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Kevin and Krista - Current Updates

November 2007

Greetings,

Happy American Thanksgiving to those of you in the States!  We will be celebrating this evening with a few of our American colleagues.  Our girls are preparing a "Thanksgiving tree" as I write to help us as we give thanks to our Lord.  It will be hung on our wall and everyone will place leaves on it with items of thanksgiving written on them. 

Diesel Plane Send-off

Give thanks with us that the diesel plane is ready again to send off to Niger!  Our colleague, Jim Rendel, delivered it to the ferry pilot, Bill Scott, in Florida last weekend.  He plans to begin the trip to Niger on Sunday, November 25th.  We'll keep you updated on the progress of the trip.  Please pray for safety, good weather, and wisdom for Bill as he flies.

For those of you in New England, my brother, Ian, is planning a dedication and send off for Bill and the plane on Sunday afternoon.  Bill has agreed to make a brief stop at the municipal airport in Norwood, MA, on Sunday afternoon around 4 pm.   This will be a special time to dedicate it to the Lord for service in West Africa, pray for Bill's trip and send him off with the plane.   



Our New Blog   (www.k2rideout.blogspot.com)

Krista started a new blog a few months ago.  We believe this blog will be a good avenue to keep you updated on our life and ministry here in Niger.  We will be using it to post frequent updates with pictures.  As our internet connection allows, we will hopefully be posting weekly updates.  In the future, we will NOT be sending out regular monthly email updates like this one unless we have a special circumstance.

So if you'd like to stay current on our life and ministry here in Niger, please visit our blog frequently:  www.k2rideout.blogspot.com  We hope you will enjoy it.

On His Team,

Kevin and Krista Rideout

******************
* SIM by Prayer *

March 2007

February 18, 2007

January 3, 2007

November 22, 2006

November 18, 2006

Greetings,

We have two pressing items of prayer to share with you.

1. Please pray that the diesel engine for the new SIMAIR plane will be released from US Customs in L.A., California.

The airplane is sitting in California waiting for this engine to arrive at the shop where the conversion will be done. They have already removed the old engine and prepared the plane for the diesel engine conversion. Now they just need the diesel engine to put on the plane. The engines are manufactured in France, so a sea container was sent from France to this maintenance shop in California with 6 of these diesel engines, one of which is slotted to go on the SIMAIR plane. The container arrived in LA around November 6th. Normally, a delay of a couple of weeks would not be a big deal, but as you read on and look at our second item of prayer you'll see why this is becoming more critical.

2. Please pray that a new shipment of Avgas (Aviation Gas) will be delivered to Niamey, Niger, soon.

A few weeks ago, one of our pilots asked the fuel company at the airport in Niamey to fill up our fuel tank at the hangar with more Avgas. This is the type of fuel used by our Piper Saratoga. The fuel company said they didn't have any Avgas left and they didn't know when they would be getting more. They informed us that they would let us know at the end of November when they might be getting more Avgas. Since then, our supply of Avgas has continued to dwindle. We now have only 4 drums of Avgas left in Niamey, which is enough to fill the plane up twice. Flights are being canceled now to save the Avgas for more urgent flights.

Once the new plane arrives in Niger with the diesel engine on it, this fuel situation will no longer be a problem. The diesel engine is designed to use Jet-A (jet fuel), which is readily available and is one third the cost of Avgas.

Your Partners in Christ,

Kevin (for Krista and the girls)

November 10, 2006

SIMAIR Buys a Plane

Introducing the newest member of SIMAIR's fleet: the 1980 Cessna 182. Thanks to many generous gifts, SIMAIR bought this Cessna 182 in August. With the addition of recent gifts, we've been given the go-ahead to continue to prepare this plane for service in Niger. November 6th, we sent the plane to California where the diesel engine conversion is now in process. This conversion should be completed by the end of November. We'll then fly the plane to Waxhaw, North Carolina, where JAARS (the aviation arm of Wycliffe Bible Translators) is based. They've agreed to let us keep the plane in their hangar while we upgrade the radios and install other modifications to better suit this plane for the work in West Africa. We hope to complete the work on this plane in time to send it to Niger in January. I plan to head to Waxhaw in December to help work on the plane along with Jim Rendel (a longtime SIMAIR pilot) and Peter and Carrie Koens (friends of mine from Moody Aviation).

While small in stature, this 4-place plane is set to revolutionize the SIMAIR aviation program in Niger, West Africa. Missionaries across Niger and other West African countries are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this plane. Once this plane hits the flight line, it will instantly make flying affordable for many missionaries who previously could only fly if they found others to split the cost with them. Every week we receive flight requests from one or two people who can't afford to charter the plane we are currently using. This diesel plane will cut our cost of flying down to about a third of what it is now. The fuel is cheaper and the plane uses less of it.

In August, I flew some missionary kids who live in Timbuktu, Mali, back to school in Niger. It is a 2 day, bone-jarring drive for them to go to Niamey. The flight is 2-1/2 hours. It saved their parents making a 4 day roundtrip drive to bring them to school. They can't afford these flights now unless we find other people to help with the cost of the flight. With the diesel plane they will be guaranteed a flight whenever they want it, at a reasonable price.

Rather than spending grueling hours and days traveling by land and then recovering from these harsh trips, people will now reach their outlying areas in a fraction of the time. Travel will be much easier and people will spend more time ministering. All of us on the SIMAIR team are eagerly anticipating being able to once again provide affordable transportation.

Family Feature

The last few months have been filled with a flurry of events. In August, we got word that my mom's chemo treatments were no longer effective in fighting her ovarian cancer. My brother, Ian, and I quickly booked tickets and boarded a plane for Boston to go visit my mom for three weeks. Meanwhile, our families were left to hold down the fort in Niger. While we were still en route, Brynn shut our heavy metal front door on her thumb, severing the end of it. A Nigerien doctor reattached Brynn's thumb and the missionary community in Niamey came alongside Krista to help her while I was gone. Brynn's thumb has healed well. Just this week the remaining portion of her old nail fell off. Her new nail has already grown in. At the end of the three weeks, we decided that Ian should remain in Massachusetts for two months to help with my mom's care. I returned to Niger and Ian's family left a few days later to join him in Massachusetts.

During the month of September, my mom's health continued to decline as the cancer progressed. We're very thankful for the care my sister, Amy, who's a nurse, provided for my mom. Amy left most of her family in Maryland to spend over a month heading up my mom's care at my parents' house. As things progressed, SIM gave us the green light to all come back to the States to be with my family. We arrived October 7th, in time to see my mom and be with her for one week before she graduated to Heaven. We're grateful to our co-worker, Ed Chamberlain, who enabled us to be here by carrying the full SIMAIR workload by himself for the month of October.

The Road Ahead


Rideout baby model #4 is on the way, with a debut date in the middle of February. We're breaking the mold with our newest model. It's not like anything we've produced before… That is, at least, according to the ultrasound. Rideout Productions is proud to announce its baby BOY model coming in February. We're planning a public showing for this baby sometime in February in Massachusetts. Once all of the official paperwork is in order, baby #4 will be making a world tour back to Niger – most likely at the end of March or the beginning of April.

In the meantime, we'll be here in MA during November. In December, we'll be in North Carolina to help work on the plane and then we'll venture to Florida for Christmas. January and February will find us back in MA waiting for the birth of our 4th child.

Because Eternity Matters,

Kevin & Krista

October 2006

Straight Paths

Our path is becoming straight for the next little bit. Thank you for praying for us as we've been deciding what our plans should be. We appreciate all the counsel and encouragement we've received as well. My mom is getting much weaker as the cancer continues to progress. She is now under hospice care at home, where she is staying in bed and sleeping most of the time. She's on continuous pain meds to deal with the discomfort and pain from the cancer. We've been given the green light from our field leadership to go be with my family in Massachusetts. We just got tickets for all of us to leave Niger this Friday, October 6th. We'll arrive in Boston on Saturday, October 7th and join my family at my parents' house. Our plan is to stay in the States until after our baby is born. (We found out last week that baby #4 is a BOY!!!) Once we have all of the baby's necessary papers, we'll return to Niger. That will probably be in late March or early April, depending on how long it takes for the paperwork.

Please pray for us as we wrap things up here this week. We'll continue to rent our house here while we are gone, so we don't have to move out of our house. But, we do have to leave the house with nothing out in the open, as the Harmattan winds off the desert which bring the big dust storms, will come through while we are gone. It blows in through the cracks around windows and doors, and covers everything with a layer of dust. So, we are trying to get everything in closets or bags, and cover all of the furniture, etc.

Also pray for our co-worker, Ed Chamberlain, who will be covering all of the responsibilities of SIMAIR by himself for the next month. My brother, Ian, is planning on returning to Niger on November 3rd. Until then, Ed will be on his own to do all of the flying, maintenance, flight scheduling, bookkeeping, and much more. This is the time of year when our flight schedule really picks up, so Ed will be very busy this month.

Brynn's Thumb

An orthopedic surgeon from the States spent several weeks at Galmi hospital bringing healing to many people in Niger. On his way through Niamey back to the States last week, we asked him to look at Brynn's thumb. He said that the nail bed wasn't repaired when the thumb was reattached. At this point there is nothing that can be done to remedy it. He said the thumb will be fine, but her nail might not look completely normal. We're praying that the old nail will fall off and that the skin in the nail bed will heal to create a flat nail bed for the nail to grow over. It's difficult to describe, but right now her new nail is growing over part of her old nail with a little "stair step" between them.

Breaking News about SIMAIR


We have some breaking news to share about SIMAIR. Please take a few moments to read the two attachments: One is an update letter explaining the latest steps we've taken in the diesel plane project. The second is a website link to the diesel plane project write-up. Since the update letter was written, a gift of $10,000 was sent in! This leaves $70,000 instead of $80,000 to complete the funds needed for the diesel engine installation. We look forward to bringing you more updates soon about this project.

Diesel Cessna 182 PROJECT


was established over 50 years ago to provide safe, efficient, and reliable air transportation for the missionaries in West Africa. No other dependable aviation service exists for missionaries in this region. In countries with harsh climates, increasingly unsafe roads, and scattered people groups, SIMAIR has flown over 10 million miles, saving countless hours of road travel and days of recovery from grueling trips. A few hours in the plane replaces up to 3 days of road travel. A new era of missionary aviation has dawned. SIMAIR is actively pursuing the purchase of a diesel engine aircraft that will use Jet Fuel to address the skyrocketing prices and increasing scarcity of Avgas. The purchase of this diesel plane is critical to the continuation of SIMAIR's service in Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Ghana.

SIMAIR enables missionaries to focus their time and energy on evangelism and discipleship, church planting, Bible translation and literacy, theological and general education, medical care, and rural development. By providing logistical aid for everything from mail and essential vaccines to transportation for short-term teams and emergency help, SIMAIR allows missionaries to continue with their important roles in reaching people with the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ.

NEED

As the world focuses more and more on this impoverished yet open portion of the Muslim world, numbers of mission and development organizations and personnel are both increasing and scattering to more remote locations. As Niger stretches 1,000 miles from east to west and 800 miles from north to south, the services of SIMAIR are essential to span the distances of this vast and arid country.

Unfortunately, the escalating cost of Avgas (aviation fuel) has all but closed down SIMAIR's vital ministry. Even when available, Avgas has reached the price of $12 US per gallon, causing the price of a routine flight to be out-of-reach for the average missionary. Thankfully, there is a way to continue to serve missionaries at a much less burdensome cost.

New diesel aircraft engines have recently been developed on smaller 4-seat aircraft. These new engines use Jet Fuel and are 30% more efficient than Avgas engines. Jet Fuel is only $4 US per gallon, as compared to $12, and is widely available. SIMAIR currently spends $90,000 US on fuel in an average year of flying (500 hours). The same number of hours flown in a plane with a diesel engine would cost only $18,000 US, saving missionaries $72,000 US each year.

VISION


We envision once again being able to affordably fly anywhere missionaries need to go, at the time they need to go. We see providing short-term missionaries without language skills or with a limited window of time, safe and speedy transport to outlying stations… supplying key medical ministries at Galmi and Danja urgently needed medicines and personnel... turning weeklong treks to ministry locations into day trips, decreasing the stress on separated families… gathering church presidents and leaders, separated by hundreds of miles, to encourage and strengthen the church and mission partnerships in Niger… rapidly responding to any medical emergencies… reducing our costs for serving missionary families in remote locations, allowing them to preserve their energies for the ultimate task of furthering the Kingdom of God.

The Solution!!


The anticipated cost of this aircraft is:
Price of Cessna 182 ……… 100,000 USD
Diesel Engine retro fit …….80,000 USD
Repainting ……………………….10,000 USD
Ferrying to Niger………………10,000 USD
Total cost …………………....200,000


We anticipate approximately 72,000 USD + in savings in fuel costs alone, annually.

If you would like to contribute to this project, please contact us at simair@sim.ne. The SIM project number is NE97740.

SIMAIR's goal for the future is to continue to provide the service we have provided for over 50 years. Would you like to be a part of this work, working together to fulfill Christ command to go and make disciples of all nations?

We look forward to hearing from you. Thank-you once again for taking your time to review this presentation with us, and may God bless you as you consider your part in this effort.



Thank you for standing with us,

Kevin

July 2006

Greetings from Niger!

We'd like to introduce you to some of the people we serve as a part of the SIM Air team and give you another taste of the ministry here. (Make sure you don't miss the "fine print" at the bottom!)


Twin Surgeons:

Drs. Ron and Charles Veazey are twin brothers who are both surgeons. These brothers hail from Augusta, Georgia where they practiced medicine for many years until their retirement. They came to Niger short-term to fill a void at the SIM-run hospital in Galmi, where they spent the month of June doing countless surgeries. As I flew them back to Niamey after their time in Galmi, they recounted the many lives they had touched with the love of Christ.


Also on that flight was Mike Murphy. Mike comes from the Canadian Maritimes and spent the past two years working in the town of Tera (a 3 hour drive northwest of Niamey). Each week, he taught a group of local boys a karate class and regularly played soccer with the youth in town. He tells me he never lasted very long in the soccer games because the extreme heat would give him heatstroke if he played for more than 30 minutes. As a result of these relationships, though, several of the boys have made decisions to follow Christ. One of these boys told Mike recently that if he tells his father he has become a Christian, his father will kick him out of the house and reject him as a son. Mike left last week to return to Canada. Before he left, he wanted to go on a flight with SIM Air, so I took him along to Galmi. A few months ago, Mike drove me to Tera for a day visit of the ministry there and introduced me to several of the believers in the church there.

First Flight


Bert Haaga is a SIM missionary in the town of Maradi in south central Niger. A pastor from one of his supporting churches in Memphis, TN, came for a blitz 2 1/2 day visit of the work here in Niger. To facilitate the visit, they flew SIM Air from Niamey to Maradi and then made the return trip by road so they could visit other ministries along the way. Bert took some other passengers on the flight who needed to go to Maradi: a Nigerien woman (Mariama) and her 5 little girls. Mariama's husband is a student at the theological school here in Niamey, but they come from the town of Maradi. The night before the flight, Mariama's daughters asked Bert a pressing question: "When we get to Maradi how are we going to get down from the airplane? Are we going to have to jump? And, won't that hurt when we hit the ground?" Since they had never been on a plane before, these were important things to learn. Bert reassured them that the plane would come down to the ground and stop, so they could just step down from it. When we circled the town of Maradi before landing, Bert informed the girls that "this is what God sees when he looks at Maradi." After we landed and were rolling down the runway, Mariama and her daughters filled the plane with a jubilant song: "Thank you, Jesus, thank you. Thank you, Jesus, thank you." What a good reminder that even with all the care we take as we maintain and fly the plane, it is the Lord who gives us safety and sustains us.

Back to School


We recently flew to Lome, Togo, to enable two Southern Baptists missionary ladies to go back to school. The Southern Baptists offered two seminary classes during a two week module in Lome for their missionaries in West Africa. Through these class modules, these two ladies are able to further their education and work towards a seminary degree while they continue ministering here in Niger.


House Hunters / Extreme Makeovers:

Thank you for praying for us while we held down the SIM Air fort during Ian and Beka's vacation. We're glad to have them back. We also welcomed back our other pilot, Ed Chamberlain and his family to rejoin the SIM Air team. They returned last week from a year's home assignment in Calgary, Alberta.

This is also the time of year when a lot of other missionary families are returning to Niger or coming here for the first time. On Tuesday, 5 families (22 people) arrive here. Some are returning from home assignments, while 3 families are new to Niger. Over the past month, we've been house hunting for 2 of these families and doing extreme house makeovers to prepare the houses for the families. Pray for these families as the adjust to life here in Niger. Also, pray for us as we help them get settled.

Looking to the Future


It's that time again. Our youngest, Elayna, will soon be toddling in the dirt and falling on the tiles. She's gobbling down food and chattering her newfound words. So, it's time again to add another arrow to the quiver. We're pleased to announce that we're expecting the latest special addition Rideout baby model to make it's debut in February 2007. We don't know yet where this model will be displayed first as we have to discuss with our insurance where they will pay for us to have the baby. Please pray that we'll find a good option.


In Him,
Kevin (for Krista, Kira, Brynn, Elayna and baby model 2007)

June 2006

Lost in the Desert

Not long after we reported for duty here in Niamey, Niger, SIMAir got an urgent phone call about a man who was lost in the desert. My brother, Ian, and I had the privilege of helping look for this man. Ian tells the story: "Ali (not his real name) is actually a mechanic from Niamey (where we live) who works in Agades and does not normally drive in the desert. He had been sent out to the desert [in a Toyota Land Cruiser] with extra supplies to help with the huge number of tourists there to see the solar eclipse that passed through Niger on March 29th. There were so many tourists in fact that all available 4x4s in the city of Agades were in use; they had 400 vehicles! Ali had caravanned with other vehicles out to a place called Arbre du Tenere to take water and food and maybe help with some vehicles that had broken down. They arrived there without problems and were supposed to be waiting (I forget what for). Apparently, he got tired of waiting and when a truck convoy came by, decided to follow them back to Agades (about 150 miles away). The wind was blowing about 30mph and visibility was pretty bad. Ali tired of how slowly the trucks were traveling and decided to pass them. Soon after, the trucks came to a place where his tire tracks went off the main "road" (really just tracks in the sand...). One truck followed Ali's tracks to see if he could find the vehicle; the other trucks were to come looking if truck #1 didn't come back. Unfortunately, truck #1 followed the tracks for a while and then broke down at a sand dune. When the other trucks caught up to him, the wind had erased all traces of the lost vehicle's tracks.


Search parties were sent out without success. The military had two small ultra light planes in Agades that made a quick look before they had to leave. So, the tourist company called SIMAir to see if we could come and help (they got our number from an elderly missionary couple who work in that area). We weren't sure if we could improve on what others had already done, but decided we would give it a shot. [Ian and I flew 3 hours from Niamey to Agades.]


The next morning (4 days after Ali disappeared), the company sent an experienced guide/pilot/hotel owner named Julia with us on the search flight. He proved to be very useful. Julia had the latest information, a satellite phone, and contact with vehicles on the ground that had been sent ahead the night before. The vehicles were in position ready to follow our lead if we found Ali. God was good. The weather in the area was very clear. To the south it became dusty quickly, but not where we needed to look. After 4-1/2 hours of flying back and forth and crisscrossing the desert, we actually found Ali still with his vehicle. He waved at us over and over to make sure we had seen him. From the air, he looked like he was fine. Fortunately, he had left with a good supply of water and had enough sense to stay with his vehicle. Julia wrote a note and put it in a plastic bottle, and we dropped it next to Ali to let him know the other vehicles had his GPS coordinates and would be arriving soon. When we were sure the vehicles had the information they needed, our plane headed back to Agades and landed after being in the air for 5-1/2 hours. The vehicles called 10 minutes before we landed to say they had reached Ali."


The way Ali's vehicle was positioned between rock formations and sand dunes, he probably never would have been found in time without the airplane. We're thankful that SIMAir was available to help save this man's life and give testimony to the name of Jesus Christ to his grateful friends.

From Little Eyes

Hi! I'm Brynn and I like my new home in Niger. It's nothing like living in Quebec or the States. We sleep under mosquito nets. Our house has a wall around it like most of the other houses here. We have lots of lizards in our yard. Lizards are our friends because they eat cockroaches and other bugs. Mommy says Daddy still hunts even though we don't live in Alaska. Here he hunts cockroaches and ants, which we've seen a lot. You should see Daddy drive here! The roads are really bumpy because a lot of them are dirt. We have to dodge cows, camels, donkey carts, bikes, motorcycles, people, taxis, goats, sheep and more whenever we drive anywhere even in the city. Everyday a herd of cattle walks down the street by our house... often when we're driving to or from our house.


There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood. They like to play soccer in the street by our house and hang out in the shade of the trees by our wall. Mommy and Daddy can talk to the school-aged kids who speak some French, but none of us can talk to the kids my age because they only speak Djarma. We want to get to know these kids and their families so we can tell them about Jesus.


It's always hot here. When it's really really hot, Mommy takes us swimming at a pool so we can cool down. We also like to go for picnics at the plateau next to the Niger River. Last night and tonight, we got our first real rains since we've been here. Kira and I were scared by the strong wind, thunder and lightning.


SIMAir: Diseal Plane Project Update

Praise God that SIMAir only needs $50,000 more to buy a Cessna 182 and have the diesel engine conversion done. We see firsthand the need for this plane each day. If you or someone you know would like to contribute to this project, make a check out to SIM (designated for Project #NE97740) and send it to SIM USA or SIM Canada at the appropriate address below.

October 2005

Happy Thanksgiving!
Today we enjoyed a day off from school to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. A wool and lamb festival in a nearby town gave us some family fun, as well as an opportunity to get out into the French community to practice our new language skills. Along with two other missionary families we went on a wagon ride, watched sheep shearing and sheep dog demonstrations, and tried samples of grilled Quebec lamb. We enjoyed a break after a busy six weeks of class for Kevin, as well as life with a newborn.

Life on the home front
Days at home is never dull with three little girls to keep us entertained! Kira and Brynn are still quite taken with Elayna. Kira tries to entertain her by singing and talking to her, while Brynn is our little alarm. At Elayna's first peep Brynn announces: "Layna crying!" They are enjoying living here and playing with all of the other missionary kids on campus.

Our new pets
Kira has been asking all year for a pet of some sort. Well, even though our apartment building has a no pet rule, we have "adopted" a few little critters. The ladybugs have moved in and decided to make our apartment home. Kira is scared to death of them, so Kevin told her they were just her new pets. It eased the fear somewhat, but when they land on her you still need earplugs! If you want a few pets we would be happy to share. We have plenty!

The end is in sight...
We are getting excited, as we see the things coming together for the next step in our journey to Niger! Just this past week we received word that the container with all of our things has arrived in Niger, and cleared customs. Everything made it safe and sound, and Kevin's brother Ian has placed it in storage at the hangar until our arrival. The SIM travel department is working on our travel arrangements, and our departure date is tentatively set for January 30. Please pray with us that Elayna's paperwork will be done by the time we are supposed to leave. We still have not received her Quebec birth certificate, which is the first step in a chain of paperwork needed to get her a U.S. passport.

Also, please pray for Kevin's mom. She has started chemo treatments again because her cancer marker went up significantly.

Thanks for praying for us, and partnering with us on our road to Niger!

June 2005

Hey all,

Yesterday, we finished our current class session. Krista had her test on Wednesday and I had mine on Thursday to see where our French level is at now. We both tested about the same (2+ on a scale of 5, with most native speakers coming out as a 3+ to 4+). Krista is done as far as classes go because of the baby coming in the fall. They're going to put me in the Advanced class for the fall. It'll be new material for both Krista and me, which is good. I'm going to keep studying this summer to try to get a jump on the class so I get more out of it.

We've been moving into a different apartment this week as well. Another 3 bedroom apartment opened up after a family finished school. It's a better layout for having small kids: everything is on one floor, whereas our old apartment had 2 bedrooms upstairs and everything else downstairs. This one also has 2 balcony decks, which the girls are already enjoying immensely. We have all of our things moved to the new apartment now... We just have to get everything settled in and clean the old apartment by next weekend so the school can use it starting July 2nd. Our address and phone number are the same as before.

Love,

Kevin

May 2005

School Days

School is fun these days, though still very busy! Kevin continues in class all morning, and I am in class all afternoon. Our last class session (January to April) involved studying grammar, preparing projects/ presentations , and completing homework assignments. During May and June, we are in a conversation course. The goal is to practice the French we have acquired so far. We begin each day by praying and sharing what we've learned in our personal devotions. This helps us learn Biblical terms, and feel comfortable praying in French. It's also encouraging to hear what God is teaching each member of our class, most of whom are other missionaries headed to various areas of West Africa. Then, we spend some time discussing the news from the previous night. After the news, we use a book of pictures to discuss different subjects, learn new vocabulary, and practice the vocabulary we do have! It adds up to a lot of talking and learning as we try to discuss subjects involving many new words. Our teacher, Michel, is so patient with our blunders of his language!

Game Nights

Between classes we do manage to squeeze in a little fun. Several Friday evenings, we've had the majority of the French Bible school students on campus over for games. It adds up to an evening that is extremely loud with at least ten excited 17-19 year olds. It's a lot of fun and gives us many opportunites to practice our French. Hearing us try to explain the games in French must be comical to the students, but they are great sports about it and we all have a great time. Thankfully, the ones who also speak English help us out with a French word when we get stuck in our explanations! But, they let us stumble on afterwards. Currently the students are gone on a missions trip. When they return to be camp counselors here for the summer, we look forward to more social opportunities.

The GIRLS

The girls are enjoying living here in Quebec. The Word of Life campus is a great place for kids. Our building has a huge grassy yard, and other missionary kids to play with. Kira and Brynn's favorites these days are the swing in the backyard and a rickety old wagon that the other kids found in the shed. Also, there's the dirt pile... What could be more fun than dirt?

Brynn is now walking all over and mimicking everything we say. She is attempting to put together sentences too. We thought Kira talked a lot, but Brynn is giving her a run for her money! Kira is quite the busy little lady these days. Coloring, doing crafts and wishing it didn't rain quite so much during the month of May (so she could get back outside) top her list. Both girls love going to our church here. Kira talks about her Sunday School class all week long.

Come on down!

We are the only family from school staying for the fall semester. Hopefully the girls won't get too lonely during the summer before new families arrive in August. We'll be going to North Carolina for my sister Amanda's wedding in July, which will break up the summer a little. In case you haven't heard, our Foursome will be FIVE sometime at the end of August. If you want to visit in the meantime, we'd love to have you! This is a beautiful, green area (thanks to all of the rain!) with all kinds of things to do. We plan to soak in all the green we can before heading to Niger.

Update on Kevin's Mom

For those who haven't heard the latest updates on Kevin's mom, here's a brief update from our non-technical eyes... Over the past year, the cancer index number (CA 125) in her blood work was steadily increasing. The doctors recently switched her back to a chemotherapy drug that successfully attacked the cancer cells during previous treatments. Once again, this chemo has worked! Her cancer index number has been cut in half each time they've checked it over the past month and a half. Please continue to pray for Kevin's mom. Pray that this chemo will continue to work and that she won't develop any allergic reactions to the chemo.

Niger Bound

Today we received some exciting news. The SIM container, which contains most of our belongings, left Charlotte this week. This begins its long voyage to Niger! Hopefully our things will be waiting for us when we arrive next winter.


Your partners in Christ,

Krista (for Kevin, Kira & Brynn)

January 2005

Language Shock

"What did they just say? I hear words, but I have know idea what that means." The initial shock of not understanding what people are saying and not having the words to say to them has worn off.... most of the time. Today, I had a good laugh with a fast food worker. She asked me if I wanted fries with my order. I didn't recognize the word for fries. After 3 attempts at getting me to understand what she was asking, she finally said "fries" in English. We laughed as I told her in French that I'm just learning French now, so I don't speak very well yet.

We're now three weeks into our language studies. Krista is in the intermediate level and I am in the beginner class. Typically, I'm in class from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and Krista is in class from 1:30 - 4:30 or 5 pm. Pray especially for Krista as she is not quite up to speed for the intermediate level. She's reviewing all the material from the beginner class in addition to her intermediate class work. She's trying to relearn the vocab and grammar that the rest of her class learned last semester. Both of us took French before, but it has been 10 years, so we have many memory vaults to pry open again.... some of the vaults have rusty doors. =)

Kira and Brynn are still adjusting to life in their new home. We get strange looks from Kira when we speak French. Sometimes I wonder if I have two heads from the way she looks at me. Until last week, Kira was adamant that she didn't want to speak French. Whenever we'd tell her how to say something in French, she would say, "I don't want to say Merci (or whatever the French word was)." Pray for the girls and us as we all continue to adjust and settle in. Because of our class schedule, the girls spend most of their time in our apartment. For Kira (the GO GO GO girl), that is not her idea of a fun week.

We're thankful for the great staff here as well as the other language students and Bible school students. Everyone has been encouraging and helpful. Krista and I each have a Bible school students assigned to us. They meet with us several times a week to talk, read and help us with our pronunciation. Kira thinks Luc and Eloise (our student helpers) are wonderful.

New Phone Number

We have our phone hooked up now. Our new number is (819) 346-7798. Just to warn you, calling us from the States may be expensive for some of you unless you have a good rate to Canada. Our cell phone number is no longer good. We disconnected it last week.

Let us know if you want to come for a visit. Kira will be happy to share her play room/ guest room with you. She's always willing to have people read her books too, as our new friends in our building have discovered.

Your partners in Christ,

Kevin

1175 Chemin Woodward
Lennoxville, QC J1M 2A2
Canada
(819) 346-7798

December 21, 2004

Warming Up

As I write, we're sitting at my brother's house near Tampa, FL, trying to soak in a winter's worth of warmth before heading to Quebec. Two weeks ago we got the go ahead from SIM to head to Quebec this month to begin French language school in January. Our support isn't quite at 100%, but SIM has allowed us to go to Quebec (rather than wait 8 months) with the understanding that the remaining support needs to come in before we leave for Niger in a year. We landed in FL early this morning to spend Christmas with my family. Our plan is to drive to Quebec from North Carolina beginning on December 29th.

Our Car Sold!

Since we'll be living on campus at the Word of Life school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, we decided that we'll only need one vehicle. Selling a car in a week can be difficult, but not for God. The day after I put the FOR SALE sign back in the car, a man knocked on our the door of our house. He had just been praying about finding a car to buy and immediately saw Krista's dad pull into the driveway with our car. We negotiated a fair price and he returned later that afternoon with the cash. Praise God for His timing and continued confirmations as we move forward.

New Contact Info

As of this morning, we are no longer living in North Carolina. Our new address in Quebec is:

Kevin and Krista
1175 Ch. Woodward
Lennoxville, QC J1M 2A2
Canada

This address will work right away. We don't know what our phone number will be yet, but our cell phone number is still good (336-918-3873). Don't be surprised if we are slow to reply to emails over the next month. Our laptop is having trouble and will be in the shop for repairs. We will reply whenever we have access to email.

In Christ,

Kevin (for Krista and the girls)

November 2004

Kevin, Krista, Kira and Brynn

Serving with SIM Fall 2004

Nomads
Like nomads of past and present, we have learned to make our "home" wherever we pitch our tent. Watch for us on the roads and you might see us moving again in our forest green Caravan (brought to you by Dodge, without camels). Charlotte, NC, became our home in July for three weeks at SIM's (Serving in Mission) US office. While at SIM's Candidate Orientation, we got to know SIM more and they continued to check us out. The end result: we're now officially accepted as missionaries with SIM.

Frying Pan
From freezing to roasting, we're now headed from Alaska into the frying pan of Niger, West Africa. We'll be joining the SIM Air team in Niamey, the capital of Niger. SIM is partnering with the maturing national church in Niger. While focusing on church planting, SIM is using other ministries including leadership development, agricultural and reforestation projects, medical work and aviation services to open doors to the Gospel. By meeting physical needs, trust is built and people are turning to Christ because God's love has been demonstrated to them.
The aviation ministry of SIM Air involves just being there for people. SIM Air flies missionaries and their kids, nationals, short-term workers and medical flights within Niger and many of the surrounding countries.

Quebec = Niger
You might be thinking, "Keven and Krista must be getting into that new math." We're not, but this equation is true. There are many tribal languages spoken by the people groups in Niger, but French is the official language. As a result, we plan to spend a year near Sherbrooke, Quebec, at a French language school run by Word of Life. Our target is to move to Quebec mid-December and begin studying in January. This timing is contingent upon us being at 100% of our monthly support and having our one-time expenses in as well. If we're not at full support, we'll need to wait until September 2005 to begin language school. For a financial update, see the backside of this letter.

Mini Nomads
Kira and Brynn are learning how to hang on to the caravan as we've ventured from North Carolina to Massachusetts and back several times this fall. In between visiting churches, the girls have taken in several new wonders. Kira rattled along on a subway into Boston with Grandma and Grandpa, where she discovered Tyler the sea lion and a swarm of penguins at the aquarium. Her favorite part was the lady swimming with the penguins… not the animals.

At the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem, NC, Kira cheered piglet #1 in the swifty swine race. The girls also picked and munched apples and a pumpkin with their cousins near Baltimore. And, they've experienced the joys of leaf piles from within and gorgeous fall colors from the sky above in MA.

Praise God with us…
· For a smooth transition from InterAct Ministries to SIM and the help both agencies have given us throughout the process.
· For InterAct graciously approving the transfer of our remaining funds to SIM.
· For safe travel over many miles.
· For a friend in MA who has given me opportunities to fly his plane this fall to stay current.

Pray for…
· Kira and Brynn as we travel and move. Unlike Kira, Brynn doesn't think the constant changes are quite so fun.
· The aptitude to learn French well.
· SIM Air as they try to sell one of the planes (Piper Cheyenne) in order to buy a more economical plane.

New Financial Update
Having switched to SIM, we now have new financial support levels and some one-time expenses associated with heading to Niger. Thanks to all of you who have faithfully stood by us throughout our transition to SIM, we are at 90% of our monthly support. $560 a month more will put us at 100% and allow us to start language study in January 2005.
We recently got news that a church is going to cover the cost of our French language school tuition, which is $10,000! The remaining one-time expenses we have are:

· Outgoing Expenses (1st time passage to Niger) $12,910
· Outfit and Equipment $10,200
· Course in Islam (Niger is 90% Muslim) $ 1,000
· 4 Wheel Drive Vehicle in Niger $20,000

Contributions can be sent to -
SIM USA or SIM Canada
P.O. Box 7900 10 Huntingdale Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28241-7900 Scarborough, ON M1W 2S5
(704) 588-4300 (416) 497-2424
www.sim.org
Be sure to make checks payable to SIM in order to receive a tax-deductible receipt. On a separate piece of paper, please designate that the gift is for Kevin and Krista SIM # 73395.

August 2004

Our lives in the past year can be summed up in just one word: CHANGE! From several moves, to the addition of a new family member, it has been one change after another. In July we spent three weeks in Charlotte at SIM's US office for a candidate orientation. We were officially accepted with SIM (Serving in Mission), where we hope to head to Niger to work with SIMAir. Our transition from InterAct to SIM is going smoothly. We are excited about the next steps God has for us.

This brings us to our next change! Niger is a French speaking country. In order to minister effectively there, we will need to learn French before arriving on the field. SIM has recommended that we attend the French program that Word of Life has in Sherbrooke, Quebec for one year before heading to Niger. Their spring semester begins in January, so we hope to move up and settle in at the end of December, to begin our French studies in January. This timing is contingent on having the necessary funds come in for language school and our one-time passage over to Africa. As we move forward, we continue to trust God for His timing and provision.

What steps are next?
- Currently we are in MA spending time with Kevin’s family and two of our supporting churches. In mid-September we will return to NC.
- For the next few months we will be visiting family, friends and supporters. If you would like a visit let us know, and we will see what we can do!
- We are beginning the process of packing, and preparing for Niger. There are many things to gather, such as 220 volt transformers and appliances, different food items not available there, and summer clothes and shoes for Kira and Brynn in several sizes. There are also many winter things to sort through and get rid of after our year in Quebec. They are NOT needed in Niger!

Life is full these days with a 20 month old and a 5 month old! They keep us busy, but we are thoroughly enjoying our girls. Daily we are entertained by a very talkative Kira, and a very smiley Brynn. The girls are adapting to all the changes in great missionary kid fashion!

As we head into this new ministry- and many more changes- please pray for us, and our girls. Thank you for the support and encouragement you have been throughout this transition.

In the words of Kira, “soon baboon”
Krista

--
419 South Broad St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(336)724-7116 (home)
(336)918-3873 (cell)

July 2004

Radio Heist

Three weeks ago, I was at the airport bright and early in the morning. I had a long day ahead preparing a student for his FAA instrument rating checkride. We checked the weather and then I sent my student to do his pre-flight check on the plane. A few minutes later our plans for the day had changed. My student informed me that our plane was missing it's GPS, a radio, and other avionics equipment. At first I thought he was joking, but the stunned look on his face quickly eliminated that notion. After checking the rest of our planes, we discovered that all 5 Cessna planes were missing any radio or GPS of value. Thankfully, we had the equipment in one plane replaced by early afternoon. Three of the planes are still without replacement radios. We're waiting on the insurance process to run its course. Pray for Piedmont as they decide how to affordably increase security at the airport. My student, by the way, successfully completed the oral part of his instrument checkride. Due to bad weather, he was unable to do the flying portion before he left for a missions trip to South America. He'll have to get back up to speed with another instructor when he returns and then complete his instrument checkride.

Transition from InterAct Ministries

After talking with InterAct, SIM, and many advisors, we have sent in our resignation to InterAct Ministries effective July 31. This Saturday, we head to SIM (Serving in Mission) headquarters in Charlotte for their candidate orientation. We'll be there through the end of July. During that time we'll learn the ins and outs of SIM and find out if we are accepted as missionaries with them. If God continues to open the doors with SIM, then we'll begin with them on August 1st.

New Address

We've moved down the street to another missionary house. Our new contact info is below. While we're at SIM the remainder of July, we can be reached by email or our cell phone. Also, please use our AOL email because our InterAct email address will be vaporized into cyberspace after this month.

Blessings,

Kevin

419 South Broad St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(336)724-7116 (home)
(336)918-3873 (cell)

November 24, 2003

Safe and sound..

We pulled into Winston-Salem early Thursday morning. We had a great surprise waiting for us. It was the news that we could move into the missionary house this week as opposed to January! This week we're moving in and getting settled. Our new address and phone number are below. After Thanksgiving I'll start flying to get back up to speed and standardized with Piedmont's flight program again.

Thank you for praying for our trip. It was eventful, but safe. We had 6 flat tires and we broke the axle on the trailer (which belongs to Krista's dad). We rented a U-Haul trailer in Calgary for the second half of the trip. If you need help changing or repairing any tires, let me know. I'm pretty good at it now. =)

Your partners in Christ,

Kevin and Krista

401 South Broad St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(336)724-2315

August 12, 2003

Post Office overload...

For the past two weeks since Rapids Bible Camp finished, we have been frantically packing. Jim and Sue Manzella, the couple who will replace us in Grayling, plan to move out to the village the first part of September. They'll be living in the house we fixed up, which means we have to be moved out so they can move in. Since we needed to leave Grayling anyways this week to attend InterAct's annual Alaska field conference, we decided it would be best to move out by today. Well, we don't have moving trucks in Grayling and there are no roads leaving the village. We overwhelmed the Grayling post office with 30+ boxes as we "moved through the mail." Our post mistress had to put $45 worth of stamps on most boxes... she ran out of stamps the other day and told me she'd get the rest of our boxes out of there as soon as more stamps arrived.

An introduction to the village...

Jim and Sue Manzella spent the past week with us in Grayling seeing the village and starting to meet people. They've already begun to build some good relationships. We had a flurry of activity the past two weeks as people realized we were leaving soon. I played basketball at 11 pm with boys several nights. Bruce, a teenage guy and I bushwacked our way up the ridge behind the village one day to look for a potential spot to put a radio tower to receive a Christian radio station broadcast from Nenana (just south of Fairbanks). We spent all afternoon hiking amongst the swarms of mosquitos. When I could kill over 20 mosquitos with one swat of my hand, I knew I better put on my headnet and gloves. Krista and Eleanor (a strong believer) quickly planned a casual evening for the mothers with babies in the village. They all had a great time. Krista encouraged Eleanor to continue this group as a way of reaching and ministering to these young moms.

Tears and joy..

It's been difficult to pack up and leave Grayling. We've spent the past 3 years heading there, spent a year building relationships, and we've come to love our friends in Grayling. We've seen God work in people's lives this year. We've even had the privilege of being a part of what God is doing in Grayling. And, while we know God doesn't "need" us in Grayling, its still hard to say goodbye. We are confident of God's leading in our lives, though, as we continue to seek the next step He has for us. Thank you for the way you have partnered with us as we've been in Grayling this past year.

What's next?

We don't know yet. After conference we're hoping to go to Massachusetts to see my mom and grandma and help out for a few weeks. During conference we'll be talking with our field director about what we'll be doing until we transition to another ministry.

ADDRESS!

Our address and phone number in Grayling are no longer current. Our temporary address is:
c/o InterAct Ministries
HC04 Box 9100
Palmer, AK 99645

July 12, 2003

Rapids Bible Camp Update

Week One of Rapids is done...

We're hot off the river and back at Grayling for a quick reprieve before leaving for camp again on Sunday. Week one of camp went great! We had 23 kids (grades 4-6), from four villages. Our six counselors from Port Angeles, Washington, did a great job connecting with the kids. Three boys made decisions for Christ! Pray for these three boys that God's Word would be firmly planted in their hearts and that they would be established in the faith.

Village Life...

As we headed downriver to Grayling Friday morning, we got a message that the main water pump in Grayling broke. The auxiliary pump in the water plant still works. So, they're turning the water on for a few minutes every couple of hours for people to collect water in buckets for drinking and washing dishes. We've been told to haul water from the creek behind Grayling for baths, flushing toilets, and laundry. What a surprise that news was for everyone returning from Rapids. The counselors were all looking forward to clean clothes and a shower... so were we after a week of camping in tents, using outhouses, and hauling creek water for drinking and cooking. =) That's village life, though. It may be a few weeks before a new pump arrives and is installed.

Week Two of Rapids...

Pray for this upcoming week of camp. Sunday afternoon we return to Rapids. The kids arrive Monday afternoon. We'll have kids in grades 7-10. We won't know how many kids are coming until they actually arrive. It is usually a tougher week of camp. The kids take longer to open up and are less enthusiastic about activities. Pray that God would soften their hearts... that we would all have energy and patience... that the weather would be good (last week we had perfect weather... it didn't rain at all during the daytime)... and pray for safety.

Kevin, Krista & Kira

June 28, 2003

Evacuated

At the end of May, we left MDP (Ministry Development Program) for the weekend to visit friends a few hours away in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. An hour before we left to return to MDP, Krista's parents called us and relayed a message that Timber Bay Bible Center had been evacuated because a forest fire was headed towards it. We were told to meet everyone in Prince Albert, where we would stay with NCEM (Northern Canada Evangelical Mission) missionaries until the fire was contained. The next day, we learned that the fire came within one kilometer of Timber Bay Bible Center and then a rain storm dumped 4 inches of rain. None of the houses in the community around the Bible Center were harmed. It was a great testimony to the community. We returned to Timber Bay 3 days after the evacuation.

Wilderness Trails

For eight days during MDP many of us went on wilderness trails. Krista and Kira got permission to go visit Krista's family while I was on trails. We canoed, carried canoes and packs across portages, rappelled, built shelters, had a survival night as a group, and much more... On the drive back to Timber Bay, we got booted out of the vans 8 1/2 kilometers from the camp so we could "finish well" with a nice run. =)

On the road again...
That seems to be a theme lately... MDP is now over. It was a profitable 2 months. We had some excellent classes. They dealt with many pertinent issues like how to learn a language, youth ministry, traditional spiritism/native culture, and church planting concepts. We also made close friends with missionaries from four other agencies.

Rapids Bible Camp
Right now we are visiting Krista's family in Alberta for a few days before flying back to Alaska July 1. We'll fly out to Grayling July 4, just in time to help run Rapids Bible Camp. There will be 2 weeks of camp. July 7 starts the first week of camp for the junior kids (ages 9-12). July 14 is the teen week (ages 13-16). We'll have kids from Grayling, Shageluk, Anvik and Holy Cross... about 20 kids each week. Krista and I will be running the program and I will be speaking. Pray for these two weeks of camp. A team from Washington state is coming to help as counselors. Pray for the team and us as we minister to the kids. Pray for the kids that God would work in their lives and that these 2 weeks would be a season of reaping for the kingdom.

In Christ,
Kevin (for Krista & Kira)
P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590
(907)453-5242

March, 2003

The inevitable had just happened! Atop the ridge behind Grayling, I stood contemplating my next move. I was getting wood for our woodstove. Carefully, I had selected a tree, assessed how it's weight was distributed, and determined which direction I wanted it to fall. The pivot cut (a wedge cut out of the trunk on the side you want the tree to fall towards) I made with the chainsaw was perfect. The back cut (a straight cut in towards the pivot from the opposite side of the trunk) was coming along when suddenly the tree's weight shifted.... onto my chainsaw! There I sat... the tree wasn't supposed to want to fall that direction towards my snow machine! The only thing preventing the tree from falling was my chainsaw, which was firmly wedged under the full weight of the tree. After I moved my snow machine, I grabbed my axe and tried to figure out what to do. I needed to chop out a wedge where my chainsaw was, so the tree could fall... But, that could take a while. What would you do? I decided to start chopping and PRAY -- that God would blow the tree over!!! As I chopped, rested, prayed, chopped, rested and prayed, I began praying for people in Grayling. I prayed for Marvin (a believing man)... that God would help him grow. Then, I started praying for Marvin's wife, Judy (a practicing alcoholic who wasn't a believer). Every little while a big wind blew and the tree shifted more and more. "Come on Lord, blow this tree over! By the way, Lord, why am I here in Grayling when there have been missionaries here for 40 years?" Another big wind and down the tree came. There isn't anything much more satisfying than watching a big tree fall. "Thanks for blowing the tree over God." My chainsaw was now free, but I had broken the chain in the process of chopping with the axe. As dark approached I rode home to fix the chainsaw. Less than an hour later, Krista got off the phone with Flo Walters anWestgate Missions - Kevin & Kri.ems Kingdom Party!! - March Update.ems d told me that Judy (Marvin's wife) had just accepted Christ! It's party time in God's Kingdom. Yep, our God is pretty BIG... He can blow over trees when we do stupid things like trying to make a tree fall the wrong direction, and he can remind us of why we are in his service by saving a woman who seems beyond hope.

Tonight, Krista has four girls (7-9 years old) "camping" at our house. They've colored, made cookies, gone for a sled ride behind the snow machine, gorged themselves on pizza, watched a movie, had a "make over", and talked about Esther and what it means to be beautiful in God's eyes. Pray for these girls. They need their eyes opened to the Gospel.

Grayling has been a buzzing metropolis this past week with a constant flow of airplanes and people. Why you ask? Because of the "Last Great Race..." The Iditarod Dogsled Race... 1000 miles of racing and this year the course ran through Grayling twice. Not only has it been fun to see the mushers and talk with the "tourists," but it also provided great times of hanging out with villagers. Twice, Marvin and I rode 55 miles up the Yukon to Eagle Island (the next checkpoint north of Grayling) to visit people and to haul left-over dog food back for his dogs. Along the way we passed dog teams going both directions. PRAY for Marvin and Judy that their marriage would be a strong testimony, that there would be dynamic change in their lives, and that God would do whatever necessary to make them mature believers and leaders in his church.

Everyone loves a big fire. So, last week we hauled the teenagers in sleds to a clearing a mile from Grayling where we built a bonfire. We played capture the flag and tug of war in the deep snow. Ever try winning a tug of war when with each step backwards you sink into the snow up to your waist? While we warmed ourselves around the fire, we shared with the teens why we are here in Grayling. Pray for these teens that God would soften their hearts and make them curious about Him. Pray for us as we are in the midst of planning the program activities and the spiritual material for the two weeks of Rapids Camp this summer. Kids and teens from Grayling, Shageluk, Holy Cross, and Anvik with come for camp the 2nd and 3rd weeks in July. It is an awesome time to remove the kids from the village environment and break down barriers so they can really hear and understand the Gospel.

Well, I would be forsaking my duties as a proud husband and father if I didn't include one more picture. Thank you for your prayers. They are essential. As always, let us know if you want off this list or don't want to receive pictures.

Kevin, Krista and Kira
P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590
(907)453-5242

February 10, 2003

Aloha from tropical Alaska!

We returned to Grayling in mid-January. A lot has happened since then, so we thought we'd drop you a line. If you want off this email list let me know.

I wondered how a warm blooded Africa boy like myself would adjust to the frozen climate of Alaska. Well, people must be praying for an easy transition because our frozen winter wonderland is sopping wet. Temperatures have hovered around freezing the past week, producing snow at night and rain during the day. In fact, I apparently didn't get all the leaks in our roof fixed last fall because the melting snow is dripping through our living room ceiling. So, pray for it to freeze back up so I don't have to fix the roof until late spring. =)

Last week was the winter moose hunting season. Getting a moose is important both for us and for the summer camp. Bruce (our co-worker) and I spent everyday looking for moose by snow machine. The messy weather gave me experience recognizing and coping with overflow... That's when water comes up over the ice on a river but under the snow. It can be quite dangerous if you get stuck in it. Since I've never hunted before, Bruce showed me the ropes. One day we rode 70 miles tracking, chasing and losing 4 moose by snow machine and snow shoes. That day the sloppy weather caused havoc with Bruce's rifle.... The firing pin froze up when we had a beautiful look at 2 moose... Later a dud bullet saved the lives of the other 2 moose. Naturally we were disgusted and discouraged at the end that day. God had something better in store, though. Friday morning (the next morning), Bruce and I rode out into a snow storm. We crossed the Yukon River and headed around the island on the other side. Just a mile around the island, there was a 2 year old moose hanging out on the edge of the willows next to the trail... This time Bruce's gun worked and we got a tender young moose close to home and easily accessible with snow machines and sleds. We'll share half the moose with Bruce/Flo... the other half will feed the kids this summer at camp.

Since we've been back in Grayling, I've had the opportunity to travel with Bruce and Flo by snow machine to two of the nearby villages. Anvik is 13 miles south of Grayling on the Yukon River. It takes 45 minutes by snow machine when the trail is in average shape. We visited about 10 households while there. For me it was simply a chance to see the village and start meeting people. Two days later there was a funeral in Shageluk (a village 20 miles east of Grayling on the Innoko River). An elderly lady died there of natural causes. For the four days leading up to the actual funeral, people stay with the body in the community hall around the clock. Each evening people gather for a meal together, a gospel sing, and then they gamble much of the night. The night before the funeral they hold a potlatch, which consists of eating, some rituals and giving away some gifts to family and people who have helped. I went traveled over with Bruce and Flo for the first of the 4 nights. It takes about 1.5 hours with good trails.

As any mother can imagine, Krista has been super busy just taking care of Kira and keeping the home fires stoked. On top of that, she has kids and teens drop by quite often. A week and a half ago we decided to throw a pizza party for the all the teens in Grayling. There were some that we still hadn't met, so we wanted to draw them to our house and get them to feel comfortable in our home. We crammed 18 teenagers into our living room/ kitchen room which is about 13' x 22'!! It was standing room only for several souls. Since there's no Domino's Pizza in town, Krista whipped up 7 pizzas for the event. After several hours of pizza, desert and lots of games the teens were begging us to do it again the following night. "Not a chance," we thought, but we will be doing regular activities with the teens to continue to build relationships with them. Would you pray for Carla? She's one of the teens. Her parents are in Anchorage... both sets of grandparents are here in Grayling. She got expelled from school in Anchorage and came here to live with her grandparents. One set of grandparents couldn't handle her, so now she's living with an aunt in the village. Carla is quite the schemer and instigator -- trying to get the younger kids to drink and smoke. She needs the Lord as do all these teens, but pray for her particularly.

Your partners in ministry,
Kevin (for Krista and Kira)

P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590
(907)453-5242

December 23, 2002

Hi everyone!
After 52 hours of labor, Krista has given birth to Kira Grace, at 1:48
am Alaska time this morning, Dec. 23. Kira is 8 pounds 8 oz. They hadn't
measured her when Kevin called. They'd been at the midwifery center for
24 hours. It took 36 hours for the contractions to go from 10 min. to 4
min. apart. She then totally stopped at 7 cm. so they broke her water but
everything was very slooooow moving. Finally, after 3-4 hours of pushing
and a lot of midwife help, Kira arrived. Carol, Krista's mom, had come in
the day before (having been called AFTER Krista went into labor), so that
was great having her with them. They haven't slept or eaten for days so
are very exhausted. They will sleep for 4-6 hours then return to the
apartment where they are staying. Krista's dad arrives after Christmas.

Kira has lots of black hair and darkish skin. Carol says that's what all
her babies looked like at first. She has a round face. I'm sure she is
very swollen at the moment. Kevin will send pictures soon.

Love, Mom (Mary)

December 3, 2002

It's been an exciting last few days. The guys in Grayling have been watching for lamprey eels the past week. These eels are about two feet long and 3/4" in diameter. They swim up the Yukon about this time of year to spawn... like the salmon. A couple of days ago we heard that Anvik (a village 20 miles down river)was catching them, so the watch was on around the clock. We travelled by snow machine next to the river to where the holes were dug through the ice on the river about 2 1/2 miles south of Grayling. A tent was pitched for shelter... spot lights, flashlights, shovels, nets, and ice picks were gathered for the task. Only men are allowed down on the river to catch eels. Sunday about noon the first batch of eels wiggled past the holes. The men scooped up probably about 100 eels and then they stopped coming. We chipped open a few new holes a mile up the river to catch this same batch, but didn't get any more. The elders ("old timers") started telling their theories on if and when more would come. This morning I got a call from one the men to let me know that the next batch of eels were here. They came all day long. Unfortunately, we were flying out of the village this morning to wait to have the baby in Wasilla (near Anchorage). I heard that the guys scooped up over 1000 pounds of eels today (each eel weighs less than a pound)!

I've been praying for more opportunities to spend time with the men and build relationships with them. God has opened up a lot of doors the last week. The guys got together to talk about "search and rescue" operations this winter. Then, we gathered to make trail markers to set up the trails going between Grayling, Shageluk, and Anvik. The school held an open gym night on Friday, so I got to play basketball with most of the teenage and young adult guys in the village. And then came the eels... and all the men came out to watch and catch them.

Last night, one of the guys about my age (his name is Kevin as well) whom I've been getting to know had an accident. He was riding his snow machine drunk on the airstrip and fell off. The brought a Blackhawk helicopter and a C-130 from Anchorage to medivac him out. About midnight, the Blackhawk landed, dropped off 2 paramedics to prepare Kevin for the flight, and took off again to refuel from the C-130. The C-130 had a doctor aboard who was prepared to parachute down if Kevin's condition worsened. Quite an operation for our little village in the middle of the bush. Our runway lights aren't working right now, so pots of burning fuel were put out for the Blackhawk to land.

Well, Krista and I flew out to Anchorage today to await our baby's birth. God worked out the flight details last minute for us. We were able to visit Kevin in the hospital tonight. He's very bruised and sore, but not hurt as badly as they thought. Pray for him and his salvation. I'm going to try to visit him again before he leaves the hospital. Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with him.

Love,
Kevin

P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590
(907)453-5242

November 29, 2002

We had a community thanksgiving meal wednesday evening... they call it a potlatch still, but this was just a meal... like a potluck as we would call it. four people in the village cooked turkeys and then everyone else just brought something to go with it. a lot of the food is cold by the time it gets to the community hall and we get around to eating it, but its still good. at this potlatch i looked around the room and could at least say i've seen everyone before... i still hadn't met all that were there, but i could recognize most and am getting a lot of their names down.

thursday night, we got together with bruce and flo and 5 of the school teachers for thanksgiving dinner at bruce's house. that was a lot of fun... the teachers are all from elsewhere (oklahoma, new york, michigan, south dakota, and a computer tech who's from mexico). it was good to get to know them some...

our phone works now (907) 453-5242. we were checking email at bruce and flo's about once a week before we got our phone. but, we're planning on going into palmer on monday if we can get on a flight. we'll stay there until the baby comes. we're not sure yet where we'll be staying the whole time. we'll check email every few days and you can track us down through the interact field office (907) 745-3124. mail can get to us through the field office at : HC 04 Box 9100, Palmer, AK 99645. bruce and flo will collect our mail here in grayling for us while we're gone as well.

love,
kevin

P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590
(907) 453-5242

November 9, 2002

Hello everyone,
We wanted to send you an update on how things are going in our ministry here in Alaska. After spending some time staying with our mentors, Bruce and Flo Walters, we are living in our little cabin in Grayling. It took some work to get it livable, but we are quite comfortable now. Kevin is still working hard on many things here. We are enjoying being in our own little place after two months on the road, and in others homes.
The village seems to be very welcoming and accepting of us so far. We are already involved in a weekly kids club Bruce and Flo have started. Many teenage girls have started coming by nearly every day just to visit and play games. We love this chance to build relationships! They took us for a walk around the village, and told us who lives in each home. That was a big help!
Last week we had the privilege of participating in a community event. One year after a loved one's death, families here have what they call a memorial potlatch. They have a potluck type feast, then hand out gifts in memory of the deceased. It was an experience that helped us to learn more about the culture here, as well as getting to know many new people.
Thank you for your prayer and support! God is using you to make it possible for us to be in Grayling. We ask that you would continue to pray for our adjustment here. It will take time, especially as the winter sets in and the long dark days come. We look forward to the arrival of our baby, and ask you to pray for safety and adjustment in that area too!
In Christ,
Kevin and Krista

P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590

September 21, 2002

What fun! We left Alberta Sunday night and rolled into Palmer, Alaska, Thursday evening. It was a beautiful drive. The trees were a brilliant yellow with patches of red driving through the Yukon Territory and into Alaska. A fresh dusting of snow greeted us this morning... the first snow of the year in Palmer. We're thankful for an uneventful trip.

We started right in today with our field orientation. Tuesday morning we'll be flying out to Grayling to work on the cabin and we'll return Wednesday night. There's lots to be done in the next two weeks --- supplies and winter gear to be bought, field orientation, and other details. Please pray for safety and wisdom as we get ready these next two weeks.

In Christ,
Kevin

September 13, 2002

Greetings!

We're on the move! Right now we are in Carstairs, Alberta with Krista's family which is halfway from North Carolina to Alaska. Let me back up, though, and bring you up to date. Last we wrote, we were headed to the Alaska field conference. The conference turned out well. We met with the mission leadership throughout the week and they satisfactorally answered all of our questions. The end result is we're moving to Alaska as I write, but here's the plan... We'll be living in Grayling, AK (where we've been headed all along) this year. There is another mission couple there (Bruce and Flo Walters) who will mentor us this year. Our main goals for the year of training are: 1. to begin learning the culture 2. build relationships with people in Grayling 3. meet people in the other 3 villages nearby (Anvik, Holy Cross, Shageluk) In the spring, we'll go to the two months of training that were cancelled this summer. The training will probably be held in Canada (maybe Calgary, but they're not sure yet). After our training, we'll sit down with the mission leadership again and evaluate the year and whether or not we should stay in Grayling with Bruce and Flo or be placed in another village. Keep praying for us and Bruce and Flo as we begin to work together this year. Pray also that as Krista and I build relationship with the people, God will open doors for us with the youth and young adults. Your prayers are THE KEY to reaching the youth and young adults in these villages for Christ.

Well, it's been a whirlwind the last month. After conference, we returned to North Carolina. We mailed most of our stuff up to Alaska. Things that were too big to mail were loaded into our van and car. Krista's Aunt Connie was a huge help and answer to prayer. She and her 6yr old son came with us to Alberta to help with the driving. We have had some excitement with the van. It started having trouble in North Dakota. The good news is that it got us this far. We're not sure if it would make it up the Alcan highway, though, so we scavenged the trailer hitch off of it and modified it for the car. Tomorrow we should be done enlarging a trailer Krista's dad had so we fit most of our stuff. The rest of it will go up in the spring on a cattle truck which a neighbor here drives. Please pray as we leave here probably on Saturday. We'll have about four more days of driving to get to Alaska.

Once we get to Alaska, I'll be flying out to Grayling with another guy from the mission. We'll spend 2 days doing the big repairs on the cabin we're going to rent. The cabin is 24' X 24'. It has a wood stove and running water.... well, it will have running water after we fix the plumming. Krista and I will then spend a week and half to two weeks at InterAct's Alaska field office getting our field orientation and buying supplies before we fly out to Grayling to live.

Krista is feeling great still! We found out before we left North Carolina that our baby, which is due December 24th, is a baby GIRL!!! Please keep praying for Krista and our baby.

Thanks for your prayers!

Love,
Kevin

P.O. Box 109
Grayling, AK 99590

September 10, 2002

we're halfway to alaska. we've made it to krista's family in carstairs, alberta. krista's aunt connie and cousin, josh, drove this far with us. that was a huge help with driving. it's been an adventure so far. we had trouble with the van just before we got to minot, north dakota. whenever i took my foot off the gas the front end and steering wheel shook. i thought it was the transmission and had a shop run a diagnostic on it. they ended up replacing a ball joint on the right front side.... that wasn't the problem, though, which we found out as we tried to keep going that night. so, we limped the van back to minot and spent the night. after talking with krista's dad and a mechanic friend of his, we decided to try to make it to carstairs the next day (saturday). they figured we'd be okay running the van in drive instead of overdrive. we crossed the border okay.. paid $55 canadian to transport my guns through canada... the van made it here with a whole lot of prayer. the last 3 hours were challenging. it feels like driving a standard in 5th gear and bringing it to a stop without ever pushing in the clutch.. the real violent shaking you get as you slow down it what the van does. anyhow, we got to carstairs about 3am sunday morning.

dale's mechanic friend (dan harder) is letting us use his shop and lift. we've got the van up on the lift trying to figure out what the problem is. so far, we can't find it. we're also checking out other possibilites of how to go the rest of the way. today, we took the trailer hitch off the van and we're going to adapt it for the corolla. dale's got a trailer we're going to build a bigger box for. we might unload the essentials from the van and take them in the trailer. the rest of the stuff can go up on a cattle truck in the spring. dale's neighbor takes cattle to alaska several times a year and said he'd take our stuff up for free. dale and i are going to work on the van and car tomorrow again. pray that we'll be efficient and make wise decisions.

our barge container should be arriving in grayling very soon. the barge has agreed to let us keep the container until the spring, which will help us out with storage until we get the cabin ready to live in. it's also an answer to prayer because they were going to pick it up again on their way upriver. the problem was, we weren't going to get to the village that soon and had nowhere to store the stuff and noone to unload the stuff for us.

love,
kevin

August 7, 2002

Hello everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know where we are and what is going on in our lives! We are headed up to Alaska today, August 5, for a conference. While we are there we will be talking with the mission leadership, and making decisions about when we will head to Alaska, and to what exact village. We would ask you to pray for us, as there are a lot of different issues involved in the decision making process! We are excited to find out what the Lord has planned. It could mean we would return to North Carolina and pack up to head to Alaska at the beginning of September. It may mean we would wait until spring, and head north at that point. Or God may have some totally different plan in mind! We look forward to knowing what that is! Currently we are at 94% of our personal support and some money has come in for the plane. All that we lack is the operating expense for the plane, which can be raised after we are on the field. Thank you so much for your support and prayer! We will let you know what is going on as we find out!
Kevin and Krista

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