I want to do things, but it works for now. I hope from this point to be able to make shorter, more up-to-date entries to keep you informed of our ongoing life. There isn’t enough room to write about decorating for VBS, teaching guy and girl teen classes through the summer, helping chink and stain my parent’s log cabin, going to the Alaska State Fair, and other things that kept our summer busy (maybe there will be a few pictures). But it's enough to say that we’ve had a very full summer.

-Andrea