Not I, but Christ!

We sang a favorite hymn in church today... I'm struck with how appropriate it is as a prayer for parents of young children...

Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action,
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word.

Refrain:
O to be saved from myself, dear Lord!
O to be lost in Thee!
O that it may be no more I, dear Lord,
But Christ, that lives in me.

Not I, but Christ, to gently soothe in sorrow,
Not I, but Christ, to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ, to lift the weary burden,
Not I, but Christ, to hush away all fear.

[Refrain]

Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision;
Glory excelling soon, full soon I’ll see –
Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling –
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

August 22: Update on Jonatán

We are praising the Lord that Jona had a good first week of school. Please pray for him as he adjusts to the demands of tenth grade. He is still recovering – and probably will be for a while – from long-term effects of all the chemotherapy he had this past year. Consequently, he still feels quite tired off and on.

On Wednesday of this week, the doctors will be running multiple tests. Please continue to pray that the tests would show Jona to be cancer-free. Pray for complete healing for him – to the praise of Christ's glorious grace!

Alaskan Sunsets!

While on the Kenai Peninsula, we enjoyed some spectacular late night sunsets!

The time stamp on the August 2nd setting sun was 10:24 p.m.

Four days later, the sun had already set at 10:21 p.m.

There is probably not a sunset that we witness that does not bring to mind a favorite passage of Scripture:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge...

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward...

(Psalm 19)

And we praise the LORD for His Word!

Questions! Questions!

Languages are complex!

And life is complex when you're trying to answer a multitude of "Why?!" questions and satisfy an eager four-and-a-half-year-old mind.

Today's favorite question so far:

"Why do we call pillows cushions when we put them on chairs?"

Good question! Linguistically, that brings up the whole idea that synonyms really do have areas of difference as well as (assumed) overlap.

PRAY for missionaries!

From our “Ladies Missionary Prayer Group” this evening:

• Pray with definiteness: Pray for every missionary by name and for their specific prayer requests.
• Pray that God will hear and answer their prayers.
• Pray that God will remember your prayers for them.
• Pray for deliverance from afflictions and burdens that we know nothing about.
• Remember the immensity, infiniteness, unsearchable greatness, and goodness of the God to whom you are praying.

Therefore, pray in faith!

And pray, using specific passages of Scripture:

“That You, O Lord, would grant them, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith; and that they, 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 they may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”

(adapted from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16-19)

leaving Alaska

We had to stop and enjoy an Alaskan Tradition – one more time – as we left the Kenai Peninsula and returned to Anchorage...

We enjoyed the coffee, and Elizabeth enjoyed the Kid's Hot Chocolate – or as they said at Kaladi Brothers: A Party in a Cup (complete with whipped cream and sprinkles)!

The scenery as we drove up the Kenai Peninsula was spectacular! The clouds cleared and the sun came out, and we were able to more fully appreciate the amazing colors everywhere. The blue of some of the rivers and lakes would be beyond belief if we weren't experiencing it first-hand!

We are again humbly thankful for the wonderful icing-on-the-cake experiences our Good Shepherd gave to us during our six weeks of travel in Alaska.

Please pray for us! You can read our latest ministry report on our ministry blog.

August 10: Update on Jonatán

Happy 16th Birthday to Jona! A lot has happened since his 15th birthday.

Today we're especially rejoicing that on Sunday morning he left the hospital, having finished his last chemo! He will most likely have the first of many follow-up check-ups later this week.

Please continue to pray!

May Jesus Christ be praised!

in Soldotna, AK

We enjoyed wonderful fellowship with God's people at Soldotna Baptist Church, and we wished our time there could have been extended...

On Saturday evening we visited with Seth and Sarah C and precious little Elizabeth Marie. Our Elizabeth was pleased to meet another Elizabeth Marie!

We also enjoyed our time with Pastor and Mrs. T and were thankful for the time we were able to spend with them on Sunday afternoon, gleaning from their wisdom and experience.

We were encouraged as we left Soldotna, but we wished that we could have spent more time with the folks there...

in Sterling, AK

We had a full Sunday of services and fellowship at Sterling Baptist Church, a church planted by Pastor Barkley, Patricia Garwood's father.

The one-room log school house Pat attended as a girl is still standing – across the street from the current church building!

Elizabeth was excited to get her picture taken in front of her Abu's old school!

We were thankful for the opportunity to assist with Vacation Bible School the next week. John Mark helped to lead the 10 through 12 age group, and I assisted with the 7s through 9s. Elizabeth was very excited to participate as well. Several mornings that week, her first question upon waking up was:

"Is it time for Bible School?"

Elizabeth became fast friends with Pastor Tim and Mrs. Julie and Amorie. She was very sad to leave them!

Homer, AK!

Another of those icing-on-the-cake experiences included a day outing to Homer with Pastor Tim and Mrs. Julie and Amorie. In spite of light rain most of the day, we enjoyed the adventure immensely!

We drove out to "The Spit" and walked on the beach, gathering rocks and sea shells. There were lots of fishing vessels coming and going – and we even spotted a sea otter fairly close to shore!

We also got to see a group that had just returned from fishing, showing off their catch of Halibut and Silver Salmon for the day.

Besides the sea otter, the highlight was probably the Bald Eagles. There were two out in a field – and another one that flew right overhead!

Although limited because of the clouds, the mountain scenery was gorgeous! As we were driving out of Homer, the clouds parted just enough for us to catch a glimpse of either Mount Redoubt or maybe Mount Iliamna – none of us were quite sure which one.

Wonderful memories!

(Click on the collages to see larger versions of the pictures.)