Two months in a twenty-four foot trailer in someone’s back yard isn’t all bad. We officially joined Arctic Barnabas Ministries August 1, of ’05, squeezed into this small compartment, and looked for a house. The first week of October when temperatures dropped, our trailer heater quit! However, that day we flew to ABM Ministry Family Retreat in Port Alsworth—my first bush trip. . . and airsick! However, engaging those precious missionaries made up for any discomfort. When we returned, our house deal closed and we unpacked our storage unit after nearly a year.

God answered our prayers for a house with a lot of windows to compensate for those long, dark Alaskan winters. We had also asked for private guest space for ministry hospitality. Cathedral ceilings graced a two-bedroom apartment complete with kitchen and living area over the heated double car garage. We occupied the downstairs living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. My plans for an upstairs office didn’t happen since we hosted more guests, more often, and longer than anticipated.

We decided to build a 330 square-foot office and bathroom on the other side of the garage beneath an existing RV roof. This allowed space for Conrad to counsel, for overflow guest space, and for privacy when inundated with guests. The living room couch served as my study and laptop writing space and a new cabinet concealed my books and files.

I’m naturally goal-oriented, motivated, focused, and live with a sense of urgency. God designed Conrad more easy going, able to enjoy process, a multi-tasker preferring perfection over speed. Therefore, with freeze-up immanent, and the kids coming for Christmas, the pressure was on! One day as Conrad sauntered through Home Depot, I went out to the truck in desperate frustration. There God reminded me that my goal to complete this project by freeze-up was not as important as His goal to conform me to the image of Jesus.

That fall, Joel enrolled at Multnomah School of the Bible. He came home for Thanksgiving and asked Amy Underwood to marry him. She not only agreed, but to do so over Christmas break! He finished classes in spring with Amy by his side and returned to Anchorage to work for Coffman Engineering.

Christmas ‘06 came and pink insulation still hung exposed between the joists. I complained to a friend in Alberta, “I can’t put our pregnant daughter and their little ones in that cold, dirty, unfinished room!” She suggested Conrad and I sleep in there. I said, “I don’t think so!” She asked, “What about Mary and Joseph?” I wept in surrender.

In the meantime, Jonathan and Jami hoped their engineering business would generate finances to help missionaries. When their third partner wanted the company, Jonathan and Jami let it go. . . to the death of a vision. However, God’s appointments often come through disappointments. ABM needed a lead airplane mechanic. Our director approached Jonathan to fill that position. Joining ABM meant going back to mechanic work after managing his own company.

God was at work in Jonathan’s heart. While still in high school he collected information from Moody Bible Institute’s Missionary Aviation Program. Realizing that meant standing in front of people and raising support, he closed the book on mission aviation and became a forester, then an aircraft mechanic instead. This time he surrendered his will to join Arctic Barnabas and headed out with his family to raise support.

About this time our visionary ABM founder/director evidenced signs of burn-out and took a six-month sabbatical. Upon his return, mutual conclusions evidenced God’s mind for change in ABM leadership. That spring Jonathan led the aviation team to overhauled a Navajo Chieftain aircraft, donated to us by Franklin Graham. As he carried out these responsibilities with accuracy, speed, and capable team leadership, the ABM board recognized his gifts as a match. Jonathan became the executive director of Arctic Barnabas Ministries on January 1 of 2009.

We flew in bush planes to visit and encourage pastors and missionaries over some of the grandest glacial mountain and tundra landscapes in the world! Our first bush trip took place in mid-November at 20 below zero. The three of us shivered in the six-passenger Seneca aircraft until airborne. Even then a cold draft penetrated my new Woolrich coat. We flew to Unalakeet, Galena, Koyuk, and Greyling. In one village, the native pastor’s wife loaned me a down “parkie” for the rest of the trip and I finally warmed up. She even dressed me in two down “parkies” to go ice fishing! With shrieks of delight, I caught Tom Cods on a string let down through a hole in the ice. In another village, the dear native pastor’s wife said she was already “peopled out” when we arrived. No motels exist in these villages so it lands on the pastor’s wife to feed and house all the visitors and mission teams that come through. Another pastor’s wife (interim) told me she did not need encouragement. Yet another missionary wife and her husband could not stop sharing their hearts with us.

In time, the ministry families became gratefully aware of Arctic Barnabas and our heart to help them with everything from remodeling their homes, fixing, repairing, bringing supplies, providing mission teams, to tea parties, doing regional mens’ and women’s retreats, and family retreats. I loved writing and editing a small publication to encourage these women every month, plus doing other publications for the mission. Conrad directed the Pastor To Missionary ministry.

I write with profound gratitude for all God’s grace to us! I thank the Father of compassion and God of all comfort who comforted us in all our troubles so that now we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Cor. 1:3-4). There were times we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. . . but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead (2 Cor. 1:8b-9).

And the story continues. . .