An Unexpected Adventure: Alaska in January?
An Unexpected Adventure: Alaska in January?
What could a broken ankle, newlywed couple, retired Ukrainian doctor, rhubarb pie, and yurt homestead with sled dogs possibly have in common? We couldn’t imagine either, until we got a call from Gary’s sister Patty. She had broken her ankle and needed our help in Anchorage.
What a surprising way to start 2024, the very time we were geared up to transition to a different mission agency! By January 5, we were flying to Alaska to help Patty, who lives alone in a sweet but small apartment. Grocery shopping. Household chores. Doctor appointments. Along the way, the Lord kept adding other ways to serve during the nearly 4 weeks we were there.
That includes meeting a musher prepping to race the Iditarod—for a worthy purpose! For more about this, with fun video links, please keep reading. News flash! Joshua Robbins did cross the finish line in Nome, after 1000 miles leading his dog team all the way from Willow.
The January 1 transition to Artists in Christian Testimony International (A.C.T. Intl) went well, and we learned their systems from our laptop–looking out Patty’s big window at evergreens heavy with snow. The scene was forever changing from blue sky to grey snow clouds, punctuated with the roar of snowplows, scrapes of snow shovels, and with very short periods of daylight.
We enjoyed watching the mountains turn lavender pink in early morning and approaching sunset. Also, when that low winter sun edged its way over the mountain tops, it nearly blinds you. A moose trekked across the road in front of her building. We took in gorgeous mountain scenes from the ankle doctor’s office and even the Walmart parking lot. A “sun dog” echoed the real sun, along Turnagain Arm. How beautiful is God’s creation in Alaska, as long as you have layers of warm clothing for it!
The first hint of ministry opportunities came at the DFW Airport gate, about to board the flight. An Army Airborne man sat beside us, and our conversation quickly turned to spiritual topics. God’s Spirit gave us an immediate connection, as we talked about Christian growth opportunities where he’s stationed in Alaska. Then, we learned he had married just 6 days before!
We were eager to meet his wife when she arrived a day later with their belongings. Her new physical therapist job would be across the street from Patty’s home. Thus began a lovely friendship, not only for us but for Patty also. What great times we had with Armin and Madison, as they shared their unique stories of coming to Christ, and we shared ours, plus the much-longer journey of being married 51 years. As we got together for meals, and went to church together 3 Sundays, we have already become family.
Our Ukrainian friends, living in Anchorage for over a year, picked us up at the airport and later in the week, prepared a lovely dinner for us. What a joy it was to see them again, including their adult son David!
(Our friendship goes back to 2001, at dedication of the renovated Reformed
Church building in Odessa, Ukraine. We had also done a video with Lena and Leo for The Springs Counseling Center there.)
Last fall, we had been praying for Leo’s mother, still in the often-attacked port city of Odessa. Dr. Lillia, a retired neurologist, had been very ill with Covid, then pneumonia, and couldn’t be evacuated. Finally, she could travel and a MTW missionary drove her out of Ukraine. She arrived in Alaska in early December. It was an answer to many prayers. Imagine our joy at meeting her in person at their family dinner, and visiting with them all evening! Then, we got together again over traditional Ukrainian/Russian food.
Please pray for Leo, Lena, David, and Dr. Lillia. The wonderful woman Alla, who cared for Dr. Lillia as she recovered, has had a horrible loss in her life. You probably read about the Christian mother Anya and her 4-month-old baby Timothy who were killed when their apartment building collapsed March 2 from a Russian attack on Odessa. They are Alla’s sister and nephew. Understandably, this loss hit our friends very hard—and brought the reality of the war to us in a very personal way.
Rhubarb pie. Now, that’s a happier topic. Our friend Fran, retired from Dallas Seminary, moved to Wasilla, Alaska, a few years ago, and is loving it! Rhubarb grows pretty-much wild in her yard, and she freezes it to make mighty delicious pies. The day after we arrived in Anchorage, she drove down to visit and brought a pie. Mmmm. Good. She also was checking on Patty. Earlier, Fran had heard of Patty’s fracture, and immediately borrowed from a neighbor a knee scooter, and delivered it to Anchorage so Patty could move around some. What a blessing!
Fran loves dogs and has trained some Patriot Paws dogs. She learned about a 501 c 3 non-profit not far from her, in Willow, using sled dogs and reindeer to help US military veterans with PTSD. So she met Joshua Robbins, his marvelous helper Brenda, and all 33 dogs and began volunteering at Outreach22. (22 for the tragic number of vets who commit suicide–daily). Josh has been there, with PTSD from Iraq and Afghanistan until he got help. He homesteads the land, built a yurt, and trained to be a musher. Josh finished the Iditarod last weekend, a grueling race through over 1000 miles of rough conditions by sled, pulled by his athletes–the dog team. We followed Josh’s race with great interest and many prayers.
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- Gary holds puppy
Visit these links to 4 brief videos Gary shot and edited about Josh’s life and Outreach22 mission, the dogs, the sled, and the reindeer.
Visit to Outreach 22 https://youtu.be/PFbnL9rytZE
About the Sled for Iditarod Race https://youtu.be/vQBSDOlB04c
About the Booties the Dogs Wear https://youtu.be/uCP8ckH2RRQ
About the Purpose of the Reindeer there https://youtu.be/hC34ZDxgy5I
And you might wonder, how Patty is doing now? She’s out of the cast and also the boot! Before the broken ankle, she had developed a great interest in watercolor painting. It has been such a helpful creative activity to enjoy while her moving around was greatly limited in the splint, then cast. She even taught Susan a few techniques, like how to paint evergreen trees, and that was such fun
What’s ahead? We are waiting for the Lord to show us more specifics, but the “Alaska Adventure” has shown us that wherever we are, if we are open, the Lord can use us.
–We’re editing a video interview about Agape Christian Rehab Center in Lutsk, Ukraine,.
–Service continues on the Boards of The Family Table Ukraine and Come and Sew Ministries, International. Please pray for Pam of TFTU as she continues serving the Lord in Kyiv. Praise Him for CASMI’s growth in Albania. We’re working on a new video for them.
–We’ve offered our video production services to our brothers and sisters at A.C.T. Intl headquarters and for regional gatherings this year.
–Opportunities to serve/meet again with leaders we love in Europartners would be wonderful.
God is doing so much in the lives of these business people, especially young professionals!
How’s our Support?
We are SO grateful to our faithful supporters! Thank you for your gifts to the Lord’s work.
If you’re not already supporting us monthly or on projects, would you prayerfully consider joining us on this ongoing adventure that God has put on our hearts? We sincerely need additional monthly support to maintain our home office, plus the video gear. (Several of our faithful supporters have died in the past year or so.) Our new mission agency provides valuable donations processing for tax-deductible giving, consulting, and networking, so it’s necessary for A.C.T. Intl to withhold a small and fair percentage for administration, as nearly all ministries do. That results in a reduction in our monthly and project support.
Giving is easier than ever before, with the A.C.T. Intl Online Donation service. Just go to Alpha Leadership Partners’ webpage below for Donations. All convenient options are available—by credit and debit card, automatic giving through your bank account, and by check mailed in.
https://actintl.givingfuel.com/alpha-leadership-partners
Love, and thank you!
Gary and Susans Bauer
Alpha Leadership Partners, a Ministry Department of
Artists in Christian Testimony International
441 Biscay Dr
Garland TX 75043
214 477-4288
alptx.org