Happy New Year!

Greetings from SE Alaska where it looks like winter!  Who said "retirement isn't fun and isn't for everyone?"  Don't you believe it!  Marge and I are having no problem finding there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.  (Oh, I forgot - I "unretired" but Marge still is, she says.  <grin>)

Along with the many things which occupy any pastor, we have taken on Vision 2000, the nationwide project of the Assemblies of God.  We have a committee of five plus Marge and me working on our Vision Statement, and it has caused some real soul-searching to take place.  Hopefully the end result will be that God will have spoken to us, as we work together to determine what He desires for this congregation.  Then the prayerful, hard work will begin!  One thing for sure, we cannot and will not stay the same.  The old song we used to sing, "The end is not yet, praise the Lord!" is true, and until we see our lost family members and friends finding Jesus as their Savior, we can't stop.

Now, to all you retirees who read this, please KNOW there is a place for you in this harvest field of Alaska!  We are so thankful the Lord in His own sovereign way led us in this direction. 

Our first nine months have been most challenging, because in addition to day-to-day pastoring, I've worked with the construction of the new parsonage and have accepted the challenge of helping at the Assembly in Hydaburg, driving there about once a week.  In future issues of On the Road..., you'll hear how we met a man from Jenks, Oklahoma, visited him in September ‘99, and are now planning a MAPS project for July 2000.

Our prayer for you is found in Ephesians 3:17-21. 

 ...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. 
 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
 

Charlie Sue, our Border Collie, enjoyed Janet and Tasso, too.  She has adjusted well to southeast Alaska.  We're well-trained now, and we expect her to round up some deer any day now, or perhaps a marten!  (Martens are the source of sable fur.  We see one sneak into the bushes every once in a while.)  Charlie also watches the sky for ravens,  seagulls, eagles and the occasional float plane.

Above is the container packed on September 23rd by Howard and four friends from Northland Cathedral, then shipped by rail and barge to Craig, trucked to Klawock and unpacked on October 8th into the adult classroom at the church for storage.  Many, many thanks to the loading crew  (Ed Brown, Micah Etheridge, Terry Summy, and Dan Wilson) and the unloading crew   (Scott Foss, Lincoln Peratrovich and Ken Weimer)!

Howard baptized five people in Klawock Bay in August, after which we had a church picnic in Stan Snider Park (named for the late father of our daughter-in-law, Shannon). 

We've had two weddings.  Jacob & Angie Hoppe in August and Mark & Tristene Mildren in September. 

Mildrens' wedding was unusual for us, because Howard gave the bride away and conducted the ceremony (assisted by Christian Holst) and Marge was the matron of honor.  We met Mark, Tristene and little Jason in Emmonak last year, so it was quite an honor to have them come to Klawock for their wedding.

Our Missions project in October was pretty spectacular, as we raised funds to give Christmas gifts to our missionaries.  We had a dessert auction and met our goal – so our missions chairman and youth pastor sacrificed some hair!  Gary Lawton gave up the beard he'd worn for many years and Christian Holst got a burr cut.  Gary's three daughters had never seen their dad without a beard, so it was quite an experience for them.  We're wondering what Gary is going to do in 2000 to top his 1999 effort.

It's fun being a senior citizen here on Prince of Wales Island (POW), because they treat all of us well.  For example, we had two extra Thanksgiving dinners. <grin>  Klawock and Craig students helped their cooks prepare the dinners, and invited all elders to eat with the students.  What a nice custom!  We heartily recommend it to you folks in the Lower 48.

Prince of Peace children presented "The Littlest Angel" for  Christmas.  They all looked quite angelic in their wings and halos.  We have a very special Sunday School staff and we appreciate each one of them.  As with any church, we'd be nothing without our volunteers.

Quite a number of wonderful folks have helped us with our move into the new parsonage, and I'm not even going to try to mention names -- partly because I don't want to leave anyone out and partly because I had a nasty cold for several weeks and so I wasn't even at the house some of the time.  –Marge

Oomp pah pah!  We're probably the only people you know who have an old Sousaphone (tuba) in our guest bedroom.  It was a gift to Howard from Jollie and Marie Harned of Kansas City, MO.  Howard played the tuba in the Lyons High School band.

This past summer we had our "15 minutes of fame," as the saying goes, when our Alaska volunteering was featured first in the Kansas Courier, the newsletter of the Kansas District Council, and then in the Assemblies of God e-mail newsletter and on the official website, http://www.ag.org. 

We are thrilled to report that a couple has come to Alaska as the result of it.  Jim & Nancy Mercer are now pastoring in Kotzebue, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. 

Marge has put together an Internet site about the articles: www.spaciousskies.me/howard/Alaska/pastors/                                 Back to Top

As Sherri Self drove us through British Columbia in June, I enjoyed the scenery, including views of spectacular (and deep) Fraser Canyon on Highway 1.  One of the signs was intriguing: "Fraser River Rapids Rafting, One Mile Beyond Hope."  I've heard that whitewater rafting can be scary! 

But then I looked at the map and saw that there's a town named Hope.  –Marge

During July and August, we stayed in the home of Rob & Val Steward.  September 1st, we moved to the summer home of Jeff & Pam Fredericksen because they went home to Vashon Island, Wash.  The final move on December 28th was to our new home. 

In addition, we've done some house-sitting:  Howard at the Busse home and both of us with teenagers Brett and Stephanie Weimer (and dogs), while Ken & Brenda went to Anchorage on business – Ken is a member of the Klawock police force.

If you read between the lines, you'll figure out that our trip to Kansas was one very busy time!  But we were able to visit with some of our family and friends in person and by phone.   While in Kansas City, we visited with friends at Northland Cathedral, Friendly Assembly of God, and Crestview Assembly.  In Lyons, we went to the Assembly and then headed for Jenks, Oklahoma where Howard spoke in the Assembly there.  When we were in the northern part of Washington state, Howard also spoke at Ferndale Assembly, where David & Shannon attend church.

  So how's the Family?

Our grandpa-son Larry's family is growing.
• Jaden Nicole D. was born July 1, 1999.  Kari & Andy are her parents.  We got to see her in September, and she is a charmer.
• Jacey, our first great-grandchild, is now 2.  We saw her in Sept. too, and what can I say, she's a charmer too!  She's expecting a baby brother in March.  Jami & Rick are going to be busy with two young-uns.  Hunter Dell J. was born April 4, 2000.  We are excited about getting to see him in a few months!

Jason, our 22-year-old grandson, is in the Army now; he's currently in school in Texas.

Miranda, our New Mexico granddaughter, excels in gymnastics; she's the state champ in the 11-year-old Level 5 group.  We and Dad Larry & Mom Reneé aren't the only ones who are proud of her – so are Grandma & Grandpa Budagher.

While we were in Kansas moving our things, we headed out to Lyons to help celebrate Mom Seaton's 87th birthday a little early, along with other Seaton family members.  We spent some time with Howard's sister and brother-in-law, Eva & Elmer Battershell, and   Howard also visited his sister and brother-in-law, Marcille & Jack Hubbard, in Mitchell, SD.

As we headed back to Alaska, we were with David and his family a week.  Janet got to visit too, because she graciously drove our car to Ferndale so we could put it on the barge to Alaska.

Re-cap

You may be wondering how a couple of Kansans became Alaskans, so here's the story. 

When we both retired in1996, David and his family lived in Klawock, so we decided to visit them for a few weeks.  Howard enjoys preaching, so he wrote to several churches here in southeast Alaska, making himself available if they wanted a guest speaker.  Well, we ended up volunteering in the Hydaburg church, 37 miles from Klawock, for July, August and September.  In 1997, we were invited back to Klawock and volunteered here and also in Hydaburg.  In 1998, we ventured further away, and spent May-September in west Alaska.

In 1999, our initial plans were that Howard would again volunteer in west Alaska while Marge staying in Kansas City.  Those plans changed when Prince of Peace invited Howard to submit his name as full-time pastor and was elected.  And here we are, pastoring the church pioneered by the parents of our daughter-in-law.

It's always great when we get to visit the folks who live in the float houses near Naukati, which is about an hour north of Klawock.  In August, we went out to the home of Clint & Lawana and spent the night.  Their children are Isaiah, 9, and "the Littles"  Ezra, 6, David, 5, and Mary Hannah, 4.  What a home-school education those delightful children are receiving!  It even includes manners, so out there we're "Pastor Howard," "Miss Marge," "Sir," and "Ma'am."

They have a garden and the Littles help gather vegetables and take the scraps to the compost pile; Isaiah fishes and takes the dog ashore in the skiff each morning and evening.  After the children are in bed, Lawana lights the kerosene lamp and the generator is turned off – such a quiet, peaceful time.  As we visited, Lawana canned some venison and  gave us several jars to take home with us.  As you can imagine, we're always refreshed when we leave their home.  And if you ever come visit us, we'll make sure you get to meet them!  Also John & Lisa, whose home we'll visit next.  (smile)

Marge is doing some work with our son Larry for a company in Belen, New Mexico.  You can view the website for Valley Improvement Association at http://www.v-i-a.org.  Marge says, "It was an interesting experience in September to be describing beautiful high desert country while I was looking out Fredericksens' window across beautiful Port St. Nicholas bay at an Alaska mountain!"

Let me give you a tour of our new home, a photo of which is on the first page of this newsletter.  Step up onto the front porch and come on in.  As you enter, look up and admire the white pine ceiling – that's why we call it the "great room" instead of the "living room."  The great room goes all the way through the width of the house and there are double glass doors out to the back deck.  There is forest beyond the deck and on both sides of the house.

There is a center hall going left out of the great room.  On the left of the hall is Howard's office, then the guest bedroom in the corner.  At the end of the hall is the guest bathroom.  On the right side of the hall is the large master bedroom; off it is the master bathroom with walk-in shower; there's also a walk-in closet off the master bedroom.  All our "woodwork" is light oak.

Now come back into the great room and cross over to the dining area, which is in the right rear corner of the house.  From there, move toward the front of the house through the kitchen, then through the utility room, out the back door, and down the ramp which is under the car port.

You can come back in now and admire the kitchen.  It has light green countertops, oak cabinets, and white appliances.  The whole house is light and bright, including the Berber carpet and the vinyl, which are beige, and the eggshell white walls.  No gloom here!

Now exit onto the front porch and enjoy our view.   Across the street from us is more forest surrounding a house being built.  Through the trees you can glimpse some mountains and a bit of sky to the south.