Pre-Christmas Fun

A small but enthusiastic group of folks from the village enjoyed a night of Christmas Caroling. It was cold but the stars were shining and people welcomed our singing and Christmas cheer.

Ian went with us and helped by knocking on doors so that people would know that we had come to sing to them. He's loving Tater, one of his mama dog's puppies that had gone to a new home.

This little fox was out for an afternoon stroll just outside of Gary's office window. He allowed me to get very near and seemed to be posing for this picture.

The beautiful little Russian Orthodox church and cemetery in the village with the snow covered mountains across the bay in the background. The Russian Orthodox Christmas is January 7th but they celebrate both observances of Christmas.

The school kids preformed several Christmas songs at the village's Subsistence Pot Luck. Gary has been working with them this fall teaching them to read music and play their recorders. The pot luck dishes including traditional Aleut subsistence foods like fish pie, octopus, seal stew, sea lion meat, smoked and dried fish, fried bread, goose, duck, whale blubber and plenty of fried halibut.

Quite a storm was brewing. The tide is exceptionally high and the wind was howling at about 80mph. Because of high winds we had not had a mail plane for two weeks. Since the storm though, we have had several planes and it seems that Christmas has arrived for most families.

Dawn and Art helped with the church decorating by trimming the stable with garland and lights to illuminate The Reason for the Season".



Our Christmas Tree decorating crew this year consisted of Dulce and Margo. There is a much smaller population of Trident Employees in Akutan for the Christmas season this year. We are happy that so many are home spending the holidays with their families, but we miss them!



We also have a Christmas tree in our residence. Gary is setting up his antique Lionel Train set, reminiscent of his childhood when there was always a train around the tree.

The annual Cookie Exchange Party is a popular event designed for kicking off the Holiday Season. The women enjoy swapping and sampling their favorite Christmas recipes.


Good friends, Lydia and Dawn enjoying the goodies and an evening of relaxation and fun with women from Trident and the village.

Waiting for Jeannie to open her White Elephant Gift, little Bella has abandoned her gift and wants to see what Aida got.

Thanksgiving

Our Community Thanksgiving dinner at Safe Harbor Church made around 70 people full and happy! We had a good turn out from the village as well as workers from Trident. We cooked two huge turkeys and a 15 lb ham and real mashed potatoes, gravy and all the fixings. In addition the village folks brought their favorite dishes. We enjoyed fish pie, halibut chowder and octopus among other local favorites.


Our friend Ken entertained us with lovely classical music on his unique portable cello. The kids as well as adults were fascinated with his instruments and music.

The Otter Quilting Club prepared 18 quilted or hand made pieces for a silent auction. Here the bidding has just begun and continued at an increasingly heated pace throughout the evening.

The Sunday School kids performed "Away in a Manger" for their parents and they helped Gary share the wonderful story of Christmas.


Little one year old Sebastian was practicing his new walking skills and enjoying the whole evening, especially the big kids!

The Otter Quilting Club earned almost $1000 to be donated as a love gift to their beloved Father Andrew and his wife to help with their travel expenses to their itinerant parishes in the Aleutians.

Ministry Family Retreat

For the second year our church has sent us to a wonderful retreat at Port Alsworth, Alaska, hosted by our friends at Arctic Barnabas Ministries during the last week of September. The Family Ministry Retreat provides much needed R &R for Alaska Bush pastors, missionaries and their families. We feel privileged to have attended.


This is the breathtaking view of Lake Clark from the huge picture window of the lodge at Tanalian Bible Camp.


A three mile hike to Tenalian Falls with some missionary friends from the Yukon River area. I look like Moses striking the rock with his rod. (The first time!)


One of the evening meals at MFR is a Prime Rib Banquet where we were served by our dear friend Marylil Spady of Arctic Barnabas.

We enjoyed a sweet reunion with precious friends from Kako, George and Eunice Landlord and their three children. Kevin (pictured here), Melanie and Isaiah. George is now pastoring the church in Marshall.

We spent the weekend following MFR in Anchorage where we met up with our friends the Boettchers.

Mike and Cayla were our neighbors and friends at Kako. They are now missionaries with Missionary Aviation Repair Center in Kenai where Mike is an aviation mechanic and pilot.


While we were in Anchorage we looked up our friend Henry Landlord whom we had worked with at Kako. We attended First Native Baptist Church with him and then went to lunch at the Cattle Company. What a blessing to re-connect with old friends.

Quilt Show 2011

We were blessed to have our friend Kitty Sorgen from Friday Harbor Washington returned again for the month of September to teach us two more quilt patterns. There were a total of 26 quilts displayed at the Quilt Show at the end of September, the night before Kitty left.

She taught us her original God's Eye design (center) which reminded us that God is always with us and He will never leave us.

A group of ladies who came to view our quilts. They are women who would have liked to join the class but were unable because of demanding work shifts. They appreciated all the work that had been put into the quilts.

Bea Jackson and Kitty posing in front of a Jelly Roll Quilt. This design appealed to many of us because it was simple and took only a few hours to complete. The Jelly Rolls and fabric were donated by Kitty's network of quilters in Friday Harbor and other places in the Lower 48.


Our workers put in a minimum 12 hour day 7 days a week processing fish. Because of their limited time Max and Maria teamed up to make one of each of the quilt designs. Maria did the sewing and Max did the cutting and pressing.

Bea made this beautiful "Cars" racing quilt and bedroom set for her lucky nephew in California. It's displayed on our baptistery in the front of the church!

Vera made two quilts, her Akutan Eagle Quilt on the left and her Jelly Roll Quilt on the right. Nice job Vera!

Lupe, a brand new quilter, made this Jelly Roll Quilt with complete with machine quilting and hand binding.

Sarah, one of Akutan's teenagers and a first time quilter chose beautiful pastel fabric for her Jelly Roll Quilt.
Jenny completed her Akutan Eagle Quilt and a small table topper for her husband Andy. We are proud of you Jenny!

Yolanda works the night shift and she would come in the morning after working 12 hours to work on her beautiful God's Eye Quilt. Besides being a single mother supporting a family back home, she is a masseuse and rewarded Kitty's expert teaching with healing massages.

Our classes were not group sessions but mostly one-on-one instruction whenever the quilters had time to stop by. Kitty made herself available from 9:00am until 9:30 every night.

The donated fabrics and materials made it possible for many people not only to learn how to quilt but to experience a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in creating something beautiful.

Margo's Trip to Washington

In July Margo flew to Seattle for some repair surgery on her wrist that had been fused because of arthritis three years ago. She stayed with her niece Carol and her family in Redmond during her pre-op appointments. Carol's husband Toby generously loaned his truck for her travels for the next two weeks.

Carol and Toby's daughter Emma invited Margo to a Tea Party at her play house, (built by her and Grandpa Lon).


Brother Jake, Carol and Jessie attended the tea party as well where we played games and had refreshments prepared by Emma.

Bryan's family came to celebrate Matthew's 7th birthday in Mt. Vernon. We stayed in a motel with a swimming pool where Dylan, Nathan and Matthew spent the day swimming.


The boys resting in the motel room with Allison before the big birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's

Spending time with grandson Matthew and son Jeremy in Bellingham was very special. Jeremy and Margo worked together to re-model Matthew's bedroom. It was fun to surprise him with a new bed.

Margo made curtains with wild Alaskan animals and Jeremy repaired and painted a used dresser we found at the Good Will.


Next stop was Friday Harbor where Margo spent a week with son Bryan and his family. On a hike to Jackel's Lagoon on the south end of San Juan Island Dylan and Nathan did some tide pooling. Margo enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine as well as a special day with her grandsons.

Reading to the "boys" in her special Grandma Room in their lovely home. What a delightful way to recover from surgery!


Dylan and Nathan attempted to teach Grandma how to play Golf on their Wii game. They were very patient but eventually returned to their more sophisticated games!



A fun bike ride around Lake Padden in Bellingham with Jeremy and Matthew. Actually, Grandma walked and this was the scene as I came around a bend where the boys were waiting for me to catch up with them.

Sunday School

We began a Sunday School this summer for the kids from Trident and Akutan Village. We enjoyed enthusiastic participation from the kids as well as their parents.


With the help of some donations from several individuals in the Lower 48, we had lots of craft supplies.



As part of the Sunday School program Gary incorporated an AWANA type game time and the kids loved it!


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