Weekend In Aniak

What a great (and much needed) weekend! FINALLY, Ian and I were able to see each other. He looked great, of course, and had actually gained a few pounds (I was very happy about that). Although it has almost been a year since we were married, I hope that we never stop being newly weds. He really has become part of who I am, and I am so thankful for his friendship and love.

This first picture is our new home. It is a quadplex that was built for the medical providers coming to Aniak. We are on the top floor and Roberta, our office manager, lives on the bottom (those are her snow machines). She is around our age and I am excited for her to teach me how to knit.

This is our kitchen. We spent most of Saturday night cleaning the refrigerator, cupboards, window blinds,etc. Ian and I had such a good time doing this together. Who would have thought that scrubbing grime could be so much fun?! While we were doing the muscle work, we had a pretty good theological conversation going on as well. I think I may have even given him something to ponder....that may have been a first!

Overall the apartment was very nice, it needed a few minor scrub downs, but I was extremely happy when I saw it.  I know it will feel like home once our stuff arrives.We are hoping that it will come sometime next week.

This next picture is the Aniak Volunteer Fire Department. This is actually very cool. The volunteers are mostly high school girls ages 14-16. They meet every Thursday night and under the supervision of a local paramedic, they learn basic EMT/BLS skills and lifting/transporting techniques. They call themselves the Dragon Slayers and were actually featured on the Oprah Wimfrey show a few years ago. A&E also did a special on them (we watched it this weekend) and Toyota gave them a Forerunner! 

This view is on the bank of the Kuskokwim river. This is the same river that the mushers took last weekend for the K300. Because of the odd weather changes this year, the river froze, thawed, then re-froze again and created this unusual ice pattern. Usually it is very smooth, and often it is used to travel to and from local villages. The view here is just beautiful! Ian and I are really looking forward to some hiking and camping this summer.


This is our clinic. It is called the Clara Morgan Clinic, NOT Clara Barton,  ( I seemed to have gotten the name wrong the first time...see the posts below). It is named after a local native elder. It was actually one of the first sub region clinics in the Delta. It is about 1 mile to our apartment and across the street from the airport.

This last picture is for real...$20.29 for a 2.5 gallon of water! We still are not over the sticker shock found at the AC (our local grocery store), and are learning very quickly just how far rice and beans really will go!

This weekend we did splurge and order pizza and subs from the local Hound House, though. This is Aniak's claim to fame in the Delta, they do a really good job with their food. Even though they are the only restaurant around, it has quickly become our favorite!

I left this morning around noon and took the hour flight back to Bethel ( a very bumpy ride on a very little plane).  It was hard to leave Ian, but knowing that he is doing well and enjoying our new home makes it easier. He has already made some good friends, so in a way he is making my transition there smoother as well. He even received an award last week for his hard work and good attitude! Way to go, honey!

Lastly, I have a prayer request. I have a friend, a wife and mother of four young children, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I was shocked to hear the news. It has really saddened my heart and I am asking for prayers of strength for this battle that she has begun.

Love to you all, God Bless.
-Sarah

Here Comes Baby!

Yesterday I was able to be in on a delivery of a healthy 8 lb baby boy. The mother was G2P1 (2 pregnancies, 1 delivery) so she delivered quite fast. The Yupik women here are taught not to make any noise during labor. And most, if any, do not use any epidurals. As I type this I can think of several brave women: Michelle, Elizabeth, Tereza, who also did this spectacular thing naturally. Not sure if you guys were silent though :)

This long held tradition is rooted somewhere in the superstition that if you make a lot of noise during labor, the child will give you a lot of trouble growing up. Even though the native way of life (subsistence living, gathering, making your own clothes) is slowly being infiltrated and substituted with the Western lifestyle, some of the long held behavior norms remain.

It really is a beautiful thing to see. I am still amazed how cool the human body is, God is so creative! I say this as an outsider, never having any pregnancies of my own, but what an amazing thing! Who knows, maybe in the next year or too I will have to find out for myself. For all you current and soon to be mothers out there, I applaud you!

Next week I will be in the pediatric clinic. I will also be spending 1 day in the dental and ophthamology clinics as well. They actually shortened my training down from 8 weeks to 4, I attribute much of this to my time with Dayone. I learned a lot about medicine while being there.  Even though Bethel has been great, I am ready to be in Aniak with Ian, so this came as very exciting news!

As a matter of fact, I will be flying to Aniak tonight to visit him. Unfortunately it will be a very quick trip, but I am really excited! It has been 3 weeks since I have last seen him. The distance has been the most difficult thing about the move, I enjoy being with him so much.The other added bonus for tonight is the pizza place in town (the only restaurant for at least a 100 mile radius). I have been drooling, I mean dreaming about that for a while ( I am a very big pizza fan). Now on my 3rd week of rice and beans, I am ready for some real food!

Hopefully we will be able to get some pictures of the village to post. It is beautiful there, lots of mountains and trees. I am asking for prayers for safe travel, there is a storm front coming in from Anchorage today. The pilots here are excellent, some of the best in the world, so I am not concerned, but prayer is always good.

Also, I want to wish a VERY happy 84th Birthday to my aunt Faye. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Love you! And a belated (January 27th) happy birthday to Amanda Feyes, love you too Panda Bear!

-Sarah

Angels Humming

This is another great story. A true testimony of the omnipresent spiritual realm.

Monday morning (late entry, I know) I went to work out at the hospital gym. I got there around 5:30 am (that's when they said they opened) to find a very locked YKHC building. So, a little frustrated because it was early and about -30 out, I walked over to the main hospital to find out when someone could let me in. A very pleasant security officer, Florence, informed me someone would be there at 6:00. So, I sat down and we started talking.

The next words out of her mouth were, "Have you ever heard angles humming?" No, I said, I haven't. She then proceeded to tell me the story of her cousin's death. Apparently he loved to play the harmonica, and was actually quite good. When he was dying, the family gathered around and played the harmonica to him. Another family member recorded the audio. It wasn't until they re-listened to the recording later that they heard angels humming along to the chorus.

She then played the audio for me. I am telling you, it was angels humming. No person could have been so beautiful. It gave me, and still does give me chills. When I looked up in tears, she had her eyes closed with a GIANT smile on her face.

This woman was FULL of the spirit of the Lord. Evidence that the first words out of her mouth were about angels and Christ. Someone once told me that you can tell true lovers of Jesus when in the first 1-2 minutes of meeting them they cannot help but share Him with you. We continued to talk, mostly about the goodness of God and of her faith. Her story really blessed me, especially as coming from a native. There is so much darkness here, it was beautiful to see a small but bright light shinning in the Delta.

As Christians we should not be living in the physical, but in the spiritual. The kingdom has already come! Its inside each and everyone of us if we open our hearts to receive it.  Join him in living in a continual revival and rise up to take your place with him in selfless faith. His blessing are all around us, and we are bathed in continuous showers of mercy and love. So today my friends I sing: Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! Heal my heart Lord and make it clean. Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how me to love like you have loved me. Break my heart from what breaks yours, everything I am for your kingdoms cause. Help me to be the soldier of light that SEES for your glory!

-Sarah

Kuskokwim 300 Dog Sled Race

My First Dog Sled Race

What a fun night! After work today I volunteered at the annual Kuskokwim 300 dog sled race (the name of the large river that runs through town, a.k.a the "ice highway"). The mushers and their dogs travel round trip (300 miles) to Aniak, our new home, and back.

So, tomorrow around 9:00 a.m., Ian will be watching the teams come in. He will also be volunteering for the race, possibly feeding the very hungry dogs. There were about 22 teams total, most training for next months Iditarod in Anchorage.

It was exciting tonight! Even though it was -40 degrees out, I was laughing like a little kid. Unfortunately I did not get very good pictures because of the cold. I was wearing my "super" gloves and coat (thank you Lisa Engel for that amazing love gift!) which kept me extremely warm...But I unfortunately had to take my gloves off for the pictures. I am not exaggerating when I say that I had less than 5 seconds to take the picture before my entire hand went numb. As a matter of fact, there were warnings out today. Apparently any skin exposure in this weather could lead to frost bite in a short amount of time.

 Here is another picture I took tonight. With most things, pictures just don't seem to capture the moment. Believe me when I tell you it was very cool! Dad, you would have loved this! The dogs were so excited and ready to run, it felt like the dog sled ice-capades with all the jumping around and barking. So fun! 





To eliminate doggie jams they space the start to 1 team every 2 minutes. As these dogs are running on the frozen Kuskokwim (very slick ice), they wear special little booties with tracking on the soles. Most of the dogs are also wearing heavy nylon coats.

This picture was taken this morning as I got to work. I couldn't stop laughing. In Sturgis I was used to wooden beams in the Walmart parking lot for the Amish to tie up their horses. In Alaska, they use their beams to plug in their cars. In just about every parking lot they have these "electrical outlets".... If you don't plug it in, it won't start!

This last picture is the hospital where I am doing my training. I like to call it my giant submarine. Like everything else, it too is on stilts. Thankfully though, unlike my house, this building doesn't shake.

A Great day!

For most of this week I have been working in the ER. It has been very busy. The people here get very ill very fast. Bethel has a violent strain of strept pneumonia that not only causes deadly septic pneumonia, but a lot of deep skin infections as well. We have even had a few cases of meningitis that have had to be flown to Anchorage for care.

Some of the saddest times are when I have to treat a victim of domestic violence, this is never easy. Today I saw a little 7 week old who was hit with a belt. Alcohol was involved, which is usually the case.

On a more positive note, I was able to ride on two medivacs. A medivac is a medically equipped small plane that travels with paramedics and doctors to remote villages without access to health care. Usually, they are only called in critical situations where emergent care is required. The name of our plane today was Life Med Alaska.

This afternoon myself and two paramedics flew to two villages to pick up some seriously ill patients. The flights were both about 1 hour, and they took us into some of the most rural parts of Alaska. On our last village trip we actually had to take 4 wheelers to get to the patient.

One of the villages sat right in the mountains, it was so beautiful! Snow was falling, the sun was setting, and I just couldn't believe that I was actually doing this....  I really felt like Dr. Quinn, it was amazing!

Once we got our patients stabilized we loaded them up on the plane and airlifted them to Bethel for further care. During the flight we monitor their vital signs, IV push meds when required, and radio the accepting ER with updates. The pilot, a very spunky female, let me sit in the cockpit and wear the earphones so that I could listen in and respond to the situation the entire trip.  Medicine really doesn't get much cooler than this!

This was such an amazing experience, its hard to even describe all the thoughts running through my mind. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for all that I am learning. I will be smiling about this for a while!

Our Blessing

I have to share this great story. I am not telling this for personal praise or any other reason than to give 100% of the glory to God. Hopefully, it will be an encouragement as well.

Graciously our new employers gave us $16,500 (purpose for actual numbers comes later) for moving expenses. No way would Ian and I use this much (our altruistic thinking). I mean after all, we have been trying to be minimalists since we got married.

We stocked up on TONS of food (probably 1000 #'s I imagine), only packed small amount of books/clothes, kitchen stuff, etc. Our biggest items were our Honda Forman (our new mode of transportation) and my treadmill (I cannot possibly borrow anymore of my pregnant sister-in-laws clothes...thanks Bri!)

Then it got interesting. When the movers packed up our house, they ran out of  boxes because we had so much stuff.  They estimated that our total was around 4300 lbs. Our initial quote was $10,000 for 2000 lbs...or about $5000/1000lbs...so doing the math we could potentially owe an extra $5000! When Ian and I heard this our hearts and mouths dropped. 

Usually in situations such as these I tend to get very stressed and "snowball" as Ian likes to put it. Thankfully, Ian has been a great example in my life and has shown me the better way of continual prayer. So, I really pressed forward and sought God's will. I gave this road block to him knowing that he is so much bigger than money problems.

Fast forward to the next day....I am driving home from running errands and my mind starts to take me to the well known "worry zone." Where are we going to get this money? How could this have happened, etc?  I feel my heart racing and mind spinning....then to my right I spot a homeless gentleman pushing his grocery cart in the middle of winter without any gloves. My spirit immediately stirs. How can I even feel upset over my situation. I mean after all, I may have spent too much on over packing food! I should be grateful that I even had enough material possessions to pack, let alone the chance to move to Alaska with a fabulous job!

 So, feeling overwhelmed with gratefulness I pulled my car over. I took all the money out of my wallet and along with my gloves gave them to this man. I kept thinking that out of my "lack" I am going to give even more.

I drove home worshiping like I never had worshiped before. I just knew that if I continued to trust God, He really was going to provide, even if we owed $10,000. My peace continued through our move and I really felt good about the situation. I know the Lord that I serve.

Then, last night (2 wks later) I spoke with Ian and he informed me that our moving total came in at $16,300!!!!! We made it! Glory to God!

I truly belive that that homeless man was an angel. Not that God wouldn't have provided if I hadn't pulled over, but I believe that He wanted to give me the choice to serve Him or money. In life you often have to battle your pride, godships, and dependency, but if you choose God first, there is always a blessing.

I hope this serves to bless you as it did me. It is such a great example of how God will provide. For us it wasn't just monetarily, it was spiritually. Thank you Lord for the chance to serve you and for this amazing blessing!

Week 1

My Bethel adventure continues! Although I have been on call for deliveries all week I have yet to bring new life into this world. Currently I am training with an OB/GYN, he is a great teacher and I am learning many new procedures (cervical ripening with balloon catheters, implanon insertion...for those medical followers). I am in the women's health clinic most of this week so am doing a lot of prenatal visits. The teen pregnancy rate here is extremely high, and many women my age already have 7-8 children...whew! Overall the experience has been great, and I am really enjoying my time here.

My colleagues are super! Last sunday I was invited to a friends house for dinner (caribu stew...she didnt know I was a vegetarian) and last night I went out with a group as well. The people here are very friendly and inviting, and I am very thankful for the sense of "community" found here. As I don't have a car, I have had to rely on this kindness for rides to and from work and to the grocery (although I am trying to go there as little as possible, its very $$$).

Ian is in Aniak. He started his job yesterday and from what I gather he is enjoying himself. He sounded very tired last night when we talked, apparently he has been doing a lot of training as well. He will not only be registering patients and arranging flights to and from Bethel/Anchorage for high risk cases, but dealing with insurance as well. For those of you in the health care field you can probably understand the mental exhaustion associated with HMO's/ Medicaid/Medicare.

There was also a little mix up with our movers so Ian is currently living out of his suitcase. We are hoping that our stuff arrives in the next week so that he can officially move us into our igloo.

Here in Bethel, I have now experienced the strongest wind ever. Since our house is on stilts, it shakes! I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night because the wind was whipping very hard and my bed was moving back and forth. I kept thinking of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and how her home just blew away. Don't worry mom, it is secured with cables :) As a result, though, we have had a drop in temperatures. I am not really sure what they are, but its cold!

Again, we really appreciate the support we have been receiving.  I get so excited to read the daily comments from everyone and see our new followers. Its really nice to hear about "home" and how loved ones are doing.... Love you all and God Bless!

Heading to Aniak

First, I would like to congratulate the Lake family on their new addition. His name is Asher Ian Lake, born New Years day I believe. At the moment, I will suspend my praise for such a well-conceived name. :) Blessings to Matt, Michelle, and the entire Lake family. Thankully, I was able to see and hold the baby before we left for Alaska. To my right, is my amazing nephew Niecko.

I will be leaving this morning for our village of Aniak. It is about 90 or so miles down the river. If I had a vehicle, I could drive on what the locals call "The Ice Highway" (the Yukon River frozen over). People drive for miles to other villages on this river. Sarah's mom suggested we not take that. As I leave to Aniak to train and prepare the igloo.....unfortunately, we left the ice chisels back home. Our home may appear less than desireable. If the igloo does not take, we may request an apartment.

 Sarah will remain in Bethel for about 6 more weeks. During these six weeks, she will be on call for deliveries, working in the woman's health and family medicine clinic, and next week she will attend her first ever dog sled race! She has made some wonderful Christian friends, one who will be taking us to church this morning. Also, there is a possibility of Sarah getting a few female roomates during her stay here in Bethel. I myself am happy about this. Overall, people have been very nice to us and we are enjoying our stay. We have decided we are going to start being nice to them too. :) We appreciate all your prayers and support, for it makes a recognizable diference. REALLY! To all of you who joined our blog, thank you, we love your comments........so far ;)

Life in Bethel



Ian in the tundra.

A few days prior the water froze as it came out of the pipe

Our temporary home in Bethel. Notice the stilts. To the left of Ian is the water tank. There is no underground plumbing, so our water has to be delivered. You have to take quick showers or your will run out. 

 Sarah in the tundra.

Welcome!

Well, the time has finally arrived. Sarah and I left a frigid Battle Creek, MI for a shockingly warmer Bethel AK ( 35 + degrees). I do not live with the fanciful delusion this kind of weather will be long lived. As most of you know, our final destination is Aniak. Prior to departure, Sarah and I both have NEO "New Employee Orientation" here at the main hospital, Wednesday, Jan 6th, in Bethel. Bethel, as descibed by our contact here, is about 230 miles from Aniak, or, 1.5 hours as the snowmobile flies (hmm... I've done the math on this one, but maybe some variable is escaping me). Sarah will stay on board for an 8 week training course at YKHC here in Bethel (For those interested in this organization, checkout "ykhc.org"), while I leave this Sunday to fly out to Aniak. Our shipment should arrive about the time I get there. I will train at the Aniak clinic for two jobs: Registration clerk, and the other one escapes me at the moment. :) Sarah may fly out to see me 4 weeks in the training. I sure will miss her! Also, our skype is up and "fully operational," if any of you would desire to talk camera to camera with us. 

At the moment, we both feel slightly, well, more than slightly, out of our element. "Change" is always easier said than done. The sense of "control" in life we came here with is already, and will likely, be profoundly tested (Reminds me of a movie I watched some time ago called "Instinct." It stars Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr.; a theme of "control" and its illusion runs through it: I suggest watching it). We are equally excited and fearful of this opportunity, for we both know this will serve to make our marriage better reflect Jesus and His church. I am sure that somehow this will be a repeated lesson, one I hope will bring deeper humility in our lives.  

 I want to personally apologize to all those who have been in any type of contact with me these past two or so months. There were some things that slipped through the cracks, and I am sorry. I have been somewhat scatter-brained and detached due to this underestimated move. I hope now I can redeem that time in some form or another. More updates of God's work in the bush and Ian and Sarah's reactions coming soon.

Sarah and I will be praying for all of you who have asked us to. If you are wondering how to pray for us, I suggest a two-fold approach: 1) For us, something like Eph 1:16-19 and Eph 3:17-19, and Psalm 91; 2) For God's movement in the Alaskan bush (more on this soon). If these do not appeal to you, then ask God yourself (haha!)