[rockpaperscissors]

A little entertainment treat for our blog readers. A work crew from a church in Oregon was here last month to help out with some projects at the hospitality house (amazing job!). One of the young guys, Cale, always had his video camera. This is one of our finer moments - a tournament before bible study.

Enjoy!

What comes next?

We keep getting asked the same questions. Questions like, "When are you guys leaving Alaska? Where are you going? Have you heard any news from Cadence?" Well, here is your chance to hear first hand what is in store for us over the next few months.

When are you leaving Alaska?

After discussion with Headquarters, our current U.S. Field Director, the European Field Director, and Dan and Barb (our current supervisors here) we have decided to move away from our ministry in Alaska July 31. This will end our year long internship here and start our transition to Partnership Development (aka. support raising). We will use the month of August to plan our time in Pennsylvania and Texas, to sell most of our belongings, clean our apartment, and have a little bit of down time before we start the biggest transition of our married life. We move out of our apartment on Aug. 31 and will leave Alaska after the beginning of Sept.

Where are you going?

The first step is fund raising. We have been assigned to the European Field (read more about that here) and will need more money than we have currently have coming in each month. So we will spend four to six months living in PA or TX asking friends and family to come along side us and financially support our future ministry. The reason we don't know which state we will be in is because God has not told us yet. We are praying that someone can offer us a place to live with little to no rent per month. This would be temporary until we have raised enough funds to leave for our assignment. (I'm handy with a hammer so I certainly wouldn't mind working a little for our landlord.)

The reason I haven't told you the exact location yet is because we don't know. Cadence headquarters is working on figuring out the best place for us. For most new missionaries the ministry sends them to an established place that has an existing ministry. The problem is all the ministry houses are full. Although, we are not 100 percent sure we will be opening a new house, we most likely will. This is exciting news because that mean we can help expand Cadence's ministry. We should hear something within the next month and as soon as we do we will let everyone know.

What has Cadence told you?

Short and sweet we have been told a lot of speculative information. First, we will more than likely open a new house and the European field director told us the number he gives when a couple is planning on opening a new house in Europe is $75,000. (I know, wow, that is a lot of money.) Second, most of Cadence's missionaries are in Germany so we believe we will end up there as well. And finally, we received our monthly support calculation and it will increase from around $5,000 to around $6,000 a month. Currently we have $4,500 a month coming in so we will need to raise about $1,500 more a month.

So as you can see we have a lot to think and pray about. We long to have you pray with us. Whether it is for our financial needs, a place to live, a firm location or guidance about where we should spend the next few months we would be honored to have your prayers.

Wes (& Elaine)

Better than Fireworks!

Gabe, Derek, Tanner, & Wes enjoying Byron Glacier.

First let me make a disclaimer: I love fireworks. However in a land that doesn't really get dark in the summer its hard to enjoy flaming bursts of fascinating light, its just not the same. This July 4th weekend we went on a combined Chapel/Hospitality House camping trip. The trip started with a death-defying white water rafting trip, which will have a post of it's own so that's all I'll say.

The weekend included loads of fun and quality time with great people. I know that the single guys had their own campsite, and had their own discussion times at 11pm every night (on top of our group devotions at 9). It was really encouraging to me, to see them take steps of their own in this and encourage each other as brothers in Christ!

The spiritual highlight in my opinions is that our dear friend Mattie believes in Jesus! She is an Airman from Elmendorf. She's been around for about a year, a consistent member of our ministry. She is a (self proclaimed) "cashew" her mom is Jewish and dad is Catholic. And it was great to see her finally break through her own barriers to believing that Jesus truly is her savior! :)

Mattie, hiking.

The recreational highlight of the weekend was probably the hike up to Byron Glacier. (from Wikipedia: glacier is a large mass of ice moving slowly over some land surface or down a valley, formed over long periods from the accumulation of snow in areas where the amount of snow that falls exceeds the amount that melts.) We were actually able to hike up through the snow field below the glacier and get right up next to it. So much ice, so much summer day, it was a bit of a paradox!

Byron Glacier

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend as well! We'd love to hear what you blog-readers are up to!

To see more photos from the glacier hike click here.

God Bless,

Elaine (& Wes)

And Be Baptized

This evening we moved our Air Force chapel service to a lake rec area on base (not that you would even know you're on a base, or near anywhere for that matter). We had a great picnic, church outside, and we baptized six people!!
Dan did most of the baptizing, but our dear friend Grace asked if Wes would baptize her. He was honored to do it for her. She is a single Airmen who works in the hospital (and calls Wellsboro, PA home).
You can pray for Grace, as well as Angie, Meredith, and Caleb, to continue to grow in their faith and to be open to being challenged in real growth.

Grace and Peace,
Elaine

We've been assigned to Europe!

Hello patient readers and friends. We received official word today of our assignment to the European field of ministry within Cadence! That means the next step is for the European field director to pray and assess where exactly in Europe we'll go. It will likely be Germany, but Italy, England, and Spain also have U.S. military bases.
This is not an immediate or imminent transition, we still have ministry time left here. Once a location is decided we will receive a new support calculation estimating the cost for us to live and fund a ministry overseas. In a few months we will transition into more of a Partnership Development phase, much like last summer when we met with so many of you.
The history of U.S. forces permanently stationed in Europe goes back to at least WWII, possibly WWI but I'm not sure. There are American military members living their lives and raising their families all over Europe. They are vital parts of their respective communities in unique ways.
Among all of the obstacles facing anyone living overseas, finding a strong supportive Christian community to belong with is hard. Europe is overall very spiritually dim. Spiritual life, let alone a relationship with Jesus, is simply not a priority. If one did find a welcoming church, the chance that they speak the language is slim.
We are excited to serve Americans living overseas through a Hospitality House. Thanks for being along with us!! We'll keep you posted on further updates!

In Christ,
Elaine (& Wes)

p.s. Yes, things in Alaska are going very well. Spring has been amazing. Long beautiful days sure do make up for the winter!