Quilt Show

We said Good Bye and Thank You to Carol and Kitty on Monday. They flew out on the last "Goose" before a big storm that would have caused them to miss their connecting flights to Anchorage and Seattle.
Thursday we hosted a Quilt Show Open House to show the finished (and almost finished) projects. On display were the quilt tops, pillow shams, knitting, wall hangings and table toppers of all of the adult and school children who participated in the project. Our guests from the village and Trident appreciated the hard work of the students as well as the refreshments.

Week One - Quilt Project

We dedicated this Akutan Quilt Project to God and asked Him to be the center of all we do for the next three weeks. Having Kitty and Carol here is such a blessing and we are grateful for their generosity in coming as well as the generosity of all those who contributed fabric, batting, supplies and air miles to make this ministry possible.



Kitty and Carol recognize that this project is about much more than quilts and our prayer is that these quilts and the interaction with these women will be used of God in the lives of many in Akutan.


We had a "Patchwork Tea" for the ladies of the village and Trident to introduce them to Kitty and Carol as well as the Akutan Quilting Project.


The school children are coming for a sewing class three days a week and enjoying Kitty's enthusiastic teaching. She got them excited about making their own fabric on the first day.


Kristy sewing strips together for her first block. The week started out slowly because of work schedules but by the end of the week 18 people had begun quilts.


Lydia cutting strips from some of the donated fabric. We are still missing fabric that has yet to arrive via the mail plane. We are praying that the weather will lift soon so the "Goose" can fly. It's been over a week since a plane has landed in Akutan.

Akutan Quilt

We are very excited about an upcoming ministry at Safe Harbor Church. A three week quilting class featuring the "Akutan Quilt" will be taught here in September. Margo's love for quilting, the generosity of her quilting teacher, Kitty Sorgen and quilting friend Carol Herbert from Friday Harbor and God's provision have made this event possible. Kitty and Carol will arrive in Akutan on September 7. You can read about Kitty's mission trip to Kenya last year to teach women in Mashaka how to support their families through the art of quilting. Please click on the link at the right of this post to read about Kitty's Missions trip. When you get there view the video by clicking on Oasis Africa -Mashaka to see Kitty in action.
Our prayer is that the women of Akutan and Trident will not only end up with a beautiful quilt but that their lives will be impacted by the love of Jesus and the lives of these amazing Christian women. We appreciate your prayers.
The quilt was designed by Kitty and sewn by Kitty and Carol. All the fabrics and sewing kits for the ladies have been donated by the gals in the Rain Shadow Quilting Arts Guild in Friday Harbor. The batting has been donated by Elsie Campbell.

Launching Miz Becky

I promised Adam that I would post pictures of our new boat tonight, so here they are Adam. Miz Becky is a 16' Starcraft with a 55 hp Evinrude motor and a 7.5 hp Honda kicker. It came fully equipped with safety equipment.


Our new (used) boat was shipped from Tacoma and arrived on a barge last week when Gary was gone to a Dr. appointment in Anchorage. As soon as he got home he prepared Miz Becky for her maiden voyage and with the help of our friend Boris, she was launched on Sunday afternoon.


Boris used his 4 wheeler to tow the boat and back the trailer down the airplane ramp which doubles for a boat ramp.


On our first outing we went to a creek at the head of the bay where Gary showed me how to "dip net" for Pinks. Gary had been here with Boris a couple of weeks ago so he was experienced! I have two nice ones in the net. What a blast!



Gary rinsing our catch in the bay at the mouth of the stream. We spent the next hour walking on the beach and exploring new territory for us.


Docking Miz Becky in our slip at the Akutan City Docks. This happened to be the only available slip in the marina and we felt fortunate to get it.


Besides life preservers we each have Coast Guard approved survival suits. Without them hypothermia would set in within 15 minutes in our 36F waters, with them a person could survive 24 hours or more. So don't worry Kids. Besides we are in God's hands.

Blast Off!

Gary included the boys from the village in a Summer Rocket Project. They each built and painted a rocket and then launched them in the park an several summer evenings.

Anthony and Gary setting up the launching pad an ignition switches for our the last launch of the summer.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast Off! Ian, Mia and Jay counting down for ignition and blast off.

Ian, Gary and Anthony getting ready to go fishing on the Akutan City Docks where they caught several Bull Heads just for fun.

Our Emerald Isle

I thought you might like a glimpse of what we are seeing on Akutan recently. These pictures were all taken within the last week and give you an idea of how beautiful it is here in the Summer.

We walked for several miles on the beach at low tide and returned along a hillside trail at high tide.

The return trail was completely obscured by beautiful purple, white, pink and yellow wildflowers.


Gary caught this nice Halibut when he was out on a boat with his friend Boris from the village. Gary filleted it and we cooked some of it on the Weber and froze the rest. Best Halibut I ever tasted!

Some mornings the bay is so calm it reflects perfect mirror images. Other days, like today, it's so foggy I can't see across the bay and the wind is skimming across the water.


Early morning fishing trip with our friends Joe and Lorraine at Entrance Point. We caught several Black Bass and a big Gray Cod.

The Great North Islands Gospel Tour

Trident Seafoods, Chuck and Diane Bundrant and Kory Ness hosted a Gospel music tour that performed three concerts in Akutan on Sunday July 11. It was part of a joyous celebration of spiritual and gospel music uniting the coastal communities of Norway and Alaska. The three concerts featured the lively and uplifting country vocal duo of Synnove Aanensen and Solfrid Brekka, sisters from Karmoy, Norway. Other musicians on the tour were our friend Fred Holmberg from Sand Point, Alaska and Aleksander Hauge from Norway. The music and the message were very warmly received by the workers at the Trident plant as well as those who attended the concert at the church from the village. Our hearts were lifted in praise to God and encouraged by the fellowship and music. Three of the musicians and their spouses stayed in the parsonage with us and the others stayed at Trident. It was a whirlwind tour which included all of the Trident plants in Alaska as well as Hawaii.

The Great North Islands Gospel Tour group arrived late Saturday evening on two PenAir "Geese" and departed Sunday evening following a reception at Safe Harbor Church.

Sisters Synnove Aanensen and Solfrid Brekka from Karmoy, Norway sang and played such favorites as I Saw the Light, Sweet bye and bye, I can only Imagine, How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace and several Norwegian Folk songs.

Synnove

Gary with Chuck Bundrant, sponsor of the Music Tour, Trident owner and Safe Harbor Church board member.