Hello everyone  --

Greeting from Alaska.  We pray life is going will for all of you.

The Chena River runs just across the street from our apartment.  Quite often people are along the river fishing or feeding the ducks or just being there.  A few days ago there was a man a few feet out into the river with a strange looking contraption.  It looked somewhat like a cement mixer, but different also.  So I went to ask him what he  was doing.  He was getting gold, or at least that is what he said he was doing.  I specifically asked if he found some and he said, "Of course, we are sitting right on top of the most productive gold field in the state."  He owns a gold mining store about a half block from our apartment.  A few days later I was talking to our land lady and mentioned that story.  She said, "O yeah, right!"  So I don't know.  If you come up I guess you can pan for gold across the street, but I won't promise any success.

It turns out that our land lady does have a gold retrieving setup 66 miles up the Steese Highway.  Her grandfather staked the claim years ago.  The family does some work there.  She told us we could go up and look around any time we wanted.  We hope to do that some time but the weather is getting somewhat iffy.

I think I have mentioned "The Well," a meal for hungry people that our church has on Wednesday evenings.  They also need people from the church to help or visit with those who come to eat.  Last week we went.  Sitting across the table from us was a man from Barrow.  He said if he were at home he would be whaling.  We asked about that.  A whale ends up being about a ton per foot, in other words, a forty foot whale weighs about 40 tons, and a 20 foot whale weighs about 20 tons.  Around the middle it must actually be more than a ton per foot for the tail section to average out.  Nothing is wasted: the skin is about an inch thick and they eat it; the blubber is about a foot thick and they convert that to oil; then there is meat and bone.  They have holes in the ground to store the meat - it freezes there.  They carve the bone into figurines and sell them.

The last group of MDSers (Mennonite Disaster Service workers) came through from Circle last Friday.  We provided a meal for them.  They told their stories.  One old lady had her house destroyed by the flood.  But she still lived in it even though it  was not fit.  Her husband had built that house many years ago and it has been their home for raising their children and everything that a home is used for.  Her husband has died within the last few years.  So the MDSers finished her new house, moved her meager belongings in, but she refused to move.  The old house had been home for so long and had so many memories of husband and children that she could not leave it.  Another house was built for a young couple with one child.  The funds provided to MDS are not enough to build new houses larger than the previous homes, but the same size.  So this couple has a small house and it was replaced with another small house.  The couple was so proud!  They had plans to have more children and add on to the house as more children came.  They moved into the new house.  They celebrated, he got drunk, and threw his wife off of the deck.  She went to the neighbors and contacted the authorities.  Now he will be in jail for the next seven months.  Alcohol is such a horrible thing, we see the sad results of it all around us.

Elva is now singing in the choir at the Presbyterian Church.  They do a very nice job singing.  They mayor of Fairbanks is in the choir.  So Elva gets to hobnob with important people in the town.  That happens more in Presbyterian churches than with Mennonite churches.  Thanks to Elva, you can say that we are moving our way up in society!

Saturday we went to a Fairbanks Preparedness Expo.  Groups like Red Cross, Fairbanks Police, Fire Department, military, short wave radio group, etc had booths to inform people about being ready if a disaster struck.  Disasters like electricity outage, flood, fire, earthquake, etc.  It was interesting, though much of it did not apply to us because we rent and do not own our home.  The most memorable thing was an "earthquake simulator."  It was set like a 7.2 magnitude quake.  Walking in, sitting down, getting a firm grip on a handle, and waiting for the quake it was not too bad. But if one were just around the house, doing whatever, and the quake struck unexpectedly it would be horrifying!

For those of you who like Beverly Lewis stories.  Our land lady's daughter has been in New York as an opera singer/actress, nanny.  But recently she has been in Lancaster, PA, doing a production of a compilation of some of Lewis' stories.  Elva has been reading one.  The land lady was here to get the rent.  She saw the book and told us that story.  The connections that can be make are quite interesting.

God's blessings to all

Larry and Elva in Alaska
Amen, come Lord Jesus