Our Newly Painted House

June 1, 2007 Press Release

Dear Friends and Family,

We can't believe we have been on staff at Kako for six months! My how time flies when you're having fun! The snow only remains in patches on Kako Mountain, the ice has melted from the ponds and rivers and the leaves are budding out on the willows and birch trees.

The Teachers Retreat in April was a great time. We invited public school teachers from the bush communities to come for a weekend of fellowship and relaxation. We had a good turn out and they enjoyed the opportunity to be out of their villages and spend time with other teachers. Frank Fenby was the speaker. He is a professor at Moody Bible Institute, as well as a visiting professor at the Moravian Seminary in Bethel. He asked Gary to participate in preparing a systematic theology to teach Eskimo seminary students.

Margo started a little pre-school program for Jed and Melanie who are both four and are eager learners. Gary made some chairs and a painting easel for the school. Home school for Kevin has gone well and school is officially over for the summer.

Family Camp on Memorial Day Weekend brought over 70 people from villages on the Yukon, the Bering Sea and the Kuskoquim. We had a wonderful weekend of fellowship, relaxation and spiritual renewal. Several volunteer pilots are doing all the flying in three planes. We are thankful for two young men who came to help out with the kid's program at Family Camp. We had a ton of kids and they were engaged in outdoor activities as well as Bible Story time. The families bring traditional native foods to share and I wanted to tell you some of the foods we have tried. We have had King Salmon soup, Trumpeter Swan soup (can you Island folks believe it?), dried seal, Beluga blubber, Che fish, Northern Pike, dried Tom Cod dipped in seal oil, aguduk, (Eskimo ice cream made of salmon berries, pike, shortening and sugar), Canada Goose soup, (cooked with the head, bill and body. The feet have been removed.) and dried salmon. Gary liked the whale blubber and swan, Margo likes the dried salmon and salmon soup. George and Eunice have a couple of beavers in their freezer that they are saving for a special occasion.

Now preparation for Kids Camps begins in earnest. We have one week to get ready and plenty of projects left to do. The laundry room will be a busy place while we launder all the sheets from Family Camp and put the beds from the cabins in storage. The kids sleep on the floor on mats so that we can get more in each cabin. Some construction is being done this week as well. A pole building/pavilion is being built to house the swimming pool, half court basketball and a camp fire area. The pavilion will have four foot walls and screened windows. All the lumber and posts have been milled here at Kako's saw mill. A work team from Pennsylvania is bringing all the screening materials for the project. A deck is being built to keep the swimmers feet out of the mud. There will be a lot of post holes being dug this week. We are thankful that the ground is still a bit wet for digging.

We have plenty of men counselors lined up for camp, but we are still short a few women counselors. Please pray that that need will be met. We are praising the Lord for camp scholarship money that has come in as a result of a fund raising project initiated by our friend Kris Brown in Friday Harbor. So far $8000 has come in!

The original house for the Kako Mine has been turned into a recreation room and this Spring Gary and Sheldon have put re-cycled siding on it and painted it. From the airstrip it looks much better! It had been somewhat of an eye-sore as people landed at Kako. Getting building materials in here is very difficult and expensive, so every scrap of plywood is re-used.

We look forward to work crews coming from the lower 48 to help with construction projects and general maintenance. There is always more to do than the staff can accomplish and we appreciate all the help we can get. Besides, it gives us opportunities to meet people from all over the country.

Gary and I have been flying to Russian Mission once a week where he conducts a Bible Study. Richard, the young man who had to leave Kako last winter because of his violent behavior, is attending every week. We enjoy being in the village regularly, getting to know the people and becoming part of the community. It takes time to be accepted and when you don't actually live in the village, it even takes longer to build trust.

We are looking forward to coming home at the end of July for Adam's wedding in August. It will be a wonderful event and a great excuse for a family reunion. The wedding will take place in Sandy Oregon and many of our family and friends are planning to attend. Thanks again for your interest in Kako and your love and support for us. We miss you all.

You can now e-mail us at mposenjak@yahoo.com. We would love to hear from you. Our mailing address is: PO Box 29, Russian Mission, AK 99657. Our phone number is 907-584-5200.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.
Love,

Gary and Margo