Circle Gardening Project 2022

 After two long Covid filled years without traveling to Alaska we're finally heading back to Alaska!! We knew it was going to be a changed place as covid has effected all of us, and that was in fact the case. All of our belongings were in the van we sold, so to begin the season in Fairbanks we must purchase a new van. Along with a different van every item we needed was to be purchased. Household items, radio/cd player, television, clothes, dishes, everything a household would need. My was it expensive, along with equipment, greenhouse, tools and such. We spent some 18,000 dollars just to pull into the village of Circle.

By leaving a couple weeks early, just in case the van purchase didn't work out put Bill in Circle with two feet of snow on the ground. Not quite ready for planting. One of the blessings was so many new jobs created so that there was no housing for Bill to live in. Thankfully Tortney offered up a small structure he called his quest bedroom for Bill and Penny to use for the summer. This simple 7ft. by 12 ft. structure was so small Bill thought he must be dreaming and hope to wake up from. Fortunately, he didn't turn it down and in fact felt like God put him there for a reason, so he called it home and moved in knowing there was no way Penny could live there with him. They had no way of knowing just how important it was for him to be there. Oh my what a story!! 

Circle, Alaska 2022 Bible School Team from PleasantDale COB

 The 2022 Spring and Summer was so full of changes and surprises mostly due to Covid 19 that it was by far the most challenging year to date. Penny not being able to spend the Summer as planned was the single largest detriment for Bill that changed everything from every year prier.  The Blessing that helped more than any was the Team from PleasantDale coming to Circle. Thankfully Penny was a part of the team that not only helped Bill but showed the village Penny was still part of God's plan for this mission.

Each person was so necessary in their own way that made this mission such a joy for not only the village but for Bill. Special thanks to Penny, Tonya Jackson, Christy and daughter Audrey Beer, Jay Carter, and Elliot Ripley for stepping way out of their comfort zone in traveling above the Arctic Circle in Alaska to the tiny village of Circle on the mighty Yukon River. The group was such a blessing to the people of Circle and specifically the children of Circle, but also to Bill who was challenged on many levels like in no other year. Many pictures will follow but please understand that Bill needed the team even more than the village did because of the difficulties presented by the ripple effect that covid brought not only Circle but all the remote villages throughout Alaska . 

The end result was another amazing Summer in Circle with beautiful gardens, Godly fellowship and planning for the summer of 2023. More will be wrote about this summer after more thought and reflection. It was by far the most difficult summer out of the 15 so far.   

BDM Trip to North Carolina Feb 2-9

 PleasantDale sent a half crew with the other half coming from our Il./Wi district to rebuild homes after two hurricanes hit the area. 

We had a wonderful and hard work filled week with much done to help three families rebuild their homes along with much fellowship as homeowners shared the hardship of loosing so much of their home and even more of their belongings and way of life to mother nature. Much carpentry was done to help rebuild and to help restore a sense of normalcy.

As with every trip we left feeling we were the ones receiving all the Blessings as we were being the hands and feet of Jesus to the families in need.

Pictures of this trip will be posted soon.    

Alaska Garden Project: 2019

This Summer has been such a success in every way. The gardens were better than ever. With more square footage than every before. The fellowship was such a joy with no misunderstandings and no problems.
We were able to live in the old clinic again which is the nicest housing we've ever had.
We spent more time on the mighty Yukon River,
The village had so much construction projects going on that provided more jobs for all the people in Circle. That fact made the summer just fly by. It simply went too fast.
Pictures will follow in a couple days.

Meeting Jim H. in Alaska

 In 2004 God laid it on Bill's heart that at some point Jim H. and Bill would cross paths. He didn't know when or where, but they would cross paths.
 All those years later in 2014 Bill shared with pastor Jim that he knew this day would come and how interesting it is that they met in Fairbanks and that Jim's daughter in law was their contact person at Northern Alaska Envir. Center where Penny and Bill led two groups on a service project there. Also how these groups stayed at the church where Jim was pastoring and these groups with Penny and Bill were the first two groups to stay in the church ( due to renovation to house groups) where Penny and Bill have called their  home church in Fairbanks since 2007. Jim and Pam began summering in Fairbanks because both their sons moved to Fairbanks.

 How wonderful it is when God will lay something on our heart, and follow through with that very thing.

Arctic Village

Alaska: Our stomping grounds